October 13, 2010 • Comments

I’m so excited to be touring the fabulous Linda Gerber and her latest book Trance, a paranormal thriller. I LOVED all of Linda’s ‘Death by’ series and am hanging out to read this one.

Ashlyn Greenfield has always known when bad things are going to happen. Each time that familiar tingling at the back of her neck begins, she knows what’s to come—a trance. She’s pulled in, blindsided, an unwilling witness to a horrible upcoming event. But she’s never been able to stop the event from actually occurring—not even when the vision was of her mother’s fatal car accident. When soulful Jake enters Ashlyn’s life, she begins having trances about another car accident. And as her trances escalate, one thing becomes clear: it’s up to her to save Jake from a near-certain death.

And now for the usual questions:

What inspired the plot for your book?
Several years ago, I had a very vivid dream about an airplane crash. Some of the details were so clear and disturbing to me that I wrote them down, just to get them out of my head. Then, a couple of weeks later, I saw an article in the paper about a plane crash on the other side of the country. The real crash was eerily similar to the one I had seen. It really shook me up.

Later, when I was finally ready to talk about it, I shared the dream with one of my sisters. She told me that she had also had dreams before about things that hadn’t yet happened.

It made me think… what if there were sisters who shared precognitive visions?And what if each one of them only got part of the vision and the other one got the other part, so they had to put the pieces together to see the whole?

Oooh… and what if when they had the visions, they went into trances, which made it really hard to hide what was happening from their family and friends? And what if they wrote clues about the meaning of what they were seeing while they were in the trances? And what if those clues weren’t given in words, but in numbers? (Actually, my ingenious editor came up with that idea.)

So, long story short, the idea for TRANCE evolved from a long string of what ifs, and my quest to find the answers.

Why did you decide to write in this genre?
I love to read YA, so writing it is a natural fit for me. I’m trying supernatural fiction because that’s the story that came to me.

What is your writing process like?
I outline by necessity, although I’m a pantser at heart. I usually start out with a pretty good idea of where the story’s going, although I don’t always know how I’, going to get there. Each day, I start by reading back the last couple of pages I wrote from the previous day and then continue on from there. I use a timer on my computer to set goals (and limits, such as staying off the Internet.)

What are you working on now?
HACKED, book three in my upcoming Middle Grade series, LIGHTS, CAMERA, CASSIDY, about the daughter of popular TV travel show hosts, and the trouble she manages to get into every time she goes on location with them.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
Read. Listen to music. Catch up on TV. Be a mom.

Who do you like to read?
Wow. How much space do you have? Meg Cabot, Sarah Dessen, Alyson Noel, Becca Fitzpatrick, Lisa McMann, Kate Coombs, Sara Zarr, Eoin Colfer, Jonathan Stroud, Neil Gaiman, and so many, many more.

You can find Linda online here:
http://lindagerber.com
http://lindagerber.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/gerbsan

October 4, 2010 • Comments

I’m thrilled to be touring Lauren Strasnick and her book Her and Me and You. which is published by Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster. I’m hanging out to read it.

Here’s what it’s about:

First love, broken friendships, and heartache all play a part in this evocative, voice-driven novel about Alex, a girl whose world is ripped apart when her father’s affair splits her family in two.
Alex moves with her mess of a mother to a new town, where she is befriended by hot, enigmatic Fred–and alternately flirted with and cold-shouldered by Fred’s twin sister, Adina. Others warn Alex to steer clear of the twins, whose sibling relationship is considered abnormal at best, but there’s just something about Fred–and something about Adina–that draws Alex to them and makes her want to be part of their crazy world, no matter the consequences.

Now for the usual questions:

What inspired the plot for your book?
Twins, Connecticut winters, indoor pools, obsessive relationships, friend breakups, & kittens.

Why did you decide to write in this genre?
YA? I’m not sure it was much of a choice. I’ve always read and written teen.

What is your writing process like?
Before I start a project I sort of obsess about it for weeks or sometimes months – I’ll read and watch movies and listen to a particular type of music, all in an effort to brainwash myself into believing in the book. Then I outline, I write, I rewrite.

What are you working on now?
Another book for Simon Pulse, DAKOTA WEBB IS MISSING, slated for spring 2012. Mystery! Rock bands! Messy relationships!

What do you do when you’re not writing?
I cook things, eat things, watch sick amounts of television, read, dance around the apartment, play with the kitty, dress up, grocery shop, thrift shop, see my friends.

What do you like to read?
All sorts of stuff. Well, all sorts of stuff about teens and young adults. Well, all sorts of realistic fiction about teens and young adults. I have very varied tastes, clearly.

Check out Lauren on her website & blog: www.laurenstrasnick.com

“Strasnick’s slim second offering packs a lot into its short chapters: divorce, broken friendships, crushes, the lines between love and sex and more. Characterization, scenes, dialogue and setting are seamlessly distilled into so few sharp, image-rich phrases that the novel reads almost as if it were written in verse. Less is definitely more here, and readers are plunged into Alex’s physical and emotional world within three to four words. Although the plot moves swiftly, the author’s ability to capture Alex’s inner world in so few words give the novel depth and balance. Complex and thought-provoking.” –Kirkus

September 30, 2010 • 4 Comments

This week has been so hectic I don’t know whether I”ve been on my arse or my elbow!! My son has left for the USA and then is heading to Europe after a few months, so we’ve had all that to sort out….. he was still packing 10 minutes before we were due to leave for the airport…. and when you’re an anal Type A person like me, it isn’t good for the stress.

My daughter is working on a Masters paper and I’ve been helping her proof…. so that’s a job and a half. And proofing isn’t my strong point!

The NZ government, in its infinite wisdom, decided to increase GST (Goods and Services Tax) to 15% from 12.5%….. omg trying to sort that one out is a living nightmare, all sorts of adjustments have to made for goods bought before Oct 1 but paid after and ditto for rooms we’ve sold in the motel… and let’s not forget the people whose stay with us straddles the date!!!!

Anyway, rant over………….. something very good and very exciting is that my CP and very good friend Amanda Ashby has just posted the back cover copy for her new book Fairy Bad Day, so I thought I’d post it too. This book is so funny you’re going to love it:

My life seriously couldn’t get any worse.

First, my rightful designation of dragon slayer is STOLEN right out from under me by Curtis Green. Sure, he’s really cute, but that doesn’t give him an excuse.

On top of that, I am assigned to slay fairies. I know what you’re thinking—how hard could it be, right? Wrong! These menacing beasts with their tiny hipster clothes and mocking sarcasm love taunting me. And they won’t STOP!

But the thing that tops my list of stuff to ruin my day? That would be the GIANT KILLER FAIRY that I have to hunt down and slay because I am the only one who can see it. There is someone who can help me. Unfortunately…it’s Curtis.

It’s going to be a fairy bad day.

How awesome is that??????

Anyway, I’m heading back to the land of the anally retentive and stressed!!! Hopefully normal service will resume soon (aka chatting on the phone, msn convos, some writing…….)

September 18, 2010 • 2 Comments

So it’s spring in NZ and where we are the weather is fabulous – probably not the best day for me to say this seeing as NZ is in the middle of being hit by the worst storm ever apart from where we are in the east.

Anyway, storm aside, I love coming out of winter because it means summer is not far away, and for me in an ideal world there would only be one season…. summer. I could happily live with blue skies and sunshine everyday of the year – I realise we need rain, but rain can fall when I’m asleep!!!

Of course, spring also signifies change…. and yesterday we put our motel on the market, hopefully for it to be sold early next year so we can head over to Sunshine Coast in Australia around July time!! I’m very excited about that, so watch this space!!

Other news, on the writing front I’m working on a new book, and trying to make it as scary and creepy as I can!!! Who knew after all these years of loving stuff tied with a little pink bow, I’d get such pleasure from being so creepy?

That’s it for now….. no point in me saying I’ll try to be a better blogger because that’s a bit too much like the girl who cried wolf!!!

September 8, 2010 • Comments

I’m thrilled to be touring Lucienne Diver and her latest book Revamped a sequel to her book Vamped.

About the book:
In Vamped, Gina and her minions defeated a vampire vixen, a psycho-psychic and the vampire council of Mozulla, Ohio. Gina was all ready to expose vampires to the world in all their fanged fabulosity…until the Feds arrived to sweep everything under the rug and make them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

In ReVamped, Gina and her boyfriend Bobby are sent undercover to infiltrate a New York high school where some seriously weird stuff is going down. Worse than that, Gina’s new super-secret identity is as goth-girl Geneva Belfry. No color palette to speak of. More chains than a bike rack. And don’t even get her started on the shoes. At least she won’t be too worried about blood spatter when kicking the butt of her newest nemesis, who’s decided that the high school makes a perfect playground.

And now for the usual questions:

What inspired the plot for your book?
The need to horrify my heroine. Seriously! There’s just something irresistible about messing with the mind of a fanged fashionista by taking away her freedom of couture…er, choice. In the first book in the series, Gina wakes up dead (undead anyway) and has to cope with an eternity without tanning options. In ReVamped, I upped the stakes. She’s still fanged, but this time not so fabulous. Her first mission working for the Feds, who came in at the end of Vamped to sweep everything under the rug, is as emancipated minor and goth girl Geneva Belfry. A closet full of blah-black and an apartment that smells of feet. As if that’s not bad enough, just as she starts coming to the realization that goths are people too, she’s got to face the possibility that one of her new BFFs is behind the weirdness she’s sent to explore.

In her own words: “Responsibility sucked rocks. Until a few months ago, I hadn’t been responsible for anything more than color-coordinating my wardrobe. But foil one vampire vixen bent on world domination and suddenly people expect all kinds of things. Some days it just didn’t pay to wake up dead.”

Why did you decide to write in this genre?
I didn’t pick it so much as Gina picked me…. The character just started talking in my head, demanding to be heard. Ignoring her just wasn’t an option. (She’s kind of a diva, but don’t say I said so.)

What is your writing process like?
I’m a definite pantser. A character will start talking in my head or the kernel of an idea will come to me, and I’ll let them steep for a little bit until they’re ready to burst out onto the page. By then, I’ve figured a few things out and have a general sense of where I want to go, but at first I just sort of let things flow. Then I’ll plot a few chapters ahead, write, plot a few chapters ahead, etc. If I try to plot whole novels from beginning to end from the get-go, I find that within just a few dozen pages, it’s gone off track because something didn’t feel right for the characters (or because they insisted…cough, diva…on a new direction). I guess I’m a gut writer. Also, I freehand everything out first and type it into the computer as I go. I find I can write articles on the computer, but I need a pen and paper for creative writing.

What are you working on now?
A kidney stone… Oh, you mean writing-wise. I’m playing around with a few shiny new ideas before I settle down to write the fourth contracted Vamped book, Fangtabulous. I’m looking forward to it! Gina and her gang are just so much fun.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
Working, reading, mommying, um, is wifing a word? Seriously, outside of writing, work and family I have no life anymore. Not that I’m complaining! It’s what I signed on for, but as soon as Vamped came out and contracts started coming my way, my other hobbies fell by the wayside. I used to make jewelry, scrapbook, work puzzles, sleep….

Who do you like to read?
I adore all of my authors, so we can start there! (For those who don’t know, I’m a literary agent by day, a writer by night and comatose between times.) I don’t have as much time to read outside of work as I’d like, but some favorites are Joshilyn Jackson, Janet Evanovich and Sharyn McCrumb. Also, I’ve just discovered Suzanne Collins’ HUNGER GAMES (I know, after half the known world) and am completely hooked.

Bio:
Lucienne Diver is a writer by night and a literary agent by day.

Websites:
Publisher: www.fluxnow.com
Author: www.luciennediver.com
Author blog: http://varkat.livejournal.com
Gina’s blog: http://ginasgems.livejournal.com

August 30, 2010 • 2 Comments

I’m excited to be touring Kristina Springer and her book My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours

Seventh grade was supposed to be fun, but Tori is having major drama with her BFF, Sienna. Sienna changed a lot over the summer—on the first day of school she’s tan, confident, and full of stories about her new dreamy boyfriend. Tori knows that she’s totally making this guy up. So Tori invents her own fake boyfriend, who is better than Sienna’s in every way. Things are going great—unless you count the whole lying-to-your-best-friend thing—until everyone insists Tori and Sienna bring their boyfriends to the back-to-school dance.

And now for the usual questions:

What inspired the plot for your book?
I had my own fake boyfriend in 7th grade.

Why did you decide to write in this genre?
I’ve always liked to read young adult books and my writing voice tends to be middle grade and young adult.

What is your writing process like?
I write whenever I can squeeze in time—usually a couple of hours a night a couple of times a week.

What are you working on now?
Edits on my Fall 2011 book tentatively titled Pumpkin Princess.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
Take care of my four little ones, hang out with friends, read, exercise.

Who do you like to read?
Chick lit– books like Sophie Kinsella’s and Meg Cabot.

Author Bio

Kristina Springer is the author of THE ESPRESSOLOGIST, MY FAKE BOYFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS and the forthcoming PUMPKIN PRINCESS (fall 2011). She has a Masters in Writing from DePaul University and she resides outside of Chicago with her husband and children. Visit her at www.KristinaSpringer.com.

Online
Web-site: www.KristinaSpringer.com
Blogs: KristinaSpringer.blogspot.com, author2author.blogspot.com
Other: @TinaSpringer on twitter, facebook.com/KristinaSpringer