Friday Feedback, Oh So Lickably Good

This is me. I am not licking anything.

Er.

Pay me no attention. I'm just a little excited about my guest blogger today, the lickably awesome Carrie Harris, author of Bad Taste in Boys!

What?

Silly people! I call her lickable because for a long, long time now I've been wanting to lick her cover.

Wait. That still sounded wrong. Here, I'll show you. Really. It's not nearly as bad as it sounds. (and, why, yes, I did try to start this post with a stock photo of a licking tongue, and NO you do not want to know the kind of images that show up if you happen to Google for photos of licking tongues. So, um, yeah, just trust me on this).

So, here is the adorable Carrie:

Don't let her fool you. She morphs into some
sort of Ninja Zombie.

and this,

THIS is the incredibly lickable cover of BAD TASTE IN BOYS:

Oh. My. God. See what I mean? Give me a second. . . no, no, I am not doing that, whatever you think I am doing. Okay, fine, maybe I am. But I'm done now, so carry on.

Anyway, for months now, this licking joke has been going on and I decided as *gift* to Carrie -- because you can just imagine how much she's going to love this -- I would do an homage to her cover. Of course, it's late, and I have like a thousand important things to do tonight, not to mention I haven't showered today, nor put on makeup, or brushed my hair. Oh, and as it turns out, I only had orange dot sprinkles in the house. All of which should have stopped me.

But, didn't.

Trust me, those are all bright orange, and, yes, I am a total idiot.

You're welcome.

Anyway, here's the description of Bad Taste in Boys from Carrie's website:

Someone’s been a very bad zombie. Super-smartie Kate Grable gets to play doctor, helping out her high school football team. Not only will the experience look good on her college apps, she gets to be this close to her quarterback crush, Aaron. Then something disturbing happens. Kate finds out that the coach has given the team steroids. Except . . . the vials she finds don’t exactly contain steroids. Whatever’s in them is turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless, flesh-eating . . . zombies. Unless she finds an antidote, no one is safe. Not Aaron, not Kate’s brother, not her best friend . . . not even Kate . . . It’s scary. It’s twisted. It’s sick. It’s high school.

There. I hear it's great. You know you want to read it in July.

But, of course, that's not why Carrie is here today. SHE'S IN THE ZOMBIE HOTSEAT FOR SOME FEEDBACK! It's from her sequel, Bad Hair Day, already sold to Delacorte! So, say what you will because sticks and stones can't hurt her. Plus, she's a zombie, so even if they could, they couldn't (can you tell I know nothing about zombies?) Also, there's licking in it, so I am a happy camper.

Anyway, you know the rules:

1. Since it's the opening of a book, tell us if it "hooks" you or not. Enough to make you want to keep reading? If yes, why? If no, why not?

2. What else works for you, draws you into the piece, and why?

3. What doesn’t work for you (if something doesn't) and why?

If you want the same feedback, please post your brief excerpt at the end of your comment (and tell us what it is -- e.g. opening to a novel, short story, poem, etc...). Please post no more than 3 paragraphs. If there's more, we may not read it. If you are a student from a particular class, please identify yourself as such because we like to throw smooches and such.

So, without further ado, up for your feedback, the opening of Bad Hair Day by Carrie Harris:

Bad Hair Day.


“Braaaaains!”


Trey Black lurched up and down the bus loop outside our school, moaning about cranial anatomy. As if I wasn’t annoyed enough already. Our bus was fourteen-and-a-half minutes late. The Future Doctors of America program would be starting without me; watching our future salutatorian act like a complete dipwad only added insult to injury. The students selected for the FDA program were supposed to be the best. Apparently, our school administrators defined “best” as “guy who puts backpack on his head and pretends to be a zombie.”

He staggered over and accidentally grabbed my breasts, one in each hand. And when I say accidentally, I really mean on purpose. I wasn’t sure if he had a see through backpack or an unerring sense of breastal positioning, but either way, it was going to get him into trouble. Like now.

I knocked his hands off my chest, grabbed him by the strap, and yanked him close enough to talk right in his ear. Or right in his backpack, anyway.

“Listen up, dorkwad,” I said in the pleasantest voice possible, which wasn’t very pleasant at all. “I don’t have the time or masochistic tendencies necessary to deal with you. So how about you keep out of my way, and I’ll pay you the same courtesy?”

He ripped the bag off and sneered, which only served to make him more unattractive. Don’t get me wrong; Trey was one of those guys with tousled blond hair and surfer boy good looks. The girls at our school constantly threw themselves at him. I didn’t find him even remotely attractive. Frankly, his infantile tendencies made me want to grab his head and yank really hard in an effort to dislodge it from his backside. No amount of prettiness could compensate for that.

Picking on me was one of his favorite ways to pass the time. On the first day of freshman year, he took one look at my stylicious braid and granny glasses and decided I’d be an easy target. Back then he was right, but now things had changed. He just hadn’t realized it; he was studying in France for a semester when I stopped the zombocalypse.

He leaned toward me, getting right up in my face. I expected one of his stereotypical insults, but he licked me instead. A long, slow lick that started at my jaw line and went flat-tongued all the way up to my hair. I had never been a violent person, but there is only so much random licking a girl can take.

----

- gae

p.s. seriously you guys, that little guy down there *points to last Friday's blog post* is still juggling. Somebody get him some food or a glass of water.

Friday Feedback is Such a Soap Opera. . .

or, you know, if you're author Bettina Restrepo, a telenovela.

(which just means soap opera in Spanish).

And she's here today with just that: a sneak peek of her work in progress, Telenovela.

But first, a brief word from our sponsor:

Here I am, upside down,
after an up and down week.

Er.

That would be me.

Word.

Ok, fine, more words: in honor of the countdown to the release of her debut YA Illegal (Katherine Tegen Books March 8, 2011), Bettina is hosting a giveaway on her website. Further instructions to enter and win a signed copy of Illegal at the bottom of this post!


Oh, and fyi, this is Bettina 

ask her if she really types
her books on this thing.

and this is Nora's story, Illegal:




About Illegal (from Amazon):

A promise.
QuinceaÑera.
A promise that we would be together on my fifteenth birthday . . .

Instead, Nora is on a desperate journey far away from home. When her father leaves their beloved Mexico in search of work, Nora stays behind. She fights to make sense of her loss while living in poverty—waiting for her father's return and a better day. When the letters and money stop coming, Nora decides that she and her mother must look for him in Texas. After a frightening experience crossing the border, the two are all alone in a strange place. Now, Nora must find the strength to survive while aching for small comforts: friends, a new school, and her precious quinceaÑera.

Bettina Restrepo's gripping, deeply hopeful debut novel captures the challenges of one girl's unique yet universal immigrant experience.

Doesnt that sound beautiful and intense? But of course Bettina's not here for that today. She's here to put her new work up for some feedback, and to offer some in return if you'd like. You know the rules:

1. If it's the first few paragraphs of a novel – today it IS – tell me if it "hooks" you enough to make you want to keep reading, or not. If yes, why? If no, why not?

2. What works for you, draws you into the piece, and why?

3. What doesn’t work for you (if something doesn't) and why?

If you want the same feedback, please post your brief excerpt at the end of your comment (and tell us what it is -- e.g. opening to a novel, short story, poem, etc...). Please post no more than 3 paragraphs. If there's more, we may not read it. If you are a student from a particular class, please identify yourself as such because we like to know.

Telenovela

Bogota, Colombia


“I wish this was all different,” I said to myself.

I stuck my face against the pane of glass and stared down 7th street toward the tall building with shiny glass. Buses screeched to a stop as bicyclists darted in and out of traffic, risking life and limb.

At 5 o’clock, the phone rang, as usual. “Mercedes how are you?” asked my mother in her automatic, check on your daughter to see if she if she’s doing her homework, kind of way.

I watched the taxis stampede like buffalos around the corner, jockeying for position at the next light. “I’m fine,” I said, pushing my math book aside and not really feeling fine at all.

Trucks pushed themselves into the small parking lot at Olympicia, trying to get their grocery store deliveries off quickly before Bogota rush hour brought everything to a complete halt.

Mother sounded like she was typing at the computer. “I’m working late this evening.”

“Again? Is it work or him?” I said, trying not to roll my eyes.

I heard her huff into the phone. “Valentino called me. He’s showing the big apartment overlooking the park. If he sells that apartment it would mean a huge commission for all of us. I need to put down the deposit for you at school next year.”

I looked around our fancy apartment. Beautiful antiques, a stunning view of Carrera 7 and the lovely view of the distant mountains. None of it reflected the zero balance at the bank. As far as I knew, we were mostly broke.

“Maybe you could ask Andreś to pay my tuition? That’s his job,” I said sullenly.

She paused. I could tell my comments made her angry. “You are my job. If he wants to give a little gift, fine, but I’m not asking him for anything.”

Andreś was the constant ‘he’ in our apartment. He was my father. He was married to someone else. He was who my mother loved. As far as I was concerned, he was just a sperm donor.

Then, I heard a stapler. “How was school today?” she asked. Again, I could hear things shifting on her desk. The subject of ‘he’ closed.

“Good,” I said, trying to change up my adjectives. My life existed around poised white lies. It’s not like I could explain how my loneliness grew when she was busy trying to get the attention of a man who didn’t love either one of us.

I didn’t have friends either, unless you consider Maruja, our maid. I longed for someone my own age who wouldn’t consider me poisonous. “I’ll tell Maruja to save dinner tonight for you.”

I exhaled and said the words she wanted to hear. “Really, it’s okay. Everything is fine.”

My mother chirped, “I promise not to be so late. Ciou!”

What if one day I wouldn’t say it? How long would she wait?

Maruja, stuck her head into the room. “Let me guess, your mother and uncle are running late.”

I nodded. I bet mother would sit in her office all night waiting for my father to call.
----

(How to enter to win a signed copy of Illegal: Because Illegal deals with the issue of illegal immigrants, Bettina is interested in knowing whether this is an issue where you live: Does your area of the country have issues with illegal immigrants? Answer in your comment, along with your name and city and state to be elligible to win one of five signed copies of Illegal, winner to be announced on Bettina's website on or about April 1, 2011. Please visit her website for more details. And good luck!).

Sweet 16?

Hey, all,

I am honored to have fellow 2K11’er, Julia Karr, celebrating a week of her “16” tour on my blog.

Her debut YA novel, XVI, will be released on January 6, 2011. She’s the first 2K11’er to launch, so we like to call her our guinea pig!

Publishers Weekly says of XVI, "Gender politics and sexual awareness play prominent roles in Karr's thought-provoking dystopian debut."

And, btw, by commenting on this post, you will be automatically entered in a drawing to win an ARC of the book (as detailed below).







So, this is Julia. Yep, she's totally lovely. :)

And this is XVI:

(Great cover, no? Ahem.)

So, I’ve just started reading it, and all the 16-stuff has me thinking about when I turned 16, just like the main character Nina in XVI is about to do, with pretty chilling consequences.


For me 16 wasn't chilling, but it was a year full of highs and lows, and definitely a time that felt “on the brink” of things. And whatever you do, do not ask me about my sweet sixteen party, or worse, ask my parents. I still tear up at the thought of my teddy bear cake the boys sculpted boobs onto. But anyway, I digress.

One of the things I'm finding most intriguing about XVI so far, is that the book, set in the year 2150, is full of acronyms, and I thought I’d ask Julia about some of those here. So I did, and she answered. Consider it a lucky sneak peek at the very cool future world she creates in the story:

Okay, Julia, here we go:

PAVs - Pretty much everyone in XVI has a PAV. What is a PAV and how does it work?

Hi Gae! Thanks so much for having me! Now... on to the answers. A PAV is a Personal Audio Video. It works a lot like a cell phone, except it has 2 parts. A tiny, undetectable earpiece that operates anywhere (except in a dead zone - pretty much like now) and doesn’t have to have its receiver nearby. The receiver, however, is a whole lot more like a smart phone. It does everything from read text chips to projecting things like a keyboard or news alerts onto any surface - like a desk or a wall. People in XVI are pretty much always wired!


FeLS - Nina's friend, Sandy, wants to be chosen for FeLS. What is it? Why does she want to be chosen?

FeLS is the Federal Liaison Specialist program. It’s pretty much the only way out of low tier status for girls. A FeLS is a sixteen year old girl who has remained a virgin, is dedicated to leaving her family and friends for 2 years (with no contact) and is sent to various countries to interact with their government heads and dignitaries. But - it may not be exactly as it seems...

B.O.S.S. - That sounds intimidating (er, or is that just me?). What does it stand for?

Ah, B.O.S.S. the feared Bureau of Safety and Security. Of course, the only people who are scared of B.O.S.S. are people who understand exactly how sinister it is. Most citizens just feel like B.O.S.S. keeps them safe.

A.S.P. - What is A.S.P? Does it slither and bite?

A.S.P. is the Audio Surveillance Police. Oh, they can have a fierce bite if they pick up anti-government chatter!

HAL - And, last but not least, who on Earth is HAL?

Good old HAL. He’s the Hall Access Limiter. A robotic hall monitor. All school monitor bots are HAL. And, they are always right there when you least want them to be, checking hall passes, taking students to the principal’s office - yup - good old HAL.

***

Me: Sounds pretty interesting, yes!?

At any rate, Julia's got a mere five weeks before the release of XVI!
You heard me: FIVE weeks!

Julia, how are you hanging in there?


J: Wow! Only five weeks to go! Sheesh! It seemed so far away and now it seems so close! Next Friday morning (1 week), Random Number Generator will choose the lucky winner of a pre-order of XVI! And, all commenters will be entered in the Grand Prize drawing! Teasers of the Grand Prize will start to show up on my blog this week. (Click on the word blog to go to Julia's blog).


Gae, thanks so much for having me on the 16 Weeks to XVI tour. It’s been great fun! And, I can hardly wait for your book, The Pull of Gravity! (Spring is too far away! I want to read it now!)

(Julia, seriously, it was MY pleasure).


- gae

Feeling Like the Real Deal

IT TOOK ME NEARLY TEN YEARS from the day I decided to really write a novel to the day I got a book deal, the book deal not being for the novel I initially wrote, OR the one after that, but for my Young Adult novel, The Pull of Gravity, I started (and finished) in between.

Maybe the length (and intensity) of the journey, and the fact that I still have eleven months before the book comes out, both make the fact of my book deal still feel unreal.

Which is why it is nice, along the way, to have those moments where I say, "okay, yes, this is really happening... finally."

Of course, the first was sitting in my editor, the legendary and wonderful Frances Foster's, small office in the flatiron building surrounded by "her" books, notably the fantastic Holes (!) by Louis Sachar and so many gorgeous and amazing picture books by Peter Sis.

Another, of course, was receiving a check in the mail from Macmillan (the umbrella publisher that my imprint, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, is under).

Another recent one was receiving some questions from copyediting about some of the smaller details in my book.

And, today, a new milestone, my author website is up, coordinated with the new look of my blog, all done by the really wonderful and amazing Kitty Meade of Ink2Art http://ink2art.com/.

So, one step at a time, I'm becoming the real deal. Whatever the real deal is.