No time for a Five today, because I’ve got to pack for my trip to New York tomorrow! In case you haven’t heard, me and seven other amazing Debs will be appearing at Books of Wonder on Sunday:
Click here for details.
I hope to see many of you there!
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
February 14, 1996 (Megan is 15)
Well, gotta call N now and see what she thinks.
Which is basically nothing. She didn’t think it really mattered which in a way kinda ticks me off. I mean, she talks about X twice as long and I don’t say, well, I don’t think whatever really matters. I might say I don’t think it means something (in regards to whether he likes her or not), but saying it doesn’t matter is like saying it doesn’t matter to her. And it wasn’t like she was saying it so I shouldn’t let it bother me. She said it like she wanted to get on to some other topic. Don’t get any ideas neither — I’d only discussed it with her for about 5 minutes or maybe ten. It just annoys me. She never seems to care about my confusion over B but she expects me to explain everything about X to her and to listen to countless pointless stories about him…
Maybe I’m ignoring things I’ve done and forgotten but it seems like when I don’t want to do something for her, she’s all self-righteous like “I would do it for you” but when she actually has to do something for me she doesn’t want to.
I’m probably totally misinterpreting this, but oh well.
–
An Introduction to Flashbacks
The Flashback Cast
The Flashback Timeline
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
To celebrate the end of one awesome year, I’m holding one last giveaway! I know you’re all busy with holiday preparations, so I’m keeping it simple.
Prize #1: Three books of magic and the arts. I love fantasy, and I love creativity in all its forms, so I’d like to share with you three books that include both.
Fortune’s Folly by Deva Fagan, which combines fairy tale motifs with themes of storyteling, and fashion! 
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston, revealing a magical side of Central Park and a young woman’s love for theater.
Lament by Maggie Stiefvater, full of faeries and music and difficult choices.
Prize #2: A three-chapter critique of a novel manuscript. Best for young adult speculative fiction (fantasy, paranormal, science fiction), but I’m happy to offer my thoughts on adult, MG, and other genres, as long as you accept those aren’t my areas of expertise.
How to enter:
1) Post the Give Up the Ghost book trailer and a link to this giveaway on your blog/Facebook account/Myspace page/website/etc. Just needs to be public so I can confirm it’s there. If you’ve posted the trailer in the past, all you need to post is a link to the giveaway.
(Visit the YouTube page to get the embed code.)
2) Comment here with a link to the place you posted the trailer (now or previously) and the link, and let me know which of the two prizes you’d like to win! You can enter to win both if you post the trailer and link two different places.
And that’s all there is to it!
Entries must be received by Tuesday, December 15th at midnight EST. Giveaway open to anyone in the world.
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
I’ve been thinking it’d be fun to do an end-of-the-year giveaway, and mix it up a little in terms of the prize(s). So I’m turning to you all — what sorts of things would you be interested in winning? Fill out the poll below, and/or leave suggestions in the comments if there’s something awesome I haven’t thought of. 
With a little luck, I’ll have the giveaway up tomorrow!
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
(in order of release date)
A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner – Possibly my favorite YA series of all time, and I’ve had to wait three years for this fourth book, so you’d better believe I’ll be at the book store bright and early on release day to find out what Eugenedies, Sophos, and the rest of them have gotten themselves into now.
This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer – Life As We Knew It was one of my favorite books read in 2007, and now we get to find out what happens after for Miranda and her family. I suspect it’ll be heart-wrenching, but that won’t stop me from grabbing it as soon as I can.
The Magic Thief: Found by Sarah Prineas – I adored my introduction to Conn’s world in Stolen, was intrigued by the twists and turns of Lost, and now am eagerly awaiting the chance to find out how this exciting trilogy will wrap itself up.
(picture from Catching Fire as none available for Book 3)
Hunger Games Book 3 (no title at present) by Suzanne Collins – Speaking of exciting trilogies… I suspect this is the most anticipated YA novel of 2010, and for good reason. After the cliffhanger ending of Catching Fire, waiting until the fall to find out who survives, who doesn’t, and where District 13 will take us is torture.
(picture from The Treasure Map of Boys as none available for Real Live Boyfriends)
Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockhart – I finish every Roo book desperately hoping there will be another, so I can spend more time with her awkward yet incredibly charming self. So it was to my great joy that I found out she’s getting a fourth book, even if I have to wait until the end of 2010 to get it!
What books are you most looking forward to pick up next year?
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
June 1995 (Megan is 14)
It is amazing how the tiniest thing could weigh on my mind so much. I keep remembering his hand was shaking when I was trying to help him with his math. The shaking of a hand comes to express the whole nervousness I feel around him. And, somehow, that little thing has become proof that he feels the same way. Such a little thing.
Words cannot express the feeling when you finally have something that proves more than anything really could something you’ve wanted for so long. Just the fact that he called as soon as he woke up, well, I just have to smile.
–
An Introduction to Flashbacks
The Flashback Cast
The Flashback Timeline
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
Looking to score an awesome pack of books? The Enchanted Inkpot has three up for grabs! Click here to read all the details.
And don’t forget, if you’re a librarian (or know one–pass the info on!), there’s still some time left to enter the Debs’ 46-book giveaway and the Class of 2K9’s three-set giveaway!
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
About the book:
More than anything, Sammy wants to play guitar in a famous indie rock band. The problem is that his front man is a jerk who can't sing, his bassist is a burn-out who can't remember the songs, and his drummer is just out to lunch. But Sammy needs this band because it's the only good thing he's got going. His father skipped out before he was born, his mother is an overworked therapist with a drinking problem, his grandfather is slowly losing his mind to Alzheimer's, and the girl of his dreams is dating his jerk lead singer.
Now that jerk lead singer has entered them in a Battle of the Bands contest to win free studio time and guaranteed radio play. Sammy has two weeks to get them to sound like a real band, or face public humiliation in front of the entire local indie music scene.
An Interview with Jon Skovron:
Me: What were your favorite books (or types of books) as a teen, and what was it about them that appealed to you? What, on the other hand, would make you put a book down?
Jon: My favorite books were usually big sweeping epics that went on for book after book that I could totally immerse myself in. High fantasy like Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings or Eddings's The Belgariad, and also darker stuff like Rice's The Vampire Chronicles or Gaiman's The Sandman (comics count, right?).
Honestly, if it didn't have an element of sci-fi, fantasy, or horror, I wouldn't even pick it up unless it was assigned reading for school. I'm not sure why I had such an extreme prejudice, especialy since some of the books I was "forced" to read, like Camus's The Stranger, or Hemmingway's The Snows of Kilimanjaro, ended up being some of my all-time favorites.
Me: Have your reading tastes stayed the same, or have you discovered new loves and peeves (and if so, what are they)?
Jon: Defintiely. While big bold fantasy and horror stories remain my favorite type, my tastes are much broader. Obviously, since there isn't a lick of magic in STRUTS & FRETS. But at the same time, it's much harder for me to actually enjoy reading fiction becase I'm always automaticlly trying to figure out what the author's doing.
Me: What was your favorite part of writing STRUTS AND FRETS, and what was the hardest?
Jon: The first draft was a blast. It all came so effortlessly, honestly. The hard part was going back and figuring out what I'd done so that I could fix the parts that weren't working.
Me: Did you draw on any people/places/experiences from your life while writing?
Jon: Always. Even when writing about paranormal detectives who battle wits with demons, I'm drawing from my own life. And STRUTS & FRETS is particularly personal, since it takes place in my home town of Columbus, Ohio.
My favorite way to create a character is to take two or three people who are nothing alike (usually people that I know, although sometimes I use celebrities as well) and mash them into one person. Poof! Instant internal conflict!
Me: What was the most exciting moment during the publishing process? The scariest?
Jon: The most exciting (so far) was getting the first hardback copy of my book in the mail. I may have gotten a little misty...
The scariest (so far) was going to this dinner/awards thing during BEA and trying to front like I was an author when there were "real" authors like Holly Black and Scott Westerfield around. But my publicist bullied me into introducing myself and I'm so glad she did because they are cool and did not laugh in my face like I feared they might.
Me: What are you working on now?
Jon: A big epic sweeping urban dark fantasy.
Hope you enjoyed getting to know Jon! More interviews to come next month. :)
About the book:
What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right?
An Interview with Kristina Springer:
Me: What were your favorite books (or types of books) as a teen, and what was it about them that appealed to you? What, on the other hand, would make you put a book down?
Kristina: I loved book series like Sweet Valley High and The Girls of Canterbury Hall. Back then I liked to stay with characters so reading so many books about the same people made me happy. I never got into sci-fi books so I'd probably put that kind of book down.
Me: Have your reading tastes stayed the same, or have you discovered new loves and peeves (and if so, what are they)?
Kristina: I guess they haven't changed too much-- I like books that are fun and contemporary. Still not digging the sci-fi.
Me: What was your favorite part of writing THE ESPRESSOLOGIST, and what was the hardest?
Kristina: Favorite: I wrote the entire thing in Starbucks and didn't have a bit of it outlined. So I just wrote whatever came to me at the moment.
Hardest: First round of line edits. I had no idea what all of the little editing marks meant so it was intimidating at first.
Me: Did you draw on any people/places/experiences from your life while writing?
Kristina: Haha, did I ever. I made up all of my main characters but there were a lot of extra characters in my books (people wanting to be matched by the Espressologist). I used a lot of the people that were stopping into my Starbucks for coffee at the times I was writing.
Me: What was the most exciting moment during the publishing process? The scariest?
Kristina: Most Exciting: The day of my book auction. Bids were coming in from various publishers and I was flipping out all day.
Scariest: My first author event. Well, it wasn't scary. I was just really nervous!
Me: What are you working on now?
Kristina: Final edits on my middle grade novel coming in the fall of 2010: MY FAKE BOYFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS.
Hope you enjoyed getting to know Kristina! More interviews to come next week. :)
My bookish Friday Fives will be returning next week, but I figured after the two reading guides yesterday I’d done my bit for this one. So, what’s up with me this week?
1) If you want to discuss GHOST with fellow readers, Bitten By Books is featuring it in their Daily Book Chat.
2) Final call–come meet me, grab some swag, and get a book signed at Chapters – Barrie tomorrow between 2pm and 4pm!
3) For the first time ever, my favorite contestant from the beginning has become America’s Next Top Model. Is this deeply important news? No. But it makes me happy. Go redheads!
4) Okay, I don’t actually have five separate things, because my life for the last week has been consumed with…
5) Chris and I have bought our first house! We are so excited and looking forward to moving in sometime in January. Check out the pics here! (Let me know if the link doesn’t work.)
What’s new with you this week?
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
As promised, here are my suggestions for readers wanting to try out more YA science fiction! I haven’t included adult SF novels that now get categorized sometimes as YA because I figure most SF fans will already have read those.
And here’s my YA Fantasy Guide, if you missed it.
As before, feel free to share your own recs!
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
I know this will mostly be preaching to the converted, but if there’s anyone reading this who hasn’t dabbled much/at all in young adult fiction, I’ve got a bunch of YA fantasy suggestions up at Tor.com right now!
Feel free to add your own recs to the list!
A second post covering science fiction will be coming later this week.
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
First off, I’d like to remind everyone of my event in Barrie this coming Saturday, November 21st! Stop by and chat, grab some swag, and get a book signed. Would love to see you!
Saturday, November 21st, 2:00 – 4:00pm
Chapters – Barrie
76 Barrie View Drive
Barrie, ON
I also have three new appearances to announce, as part of the 2009 Debs Holidaze Tour. I’ll be in New York on December 6th with several fellow Debs, and a bunch of Debs will be joining me here in Toronto in early January:
Sunday, December 6th, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Books of Wonder
18 West 18th St.
New York, NY
(with Sarah Cross, Deva Fagan, Neesha Meminger, Kate Messner, Shani Petroff, Jon Skovron, and Michelle Zink)
Thursday, January 7th, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Indigo – Yorkdale Shopping Centre
3401 Dufferin St.
Toronto, ON
(with R.J. Anderson and Neesha Meminger)
Saturday, January 9th, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Indigo – Eaton Centre
220 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON
(with Neesha Meminger, Sarah Ockler, Rhonda Stapleton, and Lara Zielin)
For the full list of Holidaze tour dates, including Chicago and the San Francisco area, click here.
Hope to meet a bunch more of you in the next couple months!
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
Only two more months of Debsness left! Click on the image below to enter to win a bunch of fun items from the 2009 Debs:
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
Wanted to remind you all that my event at Bitten by Books is happening right now! You have until noon EST today (Saturday) to enter to win a pack of awesome ghost books, ghost scents, swag, and more.
Hope to see you there!
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
Despite criticism of the trope, the “bad boy” character remains immensely popular among readers and audiences. Whether he’s got a supernatural side that makes him potentially lethal, like True Blood’s Eric and Twilight’s Edward, or a callous side that could turn him into a heartbreaker, like Lost’s Sawyer and Gossip Girl’s Chuck, they catch other characters’ eyes and make fans swoon. (“Femmes fatales” likely serve the same function, for similar reasons, though they seem to be less common in stories these days.) The theory most often suggested is that we like the idea of a love interest we can change for the better. But wouldn’t it be easier to go for someone who doesn’t need changing in the first place, and who isn’t so likely to rip out our hearts (figuratively or literally)? Why is dangerous so much more appealing than safe? I think psychology may provide an answer.
Comment there or here!
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
October 14, 1996 (Megan is 15)
I wonder if I will continue to write for teens after I am no longer one myself. One of the main reasons I don’t write from an adult’s perspective is that for the most part I can’t, as I’ve never been an adult so how can I know how they think? And when I’m an adult, will I remember how I thought as a teenager? I guess this and my journal will help, because I hope I am writing these thoughts accurately. But how much can you learn from written word?
I can write from a guy’s perspective only by reading several books written by guys, from a guy’s point of view. But despite all of the books I’ve read from an adult’s point of view, the moment I stuck a foot in that direction, I’d trip and fall flat on my face. I guess age is a lot harder to change than gender thinking, and probably my guy characters aren’t wonderful anyway.
–
An Introduction to Flashbacks
The Flashback Cast
The Flashback Timeline
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
On Friday November 13th, from noon CST to noon the next day, head on over to Bitten by Books to read an interview with me, ask any questions you might have for me (I’ll be dropping by throughout the 24 hours to answer), and get a chance to win one of seven awesome prizes:
-A ghost book prize pack featuring my five favorite ghost books (Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell, A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb, Flying in Place by Susan Palwick, I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder, and Remember Me by Christopher Pike) and a $25 gift certificate for the online bookstore of the winner’s choice.
-A large swag pack including a Give Up the Ghost tote bag, samples of all five ghost scents, battery-powered paper lantern, signed cover flat, and lots more.
-5 small swag packs including signed Give Up the Ghost cover flats, buttons, bookmarks, stickers, mini paper lanterns, and more.
Want an extra chance to win? RSVP the event now and you get extra entries!
Hope to see you there on Friday!
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
My novel, Give Up the Ghost, has a set-up that might feel familiar to fans of paranormal fiction. There’s a main character with supernatural ties. There’s a character of the opposite sex who enters her life and shakes it up. You know where this is going, right?
If you guessed that they end up in a heated romance, you would actually be wrong. But I wouldn’t blame you for assuming that. Before I even started writing the book, I knew a romance would be the expected outcome. It was very deliberate that I chose not to meet that expectation.
Comment here or there!
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
Since I’ve talked a bit about how psychology and appreciation of stories might interact, I thought it’d be interesting to consider something many people mention first when talking about a story: characters. Sometimes a great protagonist or villain can raise up an otherwise mediocre story. Sometimes a plot that sounded fascinating gets bogged down by cardboard characters. And, of course, readers don’t all agree: a character one finds impressive another may find repulsive, and vice versa.
Why is that, and what factors might make a character more or less appealing? Psychologists have suggested that for readers to care about characters, they need to react to them as if they were friends or enemies. So let’s start by examining what makes us like other people in our lives.
Comments welcomed here or there.
Originally published at Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours. You can comment here or there.
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