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
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 ;)
Terri Clark & Lynda Sandoval
Saturday, June 28th
1:00 PM Park Meadows Mall
Park Meadows Ctr Dr, Lonetree
303-708-1735
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
Approx # of books reviewed? A little over 100
Reading turn-ons: Characters I care about. If I don't care, I don't want to keep reading.
Reading turn-offs: Overt preaching of "messages"
Class of 2K8 books reviewed:
(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
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.
Ever wonder who does the reviews at ALAN Online, , Teens Read Too, , YA (& Kids) Books Central,
The Edge of the Forest , Fuse #8 , Reviewer X , Off to Turn Another Page, Book Chic, Slayground,
Reader Rabbit and many other places?
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!
Please check out the Class of 2k8's blog for the Book Reviewer Hot
Seat!
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)
I just did a big update of my website --terriclarkbooks.com. I hope you'll check it out. And if you're local, my BFF Lynda Sandoval and I will be doing signings of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do in the next two weeks. Please stop by and see us!
Saturday, June 21st 2008
7:00 PM
As part of Booked, our new series of interactive events for young readers, three local authors will discuss and sign their new books for teens. Denise Vega will present her book Fact of Life #31 ($16.99 Random House), and Lynda Sandoval and Terri Clark will discuss their new book Breaking Up is Hard to Do ($8.99 Houghton Mifflin). This will not be your ordinary panel discussion. It will be three of our favorite YA authors with their guards down, taking questions, reading, offering playlists and more! Tattered Cover, East Colfax
Saturday, June 28th 2008
1:00 PM
How can anyone survive the pain of the end of a first love? This frank, humorous and heart warming book is just the prescription. Young adult authors Terri Clark and Lynda Sandoval will read and discuss their book, Breaking Up is Hard to Do at the new Park Meadows Borders in Lone Tree.
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>
Things that happened in Tucson:
I felt in love with a saguaro. It stood tall and valiant, enduring the fiery sun without complain. When I saw it for the first time my heart was taken.
I was a USBBY opener speaker. Afterwards I was declared a skin shedder, like the Tucson lizards and snakes.
Things I heard in Tucson:
“No one wants to be wounded by story. People want to be healed by story."
"You cannot blame people and expect them to help you."
“The job of an artist is to take poison and turn it into medicine.”
“Every voice matters. Every voice has a right to speak. Of course, we don’t
have to listen.”
-
Monty Roessel "How do you become and artist? The secret is finding your own place and making it sacred.”
-
Shonto Begay "Writing is not about the big things, but about the small things.”
“We are imperfect beings moving towards perfection.”
“Writing is about vision. It is about seeing things.”
“I am a barbarian. I am a savage!”
-
David Almond
Things I saw in Tucson:Liborio, tattooed skin, big shoulders small legs, unshaved face, jumping into the ocean waters as shown in the picture book
Un Hombre De Mar written by Rodolfo Castro, illustrated by
Manuel Monroy, an
IBBY Honour Book. A most poetic sight.
The story in Spanish reads something like this: “Liborio has sea water inside his veins. Waters from the seven legendary seas. With little fish and everything, with vastness, shipwrecks, tides, and swells.”
And here is Liborio on the cover of his book, a man who doesn’t want to be good or bad, but only be like the sea.
Ah, Liborio, I think he could be my uncle.
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! :)
Great interview, as always! I love reading Miss Erin's blog.
Fantastic interview!
I have the same feelings about your 'only good reviews' answer.
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.
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.
Carmen T
[email protected]
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... :)
great interview ;)
I love Miss Erin's blog xD
Yay for Miss Erin! She also has great First Lines posts.
Yay, Miss Erin! Thanks for the interviews this week.
Miss Erin rocks!! :) Great interview- a fun read.
Good Job Erin! All your hard work payed off! ;)
Erin!!! Yay!!!
Even though I talk to you all the time, I learned more about you here - that's a good interview!
You'll go far, chica!
Woo hoo, Mima! That was a FANTASTIC interveiw!
Wonderful interview! Love reading her blog and reviews.
(Don't enter me to win.)
Yay for the fifty-page rule! I never used to follow it, but now it does me well.
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!
Woo hoo, Miss Erin!! Yay! :)
loved the interview :D
Yay for Miss Erin! I love your blog and reviews. I've added so many of your books to my wishlist. Keep up the great work! :)
fun interview!
Would love to win this book. Good to see Miss Erin, great interview!
Great interview!
Yay for Miss Erin!! :)
Great stuff! Thanks for the interview.
gail
I love all these interviews! They are so interesting....
-Chelsie-
I've reread the Harry Potter books several times. I like to see what clues were hidden that I just discovered.
i love your approach to reviewing miss erin!
Wonderful interview. Thanks! aimeecirucci at hotmail dot com
What a great interview.
Sign me up for the book!
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.
I'd never been to Miss Erin's blog before! I already see a lot of things that are of interest to me over there, can't wait to look it over!
I've been around Erin's site. :)
Please enter me!