Excellent Reads

I was so honored when I was asked to interview Sarah Dessen at her recent event in DC. I’ve met her before, and she is such a sweetheart, so I was very excited to get this one-on-one time. Sarah’s answers are paraphrased, not direct quotes unless it’s within quotes. Aine: What was the inspiration for your latest novel, The Moon and More ? Sarah: I was at my favorite spot in North Carolina, Emerald Isle. I had finished What Happened to Goodbye and had no idea what to write next. A hot shirtless guy, who was rather chatty, spoke with me. He was from Emerald Isle and told me all about growing up there. A lot of my books are set in Colby, which is based on Emerald Isle, but I had never written about anyone from there. After speaking with him, I thought “There’s my book.” Aine: If I recall correctly, it was announced under a different title. Why the name change? Sarah: The Moon and More was my original title. But we were worried that people would think that with the word “moon” in the...

Every year I got to the Baltimore Book Festival on Friday. The festival lasts all weekend, but Friday night at the Children’s Book Store stage is the greatest panel of the festival. Every. Time. This year: “Five authors and editor Ellen Datlow offer their thoughts on the recreation and retelling of fairy tales for a modern audience. Panelists include: Adam Gidwitz , Jessica Day George , Shannon Hale , Sarah Beth Durst , Ellen Datlow , and Michael Buckley .” Oh. My. Goddess! I practically jumped out of my seat and shouted in delight when I read this. It’s like they planned this panel just for me. And because it was requested, here’s some of what was discussed. If it’s in quotes, it’s a direct quote. If it’s not, I’m paraphrasing what they said. Authors, if you see this, and I got something wrong, sorry. I was taking notes as best as I could. Moderator: What was your introduction to fairy tales? Ellen Datlow: I don’t remember which story, but Oscar Wilde. Sarah Beth Durst: I don’t rememb...

I got the opportunity to meet Kristin Cashore (again) last week when Bitterblue released. I had met her a few years ago when Fire came out, and I had had such a great time, I had to go back to Politics and Prose to meet her again. She started out by talking about the writing process for Bitterblue . All three books she wrote by hand and transcribed once fifty or so pages have been completed. (She kept the notebooks in a waterproof/fireproof box.) The first draft of Bitterblue took two and a half years, and came out to be 777 pages. After she turned it in, her agent requested a re-write. So Kristin re-wrote the entire book by hand-writing between the printed lines of her original manuscript. She said that she outlines, starting with a basic outline, and then adding as she goes. She said the Bitterblue outline ended up becoming 94 pages long, but she never even referenced it. After talking about writing Bitterblue , she fielded questions from the audience. There were a questions abou...

I went down to Bethesda Maryland last night to meet Cassandra Clare and Michelle Hodkin at an event at the library. When I got there, the room was packed, and I got in line to buy my books. Then this conversation happened.  Me: I'd like The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer . Bookstore Lady: There are no more.  Me: What do you mean there are no more?  BL: We didn't think many people would want this one.  Me: Every time I come to a signing here with a stack of books you all are unhappy that I'm not buying books from you. Then I come here to buy from you, to support your indie store, and you run out. Next time I'll make sure I buy my books in advance.  So then I walked out. It was a bit more dramatic then intended. And I was aware people were watching the conversation. I don't do dramatic, but I was annoyed. Because these people always lecture on supporting the indie, which I'm happy to do. And I had Cassie's signature in a couple of books already, so I was mostly the...

I'm sure you all know how much I love going to book signings. I've been lucky enough to meet dozens of authors. And I've met my top five favorite authors on more than one occasion: Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Charles de Lint, Holly Black, and Maggie Stiefvater. So when I found out that Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, was going to be in DC to promote his new book, Cabin Fever, I knew I had to take my boy. Like me when I was his age, he doesn't much care for reading. It's not that either of us were bad with reading or reading comprehension; the problem lies in poor self confidence. I've gotten past that. But not John. However, John loves the Wimpy Kid books, and he was thrilled when I invited him to go with me to DC. Book six is entitled Cabin Fever. It involves poor Greg being stuck inside while a blizzard rages outside. So to celebrate that, they created a fake snow storm. Look... fake snow! Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of...