Distractions

It's a mixed front today: on the one hand, exciting news that I'll get a sneak peek at the book-trailer-in-progress from the amazing team at Penguin, on the other that pesky cold I thought I'd sent packing has come back with a vengeance. Headache, sniffles, fever - you are not making my happy.

Since we're waiting to see the Nightshade cover, I thought it might be fun to take a look at another cover story. This video is so cool:



What are some of your favorite covers? What makes a good book cover?

Answers: March Edition!

Great questions all around and thanks so much for your well wishes about the new book deal! I'm still incredibly giddy :) Questions left in today's comments will be added and the post updated with answers through the day!!

Now for answers:

Lisa left a legacy of questions - some of the more philosophical I'll save for full posts at a later date! (Heaven or Hell - yeah, that deserves its own post!) Until then, she asks: Chocolate or vanilla!

Chocolate!!!

Rachel asks: Ren or Shay?

Rachel scored an ARC, so she's had a chance to meet Ren and Shay - the competing love interests in Nightshade. She's Team Ren all the way. Since I have a firm no spoilers policy on the blog I'm afraid I have to keep my lips sealed on this question. However, I will say that I love them both soooooo much and it wouldn't really matter what team I'm on because it's Calla's choice, not mine!

Tricia asks: What deal did you make with the Universe?

None that I know of. Now I'm nervous.

Amy asks: When can you reveal the Nightshade cover?

Soon! I promise! The ARCs are going out later this month and will be coordinated with the debut of the official Nightshade web site: www.nightshadebook.com At that time the cover will also go public!

Katarinasmama of Mundie Moms asks: Do you have a Nightshade playlist?

I do! Playlists are essential to my writing process. I have a partial playlist posted here. But a full playlist with chapter cues will go up after Nightshade is published.

Rachel asks: What is your favorite book of 2010 so far (no pre-pubbed stuff)?

Hmmm. That's tough. I'm going to pick two because they are so different:
Josh Berk's The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin. Which is so smart, so funny, and just wonderful all around.
Rachel Hawkins' Hex Hall, which is also smart and fun but has absolutely delicious romance + fantastic twists I didn't see coming.

Lisa asks: Peanut butter or jelly?

I don't want them separate. Together or nothing. Okay, that's a lie. I like peanut butter with apples.

Amy asks: So there will be four Nightshade books altogether?

Nightshade is a trilogy (Nightshade, Wolfsbane, Bloodrose). The fourth book is a companion novel.

Katarina's mama asks: Outside of your own characters, who is the one fictional character you'd love to have a conversation with?

Hmmmm. That's tough. I think I'll go with Finnick from Catching Fire. Or Cinna.

Speaking of that, Lisa asks: Peeta or Gale?

I can't decide, so I'm team Cinna. Or Finnick. Man I love those two.

And still following those lines, Amy asks what's your favorite dystopian novel so far:

Hunger Games!

And paranormal?

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

Lisa asks: Future or past?

Past - I'm a historian after all.

Rachel asks: What is your worst fear?

Irrational: Being attacked by a crocodile. Seriously. I have major crocodile phobia.

Rational: Letting myself and my loved ones down.

Lisa asks: Here or there?

Both - I love traveling, but there's nothing quite like the joy of coming home again.

Thanks for all the great questions!!!

March (Q&A) Madness!

It's March! Time for Q&A!

But first - the Madness!

It's totally awesome madness in the form of incredible news.

I just signed on for two more Nightshade books with Jill Santopolo and Michael Green at Philomel! *shrieking* *dancing* *glee* *fainting*

I'm beyond thrilled that I'll continue to work with such a wonderful editor and publisher and the brilliant team at Penguin. Thanks so much to Penguin and I'm throwing roses to my amazing agents Richard Pine and Charlie Olsen at InkWell.

Okay, deep breaths. Restoring calm. (Yeah right).

Now onto Q&A - post your questions in the comments and I'll sling out the answers in Monday's blog.

Happy Weekend! I'll celebrating the new book deal with something like this:

Crossover Continued...

Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks crossover is a good thing.



And Tim Burton just claimed the film rights! What a show that will be!

Crossover

When Nightshade hits the stores this October, I hope it finds it way into that lovely land called "Crossover," meaning it will appeal to young adults and adult adults. Crossover lit has been hitting the big time of late. I was shopping at the Red Balloon Bookshop yesterday and found several of my favorite "adult" books, The Mists of Avalon for one, now shelved in YA. So the currents of crossover are flowing both ways, YA into Adult and Adult into YA. I say hurrah to this trend!

I've recently happened upon another serendipitous crossover: history and my fiction writing. I've always been interested in the ways pop culture depicts and recreates history. When I lectured on the influence of Freud on historical analysis I used The Wolfman as an illustration. I use Buffy Season 4 "Pangs" to talk about the problems of Thanksgiving and historical misinformation and Firefly's "Jaynestown" to discuss public history, memory, and commemoration. Pop culture is fertile ground for historical excavation.

So I was thrilled to write a chapter in the upcoming anthology: Twilight and History.

(Isn't the cover cool?!)

My essay uses Jasper's character to examine ideologies of violence, American masculinity and the Civil War. Having the chance to wear my history and YA hats at the same time was so much fun!

Crossover is good thing - for history and pop culture; for adult and young adult literature. In this case crossing the streams is not very bad - it's so, so good.

Let's hope lots more happens in the future!

Hexy Time

2010 is a great year for debuts, but today in particular is a book birthday for a novel I've been early awaiting:

Rachel Hawkins' Hex Hall
For those of you who've followed Rachel (@LadyHawkins) and I on Twitter you're familiar with our realization that we are star-crossed BFFs whose friendship is marred by our battle for the hand of one Ben Barnes.Admittedly Rachel goes for Ben as Prince Caspian
while I'm swooning for his portrayal of Dorian Gray
When at last we clash over our boy Ben, it will be epic: Titan style.
I'm fortunate to have such a worth adversary as Rachel. Her book is fantastic - a great mix of spine-tingling chills and laughing out loud - and I'd recommend you run out and snap it up. Time to get Hexy! Congrats, Rachel!!!

Spring Dreams

Did anyone else have to memorize and recite the prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as part of the English major requirements in college?
It was one of my favorite requirements and had a lasting impression; when the snow begins to melt and sunlight overcomes darkness, I walk around with Chaucer's Middle English echoing in my mind.
Whan that aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of march hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne, And smale foweles maken melodye, That slepen al the nyght with open ye (so priketh hem nature in hir corages); Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; And specially from every shires ende Of engelond to caunterbury they wende, The hooly blisful martir for to seke, That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

I know it's March first, and not April. But any hints of spring fling me into Chaucer's world. I love Chaucer - the courses I took on his work opened my eyes to so much about the evolution of language (Old and Middle English are amazing!) and how wrapped up the medieval world was in ancient lore and magic - each physical description, each tiny reference was a secret code revealing both plot and character in his tales. That mixture of history, myth, and magic stayed with me, finding a new home in Nightshade.

Now that February is behind us and March, though tempestuous, flings open the door to spring I can't help but be excited. Spring is coming at last.