Novel Novice

While brainstorming goodies for our March Book of the Month The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg, I was dismayed to discover that it did NOT have a book trailer!

WHAT?!?!

This awesome, fun, adorbs book didn’t have a trailer? For shame!

So I took it upon myself to make one … I’m by no means a pro at making book trailers, but I think this gets the message across:

(The music, if you’re wondering, is Good Charlotte’s “I Don’t Wanna Be in Love (Dance Floor Anthem)” … I know a Beatles tune probably would have been more appropriate, but I really wanted something a bit more rock-y.)

We try to be really positive here at Novel Novice, but I recently visited a couple chain bookstores in person (gasp! They DO exist!) and noticed some … worrisome things. I won’t name the bookstores; just know that they’re both major chain stores.

I was looking for Carrie Ryan’s new book, The Dead-Tossed Waves, which came out Tuesday March 9. It’s a companion to The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and I thought it would be a great book to review here on Novel Novice (coming soon). I suppose I could have pre-ordered it online, but I was feeling adventurous and decided to actually visit a real store in person. (I know, what was I thinking?)

Store No. 1 had a giant YA section (yay!) that was well-organized and eye-friendly. Newer releases were placed in a section by themselves and others were placed cover-out so you could see the art. Nice.

Except for two things: First, the “new releases” were at LEAST two months old, which isn’t terrible I suppose, but with the amount of YA lit coming off the presses, you’d think it would be bit  fresher than that. Second, the store did not have The Dead-Tossed Waves, and what’s worse, the slow and confused clerk said they wouldn’t get it in for about two weeks. Did I want them to order it for me? Uhm, yes, I’ll just sit and wait till it gets here. Heck no! I went across the street (literally) to another big chain store to look for it.

Hmmm, Q … R …S … it’s got to be here somewhere! Except the books weren’t arranged Q, R, S (looking for R as in Ryan); it was more like Q, S, L, V, R … you get the idea. Not only were the shelves in the “Teen Reading” section out of alphabetical order, they were sparse. This means one of two things.

Maybe the store was overrun by a mob of book-crazy teens who swooped in, made a mess, made their purchases, and left the teen section in shambles. Could happen.

OR, the store/employees fail to see the value in YA lit (apparently they haven’t read the article in The L.A. Times about how “YA is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak publishing market. Where adult hardcover sales were down 17.8% for the first half of 2009 versus the same period in 2008, children’s/young adult hardcovers were up 30.7%”) and don’t give much attention to the section.

There were very few titles and again, the “just released” section featured books that are yesterday’s news. (Nothing wrong with yesterday’s books, but again, there’s so much fresh stuff coming out.) On the bright side, this store DID have the book I was after, thanks to a really diligent employee who dug around the back room to locate The Dead-Tossed Waves. (Thank you, mister.)

What I want to know is, are all bookstores like this now? Has the Internet started the countdown toward the death of brick and mortar stores? And why aren’t retailers paying attention to the wild success of YA lit? They want to sell books, right? Well, guess what’s selling?!

Here’s where you come in. PLEASE, I really want to know, do you do all of your book shopping online? Library? Actual store? What are the YA sections like at the stores you visit? Well-stocked? Sparse? Leave us a comment!

Elizabeth Eulberg, author extraordinaire for our March Book of the Month — The Lonely Hearts Club — was kind enough to answer our lengthy interview questions. See Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. Today, we bring you Part 3 (the last one) in our interview … that means FLASH QUESTIONS!

If you could trade places with one person for a single day, who would it be & why?

A rock star performing in a massive stadium—I don’t care who. I think there must be no better feeling than 50,000 people singing along to something you wrote.

What was the last movie you saw?

Avatar

Biggest TV addiction?

Glee!

Guilty pleasure?

Bad reality shows (current favs: Toddlers & Tiaras and Celebrity Fit Club)

Fruits or veggies?

Fruits

Favorite childhood toy?

My first Cabbage Patch Kid, Cora Corie (I used to sew clothes for her!)

Learn more about Elizabeth on her blog, plus find her on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

For our Twilight Saga fans … the New Moon DVD goes on sale in less than two weeks — on March 20th. To help you out, we’ve got a nifty Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD Comparison Guide at our sister site Novel Novice Twilight — that shows you all the exclusive features available on each version of the DVD. Some versions have different, features — so you’ll want to buy the one that has the features you’re looking for (such as deleted scenes, extended scenes, sneak peeks, interviews, etc.)

Retailers all across the country are also hosting release parties for the New Moon DVD. You can find one near you on the official Twilight Saga: New Moon website.

In particular, Borders is going all out. Here’s details from Examiner.com:

The parties get underway at 10pm on Friday, March 19th — and will include a variety of activities, such as charades, a movie quote contest and a movie debate hosted by the fan site Twilight Series Theories. There are also some great “New Moon” prizes available for the winners of the contests.

Each Borders store will also host the “Borders Movie Awards,” where fans can vote in categories such as “Best Shirtless Moment” and “Most Reckless Bella Moment.” Just download the ballot online and bring it with you to the party to cast your vote.

Then at one minute after midnight, fans can finally purchase the DVD. Borders recommends you pre-order at your local store ahead of the party. They are selling the regular Two-Disc Special Edition version, and the Borders Exclusive Edition — so be sure to pre-order the one you want.

Read more here.

For the comments: Okay Twilight fans. Are you going to a New Moon DVD release party? Which version of the DVD do you want?

Several exciting announcements from some of our favorite authors this week:

Kiss Me Deadly: Paranormal Romance Anthology

The publishers of Kiss Me Deadly revealed the cover art for this anthology of paranormal love stories from some fantastic writers:

Becca Fitzpatrick
Caitlin Kittredge
Karen Mahoney
Justine Musk
Daniel Marks
Diana Peterfreund
Sarah Rees Brennan
Michelle Rowen
Carrie Ryan
Maggie Stiefvater
Rachel Vincent
Daniel Waters
Michelle Zink

No word on when this book will be released, but you can register on Amazon for a notification.

Beautiful Creatures Book 2 Title & Release Date Revealed!

Authors Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl have revealed that the title of the second book in their series is Beautiful Darkness, and it will be in stores on October 26, 2010!

They’ve also revealed this tagline:

Some secrets are life-altering…
Others are life-ENDING.

They promise to reveal the cover art on March 19th.

Maggie Stiefvater: Forever + 3 new YA titles coming!

Author Maggie Stiefvater shared some wonderful news on her website, that she’s recently signed a new four-book deal with Scholastic. That includes Forever, the third & final book in her Werewolves of Mercy Falls series (Shiver is book 1 & Linger is book 2, due out in July). The rest of the deal is for three more supernatural, standalone YA novels.

Here are details from Publisher’s Weekly:

David Levithan at Scholastic Press paid a sum the house described as “near seven figures” for world rights to four new books by 28-year-old Maggie Stiefvater. The deal, which Levithan struck with agent Laura Rennert of the Andrea Brown Agency, includes Forever, which will be the last book in the author’s Shiver trilogy, as well as three forthcoming stand-alone YA fantasy novels. Stiefvater’s current series, a paranormal love story that pulls a page from Romeo & Juliet with one twist being that the male object of affection is a werewolf* ** ***, kicked off with August 2009’s Shiver; that title has gone on to spend 28 weeks on the Times bestseller list. Scholastic is publishing Linger, the second title in the series, in July, and planning Forever for summer 2011. Scholastic has also drawn strong foreign attention to Shiver, having sold it in 32 languages to date, and Warner Brothers has optioned the film rights.

New Titles Coming in Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods Series

Lots of goodies coming from Melissa de la Cruz: Keys to the Repository, a short story & companion book to the Blue Bloods series is due out June 29th.

And on October 5th, the next book in the series will be out: Blue Bloods: Misguided Angel.

Also — Melissa is working on the first book in a Blue Bloods spinoff called Wolf Pack and featuring the character Bliss Llewellyn. Melissa is also working on a new adult fantasy series called the Witches of East End.

Elizabeth Eulberg, author extraordinaire for our March Book of the Month — The Lonely Hearts Club — was kind enough to answer our lengthy interview questions. See Part 1 here. Today, we bring you Part 2 of 3 in our interview!

At Novel Novice, one of our main goals is encouraging teens to read. What would you say to reluctant teen readers to convince them to pick up a book (any book)? Why do you think reading is so important?

Books are the ultimate escape. While TV, movies, video games, etc. can be a fun distraction, books truly make you part of the experience: they can transport you to places and experiences without limit. As a reader, you visualize the story for yourself. I think it is a more personalized experience than watching a story.

I think reading is important because it introduces you to so many experiences, worlds, people, etc. Reading can help you become the person you want to be, take you to a place you’ve never visited, the possibilities are endless. Plus, reading is fun!

Tell us about an educational experience you had that changed your life.

I studied abroad twice in my life. In high school I was an exchange student in Switzerland and I studied a semester in London during college. Both these experiences made me a much more independent person. It also opened my eyes to other cultures and countries. I’ve been hooked on traveling ever since.

As a writer, what are some of your biggest inspirations?

While writing, I turn to music a lot to set the mood for me. While I’m working on ideas, I try to look around me a lot and take in settings and people. Two characters from The Lonely Hearts Club, Missy and Ashley (the Freshman) came from two really loud and annoying girls sitting next to me on a cross country flight. I wrote the scene where they first appeared right then on a piece of scrap paper.

What’s the scariest part about being a published author? The best part?

The scariest part is putting something that you’ve work very hard on (and in the case of The Lonely Hearts Club, five years of my life) out into the world. I’ve been fortunate to get mostly positive feedback on the book, but I’ve also seen some very negative reactions to it. I do look at thoughtful criticism and try to learn from it. However, there will be some people who are being negative just to be negative and it’s important to be able to tell the difference and block out the haters.

The best part is hearing from readers. I’ve received some amazing notes and e-mails from girls that say my book has helped them get over a broken heart or realize they are worth waiting for the right guy. A girl recently wrote me and said that my book “stopped the tears at night.” I was so touched and honored that my book could help someone in that way.

What question do you always wish someone would ask you during an interview?

Would you like us to arrange a date with you and Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol?

Now answer that question.

Why yes. Yes I would.

Young Adult lit has become a huge phenomenon over the last few years, especially with series like Harry Potter and Twilight — the latter of which, you’re extremely familiar with having done the publicity for Stephenie Meyer. What do you think is the appeal of YA lit?

I believe that our teen years are some of the most critical years of one’s life. When you’re a teen, you’re trying to figure out who you are and what you want to be—that’s pretty big! I think the emotions you go through as a teen never really leave you. There are so many memories from my high school experience that feel like they just happened yesterday (like walking into school on the first day of class). I think people like reconnecting to that part of their past.

What books would you recommend to fans hankering for more after reading LHC?

I’m a huge fan of Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girl series. The books center around a spy school for girls so you’ve got female empowerment AND boy troubles!

What are your favorite types of books to read?

I really like fun books. When I’m on vacation, I usually read Jennifer Weiner or Sophie Kinsella.  I’m also a huge David Sedaris fan. For YA: I really like books from Carolyn Mackler, Sarah Dessen…I like contemporary YA fiction best.

Tune in for Part 3 tomorrow!!

There are TONS of new releases out today in YA lit. Here’s what you can check out now:

Hourglass (Evernight Series) by Claudia Gray

Bianca will risk everything to be with Lucas.

After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas take refuge with Black Cross, a fanatical group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at their hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend—the vampire Balthazar—hiding is no longer an option.

Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run again, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful leaders of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they travel, Bianca can’t escape her destiny.

Bianca has always believed their love could survive anything . . . but can it survive what’s to come?

We LOVED Hourglass — see what we had to say in our exclusive review!

The Dead-Tossed Waves (The Forest of Hands & Teeth #2) by Carrie Ryan

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

It’s Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder

Twelve-year-old isabel is dying to get out of Oregon. She spends her free time in the library, reading and dreaming about faraway places. When her mom decides to open a cupcake shop in their little town of Willow, Isabel feels just like buttercream frosting to a cupcake — stuck.

It seems as if it will be another disappointing summer, until Isabel learns of a baking contest. If she can come up with a winning recipe, she might have a chance of competing in the bake-off in New York City

But Isabel’s best friend, Sophie, is also entering the contest — and things always seem to go Sophie’s way. To make matters worse, Isabel and her mom don’t exactly see eye-to-eye on the type of recipe Isabel should enter.

In this sweet treat by popular teen author Lisa Schroeder, Isabel discovers that maybe it’s not about where you go in life as much as it is about enjoying the view from wherever you are.

Check out our exclusive review of It’s Raining Cupcakes!

Scandal (Private) by Kate Brian

Kate Brian’s Private series gets even better when Reed returns from her horrific vacation.

Also new today:

• Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ron Koertge
  
• The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
  
• The Softwire: Awakening on Orbis 4 by PJ Haarsma Candlewick
• Split by Swati Avasthi
  
• Keep Sweet by Michele Dominguez Greene
  
• Flirting with Disaster by Rhonda Stapleton
  
• Poisoned Honey: A Story of Mary Magdalene by Beatrice Gormley
  
• Vintage Veronica by Erica S. Perl
• Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson
  
• Borderline by Allan Stratton

Here at Novel Novice, I have been keeping a journal of sorts detailing my experiences as a struggling YA novelist. Currently I am seeking representation for my YA novel, SUBLIME. My previous entries have included my attempts at writing the dreaded query letter, my first chapter, and starting a twitter account. Today, I am excited to showcase a book trailer I made for SUBLIME. I hope that you will hop over to our author’s section to see all of the posts.

Why might Twilight fans like this book?

It has a strong, female protagonist.

It has a forbidden love story.

And because I said so…er……

A wonderful article in the LA Times this morning about how more and more adults are reading Young Adult lit, and how the genre is flourishing at a time when other publishing sectors are suffering:

It used to be that the only adults who read young adult literature were those who had a vested interest — teachers or librarians or parents who either needed or wanted to keep an eye on developing readers’ tastes.

But increasingly, adults are reading YA books with no ulterior motives. Attracted by well-written, fast-paced and engaging stories that span the gamut of genres and subjects, such readers have mainstreamed a niche long derided as just for kids.

Thanks to huge crossover hits like Stephenie Meyer’s bloodsucking “Twilight” saga, Suzanne Collins’ fight-to-the-death “The Hunger Games” trilogy, Rick Riordan’s “The Lightning Thief” and Markus Zusak’s Nazi-era “The Book Thief,” YA is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak publishing market. Where adult hardcover sales were down 17.8% for the first half of 2009 versus the same period in 2008, children’s/young adult hardcovers were up 30.7%.

“Even as the recession has dipped publishing in general, young adult has held strong,” said David Levithan, editorial director and vice president of Scholastic, publisher of “The Hunger Games,” as well as of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, the series largely credited with jump-starting this juggernaut of a trend.

Read more here.

Elizabeth Eulberg, author extraordinaire for our March Book of the Month — The Lonely Hearts Club — was kind enough to answer our lengthy interview questions. Today, we bring you Part 1 of 3 in our interview!

If you met someone in a bookstore, and they were thinking about buying LHC, what would you say to convince them?

“Well hello, smart and beautiful person, has a boy ever acted like a jerk to you?” I don’t know if I’d really need to say more than that!

How much of Penny’s story was inspired by your own life?

There are bits and pieces. I’ve been cheated on and lied to. Several of the stories about boys gone stupid are inspired by things that happened to me or my friends. I also fell from the top of a bunk bed when I was little because my sister wasn’t watching me, which might explain a lot.

The characters in LHC seem so real. Have there been people like them in your life? A Ryan, a Todd, a Rita, etc.?

I wish I had a Ryan in my life! I think we’ve all had guys like Todd, but most of the characters are pure imagination. There are parts of me in Penny and Tracy (especially Tracy’s sarcasm).  Tracy is also somewhat based on one of my good friends who is fiercely loyal and always says what’s on her mind. My sister Meg (the one who is responsible for my unfortunate bunk bed incident) has been a supportive and protective sister like Rita.

The Beatles play such an important part in the story of LHC. Why theBeatles? (Why not a different band?)

The Beatles came along with the title The Lonely Hearts Club. At first I thought I would have an inside joke and make the club consist of four girls: Paula, Jonatha, Georgia/Georgette and I couldn’t think of a girl’s name for Ringo. Then Rita came to mind and I thought, No, I should have a character named after a Beatles song and have her love the Beatles and Penny Lane Bloom was born!

We know music is important to you. What songs would be on the soundtrack of your life?

This is such a fun (and tough) question!

• The Beatles, “With a Little Help from My Friends” – I have such an amazing support system.
• Oasis, “Wonderwall” – This not only reminds me of studying abroad in London, but it was the first song I learned on the guitar that actually sounded like it does on the record!
• Passion Pit, “Little Secrets” – I love to let loose and have fun, particularly after a stressful day. If you ever want to see me dance like a lunatic, put this song on!
• Kelly Clarkson, “Since U Been Gone” – One of my favorite songs of all time and reigning champ on my iPod, I listen to this at least once a day at the gym.
• Pat Benatar, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” – I love going to karaoke (I even have a machine in my apartment) and this is my go-to song.
• Madonna, “Holiday” – I am constantly planning my next vacation. We need a holiday…
• Snow Patrol, “Chasing Cars” – I hope someone feels this way about me someday: “those three words are said too much, they’re not enough.”
• Beyonce, “Crazy in Love” – This is the song I’d want playing as I strut down the street in the opening credits of my life story (like John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever” – wow, I just dated myself).

You’re working on your second novel. What is your major influence for this book? What music are you listening to while you write this one?

My next novel, Prom and Prejudice, is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  So Jane Austen is the major influence for the book. I decided I wouldn’t listen to the Beatles while writing Prom and Prejudice. So, I’m listening to a lot of Snow Patrol, Elbow, The Swell Season, Temper Trap, Death Cab for Cutie, Owl City, Arcade Fire, Gomez, Metric, Nada Surf and The Shins.

We know you’re a fan of “24.” Is Ryan’s last name of “Bauer” deliberate?

Yes! Good catch! I’ve always liked the name Ryan and when I was trying to think of his last name I decided to do a shout out to Jack Bauer.

As an adult writing a book about teens, how did you come up with the contemporary teen slang used as dialogue in LHC — words like “adorbs” and “himbo”? (In other words, how did you manage to write believable, contemporary teen dialogue without falling back on words used when you & I were teens?)

Is it wrong that I use some of those words in real life (especially himbo!)? I paid a lot of attention when I was around teens to see how they talked and what they talk about. I didn’t want to overuse contemporary slang so it felt forced or contrived, so every once in awhile I’d throw in a word. It started with “whatevs” because I use the world “whatever” way too much. Then I decided to spice that up since I use it so much to “what to the evs” which is a saying I gave to Tracy. So then I decided to have her use cute words like “adorbs” every now and then. Tracy also has a tendency to call people by nicknames, which is why she usually refers to Penny as “Pen.” Her language really became part a key part of her personality.

Tune in tomorrow for Part 2!