Evernight Contest #6 from author Claudia Gray. The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Amazon and a chance to name a character in the fourth Evernight (HarperCollins) novel. Deadline June 30. See more information. Read Claudia's LJ. From her FAQ: "Why not vampires? I used to check books of folklore out of the library and read for hours. Then there was Anne Rice, then there was 'Buffy,' then there was 'Moonlight'—basically, if it had vampires in it, particularly if it wasn't flat-out horror, I wanted to check it out. "More News & Links
Interview with Mary E. Pearson by Debbi Michiko Florence. Peek: "Since I don’t outline or ever know for sure how a story will play out, it becomes very much a trusting process with lots of doubt sprinkled in along the way." Read a Cynsations interview with Mary. See also Mary E. Pearson on Inspiration from Teen Book Review. Peek: "'There is a Jack London quote that says, 'You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.'"
"Kathi Appelt--Writing The Underneath" from Kimberly Willis Holt (author interview) at Jambalaya--A Little of This and That. Peek: "In some ways this story was like taffy. I kept stretching it and pulling it and stretching it and pulling it some more, and at times pushing it further and further out. I revisited the region in which it took place, east Texas, tromped around in those pine forests." Don't miss part two. See also a recommendation of The Underneath from Greg Leitich Smith at GregLSBlog. Peek: "...a gripping story of cats, dogs, cruelty, love, and ancient and contemporary evil.""The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination" from Harvard Magazine. "J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, delivers her Commencement Address...at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association."
Q and A with Susan Beth Pfeffer by Lynda Brill Comerford, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly. Peek: "Writing has been my career for my entire life. I had my first book published when I was 20 and still in college. But out of all my books, these last two have been the most fun for me to write." Read a Cynsations interview with Susan."Teen Ink is a national teen magazine, book and website featuring teen writing, information, art, photos, poetry, teen issues and more. All articles are written by teen authors who are students at schools. Teen Ink is also a book series published by HCI Teens. More than 25,000 teens have been published in the magazine and its companion Poetry Journal. Teen Ink runs a London Summer Program for teenage writers."
Attention Texans
Attention Austinites: debut author Shana Burg is hosting a launch party for A Thousand Never Evers (Delacorte, 2008) from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. June 14 at BookPeople in Austin. Note: don't miss Shana's "Workshops for Students" and "Professional Development for Teachers."
Austin SCBWI's "A Day with an Editor" featuring Jill Santopolo, author and senior editor at Laura Geringer/HarperCollins, and Cynthia Leitich Smith will be Sept. 13. "Mark your calendars now and prepare to register early as this event is expected to be a sellout. Registrations will open around July 1, and registration forms will be available at Austin SCBWI." Note: Jill is interested in literary novels, quirky middle grades, and picture books. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College and is the author of Alec Flint, Super Sleuth: The Nina, The Pinta and the Vanishing Treasure (Scholastic/Orchard, 2008).Tantalizing Tidbits
Authors in the Corner: Cynthia Leitich Smith: a new interview from From the Corners of Megan's Mind. Peek: "'I don't think I'd be writing Gothics today if it weren't for Joss Whedon's 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate (Delacorte, 1997)."
Check out the new play list for Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007, 2008) on my MySpace page. Thanks to members of Tantalize Fans Unite! at MySpace for their song suggestions.
Reminder: In celebration of summer reading, I'm giving away autographed sets of 25 Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007, 2008) bookmarks to five YA public librarians.One of those mailings also will include a copy of the Tantalize audio, and one will include a Sanguini's T-shirt (Sanguini's is the fictional vampire restaurant in the book).
To enter the giveaway, email me (scroll for address) with your name, the name of your library, and the library snail/street mail address by 10 p.m. CST June 30! Please also type "Summer Reading" in the subject line. Note: prizes will be sent on a rolling basis.
Check out the Tantalize Reading Group Guide and the Tantalize Research Bibliographies. Watch the Tantalize Book Trailer, and listen to an excerpt of the audio book edition by actress Kim Mai Guest from Listening Library.
Finally
At an ABC news affiliate, authors Jane O'Connor, MAC, and Scott Westerfeld (author interview) offer summer reading tips. Source: Big A, Little A.
Book trailer for Gone by Michael Grant(HarperCollins, 2008)(author podcast; page includes previous podcasts with: E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle; Melissa Marr; Anna Godbersen; and Meg Cabot).
Watch This Book: In bid to boost sales, authors try viral videos; Plugging a novel on roller skates by Lauren Mechling. Note: originally published last weekend in The Wall Street Journal. Peek: "In a book industry flooded with titles and facing sluggish sales, a growing number of authors are going to dramatic lengths to attract attention. The latest tactic: producing and starring in zany videos aimed at the YouTube audience." Note: different focus than the movie-like trailers. Source: Melissa Walker.
