What I Read (and loved!) Over the Holiday

This week we're talking about favorite books and boy am I glad we are because over the holiday I read some super amazing books that I've been bursting at the seams to talk about. 

The first book I read over the holidays was ROOM by Emma Donoghue. It's an adult book and it's fabulousity! Definitely one of my favorites of all time. It's so haunting and beautiful at the same time. ROOM is about a five year old boy named Jack who lives in an 11x11 foot room with his "Ma." To him, Room is the entire world. It's all he's known. But to his mother, Room is a cell where she's been kept prisoner for the past seven years.


The next book I devoured was WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson. I'm embarrassed to say that this is the FIRST book I've ever read by Laurie (I know! What have I been doing with my life?) but I will definitely be reading more. Wintergirls was amazing. It was chilling and disturbing and awesome. I actually got physically cold while reading the second half. I had to read it under two blankets. That's pretty powerful stuff! Wintergirls is a teen novel about an seriously anorexic eighteen year old who is haunted by the death of her best friend, who died from a similar eating disorder.


I also recently read the arc for STRUCK by debut author Jennifer Bosworth. This book doesn't release until May but it's definitely something you'll want to look out for when it does! STRUCK is action packed and exciting, revolving around seventeen year old Mia Price, who is a lightening addict. She's been struck hundreds of times. And unbeknownst to Mia, the lightening has left behind a hidden power. A power that is highly sought after. It takes place in Los Angeles, after a massive earth quake has destroyed the city. Now two doomsday prophesies have risen--one wants to save the world. while the other wants to destroy it--and they both need Mia's help to achieve their goal.


And finally, right now I'm reading (and almost finished with) CINDER by Marissa Meyer, the first in the Lunar Chronicles, which just released last week! Marissa Meyer is a debut author published by my same publishing house (Macmillan Children's) and boy is she in for a wild ride. Not only is CINDER a fantastic, fantastic book that is so imaginative, vivid, thrilling, romantic, exciting, and super engaging, the book is getting tremendous buzz. It seems like everywhere I look I'm hearing about this book. I think Marissa is poised to be the next big thing in teen fiction. She's created a world as vast and creative as the Harry Potter and Hunger Games and I was immediately sucked right in. CINDER is a crazy retelling of the famous fairytale CINDERELLA, except Cinder is a cyborg (part human, part machine) who is living in a far future world (after World War IV) where cyborgs are second class citizens, androids do all of our dirty work, and there is a powerful nation of Lunar people (who live on the colonized moon) ready and waiting to take over planet earth. Oh, and the prince is super dreamy too!

So those are my latest faves. What about you? What have you read lately that you've absolutely loved?

Tweet

Behind the Scenes: Connecting with Readers

Wendy shared some amazing things that she's been doing behind the scenes in her writing life on Tuesday. I think my favorite behind the scenes thing that happens in my writing life has to be emails and letters from readers. I'm not a super huge rock star of a writer so I don't get tons of these (which is always awkward to admit when the email starts something like "I'm sure you get tons of these so if you can't write back...") but even if I did, I know that every single one would matter to me. It seems like most email I get is either junk or bills or boring day-to-day stuff, so when I get an email from someone who enjoyed one or both of my books, it is literally the highlight of my day. I write the books that I would have wanted to read as a teen, so when teenagers tell me that they connected with my characters and were encouraged by the books in some way, I truly feel like I've done something meaningful. No matter how many books I sell, no matter what I do with my life after this, I'll have made some small impact for someone.

In some cases, readers tell me that they never liked reading until they read my books because my stories felt so real. Huge compliment and I always send them book recommendations so that hopefully they will come to love the world of books as much as I have. In other cases, since my books deal with issues like rape, drug abuse, depression, and self-injury, I get emails from readers who were inspired to confront their own personal demons or who found my books therapeutic and healing. Those are some of the most meaningful emails/conversations I've ever had.

And then I get emails from readers who inspire ME, which is super mega awesome. A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from a girl named Kayla Spazz in Australia. She told me how she'd gotten I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE as a gift for her best friend, Acacia Pip. She explained that she'd done something that I definitely have done before when giving books as gifts--she read the book before she wrapped. She really loved it and she thought it was crazy how much my characters Emily and Regan reminded her of herself and Acacia, who were not only best friends but bandmates. She said their band, Smash Mystery is made up of three girls and a boy and they take a lot of guff for being a girl band, but she doesn't care because those folks will be eating their words when they are on the cover of Rolling Stone. I noticed a link to the band's website in her signature and clicked to check it out. You should click it too and listen to the song at the top of the page, "Dolls." I listened to it like five times. I ADORE it! I ADORE them! And Kayla and Acacia are 15! They will be taking over the world, I am sure of it!

That is what I love best about having written I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE in particular, meeting girls like Kayla and Acacia who are actually living it. I wrote that book because I always wanted a band like She Laughs to top the charts and through the book I discover bands like Smash Mystery who are posed to do it. Serious awesomeness.

And the story gets even cooler. Acacia got her Christmas gift and read it, and thank goodness, loved it, too! She sent me a picture she'd made of my main character Emily Black in photoshop. And as it turns out she imagines Emily pretty much as I do. She said I could share it with you so here it is:

So this, in my opinion is the best behind-the-scenes part of the writing life. Hearing from readers and discovering how amazingly talented they are! Enjoy Smash Mystery :)

Tweet

Behind the Scenes

One of the coolest things about being a YA author is all the opportunities we get even when we're not writing our next books or promoting our latest releases. Many of these opportunities come from knowing other authors, like the time Teen Fiction Cafe's very own Melissa Walker gave my name to her friend at MORE magazine, which resulted in my first-ever major magazine interview. Others come about when you accept an invitation to an event and make a good enough impression on someone there to be invited to something else down the line.

For example, I've been to a couple of author-student dinners at the local Olive Garden, an event organized by Cassie Cox (in the middle of the photo with the lovely long hair) who is an extraordinary English teacher at an alternative high school. Above is a photo from the latest one, which YA authors James Dashner (back row, v-neck sweater), Dan Wells (back row, glasses), Sydney Salter (front row, pink cardigan) and I (floral blouse on right side) went to. Later on, Mrs. Cox earned a grant to bring in two authors, Sydney Salter and me, to work with a group of teen writers at Two Rivers High School in Ogden, Utah. This 12-week period ended right before the holidays and I have to say it was definitely one of the highlights of my career thus far. Click HERE if you want to learn more about it.

Another amazing thing I recently got to do is edit an anthology, Pho for Life. It was penned by a diverse assortment of people, most having Asian roots or connections. Though it was my most challenging editing project to date, it was also the most eye-opening and fulfilling. We had a glamorous red carpet launch party in Los Angeles, California last month and it was wonderful getting to meet everybody in person. This is a photo of the editor-in-chief and man behind the project, Mai Bui. (photo by chrislynn photography)

Last summer, I ran a writing camp for kids and now that summer is long gone, I've made enough contacts in the community to become a "writing coach" for children, teens, and adults. I love helping people write stories, books, and practice for their SAT/ACT essays.

So, even though I consider myself an author by trade, I'm moonlighting as a teacher and an editor and I'm loving every minute of it! But enough about me! What are some things you've been doing behind the scenes?

Tweet

10 Things You May Not Know About Me

1) I'm 4'11. Shocking, I know - I blog so tall!

2) I'm a TV head.

3) I'm a politics geek.

4) I have four trophies from shooting pool.

5) I love Frank Sinatra.

6) I recently started a micro-blog at Red Room called "Fortune-Cookie Tips for Writers," the latest of which you can see here: http://redroom.com/member/lauren-baratz-logsted/blog/fortune-cookie-tips-for-writers-6

7) I sometimes find Blogger frustrating, which is why the above link isn't neat and pretty, and why probably no other links I might make below will be either.

8) I have a cat named Yoyo, who tried to put his paw in the Hanukkah candles, earning himself the nickname G. Gordon Kitty, and who also took a nap lying across the branches in the middle of the Christmas tree.

9) When I was little I didn't like my name and asked my mother to start calling me Andy.

10) Before writing YA and children's books, I was known primarily as a writer of adult fiction. I recently released my first comedic novel for adults in over three years as an ebook, which you can find on Kindle, Nook, Apple and wherever ebooks are sold. It's called THE BRO-MAGNET and I hope you'll give it a read. You can sample the first 30 pages for free here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Bro-Magnet-ebook/dp/B006KYQ36U/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_4#reader_B006KYQ36U. It's about an ultimate man's man named Johnny Smith who's been Best Man at eight weddings but what he secretly longs to be is a groom.

And that's it!

How about you? What's something about you I may not know?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

Tweet

Big Bang Theory

I was very excited on Christmas morning to receive in my stocking, season 4 of the best TV show in the world.... Big Bang Theory. I then spent the rest of the day, and some of the next watching it. It's one of those shows that the more you watch the funnier it becomes. And then when you go back to watch earlier episodes they make you laugh even more because you know the characters so well.

It's becoming, for me, like Friends. I can watch episodes over and over and never tire of them and always laugh. And, like Friends my favorite character changes all the time because each one of them has their quirks.

If you haven't ever watched it then I urge you to find the time. You won't regret it!

Here's a short description of the show:

Set in Pasadena, California, the show is centered on five characters: experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter and theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper, two roommate geniuses who work at the California Institute of Technology; Penny, a blonde waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon's equally geeky and socially awkward co-workers and friends Howard Wolowitz, an aerospace engineer and non-PhD from MIT, and Rajesh Koothrappali, an astrophysicist also working at Caltech. The geekiness and intellect of the four guys is contrasted for comic effect with Penny's social skills and common sense.

Tweet

Good News Friday: New Cover!

Hi, guys.

I can finally reveal the cover for my May 22, 2012 release, Small Town Sinners Unbreak My Heart (Oops! I'm distracted, people!) Here it is. I'm smitten. Hope you like it!

Tweet

A birthday surprise

When I was driving home after teaching a writing class this morning, I was listening to the radio and the host was making a big deal out of her friend's 35th birthday. "It's a big one, just like every birthday ending in an '0' or '5,'" she explained to her skeptical co-host. In my opinion, every birthday is a big deal and though I'm not having a "big one" for another 2 years, this discussion brought me down memory lane to my "big 3-oh."

I'm kind of a weirdo and since my birthday is 3-3-73 and I turned 30 in 2003, I thought that was pretty cool. What wasn't cool was getting sick on my birthday. Not just a cold, I mean stay-in-bed sick. I was so sick; it didn't even bother me that my husband hadn't planned a single thing. I just figured we'd go to a nice dinner once I felt better. So, anyway, my girlfriend called and said she realized I didn't feel well but if I go to her house she'll make sure my family and I get some dinner. I felt bad because she wanted to do something nice for my birthday and since it would just be our two families, I accepted. I put on a comfy pair of sweats and put my hair in a ponytail (probably with a scrunchie *cringe*) and we headed over to her house for some soup. Before we even got there, I knew it was a bad idea. I couldn't smile or act happy to see her when I felt that crappy. I was about to feel a whole heckova lot crappier when all my friends, dressed to the nines, jumped out and yelled "surprise!"

I still give my husband a hard time about that, wishing he would have at least recommended I put on a pair of jeans or brush my hair (or teeth?). But it was sweet of them to give me a party so I couldn't be too upset about it.

Have you ever had a "big birthday" that was a flop, whether no one remembered or you were sick or there was something that went wrong? Or are you one of the lucky ones whose birthdays truly are the most special days possible?

Tweet

Favorite Books [Read] in 2011

We can sagely assume that all TFCer books are fabu so of the 154 books I've read so far this year, these are the other books I've read that I really loved:

YA

The Dark Devine, Bree Despain
The Miles Between, Mary E. Pearson
The Replacement, Brenna Yovanoff
The Unwritten Rule, Elizabeth Scott
Matched, Ally Condie
Across the Universe, Beth Revis
Brutal, Michael Harmon
Please Ignore Vera Dietz, A.S. King
Fat Kid Rules the World, K.L. Going
Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver
Some Girls Are, Courtney Summers
Will Grayson Will Grayson, John Green and David Levithan
The Chosen One, Carol Lynch Williams
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs
Okay for Now, Gary D. Schmidt
Cryer's Cross, Lisa McMahon
Divergent, Veronica Roth

ADULT

The Girl I Used to Be, David Cristofano
Still Alice, Lisa Genova
The Privileges, Jonathan Dee
The Old Romantic, Louise Dean
Gone, Mo Hayder
The Poison Tree, Erin Kelly
You Know When the Men Are Gone, Siobhan Fallon
The Complaints, Ian Rankin
Alice I Have Been, Melanie Benjamin
The Adults, Alison Espach
Voyeur, Daniel Judson
Rescue, Anita Shreve
The Weird Sisters, Eleanor Brown
Vaclav and Lena, Haley Tanner
Playdate, Thelma Adams
Cold Rain, Craig Smith
The Sisters Brothers, Patrick DeWitt
The Ninth Wife, Amy Stolls
The Tragedy of Arthur, Arthur Phillips
Stone Arabia, Dana Spiotta
The Kitchen Daughter, Jael McHenry
The Things that Kept Us Here, Carla Buckley
The Other Life, Ellen Meister
Names My Sisters Call Me, Megan Crane
Love in Translation, Wendy Nelson Tokunaga
When God Was a Rabbit, Sarah Winman
The End of Everything, Megan Abbott
Daughters of the Revolution, Carolyn Cooke
The Borrower, Rebecca Makkai
Headstone, Ken Bruen
The Cut, George Pelecanos
The End of the Wasp Season, Denise Mina
Hideout, Kathleen George
If Jack's In Love, Stephen Wetta
Sister, Rosamund Lupton
The Snowman, Jo Nesbo
The Winters in Bloom, Lisa Tucker

Wow! That's over 50 books - I'd say I just made your holiday sopping easier for you.

Now it's your turn: What have you really loved this year?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

Tweet

Behind the Scenes: Deadlines

I'll never, ever, EVER pass for a soccer mom. But . . . I suppose on the outside of things, my household might appear somewhat normal. You know, for a family with four kids (one moved out), two grandparents living with us, two dogs, a cat, a hedgehog, a ball python . . . and one mom who writes. There is the piano, the tuba, the violin (noise). One Naked Pirate Boy practicing Tae Kwon Do moves. (More noise.) And a LOT of clutter everywhere. Just too many of us in one house.

But whatever passes as "normal" around here (and man, am I using air quotes), disappears when it's deadline time.

In fact, Pirate Boy did not speak until he was two and a half. Not one word. Not mama, nothing. And then suddenly, he spoke in fully articulate sentences. And I'm not sure, but his first words may have been "Mommy has a deadline."

The following things--"normal" things--disappear when I have a deadline.

• Showers.
• Showers for Pirate Boy.
• Clean clothes. For anyone.
  
• Any semblance of healthy eating for my children.
• Any THOUGHT of exercise, taking a walk, heck, I think breathing becomes optional.

The following things APPEAR when I have a deadline.

• Pizza boxes. Everywhere.
• Half-drunk cups of coffee. Everywhere.
• Bedhead hair. I just don't have time to deal with it.
• Dust bunnies. They breed.
• Occasional tears, panic attacks, and meltdowns. Mine and Pirate Boy's.

Yeah. Behind most writers, this ugly scene takes place in some way, shape, or form.

So 'fess up. Whether a term paper, a deadline, a big work project . . . what does it look like behind the scenes when your life ceases being "normal"?

Tweet

What I'm craving: TIME!

This week at TFC, we're talking about what we are craving and while yes, I definitely could go for some cookies like Wendy ALWAYS, what I'm really craving is time! This is what time is always doing to me:


It's flying by and I don't have nearly enough of it. Between writing books, my new staff writing job for ROOKIE magazine, my teaching job, my bartending job, the emails, the blog entries, and the desire to I dunno see my friends and family every once in a while this is how I feel:



When the clocks went back an hour this weekend on a night that I generally work until 3 am, I was so grateful for that extra hour of sleep. I wish I could have the every day! I thought.

It seems like everything I do takes twice as long as I thought it would so I'm constantly scrambling and going if I had five more minutes, one more hour, gah!!!! And sometimes I'm totally my own worst enemy because I get very distracted and end up trolling the internet instead of writing or trying to multi-task which always ends badly. I keep trying to hammer down a routine that would allow me at the very least on the nights that I don't work to have a few hours with my husband and then an hour to read so that I can keep up better with books like Lauren's which sounds totally amazing. It seems like reading time and social time are always suffering.

Does anybody else struggle with this? Do you have any tips on balance or can we get together an lobby to turn the 24 hour day into a 25 hour day which would shorten the year probably by a few days or a week or something (I can't do that math, or I could but it would take a lot of much-needed time!), but we could take those days out of January since it's an unpleasant month anyway. What do you guys think?

Tweet

craving cookies!

Congrat's on Lauren's Little Women and Me book launch tomorrow!

What I'm craving today isn't quite as exciting as Lauren's big news but I've been yearning for pumpkin cookies. The way I like 'em is with dark chocolate chips and made with "Lighter Bake" which is a butter substitute made largely from plums. And as luck would have it, my dear mom, who flew in last night to visit and help me out while I go to a SCBWI conf. this weekend and my first-ever girls' trip (my friend Megan and I are heading to Charleston next weekend) is making pumpkin cookies for me. I've lost count how many I've eaten but WOW are they good!

What about you? Anything in particular you're craving today?

Tweet

WHAT I'M CRAVING: READERS

This week's theme at TFC is "What I'm Craving." I could go on about some cupcake I'd really like to eat, but what I'm really craving today is...readers!

Tomorrow, LITTLE WOMEN AND ME goes on sale. It's about a contemporary teen who time travels into the classic Louisa May Alcott novel. Once there, Emily discovers that she needs to change a major plot point of the book in order to get back out again. What will she do?


Kirkus Reviews calls it "a consistently entertaining read that delivers a genuinely original heroine and frequently hilarious satire."

I hope readers will agree because what I'm really craving these days - shameless admission here! - is a hit.

So how about you? What are you craving these days?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

Tweet