Great News Friday! TFC Welcomes the Amazing Megan Kelley Hall

We are beyond excited to announce that a new author has joined Teen Fiction Cafe! It is my pleasure to introduce my friend (I would just say that just to sound cool, but this time it's actually true), Megan Kelley Hall. Then again, she gets to say she's an "old friend" of Tom Hanks. (Maybe she'll tell us that story sometime!)

As you can see from her photo, she's utterly gorgeous. But don't let her looks fool you; her books, Sisters of Misery and The Lost Sister are some of the creepiest I've ever read.

Megan lives close to Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and young daughter. A graduate of Skidmore College, she's now a literary publicist (Megan, her mom, and her sister are partners in Kelley & Hall Publicity and Promotion), a freelance writer (contributing to magazines such as: Elle, Glamour, Boston Magazine, American Baby, Parenting, and Working Mother), essayist (more on this later), and world traveler (She's been to Greece, the French Riviera, and Australia, to name just enough to get the rest of us jealous). She's also a cancer and open heart surgery survivor and writes about her miraculous story in former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan's anthology, What's Possible!

As you can probably tell by now, Megan is a do-er. When she sets her mind on something, it's as good as done. Horrified by cases of young people who are so relentlessly bullied that they sometimes take their own lives (like Phoebe Prince, the fifteen year-old girl who hanged herself little over a year ago), Megan partnered with YA author Carrie Jones and set their project, an anthology called Dear Bully, into motion. You won't want to miss Megan's first post next Thursday because she is going to tell us more and give us the inside scoop on this heart-felt anti-bullying project.

Please join me in welcoming Megan Kelley Hall to the TFC!

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Interview with Denise Jaden on Losing Faith

Hello TFCers! I just wanted to share a chat I had with debut author Denise Jaden. Her debut novel is Losing Faith and it sounds awesome! Read on for the deets!

A terrible secret. A terrible fate.

When Brie's sister, Faith, dies suddenly, Brie's world falls apart. As she goes through the bizarre and devastating process of mourning the sister she never understood and barely even liked, everything in her life seems to spiral farther and farther off course. Her parents are a mess, her friends don’t know how to treat her, and her perfect boyfriend suddenly seems anything but.

As Brie settles into her new normal, she encounters more questions than closure: Certain facts about the way Faith died just don't line up. Brie soon uncovers a dark and twisted secret about Faith’s final night...a secret that puts her own life in danger.

Hello Denise, it's great to have you here! Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how
you made your first sale including the title and publisher?

Denise: My first published novel is called Losing Faith and it was just released from Simon Pulse / Simon & Schuster in September. I've been writing for about seven years, and have several other novels in various stages of revision. I met my editor at a writers conference shortly after finishing Losing Faith and she was interested! After getting an agent, we sent my book on submission to the editor from the conference and she loved it. The rest is history!

Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

Denise: I write at least six days per week, usually for about an hour to an hour and a half per day. I'd love to write more, but at this point life doesn't allow. I homeschool my son in the mornings, then hit the gym. When we get
home, it's time for a quiet time for my son and a writing time for his mom.

Please tell us about your novel, Losing Faith, and what we can expect from your characters.

Denise: Losing Faith is the story of sixteen year old Brie, the black sheep of her religious family until her older sister Faith dies. Through the bizarre and devastating grieving process, Brie discovers that certain facts about Faith's final night just don't line up.

Sounds great! What's up next for you, Denise? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Denise: I'm working on another YA novel called Appetite For Beauty. It's about a cheeky and forthright girl who discovers a dangerous, self-destructive side in her sister, and has to decide between helping her sister and a powerful and unfamiliar desire to become appealing to a mysterious boy.

Thank you for sharing with us, Denise! Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Denise: Write every day. It helps stimulate the creative juices and for me, I often start dreaming about my characters and stories when they're a regular part of my day.

Denise Jaden lives just outside Vancouver, Canada. When she’s not writing, she can often be found homeschooling her son or dancing with her Polynesian dance troupe. Losing Faith is her first novel. Find out more at www.denisejaden.com.

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TFC Anniversary Party Prize Winners!

We at the TFC want to thank all our loyal and newest readers for helping us celebrate our 3 year anniversary. If you were one of the commenters listed below, contact your specific author at the listed email address or web-site with:

• your full name
• mailing address
• prize choice if applicable

Congratulations to our big winners!

Caitlin G, you've won either I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone or Ballads of Suburbia. Contact Stephanie at Stephanie (At) Stephaniekuehnert (Dot) com and don't forget to include your book choice!


Elie, you've won Crazy Beautiful, Angel's Choice, and Secrets of My Suburban Life. Lauren would like you to email her at GLogsted (At) Aol (Dot) com.


AuroraM, you've won Zombie Queen of Newbury High! Just contact Amanda Ashby at amanda (At) amandaashby (Dot) com


Congratulations to you, Kristen, for winning your choice of 1 of Linda Gerber's gems: Now and Zen, The Finnish Line, Death by Bikini, Death by Latte, or Death by Denim. And Kelly, you've won the hot-off-the-press galley of Trance! Both of you can send your info to Gerb through her website, http://www.lindagerber.com/.


A copy of Lovestruck Summer now belongs to MsFairyFreak. Head on over to Melissa Walker's website, http://www.melissawalker.com/ to contact her.


Bee, you won Rock My World. And O.W.L., Demon Baby chose you as the winner of Magickeepers! If you two would please email Erica at Erica (At) Ericaorloff (Dot) com, that would be great.


Maree Anderson, you won Sara Hantz's The Second Virginity of Suzy Green! Just contact Sara through her website, http://www.sarahantz.com/ with your mailing info and it'll be on its merry way from NZ!


Laurena, great news for you too! You've won Kay Cassidy's Cinderella Society glass slipper bookmark. Contact her at www.kaycassidy.com/contact.


Cherie J, congrat's! You've won The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren purple bangles. Contact Wendy through http://www.wendytoliver.com/.


Guess, what, Suzette? You get to choose Graffiti Girl or Invisible Touch! You can contact Kelly Parra at http://www.kellyparra.com/411.html.


And last but not least, Missy Love is the winner of Alyson Noel's Shadowland and "eternity" bracelet. Please email her at Alyson (At) Alysonnoel (Dot) com.


Thanks again to everyone for helping us celebrate! Here's to another 3 years of Teen Fiction Cafe!

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TFC's 3rd Anniversary Celebration: Day 2!

I am so excited about Teen Fiction Cafe's 3rd anniversary! Almost exactly three years ago, my friend and fellow author Sara Hantz and I noticed our first YA novels were launching at about the same time, and we decided to put together a group blog featuring YA authors from all over the world. Not only do we have fun posting about various topics, we've all grown to be friends with each other as well as with our readers. We'll be celebrating our anniversary every day through March 13, so drop by often for chances to win prizes and to learn how far each of us has come in the past 3 years.

Three years ago, I was anxiously waiting to see my first YA novel, The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren, which came out in December of 2007. Though I'd had some nonfiction books published, this was my first work of fiction, and I was beyond excited. My fabulous husband threw me a huge book launch bash at the Eccles Art Center in Ogden, Utah, and though the weather was less than ideal, it meant so much to me that so many friends and relatives braved the snow to come. Siren went into its second printing only a few months after its launch, which I thought was pretty cool. Also, my second YA manuscript, then called Cupid Girl, was a finalist in the YA category for the 2007 Romance Writers of the World's Golden Heart contest. It was so much fun to go to Dallas for the parties and ceremony (see photo of my DH and me all decked out). My publisher, Simon Pulse, liked this story and just over a year after Siren, my 2nd YA novel came out with a new title: Miss Match. Both Siren and Miss Match are romantic comedies, part of the Simon Pulse Ro-Coms . While I enjoyed writing these very much, I wanted to challenge myself by taking my writing in a whole new direction. For over 2 years, I wrote and worked on on a story about a girl who gets in too deep with a pair of shoplifters, and I was so excited (and relieved) when in November of 2009, my publisher bought Lifted. It's coming out in 94 days--that's June 8!

So, to summarize my authorly journey these past 3 years: 1 publisher, 2 fabulous agents (Christina Hogrebe, pictured below in the pretty black leaf-print dress, and Annelise Robey of Jane Rotrosen Agency), 3 YA books, 5 different editors (!), 1 TV appearance, several newspaper articles, lots of school visits and book signings, 1 key-note speech, 1 writers' conference put on with a writer friend, several presentations for other writers' conferences, and one marriage proposal from a 14 year-old boy. :)

As part of Teen Fiction Cafe's 3rd anniversary celebration, I'm giving away a set of 3 wooden bangles. They're purple like The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren--the little purple book that came out 3 years ago. For a chance to win, just leave a comment between now and March 13 (we'll announce all the winners on March 15). My middle son will draw the winner out of a hat. Good luck, and thanks for stopping by to help us celebrate!

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