Winner!

Happy Friday, everyone!

The randomly selected winner of Five Flavors of Dumb is:

Christina Ferko!

Congrats :) Keep watching the blog for more giveaways leading up to Christmas. I'm going to celebrate the weekend with one of my favorite Christmas songs:

Book Alert & Contest

I have a special guest on the blog today: Antony John is the author of FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB, a fabulous book that recently hit bookstores. I had the pleasure of meeting Antony earlier this fall and he is such a cool, fun person that I want you to know who he is and how awesome his book is. Antony was gracious enough to stop by for an interview - and if you leave a comment below you'll be entered to win FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB!!

We first met at Anderson's YA conference in Naperville, IL in September - meeting awesome authors, like yourself, is one of my favorite 'perks' of being a writer. What have been some of your favorite things about being an author?

* Oh boy, I could write a dissertation on this one!

First off, you’re spot on when you say that the biggest perk is meeting other authors (and also editors and agents). People who dedicate their lives to an aspect of children’s literature are invariably doing it because they’re passionate about it, and it’s so energizing to be around them. Meeting you in Naperville was a case in point. I could’ve just sat and listened to you talk about Nightshade all day, although that might have defeated the purpose of our panel, right?

Second, I love the rush of writing: those times when you get in a zone and the words just pour out like you’re in your own personal IMAX movie. It’s thrilling, and exhilarating, and I’m in the incredibly luxurious position of knowing that those words will most likely make it into print one day. I get the feeling both of us know how lucky we are to be able to say that.

As a random third, I have to admit that being a YA author definitely wins me the Coolest Job prize at social gatherings. Every time I attend a party I’m reminded that (a) people find authors fascinating, and (b) a lot of adults are reading YA these days (and they’re very opinionated)!

Tell us about Five Flavors of Dumb:

* Five Flavors of Dumb is the story of Piper Vaughan, a deaf high school senior. When her parents raid her college fund to pay for her baby sister’s cochlear implant, Piper resorts to managing her school rock band as a way of making some money. It’s crazy, funny, heartfelt, and uplifting—at least, that’s what the reviews are saying.

Since this book is, in part, about a band - did you listen to music while you were writing it? If so, can you tell us a song from the playlist as an example?

* Oh yeah, I listened to LOADS of music. In fact, I have a playlist of over a hundred songs that I listened to over and over while I was writing. (I’ve played most of these songs at least 20 times according to iTunes, which tells you how long it takes to write a book.)

But as the example, I’m going to name a couple songs that actually appear in the book. (I’m not going to say HOW they appear, though, because that would spoil the surprise.):

Nirvana – Seasons in the Sun

Jimi Hendrix – Star-Spangled Banner (live at Woodstock, 1969)

What surprised you the most about writing Five Flavors of Dumb?

* Ooh, good question. I think I’d have to say the most surprising thing was how fully I got inside the head of my main character, Piper. I spent several months researching deafness before I wrote a word, by which time I had a truly deep understanding of who Piper was, and what made her tick. She’s smart, sardonic, determined, and someone I would have loved to know when I was a teen. Writing from her perspective felt effortless, and I think that’s a good sign!

What are you working on next?

* My next YA will be coming out around spring 2012 from Dial. It’s called The Hallelujah Book Tour, and is the story of a boy who writes a spiritual self-help book that becomes a bestseller. He’s sent on a promotional tour along Route 66, but things don’t exactly go as planned, particularly when a former crush hitches a ride.

After that, around fall 2012, the first book in my Elemental trilogy will be released (also with Dial; can you tell I like my editor!). It’s set in a dystopian colony of the United States where everyone is born with powers of the elements—earth, water, wind, and fire—except for one boy who is powerless . . . or is he? I’m so psyched about it I can barely see straight.

Please visit me at www.antonyjohn.net (and friend me on the Facebook link)!

Thanks for having me along today, Andrea. And Happy Holidays to all your readers!

Thanks so much for being here, Antony & readers be sure to leave a comment below so you're entered in the contest!

How to Say Goodbye?

This week was awesome because the final book in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series, Last Sacrifice, was published.

This week was horrible because the final book in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series, Last Sacrifice, was published.

Readers, do you understand this contradiction? I'm sure you do.

One of the best and worst things about books you truly love is knowing they'll come to an end. When the books are part of a series it seems to me that this anticipation, joy, and sorry are amplified because you're that much more invested in the story arc and its characters.

I loved Last Sacrifice - it was a fantastic conclusion to the series. But I woke up this morning feeling a little blue because I'd spent time in the last two days sneaking time to cuddle up with my book and devour it. While I have many other wonderful books to read in my house, there is something about waiting for a book you've been wanting and stealing that time to spend with it that makes the experience exceptional.

This isn't a sudden revelation - my husband woke up to find me sobbing in bed at 5 a.m. because I'd just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I finished the book!" I cried.

Despite my post-book blues, I wouldn't trade the wonder of that emotional journey with characters for anything. But I'm wondering - how do you cope with the end of favorite series?

Bloggers Rule!

If you haven't already seen it around the blogosphere there's a really fantastic event happening called Best I've Read 2010



This event brings together loads of awesome bloggers discussing their favorite reads of 2010. I'm over the moon that Nightshade is being featured on many blogs. Even better: there are TONS of giveaways going on as part of BIR2010.

Today you can read interviews and enter giveaways for Nightshade at Once Upon a Twilight and Mundie Moms.

Thank you so much to all the bloggers for their support of Nightshade - you guys are the best!

Go check out Best I've Read 2010 and be sure to enter the awesome contests!!

Chat Tonight

Hey Blogger Friends,

Just an FYI: I'll be chatting live at 7 p.m. (CST) tonight on Night Owl Reviews with P.C. Cast and Cindy Bennett. Hope to see you there!

Winners

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to welcome Matched into the world! I'm pleased to announced that the two winners are:

Sylvia sylvia_uy4(at)yahoo(Dot)com

and

Amanda amandatheaker(at)gmail(dot)com

Congrats!!

Q&A with Ally Condie

I love it when author friends stop by and indulge the weirdness of my brain! Here's my Q&A with Ally Condie, author of Matched.

The opening scene of your book describes the matching event, and Cassia has chosen a green dress to wear (which is also on the cover). Green is my favorite color and I love that dress – the story intimates that her choice of color says something about her, but what made you decide her dress should be green?

*I wanted Cassia’s dress to be green for a couple of reasons. One of the reasons is very superficial—I wanted it to match her eyes! More importantly, I also liked the symbolism of the color green and its traditional connections with growth, spring, etc. And finally, I liked that it had a connection with the green tablet, which is important to the story.

It’s fascinating that culture has been limited to the 100 lists – did you actually create a list of each 100 books, songs, etc. If so, what was that like?

*I didn’t create the lists in their entirety. I do know a few items on each list. The list the Society created would be very different from my own personal list, so it would be a little daunting to create theirs. They wouldn’t include anything subversive, they would limit the diversity of the list, etc.

In the Society, it’s dangerous to be exceptional. Do you think our world ever tries to limit originality?

*Yes, I do. I think we have a lot of cultural ideas about what beauty and success should look like and we like people to fit those molds. However, we do also live in this time of unparalleled freedom of expression, so that is pretty amazing.

This is totally random, but does the Society allow people to have pets?

*No, they don’t! And you’re the first person to notice that! I thought it was this sort of creepy thing that there are no animals on the streets or in the yards, etc. It’s just another way the Society exercises control. The people in the Farmlands have farm animals, but there are no actual pets.

If Cassia were to step into our world for a day, what do you think she would be the most surprised by?

*I think she would be most surprised by the way we can listen to and write and read whatever we want, and she would also be surprised by how much we take that for granted.

I’m dying for more of the story – what are you working on now and what can I bribe you with to get it early (chocolate?)?

*I’m working on the sequel right now. I’ve been working on the sequel for a year! I wish I could write more quickly. But I’m like you in that the story can take over my mind (when I’m not with the kids). I was leaving to go write earlier today and I backed into my husband’s car with my car. He was thrilled. I really need to finish this book. ;)

But you could possibly bribe me with a copy of Wolfsbane. ;)

Ha! Thanks, Ally :)

Thanks for letting me stop by, Andrea! And huge congrats on the success of Nightshade!

Thanks to Ally for being here and thanks also to Penguin, which is giving away two copies of Matched to blog readers. Just leave a comment below and you will be entered in the giveaway!!!