Event Recap: Moira Young in Brampton

Last Monday (the 12th) I had the great pleasure of attending the launch event for Moira Young's North American tour, celebrating the finale to her Dust Lands trilogy. I'm such a huge fan of Blood Red Road and Rebel Heart, and I can't wait to dig in to Raging Star.

I went to the signing with my Mom, as per usual. We got there plenty early, since we never know what traffic is going to be like on the highway. I purchased my copy of Raging Star and we looked around the whole Chapters store before they even put chairs out. ;) Once they did set up, we grabbed some front row seats. By the time the event rolled around there wasn't quite a full house, but definitely an enthusiastic grouping of fans.

Moira came out and did a talk about her publishing journey and the growth of Blood Red Road from the conception of the idea to what it became. After her talk she answered questions from the audience before beginning to sign books.

I was a speedy typist and I believe I managed to get just about everything down that Moira spoke about. Here's a recap, in point form...

• She started writing Blood Red Road in 2006; it started off as a very different book: she had a 1 book plan and it took place in an ice world
• She worked for 3.5 years on the first drafts of Blood Red Road, and it ended up being unusable
• Was discouraged and got advice from her friend Julia Green; Julia told Moira that she was now ready for revision, that she could start over; with encouragement from her husband, she began to do so
• At first there were discouraging voices saying she was a failure etc, but then Saba's voice appeared
• With Saba's voice everything changed: the landscape and everything fell into place
• When she wrote Blood Red Road she had two ideas for how it would end. The first closed things off, and the second brought about a larger plot, an overall arc -- she chose that second option because she thought there would be enough for trilogy, even though she didn't know where it would be going
• The biggest influence for her storytelling was probably the movies and books that she grew up with; her father always showed her "big, adult movies" -- epic stories like Gone With the Wind and westerns; there were no limits on what she read and watched -- all these stories went into her "imaginative well"
• As mentioned, she didn't plan a trilogy, and writing one was difficult because she was a very inexperienced writer: she had to learn how to structure a big story
• The whole plot of the trilogy grows from Saba: her choices, who she becomes, how she changes
• Rebel Heart was, again, re-written and she used almost nothing from the first draft
• Because she's a self-proclaimed slow writer she was coming up against deadlines, so she decided she needed a new way to write Raging Star; she began to taking 2 months to plot & structure, which she hadn't done before
• At 10,000 words into Raging Star she reached a point where it would have fallen apart if she kept going
• She stopped and began writing character studies; the book is so much about what each of the characters want; they each have their own agendas and goals, and the story comes from their interactions
• Moira was able to hand in a first draft of Raging Star to publishers, even though she missed deadlines; when the page proofs came along, she was still making a lot of changes to language and poetry, which usually isn't done; it came pretty close, as by the time the book was completely final it went to the printers 3 or 4 weeks later
• An audience member asked about Cormac McCarthy and whether No Country for Old Men was an influence; it wasn't, but The Road was a huge influence: the bare bones, stripped down style of it taught her that she could do a lot with a little; that you can leave space for the reader to fill in
• Saba is the reader's camera; we only ever see what she experiences, and know what she knows: therefore we don't have details (about things like larger world building) until Saba knows something; the POV is very biased from her experiences
• The setting of the book was influenced by the prairie views from Winnipeg and the mountains and rivers from the West Coast; she took places that she knows and transformed them a bit
• She uses dialogue to move things along: this writing style comes very natural to her, probably coming from her life as an actor; it's the descriptions that she struggles with, and she always has to go back and fill out more details (just because she sees it, doesn't mean the reader can)
• What's going on with the movie: they're in the 3rd round of script development right now; Moira has a lot of input on how the characters are portrayed and she'll have input into lead casting if it gets to that stage (they're looking for unknowns, really want to "break out" an actress)
• She's learned that movies aren't books, and what works well on page doesn't always work on film
• Belives that it's almost better not to have huge input on the movie process, because she's not a movie expert: thinks that it would be silly to control a process she doesn't know much about
• Was asked a question about why the book is about Saba going after Lugh; Moira responded that you have to make stakes very high for your character if it's going to power a whole book; it has to be something that if your main character can't fix it, it would be a disaster -- therefore, the plot is based around Saba losing the person who means the most to her, who she sees as the best part of herself
• Was asked about why she doesn't use quotes for dialogue; basically the answer was that when you insert dialogue tags it's an automatic step back from Saba's POV; for that particular character it would be an artificial construct to do that

Thanks to Moira and Chapters Brampton for a great event!

Apocalypse Tour (London) & Pitch Dark Days (Lansing) -- Event Recaps

I've had the pleasure of attending some pretty awesome book events over the past couple of months. I always have fabulous intentions of posting about them right away, but that just... doesn't happen. (Except, you know, when Kelley Armstrong came to my freaking house. That had to be reported on pronto).

So, these recaps are definitely in the "better late than never" category, but I thought you guys still might want to hear about them.

First up, the YA Apocalypse Tour came to London (Ontario) on May 4...

So, that sign ^^ kind of lied, because while we were expecting a talk it ended up just being a signing.

Before we talk about how awesome the authors are, let's talk about how NOT awesome the store was. You know how usually at a bookstore where an author is there they announce it over the PA system and make a big deal? Yeah... none of that happened. Maybe it was different behind the scenes, but I didn't see any of the employees try and play up the fact that 4 pretty big-name authors were there. The other bloggers and I were super disappointed about how discourteous the store seemed to be toward the authors.

So while there wasn't a big turn out for the authors (which made me super sad), a few of us stayed and chatted with the authors for probably more than an hour. We did talk about their books, but also a lot about books and movies they enjoy, cover changes on books, what's popular right now, etc.

Definitely if you have a chance to meet any of these ladies, do so, because they are all so friendly and kind.

Megan Crewe & Leah Bobet

Maureen McGowan & Cheryl Rainfield

Then on May 10 the HarperCollins Pitch Dark Days Tour came to Lansing, Michigan. Now, this isn't right next door, but it's easily driveable (aka not a lot further from here than Toronto is). This event was featuring Kiera Cass, Elizabeth Norris, Aprilynne Pike, & Amy Tintera.

Schuler Books, where the event took place. Such a nice store!!

All the authors with their publicist in the middle

Snarkles made an appearance!

I was actually able to take some pretty good notes on my phone re: what was talked about, so here are some fun facts, arranged by author:

Kiera Cass

• ‘The Selection’ is often pitched as The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor, but for Kiera it’s really a combination of Esther (yes, the Bible story) and Cinderella... she wondered what would have happened if Esther actually loved the boy next door and Cinderella just wanted a pretty dress and the night off instead of the prince
• She thinks America's sister May would have excelled in the Selection, because she’s boy crazy and enthusiastic about everything
• Kiera writes for herself only and it's just cool that others like it; the stories still feel like hers, personally
• Chapters 28 & 29 of The Elite are her favourite
• Another of her favourite parts is Aspen & his pennies, because it shows what kind of person he is; he’s sacrificing what he really needs for his family. Pennies are the smallest thing but so big for him, and he’s also sacrificing his time
• Belives that the things that define you come out in the words; she doesn’t have any agenda at all, but thinks that her Christianity comes out in some places
• She’s often asked which team she is, in regards to the boys; she said that Aspen is hotter but Maxon is sweeter; she’s “Team All The Boys”
• Re: setting, The Spelling Manor is what she pictured the palace as, but bigger (add 2 stories) and with walls around it
• She named Celeste after a mean girl from her childhood

Elizabeth Norris

• Struz is based on her real life friend in the FBI; he gave her as many details as he could about his job; Liz didn’t tell him that he was basically in the book, but he bought a copy and found out because the character’s last name is almost the same as his; then his whole family came to one of her first book signings
• The books were inspired by the TV show Sliders and by the idea of parallel universes; she wanted to examine how changes in different universes would change individuals (the idea of nature vs nurture and who you are without your experiences)
• She was rejected when she was young at a writing conference; she wrote 27 (!) books before Unraveling; her friends actually pitched the book to an agent for her, because she was so afraid of being rejected again and she was just writing for herself
• Liz suffers from what she calls “idea promiscuity” (love this term, haha), so she'll never finish things unless she plans it all out; she’ll write down scene ideas and then write the ending so that she'll know where she’s working toward
• Re: setting, she took the emotions she felt toward San Diego and included what she missed about it

Aprilynne Pike

• With her latest release, Life After Theft, she wanted to examine the idea of how people talk about others once they’re dead: just because you’ve died, it doesn’t mean you’re a nice person! Kimberlee is mean, she is not the heroine of the story
• When she writes YA, she writes for her 13 year old self
• She always tries for the unexpected ending that still feels right
• Wants to write male characters that are just as interesting as the females
• With Life After Theft she took Santa Monica stereotypes and put a normal boy in a rich, glitzy setting

Amy Tintera

• In Reboot she put a strong female and a less physically strong guy together; she loved the idea of reversing gender roles and having both of them be fine with that
• She writes initially for herself, but feels like it's for others now as well; she doesn't love ‘Reboot’ the best anymore now that she’s working on Book 2; she wants to keep writing books that are her new favourites as she’s writing them
• Amy’s favourite part of the book is just that Wren is kind of crazy and Callum digs it
• She’s not a strict plotter: she makes it up as she goes, but she has to work toward the end or else she gets bored with it and abandons it
• She was a huge Sweet Valley High fan, so one of her first books featured characters named Elizabeth and Todd
• She’s always wanted to write happy endings because of a book she read when she was younger where at the end the character fell down stairs and died; felt like it was a horrible, traumatic ending!
• Random geek fact: her engagement ring is Battlestar Galactica themed, with a cylon on the side (um, how cool is that?!)

The books I got signed (Kiera was excited that I had the UK editions)

Swag I picked up!

Overall, clearly a lot of fun, and I was so glad I was able to attend both. Next recap? Rochester Teen Book Festival 2013. Hopefully that will be up next week.

A Random Good Thing (or that time Kelley Armstrong came to my house)

So, this happened today...



I was checking twitter this morning and definitely more than half-jokingly replied to Kelley's tweet. Then I was just eating my breakfast and reading my book and all the sudden I get a text from Avery that's all exclamation points (not a rare occurrence, actually ;)), and then another one saying something like "You have to see what Kelley wrote!"... so I go back on Twitter and see that I inadvertently started a contest. That in itself was a "woah!" moment.

Then all the sudden Kelley is DMing me and I get to email with her and oh btw she'll drop by about 4 pm. Like no big deal, I have NYT bestselling authors at my house all the time, right? Thankfully I've met Kelley a few times before, or else I think I would have been freaking out even more. My Mom was totally fangirling, haha, and she was like "We need a picture to prove Kelley's been to our house!" which is totally dorky, but also fun, and I'm glad she took one. We chatted for a few minutes, and I got Kelley to sign my copy of The Rising, since it was the only one I didn't have signed. All in all, supremely cool.

I guess the moral of the story is you should definitely just tweet random things, because you never know what will happen. The other moral is that Kelley Armstrong is awesome, and is so cool to her readers. I already knew that just from the amount of contests she has, and how she communicates with people on her website and tumblr, but this just proves it even more.

Rochester Teen Book Festival 2013

Do you live anywhere near Rochester, NY? If so, have you heard of the Rochester Teen Book Festival?

What: A FREE event featuring 34 (!) YA authors. A day of author panels/presentations finished off with a big signing session. Basically, an AMAZING time.
When: Saturday, May 18, 2013 from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Where: Nazareth College in Rochester, NY

All of these amazing authors will be at TBF this year:

Gennifer Albin

Tom Angleberger

Charles Benoit

Coe Booth

Alexandra Bracken

Kate Brian

Jessica Brody

Susane Colasanti

Andrea Cremer

Matt De La Peña

Lauren Destefano

Kevin Emerson

Andrew Fukuda

Margaret Peterson Haddix

Faith Erin Hicks

Ellen Hopkins

Amy Ignatow

Stacey Kade

Dan Krokos

Robin Lafevers

David Levithan

Lisa McMann

Marissa Meyer

Megan Miranda

Michael Morpurgo

Mary Pearson

Prudence Shen

Mark Shulman

Jennifer E. Smith

Margaret Stohl

Laurie Faria Stolarz

Stephanie Kate Strohm

Terry Trueman

Sara Zarr

I KNOW. I don't even know how to describe how excited I am to meet these authors.

This event is so much fun. It's definitely geared toward teens and the local high schools (as it should be!), but if you're not-so-YA anymore, don't worry, because my Mom and I felt perfectly welcome last year.

You can check out my recap post from 2012 to get an idea of what the event is like.

Any & all information about TBF can be found at

http://www.teenbookfestival.org

Will you be attending TBF this year?? If so, let me know! I'd love to meet up. =)

Marissa Meyer Interview

Once upon I time I entered a contest to interview Marissa Meyer in Toronto, and by some dumb luck I managed to win. Add in my bookish partner in crime Avery, and we had a very cool interview on our hands.

So here it is, Avery and my interview with Marissa Meyer, from the Indigo Yorkdale Green Room on Saturday, March 9, 2013. You can listen to the audio, read the transcript, or do both.

Warning for minor Cinder spoilers.

Ashley: I was thinking, a lot of us bloggers fangirl over your books & the characters, so what kinds of things do you fangirl over?

Marissa: [laughs] I'm a big Firefly fangirl...

Ashley: Me too.

Marissa: Yes! Actually, my biggest fantasy that I keep having right now. I'm going to Comic-Con in San Diego this year and I keep dreaming of, like, I pass Nathan Fillion in the halls and I can stop him and charm him, and be like 'You should read my book!', and then he does and gives it to Joss Whedon. That's like my dream at the moment, [laughing] so I definitely fangirl over Nathan Fillion, and he's great.

Ashley: Canadian, too.

Marissa: Oh, is he?

Avery: I only know him from Twitter; all the authors re-tweeting stuff about him. [all laugh]

Ashley: We're all like nerdy with Firefly.

Marissa: Yeah, he's awesome. He's so nerdy. Um, what else? I don't know. For a long time I was a Sailor Moon fangirl and I still kind of have that in my roots.

Avery: Dubbed or subtitles? 'Cause Ashley and I were discussing this on the way here.

Marissa: [laughs] Well, I've seen both, and I definitely prefer subtitles, because in the American version they made Darien out to be such a jerk, and he wasn't that big of a jerk in the Japanese one.

Ashley: Oh, okay.

Marissa: Actually, have you seen the live action?

Ashley: No, just pictures!

Marissa: It's kind of amazing, and like as campy and cheesy as you can imagine, but it was hilarious, so I really loved that.

Avery: Since you're one of our favourite authors, who are your favourite authors or your all-time favourite book?

Marissa: Well, my all-time favourite book is Pride and Prejudice. By Jane Austen, of course. Otherwise, favourite authors... I mean, J.K. Rowling is amazing. Who else? I really like Kristin Cashore and Leigh Bardugo. Marcus Zusak is brilliant. John Green, of course, is brilliant. Scott Westerfeld, I really admire him.

Avery: What about as a teenager, were they all your favourite books as a teenager too?

Marissa: As a teenager I read a lot of high fantasy, so I read... I was really into the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I remember reading a lot of classics, but I feel like those were more forced on me, than anything else.

Ashley: For school...

Marissa: Yeah. So the Sword of Truth ones are the only ones that I can remember being super excited about when I was a teenager.

Ashley: Which literary location, either a real one or imagined, would you most like to visit?

Marissa: [squeeing] Pemberley! [laughs] Definitely Pemberley!

Ashley: Have you read the Shannon Hale book with the...

Marissa: You know, I have not. It's been on my list for ages.

Ashley: I thought that was kind of cool how they had, like, a place where people could go and act like they were back in that time.

Marissa: Yeah, I need to read that, for sure. But have you been watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries?

Ashley: Yes.

Marissa: Yeah, I love how they've done that and Pemberley was the business and I thought it was very clever.

Ashley: Yeah, I liked all the connections, like 'Bing Lee'.

Marissa: Yeah! Uh huh.

Avery: This conversation actually makes me so happy, because I re-watched Pride & Prejudice the other day, with Keira Knightly, because it's my all-time favourite movie.

Marissa: I love that movie.

Avery: Because it's just as good as the book, I find.

Marissa: I don't know that I would quite say that, but I absolutely love it, and I've probably watched it 8 million times.

Avery: Yes! What interests do you have when you're not writing? Or hobbies that you pursue.

Marissa: I like to eat, a great deal. [laughs]

Ashley: That's a good one.

Marissa: I mean, I cook, not as much as I would like to, but I do cook fairly regularly, and I like to be adventurous with my cooking, like I'm always like 'I have no idea what this vegetable is, let's buy it and see what it does' ... but then also road trips. Jesse and I go on a lot of road trips together, and we love antiquing, so we'll go and do a road trip to one of those big outdoor flea market antique show things. So we do a lot of that.

Ashley: Bloggers often talk about their 'book boyfriends', so we're wondering who your book boyfriends are, or even like a book friend -- those characters that you wish were real.

Marissa: Oh heavens. Mr. Darcy, but this interview is going to be so overwhelmed with Pride & Prejudice stuff. [laughs] Who else? I love pretty much all the guys in the Graceling series, so Po and Brigand. Who was the guy in Bitterblue? I don't know, but he was also fabulous. She writes male characters very, very well, I think. And also all of the guys in Leigh Bardugo's series. I don't know if you guys have gotten Siege and Storm yet?

Ashley: I haven't, but I've read the first one.

Marissa: Yeah, and, you know, even the Darkling was hot. How does she do that?? And then there's a guy in Siege and Storm who's become like my favourite character ever, and I... want him. [laughs]

Avery: Do you have any future books in mind or are you solely focused on finishing the Lunar Chronicles before you start anything new? And are you going to go outside of the genre?

Marissa: We have actually just sold a new book to my publisher.

All: Yay!

Marissa: And that one will be YA Fantasy. So it's obviously still YA, but different in that there's no technology at all. I'm doing everything I can do avoid technology in that book. So that one's, you know, under way. And then I have lots and lots of ideas and I think that I will be staying in YA for the foreseeable future. I love this genre, but within YA, I mean I have ideas for historicals, and action adventures, and horrors, and pretty much everything.

Ashley: I think there should be... there's like kind of a lack of the kind-of action adventure thing, like I'd love to see sort of like an Indiana Jones type of treasure hunt story.

Marissa: Yeah! That would be fun. Everyone loves treasure hunts. And archaeology? Like it's so fascinating.

Avery: That's my B.A.!

Marissa: Is it? Yeah!

Ashley: So how much of the overarching plot for the series did you have worked out when you started Cinder? Has any of that changed a lot since the inception?

Marissa: Yeah.

Avery: You already have the third and fourth written, don't you? -Ish?

Marissa: Um, the third one's pretty much done, and I'm working on the second draft of the fourth one right now. Yeah, and I had them all planned out pretty much from the start. I had outlined all four books before I started writing. But yes, things definitely change a lot while you're writing, and particularly because I wrote Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress... I wrote the first drafts back to back, but then I went back and revised Cinder and so much changed in Cinder, that then I had to re-write books two and three to work with everything that had changed in the first book. But I would say that the overall trajectory of the plot has pretty much stayed the same.

Avery: What has been your most rewarding experience since becoming a published author?

Marissa: It's all so rewarding! Definitely just meeting fans is amazing and kind of boggling and strange at the same time. [laughs] But then also I'll get, once in a while I'll get a fan mail from somebody, usually a young person, who claims they never liked reading, they don't like books, but then they picked up Cinder for whatever reason and loved it, and now they're, you know, getting more into books and looking for other things they enjoy. That is so cool and special, 'cause obviously I love books and I know how important they were to me, so it's neat to think that mine could introduce someone else to that.

Ashley: Mmhmm! So sort of along those lines, what's been your favourite reader reaction to either your book as a whole, or like particular scenes?

Marissa: Well, it was fun being proposed to.* [all laugh] I don't know, I love all the squealing and the giddiness, 'cause I'm like 'I know how that feels!' and it's neat to have people feel it for my books. You know what? My favourite thing is probably the fan art and the fan fiction, which I don't actually read the fan fiction for my books, but just knowing that it's there makes me so happy. I think it's really cool to know that people have enjoyed the world and the characters so much that they want to take that and make their own stuff with it. I think that's a really big honour.

Avery: And gifs make me happy.

Marissa: Gifs, yeah.

Avery: Even when I read reviews with other people's gifs. 'You're expressing what I feel'...

Marissa: [laughs] I agree. I think it's such a talent to find the right gifs.

Avery: Yes!

Marissa: I don't think I could do it.

Avery: Is there any one aspect you find particularly challenging when writing?

Marissa: There's lots of parts that are challenging. I think for these books in particular, beginning with Scarlet, it's been a real challenge to combine the two story lines in a way that they balance each other and they work off each other in that you're not like reading one and then it moves to the other story line and you're like 'man I wish I knew what was happening with Scarlet right now' or whatever. So making sure that the readers are intrigued and excited about books, story lines, and that they kind of merge in interesting ways has been a challenge. But it's also fun, 'cause I kind of look at each book like a puzzle, and so it's like 'I have all these pieces, let's see how we can fit them together'.

Avery: I think that's... that what we both said. We thought they were like seamless, 'cause like I was really concerned about it. [Marissa laughs] Like I'm not going to lie to you, I was like 'How are these girls going to meet up?' And it was so natural.

Marissa: Oh, thank you!

Ashley: Yeah, like I sort of have a question about it, because that was one thing that I was like 'Okay I'm looking forward to it, but I love Cinder and what's going to happen?' And I think like, I felt like within a few pages you did really well introducing Scarlet.

Marissa: Oh, thank you!

Ashley: And making her really likable, and I thought a lot of books that go back and forth you have that kind of thing where you go 'Oh I just want to read about this character and I don't want to go back'. But I thought you did it really, really well balancing it out.

Marissa: Right. Well, thank you!

Ashley: So I guess... I'm going to skip to that one then since we're talking about it. What made you decide to go with the different perspectives, like continuing on with Cinder, but introducing those other ones.

Marissa: Well, when I first started brain storming the series I did think that each book would be a standalone, so like all of them in the same world, but not tied together. But then as I started figuring out the world and figuring out that there were these Lunars, and this evil Queen who wanted to take over, and this lost Moon Princess.. you know, the more I kind of brainstormed about it, the more this evil queen character started like tyrannizing all of the main characters in all of the books, and pretty soon it was just becoming this whole story that really revolves mostly around Cinder and the Evil Queen more than anything else. But I, of course, still had these other main characters, and I could see them kind of forming into a group as the stories went on, and banding together to fight the Evil Queen. So once I kind of knew that that's where we were heading with stuff, then I had to think 'Okay, well how? How are the characters related to each other and how do they come to meet up?' and so it's been fun!

Ashley: So whose points of view can readers expect to read about in Cress?

Marissa: Uh, all of them pretty much. I mean, you'll still be seeing Cinder and Kai, and Wolf and Scarlet, and then you'll also meet Cress, and then Captain Thorne also has a much larger part in Cress.

Ashley: Which is great.

Avery: Yes!

Ashley: We love him.

Marissa: Thank you! I do too. He's so much fun to write.

Avery: He's so... in real life he'd be a douchebag, but you love him.

Marissa: [laughs] I know, right? [all laugh]

Avery: Books make it okay. [pause] Kill, Kiss, or marry.

Marissa: Oh gosh, I hate this question!

Avery: Kai, Wolf and Thorne edition.

Ashley: This is Avery's evil question. [all laugh]

Marissa: I've actually... have been asked this before, and I'm going to stick with what I said then, and that's that I would kiss Kai because I think it would be excellent publicity. [all laugh] And marry Wolf, because I think if given the chance to settle down and lead a normal life, he would actually be a really great husband. And kill Thorne, because even though I love Thorne -- and he's probably actually my favourite of the three -- he would drive me crazy. [laughs]

Ashley: [laughs] Yes. [pause] What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

Marissa: [laughs] Ignore writing advice. [all laugh] I think that there... I do actually kind of mean that. I mean, there's a lot of rules and I'll be the first person to give advice if somebody asks for it, but there's a lot of rules that writers take too seriously, and it's... you know, you need to find out what works for you and what works for the book, and do that, and try to ignore all of these other voices that are in your head.

Avery: Do first drafts suck for you?

Marissa: Yes.

Avery: Yes, okay.

Marissa: Horrifically. [laughs] No, there's not ... I'm hoping that Winter I won't have to entirely re-write, but Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress I had to rewrite pretty much from page one.

Avery: If you could do it all over again, would you change anything in Scarlet?

Marissa: In Scarlet specifically?

Avery: Or ... just in general.

Marissa: In any of them?

Avery: You know, introducing Thorne earlier.

Marissa: [laughs] [pause] Uh yeah, I guess I would ... probably the biggest criticism that Cinder receives is that people thought the big twist that she's the princess -- I don't know if you can put that, it's a spoiler -- but that the big twist at the end was too predictable, but like as the writer I expected readers to figure it out, so I knew that a lot of people were going to see it coming. So I think if I were to do it again I would make it more obvious that 'YES, you are actually supposed to figure it out!' It's not supposed to be this big surprise at the end.

Ashley: No, I thought that was pretty well done, because, you know, you can figure that out at the end, but I still thought the way that you brought it about was super interesting, and made it a great layer.

Marissa: Well, thank you.

Ashley: Okay. So what has your research process been like in writing the series, and have you got to visit any cool places... or what kinds of factoid have you found out that you thought were interesting?

Marissa: Oh my gosh, so many cool factoids! Um, I have not gotten to go, like to Paris or China, as much as I wish I could. But I do a lot of research for the settings, you know, online... Google Maps is fantastic, I look at a lot of tourist sites, read guide books - that sort of thing. I think probably the most interesting research that I've done were for the cyborg parts of Cinder, because really, everything that Cinder has, turned out to be completely plausible and it's all based on true scientific fact, and there are things that scientists are doing right now that are mind blowing. They actually just had a news story here a few weeks ago about how they had implanted a ... I think it's like a really, really thin sheet of electrodes into a guy's eye, that connects directly into his brain, and the guy was blind and now he can see. And, it's you know, it's like mostly shapes and colours, it's not like he can see 20/20, but it's getting there.

Ashley: Pretty incredible.

Marissa: And it's amazing, it's like, that's very similar to what Cinder has. So lots of very cool cyborg things.

Avery: What drew you into YA over any other genre?

Marissa: You know, it's just kind of where I landed, it wasn't really a intentional decision, at least not at first, because when I started writing - trying to write a novel - I was 16 at the time, and so of course all my characters were 16, and then I grew up, and went to college and got a job and blah blah blah, but I would always just keep writing about teenage characters. And so then when, of course, Harry Potter happened and Twilight and everything, and it was like 'Hey, that's my genre! That's where I fit!' So it was cool to make that connection and be like 'That's what I'm writing!' Because, really, YA as a genre, is very, very new ... it didn't exist until maybe 10 or 15 years ago, so it was nice that all the sudden there's this genre, and it's doing really well, and that's what I want to write.

Ashley: Yeah, it's definitely exploded over the last like 5 or 6 years, because I know even compared to when I was in high school, there definitely wasn't as much as there is now.

Marissa: Yeah!

Ashley: So I know we talked a little bit about NaNoWriMo**, so what's your favourite part about that process and what do you think the advantages are for participating in that?

Marissa: Well, I think what's so great about it is that it gives you a goal and it gives you a deadline, and I think that's where a lot of aspiring writers get tripped up. You know, they have this idea that they want to write a book, but there's always other things getting in the way. You know, life is always in the way. So I think if you can set a goal and set a deadline and take it really seriously that's, you know, you've accomplished half the battle right there. And so I think that's what's so great about NaNo, is that it encourages people to do that and to prioritize their writing and have fun with it too. As far as advantages, I mean obviously it's great that after 30 days you have a first draft. And yes it's messy and it's terrible, but at least then you have something to work with, and I think that's great. But at the same time I know a lot of writers who have tried it, and it didn't work for them, and they prefer a slower process, and I think that's fine too, you know, as long as you're working toward it.

Avery: Do you have any author friends? Because when I read the acknowledgements of books, like everyone's crediting other people, like people who are very random. Like Beth Revis and Lauren DeStefano: BFFs.

Marissa: Yeah! Um, I'm... I have more now. I have a group in Washington, the Apocalypsies, there were 6 of us in Washington, so we meet up once in a while. And then I've been on a couple group tours, and so it's been really fun meeting those authors. I mean... I guess, who would I think are my closest writer friends?

Avery: Do you ever text anyone, like 'oh my god...'

Marissa: Um... [laughs] only like if we're getting together, somewhere like 'hey I'm here' or whatever. Um, but like Lish McBride, she lives in Seattle, so we've gone out a couple times. And... Leigh Bardugo and Anna Banks, we were all on a group tour together, and we've gone out for drinks when we were at the same conferences, and they're so much fun. [pauses] [laughs] I could just start listing people, but then I know I'll miss somebody, and they'll be like 'Why didn't you list me?!' so...

Avery: It's kind of like when you're writing acknowledgements.

Ashley: Okay, so... what are 3 random facts about yourself that people might be surprised to know?

Marissa: Ooh...

Ashley: Or anything you can think of, really.

Marissa: Random... um... I don't know, that's hard!

Ashley: I put you on the spot.

Marissa: Yeah... we might have to come back to that one.

Avery: You... try vegetables you don't know.

Marissa: I do, I do.

Avery: That's random.

Marissa: Yeah. I've recently developed a great love for brussels sprouts. Like, who knew? Brussels sprouts, they're delicious. [all laugh]

Ashley: Okay, I think we're at 20 minutes. [to Avery] Unless you want to finish something up?

Avery: Nope.

Ashley: Okay. [to Marissa] Well thank you very much!

Marissa: Yeah, thank you guys!

* When we first came in and were introducing ourselves Avery goes "I actually proposed to you on twitter a while ago" & Marissa was like "Oh that was you?! When's the date?"
** Err, we didn't actually mention it by name, but that's when Marissa wrote the first drafts of Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress.

So as you can tell, Marissa is a very fun and lovely person, and it was such a joy to interview her. Thank you so much to Marissa, to Raincoast Books for making it possible, and to Indigo Yorkdale for use of their Green Room.

You can see pictures and

find a full event recap HERE.

Recap: Marissa Meyer Signing (Toronto)

You may recall from my earlier post that I was very excited for the Marissa Meyer signing in Toronto. It's not often that I can make the 2 hour trip to Toronto, so when events are on Saturday afternoon it makes me very happy.

You may also recall that Raincoast Books was hosting a contest for a chance to win a prize pack and an interview with Marissa herself. Now I had a weirdly good feeling about this contest, but I was still incredibly shocked and excited when I got an email last Wednesday saying I had won the interview (!!). When I first heard about the contest I had texted Avery saying "If either of us win the interview we should see if we can do it together" & Avery responded with "YES!!!!", so needless to say I decided I better stick to my word. ;) The people at Raincoast were great, and said that would be no problem.

My Mom is a big fan of YA novels herself, and is always willing to play chauffeur in exchange for gas money (thanks Mom!), so she drove Avery and I to Toronto once again. We got to Indigo Yorkdale at about 10:30 and there was already quite a decent line-up circling around the store. Avery and I said hello to the bloggers we saw, and then at about 11:15, Melissa, who was running the event, ushered us to the back room where we waited to interview Marissa. We met with Dan from Raincoast, and said hello to Chandra and Natalie, part of 'Team Teen' at Chapters-Indigo. I received copies of Cinder and Scarlet, Scarlet lip balm, and a Scarlet poster, and they were kind enough to give some lip balm and a poster to Avery as well. Marissa's husband, Jesse, also passed out some 'Captain Thorne' buttons to those of us in the back room.

Avery and I went into the green room for our interview with Marissa, and it was tons of fun. I always get a little bit nervous, but as soon as we began talking it was so comfortable. Marissa is very friendly and easy to talk to, and I think it made for a great interview (interview can be found here). After we finished up interviewing, Marissa signed our books and posters, and Jesse was kind enough to take a picture of the three of us.

(Photo Credit @indigogreenroom)

After our interview was complete Avery and I joined my Mom in front row reserved seats (thank you Melissa!), and within a few minutes Marissa came out to the excitement of the crowd. Marissa spoke a bit about her inspiration for Cinder, her publication journey, and then she told us three non-Disney fairy tales (Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood). After that she took questions from the audience.

Here are some interesting facts from the event:

• Cinder, Scarlet, and Winter are pretty straight-forward names, but people always wonder where Cress came from. The connection is that Cress & Rapunzel are both types of lettuce.
• Marissa planned to write Cinder for NaNoWriMo, but then she heard about a contest where the prize for writing the most NaNo words in her area was a walk on role for Star Trek (a big deal in her family, who she says are all nerds). Unfortunately she came in 3rd, only 1000 words under the winner.
• She likes to write female characters who are strong and have goals beyond getting a boyfriend
• Her advice to young writers is to read & write as much as you can
• She loves writing because it's a chance to explore other people & situations -- escape into another world
• Her favourite Sailor Scout is Sailor Jupiter, because she's tough and strong, but she's also very sweet and caring on the inside; she influenced Cinder's personality quite a bit

After questions were complete it was time for Marissa to begin signing. Because Avery and I already had our books signed we waited around a bit for some other bloggers, chatting as they finished getting their books signed. Then a group of us headed across the mall for some lunch. It's always so much fun to connect with the Toronto (and Ottawa!) bloggers.

(Photo Credit @justalillost)

All in all it was a fabulous day! Thanks so much to Raincoast Books, Indigo Yorkdale, Indigo Green Room, and, of course, Marissa Meyer for making it happen!

You can read other recaps of the event here (let me know if you'd like your post linked up!):
-- Avery
-- Michele
-- Angel
-- Rose

You can find Avery & my
interview with Marissa HERE.

Marissa Meyer is coming to Toronto

Marissa Meyer at Indigo Yorkdale

See Indigo Events for full details.

Marissa Meyer, author of Cinder and Scarlet, is coming to Toronto! I am such a huge fan of these books, so I will definitely be making the trip to go see her.

As an added bonus, Raincoast Books is giving their bloggers a chance to win an interview with Marissa, which sounds like an amazing opportunity!

One question I would ask Marissa:

As you get further into the Lunar Chronicles is it harder to pull the stories together and manage different narrators? Whose points of view can readers expect to find in the next book, Cress?

Have you seen Marissa on one of her book tours? Or will you be coming to the event in Toronto? I'm so looking forward to it, and whether or not I get the chance to interview Marissa I will definitely be featuring an event recap on my blog.

#BreathlessReads & Faze Party Recap

When I heard that the #BreathlessReads tour was coming to Toronto I knew I had to go. The event was originally supposed to feature Andrea Cremer, Morgan Rhodes, Jessica Spotswood, & Beth Revis -- however Andrea Cremer had to drop out at the last minute, and the lovely Adrienne Kress kindly stepped in to fill her spot. When I first signed up for the event hosted by Faze Magazine I knew it was a "Faze SuperGirl Event", but I thought that meant it was a big celebration featuring the authors. As the event got closer it was announced that there were three musical artists performing, and that the event was being co-hosted by a Much Music VJ. At this point I wasn't sure what to expect -- I wondered if there would be separate rooms where 1 room would feature the author panel and signings.... and, well, this definitely wasn't the case.

The afternoon didn't start off great. The event was supposed to start at 2, so many people assumed that the doors would open early. Because Avery and I came from out of town we were quite early, in case there had been bad weather or traffic. So we didn't really have much of a choice but to line up early, assuming (perhaps wrongly, but still) that the doors would open beforehand to leave time to get all the people's names checked off, etc. Keep in mind that with the windchill this was -26° weather (-14.8° Fahrenheit) and the line up was outside. No one was being let in, and it was just brutal waiting outside, especially because 2 o'clock came and went and we still weren't being let inside. Finally at about 2:15 they started letting people in in groups of 5 (!) and then 10. Thankfully we were toward the front of the line, but I heard from others that it took half an hour or so to get people inside. I understand there has to be some organization and working with the space you have, but it was just brutal that they kept people waiting outside in that cold.

Once we got inside it was pretty clear that things weren't very organized. There were different make up and nail stations, as well as pizza (which a lot of people never got any of, because it was set out quite randomly, and people seemed to be vultures, scooping up several pieces at a time as soon as it was set out) and drinks. All of this was quite haphazard, and never really explained to anyone. There was a table set up on the side of the room with books for sale, so at least we knew we were probably in the right place. The authors were not mentioned until a long way into the program. We only knew that the authors would eventually make an appearance because the very kind @RazorbillCA folks kept us up to date on Twitter.

Here's what I think: for the regular patrons of Faze Magazine parties this was probably a great event. There were three musical performers throughout the afternoon (Brendn, Jesse Giddings, & Eleven Past One) and all of the younger girls seemed to really enjoy them. This was a case of feeling much to old for the event, which I totally get, as I'm not part of that targeted age group. I guess we might have noticed how their graphic labels it as a "SuperGirl Event" and only a "Host to the Breathless Reads Tour". The music and Faze Magazine was really the main focus of it all, and most of the audience didn't care about the authors at all. From a different perspective all of this is completely understandable, and yet I can't help but feel disappointed that the authors weren't utilized to their full potential.

There were a core group of us who came solely to see authors, and for more than an hour nothing had even been mentioned about them at all. The fact that Penguin was so awesome to feature Adrienne Kress and Morgan Rhodes and to bring Beth Revis and Jessica Spotswood all the way from the States -- and there wasn't even an official panel or Q&A from the audience? It felt like a wasted opportunity that us bloggers were standing around waiting for the authors while the the authors were sitting in the wings waiting for their turn. I'm all about promoting literacy in different types of venues, but this one just didn't seem to work. From what I could tell the crowd was way more focused on, and enthused about, the bands. It was just a very odd and different experience -- definitely not all bad, but not what most of us bloggers were expecting.

The Authors

But what about the good parts?? Well let me share those with you, lest you think I'm completely full of complaints. The best part is that Penguin Canada even set up this opportunity at all, so MANY thanks to them for bringing 4 amazing authors to Toronto. We don't tend to get these big tours up here, so it was a big treat to be able to see these authors at all.

When the authors finally did come down to sign it was a very awesome experience, because there was such a small group of us.

First up was Morgan Rhodes (aka Michelle Rowen), who was kind enough to spend her birthday at this event with us. Thank you, Morgan!

Next was Adrienne Kress, who is super super adorable. I had to include this pic even though it's a bit blurry from the horrible lighting. Can you tell from the dramatic pose that she's an actress as well? ;)

Third was Jessica Spotswood. She was soft spoken, but very sweet and happy to meet with everyone (also how small & perfect is her printing?!).

And last but not least was the very sweet Beth Revis, who complimented my Reading Railroad t-shirt (which I love, but I really need to stop wearing to bookish events, lest people think I don't own any other clothing). I talked to Beth for a few minutes about 'Shades of Earth', which I enjoyed the most out of her Across the Universe trilogy (love that each book got better!). Beth asked if I liked the last chapter, and revealed that her editor initially didn't want it to end like that. I can't say much more without being spoilery, but we had a nice chat about why the ending worked well.

After the authors signed there was another bit in between, and for quite a while we thought that was it. Then they brought Adrienne & Morgan out on stage and asked them a few questions.

Adrienne's favourite book as a teenager was 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', which changed everything for her. It influences her writing, and she believes it influenced her personality as well.

Morgan was asked where she most wanted to go in the world, and what reality TV show she would watch when there (random, I know). Morgan picked Australia and said that she loves reality TV like American Idol.

They were then asked about writing. Adrienne claimed that she is easily distracted by things like TV and twitter, but that the only way to succeed is to keep going -- she then adorably performed a scene from Finding Nemo ("Just keep swimming!"). Morgan's three keys to succeeding as an author are: believe in yourself, write what you want to write, and read a lot.

After these interviews the next musical act came on stage, and it was SO LOUD that we really didn't want to stand through a lot more just to hear a few questions -- so unfortunately we missed Beth and Jessica on stage, along with some author trivia toward the end. I'm looking forward to reading recaps from those few who stayed to the end of the event.

So was this event what I expected? Not really. But was meeting the authors still amazing? Absolutely!!

And was it fun to spend the afternoon laughing and joking with all my blogger pals who I don't get to see very often?? Yes!! In that way we made our own fun, even though much of the event wasn't what we expected it to be.

Pic courtesy of Michele.

L to R: Tiff, Hayley, Ardo, me (apparently unaware of this pic being taken!), Avery, Emilie, Andrea, Meaghan, Wendy, Brenna, Siobhan, & Giselle.

Pic courtesy of Liz.

L to R: Liz, me, Avery, Steph (in back), Tiff (in front), Ardo, & Michele.

Thank you SO much to Penguin Canada for bringing these great authors to Toronto, and much thanks to Morgan, Adrienne, Jessica, and Beth for taking part in this rather unique event.

#BreathlessReads Tour in Toronto!

Southwestern Ontario bloggers, get excited, because Penguin's Breathless Reads tour is coming to Toronto!!

Who:

This event will feature authors Andrea Cremer, Morgan Rhodes, Jessica Spotswood, & Beth Revis. An amazing line up, am I right?!

What:

Not only is this a very cool author event, it's also a "Faze SuperGirl Event" hosted by Faze Magazine. There will be swag, giveaways, food, and other (not yet announced) special guests.

When:

Sunday, February 17, 2013

2:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Where:

The Opera House

735 Queen St. E.

Toronto, ON

IMPORTANT:

This event is officially open to females 13 - 24 years of age, and you MUST REGISTER. However, if you are a blogger and may, like myself, be a bit too old for those parameters, never fear -- you can email Faze and get added to their press list as long as you provide coverage of the event (which I'm sure most of us would do anyway!).

All the information you need to register can be found HERE, and I hope to see you there!!

Rochester Teen Book Festival 2012

This past Saturday I had the great pleasure of attending The 7th Annual Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival. I had heard about the event earlier this year, but I figured it was too far away to get to. Then on Thursday I randomly decided "why not?" (especially since it was a long weekend here in Canada), so I recruited my Mom and we drove down to Rochester (about a 4 hour drive) on Friday night in order to be there for the Saturday 9 am start.

The event started off with a parade of authors coming in in cool older cars, and there was a marching band playing. Once the doors were open we were free to grab seats and browse around the gym where they had lots of different booths set up. I bought some TBF merchandise (buttons and a bag), some raffle tickets (I didn't win, but oh well), as well as these books to get signed:

After introductions the event kicked off with the first TBF author game show. There were two contestants who had to try and match authors with their answers (for things like "which paranormal creature would you most like to be?" and "what is the furthest you've ever travelled?" etc), and there were also lightning rounds where every author answered questions. There was a favourite musical question which led to a bit of singing, and it was pretty funny/enjoyable overall.

After this all-author event the day was split up into four different session times, with each author (or author pairing/group) presenting 3 times. You could choose which authors you wanted to see, and the sessions were divided up into different buildings around the Nazareth College campus.

For each session I made some notes, so I'll try to summarize what was said/talked about.

Session 1: Cinda Williams Chima

• It took a long time for Cinda to figure out what she wanted to do
• She was named after a character from "House Divided" by Ben Ames Williams. She has a twin sister, Linda, and everyone thinks that Cinda was a made up name to rhyme with Linda
• Believes strongly that it's necessary to READ in order to write
• She wasn't a strong student early on, and becoming a reader changed her life
• Her first poem she wrote in 3rd grade was called "Science is a wonderful thing" -- this was the first time she remembers getting support from a teacher, and it really changed her
• As a teen she wrote romance novels starring her friends
• Thinks that you should write the book that only you can write instead of trying to chase trends
• Everyone has something unique to write about because we all collect databases of our experiences
• Sees readers and writers as partners in fiction
• With her first trilogy she wanted to bring magic into the real world, into a high school and world that American students would recognize (as opposed to Hogwarts, which is AWESOME, but not a typical experience for American teens)

Session 2: Melissa Walker & Jenny Han

• These two awesome ladies were part of the "Girl Talk" panel
• Jenny is a stress baker, especially when on deadline; that way even if the writing doesn't work out at least she has cookies
• Melissa and Jenny are Friday Night Lights super fans; they talked about visiting the field when they were in Austin, and bidding on items from the set on eBay
• They played "Kiss Marry Kill" with TV and YA characters, and answered some "Would You Rather?" questions
• They both have taken things from real life inspirations; Melissa talked about using her experience interviewing models when working for Elle Girl to write the Violet books, as well as using the emotions of the break up of a friendship to write her latest book (Unbreak My Heart); Jenny talked about how in her first book 'Shug' a character has the same name and almost the same last name as a guy in her life from high school and some of college
• Melissa and Jenny also talked about the importance of covers; how rare it was that Jenny got to visit the set of the photoshoot for the Summer books, and how with Melissa's blog series about covers that it's about 50/50 of whether people are happy with their cover or not

Session 3: Megan Crewe & Susan Beth Pfeffer

• "The End of the World" panel
• Megan's best publishing experience was when "The Way We Fall" sold at auction, as part of a trilogy, after 2.5 years after her first book came out
• Susan's best moment was going out on a Saturday night for the Sunday NYT and standing on the streets of NYC reading a favourable review of her book in the paper
• Susan didn't see her 'Last Survivors' books as science fiction; she approaches books as 'family problem' novels, that describe a family in unique circumstances
• Megan enjoys YA because it's about the time when you're figuring out who you are, and making huge decisions about your life; everything is about "Firsts"
• Susan loves the family dynamic of YA, and thinks from the teen's POV is the most interesting

Overall these sessions were so much fun! I was also able to pick up some swag throughout the day:

After all the sessions was the big autographing session in the gym. Besides the books I bought at the festival I also brought a WHOLE BUNCH from home. Here are the books I was able to get signed:

"A double sign"

(Yes, I was absolutely nerdy enough to bring all of Melissa Walker's books to get her to sign even though I had some book plates from her already in some of the books.)

"Safe travels"

"Remember everything"

"Stay out of trouble"

"The future is yours" ('Forgotten' by Cat Patrick)

"Thanks for making the trip down"

"Happy reading"

"Best wishes! You have a great mom" (I do have the best Mom, because she stood in a few of the lines for me and got books signed for me while I waited in other lines)

"Never stop believing in magic"

"Believe in magic"

"All my best"

"Read on"

"What matters is the way we live"

I haven't actually been to a lot of signings before, and only a couple big book events. This one was a lot of fun, and I feel very blessed that I was able to attend. It was definitely really aimed at the local high schools of Rochester, and there was a huge turn out. I think it's amazing that events like this exist for teenagers, and I was really excited to see how the teens were so excited to meet the authors. The authors definitely got the rock star treatment, and there was palpable excitement in the air. If I had the chance I would definitely make the trip down again, because it was such a fun day, with a great opportunity to meet a whole bunch of really great authors.