Author Interview: Dan Elconin

This month's author interview is with Dan Elconin, author of the newly released Never After. Never After is a dark retelling of Peter Pan, and Dan started writing it when he was 14! Now at 19 he's a published author, and he's kindly agreed to do an interview with me for December. If you'd like to learn more about Dan after this interview, be sure to check out his website. And now, here we are, with my questions in bold:

Where did you get the idea to write Never After?

I honestly don’t remember -- I got the idea like eight or nine years ago. I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast this morning.

What are some of the challenges of being a young author? And some of the great things?

The biggest challenge is trying to juggle writing, marketing, and school (I dropped the social life ball a long time ago). The greatest thing is the relief of having that first book under my belt, because everyone says the first one is the hardest.

The first of several to come, I hope! How is being a published author different from what you expected it to be?

“High hopes, low expectations” has always been my formula for happiness as a writer. I was hoping my book would have outsold the Bible by now, but I was expecting a long, uphill road, and it is.

Okay, so I have to ask this because I’m a California girl. I know you moved to San Diego when you were 8. Do you consider California your home state? Or Wisconsin?

I consider California my home state -- but I am and always will be a hardcore Green Bay Packers fan.

Yeah, go CA! :) Tell us about your writing process/environment.

My writing process is 5% planning, 5% writing, 10% rewriting, and 80% screaming obscenities and breaking things in frustration. My ideal writing environment is any tranquil room; my actual writing environment is a dorm room that’s about as tranquil as a cage of monkeys on meth.

Yeah, I know from experience dorm rooms are anything but tranquil. Do you have any new projects you’re working on that you can tell us about?

I am working on another novel. The working title is AFAX and it’s inspired in part by Orson Scott Card’s ENDER’S GAME, which is one of my favorite books.

Thanks for stopping by Dan! If you'd like to featured for one of my monthly author interviews, please send me an email and let me know.

Author Interview: Carolyn Meyer

I'm going to try and make an author post once a month, and so today I am super happy to announce Carolyn Meyer as my guest! She has been one of my favorite authors for just about as long as I can read. Her book are what made me love historical fiction, especially the Young Royals Series. So here's my interview with Carolyn with my questions in bold:

A lot of the books that you write are historical fiction. What kind of research do you do for your projects?

I start with a quick google to get an idea of dates and major events. Next I check the library for biographies, using the on-line catalogue, and then I trot down for a quick look, check out two or three that seem likely and later buy the ones that seem the most useful. Then I begin looking for the peripheral material--what they wore, what they ate, where they went to the bathroom--and that's when the fun really begins for me. Charles Darwin was easy--all of his correspondence, including letters from his sisters and the lovely Fanny, are in an enormous database. It gets even better: in the name of research, I went to England and visited Darwin's hometown, actually visited the house where Fanny lived, saw the school where he was so miserable, the house where he grew up, the universities where he studied. For the book about Mozart's sister, there was a trip to Vienna and Salzburg. My current project, Cleopatra, is much MUCH harder. Actual details of her daily life are scant, historians disagree about most of the basic facts, and I can't seem to get the image of Elizabeth Taylor out of my mind.

Do you have a favorite spot that you’ve travelled to?

I'll back to Paris in a heartbeat. The Nile in Egypt was certainly the most exotic.

That does sound exotic. Do you have one character or time period that you enjoyed writing more than the rest?

No. They range from Cleopatra to Charley Darwin with a number of interesting characters like Shakespeare and Mozart and members of royalty in between. I must say, though, that I was getting tired of the Tudors.

Are you allowed to give us a sneak peek of any of your new projects?

How's this?
(click to enlarge and to read excerpt and description on the jacket)
The Bad Queen: Rules and Instructions for Marie Antoinette is scheduled for pub in spring 2010.

Wow! That cover is absolutely amazing! What is the one question no one ever asks you but you wish they would? And the answer too!

I don't think anyone has asked me if I've ever considered another career. I've been writing full time for 46 years. During the years when I was not making any money at all, I often wondered what else I could do. It's a little late to change now, but in my next life, I will be an architect. (But first I'll have to get really good at math and learn to draw.) I've always been interested in creating interesting living spaces.

Thanks so much for stopping by! It's been an honor to have you. :)

Carolyn Meyer is the author of over 20 different books including many historical fiction novels that cover topics from Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth, Charles Darwin and Mozart. For more information on her and her books, check out her website or follow her on twitter: http://twitter.com/cmeyerbooks

Author Scavenger Hunt Contest

Here's the contest I promised yesterday. This one's going to be a little more difficult to enter. :) It's a scavenger hunt!

So just how much do you remember from the author interviews and guest posts from the blogoversary? I've assembled a question for every author featured last month. You should be able to find the answers to each one of these, as long as you pay attention.

How to Enter: Answer as many of the questions as you can. Then email me with your answers, name, email, and mailing address. Every right answer you get = 1 entry, so you should get as many right as you can! Need some hints? Here's a list of all the authors featured last month and links to their posts.

Prizes: Winners will get a chance at these three books.

A hardback copy of Likely Story (Book 1) by David Van Etten, a paperback copy of Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer, and an ARC of House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

Whether or not there are split up or won as a group depends on the number of entries received. I may also add additional prizes if I get lots of entries. So go enter!

Misc. Rules: Books must be purchased between September 1st and the end of the contest. Open internationally! You can get one entry for each book you buy. Contest is open until October 31st at midnight. Winners will be randomly selected from the entries.

+1 for every correct answer
+1 for posting this link on your blog/website (leave a link here)
+1 for telling me who referred you
+2 for every person who says you referred them

And here's the questions:
1. Who wrote her lastest book as a love letter?
2. Who's book is now being published in Spanish?
3. Who's first book started on the NYT besteller list?
4. Who did an author film at Belvedere Castle in the middle of winter?
5. Who lived in Germany for several years?
6. Who has overcome dyslexia to become a writer?
7. Who worked as an actress before becoming a writer?
8. Who's book got a thumbs up from Boba Fett?
9. Who was the author featured in my first book blog tour?
10. Who has three Burmese cats?
11. Who quit her job at IHOP after one shift?
12. Who was stopped at airport security about a doorknob she was carrying in her purse?
13. Who has two sisters who are painters?
14. Who had previously made an appearance at The Shady Glade before September?
15. Who's favorite Shakespeare play is Much Ado About Nothing?
16. Who has a "teddy bear cat"?
17. Who called Edward Cullen to celebrate the release of one of her books?
18. Who's favorite word is "bizarre"?
19. Who has the same favorite princess as I do?
20. Who attended the premiere of the movie Serenity?
21. Who likes writing about bad girls?
22. Who battled swine flu in order to participate in the blogoversary?
23. Who currently has two tiaras sitting on her writing desk?
24. Who adopted a bunny after babysitting the class pet?
25. Who is currently planning a wedding for her characters?

Author Interview: Laini Taylor

Wrapping up the celebration today I'm happy to introduce Laini Taylor, author of the Faeries of Dreamdark series (Blackbringer and newly released Silksinger) and Lips Touch (released tomorrow!). Laini and I got to know each other last year when we were both on the Cybils panel for Fantasy/Science Fiction, so despite being really busy with a new baby, she agreed to answer a few questions for me (my questions in bold).

You must be very busy these days with a new baby and two new books coming out just one month apart. What’s it like having the release of two great books so close together?

Well, actually, the part where the books come out is the easy part :-) It's writing the next ones that's a bit more challenging with a baby in arms! I haven't set up a lot of launch events, though I do have some bookstore and festival readings coming up, and a few blog interviews, but overall it's just a matter of watching my google alerts for reviews and hoping for the best. When Blackbringer came out two years ago I hadn't scheduled anything, and the day came and went like any other. It was quite anti-climactic, and I've talked to other authors about this. Especially with a first book it's hard not to expect the whole color of the world to change on that day, but . . . nothing actually happens. To other new authors I recommend having a local signing stocked with friends and family to mark the day.

What made you decide to become a writer?

I don't even know, since I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a writer. There is no "before." I might have been born wanting to be a writer! Ever since I can remember, I've believed this is what I would do "when I grew up."

What is it like having your husband do the artwork for your books? Does he work on them as you write, or is it a mad dash to finish the artwork before the book comes out?

I feel very lucky, and I advise other writers to marry illustrators. That way, you're never surprised by the cover of your book! Ha ha. In truth, though we've been really lucky so far, we know that neither of us has any power when it comes to covers, but at least I've had the security of knowing that Jim wasn't sending any art in that I didn't like. It's really nice and really rare for an author to have so much input into the art in their books. For the most part he's worked from my finished manuscripts, and with Lips Touch especially he was up late for many nights trying to get it done in time -- including not sleeping for 48 hours just before the deadline!

One of your new books, Lips Touch, is a collection of short stories. How did that get its start?

After I sent the finished manuscript of my first novel, Blackbringer, to my editor, Timothy Travaglini, I had a wait of three or four months for my editorial letter. Though I knew I had to write Silksinger, since it was part of a two-book deal, I didn't feel like I could get started until I know what Tim thought of Blackbringer. So to keep myself busy I started writing very short stories for fun, and posting them on my blog. Several of these, without premeditation, happened to be about kisses. Jim had the idea that they could combine to make a book, and so we pitched it that way. Now, three years later, here it is!

Any previews of future projects you can give us?

I'm working on another YA right now that's similar in style to the Lips Touch stories, but is one long novel. Jim and I are also developing another collaborative project that's a secret, but I will say that it's for younger readers than the Dreamdark books. I'm really excited about both!

Both sound great! We'll keep an eye out for those. Thanks for stopping by!

And to celebrate Laini's (almost) release day, here's the trailer for Lips Touch if you haven't seen it yet (very cool!).


And you really should pick up her other books too. Blackbringer even got a thumbs up from Boba Fett, see? Can't go wrong with that! Laini is also an artist. You can learn more about her, her books, and her artwork Laini's Ladies at her website.

Author Interview: Sally Gardner

For this post I'm interviewing Sally Gardner author of the 2008 Cybils nominee The Red Necklace, (its sequel The Silver Blade just came out) I, Coriander, and several books for younger readers. So without further ado, here's more about Sally Gardner!

What’s the best thing about being a published author?

That you can work at home at your own speed. That you're in a very small percentage of people who are lucky enough to make a living from what they love doing.

Why did you choose to write novels with historical backgrounds? What are the challenges of writing in this particular genre?

The main reason is this dreadful PC world we know live in which means young adults and children are unable to have an adventure, take risks - the past isn't PC, and that's that. Also the distance in time is very good for setting stories in as it means young people can look at things with a moat of time around them enabling them to deal with subject matters that if written in modern day would be too hard for a young reader to deal with (child cruelty, abuse, neglect, abandoment). In England history is neglected as a school subject and I'm fearful of neglecting the past and I feel it has great lessons to teach us. Changes are historical accuracy and finding all those little bits that fall through the slipstream of history - trying to put your fingertips into history and not to be a tourist once you get there is the challenge.

In your bio it mentions your struggle with dyslexia. Was it hard to overcome this in order to have a career as a writer?

Yes it completely made me feel that the notion of being a writer was an impossibility. School had done a great deal to make sure I knew that writing was something completely out of my reach. Then one day I realised that writing is like singing - you've either got a voice or you haven't. It just took me a long time to acknowledge that I could sing. One of the main things is not whether one can spell or has perfect grammar, but if you have a love of words, a love of reading and a love of story.

It’s a sort of tradition around here for me to ask about pets. So can you tell us a little about your two dogs?

I have a wonderful big standard long Dachshund called Oscar who will be 14 in March. His claim to fame is that he was the Brooklyn Bridge at the Christmas dog party where he stood on two boxes while other little dogs went under him. As a puppy he appeared in the US Ikea catalouge wearing a littler red jacket. He was the only dog who disgraced himself by pooing on the white laminate floor much to the horror of the ad man. Lottie is a very small mini Dachshund who's two years old with a character bigger than the Brooklyn Bridge, she's feisty, charming and the biggest flirt known to the dog world. Her best friends are a great dane and several bull staffs and one basset hound.

Can you give us a sneak peek at The Silver Blade?

It's just been released in America and hopefully some good news about a forthcoming film...

Ooh exciting! Thanks for stopping by to chat. :)

To learn more about Sally (and to see some of her great illustration work) head over to her website and check it out.

Author Interview: Deva Fagan

The end of September is fast approaching, so we're winding up with the blogoversary posts. This time I have author Deva Fagan as my guest. Deva is the author of Fortune's Folly, which was just released this year. So here's my interview with her with my questions in bold.

Typing or longhand?

Definitely typing, now. Both because I type faster than I write longhand, and because I would go crazy if I couldn't back up each day's work. I did write my very first novel (which was quite terrible and full of purple prose and cliches) in two spiral notebooks when I was 12 though. It's fun now to look back at those and see all the doodles of dragons and maps sprinkled throughout!

What is your writing environment like?

Currently I write at my desk in our spare room, usually with my dog snoozing on his bed nearby and a cup of tea close at hand. I do most of my writing early in the morning so I sometimes light a candle for inspiration. I also have a postcard right below the monitor with an old photo of one of my favorite authors, Maud Hart Lovelace, writing at her own desk when she was a girl. And I always set my computer background to something thematically inspiring for my current project. Right now I have one of the beautiful Hubble images of the Orion Nebula, because my current project is about an intergalactic circus.

At the moment my desk is also cluttered with two cheap costume tiaras (for a panel on strong female characters I'm doing at the Bar Harbor Book Festival with fellow authors Erin Dionne and Megan Frazer), a recipe for lemon curd (I am throwing a tea party in October with some friends), a card from my wonderful husband congratulating me on my first book sale, a vial of orange perfume, and assorted owls (I like owls, and my family and friends know it!).

Here's a picture of what it looks like when I've cleaned up a bit.

Any other hobbies besides writing?

Too many! I love to cook (especially using local produce from the farmer's markets) and to work in my flower garden. I have dreams of getting together a regular Irish style ceili with other fiddlers in my hometown someday, but right now I'm lucky if I pick up a bow once a month. I love to read, of course. I also help run and participate in live-action gaming events, which is kind of like telling a giant collaborative story with some of the most creative people I know.


I understand you like to travel. What’s the best place you have ever visited?

I only discovered that my love of travel was more powerful than my fear of flying in the past 5 years, so I haven't actually been to a huge number of places. I kind of regret not taking more opportunities to travel before this! The trip that turned everything around was a wonderful week in Paris. It is such a beautiful city! The thing that surprised me most was how my favorite part of travel wasn't going to see the art or even the delicious pastries (which were amazing!). What I loved best was just wandering and absorbing the feel of the place: discovering funny streetnames (Rue du Chat qui Pêche, the "street of the fishing cat") and sitting in the Luxembourg gardens and watching all the people strolling hand-in-hand, or eating a picnic dinner, or walking their dogs.

We're actually going on another big adventure next month: Italy! I have never been before, but I spent a lot of time looking at pictures of Tuscany and Venice when writing Fortune's Folly (which is set in a fantasy world loosely based on renaissance Italy). I am really looking forward to seeing the real landscapes that inspired my book. And to eating lots of gelato and pasta!

Do you have a favorite fairy tale?

My favorite of the traditional western fairy tales is Beauty and the Beast. Partly because I like that the girl gets to be more proactive than in some other tales, and partly because it's the first fairy tale I remember reading as a novel re-telling (BEAUTY, by Robin McKinley).

Anything new in the works you can tell us about?

I have a second book coming out in the Spring of 2010 called THE MAGICAL MISADVENTURES OF PRUNELLA BOGTHISTLE, from Henry Holt. Here’s a blurb:

All Prunella wants is to be a proper bog-witch. Unfortunately, her curses tend to do more good than harm, and she hasn’t got a single stinking wart. When her mixed-up magics allow a sneaky thief to escape her grandmother’s garden, Prunella is cast out until she can prove herself a true bog-witch. It’s hard enough being exiled to the decidedly un-magical Uplands, but traveling with the smugly charming young thief, Barnaby, is even worse. He’s determined to gain fame and fortune by recovering the missing Mirable Chalice. And to get what she wants, Prunella must help him. But what if the aspiring villain and the would-be hero are on the right quest . . . for the wrong reason?

It was a very fun book to write, so I am thrilled to be able to share it. Plus, it has a giant alligator in it!

Thanks for coming by to celebrate. It's been fun!

Thank you so much for interviewing me! And happy blog anniversary!

For those of you who've never heard of Fortune's Folly, here's a trailer for you:


Deva likes searching for patterns, which is how she explains both her degree in mathematics and the echoes of old fairy-tales in her stories. She also loves tea, gardening, and playing the fiddle. She lives in Maine with her husband and her dog. You can visit her at her website.

Guest Post: Aprilynne Pike

Surprise! Two author posts today. Now I have a great guest post from Aprilynne Pike, author of the NYT Bestseller Wings (it debuted on the list! Can you believe it?). So without further ado, here's the post:

My Torrid Affair!

With my manuscript, that is.

All authors have interesting relationships with their manuscripts. We fall in and out of love with them, stray to jot down ideas for new books, better books, and generally come back and beg forgiveness and dig in again.

A relationship with a new book really is so much like a romantic relationship. It starts, of course, with the idea. An idea flits into your brain—much like noticing that hottie across the room for the first time—and it gets lodged there, and begins to grow into a story. Eventually, you have to make a decision. Is this idea worthy of that first date? Is it just a passing fling? Do you have first words just itching to be put on the page?

If the idea is hot enough, you go ahead and stick your toe in the water and begin to write. Sadly, like many crushes, often you get a chapter, two chapters, fifty pages, into your idea, and discover that it has a pretty face, but nothing beneath the surface.

So you dump it until the next cutie . . . er . . . idea comes along.

Lather, rinse, repeat, until you get an idea that sticks.

This is where different authors do different things, but for me, I then burn through the first draft—I’m not one for long engagements in real or literary life; I married my husband five weeks after he proposed! I just hammer the thing out! Because, after all, if you don’t go back and read what you wrote, then it can all still be brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!!!

Then I finish the first draft and I look back at what I have done and wonder if it is all utter crap. Only one way to find out. Read it. So with great trepidation, I start at the beginning and read through the whole thing from beginning to end, making broad sweeping notes in the margins, but not stopping to actually fix anything.

This is my honeymoon period. The time when I look at the manuscript I just committed myself to and, despite the many notes I am making, I see it’s sexy kissing scenes, brilliant dialogue, and sparkling humor and think, “Well, I clearly am amazing.”
And perhaps the reason I can be so humorous about this whole thing is that I am in that spot now. I just finished reading through my newest draft today, and I have to say, it’s pretty darn good.

But wait till next week.

When I am neck deep into trying to actually carry out those deep, sweeping suggestions I left myself in the margins. I already know I have at least three completely new scenes to write, and huge conversation about mythos to clarify, a really important element of the ending that I need to make a decision on, and a whole friendship that developed in my head and somehow never made it onto the page.

Oy!

I have my work cut out for me.

I do a lot of falling in and out of love with my manuscript. I love it, I hate it, I love it, I hate it. It’s a cyclic and rather unhealthy codependent relationship.

But in the end, my book is still my baby, and I love it for all of its good parts. But, like I believe a good mother should, I see its flaws too. In fact, the older it gets, the more flaws I see. And that’s okay. I can tuck it back onto my shelf and turn my head toward that new, pretty idea sparkling in the corner of my mind. This time it will be better. I will work harder, catch every flaw, fill every plot hole! Ladies will weep and critics will applaud! This will be my best book ever! My last book? Well it had a pretty good day in the sun, but I’ve turned my face toward something new.

It’s not you, baby, it’s me.

Thanks for coming by to celebrate! I hope you all enjoyed that as much as I did. If you'd like to learn more about Aprilynne Pike, make sure you visit her website for more information.

Author Interview: A. S. King

For this post I'm glad to introduce you to A.S. King, author of the novel The Dust of 100 Dogs. Mondays are always crazy busy for me, so let's cut to the chase and get right to the interview!

What was your funniest writer moment?

Wow—there are so many. Like the time I wrote a book and killed off a character in chapter six, only to have her reappear in chapter twelve and live a long life. Or the poetry reading where the guy introduced my poem by telling the audience what it was about—when it wasn’t about any of the stuff he said it was. Or, my first book signing, where the oil light in my car went on while I was stuck behind a trash truck, and the engine overheated on the way to the book store.

Have you ever had a job that required a geeky uniform?

Several. I’d say my bus girl dress at the diner was the worst—brown polyester wrap around style, without enough wrap around, so that every time I bent over, it opened. Also, the Arby’s uniforms in the early 1980’s were pretty ugly/geekish. Oh—and then there was the late 1980’s IHOP uniform. I’d applied, interviewed, and stopped by the day before my first shift to pick up the uniform, and went home and tried it on. I then walked back to IHOP, returned it and quit before ever working there. That probably doesn’t count, but man, was that a bad uniform.

Wow. It must have been really bad! If your life was a TV series, what would the theme song be? And would it be a comedy or drama?

Live comedy with no laugh tracks. Theme song? How about “Good Foot” by James Brown?

Favorite pirate inspiration?

I think I was most inspired by actual pirates rather than fictional ones. The breadth of their fierceness is fascinating.

I totally agree. But sometimes fictional ones are pretty fun too. Are you allowed to give us a sneak peek of anything new you’re working on?
I can tell you about Ignore Vera Dietz which will come from Knopf in fall 2010. It’s about a teenage girl, her dead (ex) best friend, and her attempt to clear his name, and it features a sarcastic pagoda. I just finished work on a book with no solid title, but it’s about a summer at the swimming pool, a trip to Arizona, and a man who’s been lost in the jungle for over 35 years.

What is the one question no one ever asks you but you wish they would? And the answer too!

Q: If you built yourself a Utopia, what would it look like?

A: It would be an island in the Caribbean, with no one else living on it. There would be a large swimming pool and a lot of books. I would have a huge (hurricane proof) office with windows for walls, looking out into the untamed wilderness in one direction, and the sea in the other direction. The island would be close to civilization, where I could go a few times per week and work in my literacy center. There would be copious amounts of reggae music and there would be dancing.

Thank you so much for coming by! This was super fun.

Thanks for having me Alyssa! And happy blog anniversary!

A.S. King’s short fiction has appeared in a lot of great journals and has been nominated for awards, including Best New American Voices. Her first young adult novel, The Dust of 100 Dogs, was published by Flux in February 2009 and was an Indie Next List pick for teens and has been nominated for YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults. Her next novel, Ignore Vera Dietz, is due in Fall 2010 from Knopf.

Author Interview: Cyn Balog

Today I'm happy to welcome Cyn Balog to the blog (okay, that sounded a little weird). Anyway, Cyn is the author of the newly released novel Fairy Tale. I'm sure you've heard of it if you hang around the YA blogosphere. She agreed to do a short interview for me, so here it is with my questions in bold.

Why write YA novels?

Because once you get past a certain age, everything is been-there, done that. YA is all about firsts. At that age, there are so many new experiences. I think maybe that is why I have a hard time writing a blog-- every day of MY life is the same old stuff. But when I was growing up, every day was some new tragedy or triumph. Infinitely more exciting. I think Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club said it best, that when you get older, part of your soul just dies.

It sounds like you’ve had a lot of jobs in your life. Did any of them have an influence on your life as a writer (beyond the fact that writing is more fun)?

Yes, seems like all the summer jobs I had as a teen always seem to be trying to make an appearance in my novels. The novel I am working on now is based in a bakery, and coincidentally, my first job ever was at a bakery. Strangely enough though, all the jobs I've had since graduating college haven't influenced my writing one bit-- they are part of an entirely different world, an excruciatingly boring one with lots of cubicles.

Cubicles are definitely boring. If your life was a TV series, what would the theme song be? And would it be a comedy or drama?

It would probably sound a whole lot like Seinfeld. It would be a show about nothing. But it wouldn't be as funny, therefore it would get horrible ratings and be cancelled after the first episode.

Any new projects you’re working on?

Yes, SLEEPLESS, about a sandman who falls in love with a mortal girl whose sleep he controls, comes out in July of 2010. I'm also working on another paranormal, which is the one set at a bakery... which is all about how perception is everything.

Yum, bakery. Can't wait to hear more. What is the one question no one ever asks you but you wish they would? And the answer too!

Can you roll your tongue? Why, no, I can't. I also can not roll my R's, which is why I hated Spanish class. And I can not roller skate either. I am not a very good roller in general. Thanks for asking.

Yeah, I don't do rolled R's or roller skating either. Thanks for stopping by!

If you'd like to learn more about Cyn Balog, you can visit her at her website where she has all sorts of neat stuff. Example: I found out that her favorite princess is also Sleeping Beauty! Oh, and check out her book too. :)