The Back to School with Swoon and Shadow Hills Contest!

Summer has, sadly, come to an end. Which is why the fabulous Nina Malkin and I have decided to co-host a contest to console you at the beginning of a new school year... I mean, celebrate with you at the beginning of a new school year. It's easy to enter: at the bottom of this intriguing interview with Nina is a link to the form you'll need to fill out to enter to win one of two signed copies of SWOON, Nina's inventive, edgy and SINfully good YA paranormal. The form will tell you all the specifics you need to know so please read it carefully. And since this is a cross promotion, you can also go HERE to Nina's site to read my interview and enter to win one of two signed copies of SHADOW HILLS!

 

1.  Hi, Nina!  Thanks for joining me on my blog.  To put everybody in the mood --- if you were entering this contest, what would be your story of a memorable summer vacation (either best or worst)?

The summer I was 12 had a lot of firsts, all pretty were stellar: first real roller coaster, first rock concert, first joint passed to me by hot older dude (at aforementioned concert). And oh, yeah, first kiss. His name was Andy; he had dark hair and pale skin. We were at the beach. We were standing up, but we’d been at the beach all day, so the kiss was sandy. Uh-huh, Sandy Andy.

2. You had written other YA novels before you wrote a paranormal YA with SWOON.  Why did you decide to write a paranormal book?  What are the differences in writing the two forms, the advantages and disadvantages?

Ooh, that assumes I “decide” to write something. I don’t. The story chooses me. As to part two of your question, my first two books, 6X: THE UNCENSORED CONFESSIONS and 6X: LOUD, FAST AND OUTTA CONTROL were about this rock band. Since I spent a lot of time around the music business, I came from a place of experience—I knew what I was talking about. With paranormal, I come from a place of extreme ignorance. And as you know, even though a lot of wild stuff happens, the magic has to have logic—so you’re constantly smacking yourself: Does that make sense?

3. Are you a night owl or an early bird?  How does that affect your writing?

Early bird. A lot of work is done by my subconscious, so soon as I wake up, my conscious starts transcribing what my subconscious has accomplished. Plus, my boy’s a night owl, so I can generally get in a few solid hours at the computer and then share his morning with him.

4. It's rumored you're doing a sequel to SWOON.   I'm excited for it, as I'm sure all your fans are.   Can you give us any scoop on it?

Thanks so much for the good vibes, Stacy! It’s called SWEAR and it’s due out in August 2011. Dice, Pen, Marsh—Sin, too, of course—have been through a lot. So when we catch up with them six months after Sin carved his seductive swath through SWOON, they’re changed people with different issues. On one hand SWEAR is a very traditional ghost story. Uh… then the voodoo kicks in. As to the title, it poses a question: Can you really swear to love?

5. What are your pet peeves?

It’s me, not y’all, but like when people are out to dinner or a party and they’re constantly on their devices instead of relating with the people they’re dining or partying with—I don’t get that. My husband and I call them gadget addicts, but we know that’s the direction civilization has turned toward. We’re totally left behind—talking, kissing, bantering…in the same room, with each other.

6. Is there any person who has had a particularly big influence on your writing?  And how did they influence you?

Dashiell Hammett, brilliant dead detective writer. Taught me how to write action scenes, fight scenes. I think I read somewhere that he acted them out. I guess lots of writers do that too; it makes so much sense. If you’re going to get someone to act it out with you, you ought to have him sign a waiver.

7. When you were a teen, what were your ambitions?  Did you want to be a writer or would you have been astonished if someone told you that you would wind up writing YA novels?

I always wrote; I was first published—well, mimeographed—in third grade. But I didn’t know you could do it for a living. I thought I might become a haircutter. Then I studied journalism and started working in magazines—remember those? I was lucky enough to start having some of my novels published, but that took a while. 

8. When you're not writing, what do you like to do?  What are some of your interests or hobbies?

If you write, you’re always writing—you’re just not always typing. Sometimes you’re writing when you’re scrubbing the bathtub. Only scrubbing the bathtub is not a hobby. I volunteer for animals whenever I can, cleaning cages, working adopt-a-thons. Thrift shopping is my therapy. Yoga I do to avoid the dreaded writer’s butt. I go through crafty spells—needlework and that crap. My husband gave me a ukulele a few months ago, so I’ve been dicking around with that lately. Robert Johnson’s “They’re Red Hot” is my greatest achievement—it’s hard!

Go to this form and fill it out to enter to win one of two signed copies of Swoon.