Lara Zielin

There is still room available at the Ann Arbor Writers’ Conference (held in conjunction with the Ann Arbor Book Festival) if you’re interested in attending!

It’s this Saturday, June 25, and there will be a wealth of talented experts on hand talking about everything from characters to poetry to query letters. One of them might be me, actually.

You can see the full conference schedule by clicking here.

If you want to just show up the day of, you can — they will be registering attendees on site. And if funding is an issue, they still have a few scholarships available for participants. Just email the director, Jeff Kaas, at: eyelev21 [at] aol [dot] com.

If you have other questions, just leave them in the comments and I’ll be sure to answer them!

Heidi Kling is here! Heidi is the author of the gorgeous, romantic, and totally captivating young-adult novel Sea. I was given an advance reader’s copy of Sea and once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. Here’s the synopsis  and review from Booklist:

“I’m sitting alone on the other side of the world talking to a sea turtle that might be my mom.” So begins Kling’s debut novel, the story of 15-year-old Sienna (Sea to her friends), who lost her mother three years earlier when her plane disappeared over the Indian Ocean. Her body was never found, and Sienna secretly believes she could still be alive. Joining her father’s psychiatric team helping child victims of the 2004 tsunami, she spends two weeks in an Indonesian refugee camp where she meets the gorgeous and enigmatic Deni, with whom she has an instant connection and a bittersweet romance. Kling blends facts about Indonesian culture and the wake of the tsunami with a lyrical story of loss and daring to love again. The evocative cover art (a couple silhouetted against watery blue tiles) and exotic locale will attract readers, although the cultural details sometimes lack elegant exposition. Sienna’s loss, newfound courage and eventual acceptance of the changes in her life ring true in the satisfying and wholly believable first-person narrative.

Heidi generously stopped by Larawrites to answer a couple questions about her novel. If you’d like to read said amazing book, I’m  giving away my copy of Sea to one lucky commenter!

And now, without further ado, here’s my short but sweet Q&A with Heidi!

Larawrites: Your fictional tale is based in a very real tragedy, the 2004 tsunami. Did you yourself do relief work overseas and is that how you came to understand the tragedy so closely?

Heidi Kling: I didn’t. My husband did. I wrote a long article about it for Spellbinders, a literary magazine for teachers, librarians, and parents, check it out here:

http://spellbindersbooknews.blogspot.com/2010/11/great-november-issue-and-book-giveaway.html

Larawrites: [*Inches closer, gets up in Heidi's business*] Sea experiences an intense reaction to a boy (Deni) at first sight. Did you write this from personal experience at all?

Heidi Kling: Of course. Am I going to share? No way.

Larawrites: [*backs off reluctantly*] Fair enough. But because I have to ask: If Sea were any kind of donut, which kind would she be and why?

Heidi Kling: I think Sienna would be a powdered donut. She’s sweet, but not too sweet. Pretty but not overly made up. Deni would be a glazed. Delicious, so-soft inside and out. Spider would be rainbow sprinkles because you just want to dig in and don’t mind the sprinkles falling all over you. Because you wanted to know about the boys too, right?

Larawrites: Totally! I totally did!

Heidi Kling: Thanks for hosting this, Lara!

Larawrites: Thank you, awesome author Heidi Kling, for stopping by. And readers, don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win Sea!

Lauren Bjorkman, all-around fabulous woman and author of MY INVENTED LIFE, is hosting a mega contest on her blog. And by mega, I mean it’s mega. Up for grabs are not one but two $25 gift certificates, and signed books by a slew of authors including Sarah Ockler, Saundra Mitchell, Sarah Quigley, Jon Skoveon, and yes, yours truly. There’s tons of other stuff as well. It’s really epic, I’m telling you.

To win, all you have to do is comment on Lauren’s post, and there are even ways you can enter multiple times. Contest ends October 15.

If you love YA, you will love this contest. Good luck!

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: One of the highlights of my weekend was watching Sharktopus on the SyFy Channel last night. When they re-air it, and you know they will, I can’t recommend its campy goodness enough. To convince, you, here is the trailer.

Other than watch Sharktopus, the other awesome thing I did this weekend was take part in a young-adult writing panel at 826 Michigan. I always enjoy meeting other writers, and our room was filled with people who wanted to learn more about the publishing process. I also loved (did I say loved? I meant LOOOVED!) my fellow panelists.

I clicked like a pair of ruby-red slippers with Margo Rabb, (pictured left), whose books, I confess, I’ve never read. But all that’s about to change because Margo is smart, funny, and has a writing pedigree longer than some countries’ constitutions. Her YA novel, Cures for Heartbreak, looks especially fab.

I also have an official girl crush on Kathe Koja, (pictured right), who has a number of YA novels out including Headlong, Stray Dog, Kissing the Bee, Buddha Boy, and Going Under. Holy resume, Batman! And that doesn’t even begin to cover her historical fiction work, coming out next month, which she’s adapted for the stage and which will be opening in about a year in Detroit.

Um, hello. Can we just take a moment to digest that? Girlfriend adapted her play for the stage and it’s actually going to be a show! Aaaa! How awesome is that? I don’t know any writers, frankly, who have done that, and it amazes me.

Which brings me to my point. I love meeting other writers and getting inspired by them. Published or no, writers are the coolest people on the face of the planet. At least to me. Every writer out there is engaged in a project that is totally, completely, uniquely them. No one else could do Kathe’s historical fiction book/play, anymore than someone else could write Donut Days. And I think that’s the coolest thing ever.

Has anyone been to an awesome conference lately and has had a great networking or ah-ha moment? If so, tell us about it in the comments!

WE HAVE A WINNER! Congratulations Liz, you’re the lucky winner of Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood (now in softcover!).

Yay!

But really, you are ALL winners because here is Lauren’s second video on how to be popular! “Saying it With Style” never sounded so … well, just watch for yourself.

Have you guys heard of Lauren Wood?

Lauren knows what it takes to be popular. You could call her ruthless when it comes to the subject, but the thing is, she’s just so pretty. When you’re that beautiful, nothing’s really your fault, right?

We can all learn a lot from Lauren. And in fact, Lauren knows this. So she’s created a series of videos to help us all. Here is the first one. If you watch it, let me know, because I’m giving away a copy of the book in which Lauren is featured called Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood. Now out in paperback! (You can leave a comment or Tweet about the vid to let me know you’ve seen it and to be eligible for the prize.)

Also, for the record, the author of Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is awesome. Her name is Eileen Cook.

I sort of love her. But not in a stalkery way. Just in a “oh, I totally watched though your window while you ate that bowl of cereal” kind of way. You know, totally normal.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: Admittedly, it’s a shameless link to Destination Truth, my fave show, which comes back for a new season tomorrow. Oh, did I mention the host, Josh Gates, is super geeky? Okay, and super cute. Fine, super really cute. But that has nothing to do with why I watch. *coughs*

I love it when I find myself on a roll reading really good books.

I’m on that roll right now!

I have to tell you guys about Mandy Hubbard’s new book, YOU WISH. I read it in one sitting and it’s one of the most funny, engaging, full-of-heart books I’ve picked up in a while. When she turns sixteen, the main character, Kayla, finds that every birthday wish she’s ever made is suddenly coming true — and this is bad news because the year previous, she wished she would kiss a boy who is now dating her best friend.

In the midst of this delightful premise, Kayla is also wrestling with family issues, school issues, and friendship issues. These challenges probably would have been enough to carry the book alone. But throw in the wishes all coming true, and it’s like the frosting on a super fabulous cake. I love Mandy, who also wrote PRADA AND PREJUDICE, which I confess I haven’t read but you can bet it’s next on my list.

That is, right after I get done with the HUNGER GAMES series. I just blasted through the first book and, like everyone else on the face of the planet, I’m hooked.

Three cheers for awesome books!!

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: I suppose I was the only one until recently who hadn’t seen the crazy viral double rainbow vid, but have you see the double rainbow remix? I have. Thanks to Lauren!

I love Goodreads. Every time I read a book, I’m excited to list it on my shelf and see what other people are saying about it. And, yeah, it’s true — I like to see what people are saying about DONUT DAYS too.

For a while there, I was starring and reviewing everything I’d read. And then I started to think about my reviews not as a reader, but as a writer. If I were the author of said book and I read my review, how would I feel? If I were the author of said book and I saw it had been given three stars out of five, what would I think? (And let me tell you, when I see three-star reviews of DONUT DAYS, my heart does sink a little. I know it’s not supposed to. Thick skin and all that. But it does. Because I want so much for everyone to love it.)

Anyway. As a writer, I really can’t be a reviewer. The biggest factor in this is because I now understand that even the worst of books still represent loads of hard work by the author. And if it was in their heart to get it that far, to a place where I actually held it in my hands, I can’t front on that. I can throw Twilight across the room, but I can’t diss Meyer for putting words to what was in her imagination. (Or what was in her bedroom, watching her sleep. *shudders*)

Also, the writing community is small. About the time I go around saying I couldn’t stand a certain book, I’m going to  meet that writer at a conference and have to shake their hand and want the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

So, these days I mark the book as read, and I leave it at that. I do sort of miss putting my opinion out there, but as a published author, my job duties have changed. It’s no longer my role to critique as a reader and say what’s good. It’s now my responsibility to champion books and authors writ large — because as a whole they’re awesome — and cheerlead everything on the shelves.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: This “documentary” about Saved by the Bell’s Rod Belding. I watched it in its entirety, twice, because I loved it so.

After breezing through THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and really enjoying it, I was excited to pick up THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE.

But only a few pages in, something wasn’t sitting right with me. I put the book down and tried explaining my discontent to Rob. But all I could vent about was the fact that the author had given the heroine, Lisbeth Salander, a boob job.

Then I read Entertainment Weekly columnist Missy Schwartz’s take on the novel in the June 25 issue, and a lightbulb went off. Larsson (the author), she says, was supposed to be a feminist, but Schwartz herself has a “hard time reconciling  his ostensibly feminist agenda with all the male fantasy coursing through the books.” I concur! The protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, is a turn-on for every woman on every page. Puke. Whatever. And even though Schwartz doesn’t say this, I took issue with how every woman in the books was portrayed as not only hot and heavy for Blomkvist, but also as having some kind of alternative sex life. From multiple partners to  promiscuity to playing for both teams, no woman was ever just content being in a single, satisfying relationship.

Oh, wait. Maybe one was. But she was murdered.

What’s more, the violence committed against women in the books is atrocious. Schwartz says that while you can argue that’s the point — “bring it out into the open, try to prevent it from happening again” — she’s unsettled by exploiting it for storytelling purposes. Yes again. I concur.

But the point I really got behind was Schwartz’s take on Larsson’s treatment of Lisbeth herself. She gets a boob job and we’re told the quality of her life improves. She never “accepts her imperfections.” And therein lies the rub. We are none of us perfect. Unfortunately, like Heidi Montag, Lisbeth winds up thinking that altering her imperfections will bring her satisfaction.

But that’s just not true. And as a result, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE is laying on my floor, half read, and I’ll never finish it.

While the Nerds Heart YA competition is still going strong, I’m sorry to say that DONUT DAYS was knocked out of the second round by the novel IN MIKE WE TRUST. Which, actually sounds like a wonderful book and, in the Nerds Heart YA spirit of encouraging people to read underrepresented books, I suggest we all go out and buy it. (And many thanks to the wonderful Book Nut, Melissa, who took the time to read both novels!).

Go IN MIKE WE TRUST! I hope you win the whole thing. And that the prize is a pony.

Anyway, this all means that my little Nerds Heart YA contest is now officially closed, and we have a winner. Congratulations to Michelle M. who has won a signed copy of DONUT DAYS and a $15 Barnes and Noble gift card! Hooray and huzzah! I’ll email you to get the deets about where to send.

And thanks, everyone, for playing and supporting books! Yay!