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Today is my last day as the launch author over at the class of 2k8. If you haven't had a chance to stop by, please do. In addition to an interview with me, I've discussed dream interpretation, listed my Top Ten Teen Books and today I interviewed my heroine, Trinity Michaels, and unveiled my killer trailer for Sleepless. Check it out!
NOTE: There is a small error in the video that will be corrected. It's far better for Rafe to exact his revenge rather than extract it. ;)
We hope you've enjoyed meeting Terri Clark and learning more about her YA thriller, SLEEPLESS. Remember, the official release date is September 2, so if you don't see it on store shelves yet you will soon. Closing out her week, Terri interviews press shy teen Trinity Michaels.
Terri: Hi Trinity. I understand you don’t like to give interviews so I appreciate your willingness to speak with me.
Trinity: Yeah, well, ever since that newsreporter outed me as a psychic I’ve been hounded by every Tom, Dick and Nutcase. I hate the freakin’ nazi-razzi.
Terri: Yes, well, I’m certainly not a paparazzo, but I would like to ask you a little bit about your ability. You’ve been dubbed--
Trinity: Dream girl. How lame is that? If they’re going to give me a super hero moniker couldn’t they come up with something cooler?
Terri: Like what?
Trinity: Nevermind. I’m no super hero anyway. All this dream drama is too much.
Terri: Drama? That seems a bit of an understatement. Isn’t the killer, Rafe Stevens, after you?
Trinity: When I wake and when I sleep. Too bad I can’t purge this stupid “power.”
Terri: Why would you want to do that? Do you know how many people would love to peek into another person’s mind?
Trinity: A crapload, I’m sure. But they’d change their mind pretty dang quick if they saw the same twisted things I see. I don’t have normal dreams. People come to me in my sleep and confess their deepest, darkest secrets. I see the worst of humanity and I don’t want to take on the responsibility of other people’s problems.
Terri: Like your childhood friend, Timmy—
Trinity: How the heck do you know about him? Interview done!
Terri: Wait, wait, wait. I’m sorry. Touchy topic. Let me ask you one more thing.
Trinity: (silence)
Terri: You know that old wives tale? The one that says if you die in your dreams, you’ll die for real? Do you believe that?
Trinity: I didn’t use to, but why else would I be SLEEPLESS?
We're betting you might be interested in losing some sleep yourself now. To further entice you we're thrilled to debut Terri's book trailer of SLEEPLESS.
10 Comments on Day 5: A Talk with Trinity, last added: 8/22/2008
Ask a teen librarian to name her top ten teen books and there's apt to be a long pause while she flips through her mental reading record, but eventually Terri gave us an answer. In no particular order, Terri's Top Ten....
1. Laura Wiess's SUCH A PRETTY GIRL left me breathless and shaken. With her dad in jail Meredith finally feels safe, then he gets out early and he wants to get "close" to her like he was before. You'll never forget this book.
2. In WHO'S YOUR DADDY? Lila, Meryl and Caressa are three boyfriend-less best friends. Hoping to change their luck they hold a "dumb supper" and get more than they ever imagined. No one writes relationships and humor like Lynda Sandoval.
3. Not only is John Green's LOOKING FOR ALASKA one of the best coming of age novels EVER, it's partly responsible for getting me my job as a teen librarian.
4. This is, without question, my favorite book to booktalk. I always get a great reaction from kids. I'll just give you the short and sweet: Teens between the ages of 13-17 can be retroactively aborted. Dubbed unwinds, they supposedly "live on" by having every last part of their body medically donated. Some of them aren't willing to accept that fate and go on the run, this is their story. UNWIND by Neal Schusterman is a must read for EVERYONE.
5. Gail Giles is one of my all time favorite authors. She writes raw, real and gritty stories. There's no happily-ever-afters, but her characterizations are incredible. SHATTERING GLASS is my favorite of her books. Check out this opening paragraph. "Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him." 'Nuff said.
6. I loved Gabrielle Zevin's ELSEWHERE because it was so unique. When Liz dies she finds herself on a ship to Elsewhere where she lives her life in reverse until she's reborn as a baby.
7. I adore Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Think Harry Potter, but faster paced with more humor. Percy Jackson is the half-blood son of a Greek God and all along he just thought he was a troublemaker with ADD. Get hooked with book 1: THE LIGHTNING THIEF. 8. I LOVE Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Underworld series so when I learned she was crossing over to YA I was giddy. Her debut, THE SUMMONING, was not a disappointment--necromancers, wizards, werewolves and evil psychologists, oh my!
9. Meg Cabot's MEDIATOR and 1-800-WHERE-R-U paranormal series, originally written under the name Jenny Carroll, is the series that made me fall in love with YAs and got me started writing.
10. Scott Westerfeld rocks! While most people rave about his UGLIES series, I actually liked his MIDNIGHTERS series even better. Don't get me wrong, I love Tally, but I preferred the dark, dangerous tone and the superheroish powers the MIDNIGHTERS find in a secret, blue hour.
11--
Terri tried to keep her list going to include other books like--THE BOOK THIEF, ABSOLUTELY POSTIVELY NOT, SAINT IGGY, FREAK SHOW, the KISSING COFFINS series and LIFE AS WE KNEW IT, but we finally yanked the keyboard from her.
Tune back in tomorrow when we'll get to know Trinity Michaels, the teen psychic from SLEEPLESS a little better.
9 Comments on Day 4: Terri's Top Ten, last added: 8/22/2008
Great list! I love Mediator series, The Summoning, and Freak Show. I really want to read a lot of those other ones you mentioned, esp. Absolutely Positively Not. It seems like a book I would enjoy.
PS Terri- glad you want my dreams. Next time I have a weird one, I'll let you know about it. :P hehe
Absolutely, Positively Not is a real gem. Utterly hysterical. I wish he'd write something else for teens. And please DO let me know the next time you have a cool dream. ;)
Jessica, I read Such A Pretty Girl on my agent's recommendation and I really feel like it's one of those books that live with your forever. I enjoyed Leftovers too and can't wait for her next.
Aw, thanks for invoking the BFF's credo and including WHO'S YOUR DADDY?, but you really didn't hafta. :-) I mean, come on. John Green. Gail Giles. Lynda Sandoval. Not really in the same category.
That said, thank you. SMOOCH. I'm going to keep this list to read some that totally intrigued me.
I also loved John Green's An Abundance of Katherines, Jennifer McMahon's My Tiki Girl, Sara Zarr's Story of a Girl, and A Mango Shaped Space, which is sort of a tween book, but so amazing.
Today Terri's going to psyche us out with a little dream interpretation. You may think twice next time you're ready to hit the sack.
In SLEEPLESS I explore the world of dreams. It’s a fascinating topic. Psychologists think our dreams are a way of rehashing a day’s events and sometimes problem solving. In other words, whatever is bugging us is apt to show up in our dreams in one form or another. Whole books and websites are dedicated to interpreting your dreams.
For instance, according to this cool online dream dictionary having your teeth fall out in your dream “forewarns that your health and/or business are in jeopardy. You may have uttered some false or foul words and those words are coming back to haunt you.”
And did you know that snakes symbolize fear, worry and sexuality? On the other hand, if you sneeze in your dreams that means a life of “ease and joy.”
When I was in high school I had this reoccurring dream where I was in this massive mall, riding up in an escalator with clear glass sides, but the escalator was filled with water up to the black rubber railing on the side. Hmm… a little research…let’s see…a mall means I was trying to make a favorable impression on someone, moving up an escalator means I was addressing emotional issues and clear water means I was in tune with my spirituality. Translation: I was trying desperately to overcome my shyness to get a boy’s attention. Wow! That really works.
Seriously though, dreams really are reflections of who we are and what we’re going through. If you think about it you’ll probably notice when you’re stressed or worried you have some kind of reoccurring dream or theme that shows up in your sleeping brain. Want to know what terrorizes me in the night? What my reoccurring stress dream is lately? Numbers! (Confession: I hate math and numbers and calculations stress me out.) So what did the dream dictionary say? Numbers indicates unsettled or dissatisfied conditions in business. Hmm. Think that means I’m worried about my first book coming out? That’s certainly my interpretation.
When I asked my agent what her reoccurring stress dream was she said, “Going to my mother’s house.”
So, tell me, what do you dream about?
Tune back tomorrow when Terri shares her ten fave teen books.
10 Comments on Day 3: Dream A Little Dream, last added: 8/23/2008
I have really bizarre dreams--I had one where there was a killer alligator on the loose--it was a very graphic and gory dream. Not fun. No sneezes, sadly.
I have weird dreams- the other night, I had one where I was a Charmed one and it was like a whole episode. I wish I could remember more but I can't now.
It's so weird cuz I'll have dreams involving TV shows I haven't seen in a while. Like with Charmed, I haven't seen it in like over a month or so.
One that I do remember was when I was reading the Remnants series by K.A. Applegate and I had a dream that a meteor was going to be crashing into the Earth. It felt SO REAL that when I woke up at about 5am or so, I actually went to my mom and asked her if there really was a meteor headed towards the Earth, lol.
Another book-related dream involved a cross-over between Aspen Brooks (from Stephanie Hale's Revenge of the Homecoming Queen) and someone else from another book. It was so weird that I think I told both authors about it, haha.
I have a recurring dream that my period will never end. Oh, wait, that's my freaking menopausal real life talking.
Hee hee hee.
No, I've had a recurring dream my whole life where I wake up and one leg is way, way longer. So I can't stand straight, can't walk. It's very disturbing when I'm having it.
I've interpreted it to mean that my life is out of balance--that's usually when I have it. But what do you think?
I also have the "I'm in college, but I forgot to go to classes for the whole semester, and it's almost finals, can't even find the ROOMS," stress dreams all the time.
But when I was a cop, I had the gun jamming stress dream all the time. (We all did--very common cop stress dream). Lynda
Lynda, the leg thing is just weird. LOL. But I agree that it means you're off balance. Here's what the dream dictionary said, "To dream that you legs are wounded or crippled, signifies a lack of balance, autonomy, or independence in your life. You may be unable or unwilling to stand up for yourself. Perhaps you are lacking courage and refuse to make a stand". Cool, eh? Interesting about the jamming gun.
This is starting off as a good week. I just received a 5 star review from TeensReadToo that I'm really excited about.
"SLEEPLESS is not your everyday piece of fluff. Those picking up SLEEPLESS thinking it’s a typical teen summer romance will be quite surprised. I know I was! SLEEPLESS may just keep you up all night trying to avoid your dreams!"
And that's just the opening paragraph! It's not even the really good part. You can read the whole review here.
Even cooler, this is my launch week over at the class of 2k8. I hope you'll check it out and say "hi!"
Please help us welcome Terri Clark. Her para-romantic thriller, Sleepless, officially releases September 2, but rumors say it may show up on shelves as early as this week. Keep your eyes peeled for those pink PJs!
Eighteen-year-old Trinity Michaels has the ability to dream walk. It's a power she doesn't want, but it forever alters her life when she's unable to find an abducted teen before she's killed. While Trinity does help police capture the killer, Rafe Stevens, her involvement makes her his next target. Stevens pleads insanity and his convincing performance, aided by his despicable attorney, get him sentenced to a mental institute where a diabolical physician experiments on him. Now Rafe's escaped the sanitarium and he's after Trinity. Like her, he now has a special ability, one that allows him to stalk Trinity through her dreams. If he kills her in her sleep, she'll die for real. To survive she must find him first and the only person willing to help her is Dan Devlin, disillusioned son of the shady lawyer who knowingly aided Rafe in getting away with murder. Can she trust Dan with her safety, not to mention her heart?
"The action is just as fast-paced and heart-pounding as any adult thriller you will encounter. I hadn’t expected to have SLEEPLESS be such a pulse-pounding read, which was a really pleasant surprise... Now, I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep easily tonight!" TeensReadToo
Terri Clark feels blessed to demonstrate her passion for young adult fiction as both a YA author and teen librarian. You can’t imagine how thrilled she is to see her own books at her branch. Even more exciting is having her first book, Sleepless, as one of the launch titles for HarperTeen’s scary beach read imprint. In addition, she had the honor and joy of being part of HoughtonMifflin’s successful anthology, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, with Niki Burnham, Ellen Hopkins and Lynda Sandoval. Terri lives in Colorado with her husband, two children, and their adorkable dog, Domino. You can visit her online at: http://www.terriclarkbooks.com/
"A lot of people have compared SLEEPLESS to Lisa McMann's WAKE. I loved her book so I couldn't be happier, but really we just have the dream element in common. I think SLEEPLESS is darker and edgier."
Stayed tuned all week for more about Terri and the book that’s sure to make you Sleepless!
25 Comments on Please Welcome Terri Clark, last added: 8/23/2008
I've read Terri's work before, and she's a great writer. She's also one of the nicest and funniest authors I've met. This will be an awesome book. Can't wait to buy it. Alice
Thanks, Trish! I work as a teen patron services specialist, to be specific. I don't have my MLS, but I basically do all the regular librarian stuff. It's awesome. I love working with teens.
I have to confess I've had a hard time with Bernie Mac's death. In truth, the entire sarcoidosis community is having a difficult time. I've been living with this disease for five years and it's a challenge. For the most part I don't let it get the best of me, I have a relatively mild case, but there are times is does. While Bernie's family has stated he died from complications due to pneumonia, those of us who live with this disease know that's unlikely to happen without the underlying sarc. Two winters ago--winter is always the worst for me--I had pneumonia twice and even broke a rib. I've since received a pneumonia shot and it was one of the smartest things I've done. Still, I can't help think that could've happened to me. My heart goes out to Bernie's family, but I thank them for bringing sarcoidosis to the media. Do a Google search now or watch the news and you'll finally hear about this immune disease. Bernie was a comedic light and I believe in his death he'll shed light on this disease. His family is taking donations in his name to raise money for Sarcoidosis research. You can send money to:
The Bernie Mac Foundation for Sarcoidosis 40 E. 9th St., Suite 601 Chicago, IL 60605
And for more information on this disease please visit the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research and let's all Kick In to Stop Sarcoidosis. Share awareness, Terri
Yep, it's time once again for a little 2k8 horn-tooting!!
If you have a few minutes, clickity-click on some of the linkety-links below and enjoy getting to know about some of our authors and titles.
The fabulous Little Willow sure has been busy!
Check out this interview she did with Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, author of AUTUMN WINIFRED OLIVER DOES THINGS DIFFERENT.
Next up, Little Willow reviewed Nancy Viau's book, SAMANTHA HANSEN HAS ROCKS IN HER HEAD. "Samantha Hansen Has Rocks In Her Head by Nancy Viau is fun and funny. I'm sure young readers will dig Samantha, especially those who like the Clementine books by Sara Pennypacker."
She also talked to Nancy about the writing of the book and asked some very interesting questions in this interview.
I think Samantha Hansen might say, "You rock, Little Willow!"
For another review of SAMANTHA HANSEN HAS ROCKS IN HER HEAD, you can read Book Review Maniac's review which includes this praise, "I ab-so-lutely enjoyed this book. It was well written and the plot was great. It had me thinking what Samantha was thinking and wondering what she was wondering. And I even got a little bit mad when she was."
The amazing Cynthia Leitich Smith interviewed Zu Vincent about her book, THE LUCKY PLACE. You already know Cynsations is THE place to get the scoop on must-read books!
Finally - we leave you with a fabulous contest! Terri Clark is giving away TWO early copies of her September 2 release, SLEEPLESS. If you'd like a chance to win a copy of this YA thriller and an official RWA tote bag visit her BLOG for details.
1 Comments on Shameless Saturday, last added: 8/10/2008
I know I've mentioned this before, but it can't be said enough...I work for the coolest library district. They've been so good about supporting me as an author. A couple months ago one of my co-workers, and an incredible mentor I couldn't live without, interviewed me for the district's first author videocast. It was a lot of fun! If you're interested in the results, here's the interview. It's done in four short parts.
I'm leaving dark and early tomorrow for SanFran and I can't wait! I'm excited and nervous about this RWA conference. I've never been to SanFran so I'm really looking forward to exploring the city and taking lots of pics. Even better, I'll get to hold Sleepless for the first time! My publisher is sending copies for the literacy signing. They're coming directly from the bindery, that's how fresh they are. Not to mention a month early. So if you're at the signing I hope you'll stop by and see me. :) I also get to meet my agent for the first time, attend HarperCollin's party, get together with some 2k8 classmates, moderate Lynda's workshop, catch up with friends and, of course, make lots of new ones. Plus I'm going to fit in a lot of cool touristy stuff. I hear it's cold there though, so I've got to go throw another jacket and long sleeve shirt in my suitcase. See you there or when I get back ;)
I'm thinking of going for the first time next year, and Lynda doesn't want to go with, so I'm hoping someone will take me under their wing. Is anyone going? Will you pretty please keep me company and steer me around the madness I've always heard about? ;)
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do is one of TeenReads featured grab bag of books giveaways. As TeenReads is one of my favorite newsletters, I'm really tickled about this. Enter for your chance to win!
Lynda and I had THE BEST book signing yesterday at Borders. It was so much fun. A big party! We had a great turn out and the management and staff loved us. Admittedly, we fed them cake and chocolate dipped fruit. <G>
How can anyone survive the pain of ending their first love? Breaking Up Is Hard To Do ($8.99 Houghton Mifflin) is just the prescription. Young adult authors and best friends, Terri Clark and Lynda Sandoval, will be signing their humorous and heart-warming book, giving out prizes and doing what they do best…goofing around and laughing lots.
Sometimes Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, but sometimes it's for the best.
She's one of the Postergirlz (along with Little Willow who kept the hot seat hot for us on Tuesday) . Sorry, Miss Erin, but there will be no cool down here. We will be offering a refreshing read though! Simply leave a comment and be entered to win Breaking Up Is Hard To Do the awesome anthology featuring our very own Terri Clark! Comment by June 29th, and watch for a winner on the 30th! Now, on with the questions...
What's your handle? Miss Erin
What kind of books do you review? Middle Grade and Young Adult, mostly fantasy or contemporary fiction
(There are several others I've read but haven't reviewed. I don't get around to reviewing everything I read.)
We love the crazy handles book reviewers come up with—tell us how you came up with yours! A little bit about how you got into book reviewing would be cool too.
Oh, Miss Erin has always been a nickname of mine. So when I started my blog and couldn't figure out what to call it, I just used that.
It's very sassy! Do people still say sassy? Um, yeah, moving on... how do you pick the books you review? Or are they picked for you? Do you ever read books that wouldn't normally interest you—and if so have you ever been surprised by what you've read?
I pretty much just read what interests me. I read and get recommendations from lots of other blogs, and friends, and then I put them on my (gigantic) to-read list. Sometimes, when I'm sent or given a book that I normally wouldn't have picked up on my own, I read it and am happily surprised. An example of that: recently I read The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante. The topic - growing up in a religious commune - didn't pique my interest when I first heard about it, but when a friend raved about it over and over, I finally picked it up. I'm so glad I did; it was brilliant.
Some of the best reads are found through recommendations! What are the best ways to find new books? Any advice for authors about getting their book noticed by reviewers?
For finding what to read, look to the blogs! But not just any blogs; make sure you look them over first and see that you have similar tastes to the blogger and whose review styles you enjoy reading. Getting noticed . . . start a website, or a blog - both of those things will make you very accessible while helping to get your name out there. Email some bloggers who seem to review the type of books you write and ask if they'd like to take a look at your book.
Okay, so you get a book to review, but you just aren't feeling it—will you make the ultimate sacrifice and finish it for the sake of the review?
Never! I go by the 50 page rule - if I've gotten that far and don't want to keep reading, I toss it aside for another. There's too many books out there to spend time reading one that I'm not enjoying.
So true! Now, if you really love a book—will you read it again? If so—what are some of the books you just had to read more than once?
Oh yes. I've reread the Harry Potter series, Shannon Hale's books, my favorite of Roald Dahl's books (The Witches, The BFG...), among others. I have so many comfort reads. My mom bought me The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty when we were on a vacation once. Ever since, I've decided to make it my "trip read", and so I reread it every time I go on a trip.
That's awesome! But let's not talk about trips yet, back to the work of reviewing! Do you have a basic philosophy on what should be included in a review—or does it depend on the book itself?
I believe that a review should, above all, contain my personal thoughts on it. One or two sentences can be sufficient for giving a hint about the plot. I mostly like to say what my reactions to certain things were, why I liked or disliked parts, what exactly made me love it (rather than just the fact that I loved it). I view it as myself talking about a book. If I think to myself, "I'm writing a review" it's so much more intimidating than "I'm writing my thoughts".
Tell us about the last time your jaw dropped open, you laughed, or you cried while reading a book.
The last time I did all of those things in one book was in Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale.
Wow, all in one book! That's cool! Speaking of cool--is there any character in a book that you wish would come to life? Or any place you wish existed?
Place: Hogwarts, hands down. Or Narnia, or the Gallagher Academy.
Characters: I want Kiki Strike to be my friend!
LOL--Hogwarts is in high demand around here! Not surprising. What books do you find yourself recommending over and over and why?
Depends on who wants the recommendation (there's nothing like recommending a list of books to perfectly suit someone I know - love that), but I'd say Shannon Hale wins top position in the authors-who-I-rave-about-constantly (just ask my blog readers/friends!).
Being able to recommend the perfect book for someone is an art! Book reviews go a long way toward getting books into the hands of people who love them! Of course those are usually the good reviews... you know where I'm going don't you??? Yes! It is time for the Extra Scandalous Question! Really bad reviews—do you ever fear giving them? Ever had an author get upset with you? (It's okay—you can tell us, just don't name names!) And what advice do you have for authors who get a bad review?
I don't usually give negative reviews. If I have major quips with a book, I'll generally only review it if I have just as many good things to say. An instance when I will give a book a negative review is if it's a popular book - one that everyone seems to love. In that case, sometimes I feel like I need to give an opinion of someone who didn't like it, too.
That makes perfect sense! Thanks for all the great answers! One last question: if they aren't scared off by all that bad review talks and an author would like you to review her book, what should she do?
Email me: mimagirl(at)gmail(dot)com.
Well that's easy enough! And something else that is easy--entering to win Breaking Up Is Hard To Do an anthology about falling out of love that features out very own Terri Clark whose book Sleepless will be out September 1st. Simply leave a comment before June 29th to be entered. Winner will be announced June 30th!
Miss Erin has not reviewed Breaking Up, but here is what other fine reviewers have had to say:
"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do is the perfect short story collection to read about, well, breaking up...I definitely recommend getting this book as soon as it comes out. It's awesome."TeensReadToo.com
"The writing is straightforward and perceptive, from Clark's funny and fast paced style to Hopkins's beautiful and striking poems. This is one book that holds a powerful message between its two covers: heartbreak happens, and along with it is something better if you can let go and continue to move forward."The Compulsive Reader
"Terri's story is an extremely hilarious paranormal story that has a very awesome girl power message...A wonderful anthology from four unbelievably great authors, and one that everyone should read."Book Chic
I also have certain books I always reread for trips. It's like that favorite candy you reserve for certain occasions. Thanks for a great interview, Miss Erin! :)
Miss Erin: So glad to see you here! I am not surprised that you cited a Hale book, and I am SO glad that you read Patron Saint. I knew you'd like it! :) Is that your headshot? It's adorable.
Anonymous said, on 6/26/2008 11:13:00 AM
First thing I gotta say is that...
HARRY POTTER is definitely my number one series that I feel the need to re-read over and over again. I've read the entire series 4 times to this date. haha.
Anyways, great interview. However I find that I could probably never do the "50 page rule". I have this thing, where I have to finish a book once I start it. Which sometimes sucks cause the book may not be that great. But I just don't like leaving a book without finishing.
Thank you, Class of 2k8 authors, for interviewing me! I am so honored.
Thank you Debbie, Courtney, Anna!
Little Willow: I'm so glad I did, too! And yes, that is my headshot. Thanks. :)
Carmen: Thanks! Harry Potter rocks. And yeah, I know some people (my dad, for one) have to finish a book if they start it...but I've never had a problem setting one down... :)
Erin is made of awesome, isn't she? And yay for the fifty page rule! From many of Erin's reviews I've added to my staggering TBR list. Yay, Erin! Thanks for an insightful interview!
Fascinating interview! Miss Erin is awesome. I had the pleasure of getting to know her working together on the Cybils, and she's an insightful reader and all around great person.
Even though we sometimes get upset stomachs thinking about reviews, and checks of review websites often happen with one hand over our eyes, debut authors LOVE Book Reviewers. They are our very first, out-in-the-real-world feedback and if we're lucky they might be our very first fans. There is nothing quite like the thrill of reading a good review, and even if the review is not always so good, we still appreciate you getting word about our books out to the public! No really, we do.
They're usually the ones who interview us, but for one week we turn the tables on several YA & MG book reviewers and ask them the hard questions! We even tackle bad reviews. You don't want to miss one answer!
And if that isn't enough, we're giving away Class of 2K8 books--Two-A-Day! So please visit our blog be sure to leave comments after each interview and you could win! (Deadline to enter is midnight June 29th, winners will be announced on Monday June 30th)
Yesterday I had the unnerving pleasure of filming a tv show! It was so fun, but I admit to being extremely anxious. It was for a local cable show called OFF THE PAGE. It's an author interview show sponsored by the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Public Library and the show will air on KCCB Channel 8 Broomfield sometime in July. It'll also run on other cable networks throughout Colorado. The lovely hostess, Stacy McKenzie, is a business reference librarian and she hosts these interviews once a month. This month's focus was on young adult literature. Of all the wonderful YA authors in CO, I was thrilled that she contacted ME for an interview. I was actually the second vic, er, guest. The first interviewee was Amy Hadley, an amazing manga artist. She's written the Fool's Gold series for Tokyo Pop and also the upcoming Madam Xanadu for D.C. Comics. Her artwork was stunning and Amy herself was adorable, smart, quirky and humorous. I really enjoyed meeting her and will be reading her books from now on. I also hope to have her guest at my own library sometime. After watching her interview I became even more nervous because I didn't want to look bad after she did so well! Once I got miced up we were off and running. My palms were sweating! And it feels very unnatural to look straight at one person when there's so many other things going on around you. Fortunately, twenty minutes or so later, we were all done and Stacy told me I was "smooth!" Whew! I took that as a high compliment. Stacy asked me some great questions about Breaking Up Is Hard To Do and Sleepless. She also asked me how my job as a librarian and writer influence each other, how I might face criticism that my books have mature content that may be too old for some teens and what was coming next for me. She was a great interviewer and hopefully I did the questions justice. Confession: what I said is rather a blur. LOL. I'm supposed to get a DVD of the interview and I think they're going to help me get the interview on Youtube. If that happens you can be sure I'll post a link. Pics, behind the cut, provided by my wonderful hubby. </div>
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After getting SO sick I've been playing catch up, but the good news is I've been very productive. I finished a proposal and my agent is sending it out ASAP. I'm excited and nervous! I'm really, really hoping the interested editor snaps it up. Caren said I kicked ass on it so that's encouraging. I also finished a pitch that I'm hoping to sub to Harper soon. I'm itching to write both projects. One is more a romcom and the other is grittier like Sleepless (the cover is finally on Amazon!). Both are, of course, paranormal. :) I thoroughly enjoy writing comedies and thrillers so I'll do my best to continue doing both. I'm also getting ready to tackle an essay for a new anthology. Fingers crossed I'll soon have enough contracts to keep me good and busy.
On the other work front...tommorrow is our kick off for the Summer Reading Program! That's right, if you haven't checked in with your area library to find out what's going on please do so. We have reading programs for babies, children, teens and adults. This year's teen program at my branch is Summer Tour 2008 and I'll be rocking out tommorow with my teen volunteers. We expect to face paint several hundred kids. It should be fun and exhausting. I'm excited about this year's teen SRP and all the events we have planned. Just this month I'm hosting the kick off, a book club, gaming labs, an after hours lock-in and a readathon. It's a lot of work, but my teens make it a blast. Every time I think about leaving the library to write full time I experience some wonderfully gratifying moment with one of my kids and I think I can never leave them.
I guess that's it for now. I have to go make a poster for my face painting station. Remember to swing by your library to learn about their SRP. Come on, you know you're going to be reading anyhow. Why not get prizes for it too? ;) It's also a great time to encourage your kids (little or big) to read what they WANT. No accelerated reader or point requirements! (This is a BIG pet peeve of mine.) My daughter can't wait to freely delve into some vampire fiction outside of her school's reading lists.
Helen Keller said, "We can do anything we want as long as we stick to it long enough."Let's face it, the road to publication is often pebbled with rejection, criticism, self doubt and frustration. Those who continue the journey will eventually find success. Just ask Terri Clark.
I'd been writing for over 11 years when I finally got THE CALL. I’d begun by writing romance and for several years I kept hearing “You’re sooo close,” but I never quite got over that hump. Well, that’s not exactly true. I actually had a Harlequin editor tell me she wanted to buy my book after reading it when I finaled in the Golden Heart for the second time. Then she got fired and the book was never bought. Needless to say, my frustration was overwhelming. I just didn’t know what I could do differently. Then my best friend, Lynda Sandoval, suggested that my voice was really well suited to YA. She started me reading Meg Cabot’s 1-800 and Mediator series’ and I immediately fell in love and knew that’s what I was supposed to write. For a year I read nothing but teen book after teen book. Not only did the books inspire me to write YA fiction, they inspired me to pursue working with teens at my library. The first YA I wrote was never bought, but my agent at the time had heard that HarperCollins was looking for gritty stories and she knew I’d just started one. She asked me to get something to her ASAP and I did. On December 19, 2006, while I was walking into my daughter’s orthodontist appointment, I got the call. After five complete adult romances and one YA I ended up selling SLEEPLESS on proposal. The long, long wait finally led to everything I imagined and more. You might not know exactly when your dream is within reach, but if you give up you'll never get there.
Isn't that the truth? Guess we're learning two things writers must have are patience and persistence. (One may be easier to come by than the other.) Tommorow we're going to hear possibly one of the worst things ev-er. Imagine t his: you finally get that sale and pick up the phone to call everyone you know and no one is home! Could anything be worse?!?
My husband, Randy, writes a column and blog for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and he featured a funny website recently that got me to thinking about characterization (my weakest area).
The site is The Superest. The premise is that dueling cartoonists come up with a superhero and describe in just a few words his or her superpower. Then the other cartoonist comes up with a new superhero who would defeat the first one's superpower.
For instance:
was defeated by
And who could defeat Doug the Slacker?
Why, it's...
So what does this have to do with children's writing? It's just a Pop-Tart snorting (OK, that's me, not the site, but it's what I did while looking at the superheroes), visual representation of the idea that your villain has some superpower, and your main character must have the characteristic that will help her overcome the villain. Or if you have your main character and you know what her strengths or superpowers are, you can work from there to see what kind of villain she could vanquish!
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 8/22/2008
Terri: Drama? That seems a bit of an understatement. Isn’t the killer, Rafe Stevens, after you?
1. Laura Wiess's SUCH A PRETTY GIRL left me breathless and shaken. With her dad in jail Meredith finally feels safe, then he gets out early and he wants to get "close" to her like he was before. You'll never forget this book. 
3. Not only is John Green's LOOKING FOR ALASKA one of the best coming of age novels EVER, it's partly responsible for getting me my job as a teen librarian. 
4. This is, without question, my favorite book to booktalk. I always get a great reaction from kids. I'll just give you the short and sweet: Teens between the ages of 13-17 can be retroactively aborted. Dubbed unwinds, they supposedly "live on" by having every last part of their body medically donated. Some of them aren't willing to accept that fate and go on the run, this is their story. UNWIND by Neal Schusterman is a must read for EVERYONE. 
5. Gail Giles is one of my all time favorite authors. She writes raw, real and gritty stories. There's no happily-ever-afters, but her characterizations are incredible. SHATTERING GLASS is my favorite of her books. Check out this opening paragraph. "Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him." 'Nuff said. 
6. I loved Gabrielle Zevin's ELSEWHERE because it was so unique. When Liz dies she finds herself on a ship to Elsewhere where she lives her life in reverse until she's reborn as a baby. 
7. I adore Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Think Harry Potter, but faster paced with more humor. Percy Jackson is the half-blood son of a Greek God and all along he just thought he was a troublemaker with ADD. Get hooked with book 1: THE LIGHTNING THIEF.
8. I LOVE Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Underworld series so when I learned she was crossing over to YA I was giddy. Her debut, THE SUMMONING, was not a disappointment--necromancers, wizards, werewolves and evil psychologists, oh my!
9. Meg Cabot's MEDIATOR and 1-800-WHERE-R-U paranormal series, originally written under the name Jenny Carroll, is the series that made me fall in love with YAs and got me started writing. 
When I was in high school I had this reoccurring dream where I was in this massive mall, riding up in an escalator with clear glass sides, but the escalator was filled with water up to the black rubber railing on the side. Hmm… a little research…let’s see…a mall means I was trying to make a favorable impression on someone, moving up an escalator means I was addressing emotional issues and clear water means I was in tune with my spirituality. Translation: I was trying desperately to overcome my shyness to get a boy’s attention. Wow! That really works.
Eighteen-year-old Trinity Michaels has the ability to dream walk. It's a power she doesn't want, but it forever alters her life when she's unable to find an abducted teen before she's killed. While Trinity does help police capture the killer, Rafe Stevens, her involvement makes her his next target. Stevens pleads insanity and his convincing performance, aided by his despicable attorney, get him sentenced to a mental institute where a diabolical physician experiments on him. Now Rafe's escaped the sanitarium and he's after Trinity. Like her, he now has a special ability, one that allows him to stalk Trinity through her dreams. If he kills her in her sleep, she'll die for real. To survive she must find him first and the only person willing to help her is Dan Devlin, disillusioned son of the shady lawyer who knowingly aided Rafe in getting away with murder. Can she trust Dan with her safety, not to mention her heart?
I have to confess I've had a hard time with Bernie Mac's death. In truth, the entire sarcoidosis community is having a difficult time. I've been living with this disease for five years and it's a challenge. For the most part I don't let it get the best of me, I have a relatively mild case, but there are times is does. While Bernie's family has stated he died from complications due to pneumonia, those of us who live with this disease know that's unlikely to happen without the underlying sarc. Two winters ago--winter is always the worst for me--I had pneumonia twice and even broke a rib. I've since received a pneumonia shot and it was one of the smartest things I've done. Still, I can't help think that could've happened to me. My heart goes out to Bernie's family, but I thank them for bringing sarcoidosis to the media. Do a Google search now or watch the news and you'll finally hear about this immune disease. Bernie was a comedic light and I believe in his death he'll shed light on this disease. His family is taking donations in his name to raise money for Sarcoidosis research. You can send money to: 
Yep, it's time once again for a little 2k8 horn-tooting!! 
Helen Keller said, "We can do anything we want as long as we stick to it long enough." Let's face it, the road to publication is often pebbled with rejection, criticism, self doubt and frustration. Those who continue the journey will eventually find success. Just ask Terri Clark.
series’ and I immediately fell in love and knew that’s what I was supposed to write. For a year I read nothing but teen book after teen book. Not only did the books inspire me to write YA fiction, they inspired me to pursue working with teens at my library. The first YA I wrote was never bought, but my agent at the time had heard that HarperCollins was looking for gritty stories and she knew I’d just started one. She asked me to get something to her ASAP and I did. On December 19, 2006, while I was walking into my daughter’s orthodontist appointment, I got the call. After five complete adult romances and one YA I ended up selling SLEEPLESS on proposal. The long, long wait finally led to everything I imagined and more. You might not know exactly when your dream is within reach, but if you give up you'll never get there. 
By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 11/7/2007
Awesome video--love the ending!! And loved the book!!
Thanks a million, Brooke. :)
i love the video- it makes me even more excited to read the book!!
Great interview! And video!
Fun, clever interview!! :) Very interesting to read.
And great trailer!
Thanks, Daphne. I'm really pleased. Madi is very good at what she does. She perfectly captured the mood I was going for.
Thanks, Barrie. :)
Thanks, James. :) The interview was fun to do.
T--you are a clever girl! Can't wait to read SLEEPLESS, and I'll be leaving the light on all night, thankyouverymuch.
;)
-Nancy Viau
Thanks, Nancy. And if I can actually make you do that I'll be a very happy camper.