Carol Larese Millward

This week, we’re celebrating Carol Larese Millward’s debut! Carol Larese Millward is a writer who for several years was a family advocate and parent educator working with teen parents through Family Support and Education Centers, and made in-home visits to teach life skills and best parenting practices to young parents. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and lives in Maryland with her husband and two cats. STAR IN THE MIDDLE is her debut novel.

Here’s a little bit about STAR IN THE MIDDLE (WestSide Books).

At sixteen, Star Peters is determined to keep her baby, but it is becoming increasingly more difficult each day. Instead of training for her high school’s cross-country team and preparing for her junior year, she is struggling to meet her baby’s needs, while trying to cope with painful, haunting secrets that she’s shared with no one. Wilson Fletcher, the baby’s father, someone Star had loved and trusted, won’t even acknowledge that the baby is his. To make things even more complicated, Star’s grandmother, concerned with her granddaughter’s struggles as a teen mother, is threatening to put Star in foster care and find adoptive parents for the baby. Star finds support from friends, especially Todd Ryan, a teen father caring for his infant daughter—and at a center she attends for teen parents. Wilson, at seventeen, is smart, athletic and popular. He just wants to get on with life, but he’s finding it difficult to forget about Star. As family and friends encourage Wil to accept his responsibility as a father, he begins to understand some important truths about the girl he can’t forget, himself, and what he believes to be true. In alternating chapters, Star and Wil voice their most intimate secrets, feelings, hopes and fears about themselves and their baby.

STAR IN THE MIDDLE by Carol Larese Millward

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

PG 13. STAR IN THE MIDDLE deals with sensitive issues facing teens, and some scenes may be too intense for younger teens.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

While working with teen parents, I was often struck by the many layers that some of them had accumulated in their young lives — layers that may have attributed to their at-risk behaviors; and hampered them as they attempted to care for themselves and their babies. They often exhibited low self-esteem, which may have been the result of some trauma in their lives — and may have led them to make poor choices. It was important to me, after working with teen parents, to tell this story. I was both concerned about the glamorous way teen pregnancy was being portrayed in the media, and on the flip side, the very negative ways in which I heard people talk about teen parents. I truly enjoyed working with young parents – and continue to respect the resiliency and determination they showed as they tried to better their own lives and the lives of their children.

I was also responding to media reports, and what appears to me to be an increase in sexual abuse against our children. And, since research shows that sexual abuse is one indicator in increasing the chances of a teen becoming pregnant – I wanted to deal with that topic in this book as well.

I believe what makes STAR IN THE MIDDLE stand out is that both the young mother and father tell their stories in alternating chapters. I hope that it will be a teen pregnancy book that will appeal to both genders. I also hope that it will help young adults understand that believing and accepting stereotypes can lead to invalid assessments of others. My highest hope is that it will show that keeping dangerous secrets can be destructive.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Any young adult who feels pressured to become sexually active.
• Any teen that believes becoming pregnant will make her life better, because she will have someone to love her.
• Any young adult who has been emotionally or sexually abused, and struggles with feelings of low self-esteem, and the fear of seeking help.

Some young adults give in to peer pressure and engage in risky sexual behaviors. I hope that reading about characters that wish they had waited will help teens think about the importance of this decision – and in the importance of protecting themselves against unplanned pregnancies and STD’s should they choose to become sexually active.

Some young women feel that having a baby to love and love them will solve their problems. I hope that young adults will see that although Star loved her baby, he didn’t make her life easier, and, in fact, complicated it in many more ways than not.

Children who have been emotionally and/or sexually abused often hide the abuse due to fear and shame. I hope the book will show the importance of seeking help and support.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

“Begging a baby to go to sleep is like begging your body to produce a period when it’s intent on producing a baby instead.” (Star, pg.9)

… “I’ve outgrown what you do in your diaper, but big guys crap things up in other ways. My advice, try to limit crapping things up to your diaper years. I mean it’s okay to smell like a toxic waste dump when you’re wearing diapers. Beyond that, it becomes very unattractive. There’s no hiding it. People notice.” (Wilson talking to his baby, pg. 159)

How can your book be used in the classroom?

WestSide Books has published a wonderful companion Teacher’s Guide with STAR IN THE MIDDLE. It is available through their website, and in addition to outlining basic themes, has many activities to both engage and challenge students – as well as support classroom teachers.

I believe the book can be used effectively with school Language Arts programs, health curriculums, programs for at-risk students, and school book clubs.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

• Bechard, Margaret. Hanging on to Max. Simon & Schuster, New York. 2003.
• Dessen, Sarah. Someone Like You. Viking Juvenile, Penguin, New York. 1998.
• Pennebaker, Ruth. Don’t Think Twice. Henry Holt & Co., Macmillan, New York. 2001.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

“Grandma was really mad about the baby. Okay, so I screwed up, but I didn’t do it to mess with her. I was prepared for hollering, not crying. I could barely look at her snotty nose and her red eyes. Why’d she go and act like that anyway?”

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes. My first book talk is scheduled for the end of January with the book club at Bel Air High School, Bel Air, MD.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• Empathy: Writer’s Gold
• Face to Face with Fictional Characters!
• Crossing the Finishing Line: Before it becomes a Stumbling Block

This concludes our interview with our latest author, CAROL LARESE MILLWARD. We wish her much success with her debut novel STAR IN THE MIDDLE. To see what Carol is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.carollaresemillward.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Carol is giving away a signed copy of STAR IN THE MIDDLE to a winner. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by March 16th, 2010 11:59 PM CST. (U.S. and Canadian residents only, please.)

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

Debra Sartell

This week, we’re celebrating Debra Sartell’s debut! Debra Sartell booked stand-up comedy before she began writing children’s picture books. After her son, Cole, was born she found inspiration for her work and many comical moments in parenting through the camera lens. Says Debra, “TIME FOR BED, BABY TED grew out of one of those snapshot moments of parenting exhaustion when Cole could’ve tucked my husband into bed!” She lives in California with her husband Darrell and their two lively children, Cole and Stella.

TIME FOR BED, BABY TED by Debra Sartell

Here’s a little bit about TIME FOR BED, BABY TED (Holiday House).

It’s time for bed, but where is baby Ted? He’s not baby Ted! Try and guess what he is instead. With a quack a snack, a cluck and a tuck, a loving father prepares his child for bedtime in this charming story.

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

G It’s a going to bed book done in lively rhyme.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

TIME FOR BED, BABY TED, is a sweet rhythm and rhyme story of a father preparing his child, Ted for bed. Ted finds many ways to avoid going straight to bed, by playing an animal guessing game but through gentle patients and play Dad moves the bedtime ritual along until Ted has tucked himself into bed.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

Any parent who has to get a child ready for bed will appreciate the bedtime rituals set-up in this book as well as fun and memorable rhyming phrases such as, “We’ll SNAP him up, WRAP him up and tuck him into bed.” Kay Chorao’s illustrations are exciting and vibrant.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

And he started Poke, POKE, POKING. “Ouch!” Dad said. “How do you put a baby porcupine to bed? VERY, VERY CAREFULLY!”

How can your book be used in the classroom?

To start a fun discussion about bedtime and routines. What do you do to get ready for bed? We read a story, brush our teeth, go to the bathroom and snuggle up for sleep. What time do you go to bed? How many hours are we awake in the day and how many hours do we sleep at night. Talk about sleeping and dreaming. Playing in your dreams at night and being rested enough to play out your dreams in the day.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

Kay Chorao, the illustrator of TIME FOR BED, BABY TED has written and illustrated many books, a couple favorites are, “Pig and Crow,” and “Rosie to the Rescue.”

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

“That’s the end of the story,” Dad said. “Come on, baby Ted, let’s get ready for bed.” But Ted crawled fast past Dad and said, “I’m not baby Ted. I can’t go to bed. Try and guess what I am instead.” And he started snap, SNAP, SNAPPING.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes, I think it would be fun to read my book on pajama day at schools. I would also love to do library readings and other organizations. At the end of each reading we will make a sleepytime potion to place under our pillows.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes!

This concludes our interview with our latest author, DEBRA SARTELL. We wish her much success with her debut novel TIME FOR BED, BABY TED. To see what Debra is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.debrasartell.com or her blog at http://www.debrasartell.blogspot.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Debra is giving away a signed copy of TIME FOR BED, BABY TED to two winners. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by March 9th, 2010 11:59 PM CST. (U.S. and Canadian residents only, please.)

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

Amy Brecount White

This week, we’re celebrating Amy Brecount White’s debut! From ages 0 to 9, Amy moved every two or three years all over the country, which she likes to think made her adaptable and open to new places, people, and ideas.  She lived in San Francisco, Virginia Beach, Albuquerque, N.M., Lexington, K.Y., and Dayton, Ohio.  The library was one of the first places she found anywhere she arrived.  She’s always found a home in books.

It really never occurred to her that she could be a writer until she was in college.  She always thought she’d do something more “practical,” with a guaranteed salary.  (There are no guarantees in writing.)  When she ditched the practical by majoring in Great Books at the University of Notre Dame, she began to think about writing as a sideline.

Her first paid writing job was for a health newsletter in Charlottesville, Va., where she was earning an M.A. in English at the University of Virginia.  Her first published piece of writing was about … constipation.   No kidding.

Along the way, she’s taught English literature and writing to middle and high school students and won a teacher of the year award.  She’s written lots of articles – mainly for The Washington Post – about fun things to do in the greater Washington area.  She had also written a lot of essays about things she cares about, such as reading aloud to children and protecting the environment.

FORGET-HER-NOTS by Amy Brecount White

Here’s a little bit about FORGET-HER-NOTS (Greenwillow Books).

When someone leaves three mystery flowers outside her dorm door, Laurel thinks that maybe the Avondale School isn’t so awful after all — until her own body starts to freak out.  In the middle of her English presentation on the Victorian Language of Flowers, strange words pop into her head, and her body seems to tingle and hum.  Impulsively, Laurel gives the love bouquet she made to demonstrate the language to her spinster English teacher.  When that teacher unexpectedly and immediately finds romance, Laurel suspects that something — something magical — is up. With her new friend, Kate, she sets out to discover the origins and breadth of her powers by experimenting on herself and others.  But she can’t seem to find any living experts in the field of flower powers to guide her.  And her bouquets don’t always do her bidding, especially when it comes to her own crush, Justin.  Rumors about Laurel and her flowers fly across campus, and she’s soon besieged by requests from girls — both friends and enemies — who want their lives magically transformed — just in time for prom.

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

PG-12. Kids younger than twelve will be put off by some of the poetry throughout the novel and might not appreciate the romance.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

Friendship, loss, memories, first love, and how to best use the gifts you’ve been given. My own life experiences mostly drove me. I wanted to write about things that I care about – but also have the book be a fun ride to take.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Anyone ages 12 to 99 who loves flowers.
• Anyone ages 12 & up who likes literary fiction.
• Anyone ages 12 & up who likes an old-fashioned/ newfangled romance.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

• “Conservatories had always seemed like magical places to her.”
• “I feel like my whole body is humming when I’m with flowers.”
• “The honeyed fragrance swirled into her head and swept through her body, leaving a strange trail of lovely words she couldn’t help whispering to herself.”

How can your book be used in the classroom?

My novel explores the historical interaction of humans and flowers, including some Greek mythology, Shakespeare, and several poets. I use a variety of famous historical quotations about flowers as epigraphs for my chapters. I also highlight several historic flower ceremonies, such as a Maypole dance.

While it is fiction, the language of flowers was a real historic phenomenon, and many people still follow it in choosing what flowers or what color to send. Like my main character Laurel, who does a school project on the language of flowers, I think it would be fascinating for classes to explore how flowers are a part of our history and discuss why we include them at so many important and ceremonial occasions.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

• Fans of Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle series will enjoy FORGET-HER-NOTS.
• Fans of Elizabeth Bunce’s A CURSE AS DARK AS GOLD will enjoy the magic realism details of FORGET-HER-NOTS.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

A flash on the brown carpet caught Laurel’s eye, and she jumped mid-step to keep from crushing it. “What the –“

Three bright flowers tied with a shiny silver ribbon lay just outside her dormitory door. Her chest fluttered with excitement as she bent to pick them up. There were two small white ones, a red one with a yellow center, and some feathery leaves. She looked both ways, but the hall was dim and empty.

She bit the inside of her lip. Pranking – according to her sophomore cousin, Rose – was one of the more popular hobbies on the campus of the Avondale School, outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Laurel listened for tell-tale giggles to break the silence, but all was still. And there was no note with the flowers.

Could a guy have left them? she wondered.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes, I’d love to do school, library, conservatory, botanical garden, and book group visits live or by Skype.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes!

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• As a former freelance journalist with more than 75 articles and essays published in THE WASHINGTON POST, I can speak to how to many any piece of writing better, including non-fiction essays (what most kids write) and fictional works
• As a former high school English teacher, I’m comfortable speaking about anything to do with literature, poetry, and how to engage a literary work
• As an avid gardener and amateur language-of-flowers researcher, I’d love to speak about the relationships between human beings and flowers throughout human history.

This concludes our interview with our latest author, AMY BRECOUNT WHITE. We wish her much success with her debut novel FORGET-HER-NOTS. To see what Amy  is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.amybrecountwhite.com or her twitter at http://www.twitter.com/amybrecountwhit.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Amy is giving away a signed copy of FORGET-HER-NOTS to a winner and a $10 gift card to Borders to two winners. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by March 9th, 2010 11:59 PM CST. (U.S. and Canadian residents only, please.)

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

Suzanne Morgan Williams

This week, we’re celebrating Suzanne Morgan Williams’ debut! Suzanne Morgan Williams is the author of Bull Rider, her first novel, and ten nonfiction books for children including Made in China, Ideas and Inventions from Ancient China (Pacific View Press, 1997), The Inuit, (Franklin Watts, 2003) and the award winning Pinatas and Smiling Skeletions (Harris and Williams, Pacific View Press, 1999.) Suzanne is a Nevada Writer in Residence, has won grants from Sierra Arts Foundation and Nevada Arts Council and is Co-Regional Advisor of Nevada Region of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Her research and speaking regularly takes her into the classrooms, museums and communities from her home in Nevada across the US and Canada, from Mexico to the Arctic.

Here’s a little bit about BULL RIDER (Margaret K. McElderry).

Bull Rider is an upper middle grade novel (ages ten to fourteen) about how one boy and his family deal with the loss and grief brought on by war. Fourteen year old Cam O’Mara is a ranch kid from the sage brush country of central Nevada. He is a skateboarder, not a champion bull rider like his brother Ben, but when Ben joins the Marines and is seriously injured in Iraq, Cam turns to his family traditions and in particular bull riding to overcome his grief and to give his brother hope for a new life.

As of December, 2009, Bull Rider has been nominated for YALSA’s Best of Books YA for 2010, was selected for both the Texas Library Association’s Lone Star and Tayshas Book Lists, 2010, and has been nominated for the Nevada Young Reader Award 2011. It represented Nevada at the National Book Festival in Washington D.C in 2008, and is a Junior Library Guild Selection. Bull Rider will be available in paperback in 2010.

BULL RIDER by Suzanne Morgan Williams

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

OK, the book is so G rated – no sex, no drugs, no swearing even. But the content is important – loyalty between brothers, the true cost of war. Bull Rider is a G Rated read with a subject that will engage readers from ten to adult.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

If I had to give a one sentence summary, Bull Rider is about what it means to be a good man. It addresses family relationships, particularly between brothers, and it also speaks to the human cost of war. This war piece of the book was not central when I started writing. The family piece was. I loved my brothers and sisters when I was growing up and it was natural to write about that relationship. I didn’t start out to write about war injuries but the idea that Ben would be hurt in the Iraq War kept coming back to me. Once I decided to really explore that, I knew I would have to learn enough to make the presentation honest.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

Readers who might love Bull Rider could include a 12 year old rodeo fan or horse lover, veterans, military personnel and any of their family members, anyone who’s watched a loved one struggle with losing capabilities and control over his own world.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

• The stars seemed close enough to grab
• He did a rock and roll with a 180 kickturn.
• Strings of slobber hung from his lips.
• I made my own prayer – the kind of thing you don’t share out loud.

How can your book be used in the classroom?

BULL RIDER raises questions about the cost of war, about what things are ok to do if you have a really good motive, about how veterans are taken care of, of what siblings mean to each other etc. For lots of ideas about using Bull Rider in the classroom, see my website www.suzannemorganwilliams.com and go to “for teachers.” There is a teacher’s guide available there.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

Two excellent books that address the same subject are Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry and Operation Yes by Sara Holmes. BULL RIDER fans might also like When the Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton, Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe, or the Everest series by Gordon Korman.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

Folks in Salt Lick say I couldn’t shake bull riding if I tried. It’s in my blood, my family. Around here, any guy named Cam O’Mara should be a bull rider. But if you’ve ever looked a sixteen-hundred-pound bucking bull in the eye and thought about holding on to his back with a stiff rawhide handle, some pine tar, and a prayer, well, you’d know why I favored skateboarding.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes, I enjoy doing school and library visits and also speak to writers groups, teachers, and librarians. Information is on my website www.suzannemorganwilliams.com go to “Author Visits.”

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Oh yes. I’ve been to thirteen states and Canada since BULL RIDER’s release in February 2009.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• Facts and Fiction – blending research and story
• BULL RIDER Start to Finish
• Writing the West – an interactive presentation

This concludes our interview with our latest author, SUZANNE MORGAN WILLIAMS. We wish her much success with her debut novel BULL RIDER. To see what Suzanne  is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.suzannemorganwilliams.com or her blog at http://www.suzannemorganwilliams.blogspot.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Suzanne is giving away a signed copy of BULL RIDER. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by March 3rd, 2010 11:59 PM CST. (U.S. and Canadian residents only, please.)

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

Angela Morrison

This week, we’re celebrating Angela Morrison’s debut! Angela Morrison grew up on the wheat farm in Washington where TAKEN BY STORM is set. She graduated from Brigham Young University and holds a Master’s of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. She and her husband recently returned to Arizona after eleven years abroad in Canada, Switzerland, and Singapore. They have four children and the most beautiful grandson in existence.

Here’s a little bit about TAKEN BY STORM (Razorbill).

Seventeen-year-old Leesie Hunt has rules: No making out. No sex. And definitely no falling for a non-Mormon. She pours all her passion into poetry, thoughts of escaping her tiny town and getting into her dream school, BYU.

Then scuba diver Michael Walden arrives in Tekoa and everything changes. He survived a storm that took his parents’ lives, and the world as he knew it.

Leesie and Michael couldn’t be more different. His dreams are tied to the depths of the ocean and hers to salvation above. Yet they are drawn to each other, even when jealousy, unbearable rules, and haunting memories threaten to tear them apart.

Michael is drowning in tragedy, and Leesie knows it’s up to her to save him. Somehow. But when temptation becomes too strong to resist, who is going to save her?

TAKEN BY STORM by by Angela Morrison

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

PG-13. In my novels, readers will find a frank discussion of teen sexuality, lots of great kissing scenes, but nothing explicit. And no vulgar language. Penguin rated it for readers 12 and up.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

Several years ago, my husband and I were scuba diving off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico. Halfway through the trip the weather turned nasty. Dark skies. Rain. We still dove. Darker than usual, but nothing stops divers.

In between dives, we huddled on the boat getting rained on. To the south of us, a thick band of wicked clouds blocked up the sky. A newsy guy informed us our rain and those clouds were what was left of a hurricane that had just hit Belize. He told us the hurricane capsized a boatload of divers and most of them drowned. None of us believed him. Divers don’t drown. He insisted–and he was right. A large live-aboard yacht docked in what they thought was a safe port. They were wrong.

Over the next several months, I followed the story closely. I found news articles on the internet and watched the memorial grow on the website of the dive club who chartered the boat and lost so many. I felt a kinship with those dead divers. The clouds that killed them rained on me, too.

I began asking myself, “what if?” What if the only survivor of a similar fictional accident was a guy whose parents drowned? How did he survive? What happened to him after? Who would he live with now? Where would he go?

And, most important, who would love him?

When I started my MFA, Michael’s voice emerged during a free-write. I stirred around the pieces of my life in my memory, and picked up my Grandmother’s house in my tiny hometown. I sent Michael there and introduced him to the only Mormon girl in town who was living in my old farmhouse. They started talking in my head all time. I scribbled as fast as I could to keep up. It’s really their story, not mine.

What I did was revise, revise, revise–with the help of my MFA advisors, critique pals, editors who rejected me, and at last the editor who fell in love with Michael and Leesie just like I did.

TAKEN BY STORM deals with several subjects vital to teens—loss, grief, suicide, intimacy, love, faith and spirituality. On the very basic level, it explores the human need we all have to help someone who is suffering and the love that develops when we give of ourselves.

Leesie is a unique character in trade YA. She is the only authentic, faithful Mormon girl created by an insider—a Mormon author who knows what she’s talking about. Readers curious about Mormons will become intimate with Leesie and experience what it’s like to be part of an often misunderstood and misrepresented religion.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Teen girls (and their moms) who like to cry over a good love story.
• Anyone curious about scuba diving or Mormonism.
• Anyone who has lost a loved one.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

staring chick
pants quilt
sweet banana mango shampoo

How can your book be used in the classroom?

The story unwinds through Michael’s dive log journal entries, poems from Leesie’s “Most Private Chapbook,” and internet chats. This collage format makes the text accessible and enjoyable for readers at all levels of achievement. Creative writing teachers can use Leesie’s poems as springboards for their students own free verse narrative poems and Michael’s entries to inspire journal writing.

TAKEN BY STORM is a classic tale of star-crossed lovers. Students studying Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” will enjoy comparing the subtleties of a modern story with the bard’s classic drama.

In homes, classrooms, and reading groups, TAKEN BY STORM can stimulate deep felt discussions, opening up areas teens and adults are often uneasy about discussing.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

• Young adult fans who enjoy TAKEN BY STORM will love exploring the Norma Fox Mazer’s classic YA novels like After the Rain and Silver.
• Several reviewers have noted that TAKEN BY STORM has the same “romantic chords” as Stephanie Meyers Twilight saga.
• Penguin advises that readers who enjoy Nicholas Sparks’ Walk to Remember or The Notebook will find a similar tragic love story in TAKEN BY STORM.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

The world spins, the stars shift,
and I can’t see anything except his smoky
gray eyes gazing into mine.

You scare me, whispers
from my mouth across his

Good, he breathes into me.
I need you to save me.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• Write What you Know
• From Faith to Fiction
• Revision: A Workshop

This concludes our interview with our latest author, ANGELA MORRISON. We wish her much success with her novel TAKEN BY STORM. To see what Angela  is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.angela-morrison.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Angela is giving away a signed copy of TAKEN BY STORM to two winners. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by February 9th, 2010 11:59 PM CST. (U.S. and Canadian residents only, please.)

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

Jen Nadol

This week, we’re celebrating Jen Nadol’s debut! Jen Nadol grew up in Reading, PA, the hometown of John Updike, Taylor Swift and the now-defunct Monopoly railroad. She has a BA in literature from American University and has lived in Washington DC, Boston, NYC and, now resides in Westchester County, NY with her husband and three young sons.

Here’s a little bit about THE MARK (Bloomsbury).

Cassandra Renfield has always seen the mark – a glow around certain people reminiscent of candlelight. The one time she pointed it out, it was dismissed as a trick of the light. Cassie starts to consider its rare occurrences insignificant – until the day she watches a man die. Searching her memories, Cassie realizes she can see a person’s imminent death. Not how or where, only when: today.

Armed with this vague understanding of the light, Cassie begins to explore her “gift”, seeking those marked for death and probing the line between decision and destiny. Though she’s careful to hide her secret – even from her new philosophy-obsessed boyfriend – with each impending death comes the temptation to test fate. But so many questions remain. How does the mark work? Why is she the only one who sees it? And finally, the most important of all: if you know today is someone’s last, should you tell them?

THE MARK by Jen Nadol

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

PG13, maybe R. There’s a lot of talk about death (nothing super-graphic). A little cursing, a little teen drinking, no drugs, and an implied intimate relationship, but nothing overt.

It’s been years since I saw a movie…where does this put me?

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

Personal accountability, what we do with our time and whether the course of our life is driven by our own decisions or external forces. It’s a fascinating idea to me: that each thing we do or don’t has a million repercussions, some big, many small and unanticipated, but each altering all the days that follow in some way.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Fans of paranormal without vampires, faeries, werewolves, et al.
• Those who enjoy debate – choosing a side and defending it.
• Those who prefer a quick read (it’s pretty short), with ample “white space” for them to consider on their own.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

• “I’m saying…that I think I see something – this mark – when someone is about to die.”
• I wanted to go to her, but I was afraid to get closer, to touch the luminous haze.
• “What time is it?” [he asked]

I couldn’t answer. What would I say? Eight twelve seemed too mundane. Less than twenty-four hours before you die too dramatic.

How can your book be used in the classroom?

Cassie, the MC, struggles throughout the novel with making the “right” choices when faced with the mark. She even takes a philosophy course and some (very) basic beliefs/arguments of Aristotle, Plato, Kant and William James are introduced.

THE MARK could be used as a jumping off point for classroom debate about Cassie’s choices, what students would do in a similar situation and why. Or about personal accountability: how much responsibility each of us has for things that happen to us or to others. It could also be a means of introducing philosophical concepts, maybe augmented with original source readings.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

• My publisher used WAKE by Lisa McMann as a comparable because both are quick reads about a girl dealing with an extraordinary ability in an otherwise ordinary setting.
• DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by my publishing-sister C. J. Omololu is written in a similar style and also lends itself to discussion about the MC’s choices.
• A friend told me that WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead was the last book that had her thinking as much afterwards as THE MARK.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

There is nothing like the gut-hollowing experience of watching someone die, especially when you know it’s coming.

I saw the man with the mark at the bus stop on Wilson Boulevard when I crossed Butter Lane on my way to school, the route I took every day. I wanted to look away, pretend he wasn’t there, and run for the safety of algebra and honors English, but I didn’t. I had promised myself.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes, if I can fit it into my schedule.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• Editing Workshop: Carving Out Your Best Story
• Publishing 101: From Idea to Bookshelf
• Writing Workshop: Finding Your Voice

This concludes our interview with our latest author, JEN NADOL. We wish her much success with her debut novel THE MARK. To see what Jen  is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.jennadolbooks.com or her blog at http://www.jennadolbooks.com/blog.

Jean Reagan

This week, we’re celebrating Jean Reagan’s debut! Jean Reagan lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, Peter, and daughter, Jane. Their beloved son and brother, John, died in 2005. Born in Alabama, Jean spent most of her childhood in Japan. Since graduating from Earlham College, she has worked as a community organizer, a union activist, and a writer. She cherishes her years as a full-time mother when she also worked at her children’s public school, the Open Classroom. In the summers, her family lives in a tiny, remote cabin in Grand Teton National Park where she and Peter serve as backcountry rangers. Bears visit them frequently.

Here’s a little bit about ALWAYS MY BROTHER (Tilbury House Publishers).

Becky and her brother John were best buddies, telling jokes, caring for their dog Toby, and playing soccer. John was always there to cheer her up and help her out—until he died. Becky wishes everything could go back to the way it was. When she is surprised and feels guilty about enjoying a friend’s birthday party, her mom wraps reassuring arms around her and says, “Don’t you think he’d want you to laugh, even now?” She gradually realizes that she can still enjoy the things that they used to do together and that the memories of John continue to make him part of their family. Always My Brother is a sensitive, realistic story about the process of grief, acceptance, and recovery.

ALWAYS MY BROTHER by Jean Reagan

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

G
It is a picture book suited for young readers.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

Grief, death, siblings. My son died in 2005, leaving behind a younger sister. Sibling loss is often a discounted grief. My daughter was asked many times, by well-meaning people, how her parents were doing, but rarely how she was doing. My book honors surviving siblings and offers them authentic hope.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Children who have lost a sibling.
• Classrooms that have a student who has lost a sibling.
• Grief counselors and therapists.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

“Then John and I would walk home—not touching, but with our shadows holding hands.”

How can your book be used in the classroom?

This book offers an opportunity for a social worker or teacher to talk about grief, death, loss, and how to support a bereaved friend. A teacher’s guide, “Teachers Take Note,” is available with this book.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

Other similar books are Saying Goodbye to Lulu, Goodbye, Mousie, and Freddy the Leaf.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

My brother John and I were best buddies. We were silly together—like when we’d run around barefoot in the snow. And we were serious together—like when we stayed up all night with our dog Toby after he was hit by a car.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes, particularly to grief organizations.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• Easing the pain of loss: “List-making, journaling, and writing”
• Turning difficult life experiences into fiction.

This concludes our interview with our latest author, JEAN REAGAN. We wish her much success with her debut picture book ALWAYS MY BROTHER. To see what Jean  is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.jeanreagan.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Jean is giving away a signed copy of ALWAYS MY BROTHER to two winners. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by December 22th, 2009 11:59 PM CST.

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

Pam, who lived in Florida when she wrote CANDOR, currently lives just outside Washington, DC with her husband and their son. When she’s not writing, working or parenting, Pam likes to read books not aimed at her age group, go to museums and theater performances, and watch far too much television. She even goes jogging. Reluctantly.

As far as she knows, Pam has never been brainwashed. Or maybe that’s just what she’s supposed to say.

Here’s a little bit about CANDOR (Egmont).

Oscar Banks has everything under control. In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, he’s found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages. He’s got them all fooled: Oscar’s the top student and the best-behaved teen in town. Nobody knows he’s made his own Messages to deprogram his brain. Oscar has even found a way to get rich. For a hefty price, he helps new kids escape Candor, Florida before they’re transformed into cookie-cutter teens. But then Nia Silva moves to Candor, and Oscar’s carefully-controlled world crumbles.

CANDOR by Pam Bachorz

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

I’ll leave the rating to the people who read the book—I think books are complex creatures that can’t be boiled down into a simple letter rating, just as every reader has their own needs. CANDOR has concepts and conflicts that are best understood by advanced middle schoolers, high school students, or even adults.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

CANDOR addresses the issue of conformity, and asks the question: how far would parents go to ensure they have the “perfect” child, given unlimited resources? I wanted to write about this topic because I lived in a town where some people “bought in” hoping, at some level, that white picket fences and immaculate landscaping would somehow transform struggling or rebelling children.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Any teen or advanced 11-12 year old who likes dystopian fiction or science fiction.
• A teen who lives in a planned community, or is fascinated by them.
• A teen who’s struggling with fitting into their parents’ definition of perfection.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

I had a hard time with this, so I used Wordle.net to point out most commonly-used words. Among the most interesting: Messages. Forget. Remember. Listening. Eyes. (sheesh. I always have a thing about eyes!)

How can your book be used in the classroom?

I think CANDOR could be used in a unit that examines disaffected or rebellious main characters. It’s also a great springboard to talk about conformity, and how teens align their own dreams and desires with their parents’ expectations.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

• The UGLIES series by Scott Westerfeld
• FEED by M.T. Anderson
• UNWIND by Neal Shusterman

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

Ca-chunk ca-chunk ca-chunk.

The sound drifts through my bedroom window. Pokes through my homework haze. It’s not loud, but impossible to ignore. Because it doesn’t belong here.

Ca-chunk ca-chunk ca-chunk.

Candor sounds the same every night. Hissing sprinklers. Screeching swamp frogs. The drone of the mosquito truck, circling every block.

This doesn’t fit.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

I would be delighted to.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes. And I promise not to sing any of the songs from my high school musicals—not even if there’s begging from some poor misguided souls.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• The Journey to Publication
• Setting: another character in your story
• Translating real life to fiction (and keeping your friends!)

This concludes our interview with our latest author, PAM. We wish her much success with her debut novel CANDOR. To see what Pam is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.pambachorz.com or her blog at http://www.pambachorz.com/blog.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Pam is giving away a $10 gift card to Powell’s Bookstore to a winner. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by December 22th, 2009 11:59 PM CST.

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

Debbie Rigaud

This week, we’re celebrating Debbie Rigaud’s debut! Debbie Rigaud began her writing career covering news and entertainment for commercial magazines. She’s interviewed celebs, politicians, social figures and inspiring “real” girls. Her articles have appeared in Seventeen, CosmoGIRL!, Twist and J-14; her novella “Double Act,” is featured in the anthology HALLWAY DIARIES (Kimani Tru /September 2007). PERFECT SHOT (Simon Pulse) is her debut novel.

Here’s a little bit about PERFECT SHOT (Simon Pulse).

Fifteen-year-old London Abrams is all about spiking volleyballs, not wearing spike heels. But in one crush-tasic moment, she signs up for a modeling contest as an excuse to meet the cute photography intern collecting applications. Instead of getting a call from her crush, London gets a call back from contest judges. Now London’s in a competition against 14 fierce fashionistas–and she’s so not ready for her close up.

PERFECT SHOT by Debbie Rigaud

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

Rated PG, for sure. If PERFECT SHOT were a movie, you could watch it with your parents in the room, and not worry that a steamy scene may pop up. That’s always awkward.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

It deals with ambition, jealousy, betrayal, family obligations; it’s about being true to yourself. Plus, I love to watch what happens when people step out of their comfort zones. London is super confident on the volleyball court, but on the fashion runway, she stumbles emotionally and physically. This may make for a cringe-worthy experience, but it ultimately leads to growth.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Girl athletes (especially volleyball players)!
• Teens who can relate to the pressures of parental expectations.
• Anyone who’s ever struggled with feeling out of place.
• Teens and adults who enjoy romantic comedies.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

• Puberty granted her more beauty wishes than a fairy godmother.
• Offering his seat is not synonymous with offering his heart. Some guys.actually do it because they want to, not because they want you.
• A tiny dancer in clown-face makeup must’ve been krumpin’ on my nerve endings because they felt all out of whack.

How can your book be used in the classroom?

In a discussion about contemporary multicultural stories.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

• MAJOR CRUSH by Jennifer Echols
• VIOLET ON THE RUNWAY by Melissa Walker.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

“Heads up!” was my only warning before it was launched over the aisle toward me. Even though I was on one knee, stocking shelves with acrylic paint tubes, my reflexes were on their feet. My long forearms met the ball of rubber bands with a force that sent it hurling back toward where it came from.

“Ouch!” Pam, my coworker-slash-best-friend, yelped.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• Talk/Presentation: “How To Get Published”
• Workshop: “Putting Fact into Fiction” (i.e., using research to inform creative writing)

This concludes our interview with our latest author, DEBBIE. We wish her much success with her debut novel PERFECT SHOT. To see what Debbie is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.debbierigaud.com or her blog at http://debbierigaud.com/blog.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Debbie is giving away a signed copy of PERFECT SHOT to two winners. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by December 15th, 2009 11:59 PM CST.

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

Here’s a little bit about GIVE UP THE GHOST (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers).

Cass McKenna much prefers the company of ghosts over “breathers.” Ghosts are uncomplicated and dependable, and they know the dirt on everybody… and Cass loves dirt. She’s on a mission to expose the dirty secrets of the poseurs in her school.

But when the vice president of the student council discovers her secret, Cass’s whole scheme hangs in the balance. Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees.

As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim’s life, she’s surprised to realize he’s not so bad–and he needs help more desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it’s time to give the living another chance…

GIVE UP THE GHOST by Megan Crewe

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

PG-13 for mature themes.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

GIVE UP THE GHOST deals with death, grief, friendship, revenge and forgiveness, bullying, depression, and suicide. I wanted to write about what might happen to a character who’s pushed to the margins of the reining social structure, to explore the different ways people deal with a death of someone close to them, and to show how perceptions can change and connections can happen between people you’d never expect.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Anyone who’s experienced the death of someone close to them.
• Girls who’ve had to deal with social bullying.
• Teens who love new and thoughtful twists on supernatural ideas.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

• Death had left Paige’s fashion sense intact, but it screwed majorly with her memory.
• Like always, there were too many breathers in the halls, jostling and snickering and getting kissy-kissy in the corners.
• I have friends, I wanted to say. You just wouldn’t believe they exist.

How can your book be used in the classroom?

GIVE UP THE GHOST could be used in discussions about social bullying in junior high and high school and its affects on both perpetrators and victims, or about what to do if you suspect a friend is depressed or suicidal. It could also be used for thematic discussions, about topics like whether revenge is ever justified, or doing the right thing even if you know it’ll make someone you care about angry. The paranormal elements of the story and the main character’s sense of humor make these serious themes accessible to most readers.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

• SHADOWED SUMMER by Saundra Mitchell
• A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT by Laura Whitcomb
• FLYING IN PLACE by Susan Palwick

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

You would think it’d be easy to get along with a person after she’s dead. Not Paige. She took her big sister duties very seriously. It’d been four years since she drowned, and she still got on my case.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• Teen Writing Workshop
• GIVE UP THE GHOST: From idea to book
• The Life of a Working Writer

This concludes our interview with our latest author, MEGAN. We wish her much success with her debut novel GIVE UP THE GHOST. To see what Megan  is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.megancrewe.com or her blog at http://www.megancrewe.com/blog/.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Megan is giving away a signed copy of GIVE UP THE GHOST. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by December 15th, 2009 11:59 PM CST.

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

Hannah Moskowitz

This week, we’re celebrating Hannah Moskowitz’s debut! Hannah Moskowitz is an eighteen-year-old writer slumming around Washington D.C. She likes crème brulee, tattoos, and playing dress-up. She has never broken a bone.

Here’s a little bit about BREAK (Simon Pulse).

Jonah is on a mission to break every bone in his body. Everyone knows that broken bones grow back stronger than they were before. And Jonah wants to be stronger—needs to be stronger, because his family is falling apart, what with his bickering parents, his allergic-to-everything brother, and the screaming new baby. Maybe if he breaks and heals enough times, he’ll show his family how to pick itself up after a fall. But how does he keep from destroying himself in the process?

BREAK by Hannah Moskowitz

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

It’d have to be R just for the language. Besides that, however, it’s fairly clean—no drugs, no sex. There is some semi-graphic violence and some alcohol/tobacco.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

I wanted to write a book about self-injury that wasn’t a self-injury book. Jonah isn’t depressed and isn’t suicidal; he’s a boy trying to feel a part of a family that’s crashing and burning. He’s trying to fix an unfixable situation.

I wanted to take a premise that was so out there, so unbelievable, and so much more than what was already out there and make it understandable. Generally the books I write are “coming-of-age with a twist.” Breaking his bones is definitely the twist, but at its heart this is a classic coming of age story with a heavy influence on brotherhood.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

Teenage girls who are sick of reading about how hard it is to be a teenage girl. Readers who like their comedies dark a la Chuck Palahniuk or John Green. Any teenage boy who has—or whishes he had—a brother to worry about. .

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

• “He’s like six-foot-five in high heels.”
• “I’m going to turn into Benadryl.”
• Ugly-ass combat boots
• Unbroken, imperfect hand
• orange orange orange hurt

How can your book be used in the classroom?

It would definitely be relevant in a lesson about the strain an ill family member puts on the rest of the family. A teacher could also use it in a discussion on personal responsibility and ownership of one’s own actions. Jonah’s heavily into Confucianism and mentions that family is the smallest possible unit of measure—that families can’t really be divided into individuals. BREAK would fit well into a discussion of families as a unit.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson, SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU by Peter Cameron, AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green, FIGHT CLUB by Chuck Palahniuk.

Take an insightful narrator like SOMEDAY’s, add some of KATHERINES’ dialogue, and give it a messy conflict like SPEAK and a dash of FIGHT CLUB dark absurdity.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

The first feeling is exhilaration.
My arms hit the ground. The sound is like a mallet against a crab.
Pure f*cking exhilaration.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Definitely, if they’re local. I might have trouble with scheduling, since I start college this fall, but I’m willing to try.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Also yes, if I can make it work.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

The Explosion of Young Writers: How Teenagers are Shaping Teen Fiction
Communicating With A Teenage Audience
Relevant vs. Trendy: How to Craft a Contemporary Novel
How to Keep “Problem Novels” Fresh

This concludes our interview with our latest author, Hannah Moskowitz. We wish her much success with her debut novel BREAK. To see what Hannah is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.untilhannah.com or her blog at http://www.hannahmosk.blogspot.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Hannah is giving away a signed copy of BREAK to 5 winners. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by December 8th, 2009 11:59 PM CST.

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

Cynthia Jaynes Omololu

This week, we’re celebrating C.J. Omololu’s debut! Cynthia Jaynes Omololu majored in English at U.C. Santa Barbara because she liked to read, not because she liked to write. In fact, for years all of her journals ended on or about January 21st because writing about her life was well…boring. After her kids were born, she discovered that she did like to write about the lives of fictional people, and that the voices in her head often have interesting things to say.

Cynthia lives in Northern California with her Nigerian husband (hence the vowel-filled last name) and two sons.

Here’s a little bit about DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS (Walker).

From the outside, Lucy’s home looks normal. Inside the front door is where the secrets begin. Towering piles of newspaper and magazines. Bags of junk flooding every inch of open space. The line of mold creeping along the window frames. This is what she’s kept from everyone—that her mother’s compulsive hoarding has reduced their lives to garbage . . . literally.

With only two years until graduation, Lucy finally feels like a normal life is within her grasp, and her new best friend, Kaylie, and her longtime crush, Josh, make a future feel almost possible.

Then one morning Lucy comes home to find something she never expected, something that will change her life forever. And she must ask herself—how far can she really go to keep the family secrets safe?

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by C.J. Omololu

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

PG-13. No sex, but some kissing and a little swearing. Oh yeah, a dead mother. Like right-there dead, not in the abstract.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS is about the mental disorder of compulsive hoarding and what it does to a family. It’s also about how keeping secrets gives them power over you, and that no matter how bad they are, someone can always help you.

I got the idea from a magazine article about a woman who had grown up in a hoarded home. I didn’t grow up in this situation, but I’ve known some hoarders and have seen what the disorder can do. Once you start talking about it, it’s amazing how common the problem really is – almost everyone has known someone with some degree of hoarding. There wasn’t as much media exposure when I started writing this book, but now there is even a series on A&E called Hoarders.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS is for anyone who has had hoarding touch their lives or who is interested in the disorder. I think it would also appeal to people who have felt they had a big secret that they had to keep. As depressing as the subject sounds, I find the book one of hope and survival, so it really has broad appeal to anyone over the age of 12 (that’s been my own benchmark so far). There’s also a romance thread, because what is a YA book without a romance thread?

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

• As it ripped away from the base, the pile of papers flipped into the air, and several of the maggots were flung off them and into my face like a larval rain shower.
• Over the past couple of years, I’d told people that Mom had a brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, kidney failure, and irritable bowel syndrome as reasons for why I couldn’t do something or have them over.
• I reached out and curled my hand around her still, icy fingers. I held it there for a long time as I sat with my knees to my chest, wishing that just for a minute she could squeeze it back and tell me everything would be okay.

How can your book be used in the classroom?

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS is a great springboard for discussion about how we all have secrets and how they affect our lives. A large portion of the book is written in flashbacks, so it is an unusual example of this writing style.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

Kids who like edgy books by Laurie Halse Anderson or Ellen Hopkins would probably enjoy DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS. I love the new book The Mark by Jen Nadol (my sister in publishing) and think that readers who enjoy that would enjoy this.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

Everyone has secrets. Some are just bigger and dirtier than others.

At least that’s what I told myself whenever I stood in a crowd of normal-looking people and felt like I was the only one. The only person on the planet who had to hide practically everything that was real. It was soothing to look at all the unfamiliar faces and try to figure out the thing each person hid inside – true or not, it made me feel like less of a freak.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• How to write sympathetically about an unsympathetic subject.
• Follow your “what ifs” into a great story.
• Your DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS – how they can change your life.

This concludes our interview with our latest author, C.J. Omololu. We wish her much success with her debut novel DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS. To see what C.J.  is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.cjomololu.com or her blog at http://www.cynjay.blogspot.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* C.J. is giving away a signed copy of DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by December 8th, 2009 11:59 PM CST.

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

S. Terrell French

This week, we’re celebrating S. Terrell’s debut! As a child, Susannah Terrell French loved to read and write and once won $100 in a Harvard fiction competition. After graduating from college, however, she switched gears, moving to California and working for an environmental organization. She went on to Berkeley Law, spent a summer as a Forest Service volunteer in Alaska, then took a job at a public interest law firm. She also spent hours reading to her three children. Eventually, she decided to bring together her interest in children’s books, writing, and the environment by writing OPERATION REDWOOD.

Here’s a little bit about OPERATION REDWOOD (Amulet Books).

OPERATION REDWOOD follows the adventures and misadventures of a twelve-year-old San Francisco boy, Julian Carter-Li, who accidentally uncovers an angry e-mail meant for his high-powered uncle. When the e-mail reveals that his uncle’s company plans to log an ancient redwood grove, Julian, his best friend, Danny Lopez, and the girl who sent the e-mail — a home-schooled ranch girl named Robin Elder – join forces to try to save the trees. Filled with humor and surprising plot twists, Operation Redwood is an environmental page-turner that introduces readers to a memorable crew of smart kids who care about the world around them. Elizabeth Bird, in her School Library Journal blog, A Fuse # 8 Production, calls it “one of the finest children’s novels of the year . . . . [A] true emotional journey full of adventure, friendship, complex morality, trust, lies, and discovery.”

OPERATION REDWOOD by S. Terrell French

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

This book is rated G. While the main characters are sixth-graders, it has characters from 8 to 80 (well, maybe close to 80). It’s a great read-aloud.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

The book touches on the unique history of California’s redwood forest and the complexities of civil disobedience. It’s about friendship, family, and standing up for what you believe. It’s also multicultural, reflecting the diverse city of San Francisco.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

Any kid (boy or girl) between the ages of 9 and 12 who is interested in the environment, who likes adventure stories, or who thinks it would be fun to live in a tree house.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

“Dear Goat Girl,
Lose your sympathy for Mr. CEO! I’m sure he doesn’t care 2 cents for your redwoods. He actually banned me from his mansion because I didn’t get my feet off his couch fast enough to justify his evil mate. I kid you not, I was wearing socks!!!”
—
“But here, the brilliant stars shone out of the black night like the glittering eyes of some watchful spirit. Julian had never seen stars like this. He hadn’t known this was how stars were supposed to be.”

How can your book be used in the classroom?

An extensive teaching guide – with activities, discussion questions, and vocabulary lists — is available on my website: www.operationredwood.com. School Library Journal writes: “Teachers will be able to use this novel for Earth Day discussions and can foster conversations on environmental activism of all types. The resolution reminds readers that everyone, no matter how large or small, can take action on issues that are important to them.”

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

• HOOT, by Carl Hiaasen
• MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, Jean Craighead George

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

The computer beeped. Julian glanced at the screen, and saw a message so astonishing that he sprayed ginger ale out his nose and all across his uncle’s computer screen.

The subject line of the newest e-mail read: “SIBLEY CARTER IS A MORON AND A WORLD-CLASS JERK!!!”

After Julian had grabbed some tissues and wiped away every drop of ginger ale, he stared at the computer suspiciously. Did it have a hidden sensor that could somehow read his mind? Surely, he thought, even his uncle’s computer couldn’t translate his inner thoughts directly onto the screen. It was just an ordinary e-mail. An ordinary e-mail calling his uncle a moron and a jerk. Julian tried to imagine Sibley sitting down at his imposing desk and finding this message. It would be as if he came in and found his computer sticking its tongue out at him.

What kind of person, he wondered, would be sticking his tongue out at Sibley? Obviously, someone smarter than Julian was. Someone who wasn’t fooled by his uncle’s smooth manners and slick facade. Not another businessman, Julian figured. In fact, it sounded like a kid. But why would a kid write his uncle an e-mail? He checked the name of the sender: Robin Elder.

Julian reached for the mouse, then hesitated. He’d already opened one of his uncle’s e-mails. But that one had his name on it. It had practically invited him to open it. This one certainly had nothing to do with him.

Then again, what did he have to lose? And what did he owe an uncle who made up lies about him and slandered his parents and was plotting to send him to math camp? Just peeking at one e-mail wasn’t such a crime. Especially when the e-mail couldn’t possibly be about any important business matter, when it was from some tongue sticker-outer.

Julian got up, crossed the room to the open office door, and looked up and down the hallway. Nothing but darkened cubicles. He felt like a cat burglar about to steal some precious jewel. Stealthily, he sat back down in his uncle’s chair, grabbed the mouse, and clicked:

May 4

Dear Mr. Carter,

Maybe I shouldn’t call you names, but that’s how I feel. I’ve lived next to Big Tree Grove my whole life and you just come in and buy the Greeley land and think you can cut down all the trees and you don’t even care. Maybe you’re not really a moron, but it is OBVIOUSLY pretty stupid to take a redwood tree that has been growing for hundreds and hundreds of years and DESTROY it just to make decks for fancy houses or to make more money, especially when you are already probably a lot richer than almost everybody else on the planet! How would you like it if I went to your backyard and started destroying everything with a chainsaw? My parents say there’s nothing we can do but at least I can tell you that if you do this there’s going to be a lot of people who hate you forever, like me!

Yours truly,

Robin Elder

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes, I’ve done numerous school visits in D.C. and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• The history and ecology of the redwood forest (power point covering early logging history, the movement to save the Headwaters Forest redwoods, flora and fauna and the redwood forest, and canopy research)
• The writing and publication of Operation Redwood

This concludes our interview with our latest author, S. Terrell French. We wish her much success with her debut novel OPERATION REDWOOD. To see what S. Terrell is up to these days, visit her website at http://operationredwood.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* S. Terrell is giving away a signed copy of OPERATION REDWOOD. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by November 24th, 2009 11:59 PM CST.

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our otherAuthorsNow! giveaways.

Lisa Mantchev

This week, we’re celebrating Lisa Mantchev’s debut! Lisa Mantchev wrote her first play in the fourth grade, and has been involved in the theater ever since. She has published numerous short stories, but Eyes Like Stars is her first novel. She lives with her husband, daughter, and four hairy miscreant dogs on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state.

Here’s a little bit about EYES LIKE STARS (Feiwel & Friends).

All her world’s a stage.

Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.

She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents.

She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own.

Until now.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

EYES LIKE STARS by Lisa Mantchev

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

This is where I hear Fred Savage in my head, asking very warily, “Is this a kissing book?” and I have to nod and say, yes, it certainly is.

So, we’ll rate it PG, for occasional swearing, smoking, the drinking of the contents of Alice’s “Drink Me” bottle, and the kissing.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

This is very much a coming-of-age novel, in which Bertie tries to find out who her family is and where she belongs. Firmly believing that the two are connected, she struggles to find her niche in the Théâtre Illuminata so that when her long-lost mother turns back up to claim her, Bertie will “still be there to find.”

I think I gravitate toward displacement stories… all my favorite books when I was a young reader involved unusual, fantastical lands. It’s a bit of a twist to make the fantastical land (in this case, a theater where all the characters from every play actually exist) the commonplace bit of the plot, though.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

Theater lovers of all ages. Readers who like snappy dialogue, magical reality, and humor. Shakespeare groupies (there have to be those, right? Teens wearing shirts emblazoned with his portrait, screaming “WE LOVE YOU WILL!” when the camera pans over them?)

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

• You set off the cannon, blew holes through three set pieces, and set the fire curtain on fire.
• So you’re stuck with us because of your innate inability to pee standing up?
• What color is pandemonium? It sounds yellow.

How can your book be used in the classroom?

Eyes Like Stars can be used to demonstrate theatrical traditions and terminology, playwriting format, and as a introduction to several of Shakespeare’s plays. There are also references to plays like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and The Little Mermaid. The novel can be used to introduce reluctant readers to some of the classic plays, as well as whet their interest for attending live theater. Flashbacks in the book are in script format and can be acted out in a classroom setting as well.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

Readers who like EYES LIKE STARS might also enjoy THE LOOKING GLASS WARS by Frank Beddor, WONDROUS STRANGE by Lesley Livingston, and (for younger readers) the Shoes series by Noel Streatfeild.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

The fairies flew suspended on wires despite their tendency to get tangled together. Beatrice Shakespeare Smith, busy assessing her reflection in the looking glass and thinking perhaps she shouldn’t have dyed her hair blue on this particular morning, turned to glare at them when they rocketed past the end of her nose for the third time in as many minutes.

“If you make me spill this stuff on the stage,” she said, “I’ll squeeze you until your heads pop off.”

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Dependant upon distance of travel.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Dependant upon distance of travel.

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

• Stealth Shakespeare: The Ninja Bard of the Théâtre Illuminata
• It’s All In The Timing, or “Three Banana Peels and a Cream Pie… is that funny?”
• Playwriting Format: Starting With Two Characters, Talking

This concludes our interview with our latest author, LISA MANTCHEV. We wish her much success with her debut novel EYES LIKE STARS. To see what Lisa is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.theatre-illuminata.com or her blog at http://lisamantchev.livejournal.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Lisa is giving away a signed copy of EYES LIKE STARS. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by November 24th, 2009 11:59 PM CST.

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our otherAuthorsNow! giveaways.

Sydney Salter

This week, we’re celebrating Sydney Salter’s debut! Sydney Salter’s fascination with Mayan culture started when she was six years old and climbed down a steep, dimly lit stone staircase to the elaborately carved tomb of King Pacal who had once ruled Palenque. Visiting Mayan ruins, walking through fragrant Mexican marketplaces, watching women wash clothes in a river, and chasing lizards in the jungle ignited the spark in Sydney’s imagination that led to writing JUNGLE CROSSING. Sydney now lives in Utah with her husband, two daughters, two cats, two dogs, and pair of tortoises. She loves reading, writing, cooking, and traveling—especially to Mexico where she can explore ancient Mayan ruins and swim in underground rivers. She is also the author of My Big Nose And Other Natural Disasters and the upcoming Swoon At Your Own Risk.

Here’s a little bit about JUNGLE CROSSING (Harcourt Children’s Books).

Thirteen-year-old Kat can think of dozens of good reasons not to go on a boring family vacation to hot, grungy Mexico. Number one: missing her friend Fiona’s mini-camp. If she’s not there, she’ll begin eighth grade as a social reject.

And it looks like she’s the odd girl out on vacation, too. When Kat’s parents arrange for her and her younger sister, Barb, to go on a teen adventure tour, Barb makes more friends than she does. The only person who will talk to Kat is Nando, a young Mayan guide (who happens to be quite a cutie). Each day as they travel to different Mayan ruins, Nando tells Kat and Barb another installment in the original legend of Muluc, a girl who lived in the time of the Ancient Maya. The dangerous, dramatic world in which Muluc lives is as full of rivalry, betrayal, jealousy, and sacrifice as Kat’s world at school. And as she makes new friends and discovers new treasures in Mexico, Kat begins to wonder: Is she willing to keep sacrificing her self in exchange for popularity?

JUNGLE CROSSING by Sydney Salter

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

PG. There is an ancient Mayan sacrifice scene.

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

JUNGLE CROSSING is about the friendship issues that dominate a 13-year-old girl’s life. Plus there’s so much tension between a girl and her family at that age (How do I know? I live with one!). My main character also has a lot of worries and fears, which are common to girls going through so many physical and social changes at once.

I also wanted to open a discussion about cultural bias. When the story begins, Kat has a lot of stereotyped views about Mexico, Mexicans, and Mayans. Nando, the Mayan native, has his own inaccurate beliefs about Americans.

In the ancient story that weaves through Kat’s modern story, Muluc is a pampered royal girl who is used to a life of comfort. All that changes when she is captured by warriors and traded as a slave. She, too, learns to widen her perspective and questions aspects of her own culture.

I hope my readers will question their perceptions about people from other cultures, backgrounds, and socio-economic situations after reading JUNGLE CROSSING.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Kids 10 and up who enjoy adventure stories.
• Kids 10 and up who want to read about friendship issues.
• Kids 10 and up who want to read about Hispanic culture—maybe they’re even headed to Mexico on vacation.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

• Now I knew the world was a dangerous place, full of hurricanes, earthquakes, plane crashes, terrorist threats, bear attacks, contaminated food, bra sizes, mean PE teachers, cute boys who ignore you, and supposedly best friends who treat you like a tube of hairy lip-gloss.
• Muluc turned and saw a tall man with a tattoo of a feathered snake wrapped around his neck.
• Pickle wart.
• Crouched next to a bundle of damp-smelling feathers, Muluc pressed her face into her bent knees and cried, wanting nothing more than to be home in her mother’s compound, fixing chocolate for her father.

How can your book be used in the classroom?

JUNGLE CROSSING can be used during units about ancient civilizations or in Spanish language programs. The novel also focuses on the importance of story-telling and maintaining cultural traditions and would work well in discussions about cultural misconceptions.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

Fans of JUNGLE CROSSING will also enjoy reading Well of Sacrifice by Chris Eboch, What The Moon Saw by Laura Resau, and Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser.

I scanned the passengers for possible terrorists. Not the people with kids, or the blonde in the wedding veil, although it would make a great disguise. The guy in the seat across from us kept looking around the plane. Our eyes met. Wasn’t he the guy they double-checked at security? I’ll keep my eyes on him just in case.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

I’m always happy to speak to students, book clubs, library patrons, or writers either in person or via Skype.

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Yes (I love to travel).

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

I talk about turning real life into fiction (using my own diary passages in conjunction with scenes in JUNGLE CROSSING). I can also present workshops on the craft of writing such as generating ideas, journaling, creating characters, etc. I’m happy to create a new presentation tailored to your needs. I am a Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) and have experience speaking at conferences about a variety of topics.

This concludes our interview with our latest author, SYDNEY SALTER. We wish her much success with her debut novel JUNGLE CROSSING. To see what Sydney is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.sydneysalter.com or her blog at http://www.mybignose.blogspot.com.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT* Sydney is giving away a signed copy of JUNGLE CROSSING. Tell your friends and leave a comment for the author! Enter by November 17th, 2009 11:59 PM CST.

Your email address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.