Interview - Kami Garcia & Margie Stohl (Beautiful Creatures)

Beautiful Creatures has been available in stores in the US since December and in Australia from the 4th of this month. The co-authors, Kami and Margie, kindly allowed me to interview them on the writing of this novel and other random Australian queries :)

You can read my thoughts on the novel here.

You've kindly explained to me what Red Hots are as well as grits, what Southern dish do you wish you'd included in the story?

Margie: Oh, Adele. There are so many, but then again, there’s always the sequel…

Kami: I think we underrepresented Red Eye Gravy. Any sauce made with cream, ham, and coffee grinds deserves a little attention.

Margie: Also Scrapple, which I am sad to report I ate without knowing it was made from the reject cow & pig parts that just didn’t make it into the actual BBQ…

Kami: There is a vlog on our YouTube Channel.

Ethan might be the protagonist but he's surrounded and informed by a multitude of strong females. How much fun is it to write someone as dynamic as Amma, the deepening connection with Lena or the bond between a teenage son and his mother?

Margie: You’re absolutely right, Ethan sort of plays the straight guy to a whole host of strong women and extreme characters. Every word out of Amma’s mouth surprises us. The Sisters don’t do a thing we tell them to do.

Kami: We couldn’t wait to find out what was going on with Ethan’s mother, but she would only come out when we least expected it. Ethan and his mother have always been very private, though we have gotten to know them both better.

Margie: Strong women are the only women we know, whether teens or adults. Of course, any neighborhood we stumbled into would be full of them!

Your favourite item on Lena's necklace of goodies? Did you make up stories for all of the bits and pieces on it?

Margie: Lena’s necklace is as meaningful to us as it is to her, and there isn’t a random object on it. Though some of it might not look valuable to you or I, it’s all she has. My favorite thing would have to be the silver button from the night they met, which Ethan found in the cracked pleather seat of the Beater.

Kami: Margie made the necklaces ourselves, and everything on them. We will be giving one away in one of our contests, which is the only way you can get Lena’s real necklace. I love the wire star that Ethan’s mother made for her childhood Christmas village. They are handmade from wire and hand-painted gold.

How did you and Margie meet? How did it evolve to a writing partnership?

Margie: Kami taught all of my daughters in school. We read the same books, and over the years evolved from book friends to critique partners to writing partners.

Kami: I think it would be impossible to write a book with someone you hadn’t known for that long and that well. You have to have complete trust in and respect for each other. We’ve been on something of a wild ride, and it’s great to have not just a writing partner, but a friend to share it with.

Beautiful Creatures is on Australian shelves from January 4th - how's it feel to know you're debut work is being sold in various locations around the world?

Margie: It feels amazing! I think Beautiful Creatures will now be published in 24 countries and 18 languages. My family travels quite a lot, and I have visited our German French publishers—and a few French fans. They’re as excited about the book as we are.

Kami: I just can’t wait until we get to come visit you, Adele. That’s the wonderful thing about YA literature, it really is an international community. We’ve met so many wonderful bloggers, writers, and tweethearts from so many different parts of the world—we love it!

I love Macon...if there were to be a movie version, who'd be your ideal casting?

Margie: I love Macon too, he’s one of my very favorites. But I have no idea about things like casting. I’ve been told everything from Kevin Spacey to George Clooney and Jeffrey Dean Stanton. What do you think?

Kami: Jeffrey Dean Stanton was for Ethan’s dad, I think. Margie knows I never cast characters in my head. They’re all so real to me, so I can’t imagine Macon looking like anyone other than Macon. And since I already know what the Macon in my head looks like, I stick with that one…

Ethan's mother intrigued me to a degree that is surprising since she'd deceased throughout the book (and not a zombie, vampire, etc). Will we learn more about this woman?

Margie: Adele, this is a sprawling Southern Gothic yarn. There probably isn’t a single character you won’t learn more about, sooner or later.

Kami: You know what they say, there are no secrets in Gatlin, not really. Not if you write (and read) enough books about them, anyway…

A big thank you to Kami and Margie for taking the time to answer these questions when they were particularly busy!

You can visit their website - www.BeautifulCreaturestheBook.com or join the US Fansite at www.castergirls.com. They don't have UK or Australian fansites, yet. But for now visit Penguin’s Spinebreakers website at www.Spinebreakers.com.

AUTHOR PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Hoerner

Waiting on Wednesday - Kiss It

KISS IT - Erin Downing

This lovely title came to my attention over at the Book Smugglers smashing blog where Jenn Echols wrote about some of her fave titles getting published in 2010.

She described Kiss It:

It’s about a high school senior stuck in a tiny town in Minnesota during Christmas break. She is bored, she is tired of the blizzards, and she has sex on the brain. We follow her for a couple of weeks as she tries on different boyfriends, with the real prize lurking in the snowy background. This is not a moralistic tale, y’all, this is just a teenage girl’s realistic journey—not into adulthood, but a little closer.

Erin Downing's Kiss It, published by Simon Pulse will be in stores June 16, 2010.

Teaser Tuesday: The Sky is Everywhere

Summary - Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding.

Teaser Tidbit:

"This is us since my sister Bailey collapsed one month ago from a fatal arrhythmia while in rehearsal for a local production of Romeo and Juliet. It's as if someone vacuumed up the horizon while we were looking the other way."

That last sentence really grabbed me. Look forward to finishing the whole enchilada and finding more passages to share with you.

Out in stores March 2010.

Vlog: The 'Ping' Moment (aka When My Brain Almost Broke)

For those of you who have been asking: my necklace is one my mum bought me in Egypt, it (apparently) has my name spelled out in hieroglyphics. That's super cool in my book and I wear it all the time.

Also...
Japan blog - http://adeleinjapan.blogspot.com

PSnarkiversary: Michelle Zink (Prophecy of the Sisters)

Michelle Zink has an enormous impact on the YA blogosphere. For many of us, she is our blog mother. Her maternal qualities and great advice make all of us feel like they are being encompassed in a big online hug.

She has kindly accepted my request to be the final guest post for Persnickety Snark's first blogoversary. I can't think of a better person to conclude with!

Having your book published brings with it ample opportunity to speak out online. Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes it’s a bad thing, but in this case, it’s a very good thing.

That’s because Adele, aka Persnickety Snark, embodies everything I admire about the blogging community.

As review blogging has become more and more prevalent, we’ve had the opportunity to see incredible generosity, well-thought-out reviews, and true friendship. We’ve also had the opportunity to witness blogging at its not-so-finest, which is what led me to think about why I hold Adele in such high esteem and what, exactly, makes a great review blogger.

First and foremost, a great review blogger is someone who’s professional. It’s easy to wield online power (whether real or perceived) unkindly. We’re separated from one another by miles (sometimes thousands) and computer screens. But as the blogosphere becomes more and more crowded, it’s the professionals who stand out for me. Bad behavior is unbecoming in any medium, and it’s easy to spot in the blogosphere. I have never seen Persnickety Snark behave badly, even in those cases where I thought she had good cause. Adele always behaves with dignity, and that is not to be underrated.

I also appreciate fairness and decency. Honesty tempered with sensitivity. I can always count on my favorite reviewers - Persnickety Snark among them - to write thorough reviews. Ideally, a great reviewer will remember that this is someone’s work, and in pretty much every case, the writer has poured their heart and soul into it. I love it when a reviewer who didn’t care for a book adds things like, “This just isn’t my type of book, but someone who likes XYZ may really like it” or “I loved X Writer’s first book, but this one just wasn’t for me.” In one case, I came across a reviewer (SO wish I could remember who it was!) who actually made a point of posting, at the bottom of a negative review, links to other reviews where the book had been praised. I was blown away by that gesture. It was inconceivable to be that a reviewer would take the time to find and link to reviews with opposing opinions. Along these lines, I always find Persnickety Snark’s reviews to be thorough, fair, and honest. What more can you ask for?

Lastly, I truly enjoying forging friendships with bloggers and other authors alike. It’s not for everyone (which I respect), but the companionship we share is one of my favorite parts of the online community. When push comes to shove, we’re all readers. I was a reader before I was a writer, and my love for storytelling stems from my love of hearing and reading great stories. We have that in common, Adele and I and so many of you reading this right now. We are more alike than you know. It’s a gift when someone like Adele opens their heart, not just in professional camaraderie, but in true friendship. I’m so grateful for that gift.

So Adele, on the first anniversary of your blog, I thank you for your professionalism, honesty, fairness, great wit, and yes, your friendship. We are all lucky to know you.

It's amazing how a piece of writing can make you feel, especially when it's directed at you! Thank you Michelle for your willingness to write a piece for my celebrations.

Her forthcoming novel, Guardian of the Gate (sequel to Prophecy of the Sisters) will be on shelves from August 1st, 2010. For Michelle's thoughts and her amazing Open Mic! feature, hit up her blog now!

PSnarkiversary: Sandy Fussell (Samurai Kids)

Sandy Fussell is an Australian author that I told almost immediately about my journey to Japan as she's written the successful Samurai Kids series. Some of the titles see her ragtag group of kids training in Japan so I knew she'd be interested that I was going to live there.

I was almost there for the birth. I only just missed it but immediately recognised a star had been born. A year has since passed and it’s time to celebrate. Happy first birthday Persnickety Snark and congratulations Adele, you should be very proud of all you have achieved.

I’ve always believed the best way to learn something new is to look around and see who is already doing it really well. Why reinvent the wheel? Or the blog? So when I decided to begin blogging I searched the blogosphere and found the fledgling Persnickety Snark web site. I was impressed – the reviews were high quality and refreshingly honest – PS was not afraid to point out flaws, problems or provide personal opinion. PS knew how to network and lively conversations and discussion were happening in the comments. The fans were already flocking and the visitor counter was clicking over at top speed.

I was in awe of the frequency of the blog posts. And still am. This was a blog site that was getting it right from the beginning. I didn’t hesitate to approach Persnickety Snark and wangle myself a review, interview and guest blog post. I knew it was primarily a young adult related site and I was a middle grade author but I crossed my fingers and hoped that being a relatively new blog, I might just sneak my way in. Some parties are worth gate-crashing!
It was an unexpected bonus to find PS was a primary school teacher in another life and I received some wonderful feedback about the kids who argued over who would read my books next.

Persnickety Snark opened my eyes to the world of young adult literature. It was a genre I had somehow largely overlooked. Purely by accident. I was reading adult titles for pleasure and middle grade fiction for pleasure and professional development. I just hadn’t got around to anything else. PS made sure I did and I have a number of new favourites on my bookshelf as a direct result.
I particularly like to read the interviews. Over the last twelve months the blog posts have become a who’s who in the world of YA.

People often ask me: what’s the point in blogging? It’s fun. It’s a great way to share your interests. It’s a wonderful way to meet people. That’s the answer I give and then I point them in the direction Persnickety Snark - to go have a look and see for themselves.

Sandy was a big support early on when I voiced my desire to write. She wrote me an email that I still have and read time to time that spoke of her belief in my ability. Sandy's an exceedingly generous person and I am extremely grateful she has written this guest post. You can check out her website here.

In My Mailbox - 16 January

IMM brought to us all by Alea and Kristi.

Books mentioned:
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak) - Black Swan / 2007
The Sky is Everywhere (Jandy Nelson) - Penguin USA / 2010

Update: Cat asked about the bookstores here in Japan and I have posted a vlog about that over at my Japan blog if you want to hear about that. I post regularly about how I am settling in here and all the things I am seeing, experiencing and doing.

(The mention of Americans was actually directed at publishers, I just forgot to add that word. I do understand why international post is a pain so I am not grizzling...more grateful that Penguin sent me the book in the first place.)