Want to know how you can win The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don’t Mind (Kirstin Cronn-Mills), Harmonic Feedback (Tara Kelly) AND The Lighter Side of Life and Death (C.K. Kelly Martin)? Find out at the bottom of this interview with CK Kelly Martin!


I’ve been lucky enough to have C.K. Kelly Martin stop by my blog for interviews twice before. The first time was when I Know It’s Over was released and the second, when One Lonely Degree hit shelves. I’m absolutely thrilled to have her back a third time to wind up Awesome Books Week by spotlighting her latest release, The Lighter Side of Life and Death.

The Lighter Side of Life and Death is about a sixteen-year-old boy named Mason. He and his best friend, Kat, have sex after a party (first time for both of them) and it’s undeniably awesome… in the moment.

After, Mason, who has long crushed on Kat, wants to take it to the next level. Kat–when she can look Mason in the eye–is adamant about not jeopardizing their friendship. Too bad having sex with your best friend isn’t exactly a moment you can go back from! The only thing Mason can do is wave goodbye to the relationship they might’ve had and watch what’s left of the one they do have deteroriate and deal with the fall out. To make matters worse, he has to contend with a whole new family dynamic: his dad’s fiance has moved in with her cranky 13-year-old daughter and adorable handful of a six-year-old. And a PSYCHO CAT. A distraction is definitely in order.

Luckily (?), distraction comes in the form of Colette, a twenty-three year old woman, and the chemistry between her and Mason is undeniable…

I loved this book. I love all of C.K.’s books. They are so important, I feel everyone should read them. EVERYONE! She touches on so many emotional truths, I feel safe in making the assumption that there’s something in her books all people of the planet earth need and can connect with. She has such respect for her readers and characters. Anyone who wants to write YA definitely needs to read CK’s stuff before they even ATTEMPT it. She is one of the most realistic writers on the scene right now. Nothing is sensationalized, but everything is beautiful and honest and raw, relateable and wonderful. As with all of her books, The Lighter Side of Life and Death is chock full of her trademark honesty and intelligence. This is an absorbing read and you need it in your life. Read my full review here.

(Also: no one ask me what my favourite C.K. Kelly Martin book is or I will just curl up in a ball and cry because I won’t be able to pick and the idea of being forced to choose is very upsetting. I guess if you HATE ME, you could ask, but.)

And now, presenting…

Thank you! It’s weird because I get so obsessed with writing the books but once they’re out in public for awhile they begin to feel distant from me. Maybe because I’m very much an introvert and not into the idea of doing readings and stuff (I would seriously rather to go to the dentist than ever have a launch party!) the whole publishing thing still doesn’t seem very real to me. So I don’t think I’ve gotten used to it but I have realized that I need to keep the idea of being a writer away from my writing, otherwise I just don’t feel like writing, it becomes a negative thing. So, yeah, it’s strange, it’s like I don’t actually know that I have three books out.

That is seriously a fantastic answer. What I love most about all of your novels (I Know It’s Over, One Lonely Degree, The Lighter Side of Life and Death) is that they are all resoundingly sex and girl-positive. From your blog and knowing you alone, it’s clear these topics are very important to you. What are some stale stereotypes relating to this topic that you’d be happy NEVER to see in young adult fiction again?

I’m very happy to hear this because it’s important to me to be girl-positive–and also boy-positive. We’ve internalized some really negative and restrictive messages about gender in this culture. Even as gender expectations are lifting, there’s a heavy backlash–a desire to push people back into boxes. There’s an unrelenting sexualization of girls and women by popular media and advertising which limits them as people, unhealthy ideas of what it is to be male–that you have to be unemotional, dominant, aggressive–and ridiculous double standards in what society’s expectations of people are.

One of the things I have a problem with in some YA fiction, and in our culture generally, is that it’s considered normal (or at least not a big issue) for a teenage guy to have sex or want to but girls are expected to treat it more gravely and wait for love and/or a serious relationship, otherwise the sex often takes on some cautionary tale aspects. I had a review for One Lonely Degree where the reviewer wrote, “Relationships and romance form a large part of the book’s plot as Finn seems to fall in love with one person after another.” But I thought it was pretty clear that most of that was lust and not love and that at fifteen (and single) there’s nothing wrong with a girl lusting after various people–not even necessarily wanting to sleep with those people in reality but enjoying fantasizing about it. Girls have sexual appetites too; they’re not just romantics.

Another thing I really take issue with is a dynamic that sometimes appears in books with a strong romantic element. Basically it’s when a male character is continually openly hostile to the main female character (sometimes to the point where she fears for safety–or would if she were smart) and this disdain and disrespect the male character shows for the female character is presented as being sexy because the male character is supposed to be hot. It’s pretty disingenuous because if the male character shows contempt for the female main character and wants her anyway in reality that’s not a dynamic that would lead to some great romance; it’s more like a dynamic that would lead to a one night stand or an emotionally or physically abusive relationship.

So when I see this kind of thing and see readers react to it as though this toxicity is indeed romantic it makes me think that we have pretty screwed up ideas about love–and that’s not the kind of thing I want to pass down to a generation of young people.

Here, here! I agree with you on all counts. So well said. Mason marks your second time writing from a guy’s POV. The first time was with Nick from I Know It’s Over. As I read Lighter Side, I never once thought of Nick. Not just because each character is going through markedly different situations, but because they’re such two distinct voices. Did you worry about that? How easy or difficult was it finding Mason’s voice?

This is something that did concern me–Nick and Mason are both sixteen with middle class upbringings (and they’ve even both gone through the breakup of their parents) but Mason is much more easy going. I sort of think of him as being more like Nathan (from I Know It’s Over) than he is like Nick.

But there was really only one occasion when I was working on The Lighter Side of Life and Death that I found myself about to type out something that was in Nick’s voice. I can’t remember which scene it was, just that it was a thought Mason was having rather than an action or a piece of dialogue. It was pretty early in and I caught myself and reminded myself that Mason was a very different person to Nick and never would’ve had that thought. It never happened again.

Overall Mason’s voice came very naturally. Especially in the final three-quarters of the book it felt like second nature.

I’m so glad, I loved the Psycho Cat too! I can’t remember why I gave Brianna and Burke (the future step-siblings that move in with Mason) a cat. I guess I just thought they had one. The showdown between Mason and the cat wasn’t something that I had in mind initially; it just sort of developed over the course of the story. If I think about it now, I suppose the cat serves to reflect Brianna’s feelings of hostility towards Mason. I’m sure she would’ve gotten a good laugh from seeing her cat have a go at Mason!

I can just picture her cackling madly in the background. You are definitely not known for shying away from the issues you write about. Did you have any reservations about how people would respond to or perceive Mason’s relationship with Colette, given the age difference? Or how they would receive Colette, specifically? It would be so easy to characterize her as a dangerous predator type, and you just didn’t go there, which I really appreciated. She was nuanced and human and a little lost.

When I wrote The Lighter Side of Life and Death in 2005 I hadn’t sold any books yet and there’s a certain freedom in that. I don’t think I really considered how other people might react (the idea of having a book published seemed pretty unreal) and I try not to think too much about that now I either because I wouldn’t want those worries to get in way of whatever story I’m telling.

The seven and a half year age difference between Mason and Colette does seem like a big one but in Canada and in a majority of states this wouldn’t be illegal. I remember in high school having teachers that were 23 or 24 and it was obvious that they weren’t all that different to the students; it was much easier to relate to them than it was to the older teachers. So I think it’s not so strange that there can be an attraction between someone of 16 and someone of 23. I never really thought of Colette as a predator–having more experience and maturity she should’ve known better, but she got swept up in things like Mason did.

The Lighter Side really demonstrates your versatility as a writer. It’s a departure in tone for you, but it carries all the hallmarks of a C.K. Kelly Martin book. It’s thoughtful, beautifully written and respects its characters as well as its readers. Was the writing process different compared to I Know It’s Over and One Lonely Degree?

Thank you! I’m glad to hear that. After writing two emotionally tough books in a row I really wanted to tackle something lighter but that wish aside the process wasn’t any different. I wanted to be true to Mason’s reality, which just doesn’t happen to be quite as troubled as Nick’s or Finn’s.

What was your favourite scene to write?

Mason was on such a high for the entire first chapter that it was pure fun to write. But there’s a scene near the end of the book, where Mason and Kat have a conversation on the school bleachers and get real with each other, which I enjoyed just as much. It was kind of painful and awkward to write but also a relief to be able to get things out that you know they’ve been thinking and feeling.

I loved both of those scenes. Name a book, movie or song that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of YA for you.

It’s hard to come up with just one because there are so many different aspects of YA but overall for the kind of stuff I like to write I’d choose the song Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups from a few years ago.

Ooh, thank you for the introduction to the Silverspun Pickups! Name three websites that you can’t go a day without checking.

BBC News is my homepage so that’s where I start out every day. I also check out The Toronto Star website (I subscribe to the hard copy of the paper but they update stories online all day long), on a daily basis and Feministing.com to have a look at political and social news from a Feminist slant.

Tell us about what’s next for you!

I just finished a rough draft of my first non-YA book. It’s about a twenty-year-old woman who goes into a state of collapse after the boyfriend she’s been living with dies suddenly. After closing herself off for months she suddenly sleeps with someone else and that sends shockwaves, which may or may not be a good thing, into the rest of her life.

I’m not sure what will become of that novel yet but my editor says a revision letter for My Beating Teenage Heart (my fourth book) will be arriving soon so once that happens I’ll be occupied with revisions until my summer holiday in Dublin. And then I plan to take a bit of a break for awhile and not write much of anything! I need to get reacquainted with my Wii – it’s been way to long.

I LOVE hearing that there are more C.K. Kelly Martin books in the works! I’ll be first in line to get them when they hit shelves. Thank you for stopping by and talking about your books, C.K.!

Thank you so much for having me back, Courtney! I always love to talk to you.

* An Interview with Kirstin Cronn-Mills
* An Interview with Tara Kelly
* An Interview with C.K. Kelly Martin

If you comment on one interview, you will be entered once. If you comment on two of them, twice. All three interviews? Three times! *NOTE: All entrants are limited to three entries each.

Increase your chances at winning by commenting on them all when they go up (just be consistent in entering your name and email address so I can count the entries accordingly).

Please note this contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only (sorry International readers). A random winner will be selected August 1st, 2010 and contacted via email for their shipping deets. They winner will have 24 hours to claim their prize or there will be a redraw.




Dear FTC, The Lighter Side of Life and Death was bought by me and I was not compensated for this review or interview. I just love talking about the books I love. xo, Courtney

Want to know how you can win The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don’t Mind (Kirstin Cronn-Mills), Harmonic Feedback (Tara Kelly) AND The Lighter Side of Life and Death (C.K. Kelly Martin)? Find out at the bottom of this interview with Tara Kelly!


My favourite part of my Publishers Marketplace subscription is the deal listings. Whenever a contemporary realistic YA is acquired, my ears perk up. I have been looking forward to Harmonic Feedback since it was announced. Here’s the pitch line from the deal announcement in 2008:

“… about a 16-year old music obsessed, smart-mouthed girl with Asperger’s syndrome who starts a band, falls in lust and learns to question what “normal” really means…”

Dude, try to keep me from reading this book. JUST TRY IT! Yeah, see that? You can’t. Mostly because I have already read it. But if you had tried to keep me from it, YOU WOULD HAVE FAILED.

The gist: Sixteen-year-old Drea is the new kid in town. She’s always the new kid in town. Getting acclimated to new places and new faces is never fun, but is always made more complicated by Drea’s ADHD and Asperger’s. Drea struggles with other people’s perceptions of her–family and peers alike–and does not want to be defined by her diagnoses. She sees her latest move to Bellingham, Washington as a chance to really start over. And it really is. Naomi, the wild girl next door, takes Drea under her wings immediately. Drea’s also befriended by Justin, the squeaky clean good guy (or is he?) who pushes Drea’s buttons and challenges her own set of perceptions. The three start a band together but, as the jacket flap says, “… just when she’s found not one but two true friends, can [Drea] stand to lose one of them?”

I loved Harmonic Feedback. This is a wonderfully solid debut that I didn’t want to put it down. Yes, Drea has ADHD and Asperger’s but the book and Drea are not DEFINED by her having them. The way Drea processes and navigates a new (and sometimes frightening) social landscape is incredibly well done. At its core, this book isa coming of age tale about a girl whose desires and longings, from the simple to the not-so-simple, are pretty much EVERYONE’s. There are universal themes of friendship and love and fitting in that I think lots of teen readers will be able to identify with. I got quite emotional while I read this. Tara Kelly’s writing is sharp and to the point, quick moving, heartfelt and unafraid to be raw. Check out my full review of the book here.

(PS Harmonic Feedback also features one of the most healthy, sexy, swoon-worthy, equal relationships I’ve seen in YA for a long time.)

Tara graciously gave me her time for an interview and I’m thrilled to share it with you here.

Thank you! Harmonic Feedback was the third book I queried, but technically the second book I wrote–or in my world, the second book I finished! It’s unfortunate, but true that I’ve written most of my life, but I never managed to write an actual book until around 2007 (and my first book didn’t even have a good/real ending). I won’t even go into how I tried to find an agent for the first book I ever wrote *bangs head* Let’s just say I got lots of rejections at the query stage. Anyway, the second book I queried got LOTS of requests (I’d say over half) and what I’d call positive rejections and requests for my next book (which was HF). I only sent HF to 10 agents or so because I wanted to do it ‘right’ this time and take it slow. Seemed the third time was the charm. I got a couple offers and ended up with Jennifer Laughran for a couple reasons 1) She totally GOT Drea and the book (this was a biggie for me as some agents thought Drea needed to act like Rainman to be believable as a character on the autistic spectrum) and 2) She was an enthusiastic, new agent with ABLA (my dream agency). It just seemed right!

My book went out about a week after I signed the contracts with Jenn. And two weeks later, I had interest from a couple publishers. Holt came in with a very enthusiastic offer and my agent thought they’d be the best fit. Insane fast, right? Yeah, I’ve learned that it doesn’t always happen like this. Most people will wait FAR longer for that first offer or even for an editor response. And I expect to as well with future books *grin*

It’s nice to see variety in publication journeys! Drea has an incredible voice. I loved spending time with it. In the back of Harmonic Feedback, you have an author’s note about how you didn’t want Drea to be defined by her ADHD/Asperger’s and I really felt that as I read. What was it like to develop her as a character? What did you know immediately that you DID and DIDN’T want to do in terms of her characterization?

Drea was a tough character to write in that we’re total opposites in some ways. She sees things so literally and she processes things in such a logical/technical way. My main concern was people wouldn’t connect with her or understand her. I wanted to present her as a real person who happens to fall on the autistic spectrum rather than make the book about her Asperger’s. Because, really, everyone on the spectrum is different. They aren’t walking textbooks of symptoms and–like NTs–they are all individuals with different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses.

All and all I wanted to put a socially awkward teen into real situations with other confused/socially awkward teens and see what happened. I essentially set Drea free and watched her do her thing.

She was incredibly relateable, in my opinion. I have to say it: Justin. Is. Awesome. He’s one of the greatest love interests I’ve seen in a young adult novel to date. Unhealthy relationships have been the basis of a lot of discussion in the YA community recently and I was so thrilled his interest in and interactions with Drea were healthy, intense and very natural. Given all that aforementioned discussion within the community, what is most important to you when you settle down to write a romantic relationship in a YA novel?

Yay, I’m so glad you liked Justin! He was a joy to write. As someone who LOVES writing romance (probably my favorite thing), I tend to read a lot of romance. And like the current discussions, I do come across some YA relationships that I think are unhealthy. I think it can be said that almost every fictional romance is slightly unrealistic…I mean that’s part of the fun, right? People like hope. They like to believe in true love. Some like to believe that true love can be found in high school. And there’s nothing wrong with that! But I do think some books cross the line from slightly unrealistic (but swoon-worthy and satisfying) to unrealistic AND unhealthy. Typically it involves a guy who is too controlling/possessive under the guise of being ‘protective’ or a girl who has no hobbies/passions of her own outside of a boy.

So one of my top goals in ANY romance I write is to make sure both characters have their own lives and own goals. If their goals and beliefs conflict, even better! I also tend to develop my YA relationships slowly. I want both characters to EARN each others admiration rather than meet and go–”Oooh, you’re perty. I love you!”

Awesome. A few times in the book, Drea points out the way people needlessly complicate their lives by not saying what they mean and questioning the pointlessness of certain day-to-day rituals we all have (like asking people how they are when the asker doesn’t care at all). I thought she had some great points. In the spirit of that, what is one thing you think people could do to make life easier on themselves and the people around them?

Like Drea, I’d like to see more honesty in the world. Mainly, I wish more people felt comfortable being themselves and confronting each other when there is an issue. I don’t mean walking up to someone and punching them or saying–’you’re ugly or you’re dumb’. But I think, as a whole, society is too passive-aggressive. We let things fester and whisper behind closed doors rather than actually dealing with a problem. For example, if a friend did something that ticked you off, what is the issue with telling them? You don’t need to call names or be nasty. Just say, hey, you did this and it hurt my feelings/ticked me off/whatever. If the friend freaks out and goes ballistic…well, is this someone you want in your life? If they’re really your friend, the last thing they want is to hurt you. So they’d WANT to work it out. I think being direct and honest with your friends would save a LOT of friendships. Talking behind someone’s back or pretending to like someone is only going to cause MORE confrontation.

So well said. A lot of people confuse honesty with cruelty and I don’t think that’s always the case. You’re a musician and music plays a big part in Harmonic Feedback. The lyrics to Naomi’s song were gorgeous and I adored how Drea described what music was to her–how she produced music and brought it all together. I loved the Boesendorfer mention! Can you recommend: one song you think everyone should hear before they die, one instrument they should attempt to play, and one band they should see live if they see ANY band live?

Wow, this is hard because I only get to pick ONE for each category—eek! There are MANY songs I think people should hear before they die (just let that be known), but I’ll pick the first that comes to mind. “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. I fell in love with it as a tot and love it just as much today. Kate Bush is kind of my musical idol.

One band people should see live is Placebo (although they should see MANY bands live). I love Placebo’s music, but their live performance took me completely by surprise. I was blown AWAY by their energy. As good at their recorded music is, it doesn’t come close to the power they have together on stage. Simply hypnotizing. Also, they do this cover of “Running Up That Hill” that is jaw-dropping incredible.

Hardest scene–definitely when they find Naomi in the abandoned house and trying to get across the array of emotion Drea feels. My favorite scenes involved Justin and Drea’s interactions and banter. LOVED those two together.

Your cover is absolutely GORGEOUS. It looks great online, but it’s really something else in person. Beautiful. And even better–it’s a scene in the novel (a wonderful scene, too)! What was your reaction when you first saw it? Did you have any input on the design?

My first reaction was….whoa. If I were to pick any scene for them to feature, the rain scene is it. I was very impressed that the art director was able to pick that up. I had no input on the design…and as a designer myself that was very hard! I was very relieved that it turned out okay *grin*

What are your favourite YA novels?

Well, this author Courtney Summers writes some of the BEST books ever. And no I’m not just saying that. CRACKED UP TO BE and SOME GIRLS ARE are among my all-time favorite YA books and I’m mad picky. You know how to do tension like NO other. And your mean girls? Whoa. They knock the wind out of a person. [editor's note: AWWW... the cheque's in the mail. ;) But seriously, thank you so much, Tara! That means a lot.] Other YA books I love: BALLADS OF SUBURBIA by Stephanie Kuehnert, A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT by Laura Whitcomb, NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green, FLASH BURNOUT by LK Madigan.

And I should probably stop..but there are MORE!

What inspires you?

Music, nature, dancing, roadtrips, observing people (in a non-creepy way, of course) copious amounts of caffeine! Really just living life.

Can you tell us where we can find you on the web and what’s next for you book-wise?

You can find my author website at http://thetaratracks.com and more about Harmonic Feedback at http://harmonicfeedback.com

Up next is C-SIDE TALES about a 17-year-old girl trying to make it as the lead guitarist of an industrial rock band. Only she has terrible stage fright. It will be out…..some time next year. No date yet, though!

I can’t WAIT to read C-Side Tales. Thanks, Tara!

Thank YOU :)

* An Interview with Kirstin Cronn-Mills
* An Interview with Tara Kelly
* An Interview with C.K. Kelly Martin

If you comment on one interview, you will be entered once. If you comment on two of them, twice. All three interviews? Three times! *NOTE: All entrants are limited to three entries each.

Increase your chances at winning by commenting on them all when they go up (just be consistent in entering your name and email address so I can count the entries accordingly).

Please note this contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only (sorry International readers). A random winner will be selected August 1st, 2010 and contacted via email for their shipping deets. They winner will have 24 hours to claim their prize or there will be a redraw.




Dear FTC, Harmonic Feedback was bought by me and I was not compensated for this review or interview. I just love talking about the books I love. xo, Courtney

Want to know how you can win The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don’t Mind (Kirstin Cronn-Mills), Harmonic Feedback (Tara Kelly) AND The Lighter Side of Life and Death (C.K. Kelly Martin)? Find out at the bottom of this interview with Kirstin Cronn-Mills!


Every so often a book comes along at it just slays you with its candor and I absolutely LOVE when that happens. For me, the book that came along and slayed me but good with its complete and utter honesty was this one:

The Sky Doesn’t Hear Me and the Hills Don’t Mind isn’t just a great book, it’s a fantastic one. Simply fantastic. Fantastic. Wonderful, awesome, best. There needs to be more protagonists like Morgan in YA novels. She is achingly real, quirky and a powerhouse of emotions looking for an outlet, navigating high school and relationships honestly and sometimes, explosively. She is also hilarious.

Kirstin Cronn-Mills has written a brave book, in my opinion. Morgan’s complicated family dynamics, friendships and relationships were handled very thoughtfully and with a tremendous amount of nuance. Everything played out just how it would play out in life–sometimes it’s fireworks, sometimes it’s not. Those quiet moments of reconciliation, those big ones–bawling your eyes out one moment and then moving onto the next moment like it never happened–are so honest and true and it’s refreshing to see them in fiction. This book understands the shifts that can happen in the space of a breath and doesn’t pander in any way shape or form. I adored it and I adore Morgan. She is a truly memorable character.

Read my full review of the novel here.

I’m so thrilled to have Kirstin here on this blog to talk about Sky and her writing process, and I hope you enjoy what she had to say as much as I did!

SKY’S journey was rather unique–I submitted a different book to Andrew Karre (now of Carolrhoda Lab, then of Flux), but he didn’t think it was right and asked what else I had. So I sent him a rougher (much rougher) version of SKY, and we shaped it for publication.

Did you always know you wanted to write YA fiction?

I had no clue. : ) I was a poet from the time I was ten, and wrote poetry all through my first two college degrees (I know–two). Then, when I was doing my third (crazy, right?), I didn’t do anything but write a dissertation and academic papers. Then my son was born, and nothing happened for a looooong time, poetry or otherwise. Then, in 2001 or 2, a high school classmate called me (I hadn’t talked to her since graduation day) and proceeded to tell me the reason she was so mean to me in jr high/high school: she had a crush on me. My first two thoughts: “Wow, that explains a ton!” and “Wow, that would make a great YA novel.” I’d never even *thought* of writing a novel. I wrote about 10 pages in 2002, and started to make progress on it in 2003. And now it lives on bookshelves, amazingly enough.

It DID make a great YA novel! Morgan has such a raw and edgy voice. On one page, she’d make me laugh. On another, she’d have me sniffling. She also had some extremely interesting habits–from writing fortunes to going up on the hill to shout her feelings at the top of her lungs. Did these habits come with her character from the get-go or were they something you discovered about her as you wrote?

Both the fortune-writing and the shouting were things that came into Morgan as the drafts progressed. The book always had fortunes as chapter heads–I have a poem in my master’s thesis that’s composed only of fortunes strung together, and I always wanted to do more with that idea. When I started SKY, I used the fortunes as something to keep me going, but Morgan didn’t write them until mid-to-late revisions. The shouting came in at the very end, and it’s one of my favorite things about her. I consider that character quirk a gift from the Universe, because there’s no way I could have thought of it! It just . . . appeared one day. Weird, but true.

The best stories are weird but true! I loved how on one side, we have Morgan, who is desperate to get out of town, and then you have Rob–a love interest and pretty good guy–who DID leave and came back. Morgan insists her only option is escape. Rob suggests that Central Nowhere and places like it are worth coming back to. If you could give your 0.02 on the matter to both of them, what would you say?

I would tell them that home is where you decide home should be. Home is inside you. Escape is also an internal job–you can escape in the middle of a crowded room, and the crowd can still be there. At the same time, the landscape you grew up in is *also* inside you, and as much as Morgan thinks she’d like NYC, she might discover there’s not enough sky there, and that she can’t find north very easily in Manhattan. Or maybe that’s just me. : \ I have trouble in northern Minnesota, too–WAY too many trees for me up there! I need my sky. :)

Nicely said. As I said in my review, Sky was so realistic. The family dynamics and the relationships were neither underplayed nor overplayed. The felt very honest and on-the-mark, which is what I look for in realistic YA novels. What do you look for in realistic YA?

I look for an absence of times where I say “No parent would do that!” or “No kid would do that!” I also tend to believe in complication–the more complicated a family/a life is, the more it seems real to me. Life is so rarely easy. If the complication is over the top, it turns me off, but I appreciate characters with nutso lives.

I LOVE the title. It is so fantastic. And! It’s also a line in the book. I loved coming across it; it gave me chills. So what came first, the line or the title?

Funny you should ask–the line came first, but when I wrote it, I thought, “Oh hell, they’ll make me throw it out. It’s sooooo cheesy.” I was SHOCKED when Brian said “hey, guess what the title of your book is?” It also used to appear on page 3 or 4, so I had to move it way back in the book so it wouldn’t seem so obvious.

Hah! Awesome. What has been your unlikeliest source of inspiration?

Almost everything inspires me–I’m easy that way. Let’s see–probably an all-start wrestling match that was my son’s eleventh birthday gift (WWE’s Summer Slam). It gave me great ideas for my 3rd novel’s male protagonist, who used to have WWE dreams, but now has high school wrestling dreams. And no judging for letting my kid go to a WWE match, OK? I know–gross–but it was his birthday.

Totally not judging! I think that gets you cool points, personally. :) Who was your favourite character to write and what was your favourite scene to write?

Morgan, hands down. She’s everything I wasn’t in high school–mouthy, bitchy, snarky. Her insecurity and her word nerdiness–those things she shares with me. But all the rest of it is all her, so I loved being someone I never was. Favorite scene–hmmm. I like a lot of them. When I was first drafting the book, I got to about March in their school year and went, “Oh, shit, they have to go to prom, don’t they? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Don’t make me write about prom! NOOOOOOOOOO!” But I knew I had to, and I really do like the scene where Morgan and Tessa are dancing. I wish that scene could have happened at my high school–I wish the real Tessa had come out to me during high school. I would have let her know she was safe with me, though maybe she knows that now that she’s read the book (she liked it, too, a HUGE relief). Back to the character question for a second–I did love letting Elsie be a concert pianist. My real grandma had enough talent to do that (she could do all the things Elsie can do), but she stayed home, got married, and raised kids. It was fun to fulfill my grandma’s wishes, even on the page.

Aw. (I loved the Prom scene so much too–one of my faves.) If there was one book out there that you would urge every aspiring writer out there to read–fiction of non-fiction–what book would that be and why?

You ask hard questions, don’t you? Let’s go with non-fiction: I’d recommend BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott and ON WRITING by Stephen King. The writing advice in both (nuts and bolts stuff, but also philosophical stuff) is fantastic. I still go back to them, and I use them with my creative writing classes. If you don’t know what KFKD is, go find out! (hint–it’s in BIRD BY BIRD)

Can you tell us what you’re working on next and where can we find you online?

At the moment I’m polishing my second novel–guy wants to be a radio DJ, falls in love with best friend, but wait, there’s a huge obstacle, or is there?–and drafting my third, a dual-narrator novel set in the Black Hills, and it includes GHOSTS, of all things. Readers can find me at kirstincronn-mills.blogspot.com (look here first) or kirstincronn-mills.com (I desperately need a new web site!).

Sounds very, very intriguing! Thanks for stopping by, Kirstin!

* An Interview with Kirstin Cronn-Mills
* An Interview with Tara Kelly
* An Interview with C.K. Kelly Martin

If you comment on one interview, you will be entered once. If you comment on two of them, twice. All three interviews? Three times! *NOTE: All entrants are limited to three entries each.

Increase your chances at winning by commenting on them all when they go up (just be consistent in entering your name and email address so I can count the entries accordingly).

Please note this contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only (sorry International readers). A random winner will be selected August 1st, 2010 and contacted via email for their shipping deets. They winner will have 24 hours to claim their prize or there will be a redraw.




Dear FTC, The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don’t Mind was bought by me and I was not compensated for this review or interview. I just love talking about the books I love. xo, Courtney

The book stars Allie Jo, a fun and fiery tween who works (ie helps out) at the Meriweather hotel in Florida, which is managed by her parents. She’s often teased for living at the hotel and is about to face the entire summer without her best friend and she is NOT happy about it. She’s not alone for long, though! Enter three guests: Sophie, a nice girl with a penchant for knitting, Chase, a thirteen-year-old boy who arrives on the scene with a BANG and, consequently, a broken arm, anddddd Tara… who is not really a guest at all. The ethereal sixteen-year-old may be A LOT more than she seems…

I’ll stop there because I don’t want to spoil it. There’s so much about it that should be left to the reader to discover, so I will just let you know I ADORED this book from start to finish. There is so much blueberry goodness in it. And, like Violet Raines, this read is so great to curl up with. But the thing I treasured about this book most was that it really sparkles with possibility. Allie Jo and Chase get a taste of the impossible, the magic beneath the surface, and that carries through to the reader. A book that makes you feel that as you read it is a real treat, in my opinion.

And now, without further ado…

Thank you, Courtney! I have to say it’s wonderful having that second book out there because you prove to yourself the first one wasn’t a fluke AND that you can do it again.

I find I’m more relaxed about this release than I was with Violet Raines. With Violet being my first novel out, I didn’t know what to expect–what happens when the bookstore up from your house has copies of your book on the shelves? Will the neighbors see it? Will schools suddenly be calling? Or *shudder* will NO ONE notice?

I worried about book promotion. At intersections, I’d see those guys twirling signs: 2 Large Pizzas $9.99. I could picture myself on the next corner slinging my own sign: Violet Raines! Get yer Violet Raines right here! I carried bookmarks in my purse and passed them out everywhere I went, dentist, doctor, grocery store. (Oh, wait–I still do that!)

With The Summer of Moonlight Secrets, I had my first book signing the day after it was released and I had a good time talking with people, some who bought my book and some who didn’t. When it was over, I went home and watched one of my favorite TV shows. I’m able to think about other things and not worry over my book. I’m enjoying this release, and when I have an interview (like this one!) or blog review, it’s the fun part of the post-release.

I’m proud of my books and I know how blessed I am to work with Stacy Cantor and all the people at Walker, and my agent Ted, who really believed in my third book, Me and Jack (2011). I’m enthralled with the cover for SOMS, illustrated by Brandon Dorman. All in all, I’d say the second release has been treating me most excellently!

I’m glad to hear that! What inspired The Summer of Moonlight Secrets?

Both the setting and the story for SOMS were inspired by the hidden gems of Central Florida: Blue Springs, DeLeon Springs, historic towns with brick-lined streets, and old houses and hotels that bear the suggestion of their former glory.

Blue Springs looks to me like the Garden of Eden. It’s beautiful and unsullied. The water looks emerald green in sunshine and hauntingly blue in dusk. Each winter, this spring is home to sometimes more than two hundred manatees, which go there to escape the chilly waters of the rivers and coastal areas. DeLeon Springs is an inland springs, the grounds on which an old sugar mill still stands, except instead of sugar, you can go inside and get snacks, gator jerky, and blueberry pancakes.

It was Blue Springs’s manatees that first got me thinking about the mystery girl. Manatees are graceful, hypnotizing creatures, thought to be the source for the legend of mermaids. I started with a certain idea and ended up with something very different. (I will stop talking here lest I give away any moonlight secrets!)

BRB, booking my flight to Florida right now! Allie Jo, Chase and (less frequently) Tara take turns narrating the novel. Their voices are very distinct. Did you find it challenging or easy to switch voices?

Each voice was fun to write, and I found I needed to take breaks between chapters in order to put on the new character. Acting out my scenes while writing helps me a great deal–What does her voice sound like when she says this? She’s mad–no! She’s surprised, and a little bit scared. Physically playing out a scene helps me connect to the true emotions and expressions and helps me ferret out false notes. This goes for all my writing, whether the book is told from one POV or several.

I’ve always wanted to write a novel with multiple leads. Whether you write for one narrator or several, you still have to be in tune with the voices of the surrounding characters. You still have to know them and be familiar with their back stories. Writing in multiple POVs allows you to reveal more of that information, and you get the chance to provide internal dialogue for all your speakers. This creates a kind of tension not available from one perspective in that the reader is privy to the differing emotions and reactions of the narrators and even events that other characters may not know about or understand the impact of.

The challenge is to braid these threads together, loosely at first, then tighter and tighter so that all the threads explode together in one magnificent climax, satisfying each character’s story. Two middle-grade novels I recommend for multiple POVs (beside SOMS, of course!) are Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O’ Connor, and Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes. GFN has four narrators, and Barbara creates four full, rich stories in which you understand every character’s worries and motivations. Each narrator’s story is satisfied by one unified climactic event. Bird Lake Moon is a wonderful book, narrated by two boys who don’t, at first, know each other. What Kevin has done so marvelously in BLM is to create a cause-and-effect tension with the alternating chapters. It’s a beautiful story, well-crafted.

I’ll definitely check them out. One thing that surprised me–in a good way!–was that The Summer of Moonlight Secrets takes place in 1980s. I loved that. It suited the story perfectly. Why did you choose to set it in the 80s?

As long as I’ve known her, my mother has always loved to explore old or abandoned properties, entering them legally or, ahem, otherwise. Not only was I her sidekick in these adventures, I was also an excellent pupil.

My mother and a friend of hers took my sister and me to a huge, old hotel in the late 80s. It wasn’t the first place like that I’d ever been, and it definitely wasn’t the last. But the reason it stuck with me was that so much of the structure was collapsed or rotting. My sister and I left my mom and her friend with their coffee and started walking around. And up the stairs. And up again. We discovered abandoned floors with stripped down rooms, castoff furniture, and broken windows. It was awesome! We knew we weren’t supposed to be there, but there was nothing to stop us, not even a sign. We walked all over where we weren’t supposed to be, even after a seagull flew through a window and flapped over our heads, nearly giving us both heart attacks! We thought our self-tour was over when a security guard found us. Instead, he showed us even more passages and tunnels that we never would’ve discovered on our own.

I’ve explored many old buildings with tunnels and secret passageways and rooms, but I’ll never forget the feeling of lost majesty as my sister and I explored that once grand hotel. When I started writing SOMS, it seemed only natural to place the story in that same decade.

So cool. The cover is absolutely stunning. So stunning that Bloomsbury/Walker even featured it on their Spring 2010 catalog. Did you have any input on it? What was your reaction when you saw it?

Oh, my gosh. I love the cover–it’s absolutely beautiful, and I can say that because I’m not the artist! Brandon Dorman captured the essence of the book with the cover illustration. Stacy Cantor, my editor, asked me if I had any thoughts on the cover. My main concern was that nothing appear in the artwork that would blatantly reveal the mystery. I also told her I loved the cover of Savvy and thought something like that would fit the story.

When The Summer of Moonlight secrets was acquired by Walker, it was originally titled The Hotel of Blueberry Goodness. Having read the book, I can attest to the fact it is full of both moonlight secrets AND blueberry goodness. Can you tell us about the retitling process?

Walker loved the original title, but as the book took shape, it took on a slant different from the proposal. The main elements and characters from the proposal were there, and, for the most part, they were very close to their original descriptions. But it was somehow a different story; the original title didn’t fit anymore.

Stacy and I emailed back and forth, each of us hammering out keywords or phrases we thought depicted the book. We made long lists, commented on each other’s suggestions, explaining why we thought certain words worked and why other words didn’t. The title has a big burden–it has to convey the attitude and nature of the story in just a few words. We agreed we wanted it to whisper with mystery; it had to be summery, and it couldn’t sound ominous or supernatural. After a flurry of exchanges between Stacy and me, and a meeting at Walker, the new title emerged: The Summer of Moonlight Secrets.

Changing the title was an emotional and intense process. I was pretty much married to The Hotel of Blueberry Goodness, and lots of other people involved loved it, too. I mourned the loss of it even though I knew it was the right move. Brainstorming the new title took over all my thoughts. It was like I was two people: the outside me performed all my chores and interacted with my family; the inside me raced around looking for good words. Nearly the only time I was one was when I spoke with a family member about the title. Even after we finalized the title, I still lamented over Blueberry Goodness. But the more I thought about the new title, the more I began to love it. Now I think it’s absolutely perfect!

Titles are so, so hard! Sometimes even harder than writing the book! In both of your novels, location plays a key role. You have this incredible knack for making Florida seem so alive on the page. The Meriwether was a character in itself. Why did you choose to set your novels in Florida and did you do much research into hotels etc. to perfect your vision of The Meriwether?

Thank you! As far as being set in Florida, Violet Raines came to me intact, complete with her looks, her accent, the first paragraph of the book, and a bunch of trees behind her, which I recognized as the woods surrounding the Econlockhatchee River in Orlando.

With The Summer of Moonlight Secrets, it was a manatee that set off the whole idea. The manatee, the springs, the blueberry pancakes—it had to be Florida!

Winter Park is a small town near Orlando I love to visit. When I was single, I used to ride my bike over the brick roads and gawk at the beautiful old homes. There was one house–a two-story home, green, with iron scrollwork, very stately–whenever I passed this house, I’d think, A novel could take place in there.

I’ve visited several of Florida’s historic hotels, including the Lakeside Inn of Mount Dora, where, as part of my research, I dined for lunch and later sat on the veranda in a rocking chair, watching the sun set. In between these events, I hit the boutiques like mad, all part of my master plan to get the atmosphere right for my novel.

Violet Raines was, to me, a gift. I’ve always said I often felt as if I were watching Violet rather than creating her. Even as I sat at my keyboard chronicling her activities, she did things I didn’t expect and said things I never thought of. She made me laugh then, and she makes me laugh now.

I do feel the way you described above—I see things in Violet that I didn’t before. I think when you’re in the fray, you don’t realize how immersed in the world of the novel you are. It’s only later that you discover recurring imagery or word choices that embody layers of meaning or give off just the right note. That’s not to say you’re not in control of your craft, it’s just when you’ve given yourself over to the story, you consciously and unconsciously make writing decisions that play off each other and ultimately lead to a satisfying climax and resolution.

Well said. What’s next for you?

I’ve just finished revisions for Me and Jack, a middle-grade novel featuring twelve-year-old Joshua Reed, the unusual dog he adopts, and Joshua’s father, who is an Air Force recruiter during the Vietnam War. I’m excited to see this project come to fruition because it existed in draft form before I wrote Violet. Another very emotional experience for me!


I cannot WAIT to read it! Thank you for stopping by, Danette!

Thank you for the wonderful things you said about SOMS and for the thoughtful questions, Courtney. It’s a pleasure to be a guest on your blog!

Danette Haworth’s novels just have an undeniable sweetness about them that makes them impossible not to love. They are also the perfect read-alouds. Need I say more? Check them out now and visit her online at danettehaworth.com!

Dear FTC, The Summer of Moonlight Secrets was bought by me and I was not compensated for this review or interview. I just love talking about the books I love. xo, Courtney

Is there nothing sadder than a book that has a beautiful cover and is lame on the inside? I cannot give you any examples of such a book, for that would be tacky, but I expect as soon as you read that question you didn’t have to think too hard to come up with an answer. And it made you sad. Seriously, it bums me out. Whenever I see a book that is GORGEOUS to look at, I expect it to be GORGEOUS to read. I have been so disappoined in this regard many, many times.

CHECK OUT THIS COVER:

I have used gorgeous too much in so few sentences right, but oh well.

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of All Unquiet Things back in July of last year. My review then was these four words: “Wow. That is all.” And that’s how I STILL feel about this book. All Unquiet Things follows Neily and Audrey, two outsiders looking for closure after the recent death of self-destructive Carly (Neily’s ex and Audrey’s cousin). Neily is haunted by the phone call Carly made to him before she died and Audrey is determined to find Carly’s murderer because she knows in her heart the prime suspect isn’t who everyone else thinks it is–her father. Together, the pair become unlikely allies and in their quest for the truth and find out more about Carly and themselves than they ever expected they would.

All Unquiet Things is a really fantastic debut. The language is gorgeous and rich and incredibly transportive, which–in my opinion–is essential for any mystery (slash-thriller-slash-bildungsroman). Jarzab takes us into Neily and Audrey’s world so expertly, making it so close and so real, that you’d swear it’s all you’ve ever known, and she does this to great effect; as this tightly knotted mystery begins to untangle, you feel every new development, every gut-wrenching reveal in your chest, like they’re happening to you. Like YOUR secrets are on the line. And these secrets, these developments, are meted out perfectly. All Unquiet Things is on the longer side, just to look at it, but never once feels like a long book while you are reading it. It’s nearly impossible to put down.

Perhaps my favourite thing about All Unquiet Things, though, are the characters and their growth, their stories. Audrey and Neily are two distinct voices. The book starts out with hurt, loss, pain. The kind that really goes deep. The rest of the novel is sort of like taking the bandages off very slowly and revealing the kind of wound that is not healing properly (ok this is a gross analogy but I really mean it as the highest praise) and you have to take a REALLY GOOD LONG LOOK AT IT before you can see what can be done, how to fix it. Anna Jarzab’s take on this kind of pain, these kinds of emotional wounds, is unflinching and Neily and Carly’s ultimate path to healing is satisfying. The trip down that path, for a reader, is incredible, at times shocking, and always unforgettable.

And I am happy to report I was lucky enough to get a couple minutes of Anna’s time for an interview! Read on for her fabulous answers about the writing of All Unquiet Things and to find out how YOU can win a copy of this fantastic book (because believe me–YOU WANT TO).

Sure! Well, I started this book like a zillion and a half years ago (truth: seven), wrote it once with an entirely different plot, abandoned it, picked it up again a couple of months later, gave it an entirely new plot and a bunch of new characters, and moved to Chicago to start graduate school at the University of Chicago. That’s where it got spicy. I decided to write the book (I’d mostly just plotted it out and done a lot of pre-writing) for my master’s thesis, which they let me do because I promised them I would never try to go get my Ph.D. I wrote the book in about six months, working with my preceptor (in my program they were sort of like camp counselors) and my adviser to make sure it was a worthwhile project. I guess it was, because they graduated me!

Anyway, when I finished the book I knew that I’d try to get it published someday, but at the moment I was concentrating on my “real” career. I wanted to work in publishing, and I got very lucky and was able to get an internship at Browne & Miller Literary Associates. Danielle and Joanna (the agents there) were awesome bosses and mentors, and they knew I’d written a YA novel. I was really embarrassed to show it to them, mostly because, you know, I respected them and didn’t want them to think I was a hack. So I didn’t show it to them until about six months later, when I was living in New York. I knew Joanna was looking for YA and I sent the book to her; she really liked it and wanted to represent me, so we spent from basically March to August of 2008 revising. Then in the beginning of September, Joanna submitted AUT to six editors, on a Tuesday; by Friday, my now-editor called Joanna to say she wanted to pre-empt and to expect an offer on Monday. And that’s the story! It’s not incredibly exciting as far as publication journeys go–no heated, crazy auctions or months-long, determined slogs through rejection filled waters. I was lucky all the way around, something for which I’m intensely grateful.

Let’s talk about affluence, privilege. Neily and Audrey live in a very affluent place with very privileged people. Wealth can be an extremely idealized, glamorized thing in fiction. It can also be extremely unlikeable. Or both. It feels like it could be easy to veer off into the land stereotypes or sensationalism, but I loved the gritty way you presented it. It wasn’t always flattering but it felt very honest to me. Like, here it is, nothing more or nothing less. How difficult (or not) was it to develop that part of the story? Were you concerned about going too far one way or the other?

I mean, I love Gossip Girl. LOVE IT. Love it. And that show doesn’t shy away from showing shall we say the Dark Side of Wealth and Privilege, but even that Dark Side is glamorous and edgy and everybody’s wearing exquisite headbands all the time. That’s one way to do that story, but not my way. I never wanted to glamorize the choices my characters were making, that was something I was really concerned with. That aspect of the book really came from the questions of what a teenager with near-unlimited funds and freedom would do with it. Nothing good, is the answer, not if you were parented the way my teens are. It wasn’t that hard to show it, although you do worry about coming off heavy-handed or sensational. But I guess the way I avoided that was not to focus on the trappings of wealth (the clothes, the cars, the vacations, etc.) unless they were essential to the story.

I feel like I need to mention the epigraph/title here. The title was taken from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Originally, it just caught my eye and sounded awesome to me, and I thought, “That’d be a great book title.” Over the years, though, the book really grew in to the title in amazing ways. That whole passage is about the appearance of things versus the reality of things, about how powerful, wealthy, influential people are quite often rotten within, and if you could see what they look like on the inside you’d never in a million years want to be like them. That’s a constant theme in All Unquiet Things, how people seem to have perfect lives and then they either squander them or suffer under the pressure. My characters are always struggling to crawl up out of the moral quagmire of their circumstances.

I love the way you explored that theme. I also I loved the way Neily and Audrey’s friendship evolved. I think my default setting, when I read about two characters taking this kind of journey together, is to… you know. Ship them. It’s awful! But it’s the first thing I do! Especially when the characters are the types of characters Neily and Audrey are. Opposites, with strong (not always nice) feelings toward each other, loaded history included. As I read All Unquiet Things, I quickly realized this wasn’t a path they could go down and ultimately, I loved that they didn’t. When you were writing All Unquiet Things, did you ever worry that you should take them down that road or were you tempted to? Because of uhm… readers like me that might go in with that expectation… cough.

Oh, totally, me too–I’m a huge ‘shipper and I get annoyed when there isn’t a couple I can get behind. It’s funny, because when I was at home last year sometime my mother was like, “I like how they end up together at the end.” And I was like, “Um, Mom…they don’t.” Thinking: Did she even read it all the way through? And she looked right at me and said, “Oh, but they do.” And I thought that was so great, the way a reader can take ownership of the book and amend the story to suit themselves.

Anyway, when I was planning AUT I actually did have them getting together at the end. It changed for two reasons. First of all, that’s a pretty typical move, having the male and female protagonists end up together at the end, regardless of chemistry or how much sense it makes (I think of every Dan Brown novel when I say this). I think for Neily and Audrey it does make sense and there is chemistry there, but I decided against it for the second reason: that what they’ve been through has been so profound and so emotionally devastating that they would never have been able to sustain a real, healthy relationship with each other at that point in their lives. And they care about each other so much that they wouldn’t risk it.

But I think of it as an open-ended thing. It’s obvious they have great affection for each other, and that they’re attracted to each other, and that’s as far as I take it–but a reader could take it further in their imagination, and I wouldn’t discourage that. :)

Aaah! I love that story about your mom. I know you’ve said that the mystery in All Unquiet Things was a subplot and that the book is primarily about the character’s emotional arch and I definitely agree with that. I felt that as I was reading. This said: the mystery. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. What is it like shaping and developing that aspect of the story? Is it intimidating? Had you read a lot of mysteries before you started All Unquiet Things? Did you know it would be a mystery from the start?

I don’t know about other mystery writers, but that was by far the hardest part of the story. Even after I decided who’d committed the crime, then comes the great balance of layering the story with hints and clues that aren’t obvious but which, on reflection or rereading, seem to point to that person from the start. It’s seriously the most intimidating thing EVER, and it’s so hard to do because you as the author know everything, and so everything seems obvious to you. You have literally no perspective with which to decide objectively whether something is too much or too little. And I did have to work on that in revisions (there had been too little). I wish I could be sure that everyone who will ever read this interview ever has already read the book, because I’m so damn proud of the mystery in the book and I would love to talk about how it operates. There’s some hidden content on my website that points to that end, though, so intrepid readers should be able to find an enjoy it.

I reconcieved this book as a mystery, so I knew it was going to be that from the start. I’m not a huge mystery reader, although I sucked down Nancy Drew and then Agatha Christie as a kid and I’m a big, big, big fan of Tana French. I don’t read a ton of mysteries, but the ones I read are REALLY good and I love them. Anyone have any suggestions?

One more thing about the mystery: there is a character in the book that, upon further reflection months after I turned in my final draft, could TOTALLY have killed Carly, and I didn’t even see it until later. I was telling another interviewer the other day that the second someone asks me about that, I’m going to give them a big hug. I’ll do it, too.

Who was your least favourite character to write and why?

Hm, that’s a really great question. I think I read somewhere once that an author should have sympathy for all her characters, but I really don’t like Adam. I just don’t. My least favorite scene to write was the confrontation scene at the end. It’s SO difficult to make that not seem cheesy, like “I shall tie you up in this chair and tell you the reasoning behind my entire evil plan, giving you time to wriggle out of your bindings and escape!” I worked very, very hard on that scene, and the dialogue was torn apart on a word-by-word basis and reconstructed and calibrated so that it seemed natural (insofar as that is a natural situation, which it really isn’t). Still, I’ve read reviews about how cheesy that scene is. You can’t make everyone happy, but I’m actually very satisfied with it, for all the trouble it caused me.

If there is one scene in All Unquiet Things you would not change a word of, and could write over and over and over again, which scene would that be?

Probably my favorite scene in the book is one between Carly and Audrey, where they’re at their grandmother’s funeral and Carly asks Audrey, “How many people do we have to lose before the universe decides we’ve had enough?” And Audrey says that if she’d known then what she knows now, she would have answered, “All of them.” (I’m paraphrasing.) I love that scene, and I’m proud of the actual writing, what I choose to say. As favorite scenes go, it’s pretty small and quiet, but it gets right to the core of the story, I think. I also pretty much love any scene that has tons of dialogue between Neily and Audrey. I could write them sniping at each other forever.

I know All Unquiet Things has been a part of your life for some time now, from drafting to publication. How hard was it to let the stories and characters go? When you were well and truly finished, did you find yourself needing a period of adjustment?

Well, as soon as I was finished with it I started writing a sequel, so that’s how I dealt with that. LOL. I don’t really intend to publish it–maybe I’ll put it up on my website someday. Anyway, it’s so unfinished, but it helped with some of the adjustment. But you move on to other things. There are new stories that take over your life and drive you. I’m excited for the future, but this story, these characters, will always have a very special place in my heart.

I WOULD TOTALLY READ THAT SEQUEL. Just. So you know. What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Read a lot and write a lot–that’s how you become a writer. But I also think it’s important to hear another thing, which is that when you’re a young writer, there are going to be other young writers who might want to tear you down to build themselves up. Don’t listen to those people! It’s important to learn who you can trust to give you honest feedback (and you should be open to that feedback), and who you can’t.

Great advice. What is one thing that has surprised you about being a published author? What is one thing you think would surprise other people about being a published author?

Because I’ve been in publishing for a while, I don’t know that anything really surprised me flat out. I think what I was unprepared for was just how proud and excited the people around me would be. Everyone asks me about my book when I see them; family members I haven’t seen in years are writing my parents saying that they’re reading my book. Coworkers of family and friends ask them about it. To me it’s so run of the mill because I work in publishing and am surrounded by books every day, but I forget that to people who aren’t constantly in the thick of it, it’s an exciting, unusual thing.

What might surprise other people about being a published author is that getting published is the easy part. There’s tons of insecurity and self-doubt and fear and anxiety that comes post-deal. It’s hard not to compare yourself to other authors, even if you know that your book is at a great house that’s really behind it. It just comes with the territory. A good author has genuine perspective on their book and its place in the market and works hard on their book’s behalf and tries not to compare themselves to other authors–it really is a fruitless endeavor. Also, something that might surprise people is how important an author is in selling their book. No matter how hard a publisher pushes a book, if the author’s not out there doing their part, representing their book and caring about their audience, it could flop.

What’s next for you?

I have another novel coming out from Delacorte sometime in 2011, but it doesn’t have a title and I’m not finished writing it, so we’ll see how that goes. It’s about a teenage boy who disappears and his friends who go looking for him. I’m doing a large scale revision on it that I’m simultaneously excited and anxious about. I’m excited to be finished, but I do love this book and I’m hoping my readers love it, too.

I’m excited to read it! Where can we find you on the web?

Oh, just everywhere, but my main hub is www.annajarzab.com. Gotta be honest, the site is chock full of cool hidden content–lots of handwritten notes about characters, including THE KILLER!! (password protected, natch)–that people should check out, especially if they’re interested in what goes into one person’s writing process. I’m also on twitter (@ajarzab) and Facebook. Drop by and say hi anytime!




Thank you, Anna! If you would like to enter for a chance to win All Unquiet Things, it is as EASY AS COMMENTING ON THIS ENTRY. Yes, that’s right. Leave a comment. Next Thursday (April 1st–omg where is March going), I will do a random draw and then I will notify the winner and amend this post to include the winner’s name. If you can’t wait that long, I don’t blame you. Go out and get your own copy of All Unquiet Things today!




Dear FTC, All Unquiet Things was provided to me by its author and I was not compensated for this review. I just love talking about books I love. xo, Courtney

This book:

An invisible, uncrossable physical barrier encloses the Unified States. The Line is the part of the border that lopped off part of the country, dooming the inhabitants to an unknown fate when the enemy used a banned weapon. It’s said that bizarre creatures and superhumans live on the other side, in Away. Nobody except tough old Ms. Moore would ever live next to the Line.

Nobody but Rachel and her mother, who went to live there after Rachel’s dad died in the last war. It’s a safe, quiet life. Until Rachel finds a mysterious recorded message that can only have come from Away. The voice is asking for help.

Who sent the message? Why is her mother so protective? And to what lengths is Rachel willing to go in order to do what she thinks is right?

I had the distinct pleasure of reading The Line late last year. I’d been looking forward to it ever since the deal announcement went up in Publishers Marketplace. The one line summary hooked me: “set in the near future, when an invisible, physical barrier exists between the Unified States and Away, examining a girl’s choice to risk crossing not just the barrier, but the lines her protective mother has drawn for her in order to keep her safe from a destructive, controlling government…” It got my mind whirring immediately. I set myself up for this book BIG TIME, consequently. And the best part? It didn’t disappoint.

One of the first things that struck me about The Line–one of the first things I loved about it–was the style. There’s something very fairy tale amazing and wonderful about it. Take a look at this opener: “It seemed to Rachel that she had always lived on The Property, though this wasn’t true. Her mother, Vivian, said they moved there when she was three years old, but Rachel didn’t remember. To her, The Property was home.”

Do you see what I mean? I could hear the words in my head, read in this soft and gentle reading-you-a-fairy-tale type voice. It lulled and eased me into this incredible story… with a VERY sinister edge. And that’s what I loved about The Line the most. The setting, the world, the prose offer all these sharp contrasts. Comfort. Discomfort. That you could feel this gentle fairy tale vibe INITIALLY, but that it offshoots directly into this darkness and doesn’t shy away from it–all while being fantastically consistent–is my favourite thing about this book. It’s like a storm is brewing. Brilliant.

Rachel is the perfect kind of protagonist to feed these contrasts to the reader. I loved her questions about The Line, Away, The Government, the reality of being brave juxtaposed against desire to be brave, reconciling what you can do with what you should do, great questions of right/wrong (by the way, this book is going to inspire some great questions and discussions in younger and older readers alike). The Line is about a time and place that is not safe and scary and feels unnervingly possible.

The pacing of The Line is brilliant. I could feel myself being wound tight, knowing the pay-off was going to leave me saying DAMN, and that is exactly what happened. I got wound tight, but I didn’t even realize how much until I hit that last page and then I was like whoa, DAMN. But I mean that in the best way possible. And then I closed the book and I was like DAMN again because the pacing and the tension was just that PERFECT.

I can’t freaking wait for it sequel, Away.

ON THAT NOTE, I think you should read this book so we can anticipate the sequel together! And I will be happy to put one into your hands with a GIVEAWAY! You’ll find out what you need to do to be entered to win after you read this awesome interview with Teri, who was kind enough to endure my questions and bounce back with fabulous answers. Are you ready? Here we go!

I got the idea while I was sleeping–yes, that’s right–I had a dream. (Take a moment to groan in disgust and throw something in my general direction if you hate it when writers say that.)

It was just a scene really—a scene where a young girl was sitting in the corner of a room, a room where all the walls were made of glass. It was night, and there was a rain storm, the kind where the rain is coming down so hard that it cascades down the glass in sheets, and makes everything outside look wavery and vague. The girl was looking out into the night, trying to see, but the rain and the dark made it impossible. The girl “felt” scared in my dream, but she really wanted to see whatever she thought was out there in the dark. There was a flash of lightning, and something–I didn’t see what–was illuminated. The girl gasped, and when she gasped, I sat straight up in bed, shocked into wakefulness.

I thought about that scene for days, because I don’t generally have dreams like that, where nothing is familiar or at least signifies something familiar. I wondered why that girl was sitting in a glass room alone at night. I wondered what she saw outside when that lightening struck. I wondered why she was so afraid.

I wondered what world that was, that I had seen in that dream. And I started to write about what I thought that a world like that might be like.

I am going to cite this as an example of why all writers NEED TO SLEEP! Sleep is working. Tell us about The Line’s journey to publication.

You know, I tend to think of it as pretty straightforward—get agent, agent sells book, do revisions, blam, pubbed. But I think that may be because having it published was not a primary goal in my life. It never was quite that straightforward when I really think about it, and I was so lucky in so many ways.

I love your writing style. It had such a (dark) fairytale-like quality about it. Can you talk about that choice–did that voice come to you, or did you have to find it?–and what it was like to write The Line?

I think that was just my voice. I didn’t have to look for it. It just felt like it worked for what I wanted to say in the story.

It really did. I really enjoyed watching Rachel evolve as a character. As she became more politically aware, more informed, she also became more critical of her mother’s choices. She had to reconcile with them. This also helped her choose her own course. Can you tell us about developing Rachel as a character? Are you at all like Rachel yourself?

You really hit the nail on the head about Rachel in your review of The Line, when you said that it raised questions about “the reality of being brave juxtaposed against desire to be brave, reconciling what you can do with what you should do.”

Rachel, in the beginning, thinks that doing the right thing is easy. She brands her mom as a coward because she doesn’t understand what risks her mom is weighing. She’s sure that she would make different choices than Ms. Moore did when she was faced with her own, terrible dilemma. As the story progresses and Rachel learns more about what is at stake for different characters, she also starts to learn that nothing is quite as simple or easy as she thinks, and I loved exploring this part of her growth and change.

I think I am like Rachel in some ways, in that I do still think, lots of times, that doing the right thing is simple and easy. And then I actually get to a place where I am tested, and I learn all over again that it ain’t so simple or easy. But I still believe with all my heart that, difficult or complicated as doing (heck, just identifying) the right thing may be, it IS necessary. We all need to strive toward doing whatever that right thing is in our own lives, at every moment.

Well said! I think one of the most disturbing and brilliant things about it was how possible the future in The Line scene. Can you tell us about the worldbuilding?

As far as building the world, I wanted it to be a world that the reader could envision happening without too much of a stretch from where we are now. It all sort of came organically from the idea that things change so quickly, right before our eyes, and suddenly we are in a world we hardly recognize. For me, this seems so clear. I now live in a country where I can’t take a nail file on an airplane. I can’t drive across a border into a friendly, neighboring country without (usually) being detained at that border because I was born in a country outside the United States. My government has given itself the right spy on me for almost any reason. And that list goes on and on and on. Are these necessary trade offs? Does my safety as a human being depend upon them? Those are the kinds of things I was thinking about when I built the world in The Line.

Hmmmmmmm.

I really enjoyed the political edge in The Line. I think it’s written in a way that is incredibly accessible without being preachy. Even though certain characters had certain leanings, I never felt like you were speaking for the characters, which I think is a difficult but brilliant thing to pull off because it gives the readers a chance to develop their own opinions about it (nicely done, is what I’m saying!). I think younger and older readers alike will get a lot of discussion out of it. How difficult, or not difficult, was it to incorporate topics like politics and government–was it hard to keep your authorial voice out of the picture?

Wow, thank you, Courtney, for those kind words. I really tried to write a story that would raise some questions for people, without really answering those questions. During my very first classroom visit (Hello St. Matthew’s 7th Grade class!) the questions the kids had were brilliant and led to just the kind of discussion I hoped The Line would stir. The adults I know who have read the book seem to be having those same sorts of discussions. It’s very gratifying to get that kind of feedback.

Who were your favourite characters to write?

Ms. Moore, hands down. Because she is all of it–all of life. The hopes, the dreams, the fear the loss, the resignation, the bitterness, the resolve, and the renewal of possibility. She was a ride. And I loved her crotchety old self.

Mrs. Moore was one of my favourite characters. I loved her. And I LOVE your cover. It’s so eerie, very foreboding. Can you tell us about how it came to be/how involved you were in the cover process?

I was about as involved as most writers, which is to say not very. But I was very happy with what the people who do that work came up with! I think I got really lucky!

Any hints about the sequel to The Line, Away? Tell us what’s next for you!

None. Not a single hint—but it’s been fun to write! Next for me? More writing.

I tried. :) I can’t wait to see what happens in Away! Where can we find you on the web?

www.terihall.com

Thanks, Teri!

Thanks to you, Courtney, for taking the time to talk about The Line.

A life–as the back of the book says–of, “drugs, sex, secrets and cruelty.”

It’s like sitting in a dark room with a cracks all in the walls.

Which is perfect, because, as Leonard Cohen said: “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”

This is a stunning debut. A novel about a girl falling down the rabbit hole. In her Book Chick recommendation of this novel, Daisy Whitney remarked that Beautiful read like a memoir, and I agree. It does and that makes it almost unnerving at times. It’s almost like a memoir you don’t have permission to read–that’s how personal it is. Amy Reed has tapped into a voice that will haunt you. You will ache for Cassie, you will want to help her, you will hold your breath while you wait to see if she makes it out alive. It is nearly impossible to put this book down once you start.

I have NEVER wanted a character to be okay as badly as I did Cassie.

As soon as I finished Beautiful, I knew I had to interview Amy for my blog. I wanted to know about Beautiful’s journey to publication, her inspiration for the story, her thoughts on the YA genre. And lucky, lucky me, Amy kindly agreed, and so, I present to you awesome readers…

I think my road to publication was rather painless compared to most people’s experiences. I finished a large chunk of Beautiful while in my MFA writing program, so I had the support of a wonderful group of writers and mentors to help me shape it. Then I was lucky enough to have a thesis advisor who was willing to read and critique the final version after I graduated. When I finally felt the manuscript was ready (about 2 years from start to finish), I started researching and submitting to agents that represented books I thought were comparable to mine. At this point, I didn’t really know the YA genre existed, so I was submitting it as an adult novel. I had a few bites, but no takers. This process lasted a couple of months, and I was starting to get discouraged.

Then an amazing thing happened. A very famous agent contacted me after reading my short story “Under the Wall” in Fiction Magazine, asking if I was working on anything book-length. So I crossed my fingers and sent him the manuscript. He wrote me a very kind email that said he enjoyed it very much, but that it was Young Adult fiction and he only represents Adult fiction. He was very supportive in suggesting I submit it to agents who specialize in YA, and assured me it would find publication. I did some research and was amazed to find such an amazing, vibrant genre full of the kind of books I wish were around when I was a teen. I submitted to two YA agents and within a few weeks had an offer of representation. After a month or so, I had offers from two publishers. I still can’t really believe it all.

What made you decide to write Beautiful?

I think I had wanted to write a story like Beautiful since I was young. In a lot of ways, it is my story. Much of it is based on my own life. I think if you did a survey of first novels, you’d find that a huge percentage of them are highly autobiographical. As a writing student, I was told to write what I know. The period of my life that Beautiful portrays was undoubtedly one of the most formative in my life, and I guess I was ready to dive into it, to let it out.

Beautiful is a jarring, raw and devastating portrayal of a thirteen-year-old girl who falls down the rabbit hole, no holds barred. Did you find it an emotionally draining book to write? If so, how did you see the book through to its last page and when you were finished, did you need to regroup?

My experience writing Beautiful was actually kind of the opposite of what you’re describing. While it was a very emotional process and I cried often while writing certain scenes, it felt more empowering than draining, like an emotional release, a liberation. Writing the last chapter was probably the most profound experience I had during the process. By giving Cassie a little hope, a little spark of redemption, I felt somehow healed myself.

That’s fantastic; that it was so empowering for you. One thing I most enjoyed about Beautiful was that you didn’t villanize Alex, who is really the catalyst for the self-destructive path Cassie takes. She seems just as lost and confused in her own way. Was it important to you as you wrote?

Absolutely. I don’t believe in a black & white idea of good & evil. People are formed by many factors, and Alex was basically doomed by her upbringing to behave badly. As a writer, I feel it’s important to have compassion for all my characters. Same goes for being a human.

I wrote in my review that Beautiful will scare the hell out of parents who don’t know any better. Are you afraid of the reception Beautiful will get from those types of parents and have you found yourself preparing for a potential onslaught from them? (I think Beautiful should be required reading for those parents–it’s so powerful and brutal and honest).

I should be preparing better for the inevitable backlash, because I have a thin skin and my feelings get hurt very easily. What I have to remind myself is that I’m writing this for teens, for people like me at that age who desperately needed someone to be honest and open about all the confusing things I saw going on around me.

I understand a parents’ desire to protect their kids from these things, and I know it comes from a place of love and good intentions. But parents need to understand that the world their kids are living in is a completely different place than where they grew up. Being a teenager is scary, and it’s absolutely terrifying if you feel like you can’t communicate openly with your parents, the people who are supposed to love and protect you unconditionally. I don’t want anyone to feel as alone and lost and unsupported as Cassie. I don’t want any parent to be as oblivious and self-absorbed as her parents. So much pain can be avoided when a kid feels safe within his or her own family.

Well said. What was the editorial process like?

It was actually very simple. Because I had workshopped Beautiful so much before submitting it, there was very little editing that needed to be done. My agent had a few suggestions for changes. Then my editor and copy-editor at Simon Pulse had a few more. But there was nothing too substantial.

In your GoodReads review of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls, you wrote, “My goal is to write the books I wish existed when I was a kid, books that can help someone know they’re not alone, books that respect the reader enough to tell the truth.” I feel you certainly achieved this and that Cassie’s story will resonate with many young girls. Are there any books you have recently read that accomplish this as well? And what are some books that made you feel less alone as a teen?

I think the YA writers I admire most for their honesty are Laurie Halse Anderson and Julie Anne Peters. Wintergirls and Luna are probably my top two favorite YA novels so far (but I have a lot more to read!) There wasn’t a whole lot around when I was a teen, but the books I kept re-reading over and over were Go Ask Alice; Girl, Interrupted; and the poetry of Anne Sexton. They all spoke to my feelings of isolation and of being misunderstood, of desperately wanting someone to understand what I was going through.

When the deal announcement for Beautiful came out, it was untitled. How long was it before you arrived at Beautiful as the title? What was the titling process like?

I forget when exactly the title was born. My agent and editor and I emailed back and forth for a few days with ideas, then one of them (I think my editor) thought of Beautiful. We were all like “perfect!” and went with it.

It is definitely perfect. Beautiful has a (forgive me) BEAUTIFUL cover. It’s gritty and evocative, just like the text on the inside pages. Can you tell us how the cover came to be? What was your reaction when you first saw it?

Oh my god, I know! It’s an amazing cover (thanks to the brilliant designer Russell Gordon). When my editor told me they were auditioning models, I was like “Wow, models? Really? For my book? Awesome!” Apparently they went through quite a few before they found the right one. When I saw the first draft of the cover, I’m pretty sure I cried. The make up, the clothes, the look on the girl’s face, her posture on the back cover, is absolutely perfect. You can see her innocence and fear behind the tough-girl facade and it’s heartbreaking.

What do you wish you had known when you were thirteen?

I often imagine my adult self going back in time and telling the young me that things will get better, that someday I will find people just like me, I will find love and real community, I will not have to be so scared, I will find ways to heal, I will finally be able to express exactly who I am, and I will be able to choose my path in life. Life is long and being a teenager takes only a few years of it. But those few years are grewling and often painful. But then they’re done. You don’t have to do them again. Just hang in there–it gets better, I swear.

What are you working on now?

A YA novel that takes place in an adolescent drug & alcohol treatment facility.

Where can readers find you on the net?

www.amyreedfiction.com is my website. I also have pages on Facebook, MySpace, GoodReads, and Red Room. Also check out my author page on Simon & Schuster’s website.




Thank you so much for your time and for such a great interview, Amy!

And for all you guys reading, as I said above, Beautiful is a powerful novel that will scare the hell out of parents who don’t know any better–and speak to girls who know all too well. Reading it is definitely an Experience. On that note, I’m very happy to report you don’t have to wait to experience it yourselves because it’s out in bookstores TODAY! So get yerselves a copy.

Trust me: you need to check this one out.

So you can imagine how very very happy I am to report that I now get to cross ‘be a stop on a blog tour’ off my internet to-do list because I! Am! A! Stop! On! A! Really! Exciting! Blog! Tour! And it’s really exciting. It’s for this book with a premise alone that will haunt your dreams and keep you up at night and has a REALLY fantastic cover and can we get a look at this cover, yes please:

SO IS THE SYNOPSIS:

Because I had the great fortune of being a part of this blog tour, I ALSO had the great fortune of being able to interview the author of The amazing Waking trilogy, Thomas Randall! Yay! So pull up a chair (wait–you are probably already in one, so in that case, inch a little closer to the screen) and read what he had to say about what inspired this trilogy, what readers can look forward to reading in it and what his favourite scary movie is!

I’ve always had a fascination with Japan and Japanese culture. The dichotomy–or at least what I, as an outsider, view as a dichotomy–between modern Japan and historial Japan, between brightly lit industry and deeply shadowed myth, is intriguing. Since I love folklore and mythology in general, that led me to read a lot of Japanese folktales and to an awareness of the stories of Noh theatre. Plus, I’ve always been interested in the absence of a traditional vampire in Japanese legends. There are all sorts of vampiric creatures–demons and spirits and such that drink blood–but not the vampire that you find in European and, in variations, African and even some other Asian countries. Plus, Kara’s story is so much about being a stranger in a strange land, which always offers really interesting opportunities for a writer.

It will really offer something new and exciting for readers! How long did it take you to write the novel?

I’ve written the whole trilogy now, so I don’t recall exactly, but it typically takes me three or four months to write a novel.

What kind of a protagonist can readers look forward to having in Kara?

I love Kara. She’s not fearless, but she’s also not intimidated by life. She’s struggling with the death of her mother two years earlier and she still grieves, but she loves her father and they have a great relationship. They’re starting over together, the way she knows her mother would have wanted them to, but when her father begins to have feelings for a woman he meets in Japan, Kara is startled by the complicated emotions that brings out in her. Backing up, though…she arrives at this new school in a new place…the only gaijin student at Monju-no-Chie school, and though she doesn’t know anyone, she stands up to the girls who would look down on her and manages to make friends. She’s fiercely loyal. What I put into Kara are the qualities I think we would all want in a friend.

Kara definitely sounds like she’d be an awesome friend to have. What was the editorial process for The Waking like?

Interesting question. My original editor at Bloomsbury left partway through the editorial process on the first book. My current editor, the most excellent Margaret Miller, inherited the project from her. But she seemed to really like the trilogy right off the bat and got up to speed quickly. The worry when a book is “orphaned” (when an editor leaves) is always that the new editor will treat the book as something that isn’t THEIRS, and not give it the attention she would give the projects that she acquired herself. Margaret jumped in with both feet and has been a great editor and champion for the trilogy, and been very engaged in the process of making the books the best they could be, so I was very fortunate in that case.

If The Waking was turned into a movie, who would you like to see cast in the lead roles?

Such a difficult question. I’m not sure if she can still pass for sixteen, but I love Amanda Seyfried. Some readers might come after me with torches and pitchforks, but I’d also say Miley Cyrus. I have a daughter who is seven years old so I saw the Hannah Montana movie and was pleasantly surprised how natural she seems when she’s not mugging the way they do on the TV show. I’m very curious to see how she does in the drama she’s shooting right now. Yes, Miley, come make this movie, please. :)

It depends on the day, really. I have dozens. Right now I’d recommend an independent horror film called SPLINTER. It has its flaws, but is remarkably well executed for such a small-budget indie, and it has a fantastic central conceit and monster.

I have never heard of Splinter! Now it’s going on my to-watch list. What made you decide to write young adult novels and what do you enjoy most about writing young adult novels?

Teens are such a passionate audience. They love what they love more than people at any other age. That’s great motivation for someone like me, who hasn’t let go of the same kind of excitement, no matter how long it’s been since I was a teenager. People who’ve read the book have been very complimentary about the way I’ve gotten into the minds of these characters, but I’m not going to make any qualititative judgements about my own work. Readers need to decide for themselves what they like. I will say I think it’s damn creepy, and that’s something else I think teens are more enthusiastic about than older readers.

The Waking is a trilogy (yay!). When can readers look for the next two installments on the shelves?

That’s a good question. I’m not 100% sure, but I do know that they’re being released in fairly close proximity. I think the second one is as soon as February or March 2010.

What other horror novels would you recommend to those who have enjoyed Waking?

Hmm. Hard question. Stephen King, for sure. Classics like THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Shirley Jackson. For modern YA horror, you see more urban fantasy than horror. Garth Nix’s excellent Abhorsen Trilogy (SABRIEL, LIRAEL, ABHORSEN) is fantasy, but very dark stuff. Neil Gaiman’s THE GRAVEYARD BOOK has ghosts and vampires and other monsters in it, but isn’t really horror.

Where can we find you on the web?

www.thomasrandall.net Come by and read a preview of THE WAKING: DREAMS OF THE DEAD and let me know what you think.

Thank you so much, Thomas! The Waking sounds fantastic! Truefax #3: know what my favourite way to end a blog post featuring an exciting new release and an interview with its author is? This way:

It’s in stores NOW!

Follow The Waking Blog Tour:

September 28th: Bildungsroman
September 29th: You are here!
September 30th: readergirlz
October 1st: lectitans
October 2nd: Sarah’s Random Musings
October 2nd: Steph Su Reads
October 5th: Books By Their Cover
October 6th: Kim Baccellia
October 6th: BookChic
October 7th: Presenting Lenore
October 8th: Galleysmith
October 9th: Just Blinded Book Reviews

Guess! Guess! What! Day! It! Is! Today! GUESS! Have you guessed? If you’re in the know, you will have guessed. If you’re not in the know, oh, it is going to feel so good to tell you this wonderful news.

Are you ready?

Are! You! Ready!

Today is an awesome today and today is a day of celebration because today, of all days, is the official release day of…

Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma!

BECAUSE THAT IS HOW EXCITED I WAS. AND STILL AM.

Dani Callanzano is one the most memorable protagonists I’ve read. A totally snarky delight from start-to-finish. Even now, after that initial read (but oh, I will be reading that book again and again), I still smile at some of her sharpest remarks. The writing is tight and clever and the story is one that will have you popping popcorn mid-read (I DID THIS AND IT WAS LIKE THREE IN THE MORNING).

And Dani Noir is not only all of those things, it is this as well: when I was reading the book, I felt a younger version of myself connect with it. I remember 13-year-old Courtney and the books she carried around like lifelines and I know, I know beyond all reason, that had Dani Noir been on bookshelves when I was that age I would have carried it everywhere. I would have aspired to Dani’s cleverness, her wit, her charm, her sense of adventure. I would have wanted it for myself and I would have aspired to it.

There is something really incredible about reading a book many years past that age and reconnecting to your… well, self in such a way. I mean, what more can I say beyond that really? It meant a lot to me. You need to read this novel and have that moment because trust me–you will have it.

(Thank you, Nova.)

So. I am pretty thrilled about Nova’s debut being released in the world, in case you can’t tell. You know what else I am thrilled about? THAT SHE AGREED TO DO AN INTERVIEW WITH ME. HERE ON THIS BLOG.

You, guys. Hey, you guys. GUYS! Are you ready? Are! You! Ready! Here we go…

Courtney, as an unabashed fan of your books (I am not kissing up! this is the honest truth! swear it on Rita Hayworth!), I’m so honored that you liked Dani Noir so much. And favorite of 2009? I’m seriously floating over here. It’s getting hard to type.

*taking a moment*

OK, I’m back. So… my road to publication. I don’t want to bore anyone, because it was a long road and that means a long story. I’ll try and keep it short: I started out thinking I was writing fiction for adults. I must have been demented or something, because I was always writing in the voices of tweens and teens. I wrote these adult novels, and I couldn’t seem to get an agent and I couldn’t figure out why. Years passed. Are you asleep yet, as Dani would say?

This whole time, I’m working these day jobs and writing on the side and getting pretty discouraged. But then I get this big break: a residency at the MacDowell Colony—to go and work on my novel for a month. So I slipped out of my job as a copy editor at a children’s book publisher and I spent my month away revising a novel that never went anywhere, but that’s not the point of this story, so let’s not dwell. The point is, I got back and returned to work and then one day the editorial director came by and asked where I’d been. I told her about the writers colony. “You’re a writer?” she asked, all surprised, because I did tend to keep it a secret at work. She asked if I’d ever considered writing for young readers. One audition sample later, and I’m ghostwriting my first middle-grade novel.

I ghostwrote a bunch of books, but Dani Noir was my first shot at writing something of my own. An editor I once wrote for got me in touch with Kate Angelella at Simon & Schuster / Aladdin, and she liked my idea and is willing to give me a chance… Before you know it I’ve written chapters and I have an offer and I’m going around squealing about publishing a novel with my name on it for the first time and I still can’t believe all that really happened.

It was after Dani Noir was done that I signed with an agent for my next manuscript. So my road to publication was a little convoluted and hazy in spots, but it got me where I am so I’m thrilled.

Wow. That was a long story after all. I’ll shut up till the next question.

I am thrilled too. As a Nova Ren Suma fan it all equals books for me to read. Also, you couldn’t bore anyone if you tried. I love that story. What was the inspiration behind Dani Noir?

Two things: angst and Rita Hayworth.

The year I turned thirteen was tough, and I’ll never forget it. Dani’s story isn’t my story, but the way I felt back then is undeniably channeled through her. Part of me is still thirteen, living in this small mountain town called Kerhonkson, New York, wishing I were somewhere, anywhere else. Writing Dani Noir gave me the chance to act out in a way I didn’t back then. My thirteen-year-old angst is all over this novel, can you tell? ;)

As for Rita Hayworth, she was right there with me when I had that big *click* you get when you know the novel you think you want to write is a novel you really can write. I discovered Rita Hayworth, really discovered her, just as Dani does in the book, by watching the classic noir film Gilda. When the camera first shows Rita Hayworth in that movie and she stares you down, you sort of can’t help but have a Moment. She knocks you out. I pictured Dani in this dark movie theater, seeing what I was seeing, and her voice came alive from there.

Moment of shame: I haven’t actually seen Gilda, but between you and Dani, I am going to very soon. I want that Moment! You write for both tweens and teens (Nova’s YA debut is tentatively slated for release in 2011). What is your favourite thing about writing for the tween set? What is your favourite thing about writing for the young adult set?

I love writing for both–hope I can keep doing it!

I’m in the middle of writing a YA novel right now (yes, tentatively due out from Dutton in, fingers crossed!, Summer 2011), so I’m walking around feeling sixteen right now and it’s better than my current reality, I’ll admit. My favorite thing about writing for the YA set is living in the moment. Everything is urgent. It’s do or die like there’s no tomorrow or at least no next week, and I really get swept up by it. So addicting.

And my favorite thing about writing for tweens? The lightness. It’s like I have permission to not be so serious all the time. But with all the laughs and light there’s the drama of that time, too. Something that may seem small when you’re older is the biggest thing in the universe when you’re eleven or twelve or thirteen. I remember being misunderstood by pretty much every adult on the planet, and the best part of writing in a tween voice is talking back to all those people who thought I didn’t have anything to say. I did then. I do now. I probably won’t shut up for a while.

Now let’s ask the above question again–but differently. ;) What’s the hardest thing about writing for the tween set and the young adult set?

Being ultra-honest here: The hardest thing about writing for tweens is keeping myself in check. Maybe I’m a little dark for my own good sometimes, so I have to pull back.

For young adults, I’ll be too honest again (don’t laugh): The hardest part has been facing high school. I will diplomatically say that I did not like high school and I’ll leave it at that. So, when I came up with this idea for my first YA novel, I wonder if it’s a coincidence that the story naturally fell in the summertime—and so far there are no scenes taking place in school. A great challenge for me, in my next book, will be returning to the halls of high school. I’m scared already.

Funny… I just realized Dani Noir also takes place in the summertime. Am I afraid of junior high too?

School is terrifying. TERRIFYING. I understand. Dani is both a spunky and vulnerable protagonist. In one breath, she’s firing off a witty, cutting remark that had me laughing out loud and in another, she is making gut-wrenching observations about her family situation. Did her voice come easily to you? She strikes me as the kind of character who would make herself heard, not a problem, so I’m wondering if this was the case. :)

Dani’s voice could not be contained. What I mean is, there’s no way I could have stopped her voice from coming out of me. She was clamoring to be written! Her voice came so easily that if I didn’t have a word count and a deadline I could have kept going with writing her and I’d still be at it today. By now, Dani Noir would be 2,000 pages and I would have run out of femmes fatales to write about, but I’d still be having fun with it I’m sure.

I would read 2,000 pages of a book in Dani’s voice, just FYI. Dani has a lot of memorable one liners. Zingers, as I like to call them! One of my favourites is when she calls the room she’s been given at her soon-to-be stepmother’s house a shoe closet (“Wow,” I say. “What was this room before, a shoe closet?” and then, “Thanks for letting me use your closet, Cheryl,” I say with the utmost politeness. “I really appreciate it.”). What was your favourite zinger of Dani’s to write?

Dani says things I never could, and I sure love her for it. I’m also a little wary of her because of it. Some of my favorite bits to write were between Dani and Austin, the son of the movie theater’s owner, who’s always around when Dani wishes he would just go away. I remember being very amused when she was trying to find a place for Austin in the movie universe that lives in her head. She decided he wouldn’t even get a name in the credits; as a concession, she lets him be an extra. She says, “His character is called Guy Who Took Rita Hayworth’s Coat. That’s the best I can do for Austin.” I like how that’s what she thinks of Austin in the beginning… but it’s not necessarily what he ends up being by the end.

Hee! Family plays an important part of Dani Noir. I loved her relationship with her mother–it was just so thoughtful and loving. I also loved that you didn’t shy away from Dani’s feelings about her dad leaving her mom for another woman. Even better, you didn’t portray her father as a “bad” guy–he wasn’t a caricature. He obviously made some hurtful choices but you portrayed the reality of those choices and the fall-out really fantastically. I think that’s an extraordinary feat in itself because you’re telling the story from Dani’s POV and she’s obviously stung. Was striking that balance–not villainizing Dani’s father, but still having the hurt come through realistically–hard?

I couldn’t help but give Dani a close relationship with her mom. I said earlier that being thirteen was a tough time for me (*shudder*)—but what got me through it was how close I was with my mom. I remember one time, I got in big trouble when I was in seventh grade, so I must have been around thirteen. I did something I shouldn’t have and I won’t say what, but this is what happened: I did it and I felt so AWFUL that I immediately went and confessed it to my mom. She just gave me this LOOK, like Dani’s mom does in the book. This LOOK of utter disappointment. And that was all it took. I cried, I promised never to do it again. And I didn’t. Not ever again in my whole life. What Dani’s mom thinks is just as important to Dani, even if she doesn’t show it all the time. So much of what Dani does is to protect her mom—if retroactive and misdirected—and it may be clumsy and awkward and explode in her face, but it came from a good place, I promise.

As for the scenes with Dani’s cheating dad, I’ll admit that they were tough to write. That’s because I was so mad at him on Dani’s behalf. Finding the balance was a challenge for me. I had to pull back and give him a chance. But I do think Dani’s conflicted reactions to her dad throughout the story are honest to what she’d really do and think. All I wanted was to keep it honest.

I think you did and thensome. I LOVE the title. It’s very sharp. Was titling the book hard or easy? Did you go through any potential titles before settling on Dani Noir?

I admit I love the title, too! But I can’t take credit for it. The title is the work of my genius husband, who happens to be my first reader on everything I write, and helps me develop my stories. He knew I wasn’t happy with the title I had down, and one day he just threw it out there and said, “How about Dani Noir?” Immediately I was like, I MUST HAVE THAT TITLE PLEASE PLEASE CAN I STEAL IT? He said sure. And I was thrilled that Simon & Schuster liked it, too. I love the way they made the title a part of a movie marquee on the front cover. It turned out better than I could have imagined.

I think the title I had before was Femme Fatale in Training, or something long and clunky, but it didn’t feel honest to who Dani was. She’s not “training” to be a femme fatale or anything else—she’s just herself.

Femme Fatale in Training could be a book all its own, though! And a round off appaluse to your DH for naming your brilliant book. I’m a big, BIG fan of your cover. It has to be one of the best covers I’ve ever seen and I’d honestly frame it if I could. Can you tell us about how the cover came to be, and what your reaction was when you first saw it?

Oh I got lucky. The cover is all thanks to my editor Kate. She emailed me one day with the cover concept—I think she said she woke up in the middle of the night with the idea. Anyway, it was this brilliant burst of perfection and as soon as I read the concept my hopes soared. And then came the artist, Marcos Calo, who made the cover concept a reality and took it one step further and did a wraparound cover with Dani herself peeking out from the back. More brilliance!

There’s this blog post I wrote when I first saw the cover that shows my utter stupor. It involves a lot of capital letters and exclamation points. I literally stared at the cover art in a daze for many uncountable minutes—and the same thing was repeated when I saw the wraparound art on the back. I absolutely love how it turned out. Thank you to Kate and to the designer Lisa and especially to Marcos!

What was the hardest part of Dani Noir to write?

The middle. I knew how the story started, and I knew where it ended, but all the stuff to get us there got a little jumbled. I turned to noir movies for inspiration—and after a little Double Indemnity and the like, I knew what to do.

Agh, those cursed middles. Who was your favourite character–besides Dani–to write? Least favourite?

I looooved writing Austin. Dani was so mean to him! She was absolutely blind to him in a way I remember being to certain boys back in junior high, and so annoyed. Sometimes it’s easier to push someone away than to face the potential of what could be if you let your guard down. I got some undisguised delight in letting Dani push.

The hardest character to write for me was Dani’s dad. Dani has a much better relationship with her father than I have with mine. I know this is fiction and all, but I do write from a certain experience and sometimes it’s hard to separate that.

I know music is an important part of your process. Did Dani Noir have a playlist, and can you share some of the tracks from it?

OK, Courtney, this is going to be shocking. S-H-O-C-K-I-N-G. Especially because I love writing to music and I sort of can’t write without it. But this is the truth: Dani Noir does not have a soundtrack (Courtney’s note: I AM SHOCKED!!!!). There is not one song that goes with this novel. Crazy, I know! But the reason is, the soundtrack to Dani Noir is old movies. Sometimes, instead of playing my admittedly emo Pandora station while writing Dani Noir, I’d go to YouTube and put on different scenes from old noir films. That was the backdrop of Dani’s summer while the story is taking place, so it helped keep me in her head while writing her.

If you’ve read the book, you can easily guess which movies would make the movie playlist for Dani Noir: Touch of Evil, The Lady from Shanghai, and The Postman Always Rings Twice are a few.

Although I am SHOCKED! That makes perfect sense. I know all about Dani’s favourites, but now I need to know Nova’s, so here goes: what is your favourite noir mystery? :)

Guess what? It’s Gilda, just like Dani. ;)

I really have to watch it, dangit. What are your top five favourite books of all time?

Hardest question ever! Practially impossible to answer! I can’t necessarily call these my five favorite books of ALL-TIME, but here are five books I love that made me who I am:

Boy Heaven by Laura Kasischke–I love this YA novel. I happened to read it at a very significant point in my writing career, when I was down and out and thinking about giving up. Reading this book opened my eyes to what a YA novel could be, but–more than that–it made me think of the kind of novel I could try writing one day. So, to put it lightly, it really, really inspired me.

Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood–this was a book I swiped off my mom’s shelf when I was around Dani’s age. I read a lot of adult books back then because that was what was around the house, and our house at that time was pretty isolated. Margaret Atwood was the first contemporary writer that made me want to grow up to be a writer: She was a girl. She wrote about girls. And people thought it was important enough to publish! I don’t know if I’d be a writer today if I didn’t discover Margaret Atwood when I was twelve or thirteen.

The Last Life by Claire Messud–this is the story of a fifteen-year-old girl in France, the summer a crime her grandfather commits changes everything. There’s something about this voice, the way the place and the people and the history of generations comes through in what she says. I love first-person fiction, how distorted it can be by who’s talking, and this book is one reason why. I’ve read this novel probably five times, and I’m itching to read it again.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides–this novel is about a group of sisters, but it’s told through the eyes of the neighborhood boys, who have spent years watching them. The voice of it just blew my mind. This novel pushes me to experiment, to take risks, to tell a story in a way you wouldn’t expect. I love the distance: the boys never really know what the girls are thinking, but you feel closer to them than if you were in their heads. It’s brilliant.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys–when I was a teenager, I read Jane Eyre for the first time and fell in love with it. (I even performed a monologue of the scene in the Red Room in my acting class; fyi: I was a horrific actress.) But years later, I came across this book by Jean Rhys that was a retelling of Jane Eyre from the POV of Rochester’s first wife, the one locked up in the attic. Everything I thought I knew about Jane Eyre and truth and love shifted. It showed me that there’s always a voice unspoken, a story untold. It also showed me that no story is ever the same, because it depends on who’s telling it. I love that about fiction.

BRB, adding to my To-Read List! What do you hope readers take away from Dani Noir?

What a great question. I hope readers feel like they spent time with a real person: Dani may do things you wouldn’t, and say things she shouldn’t, but even with all her flaws I hope she comes away feeling authentic and I hope her story feels honest and true. Since writing the book, Dani has come to life in my mind and I often find myself thinking about her like she’s this real girl I hung around with last year and I wonder where she’s at now. It would make me feel a lot better about my sanity if one other reader got a little sense of that, too.

And maybe, once readers finish Dani Noir, they’ll be inspired to go off and check out an old black-and-white movie… who knows.

And finally, what can Nova Ren Suma fans look forward to next, writing-wise and where can we find you on the net?

First, thank you, Courtney, for all your support of Dani Noir and of me! These were great, thought-provoking questions and I’m honored that you’ve made a space for me on your blog to talk about the book. You. Are. Awesome.

So, next up from me writing-wise is the YA novel. It’s currently called Imaginary Girls and it’s the story of two sisters and their bond that can’t be broken. I’m also developing another tween novel idea, because I am not yet ready to let go of my thirteen-year-old angst, so I guess… be warned?

And as for finding me on the net, my main website is NovaRen.com. For all things Dani Noir, check out the official book website DaniNoir.com. I’ll be keeping it updated with news and events and fun features. You can also find me pretty much all over the internet, because I like to keep myself distracted and it’s not like I’m under DEADLINE for this new novel or anything. (Um.)

I’m on Facebook and feel free to friend me. And MySpace too. And you can also check out the Dani Noir Facebook page for all things about the book if you’d rather just read it and not be my friend—no hard feelings, swear! And I’m on Twitter. I shouldn’t be. I should really be writing. But, hey, if you follow me and happen to distract me by telling me your favorite noir movie, I promise not to be mad: @novaren.

Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you like the book.






Thank YOU, Nova! You. Are. Awesome. And I’ve no doubt anyone who picks up Dani Noir (AND THEY SHOULD IT IS OUT TODAY DID I MENTION THIS) will enjoy it.

Dani Noir, people. Remember that name! Nova Ren Suma–remember that name too. And make sure to pick up a copy of this book for yourself, past, present and future. And pass it along. It is just that great.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I gots a book to re-read.




* pictures courtesy Nova.

Recently, I met a very cool new person and I want to tell you about her. Her name is Realm Lovejoy, a talented 24-year-old author/illustrator who grew up in Japan before moving to the United States. Does her name sound familiar to you? It should! I’ve talked about her before and oh, she did this AMAZING portrait of Regina Afton, the protagonist of Some Girls Are, which totally freaked me out when I saw it because it is EXACTLY how Regina looks:

So the nice thing about meeting cool new people is they are so cool you want to tell the world about them and they are so cool that when you say something like, “CAN I INTERVIEW YOU FOR MY BLOG PLEAAASSEEE,” really begging-like they don’t back away from you slowly! They agree!

So with that said, I am so, so excited to present to you…

AN INTERVIEW WITH REALM LOVEJOY

As a kid, I was always writing and drawing the stories that’d pop into my head. I was fascinated with all different mediums of storytelling. Sometimes I would write a book, other times design a video game on paper, storyboard a movie, or draw comics. I knew I could always write a book–I just needed a pen or a computer, but the CG industry would require the use of more complicated tools. I chose to hone in on that to expand my storytelling tool-sets and grow as an artist. I went to school at DigiPen Institute of Technology, and then got a job at Valve–an amazing video game company I am working at full-time. I finally felt that I had a firm footing in what I wanted to do. During my spare time, I began working on a novel, taking all the pearls I’ve gained and applying it to CLAN–my first illustrated novel.

I queried agents, got rejections, and after a while, I decided to put my strength to use. I made a self-addressed, stamped postcard with my painting of my characters at the back and sent it with the queries. Soon, I caught Joanna Stampfel-Volpe’s interest. She requested a full and offered me representation after she read CLAN.

The journey sounds simple when I summarize it like that, but there were many hurdles along the way. Number one rule: Never give up.


That is definitely the first rule, I totally agree. And congrats on representation! What are you working on right now?

Loads of stuff! I’m on the second submission for CLAN and gearing up to do the second draft of my second book. (Which is unrelated to the CLAN-iverse and also illustrated.) Blog-wise, I am still working on author interviews.


What inspired Clan?

It was one of those random thoughts you have while staring at the ceiling. I was thinking about CG films and how low budget it would be to duplicate one character for the whole movie cast. The idea seemed crazy, but it interested me when I began brainstorming about how the society would work, how characters would develop, and the conflicts that could happen. Pretty soon, I was writing about it…and became completely obsessed.

Courtney’s note: are these not amazing? W-O-W.

Japan and America has most of my favorite comics, movies, art, and games. I grew up with the best stuff! Both countries are good at different aspects of stories and HUGE in the industries I’m interested in. I merge both the Japanese and American style into my art and storytelling. I love them both and wouldn’t choose one or the other. Being from both worlds also helped me understand my characters who are often from two worlds as well.

What are your writing and illustrating processes like?

For writing, my first goal is to entertain myself–which is no easy task. I am the pickiest reader and movie-watcher there is! I try to think about what’s challenging, crazy, frightening, and wonderful to me. I want to be a little scared when I write and be unsure of the outcome, challenged by my characters, and in love with the world. It’s not simple, but that’s how I start writing. I get the theme down first, and then pick out my characters and setting to best suit the core story. The characters usually come to life pretty fast once they’re placed. They interact and the book unfolds–as long as I let go and let ‘em do their thing.

For illustrations, first I get a picture in my mind…and then I try to capture it. I pick a theme to make the style, symbol, mood, and palette go together–very similar to my writing. I research as necessary, pick a composition, sketch it out, do line-work, add colors, and then do the finishing effects. The feeling of discovering my vision is important for every piece.

Whether it’s writing or drawing, emotion is the most important response to seek from the audience and what makes an impression.

Very well said. I was especially nodding my head to this part, “I want to be a little scared when I write and be unsure of the outcome, challenged by my characters, and in love with the world.” Yes! In six words or less, how would you describe your style?

Down to Earth < UP THE SKY

Win. In the last month you have opened your blog to authors and agents, doing awesome interviews with them and providing accompanying illustrations. The results have been absolutely fantastic (when I saw your interpretation of Regina, I swear my heart stopped, it was so her)! How has the experience been for you? Has it been challenging or surprising?

I started the interview series because I really wanted to reach out, get to know other authors, and to help them. I thought drawing for them would be fun too and I’d gain practice as an illustrator for other books. I didn’t expect it to be so well received! The art takes an hour of my time – sometimes two – so it’s not difficult. Although I ponder about author expectations, for the most part, I haven’t had any trouble connecting with the authors and his/her vision. It’s been so great drawing in different styles and reading author responses. I met a ton of fabulous authors…like Courtney! (She rocks like woah!) Courtney: aw! ~*~

The illustrations and interviews are fantastic. What could you draw over and over and over again and never get tired of?

Faces! The eyes alone can tell so much story–even if it’s the most neutral expression. Sometimes, that can be the most fascinating of all expressions. I love playing with the shadows and lights, trying to capture a subtle mood. One spot of light in the eyes can change everything.

What’s a favorite recent read of yours?

This isn’t a surprising answer since it’s practically everyone’s favorite but…Hunger Games! It contain a lot of things I believe in about storytelling: revolving around a single theme, having narration that’s to the point, and doing something different.

Great pick! And where can we find you on the internets?

www.realmlovejoy.com! I also have a blog called The Blog Realm. I’m on Twitter as realmlovejoy. Basically, if you Google Realm Lovejoy, you’ll get me since there aren’t too many people named that. ;)




Thank you, Realm, for an awesome interview! And for all you guys reading this, bookmark her sites and remember that name: Realm Lovejoy. A talent like that is ONE TO WATCH and one I’m already watching!

Realm RULES!