It's not Friday?!?! And authors band to help small town destroyed by tornado

Why did I think it was Friday? sigh.

It's not, it's Thursday.

But you probably knew that.

Anyway, I wanted to share a link.

The fabulous Julia Karr (XVI) set up an Authors for Henryville auction to benefit the small town, destroyed by a tornado recently.

A bunch of us authors got together to donate signed books and swag, etc. So go check it out and bid on some stuff if you're interested.

Here are a couple photos to give you an idea of the devastation this tornado caused.

Author copies, Christmas, and good bfs

Totally unrelated things I know.

First off, I want to say that I received a box of author copies in the mail a couple days ago.  And SQUEEEEEEE!!!!  They are so beautiful.  The cover is metallic and everything seems to pop off of it.

I was asked by my co-prezzie of the Class of 2k12, Caroline Starr Rose if I would read it again now that it was in realsies book form.

I think I just might read it again, this book I've read a bazillion times and got so sick of I wanted to toss it from the Narrows Bridge.  It's kind of different with it's metallic blue cover and it's dedication and acknowledgments, and playlist in the back.  It's a bit surreal to look at it and know it's mine.  I created it.  The title stands out more on the metallic cover than it did on the other, and the car pops off the page.  If I were walking through a bookstore, I would pick it up for sure.  And on the back where the description starts the words I had the dream again are the same as the title, same font, each letter a different color.  I am so in love with this book, more than I've been in a long time.  So yeah, I may read it again.


Now that I've written all that, I can't remember what I was going to say about Christmas. hmmmm.  I'll get back to that when (if) I remember.


To good boyfriends.  I told you the other day, this is a stressful time of year for me, not just because of the holidays but for other reasons.  The other day I was panicking because there were presents to wrap,  Christmas cards to create and send, and gift baskets to make (57 to be exact), and baking to be done, and my house was a mess, and 18 videos and dvds to make and, and, and...

this is not my bf but you get the picture

...and I have a boyfriend who tells me to breathe.  A boyfriend who comes over and folds my laundry, and does my dishes, and vacuums my floors, and makes me dinner while I make videos.  He does allow this poor pathetic girl to breathe.  And I feel much better.  My videos are close to being done, I did some of my baking yesterday, gift baskets, done (just need to be delivered which is fun), my house is clean (outside my office which I just may clean today), I've printed out my Christmas cards, most important, I still have presents to wrap, baking to do, a few more videos to Lightscribe, but I'm also still breathing.


Now about Christmas.  Still don't remember, but I do love waking up to the Christmas lights, to hell with the light bill.

Oh, yeah, and catch me on Julia Karr's 2k12 Days of Christmas today.


Happy Thursday all.  Hope it's a great day.

Tooting the Horn Tuesday: Interview with Julia Karr

 I had the pleasure of interviewing Julia Karr, author of XVI and member of The Class of 2k11.  First, for those of you who haven't read it, here's what it's about.

"In the year 2150, being a girl isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when your sixteenth (read sex-teenth) birthday is fast approaching. That in itself would be enough to make anyone more than a little nuts, what with the tattoo and all – but Nina Oberon’s life has taken a definite turn for the worse. Her mother is brutally stabbed and left for dead. Before dying, she entrusts a secret book to Nina, telling her to deliver it to Nina's father. But, first Nina has to find him; since for fifteen years he's been officially dead. Complications arise when she rescues Sal, a mysterious, and ultra hot guy. He seems to like Nina, but also seems to know more about her father than he’s letting on. Then there’s that murderous ex-government agent who’s stalking her, and just happens to be her little sister’s dad."

Here's our intereview:

Dystopian novels are really hot right now.  Was it the market that inspired you to write dystopian, or did you have other reasons?

When I wrote XVI (in 2005), dystopian was not hot. (The Hunger Games came out in 2008.) XVI evolved into dystopia as I was writing it. 

Do you write in other genres as well?

I have books I am working on in other genres, namely, Contemporary, Mystery, Fantasy, and Historical Fiction. Whew! That sounds like a lot of writing. I'd better get on it! :)

What writers influence or inspire you?

I get inspired by pretty much every good book I read! As far as influence - I didn't read any dystopian fiction as I writing XVI and the sequel, because I didn't want to be influenced by another writer's style. 

With the way society is influenced by media, do you see the world in XVI as a foreseeable future?

I sure do. I honestly think if people don't wake up and see what's happening in the way young women and girls are portrayed in media, that women will have a hard time ever truly reaching "equal rights." As if the photo spread in the January issue of French Vogue wasn't enough to creep me out (http://live.drjays.com/index.php/2011/01/06/has-french-vogue-taken-child-models-too-far/) - just today I read an article about padded bikini bras for 8-yr-olds! Gah! What is wrong with people? Anyway… yes - unfortunately I do see a version of XVI as a possible future.

Of the characters in the novel, which one do you relate most to and why?

 Probably Nina, because I spent so much time with her!

Have you known people like Nina’s horrible step father in real life?  If so, how did you deal with that?

I have never known anybody that disgusting in real life - thank heavens. If I had, they would be in jail now! I have peripherally known some people who were overbearing jerks - and borderline abusive - but not anyone with Ed's sicko bent.

Was there any time in writing the book that Derek was going to be Nina’s love interest?

Nope. He wanted to be, but that was not going to happen - ever.

What’s the one book you wish you would have written?

Dickens' A Christmas Carol

What book are you currently reading?

What Can't Wait by Ashley Hope Perez

Are you planning a sequel?  If not, what are you working on?

Yes. I'm working on the sequel. The title is TRUTH.

Thanks so much for interviewing me!

About Julia Karr:

Julia Karr was born in Indiana, and moved to Chicago when she was fifteen. After the initial culture shock of going from quiet, small town living to Carl Sandburg’s, “stormy, husky, brawling,” metropolis, she fell madly in love with the city. Her schooling in the art of writing came from reading, voraciously. While students were being forced to read the classics, Julia was busy going on author binges. As a young mother, reading books to, and eventually with, her daughters, she fell head-over-heels for children’s literature. Not a far stretch for someone who has loved reading since the age of three. While still working a nine-to-five job, after hours Julia can be found at home, sitting on the couch tapping out stories on her laptop, with one of several cats draped behind her and her dogs sleeping nearby.

F³A: Stupid snow and writerly things.

Thing Three (my niece) and Thing One

So, it snowed here the last couple days.  Lots.  Annoying thing is that they didn't cancel school.  I almost got into three accidents yesterday getting my kids to school and then to work.  And it's because people think they can just drive like regular when it's snowy and icy out.  And they're in a hurry.  And their time is more important than anyone else's.  And they're dumb.  So, since they didn't cancel school again today, I did it for them.  I'm sorry, I'm not going to drive on a grid of ice sheets risking life and limb to get my kids to school.  And I'm skipping work today too.  Meh.  Nothing to do today that can't be done Monday.

Okay, enough about that.

My editor got my first pass pages yesterday, and so hopefully they're on their way to me.  I'm psyched!!  If you don't know what first pass pages, it is basically the pages of your book, in the form they will look when they're finally in book form, fonts, etc.  I decided to grab some random pages off of the internet to show you and it just so happens one of the first pics to pop up was Tess Hilmo's, With a Name Like Love.  Tess and I were 2k11ers together, so hopefully she won't mind me using hers.

This is what first pass pages look like.

This is a very important stage of the process because it is basically the last time you can make edits.  So I will be going over these pages with a fine tooth comb to make sure every word is correct, every period in its place.

Also going over my option book with my agent.  I've been working on three novels, Withered, Taking Zoey, and Sad.  I think we're going to go with Sad.  She didn't really like Taking Zoey, and I've got more on Sad than Withered.  She liked Withered also, so after Sad, and my dystopian, and maybe an edit on a superhero series I've written, I'll probably finish that one.

I suppose that's it for today.  Except for the Friday Weekly stuff.

Random iPod shuffle song: The Underdog by Spoon

Book of the Week: XVI by Julia Karr.  I'm about half way through and really enjoying it.

Movie of the Week: The Housebunny.  My daughter has watched it every night this week.  She's insane.  It is funny though.

Quote of the Week: "A lot of people like snow.  I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water."  ~Carl Reiner

F³A: I'm sure I had something to write about.

But I forgot.  I really need to write these things down.

I will say that things are starting to happen at the Class of 2k12.  I'm not at liberty to say, it's very covert, but I know 2012 will be epic (no the work epic is not a hint, you're just going to have to wait)

If you're an author with a YA or MG debut coming out next year, and want to work with a great group of writers using synergy to cross promote, get in touch with me, or the beautiful Caroline Starr Rose.


On the writing front, I'm over 6.5K into my novel Sad, and it's really coming together.  I'm loving Sydney's voice and I'm really connecting with her.  Tiny blurb:

"We wrapped around each other and  just lay there breathing, and I felt the kind of peace you usually only find while watching a baby sleep, or when you look up into the night sky imagining yourself among the stars."

Hmmm . . . what else?  Oh, yes.  All you Twilight fans can envy me this weekend as I travel to the town of Forks to visit all things Twilighty.  Hopefully I'll run into a vampire or two (have I mentioned my love for vampires, if not the Twilighty ones,  the Interviewy, Underworldly unsparkly ones).    

That's all for the Friday Free For All, except of course for this:

Random song from my iPod: The Killers, All These Things That I've Done

Book of the Week: XVI by Julia Karr

Movie of the Week: Eh, let's throw Eclipse out there in honor of my trip to Forks

Quote of the Week: "My mom is a vampire.  She is Vampire Mom." ~ Mary and Rachel Bostic