Gold Star Interview - Josin McQuein!

Hello All!

As you all know, when I LURVE a book, I give it a Gold Star Review here. Well, to liven up the blog a little, I'm going to (try to) interview the author of each book that receives a coveted Gold Star! I hope you'll enjoy these quick, little interviews. :D

Today's guest is the fabulous Josin McQuein! I'm so excited. I loved Josie's science fiction thriller, Arclight. You can go back and check out my gushy Gold Star Review here.



Welcome, Josie! Thank you so much for stopping by to chat with me. I have just a couple of quick questions for you:

1. How long did it take you, from first spark of idea to final proofs, to write Arclight?

Ha! All told? 15+ years. Arclight came from several other things that I starting writing back when I was in high school. Most of it was from a space opera screenplay that I wrote as a teenager. Other bits and characters came from a vampire novel that never was, and a zombie story that didn't work.

Once the story was framed out as Arclight, however, it was about 18 months from first draft to final edit.

2. If you could write a book under a pseudonym that no one would ever connect to you, are there any genres you would love to secretly explore?

I think maybe mysteries or science fiction for an older audience.

Neither Arclight, nor Premeditated (comes out in October!) started off as YA-centric. I aged the characters down to fit the category, but originally, the component stories all had adult casts.

3. I LOVED that Arclight revealed the science-fiction-y bits slowly as Marina started to discover the Arclight Leaders' secrets... did you do any special research into some of the "history" that Marina discovers, the things that bring them to a world with the Fade?

Not really. I'm a long-time sci-fi fan, and my original career path was genetic engineering. I had just enough base knowledge to cobble together some pseudo-science to make the Fade "work."

For the internal workings, the Arclight's not that different from reality, at its heart. The people in charge don't always consult with the rest of the population before they make decisions that can effect everyone, and this is especially true for young people. It's sad, but adults don't always trust that teens have the capacity to reason through problems on their own.

And this may sound strange, but I never "set" my stories anywhere. The settings exist in a void, to me, so I don't usually research settings. No cities or geographical locations were mentioned in the original drafts; that was added later because my editor wanted something a little more concrete.

4. If you could cross one thing off your bucket list tomorrow, what would it be?
Go everywhere.
(LOL, that's on my list, too!)

5. Quick picks list:
Favorite vacation destination?
DisneyWorld. Sounds cheesy, but it's true.

Favorite childhood book?Wait Til Helen Comes

Favorite writing snack food?
None. I can't eat or drink and write at the same time. My keyboard suffers for it.

(Hmmm...I would have to schedule myself in lots of breaks then!)

Favorite clothing item?
A blue shirt that I actually bought as a teenager.

Thank you so much, Josie, for letting me interview you. It was a pleasure!

For more information about Josie and her books, check out her blog at http://josinlmcquein.blogspot.com/ or follow her on twitter (@JosinMcQuein)! 

Gold Star Interview - Kelly Keaton!

Hello All!

As you all know, when I LURVE a book, I give it a Gold Star Review here. Well, to liven up the blog a little, I'm going to (try to) interview the author of each book that receives a coveted Gold Star! I hope you'll enjoy these quick, little interviews. :D

Today's guest is the fabulous Kelly Keaton! I'm so excited. I loved both of Kelly's books in the Gods and Monsters series, but today, we're going to talk officially about the second title, A Beautiful Evil. You can go back and check out my gushy Gold Star Review here.

 

Welcome, Kelly! Thank you so much for stopping by to chat with me. I have just a couple of quick questions for you:

 

1.       How long did it take you, from first spark of idea to final proofs, to write A Beautiful Evil?

 

Since it was the second in a two book contract, the idea – or at least a vague idea – was there from the time I sold the first book. So, almost two years. The actual writing time once I started it was about two months - I’m a big procrastinator, LOL.

 

2.       If you could write a book under a pseudonym that no one would ever connect to you, are there any genres you would love to secretly explore?

Not anything I feel would need to be secretive about. I’m actually toying with writing a contemporary romantic comedy. Love reading those and always wanted to write more in that genre. My very first manuscript was a rom-com w/some paranormal thrown in.   

 

3.       I LOVED that A Beautiful Evil evoked such a strong atmospheric setting. You must have researched New Orleans quite a bit. Is there any one part of New Orleans that you think everyone should visit or a piece of the town’s history that you think everyone should know?

Thanks! There are so many places I’d advise people to see. The Garden District. Lafayette Cemetery. The French Quarter. Jackson Square. You can just walk and shop and sit and eat and take it all in, day after day, and it never gets old. NOLA has this amazing Old World yet vibrant feel, an ambience – a feel-good, happy, artistic vibe. Well worth the visit! *I cannot WAIT to go to New Orleans someday. I think there are so many cool things to see! It's on the top of my husband's travel list, too...

 

4.       If you could cross one thing off your bucket list tomorrow, what would it be?

Tour sites of ancient Greece. *That is on my bucket list, too!*

 

5.       Quick picks list:

Favorite vacation destination?

Beach, mountains, and NOLA.

 

Favorite childhood book?

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley

 

Favorite writing snack food?

Doritos

 

Favorite clothing item?

White V-neck T

 

Thank you so much, Kelly, for letting me interview you. It was a pleasure!

For more information about Kimberly and her books (I personally keep stalking checking her website for information about book #3!), check out her website at http://kellykeaton.net/



Gold Star Interview - Alethea Kontis!

Hello All!

As you all know, when I LURVE a book, I give it a Gold Star Review here. Well, to liven up the blog a little, I'm going to (try to) interview the author of each book that receives a coveted Gold Star! I hope you'll enjoy these quick, little interviews. :D

Today's guest is the fabulous Alethea Kontis! I'm so excited. Alethea's debut YA novel, Enchanted, is one of the BEST fairy tale mash-ups I've read, ever! You can check out my gushy review here.

Welcome, Alethea! Thank you so much for stopping by to chat with me. I have just a couple of quick questions for you:

1.  How long did it take you, from first spark of idea to final proofs, to write Enchanted?

The original short story, "Sunday" (technically a novelette, since it was about 10,000 words), was written for a fairy tale contest held by my online writers group (The Codex Writers) in the summer of 2005. That story was published in Realms of Fantasy magazine in the fall of 2006. So it took a good seven years for that to go from being a handful of magical story seeds to a book on a shelf in the bookstore...but I had the opportunity to publish a few other books during that time. And seven is a magic number, so I'm okay with that.












Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of seven years to write the sequel!


2.  If you could write a book under a pseudonym that no one would ever connect to you, are there any genres you would love to secretly explore? 

I am a very lucky author in that I am already published in a myriad of genres without having to use a pseudonym. Score one for Princess Alethea!

When I was a teenager, I decided to be romantic and submit some of my stories under the pseudonym "Madeleine Mercer." Madeleine is the name of my maternal grandmother (and my middle name), and Mercer is the maiden name/stage name of my aunt, actress Ernestine Mercer, who passed away in 2011. Marion Zimmer Bradley sent back a scathing form letter with my rejection telling me all the reasons why I should NEVER EVER USE A PSEUDONYM. I was too scared by that letter to ever do it again.

*OMG. That is one of those letters that you both treasure and fear. I can't believe you have a letter from THE Marion Zimmer Bradley!!*

3.  I LOVED that Enchanted incorporated bits from *so many* different fairy tales. Did you have a favorite growing up, one that always resonated with you? 

My two favorite fairy tales growing up were "Snow White and Rose Red" and "The Goose Girl." I loved the story of the grumpy leprechaun with the long beard (who makes a brief appearance in Enchanted) and the Bear Prince...I actually cast Snow White and Rose Red as sisters of Seven Woodcutter (Five and Six), in a scene that got edited out. But never fear, they will be back!

"The Goose Girl" was just wonderful all-over...and the talking horse's head never bothered me one bit. Drops of blood and an evil maid overpowering the princess and her talking horse...what's not to love? And such great characters! Conrad was a clever boy to ferret out that something was wrong. The king was a clever man to listen to such a boy...and then to turn around and force the evil maid to offer up the idea for what later became her own punishment (also mentioned in Enchanted). Teaser: A good chunk of this storyline will appear in Friday's book!

4.  If you could cross one thing off your bucket list tomorrow, what would it be? 
I hate the term "bucket list." Mine is a "Princess List." You can find it here: http://aletheakontis.com/2010/05/the-princess-list/

The easiest thing would probably be to take a hot air balloon ride...but I'd much rather go spend Guy Fawkes Day in England. I miss England.

*Me too! I have family "across the pond," but we do NOT get to visit enough!*


5. Quick picks list:
Favorite vacation destination?
England. Specifically to visit my friends Kit McCormick, Jennifer Lee, Mark Newton, and Christian Dunn. 

Favorite childhood book?
Goop Tales by Gelett Burgess. They Call Me Boober Fraggle by Michaela Muntean. The Nunga Punga and the Booch, by Jean Wilson Kennedy. The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin. Gertie's Green Thumb by Catherine Dexter. How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days, by Stephen Manes. Fairy Tales. Anything by Ogden Nash. I CANNOT PICK ONE, THERE WERE JUST TOO MANY. I've been a rabid reader since the age of three.

Favorite writing snack food?
Hummus and veggie chips. And that's all Sherrilyn Kenyon's fault. 

Favorite clothing item?
My emerald green Dartmouth shirt. I didn't attend Dartmouth, but I visited there, and might have applied if it was less than $20K a year. Theodore Geisel went there. You may remember his as Dr. Seuss.


Thank you so much, Alethea, for letting me interview you. It was a pleasure!

For more information about Alethea and her books, check out her website at http://aletheakontis.com/

Gold Star Interview - Jordan Sonnenblick!

Hello All!

As you all know, when I LURVE a book, I give it a Gold Star Review here. Well, to liven up the blog a little, I'm going to (try to) interview the author of each book that receives a coveted Gold Star! I hope you'll enjoy these quick, little interviews. :D

Today's guest is the fabulous Jordan Sonnenblick! I'm so excited. I've loved every one of his books so far, and you can find my original Gold Star Review of his newest book, CURVEBALL: The Year I Lost My Grip, here.

Welcome, Jordan! Thank you so much for stopping by to chat with me. I have just a couple of quick questions for you:

1.      How long did it take you, from first spark of idea to final proofs, to write Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip?

Each of my books takes between twelve and eighteen months from the “eureka” moment to the big nap when I am completely done with the project.  Curveball was probably right around the eighteen-month mark, only because the deadlines happened to be very relaxed.  Publishing is often rush-rush-rush kind of business, but for this particular book, we had about a year between the writing and the publication date.  One very happy result of that was that the publisher, Scholastic, really got to lavish a lot of time and energy on the marketing of the book.  That meant a great cover design, a lot of sending me to conventions to publicize the book, and even an awesome promotional video.  I was thrilled -- writers love it when their publishers do stuff like that for them!


2.      If you could write a book under a pseudonym that no one would ever connect to you, are there any genres you would love to secretly explore?

Hmmm ... I would secretly love to write superhero comic books for a year or two.  Marvel, are you listening? *LOL, I would vote for that!!*

3.      I really loved how you explored Alzheimer ’s disease, which affects so many families, in a touching and informative way, yet without sounding like a medical textbook.  Was this based on research or personal experience?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have to do much research.  My maternal grandfather, Solomon Feldman (who, incidentally, was also the inspiration for the character of Solomon Lewis in my book Notes from the Midnight Driver) was a dementia patient, and almost everything that happens with the grandfather in Curveball happened with him.  Watching a loved one succumb to dementia is an awful, awful thing.  Of course, it’s also a source of heightened emotion all around -- lots of laughter and love in with the terror and tears -- which means it’s a great source of literary material.  And I suppose I keep coming back to my grandfather’s story because it’s personally cathartic.  Dementia is so painful that I am still coming to grips with the slow loss of this man -- who was really my hero and mentor, both in his life before he started losing his mind, and in the courage of his fight right up to the end. *Thank you for sharing such a personal story with us. I'm glad he was able to inspire you!*

4.      If you could cross one thing off your bucket list tomorrow, what would it be?

As soon as my first book, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie was published in 2004, my bucket list became obsolete.  My dreams in life were to live abroad, get married, have healthy kids, and write a book.  Now everything else is just gravy.

Still, I suppose if some producer felt like making a blockbuster movie based on one of my novels, that would be A-OK with me.

5.      Quick picks list:
Favorite vacation destination? 

London or San Francisco; I’m a city person. 

Favorite childhood book? 

The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper. 

Favorite writing snack food? 

Coffee, although I admit it’s not technically a food -- but it has more calories than most foods by the time I am done dumping cream and sugar in it. 

Favorite clothing item? 

Well, for writing, I like to wear any one of the dozens of middle-school t-shirts I have been given during school visits.  They help me feel connected to my characters.

Thank you so much, Jordan, for letting me interview you. It was a pleasure!

For more information about Jordan and his books, check out his website at http://www.jordansonnenblick.com/