these broken stars
Farewell, Book Two… and Hello Africa!
May 15, 2012
Today I head to Africa for two and a half weeks. There’s not much I can coherently say about this, because if I try to describe how excited I am I end up just running around in circles until I collide with the wall. Suffice it to say: I’m psyched.
A lot has been going on lately—so much so that I haven’t even had time to pay attention to the Africa trip. Prepping for BEA in June, where SKYLARK is one of five YA Buzz Books, has been awesome. I’ve been getting my first few out and out fan email for SKYLARK, which is even MORE nuts. Trying to set up guest posts and interviews and giveaways for the months leading up to SKYLARK’s release is entirely new territory for me. My spectacularly awesome writing partner, Amie Kaufman, and I, have finished our second round of revisions on THESE BROKEN STARS.
And sitting pretty at the top of the list, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done: finishing the sequel to SKYLARK. (Read more…)
On Tenses: When to Use Present, When to Use Past
Apr 20, 2012
Lately it seems like every other YA novel I pick up is first person present tense. Which, when done right, is awesome. Some of my favorite books are in present tense. But I keep seeing books written in present tense with no actual reason for it. I think THE HUNGER GAMES, among other books, made this particular style of narration jump in popularity lately. I’m seeing a ton of aspiring writers using it in books that I’m not quite sure warrant it. (Read more…)
Title Change for Wrecked, and GIVEAWAY!
Apr 02, 2012
WRECKED was one of those working titles that stuck. At first it was kind of a joke–one of our earliest readers often teased us about our book MASSIVE CRASH–but we came to really like the double meanings in it. Yes, it’s about a (space)shipwreck, but it also describes the processes that the characters go through, and how everything falls apart so easily.
But it’s also a very simplistic title, and doesn’t quite convey everything we’d like it to about the book. Yes, it’s a science fiction story, but it’s also a romance, and it’s also a survival tale, and it’s also a story about two people breaking out of the fates and lives pre-determined for them. So with a ton of brainstorming, and a lot of help from the brilliant folks over at Disney-Hyperion, WRECKED now has a brand spankin’ new title!
So without further ado, our new title is… (Read more…)