Questions I Want to Ask You

Eryn tagged me in a blog award thing, and asked me some questions, which I shall now proceed to answer. Then I will ask some of my own questions, and tag more people! Fun! (Sneaky Eryn, getting me to write blog posts...)
 

1. Are you an early bird, or a night owl? Which would you prefer to be and why?

 

I force myself to be an early bird because I like getting things done early, but at heart I think I'm a night owl.

2. What's your favorite kind of story? Adventure, romance, etc. 

 

When I think of all my favourite books and authors, the one thing that dominates is amazingly well developed characters. I LOOOVE complicated, well written characters. Melina Marchetta is amazing at writing good characters. (You knew I was going to say that, didn't you). I was thinking about my favourite female characters the other day, and they are probably Katniss and Taylor from Jellicoe Road. So, basically, I love stories with really good characters.

 

3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be? (Could be an imaginary place.)

 

CANADA. I love Canada. I don't care if I'm biased, it's the best country ever.

4. What is the first sentence of your current work in progress?

Crappy little handheld camera: check. (*Note: this is the WIP I want to work on, but have not actually gotten past the thought process step of revision yet. Sigh.)

5. What is your ideal writing setting? Like, time of day, location, beverages to sip during.

I find it really easy to write late at night after I've been really inspired by some artistic content which could be anything from a moving movie to a really motivational tumblr post. However, it's really limiting to have specifications for a writing time so I try not to do that. (Obviously this works so well for me as I have written SO MANY WORDS in the past two months. *sarcasm*).

6. If you could stay any age forever, what age would you chose?

Ten. When I turned ten, everyone told me it was the "golden age" and I didn't believe them but it really was. It really was.

7. What are your favorite historical figures?

 

I don't know, but you can bet whoever it is will be Canadian. ;) Maybe Lester B. Pearson? I don't know much about him yet though. Oh, I do think what FDR did for the U.S. was pretty cool.

8. What is the thing you think about most when you are writing a story?

"COME ON, FIVE MORE WORDS. YOU CAN DO IT!" Also, I love writing intense emotional scenes even if I still am not very good at them.
 

9. What is your favorite animated movie?

The Incredibles. When (cynical) adults love it, you know it's good.

10. Coffee or tea?

 

Depends on the circumstances, but I enjoy both. (Is that allowed?)

OK! Now my questions for you.

1. What in your opinion do you think YA (or fiction in general) needs more of?
2. What is something you would absolutely love to see a book about? (Be specific if possible!)
3. How many non-American authors can you name? (List them!)
4. How many non-American YA authors can you name? (List them!)
5. What are books that have made you sob and/or cry out loud?
6. What is your favourite book from childhood?
7. What do you like to do that has absolutely nothing to do with reading, writing, or anything of the like?
8. What does diversity mean to you?
9. How would you describe your style of clothing?
10. What is your goal in life? (It could be at the moment or overall).

I know some of these will produce lengthier answers... but I'm really curious to hear your answers! Also, if I don't tag you, please answer anyway and leave a link in the comments or tweet it at me (@asherlockwrites). I want to hear everyone's answers!!!

And people I'm tagging:
1. @AuthorMadison
2. @yahongc
3. @crazyredpen
4. @laura_the_wise
5. @Matt_Dodwell
6. @EmilyCasselman

Go forth and write! Can't wait to hear your answers. :)

 

(Oh, P.S. the rules of the tag are answer the questions, ask 10 of your own, tag 10 people).

(Actually, these are the rules:

Link back to the person who nominated you

Answer the 10 questions that are given to you by the nominator

Nominate 10 other bloggers for this award who have less than 200 followers

Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer

Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blogs and notifying them).)

 

(I tagged more than 10 people because I tagged EVERYONE. Hehe.)

 

 

I Was One Strange Kid

My graduation is like, 5 days away, and in the spirit of grad I wanted to do some sort of "looking back" post. My plan was to scrounge up some old journal entry of mine and analyze how much I've changed. However, I don't really write a lot of journals. I basically write journals when I feel really emotional about something (which always seems to happen when I stay up too late reading emotionally intense books, so...), and when I'm on vacation. So... there goes that idea.

Also, it's really, really hard to summarize yourself in a couple of paragraphs. I wrote a letter to myself when I was 12 that I'm supposed to read when I'm 22, and I'm pretty sure the gist of it is "I'm 12 right now and these are my friends: [list of friends]". I have no idea what I would put in a single letter that could give future-me an accurate picture of present-me. Do I talk about my friends, what I like to do, my beliefs? What?


Anyway... while I don't have an old, comprehensive journal entry to analyze, I do have lots of old journals that I've written random things in over the years (very random things) and some of the things were so random I just couldn't help but laugh at how crazy of a kid I was. So I thought I'd share some of those things with you.

Oh, and just a note, whenever I'm quoting from one of my notebooks, I quote exactly - spelling mistakes and all. Just so you know that I actually CAN spell.

TIMELINE OF MY CHILDHOOD IN NOTEBOOKS:

2001: 7 years old 

The above journal is from the first diary I had (and the last). The first entry here is talking about how much I dislike my cousin, because she said she couldn't read my writing. (You know what, 7-year-old Alyssa? I can't read your writing either). Then later in life I went back and crossed out "mean" and wrote "nice", but then even later I ended up going back and crossing out "nice" and re-writing "mean and nasty" in red pen.

If anyone's interested, I get a long just fine with my cousin now. ;)

2002: 8 years old!

This notebook was called a "Slam Book" and it had questions at the top of some of the pages that were like "Your best excuse for turning in your homework late is..." and so on. Some of the questions my eight-year-old self deemed to answer were:

The dumbest love note you ever received was from... noneone

The flirting technique that always works for you is... tikling my back

If you had to marry a teacher from your school you would choose... Mrs Turner or Ms Mackinnis

(Reading these questions makes me wonder how my mother thought this notebook was appropriate for an 8-year-old...)

Also, the page shown in the picture above is a list of my friends on the left and then "how they act" on the right side. I'm happy to say that I have now succesfully grown out of having rating systems for my friends... :D

probably around 2004, 8-10 years old:

So I found a song that I am sorry to say that I wrote. It goes like this:

Friends forever

we love and care for who they are

and who they will be

we're always together

Friends will save us from the pouring sadness

and the rock hard hearts

They'll lift spirits and dance in the sky

AUGGH it's so bad!!! "Pouring sadness"!?!? "Dance in the sky"!?!?! Obviously I was a master at imagery back then... haha. Thank goodness I had little to no aspirations to become a songwriter...

2004, probably 9 years old:

So my 9-year-old self decided to make up some jokes and write them down. They are... embarassing.

Lucy: Sniff, sniff.

Teacher: Have you caught a cold?

Lucy: No, it caught me.

Herbert: How do you add 2+2?

Corey: to what?

Herbret: each other

Corey: Swich places

(WHAT?? This is not only not funny but it makes NO SENSE)

Teacher: Amy, how do you spell zebra?

Amy: e-b-r-a

Teacher: Where's the z?

Amy: On vacation

What I want to know is, HOW did I think any of these jokes were even remotely funny??? Little Alyssa, I do not understand you.

2004: 10 years old

"Arielle, someone at camp, said she had a 'pretend friend' named Eddie. Why I'm metioning this is because I thought 'Why don't I have a pretend friend?' I made one up. I'll tell you about her."

I think it's really funny how my first reaction to finding out about someone else's imaginary friend is not a normal kid's reaction of "wow you are way too old for things like that" but "What? Why don't I have one?" Little Alyssa, you were one strange kid.

2005: 10/11 years old

Excerpt!: "When I read I get so scooped up into my book I hardly know where I am"

"Scooped up"???? I don't think that word means what you think it means, Little Alyssa.

2006: 11/12 years old

When I was in grade six, my family and I went on vacation to Waterton/Glacier National Park, traveling through the U.S. to get there. You know how whenever you visit some landmark, there's signs with information about the landmark around? Well, for some reason I thought it would make sense to COPY THE ENTIRE SIGN. And there are like, 4 pages of signs I copied on this trip. WHY, 12-year-old Alyssa, WHY???

Oh, and I also found a list of 62 questions in one of my notebooks, which I'm guessing I probably thought up to ask my dad when he said goodnight to me to make him stay longer. You can read the whole list of 62 here, if you want.

So, now you know what I was like as a kid, and you can see that I am still pretty weird, just in different ways. ;) (Although I like to think I have a better sense of humor now...)

What crazy things did you do as a kid? Oh, and if you want to hear more about me and my weird family you can follow me on twitter, @AlyssaSherlock. :)

Oh and here's a picture of me when I was six (the scrape on my nose is because I fell off my bike):

Have a great summer!

From,

me & Little Alyssa

Cliff-hanger Endings: Are They Really That Bad?

Hey guys! In order to make up for my silence over the last while, I thought I'd just give you a short update on what's going on, and then I'll start my post. So, I'm actually in the midst of exams right now so I am taking lots of time studying and writing those (normally my exams would be in June, but because of the kind of courses I'm taking, they're in May). I'm also getting ready for wrapping up school completely and graduating high school in only twoish months! Eek. :D Let's see... I'm also trying to prepare a short story to enter in a local writing contest. I hope to start some fun new blog stuff after I'm done more of my exams, so you have that to look forward to. I have a few ideas up my sleeve. ;)

Anyway, I wanted to talk about endings. The two books that my English class most recently read were A Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence and A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Neither of them had very satisfying endings. A Stone Angel ends with the two words "And then..." and that's where the novel ends. The story ending of A Handmaid's Tale ends with the main character being taken away, and whether to safety or to her death the reader doesn't know. Then the last line of the epilogue-like ending is a university professor asking his students "Are there are any questions?" which is funny because, um, YES.

A lot of the students in my class complained loudly about how these endings were horrible, you don't get to find out anything, it wasn't wrapped up nicely at all, etc, etc. Then they write the entire book off as awful because you don't get to find out anything - and what's the point of reading a book that doesn't answer any questions it raises?

Well, that's a discussion for another day. But are these somewhat cliff-hanger endings really that bad? I feel like they are very effective, and they make you think. That is what I like about these endings - they force you to think. If there is anything that makes me love a book, it is that it makes me think. That's part of the reason why I loved Jellicoe Road so much. The intertwined and complicated plots required a whole lot of thinking to figure them out.

I think this is also why those "20 years later" epilogues sometimes really bug me, such as the one in Harry Potter or Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles. I feel like they shut down any opportunity for the reader's mind to wander and wonder further about the characters and story. Basically, it shut downs any opportunity for the reader to think about the book.

Yes, endings need to wrap up loose ends and whatnot. But I think they also need to be left at least somewhat open-ended to allow the reader to think and wonder.

So, I want to know what you think about all this... Do you like books that make you think? Do you like endings that wrap up completely, or that are left open? What books have made you think the most?

Reading Interview with My Superwoman Mother on Books

Guess what time it is? Yup, that's right... time for another reading interview!! Woohoo!! So, now you've met all the members of my family including my brother, my dad and my sister. But... there is someone missing. Now, it's time to meet my amazing mother, aka Superwoman!! She is the one who is largely responsible for my love of reading and, consequently, writing.

The interview begins with an interupption by my father...

Me: So let's start with the basic questions.

Dad (in background): Your name
Me: Sure...
Mom: I feel a little nervous.
Me: Why?
Mom: I don't know...
Dad (laughing): Because you might uncover something she doesn't want to reveal...
Mom: No, that you're going to argue with me or something....

Thankfully, there was no uncovering of deep dark secrets or arguments. :) Now, to the interview!

What kinds of books do you like?

Well, I like suspense, because lots of times I can't predict what's going to happen. But I like a lot of things. Family stories, historical fiction. Probably my favourite are suspenseful things. Things that are sort of fast-paced. I like some sorts of science fiction.

The best books are books that you just keep thinking about after you put them down, because you want to know what's going to happen. Not knowing what's going to happen in a book is important to me, unless you just want something really easy to read once in a while. I like books that aren't predictable.

What genres do you stay away from?

Westerns. And your typical romance story. It just seems like such a low level of reading. Well, maybe it's not a low level of reading but it's just like... they have a formula and whatever romance novel you read it all happens the same, it's just a different place and different person. You always know what's going to happen.

What are some of your favourite authors or books?

Francine Rivers, Ted Dekker... and they're totally opposite which is funny. One book I read lately that was really good was Sarah's Key. It sort of haunted me afterwards, same with that book The Boy With the Striped Pajamas.

How do you pick out books for me and my brother?

For you, I can think of what I liked at that age and also if it's a YA book that I'm interested in, then you would probably be interested in it. Although of course there are some YA books that I would read but you wouldn't, but I know those ones. And with your brother... the authors that he's read before and liked, and I basically go off the books he's read before and books he's read very quickly. Also, his interests like math or soccer. And with your sister, it's easy, because of her interest in movies.

Do you think reading is important? Why?

Yes, because it gives you a different perspective on things. I mean, I guess you can get a different perspective watching TV but with reading a book... it's almost like with watching TV it's someone else's perspective, while with reading a book it's your own perspective. With books, you learn about other people's perspectives but you also put your on perspective on those perspectives... haha. And reading's fun... it can take you to a different place in your head. And it also puts me to sleep. All I have to do at night is read a book and then I fall asleep.

When we were little, were you determined to have us read?

I remember Dad and I talked about the values we wanted to instill in you and one of them was that you would love reading. And you do that by reading yourself and reading to your kids. I love reading kid's books as well as the other books I read. I'm known as "The Book Lady" at work.

Where do you think your love of reading comes from?

My mom. My mom read to me, and she was a reader. My dad wasn't really a reader, but my mom was. We'd read all the time before bed. I can still remember my favourite book... There's A Mouse in the House. I can even remember the cover, it had like an older, three-story house on it with a mouse in the top.

And just having books around. There's actually some statistic that if you have a certain number of books in your house then your kids will be readers. Although it's only, like, twenty books.

How would you have felt if even after you did all that, we still weren't into reading?

I would probably just... keep reading to you. It wasn't just me reading to you, it was Dad reading to you... and just us reading ourselves. All those things instill a love of reading.

You read YA sometimes. Why?

I don't read all Young Adult stuff. But I think sometimes because... I don't know if this is true or not... but I think YA writers actually have to write better in some cases because  if you want to get teenagers to read then it has to be written well. Because most aren't going to put the effort into reading a book unless it peaks their interest. So it has to be written well. Although I don't know if that's really true.

Do you have anything else to say about books?

Um... they can be a friend, when no one else is around...

Uh, I think you got that out of a book.

No, I didn't! They are like your best friends when no one else is around. And they're very quiet, actually.

Yeah, but they leave you after 200 pages...

But there's always another book. And I love the library. It's like a free bookstore.

Thanks, Mom! Isn't she great? :)

21 Minus Blog Tour!!!

UPDATE: Finally have the official rules! Go here to fill out the form to win AWESOME PRIZES!!! :)

Hey, everyone! Guess what? 21 Minus starts TODAY!! :)

Here is a description of 21 Minus by Anna Waggener, the organizer of this awesome blog tour:

21 Minus is my attempt to bring together a group of fantastic young writers, all aged twenty-one or younger, and let them tell their stories via questions asked by their peers.  It will also feature some great giveaways (including an ARC of GRIM!) and should be lots of fun all the way around.

Now I am going to interview a young writer and let them tell their story... I am interviewing Mariah Irvin. You can find her blog here. This was a different kind of interview for me to do, because we didn't actually have direct contact with the interviewee - all the interviews were done through Anna, so it was all very secret... but that makes it fun! Anyway, on to the questions.




Mariah's blog header. Isn't it cute?

 What is the main reason you read? What is the main reason you write?

I can answer both parts of the question at once: because it makes me happy. They're both a huge part of my life and one without the other feels almost unnatural to me. I read to be a better writer and I write to be a better reader.

If you've moved away from reading YA, why? If you haven't, why not?

I read literature to switch things up sometimes. YA writing can be so emotional and engrossing I can walk away feeling completely drained, which, in a way, I love. There's nothing like YA, I love it and that's why I write it. But if I need a break or I want to study writing styles I'll switch over to my other love, classic literature.

How important to you is a book's cover, blurb, or review when convincing you to pick up a book and read it?

The blurb or review is pretty important, especially if I've never heard of the book before. A lot of the books I read come from recommendations from friends that have read the books and liked them, so if I'm going to pick up a book on a whim it's really got to sell itself! I'll usually read the first few pages, too, to get an idea of the voice and plot. Covers, though, I don't really care that much about. Yes, my eye will be drawn to a pretty cover, but a plain cover won't convince me that I shouldn't buy a book. I remember in 2009 I picked up "The Hunger Games" without a recommendation and the blurb had me interested right away, but the cover wasn't my favorite!

What does your handwriting look like? Do you think it matches your personality?

I can have really nice handwriting when I try, but most of the time it's stuck somewhere between print and cursive. When I think about it, I guess I could say that that resembles my personality; the things I put a lot of effort into usually turn out nicer and more worthwhile.

Where have you been that has given you the most ideas/inspiration for your writing?

It's funny, because I've done a lot of traveling, but I'm not writing anything right now that's based on a location I've been to, because usually a lot of my ideas come from everyday things. But, I went to China last year I started imagining all the things I could write about it. Someday, I'd like to write a historical novel about China.

What do you have to say about movies based on books?

I've probably had just about every opinion on this topic humanly possible at one point or another! I love working with cameras and interpreting words on a page into another medium. But even though movies allow so much more accessibility to those words, I always feel like something is missing. To me, it's like the book and the movie are completely separate things, so I'm able to fall in love with both, but never in the same way.

If you had to describe your latest WiP in one word, what would it be?
 
Escape.
 
Great interview, Mariah!

Now here's some places you should go... click here to go to Mariah's blog and find out more about her, and read the interview that she did for 21 Minus. Also go here to check out the awesome list of prizes Anna has for the giveaway, and then go here to Anna Waggener's blog to get all the information about the blog tour and giveaway - how you can win prizes, etcetera!

(So it turns out Nick Hight interviewed me! If you want to check that out, click here).

Have fun learning about all the other awesome young writers!

Has a Negative Review Ever Convinced You to Read A Book?

I have begun to notice that pretty much EVERYTHING is subjective. Almost everything is affected by a person's own opinions, moods, beliefs, background and what have you. (I totally just had to look up the phrase "what have you" to make sure I wasn't making it up and to figure out if it was one word or not).

For example, here is a conversation I had my with my friend Monday night. We were talking about making muffins together:

Strawberry muffins... tell me they do not look yummy!

Friend: What kind of muffins should we make?
Me: strawberry!!!
Friend: EWW
Me: What? Why! My mom said her friend made them once and they were really good!
Friend: That sounds... EEW!
Me: Why? Don't you like strawberries?
Friend: yahh

I still think my friend is not justified in thinking strawberry muffins are gross (I mean, she's never even tried them...), but this kind of shows how affected we are by our own ideas and opinions and just basically who we are.

So. This also applies to books. (HA you never guessed that I would say that, right?? Haha.) I have figured out that I like certain types of characters way more than other types of characters. I really don't like dependent, scared, hesitant characters that don't really know much. I absolutely fall in love with really clever, independent characters. For example, in the book Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (amazing book, by the way) my favourite character, hands down, is Dustfinger. I adore him. He's one of those clever, sort of goes-by-his-own-terms type of character that I like. I think this is also the reason that I liked the character Katniss in The Hunger Games, and the character Eugenides in The Thief, Queen of Attolia and King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner.

To be honest, until recently, I had no idea that it was me. I just thought lots of writers wrote really bland, annoying characters but as it turns out, I just wasn't interested in the characters because of me - who I am and what I like as a person.

That being said, different things will attract a person into reading a book. When I'm wandering through the library, my eyes usually go to the covers (and spines) that are unique, bright, and different. I tend not to be attracted to the darker, spooky covers or the covers with girls' faces on the front. It also depends on what I'm in the mood for. If I feel like reading romance, I look for titles and covers that hint that the book is a romance.

Whoops... kind of getting off track. Back to... different things attract a person into reading a book. That is why I think when reading a book review, different things will stick out to different people. Just like while I'm in the library, certain covers or titles attract me, certain things said in a review will attract me to a book.

SO that brings me to my final point... because of all this, has a negative book review ever convinced you to read a book? I can see it happening if, I don't know, the reviewer says something like "The character was just way too clever for me, I didn't understand them" (this would only be for me, obviously) and then I would be like... well, I like clever characters... maybe I should read that book.

So? Has a negative book review ever convinced you to read a book? If not, do you think it's possible that one could? What do you think?

Also go here for information on the 21 Minus Blogfest and Contest that I'm participating in... it starts tomorrow!

An Enlightening Interview With A Magic Eight Ball and A Petpet

I'm in grade 12, which means I'm almost done school, which means I have to spend a long time sitting and pondering life decisions like, What do I want to do next year? What should I take in university? and other equally annoying questions that I don't feel like answering.

I also find that there are a lot of questions to be asked that just don't have concrete answers. There's so many questions where you have to think so much, and weigh the options, consider every angle, and so forth. It takes a lot of work and a lot of brain muscle.

Then there's those questions that frequently raise intense discussion throughout the book blogging world, that have answers with so many different sides it gets hard to keep track.

So I've decided instead of going through that whole brain-numbing process of answering hard questions, I will just enter my questions into an online Magic Eight Ball and it will give me all the answers I need. What could make life easier?

Is it OK if what I write doesn't necessarily line up with my beliefs?

Magic Eight Ball: Very doubtful.

Should published authors do book reviews, either negative or positive?

Magic Eight Ball: Signs point to yes.

Is the YA genre going downhill in today's society?

Magic Eight Ball: My sources say no.

Should teens be published?

Magic Eight Ball: Outlook not so good.

Should all YA books with sex, drugs, and violence be banned from the earth?

Magic Eight Ball: Without a doubt.

Are teens and kids capable of picking out books that are suitable to their needs?

Magic Eight Ball: Better not to tell you now.

I don't really like these answers. I think I'll try another approach. When I was ten, I would spend all of my time on Neopets doing who knows what (that's also how I learned how to do some HTML coding which I have now forgotten most of) and you could ask your Petpet questions. I still have my account, so I will log in there for the first time in a hundred years and consult my Petpets.

Well. That's encouraging.

Ouch. 

 I don't know what to say to that...

Well... that was... interesting.

Um, you know what? On second thought, I'll do my decision-making and question-answering the old-fashioned way...

Interview With My Awesome Sister On Books (and Movies)

I like learning about people's reading habits, because I find it fascinating how different they can be from person to person. So far I've interviewed my best friend, my brother, and my dad. Today, I will be interviewing my sister.

My sister is 19 years old, and she has Down Syndrome which means she learns slower than other kids her age, but also that she has an awesome personality. She loves movies and loves to make us laugh. She is also quite short compared to the rest of my family, and I like to tease her by calling her "Shortbread Cookie". :) She also likes to be a chatterbox, although she wasn't so much in this interview because we weren't talking about movies.

Anyway... onto the interview!

Me: So, what kinds of books do you like?


Sis: Wizard of Oz, Anne of Green Gables, Flat Stanley.


Me: So why do you like those books?


Sis: 'Cause... interesting?


Me: Why are they interesting?


Sis: They’re based on a movie.


Me: Oh, so you like books based off movies.


Sis: Yeah.


Me: How come you don’t read more?


Sis: I don’t know! I always read before bed.


Me: What’s your favourite book?


Sis: Wizard of Oz


Me: Do you like reading?


Sis: Yes.


Me: Why?


Sis: ‘Cause... everything.


Me: Yeah, but why?


Sis: (groans) I enjoy reading.


Me: Why?


Sis: I enjoy reading!


Me: Yeah, but why? Is it fun, or...?


Sis: It’s fun!


Me: Would you read a book that I wrote?

Sis: No.


Me: No! Why not?


Sis: Cause... not fun.


Me: Why not?


Sis: It’s not based on a movie.


Me: (laughing) Oh... well, thanks. So if I got a movie made, and then I wrote a book...?


Sis: Yup.


Me: You’re silly. What books do you not like?


Sis: Your books.


Me: What? Oh, like the books I read?


Sis: Yeah.


Me: Why not?

Sis: Cause kind of bit boring.


Me: Why are they boring?


Sis: Cause not based on a movie. I like Wizard of Oz, because it’s based on a movie.


Me: So how do you pick a book to read?


Sis: Just pick one book, and read it.


Me: Yeah but is it the title or the cover?


Sis: The cover.


Me: Or...


Sis: The cover!!


Me: What do you like about the cover?


Sis: The pictures.


Me: Do you have anything else to say about reading and books?


Sis: Nope. Bye.

So, in case you didn't catch that... she likes movies. And the Wizard of Oz. Haha. Isn't she cute? :)

What's your favourite movie based on a book?

Interview with A Real Live Bookworm! (aka My Best Friend)

One thing I am fascinated by  is different people's reading habits. It's cool to see the very, very different kinds of books that people enjoy. So what I've been doing once in a while is interviewing some people I know about their reading habits. I started with my brother, and then I interviewed my dad, and now I'm going interview one of my close friends, Emily. If you would like to be interviewed about your reading habits (it doesn't matter if you read a lot or not) then go the "Contact" page above to e-mail me.

Okay, so some more about Emily before we start:

Emily is 17 years old, an avid reader, and a slightly avid writer. She lives with cats galore, piles of books in the hallway and lots of bruises from walking into things since she always has her nose in a book. Wait.... that’s from the picture book The Library... In real life, Emily is allergic to cats, has only two piles of book in her room, and still has lots of bruises from walking into things since she always has her nose in a book. She also loves to sing.

You can find Emily here at her book review blog.

Now to the questions!

What are your favourite kinds of books and why?

I guess that would have to be fiction that mimics real life, like in the Christy Miller series because it could happen. It’s like a fictional character in real life. Also things still based in real life but you know would never happen, like the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa where this girl finds out that she’s half fairy and her dad is king Oberon from a midsummer night’s dream. Percy Jackson as well -you know greek gods aren’t real but it’s still a fun series.

Male or female MCs [Main Characters]?
Actually I don’t have a preference, both are fun to read.

How do you go about picking books to read?
When I'm at home, I look for books I already read and loved and I read those.

When I go to the library, I pull random books off shelves, and then I go sit at a table and read the jackets and then leave the ones I don’t want on the table. I don’t like prejudicing myself by covers.

I also use book review sites sometimes: goodreads, teen readers book club (through our library), blogs... I use one blog a lot called Belle's Bookshelf. [I love that blog too! You guys should definitely check it out.]What makes you put down a book without finishing it?
Poor writing quality, idiotic characters (those characters that just ramble on and don’t shut up), a slow storyline (I had to put down War and Peace because it went so slow), too weird. I’ll only keep reading a book when I don’t enjoy it if a family member has given it to me.

What is your favourite book?
Can I pick like, 15? I guess it would have to be Make Way for Ducklings, because that was my favourite when I was younger. I love those little duckies!!

Does age of the MC matter to you?
Actually no. Most appealing to read would be middle grade, because honestly high schools in books do not match what my high school is like in the slightest.

What do you have to say about relationships in books? What kinds of relationships are your favourite, etc?

I’m... in one? Oh, in books! Haha... I don’t really care whether its friendship or romantic, but I don’t like it when the relationship between two characters takes away from the story. Is there a certain element of a book that would guarantee that you would read it?Something that will draw me to books is adventure. That’s why I like the Warriors, Percy Jackson and Iron Fey series. How long does it take you to read a book? How many books to you read in a week?On average, it takes me a day and a half to read a book considering I read during class all the time... in a week, on average three or four. I read incredibly fast! (Unfortunately then people don’t believe that I don’t absorb all the information... but I don’t scan the pages!) What makes you buy a book?
Either it’s part of a series I’ve already read, and the next book has come out OR it’s a book I’ve read before after borrowing from the library or a friend and I have to have it because I love it so much.

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Thank you so much, Emily! If any of you guys have any more questions for Emily, I'm sure she'll answer them. Or if you guys want to answer any of the questions in the comments, feel free! Oh and don't forget to check out her blog.

Interview with Cool Person Lali!

Today I am interviewing Lali, who was the second place winner of the draw I did awhile ago for my explore-a-teen's-brain contest thing. One of the second place prizes was either an interview or a guest post to be posted here on the blog, but I am excited to interview Lali anyway!

Lali is from Spain and she and I share lots of similarities (one of them being, of course, reading). She also likes to go to museums, hang out with her friends, and paint pictures. She also said that she bakes cakes and muffins like me, and suggests this website for some good recipes!

Lali also wanted me to encourage you to check out Steph Bowe's book, Girl Saves Boy as well as her blog, which you can find here. (I also love Steph Bowe's blog, though I have yet to read her book).
Now, on to the interview!

How old are you?

I'm 16 years old.

What are your favourite kinds of books to read?

I love all kinds of books, however now I'm very interested in philosophical books, like The Elegance of the Hedgehog and Sophie's World, I used to read novels about fantasy like Memorias de Idhun and one of my favourites books is Marina (carlos ruiz zafon the writer) and The Thirteenth Tale.

What makes you a hate a book? (bad writing, bad plot, annoying characters...?)

I'm very exigent with the books, however is just what you said that makes me hate a book.

Do you read any books that have originally been published in the U.S. or Canada?

Unfortunately in my country there aren't books or novels in English, if I read a book in English is because I borrow it from the library or cause my aunt buys it on Amazon, you know? I usually read tales and blogs in english, however I prefer books in Spanish if the writer is Spanish or in English just to improve my second language.

What is your favourite thing about living in Spain?

Well I think that the best thing of living in Spain is the temperature, always is sunny even in winter! However is cold too. The food, there are much kinds of menus and the fruit is very cheap. Other thing is that the party are so  popular, if you compare it to other countries. Other thing is that there are a lot of museums and old and pretty churches, it's an old country (it's in Europe hahaha) Finally I don't wanna to be vain, but I think that the people in Spain is nicer than in England for example, maybe it's because of the weather or something, but the most of the people is always happy.

What is your favourite place?

My favourite place is Madrid, My friend and I like the parks, for example The Retiro. And others parks of my village, we like the cinema, the pool, the shopping mall... many believe me!

What is one unique tradition your family has?

I don't know if it's unique, but my mother use to pray when we go on car.

Do you write? If so, what?

I used to write poetry, I won a local contest, and some tales but now I don't write anything except silly things for my friends, you know?

How did you get into painting? Have you ever illustrated anything?

And finally I paint since I was a child, I love painting since ever, but I've never illustrated anything, I would love to. If you write a book I can ilustrate it, ok¿? hahaha.

And I would like to share with you Lali's beautiful painting:

Isn't that amazing?? :) I hope you enjoyed the interview! And thank you so much, Lali!

Oh! And I've reached 50 followers. :O Thanks so much you guys!! :) You're awesome.

The Answers To Your Questions! Part 1

So a parachute has nothing to do with this post.
But it's pretty. So just enjoy it.
Source

So in case you didn't know, I asked for inquiries for teenagers from YA authors and writers. (The contest results are here if you entered). I received a whopping 11 questions! Sweet, thanks guys. Anyway, since I have about three (mostly two, since my brother's answers usually include one of three sentences) people answering each question, I am NOT going to include all the questions and answers in one post. Over the course of this week your questions will be answered, each post containing three or four questions. At the end of the week, I have a special post with some links that will hopefully help you get even further into the mind of your teenage audience.


Just remember when you're reading the answers that the views expressed are only the views of a few teens. Other teens might (probably) think differently. That being said, anyone else is free to answer the questions in the comments.


The answerers are Me (17), Friend (also 17) and sometimes Brother (15). (Although I can save you the trouble of reading my brother's answers right now. His answers are either I don't know, I don't care, or Whatever.)


On to the questions!


From Lynn:


Do you prefer edgy reads? (Edgy meaning dark, serious situations.)


Me: When I think about it, I don't usually read books like that. I am sure there are teens out there that find much comfort in books that deal with heavy issues, but I don't. I put down The Perks of Being A Wallflower because it was way too intense for me. However, sometimes I can stand those books. I once read this memoir of this woman who went through horrible, horrible stuff before giving her heart to the Lord. It was pretty amazing, and it dealt with some really tough issues.


Friend: To me, books with deep situations like that aren’t always the best books to read. Sometimes it is just too serious for me to take at that time. Usually I would put a book like that aside and read it a little bit at a time. Either that, or I would have an “edgy” read on the go, and have a fun read at the same time. A fun read meaning that it isn’t serious and just is funny and light. That way there is a mix of both edgy and light.


Bro: I don't know.


Does swearing (not overdone but enough to be realistic to a character) offend you?


Me: No, swearing does not offend me. My dad and I often have a discussion about how swears, really, are just words and it's how you use the word that makes it a swear. (But that is a long discussion that isn't really relevant). Anyway, sometimes a character swearing is quite effective. Although if I read a book with zero swears in it, I am never, ever thinking "the author could have added some swears", even if it was that kind of book.


Friend: I prefer that there is no swearing in a book. Especially the worse swears. “Small” swears like crap and such don’t bother me very much, because I find that all books seem to have those now. However, if I am looking at a book and it has too much swearing for me (even if too much to me means not that much to the author) I seriously consider not getting that book. I know that a lot of teenagers would have a different opinion on that though.


Bro: I don't know, no, it doesn't bug me.


From Kristin Bailey:


I want to know what teens think of authors who like to dress up for their own events in costumes, vampires, steampunk etc. Do you guys view it as fun, or silly?


Me: I have never been to an author event. I'm not quite sure what I would think of authors dressing up... it could be cool but it could also be really weird. I think it really depends on the author, and how well they can pull it off. Some people can pull off those kinds of things really well.


Friend: Hummm…. Kristin Bailey, you ask a great question. I have never gone to a book signing, or at least, not a book signing where I wanted to be there. (Having a family friend who is an author means going to their books signings, even if you really don’t want to.) I think that would be kinda cool to see though! That would show how in love with their books an author is, if they are willing to dress up goofily. One thing – I wouldn’t want it overdone. If it is overdone, I think it would just take away from the person themselves. Everybody would remember the costume, not necessarily what was said. [<--awesome point!] Those are my thoughts!

And that will be it for the day. Check back tomorrow for more answers to questions! And anyone else feel free to answer the questions.

Interview With Cool Person CORRINE JACKSON!

So it's time for another interview... this time with very-soon-to-be published author, Corrine Jackson! (Thank you so much for taking the time to do this, Corrine!)

Corrine Jackson (pronounced Cor-een) believes flip flops are appropriate footwear for any occasion, but concedes the need for boots since moving to San Francisco. She loves collecting degrees, including a BA and MA in English, and very soon, an MFA in Creative Writing. Her YA contemporary book, IF I LIE, will be published by Simon Pulse in September 2012. And TOUCHED, the first book in her paranormal romance trilogy will be published by Kensington in December 2012.

(I think she would also forget about flip-flops if she came and stayed where I live for the winter... flip-flops don't really go well with four-foot snowbanks and -40 degree Celsius.)

Anyway, you can find Corrine here at her website, here on Twitter, and here on Facebook.

Now, without further ado... lovely lady Corrine Jackson!

When and how did you first get into writing? When did you decide you wanted to do the work to be published?



I wrote my first short story in second or third grade. I wish I could tell you what age I was, but I haven’t a clue. I do have the original story, though. Oddly enough, it was about a girl whose best friend was being physically abused by her dad. That theme somehow made it into my first novel, so maybe everything comes full circle? Anyway, I wrote short stories throughout junior high and high school, and took creative writing classes in college. But I have to say, I didn’t get serious about publication until 2009 when I began writing TOUCHED and started to think there was a possibility that it could be picked up.


How did you come up with the ideas for your books?


That’s a hard one. My ideas don’t come in a single flash. I find myself getting ideas for what seems to be three different books, and then somehow they all meld into one book that becomes more complex than I originally thought. With TOUCHED, I thought what if this girl has this ability to heal people, but every healing took something from her? IF I LIE has a similar theme where a girl keeps a secret at great cost to herself. I like to explore how your character can be sharpened when you have to give up something that matters to you. I think choosing that kind of selflessness can be a point where you discover what you’re made of. I had a few moments like that as a teen, and I can see now how my decisions shaped who I’ve become.


Can you summarize your books in a sentence each?


TOUCHED – Remy O'Malley has the power to heal people with her touch, but her ability comes at a steep cost because every illness or injury she heals becomes her own.


IF I LIE – Seventeen-year-old Sophie Quinn becomes an outcast in her small military town when she chooses to keep a secret for her Marine boyfriend who has gone MIA in Afghanistan.


What is your weirdest writing routine or habit?


I don’t know if it’s weird, but I have to write at Starbucks. I need the white noise of the people around me in order to lose myself in the work. Whenever I try to write from home, I get distracted by shiny objects – particularly the TV. I’ve watched every episode of Family Guy on Netflix in the name of procrastination. Also, I keep a spreadsheet tallying my daily word count goals and the progress I’ve made. There are formulas and everything. I’m not proud, but it seems to work for me.

(I am adding a comment: if you knew how many spreadsheets my dad keeps for like... everything... then you probably would be proud! Haha. :) ).


What is something you experienced in your publishing journey that you think of as being unique to your experience?


Good question! Everyone’s journey is different. I can think of two moments that stand out. The first was finding out that my agent was going to make me an offer – on Twitter. The other was getting two book deals, almost exactly a month apart. Selling four books in a month doesn’t happen often, and I will be forever grateful to my agent, Laura Bradford, for working that miracle.


What is your favourite kind of cupcake?


Fleur de sel. *dies* They are dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache frosting, a caramel filling, and a sprinkling of sea salt. Excuse me while I wipe up the drool. If you ever find yourself in San Francisco, immediately go to Kara’s Cupcakes and have two. Whenever I have something to celebrate (like going a whole day without stubbing my toe or managing to avoid getting a parking ticket), I buy myself one. I also have a recipe on my blog, but be warned that they’re a lot of work to make.


I watched your first video blog and I was wondering... the embarassing moment that you talked about... did that really happen? (If you're wondering what I'm talking about, click the link and watch! It's really funny! The embarassing moment is #3.)


Sadly, yes. I actually did make that big of an idiot of myself. The editor I was speaking with kept talking and smoothed over the moment so that I didn’t start hyperventilating. Also, lucky for me, I was alone in my apartment when I made that call because I immediately turned a lovely Maybelline Color-Me-Red shade. Someday I’m going to ask that editor if they remember me saying that and if they just wanted to die laughing at me.


What are you looking forward to most about having your books published (besides actually having them published)?


I’m so excited for people to READ them. At which point, I will eavesdrop on what they are saying. It’s hard to describe what it’s like to hear people discuss the characters I created and debate the choices they make. So far, one of the books has a tendency to make people weep, and I LOVE that. Touching people’s emotions that deeply is a surreal experience. I mean, I know I cried into my coffee writing the scenes, but I’m attached to my characters as a writer. When a reader connects in a similar way, I feel this warm glow of accomplishment.
 
And that's all! I am so excited that Corrine agreed to take the time to do this interview, and I really hope you guys liked it. Also, I am ten times more psyched to read your books when they come out, Corrine! It is painful to think they come out a whole YEAR from now.

In other news.... my ask-the-teens project is still going on! So if you have any questions that you'd like to ask some teens about their reading habits... then go HERE to learn more! It also includes prizes you can win!!