(You) Set Me on Fire Blog Tour: Interview with Mariko Tamaki

Welcome to the final stop on Penguin Canada's (You) Set Me on Fire tour! You can find a list of the other tour stops at the bottom of this post. Today I have an interview with none author than the hilarious and charming Mariko Tamaki, author of the novel. Enjoy!

What can readers expect from (You) Set Me on Fire? What's it about?

 

The main story is about a girl, named Allison Lee, who is transitioning from high school to university/college life. I think the book is about a lot of things though. It's about falling in love. It's about mean friends and good friends. It's about change and how change happens in life, the changes that happen to you and the changes you make.

 

The main character, Allison, has such a distinct and personal voice. Was this a conscious decision on your part?

 

I love talk. I love listening to people talk on the subway, in malls, in schools. All that stuff. It's a huge part of my research process for a book, talking at talk. Watching videos and eavesdropping on groups of kids downtown, listening to them gossip.

 

When I teach creative writing, I spend at least a day looking at dialogue and voice. How people say what they say is something I've always been interested in, the difference between "yeah" and "yes" and "sure" and "I guess." I studied Linguistics for three years, which I would highly recommend. If you have the time. It made me focus on the subtleties of communication. The pauses. The things people say and don't say. I think understanding what a character sounds like is pretty key to understanding that character. So. Yes.

 

You've just been told that you must choose a book and live in that world forever. Which one do you choose?

 

Ooooo.

 

Um.

 

I don't know. Do I want to live in a utopian world, in a fairytale world where I'll have magical powers and a pet dragon? Or do I shack up in the world that I like reading about, which is usually a pretty dark, REAL, world. I want to say I'd like to live in David Sedaris's writing, but it would mean being a punch line a lot. But it would be an interesting life. I think a fairy-tale life would bore me eventually.

 

I wouldn't mind living in one of Scott Westerfeld's book (maybe The Specials). Especially if I could have all the bio-gadgets and stuff his characters get.

 

Allison's struggle to discover her place in the world is one that I think lots of readers will be able to relate to. Was there a reason you chose to portray this in a college setting rather than the typical (for YA) high school choice?

 

I went back and forth on the decision to set this book in University/College.

 

My memory of being a reader in high school was that I wanted to read about older people. You know, I read Seventeen magazine when I was 15. When I was in high school I started reading writers like Douglas Coupland, who was writing, at the time, about twenty somethings. So that was one thing I considered when setting this book in University/College.

 

Plus, this time of life seems like a pretty fertile territory for stories about being a young person. And you ARE still a young person in freshman year. I was 17.

 

Still, while there are tons of movies about the college/university experience, I hadn't, at the time I started writing, read any YA books focusing on freshman year. I'm not saying they're not out there, I just hadn't ready any.

 

Which gave me a little pause, like, maybe there's an unwritten rule out there you're not supposed to write about college?

 

Then I thought back to my first year at McGill. It was such a big year for me and fed so much into who I became as an adult. That year is such a signficant leap in a young person's life: a change of place, a possible change of person, a time when all the rules shift and you have these incredible new freedoms and responsibilities.

 

So I thought, you know what, this would be an ideal place and time to write about for YA.

 

So I did.

 

Do you have any novels that you would recommend to fans of (You) Set Me on Fire?

 

Ah. Well, tops, I would recommend David Sedaris for people who liked the humor of the book. Me Talk Pretty One Day is a huge inspiration for me. Also, I would recommend Alice Munro's The Lives of Girls and Women, which is a series of incredible short stories about growing up. It's a book they assign in high school, which might make it sound like a less desirable read, but it's actually really amazing.

 

So you should all read it.

 

In terms of YA, I am a huge fan of King Dork by Frank Portman, was also a big inspiration for my approach to writing for young adults. Portman is very frank, super gritty.

 

Also I think if you liked the protagonist in this book you might also like The Fault in our Stars, by John Green. Green writes an incredibly strong and well-rounded female voice in this book. I loved it.

 

And finally, because I just couldn't resist, I noticed TWO Harry Potter references in this book! Would you call yourself a fan?

 

Ha! Well, yes, I'm a fan. I'm more a fan of the myth of the phoenix than I am of Harry Potter, but I am a fan.

***

 

As if I wasn't already eager to take a Linguistics class in university! Doesn't it just sound fascinating? I'll also definitely have to check out all of the books Mariko's recommended because I haven't read any of them. And aha! I knew she was a Potterhead ;) The best people are.

 

Goodreads | Amazon | Chapters

Interview with Aimee Agresti + Giveaway!

I recently read Illuminate by Aimee Agresti and I FELL IN LOVE. You can read my 5 Reasons You Should Read It here or you can just read this interview and see if you're not at least intrigued. Without further ado, here is Aimee Agresti!

What can readers expect from Illuminate? What's it about?
Hi! Thanks so much for having me! Well, on the surface, ILLUMINATE is about a teen angel-in-training, who's forced to battle a pack of soul-stealing devils and ends up falling in love with one (of course!) But, there's so much more to it! I like to think what it's really about is a girl learning to have confidence in herself.

The Lexington Hotel, where most of the book takes place, is described with such breathtaking detail. How did you go about planning that out?
Thank you! I've always loved Chicago's wild history -- the Prohibition era, Capone and his gangster pals, and those amazing tunnels that ran beneath the city. I thought it would be tons of fun to resurrect the Lexington Hotel, which is no longer standing, and create a whole new world there. I did a lot of peeking into the hotel's past, looking at pictures, and I kept the façade and certain parts of it, but then I gave myself plenty of creative license to modernize it, make some fun changes and really make it my own!

You find out that you've been forced to choose a book and live in that world forever. Which book do you pick?
What a great question! I'd love to live in the world of Alice in Wonderland. That's always been a favorite of mine, it's just so wild and whimsical!

Which is easier for you to write -- dialogue or description?
Dialogue comes much easier to me than description, which might seem surprising since there's so much description in this book! But as a reader, I really love and appreciate descriptive writing, that's what truly makes me feel the world of whatever book I may be reading. It can make a book powerful and let it get in your head in the way that only a book can. So as a writer, it's important for me to push myself to do it well.

Who's your absolute favourite YA fictional boyfriend?
Oooh, this is fun. Let's see, I love Brendan Salinger of SPELLBOUND and SPELLCASTER by Cara Lynn Shultz. He's tall, dark and handsome, brooding, so sweetly protective of Emma, and just all-around dreamy. Sigh!

Illuminate deals with a struggle between good and evil. Can we expect to see this is a continuing trend in the next two books of the trilogy? (Please, feel free to reveal anything at all about Book 2 -- I can't wait!)
You'll definitely be seeing more good vs. evil in the next two books of the Gilded Wings trilogy! I'm polishing up Book Two now and all I'll say is that the gang heads to New Orleans to take on some new devils. Oh, and we haven't seen the last of Lucian! Stay tuned and check for updates on www.aimeeagresti.com!

***

Aimee's description of Illuminate is spot-on (and I guess she would know, being the author and all...) Haven grows so much and behind the whole soul trading business, it really is just a story about a girl discovering the awesome in herself. And oooh, Brendan <3 He's so sweet.

FREE BOOKS! FREE BOOKS! FREE BOOKS! FREE BOOKS!

Thanks to the absolutely AMAZING people at Thomas Allen & Son, I have FIVE copies of Illuminate to give away. Here are some guidelines:

• Open only to CANADIAN RESIDENTS (or if you have a Canadian address, that's cool) - sorry, everyone else!
• You have one week to claim your prize or I'm giving it away to someone else.
• Um. Have fun. And good luck! (Although I'm wishing everyone good luck, so I don't know how much good that does you)

There's a Rafflecopter form below (it won out over Google Docs on Twitter). I hope you can see it.

Interview with Kristen Simmons

I am absolutely thrilled today to welcome to the blog Kristen Simmons, author of Article 5. If you were here last week, you may have seen my gushing review -- I loved this book! If you haven't yet read it, I hope this convinces you to do so! I know I would have been ;) Actually, maybe I have time to squeeze in a re-read....

Could you give us a brief description of what to expect in Article 5? What's it about?

Sure! Here's the writeup from the book jacket:

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statues.

There are no more police -- instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior -- instead, there are arrests, trials and maybe worse. People who get arrested don't usually come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. That life in the United States used to be different.

In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs -- like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes -- and how to pass the random home inspections by the Federal Bureau of Reformation. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statues. And what's worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings... the only boy Ember has ever loved.

What was the inspiration behind your book?

The wheels for A5 actually started spinning several years ago, when I went to the local bookstore and came across a group of people who were protesting the release of a children's book. It got me thinking: of course they had the right to protest whatever they liked, but what if they succeeded? What if they were able to ban a book from a major seller on the grounds that it was against someone’s beliefs? And what if it didn’t stop at books? What else could you ban based on its perceived offensive nature? This led to bigger questions – what other freedoms could we lose if someone found them offensive? What if the Bill of Rights was dissolved? What rules would be implemented in their place? It all sort of fell into place from there.

Article 5 deals with some heavy subject matter and the characters go through their share of traumatic experiences. Do you think your work as a mental health therapist helped with some of the journeys you created?

I've learned a lot from my career, but perhaps the most important thing is the incredible tenacity of the human spirit. In the mental health field we often see people at their most difficult moments. Our job is to help them rise up, reclaim their strength. Witnessing someone recover after they've stumbled is the kind of thing that changes the way you look at the world.

When I write, I'm aware of the mental health of my characters -- they've been through some traumatic things, and as a result, are dealing with some pretty hefty emotional consequences. Things that anyone might feel after experiencing what Chase and Ember have. But they're resilient. Like with anyone struggling with a hardship, there is hope, as long as they can learn to trust and support each other.

I understand that you were in the marching band in high school... that's awesome! Do you think any of those skills were transferable to writing?

Of course! Music reaches us on a level little else does. It spurs creativity, gets us thinking about things differently. I don't have any proof of that, but I bet you a cup of tea it's true! Plus, I had so much fun in marching band - the camaraderie, the discipline, learning to deal with how other people viewed me because of it - they're all experiences I wouldn't trade for anything.

Are there novels that you would recommend to fans of Article 5?

I'm part of the Apocalypsies, which is a group of 2012 YA debut authors, and ALL of their books are going to be fantastic. I mean, some really intriguing, exciting stuff is coming down the line this year! Read them all!

And finally -- because I have to ask -- Twilight or Harry Potter? (Don't worry, this is a totally safe place! No curses will be thrown.)

Don't make me choose! I actually love them both! Twilight for the romance and tension and Harry Potter because, come on, it's Harry Potter! I so wish I lived in his world!!! (Perhaps minus Voldemort)

Thanks for letting me visit Sonia! This was fun!

***

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Find Kristen:

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

***

Anyone still here? No? I can't say I blame you! Intriguing concept? Realistic, resilient characters? It sounds about right. I definitely recommend this one to everyone! Thanks so much to Kristen for being here today!



Interview with Michelle Madow

Welcome to another stop on the Remembrance blog tour! This tour is hosted by the fabulous Amanda of Stuck in YA Books. To stop by any sites that you've missed on this tour, you can click here for a full list of all participating blogs.

Remembrance is the debut novel of Michelle Madow, inspired by the music video of the song Love Story by Taylor Swift. Michelle was kind enough to answer a few This or That questions. Enjoy! :)

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Noise or Silence?

Silence. I can't get work done if there's any noise around me. Which means I work without music on (and I love music!)

Summer or Winter?

Summer--I don't like cold weather!

Series or Stand-alone?

Series. I love being able to read more about characters I enjoy and seeing plotlines develop.

Romance or Friendship?
This matters who we're talking about! I think it's best to always have a few friends, and hopefully a romance will eventually come.

Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?
Harry Potter! I never really got into Lord of the Rings.

Circus or Carnival?
Carnival, because I like going on rides and playing the games.

Physical book or e-book?
Physical book. I love owning them and looking at them in my library. But when it comes to actually reading, I prefer reading on my Kindle.

Hardcover or paperback?
Hardcover, because they're so pretty! Paperbacks are easier to read though.

Juice or Soda?
Apple juice! I love it.

Talent or Effort?
Effort! Because even if someone is talented, it won't come to anything if they don't put in effort to succeed.

Thank you for having me on The Story Queen!

Be sure to check out my debut novel, Remembrance, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and The Book Depository.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Find it on Goodreads!

New Hampshire high school junior Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England ... but she doesn't know it yet.

Then Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's school at the beginning of the year, and she feels a connection to him, almost like she knows him. She can't stop thinking about him, but whenever she tries talking with him about the mysteries behind her feelings, he makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her. Reaching him is even more difficult because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has started to become full of himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and her flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his arrival. So why can't she seem to get him out of her mind?

Even though Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, the pair of them soon find that fighting fate isn't going to be easy.

***

SO YOU LIKE GIVEAWAYS?

So, because Michelle is made of blood, bones and awesome, she is hosting a couple of giveaways at the moment. First of all, there is her cover design and book trailer contest, which has a fantastic prize pack for the winners. All of you talented people - be sure to check that out!

Aaaaand there is also another giveaway, specifically for this tour, open to all Canadian and US residents which involves a signed copy of the book and a mask I will jealously steal from you. You can head over to the original blog post to enter, since I am technologically challenged (and a procrastinator) and have not yet figured out how to put the Rafflecopter into this post. Sorry about that!

Thanks so much for stopping by and of course, thank you to Michelle as well. Happy reading!

Character Interview with Sarah Beth Durst

I'm so thrilled today to welcome Sarah Beth Durst along with the characters Pearl and Evan from her latest YA novel, Drink, Slay, Love. I LOVED this book and I would definitely recommend it! If you have read the book, I hope you like this extra bit from Pearl and Evan. If not... hopefully this covinces you to!

Can you describe each other in ten words or less for us?

P: Handsome idiot with hero complex.

E: Evil vampire... with potential.

What do you look for in a best friend?

E: Kindness. Compassion.

P: Type AB blood. Nice neck.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

E: I'd love to see the library at the British Museum.

P: So would I.

E: Seriously?

P: You think because I'm a bloodsucking fiend of the night that I can't read?

E: I didn't think it was high on your priority list.

P: Librarians are just as tasty as everyone else.

It's Halloween! What are you dressing up as?

P: Vampire.

E: You know you have a sick sense of humor, right?

If you could choose any superpower, what would it be?

P: Ability to withstand sunlight. Oh, wait, I can! Excuse me while I cackle maniacally.

E: Ability to withstand maniacal cackling.

Sarah Beth Durst: Thanks so much for interviewing us!

*

No, thank YOU! :) I've missed my favourite snarky vamp. and the always-lovely Evan.

Also, for those of you who are interested, my review of Drink, Slay, Love will be posted tomorrow.

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Book Depository

Find Sarah:

Blog

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Website

Interview with Jennifer Castle

Hey everyone! Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Jennifer Castle, author of the upcoming debut novel, The Beginning of After. I got the chance to read and review this book early from Net Galley and it's wonderful. Hope you enjoy!

Could you describe The Beginning of After in seven words for us?

Laurel discovers there is "life" after tragedy.

What was the inspiration behind your book?

I've always been interested in writing a story about someone who lived while others close to them died... someone who got left behind. What really tugged at me is how everything in that person's life, like their daily routine, their friendships, even the future, would suddenly change. But the real spark came when I met a young woman who, like Laurel, had lost most of her family to a single tragedy; this person was doing some cool things with her life years after the loss and I was really moved by that. I also recently read "The Lovely Bones" and was blown away by how Alice Sebold could build this beautiful story around such a heartbreaking theme. It was not long after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 so everyone was thinking in terms of "before" and "after." It was like we'd lost all our childhoods in a sense and were trying to find our way in a new reality. All those things came together almost at once, and voila!

Your novel deals with some heavy subjects - was it hard sometimes to seperate that from your normal life?

It's funny, because while I was doing most of the work on this book, I was going through some very intense times myself: new motherhood, a second pregnancy, adjusting to having two kids, and then preparing to move from California to New York. Even though Laurel's challenges were very different than mine (and much harder!), I think I channeled some of my stress into heavier parts of the story. I guess you could say that Laurel's world was an escape because even though her world was tough, it was still a world I could control completely.

Which is easier for you - description or dialogue?

Ooh, let me think. It always depends on the scene. Some description just lands on the page fully formed as if someone else wrote it for me, but in general, I find dialogue easier. Especially when I know exactly what I want to have happen, and I know the characters really well. Then they just talk on their own and all I have to do is listen!

What's one major pet peeve of yours?

When people mix up "its" and "it's" or use "apostrophe s" as a plural. I'm a grammar nerd. It just bugs me! Especially when I see that on store signs or printed ads. It's actually pretty easy to remember the difference: if you can replace the "apostrophe s" with the word "is,", use the apostrophe. Otherwise, don't. And now I'll stop with the irritating English lesson...

{HA! I have the exact same problem. Please learn the correct uses of apostrophes, guys...}

Is there a particular routine you go through when writing?

Before I sit down, I have to do about 15 minutes of what I call Screwing Around Online because it helps me chill out. Then I play a game of online Mahjongg, and turn off my Internet connection for at least 90 minutes so I'm not tempted. I don't write at a desk. I have to have my laptop on my lap -- that's a weird quirk I have about feeling more connected to the keyboard or something -- so I sit in bed or a comfy chair. Ideally, there's a cup of tea and a sleeping cat within reach, too. I know that's a cliche but I honestly think those two things are necessary for writing!

Are there novels that you would recommend to fans of The Beginning of After?

Definitely "The Lovely Bones," as I mentioned before. "The Sky Is Everywhere" by Jandy Nelson and "Jellicoe Road" by Melina Marchetta. And for something a little less obvious, maybe "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I think all these books touch on the same theme that mine does: no matter what we experience in life, no matter how terrible and game-changing, I believe we can survive it. Each of us is strong enough.

Do you have any plans for release day? How are you feeling - nervous, excited, anxious...?

I'm feeling all those things! Mostly disbelief that the day has finally come. Ironically, it's also my older daughter's first day of first grade so in the morning I'll be focused on getting her ready, taking the obligatory photos, loading her onto the school bus. I'll take my younger daughter to preschool and then... who knows? I plan to stop by the local indie bookstore to say hi and see the book (and take more obligatory photos!). There must be sushi involved at some point. Beyond that, maybe a drive up to Barnes and Noble for more of the same. I just plan on being a total geek all day long. This will be a true "Before and After" moment and I'm looking forward to the After, whatever it may bring!

***

Thanks so much, Jennifer! Mark your calendars for September 6th, when The Beginning of After hits stores. You can also pre-order the book from the Book Depository here and add it to Goodreads here.

Find Jennifer Castle:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Blog

Interview: Kristi Cook

Today, I am joined by Kristi Cook, author of the teen novel Haven. (My review can be found here.) I had the pleasure of asking Kristi some interview questions and I hope you enjoy reading her answers as much as I did!

Could you describe Haven in seven words for us?

Oh man....seven words?! Okay, here goes....romantic paranormal fun at boarding school for psychics. How's that?!

When you are writing, do you have time for reading? Or do you find involvement in other books distracting from your own work?

I always make time for reading--always! But when I'm writing like crazy under a tight deadline, I definitely read less, and usually stay away from stuff that's "similar" to what I'm writing, so I read more realistic YA fiction then, or even historical romance.

Quick - the zombie apocalypse has started! What are the top five things you need to take with you as you run for shelter?

Damn those zombies! 1) my kids 2) my pets 3) my laptop 4) my flash drive 5) my Kindle (This is assuming my husband can "take" himself--and I'll put him in charge of bring food and water!)

Are your characters based on any real people that you know?

Not really--they're more based on people that I'd *like* to know!

What kind of scene is easiest for you to write? Hardest?

The easiest is any scene with a lot of dialogue--two (or more) characters having a conversation, and even more fun if it's a scene with some romantic tension! I like to write dialogue--my books would be nothing but talking, if I had my way. The hardest for me to write is action-type scenes. I guess I just have a hard time describing action, and I worry that I'll bog down the scene with too many details trying to desribe the action I "see" unfolding in my head.

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

King crab dumplings at my favorite sushi restaurant, Haru. Not sure how healthy that would be, but still...

Do you have a particular routine you go through when writing?

Not really--though I do need to be in certain places in order to write--either my home office, or my dining room (where I set up my computer during the winter months when it's too cold in my office!). I'm not one of those people who can drag my laptop around with me and write wherever the muse strikes, though I wish I was! Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I don't, depending on my mood or how focused I am.

Thanks so much, Kristi! It was wonderful to have the chance to learn a little more about you and I can't wait to see what you write next.

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