Blog Tour & Interview: The 2011 Book Blogger's Cookbook!

I am deeply honored to be a stop on the blog tour for The Book Blogger Cookbook! Christy Dorrity from Dearest Dreams got the craziest idea in her head to put together a cookbook with recipes & blurbs related to books!

The Book Blogger’s Cookbook has 25 different book reviewers from every corner of the blogosphere. It bridges the gap between author and reader—putting you in touch with book reviewers who can separate the 5 star books from the mediocre.

The Book Blogger’s Cookbook showcases great reads and provides an interactive experience with links to author and book reviewer websites. The cookbook is created for those who like to experience what they read long after they’ve closed the book.

The Book Blogger’s Cookbook tells why each recipe complements its companion book. Recipes and books combine to make the reading experience satisfying and entertaining.

Your's truly is one of the lucky 25 reviewers whose opinions are included in this wonderful book! I've even got Christy here for an interview:

1. How did you stumble upon book blogging? Did your blog start out as something else & become about books or has it always been book-centered?

When I found an online community full of people who read and write about what they read, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to combine my loves of reading and good food in one blog and from the very first book review, I began giving books a recipe. When food and reading fuse together, the reader can experience the world of the book in their real life.

2. What’s your favorite part about the book blogging community?

I am continually amazed at the generosity of book bloggers. They read books, and write reviews about them with no compensation other than a review copy of the book. Their willingness to share doesn't end with the book reviews. Book bloggers swap books with each other, hold giveaways and author interviews, attend book signings and cross promote each others' blogs. I've never seen such an amazing group of people who are willing to share and help each other out.

3. If you could have known only one thing that you know now, that you didn’t know when you started blogging, what would it be?

I think I've learned to pace myself. In order to maintain a blog, a writer needs to have consistent content, but it doesn't have to be a daily chore. I aim for at least a post per week and try not to feel guilty if other things in my life need more attention. One other thing I have learned is to record notes on a book as soon as I finish it, even if I don't write the actual review until later. You'd be surprised how fast you forget what you liked/disliked about a book.


4. You’ve recently published The Book Blogger’s Cookbook. What made you want to put that project together?

When I came up on my one year blogoversary I thought it would be fun to put together a simple PDF cookbook that included all of the recipes on my blog. The more I thought about it, the larger the project grew. I wanted to try my hand at self publishing and The 2011 Book Blogger's Cookbook was the right project to try it out on. Including books and book reviews in the cookbook was a natural progression. I am so happy with the way the cookbook turned out and the many wonderful friendships that I've forged in the book community.

5. Describe your book in three words.

Reads. Eats. Reviews

6. What’s your favorite recipe in the cookbook?

Now that's a hard one. Today I am in the mood for "Poor Dyer's Bread", the companion recipe to The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal. And with all of the fresh fruit available right now, I am inclined to make "Tadpole Soup" from Kersten Hamilton's Tyger, Tyger. Each recipe in the cookbook is one of my favorites.

A BIG thank you to Christy for stopping by to let us in on this fun, blogger-driven book! You can purchase the book on Amazon & don't forget to enter for a chance to win a Kindle!!

Grand Prize Giveaway: Kindle, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" (the kind without the ads)

Plus Five Copies of The 2011 Book Blogger’s Cookbook

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post or any of the great blogs that are participating. Then, if you want more entries into the contest, Tweet, Facebook, or blog about the cookbook and leave a separate comment telling me what you did. You can say something like: Win a Kindle at the launch tour of The 2011 Book Blogger's Cookbook http://tinyurl.com/3vurm3a #bbcb Winners will be drawn using random.org on July 21st.

Blog Tour & Interview: The 2011 Book Blogger's Cookbook!

Armchair BEA: My Interview with Julie of My 5 Monkeys

Today I am hosting an interview with Julie of My 5 Monkeys. She's a terrific mom to 4 girls & 1 boy and she still manages to find time to read & blog! Here's what she has to say:

1. Describe your blog in three words.

Fun, whimsical, positive

2. How did you stumble upon book blogging? Did your blog start out as something else & become about books or has it always been book-centered?

It started as a family blog but when I did some book reviews it slowly changed 2 years ago. I do post personal stuff about the kids once in a while.

3. Do you have a favorite book managing website? Goodreads, Shelfari, Librarything…? What makes it your favorite?

Goodreads because it is easy to add books that I want to read.

4. Which e-reader do you have & how does that compare to reading a print book?

I have a Kindle but it doesn't always compare to holding a book in my hand.

5. Do you participate in memes (Friday 5, Waiting on Wednesday, etc)? Do you have a favorite?

Well I do my own meme of Get to Know Book Bloggers and On Round 3. I participate in In My Mailbox by Krisiti and my own WOW is called Cover Lust.

6. What’s your favorite part about the book blogging community?

The great friends I have made..let me tell you a story..last year about this time was BEA, and I had a list of must reads. I have made a dear friend when she shared with me some books that I had to read from BEA.

7. Have you ever met an author? What was it like? Did you go fangirl or stay calm & cool?

I have met a local author and remained calm.

8. What does your family think of your blog? Do they ever help you with your reviews or layout?

My kids love when I post about them.My daughter M helps with some reviews of middle school books.

9. If you could have known only one thing that you know now, that you didn’t know when you started blogging, what would it be?

Social Media Experience -- I didn't know that I would have to have know all this to have a successful blog. It takes a lot of time to share and drive traffic to the blog. Oh Vlogging is fun , but I need do more of it.

You can find her at http://www.tableforseven-julie.blogspot.com/

If you want to know more about me, be sure to visit Melissa at One Librarian's Book Reviews.

Armchair BEA: My Interview with Julie of My 5 Monkeys

Author Interview & Giveaway: Sherry Shahan with Purple Daze

Today I'm happy to present an interview with the amazing Sherry Shahan! She is the author of the phenomenal YA novel Purple Daze. Without further adieu:

1. Purple Daze is a very unique concept, combining personal accounts with historical events & context documentation as well as verse. Did you choose to write the story this way or is this just how it came out?

While cleaning out a closet, I found an old shoe box filled with letters from a friend who was in Vietnam during the mid-1960s. I spent hours rereading the gut-wrenching accounts of his physical and emotional nightmare. I can’t believe I kept his letters nearly 50 years.

Since his letters inspired Purple Daze, I decided to use that form of expression for his character. At the same time, I started writing character sketches about other high school friends. Once I began scribbling, I was living in a constant flashback. Bam, bam, bam. Memories slammed me twenty-four-seven.

During a later draft, I ran across factual events that I wanted to include. In 1965, for instance, the Pentagon authorized the use of Napalm B in Vietnam. That year the FBI launched an all-out campaign to discredit Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These entries are juxtaposed against musical references, such as concerts and the story behind Arlo Guthrie's song,“Alice's Restaurant.”

2. What parts of yourself, if any, do you see in your myriad of characters?

It’s not a coincidence that Cheryl’s name is so close to my own. Like Cheryl, I used to crawl out my bedroom window at night to meet friends. Sometimes six of us would pile into a car and hit the streets of Skid Row in Los Angeles. We’d walk around at 2 A.M. for no particular reason. During the Watts Riots we drove the freeways looking for a break in the National Guard barrier. We wanted to see the fires and devastation up close. We were such adrenaline junkies.

In one of Ziggy’s pieces, a teacher discovers a hot dog wearing a condom. Yep, that really happened.

Ziggy

Mrs. St. Johns faints in Home Economics

when she opens the refrigerator and sees

her Oscar Mayer wearing rubbers.

I mean, grow up!

3. You’re well versed in writing for several different types of audiences, from small children to adults. Was there a change in your writing style for your YA novel?

Most contemporary YA novels are written from the point of view of a single character. But I wanted my readers to be as close to Phil (in a trench Viet Nam) as to Cheryl (in a high school classroom). I wanted them to have access to the private thoughts and feelings of all six characters.

Each character demanded his or her own story arc -- with a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end -- yet I had to weave each story smoothly into the whole. It was quite a challenge.

Because of this unconventional story form, white space played a significant role in shaping emotional content.

Phil

Mick has no class,

treats Ziggy like trash.

I don’t know why she

puts (out) up with it (him).

This entry is only four lines. Yet they sum up Phil’s feelings about how Ziggy is treated by her boyfriend. Perhaps better than if I’d written it in margin-to-margin prose. Fewer words on a page tend to stand out. It’s as if the white space is framing what’s important.

4. What’s the next big adventure on the horizon?

I’m in a long-term relationship with a man who served in Vietnam in the 1960s. At eighteen he was hauling fuel in a 5,000-gallon truck over a highway bobby-trapped with land-mines. We’re planning a trip from Cam Rahn Bay on the coast, zigzagging to Qui Nhon and onto Anh Khe, one of his driving routes during the war.

5. If you could only take three things with you on your next adventure, what would they be and why?

Camera, because a picture really is worth a thousand words. Corkscrew, because life’s too short to drink wine from a box. Down pillow, just because.

Thank you so much to Sherry Shahan for stopping by to give us an inside look into her wonderful YA novel Purple Daze. You can read my thoughts here. And because Sherry's so awesome, she has even offered up a copy of her fabulous book for a giveaway!

Official Rules:

• You must completely fill out the form.
  
• You must be 13 or older to enter.
• You must be a US resident.
  
• CLOSED.
  

Author Interview & Giveaway: Sherry Shahan with Purple Daze

Saundra Mitchell Interview

Today we are very fortunate indeed to have an interview with The Vespertine creator herself, Mrs. Saundra Mitchell! Let's dig right in!

1. What made you choose Baltimore as your story setting?

I love Baltimore. It's an extraordinary city with extraordinary history. And because it hasn't been used often as a setting for 19th century fiction or film, I felt like readers wouldn't be coming to my book with any expectations. We have a sense of what Gilded Age New York was like, but Baltimore, not so much.

2. The details in your novel are spot-on for the time period from the séances to the calling cards.
How did you research Victorian New England? Did you read a lot, visit the area, just watch a lot
of period movies?

Thank you very much! I did my research in the usual ways—I read a lot of books, I put in a lot of hours at the Maryland Historical Society, I did a lot of reading online. Plus, I dug into period newspapers and magazines, and, of all places, e-Bay, to get a look at actual period dance cards and calling cards!

3. Where did you inspiration for Amelia’s ability come from?

I don't remember! I think it must have been one of those things—to badly quote Neil Gaiman—that I made up in my head.

4. Of all the wonderful events & interactions, what was your favorite part of the story to write?

I really enjoyed writing Zora and Amelia's friendship. They had such great chemistry and so much fun together. It was easy to get carried away on their adventures.

5. In The Vespertine you have a wide variety of personalities. Which of your characters do you
identify with most & why?

It would be cheating to say Nathaniel, because you guys don't actually get to know much about him. He has this whole other life that Amelia can't even imagine. But I feel like I'm most like him—I don't care about convention, except when I do.

6. Any hints about the companion novel The Springsweet, due out Spring of 2012?

Yes! The Vespertine was about fire and air; The Springsweet will be about water and earth, and it takes place in Oklahoma Territory, in 1890!


7. Tell us something unique/intriguing about your writing style or process.

I usually start my day by reading and editing the words I wrote the day before. That way I can slip back into the same place I left off.

Thank you so much Saundra for taking time to let us in on your story secrets! Folks, be sure to check back for more this week celebrating The Vespertine.

Saundra Mitchell Interview

Author Interview & Giveaway with Maggie Stiefvater

Today is a very special day for me as this is my very first blog tour stop! To make things even sweeter, my blog tour is for Linger, the incredible sequel to Shiver, by the ever amazing Maggie Stiefvater. If you haven't read Shiver, then be sure to read my review here first and be forewarned that there are first-book-ending spoilers below. Other than that, this is a spoiler-free interview!



Be sure to check out the Shiver series micro-site for all the up-to-date information about the wolves of Mercy Falls, the gorgeous trailers for both Shiver & Linger and the Linger Twitter Party tonight starting at 8:30 EST. Also, this afternoon I'll be posting my thoughts on the novel, but for now, enjoy the interview!



1. Did you intend for “The Wolves of Mercy Falls” books to be a trilogy or did the story just pan out that way? If you needed to, could you write more?



Well, as I wrote it, I thought it would be a standalone. Then when I was done, I thought I

could really use another book to tie up loose ends. But as I started to plot out what I was

doing in book two, I realized I needed three. And that seems to be pretty true; FOREVER

is a pretty definitive ending point. I’m sure with all the characters in that world, there

would always be more to tell, but I don’t think I will be. Best to leave readers wanting

more rather than overstaying your welcome.



2. How did you come up with the idea of wolf-change due to cold? Any particular reason they “burn-out” after so many transformations?



Through a dedicated process involving whisky and reality TV. No, I’m kidding. I wanted something that was cyclical and natural and predictable and longer than a month. And I can’t tell you about the second bit. It’s spoilery.



3. What’s your opinion on fanfiction in regards to your own work? In regards to others’ work?



I’m pretty ambivalent. As long as folks aren’t making money off it and are crediting me,

why not? The only time it burns my biscuits is when I get a google alert for one and can

see that it’s basically a chapter from my book, word for word, but with just the names

changed. That’s just plagiarism, not the spirit of fan fiction, I don’t think.



4. Do you find that your music (both what you listen to and what you play) influences your writing?



Definitely. Have you heard that poem about the blind men and the elephant? It is a bunch of blind men all on different sides of an elephant, and they’re all touching a different part and guessing what it is. One’s got the tail, the other an ear, the other a foot, and they’re all guessing different things. I feel like music, art, and writing is like that. They are all just different sides of the elephant. Different ways of describing the same thing. I will often use music to get unblocked on my writing.



5. So, you write, you play musical instruments, you have amazing artistic skills… what is a skill you wish you had?



Oh, there are too many to list here. I’m never happy with how much I know. I’d like to

learn cello and the uillean pipes. I’d like to take karate. I’d like to get better at dressage.

I’d like to get better at speaking German. I’d like to fly a plane. I’d like to play the

electric guitar. I want to learn how to do barre chords better. Also make tortillas. There

are a million things I want to learn to do. And I’m gonna do them.



There you have it folks! A big thanks to Maggie for taking the time to answer my questions & for stopping by. Now on to the really fun part.

Giveaway Time!!!

Thanks to the WONDERFUL people at Scholastic, I've been authorized to give away ONE copy of what will surely become the hottest book of 2010! All you have to do to win is fill out the form below. That easy; no muss, no fuss. Good luck!

CLOSED

Author Interview & Giveaway with Maggie Stiefvater

Interview with Beth Fantaskey, author of Jekel Love Hyde

I am so pleased to welcome the awesome and amazing Beth Fantaskey to Tattooed Books! Beth is the mastermind behind the terrific Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (my review) and the soon to be released Jekel Loves Hyde (May 3rd, Harcourt Children's Books). She's worked all kinds of jobs, but her favorite by far is being a Young Adult author. A part-time professor at Susquehanna University, you can hopefully catch her on tour this spring! Without further adieu I give you, her interview.

1. What do you consider your main genre? Urban fantasy, paranormal teen,etc.?

Although I didn’t know much about genres – aside from the two broad categories of “mystery” and “romance” – when I wrote Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, I would say I’m now a paranormal, young adult, romance author. I don’t know if that will always be my genre, but I’m happy there now!

2. What do you think about these new classics with a twist (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Jane Slayre, etc)? Do you think your novels, while not as direct a replication as these, are considered under this umbrella?

I am honestly not sure... I haven’t read either of those yet. In fact, I hadn’t heard of Jane Slayre – although the title definitely made me laugh out loud when I just read it. I love it!

If I had to take a guess, though, based on what I do know about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I would say Jekel Loves Hyde is different in that it’s not so much a retelling or parody of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as it is a novel about two young people whose families were influenced by the original work. It’s a modern day interpretation, and there is the element of a personality changing formula in there, but aside from that the plots are very different.

3. What made you choose the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for your novel?

One day this phrase – Jekel Loves Hyde – sort of flashed through my brain, and I liked it so much that I hurried to see if anyone had ever used it as a title. When I realized there had never really been any kind of young adult adaption of the story, I started thinking that it would be interesting to show how a shy, young girl’s life might be changed by exposure to a dangerous, personality-altering formula. I especially loved the idea of setting the story in a high school because your teen years are all about discovering who you are. Given a choice, would a very introverted, moral girl choose to stay good – or succumb to the temptation to be wild and bad?

4. What was your favorite part about writing Jekel Loves Hyde?

I liked writing the parts in which quiet Jill Jekel unleashes her aggressive, vengeful alter ego. I’m a very shy, rule-following person, myself, and it was fun to imagine what it would be like to shed every inhibition and break every rule, just for the heck of it, without any regret or fear of repercussions.

5. After Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side you took their story to the online world. Are you planning to do something similar with Jill and Tristen?

No, I don’t think so... I think Jill and Tristen’s future will remain in the imaginations of readers. It’s definitely more of a “stand alone” book than Jessica’s Guide.

6. You love to travel the world, any plan to go on tour with your books (both locally or internationally)?

I am starting to get a pretty full travel schedule this spring. Over the course of May and June, I’ll be signing books in San Diego, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, New York, New Jersey, and Miami – not to mention closer to my home in Pennsylvania. I’ll start posting my schedule on my website, bethfantaskey.com, as well as on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace in the next week or so.

I would love to go abroad, too, if I ever had the opportunity. Jessica’s Guide is available now in several different countries, so we’ll see!

7. Anything else you’d like to tell your readers? (Words of advice, hints about new projects, random facts)

I just want to say thanks to everybody who e-mails and checks in with me on Facebook, etc. So far, the best part of writing novels has been interacting with all of the amazing readers. I never expected to make friends around the world just because I wrote a few books, but that’s definitely the case. To everybody who’s taken the time to contact me – THANK YOU so much!! And keep in touch! And to all of you who’ve asked about a full sequel to Jessica’s Guide – I promise, I’m still working on it!

Thank you Beth! Be sure to check back tomorrow for my review of Jekel Loves Hyde!

Interview with Beth Fantaskey, author of Jekel Love Hyde

Interview with Debut Author Jennifer Hubbard

Today I am fortunate enough to host the wonderful Jennifer Hubbard! Her debut novel the Secret Year was released in January of this year. While it's only 192 pages, this book packs a wallop and I really enjoyed reading about love and loss from a guy's perspective. You can read my review here and find out more about Jennifer here.

1. Did you choose to write YA or did it just sort of come out that way?

It chose me. It’s what I liked to read, so eventually I decided to write it.

2. Did you find it difficult to write from a teenage boy’s point of view?

No, I have many characters’ voices in my head: some female, some male.

3. As The Secret Year is your debut novel, what were you least and most favorite moments of this experience?

The worst part was the waiting. You wait a lot in this business, and the economy has only made things more uncertain than ever. One of my favorite moments was the first time I saw my cover. I was really looking forward to that, and it was even better because Sam Kim of Penguin came up with such a perfect image and design for the book.

4. If The Secret Year had a soundtrack, which songs would you expect to hear?

The songs I listened to while I wrote are not necessarily the songs anyone else would connect with the book. But Tom Waits’s “Temptation” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Big Love” (the 1997 version) were two songs I listened to over and over while writing The Secret Year.

Incidentally, creating your own playlist is one of the activities I suggest in the book’s Reader Guide (http://www.classof2k10.com/secret_year_reader_guide.pdf).

5. Who/what would you say are some of your biggest influences (in life and/or writing)?

This reminds me of an interview Nora Ephron did with Mike Nichols. She asked him a question in this vein, and he said, “Nothing trains you for life.” Which is the perfect answer, I think. Everything influences me, and at the same time there is a core of something within me, to which I try to stay true.

6. Tell us a bit more about your Library-Loving Blog Challenge.

This is a challenge in which people pledge money to their local libraries based on the number of comments received on their blog, Facebook, etc. Last year we had more than 20 blogs and raised over $1600; this year the challenge runs from March 23 to March 27. I’m still looking for bloggers and Facebookers to participate. (http://writerjenn.livejournal.com/158131.html)

7. The age old question: Chocolate: dark, milk, or other?

Dark. But I’ll eat milk in a pinch. And in fact, someone gave me some wonderful organic milk chocolate at my launch party—with toffee and with nuts.

8. Anything else you’d like us to know?

Thanks for hosting me!

It was my pleasure to host this wonderful interview. Thanks Jennifer!

Interview with Debut Author Jennifer Hubbard

Author Interview with Jandy Nelson

Today I am very excited to present an interview with Jandy Nelson, the amazing debut author of the incredible The Sky is Everywhere.



Quick background: She received a BA from Cornell, an MFA from Brown in poetry, and another MFA from Vermont College in writing for children and young adults. A literary agent for many years, she is also a published poet.

-Goodreads



Trailer:







Now, without further ado, I give you the interview.

__________________________________________________________________

1. What made you choose Young Adults as your audience for your debut novel?

I started writing this novel when I was getting an MFA in writing for children and young adults (at VCFA), so in a way there never was a question in my mind who I wanted to write this novel to and for. I love young adult novels. I love the bold voices, the emotional landscapes, the romance. But I’m not sure you really choose your audience at all. I think an author chooses her characters and the story (or they choose her) and that determines the audience. I knew from the first few sentences out of Lennie’s mouth that she was telling her story to and for her peers.

2. In quick summation, what do you want your novel to say to its readers?

Super quick (and corny!) summation: Life is heartbreaking and breathtaking, both. Like Lennie says, “Grief and love are conjoined, you can’t have one without the other.” Follow your heart, your passions. Live and love in big and bold and full and real and messy and forgiving ways. Try to be yourself and live your dreams. (Argh—I sound like a hallmark card!)

3. Did your work as a literary agent change anything in the publishing process for you?

I don’t think it changed anything but it probably made the process a little different than it might be for other first time novelists because I knew what to expect and what not to expect. My favorite part about being an agent is making the call to a writer saying that I’m madly in love with his or her book and want to represent it—that’s such a joyful moment, as is making the call to an author that there is an offer or offers from publishing houses—it’s just crazy gleeful. But I have to say getting those calls is perhaps even more ecstatic than making them! My agent Emily Van Beek (at Pippin Properties) is a dream agent—she made the whole process such a joy. It’s funny, but sometimes it was hard for me to remember throughout it all that it was actually my book and not someone else’s that was being published! I pinched myself A LOT over the last year!

4. What is your writing personality? Do you prefer ordered calm with soothing music or do you just write whatever, whenever, wherever?

It varies. Sometimes I lock myself up for days and days in my (very un-orderly) office and other times I’m writing on napkins in restaurants and on the backs of parking tickets at red lights. (Yes, that’s me you’re honking at still parked at the green light—sorry!) The best is when the words are pouring out like that. I also love after the first several drafts are done and you can just kind of stare at your computer screen zombie-like and live inside a particular scene for days at a time, tweaking and tuning and trying to make it better. That’s really fun. I usually don’t listen to music because I constantly read pages aloud as I write and revise them.

5. Can we look forward to seeing you on tour anytime soon or is there anything you want to tell the readers?

I’ll be at different events and bookstores in the next few months that I’ll post on my website. I’d love to meet everyone! And I guess I just want to thank readers for reading my book. I really hope they enjoy it.

__________________________________________________________________

I want to send a big "Thank You" to her for agreeing to take time out of her extremely busy schedule in order to give you, the reader, a chance to know her a little better. Be sure to come back on Thursday to see my review of The Sky is Everywhere and to check out her book on it's release day of March 9, 2010!

Author Interview with Jandy Nelson

Interview with Soul Screamers author Rachel Vincent!

Welcome to Soul Screamers' Week! As a celebration of all that Rachel Vincent has accomplished with her teen series, I will be holding a week-long celebration of Soul Screamers. During this week there will be my reviews of the books, Soul Screamers related posts, an interview with Rachel and (what would a celebratory week be without...) a giveaway! Enjoy!

Let's give a warm welcome to Rachel Vincent who is here to kick off the Soul Screamers' Week with her interview.

1. What made you choose paranormal as your main genre?

Actually, I chose urban fantasy. At least, that's what I thought I was choosing. But I'm typically shelved in Paranormal Romance, which means my readers are a cross-section of romance and fantasy readers, which is awesome! As for how I chose urban fantasy, I just write the kinds of books I like to read. ;)

2. How much research did you actually have to log on bean sidhes for the Soul Screamers series?

Um... I read what I could find, but there wasn't exactly a ton out there. Which is why I chose bean sidhes. There was plenty of room for me to make stuff up, without disturbing the existing lore too badly. So my bean sidhes are a good mix of existing lore and my own imagination.

3. Your books are coming out in quick succession, did you write them all at one and then divide the stories up or have you been writing the whole time?

I've been writing the whole time, but not just on the Soul Screamers series. I also write an adult series (Shifters) for MIRA Books. I had the first three Soul Screamers books written before the first one came out.

4. What is your favorite aspect of your series? (Certain characters, the mythology, the romance, etc)

My favorite aspect of the Soul Screamers series is the world building. After writing the Shifters series for so long, in which I'm limited to three different breeds of shape shifters, I felt like my hands were really untied with Kaylee and her world. There's nothing I can't do there, and I've really let my imagination go, and that means that there's an infinite number of plots and characters I could write.

5. Any hints about your third installment My Soul to Keep that’s due out this June?

Yes! MSTKeep is all about the consequences, and in the Soul Screamers world, consequences are real, and they're permanent. These books each stand alone, but the events in MSTKeep are--in large part--aftermath of what happened in MSTSave (though you don't have to have read it first), and Kaylee's relationships in this one are changed forever. Its a very emotional story, and devastating in many ways. A couple of the scenes actually made me uncomfortable to write.

6. Anything else you want to tell your readers and fans?

Kaylee's a strong character, and her strength is mostly on the inside. She's loyal, and brave, and caring to a fault. But she's not afraid to do what needs to be done. I love this series and these characters, and I'm so grateful to everyone who's decided to give them a try!

Thank you so much Rachel for that little peak into your world(s)! That's some exciting news on the MSTKeep front. Check out her website for more information on both her series and for a list of appearances.

Interview with Soul Screamers author Rachel Vincent!

I got interviewed!

Just a heads up folks, if you are curious to know more about me and my blog, you can head over to The Bookologist's site and read her Tuesday Chatter. It's a great feature and I hope she keeps it going. Thanks for the interview!

I got interviewed!

Interview with Elizabeth Scott

Elizabeth Scott may have been raised in a small town, but she thinks big city. Her books are real and accessible to the many teens that read them. With a background in European Studies, this author has run the gamut of jobs from an editor to a pantyhose salesperson and while the idea of "creative writing" frightened her at first, she eventually came to a realization that has allowed her to write such popular titles as Something, Maybe, Love You, Hate You, Miss You and Living Dead Girl. Without further ado, here is an interview with Elizabeth Scott.

What made you want to write books on such difficult subject matter?

I like to write books about people falling in love, but I'm also drawn to writing about darker things, and I quite like doing both.

Would you say you have an interesting writing quirk?

I like to write in bed!

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

I have amazing readers, and they have sent me some truly wonderful notes! I get asked about movies a lot, but I'm sad to say none of my books have been optioned.

Are there any particular authors or writing styles that influence your work?

No, although I do always think about Elmore Leonard famous quote about how he tries to “leave out the parts people skip" when I'm revising. My drafts tend to shrink a lot--the average is 40% between the first and final versions.

Any hints about your next novel?

The Unwritten Rule comes out on April 6th, and it's about a girl who falls for her best friend's boyfriend. You can probably guess where the title came from just from that!

Any advice you'd give to young readers or anything else you'd like them to know?

Read. I can't say it enough--you've all got the writing thing down and you have the drive, but don't forget to read. Read in the genre you want to write in, and read outside it as well. The more you read, the more you'll start to see what grabs you when you read a book and what doesn't. And besides, books offer you a way to escape into another world or into someone else's life or to learn things you didn't know. Who'd want to miss out on that?

Interview with Elizabeth Scott