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Written by Stephanie
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Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
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Q: Hey, Simon, it's nice to meet you. What was your favorite thing to do before you found "The Book of Physics" and you were just a regular kid?
A: I really liked to read (I still do); science fiction, some fantasy, comic books, you name it. I guess I like to imagine I’M the main character going on all those adventures and doing all the fun things.Q: What power have you enjoyed having the most?A: Are you kidding? Controlling gravity, definitely! There’s so much you can do with it for fun, and as a weapon if someone comes after you. And I keep figuring out more uses, too.
Q: Do the other kids at school know the truth about you? How about your parents?A: Just my friends Owen and Alysha know, and that’s because they were right there with me with their own Physics powers. A couple of bullies may have figured it out, but I bet they’re too scared of us to tell anyone. And my parents wouldn’t notice if I turned blue! I don’t think it’s safe for them or anyone else to find out; it could be dangerous for us…and maybe for them, too.
Q: Are you ever frightened by your abilities? If not, what does scare you?
A: Yeah, it’s kind of scary when I’m experimenting with a formula and things don’t go the way I planned. It’s not as easy as you think – and sometimes it’s hard to think at really high speeds. But other things that frighten me? I think it’s a little freaky when everyone’s counting on me. I mean, what if I mess up? I’m also not crazy about those puppets on strings – marionettes? They’re creepy. And those ventriloquist dummies…I don’t like to think about them.
Q: What's in store for you next, do you think?
A: I’d like to just have fun; Owen and Alysha are going to officially join the Order of Physics so they’ll get their own formulas back, and we can have a blast. But I’m a little worried about Sirabetta…especially if she’s got more mean friends hiding out somewhere.
If you'd like to know more about Simon Bloom and his unique ability to control the laws of physics, check out SIMON BLOOM, The Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman, now available at your local bookstore.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 04 March 2008 )
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Written by Maureen Sullivan
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Monday, 04 February 2008 |
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An Interview with Charlotte Kandel, author of THE SCARLET STOCKINGS: The Enchanted Riddle (January 2008) What inspired you to write THE SCARLET STOCKINGS: The Enchanted Riddle?
I’ve always had my nose in a book. My mother began reading grown up books to my twin sister and me when we were five. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist. She edited as she went, enthralling us with the great storytelling and making Mr. Darcy, Jane and Oliver come brilliantly alive for us. As I teenager, books were my salvation. I wasn’t alone. Every single person has to survive puberty!
Needless to say, I ached to write myself. But I was stuck thinking, "If I can’t write like Jane Austen, then I don’t dare try at all!" Of course, I knew that NO ONE writes like Jane Austen. But still, I pushed the longing away and got involved in a wonderful PR career on Broadway, in Australia and in Hollywood. No time to write, even if I thought I could. Five years ago I left Warner Bros., DETERMINED to see what I could do.
I knew I wanted to write for girls. I owe so unbelievably much to books because of what they gave me.
And I believe in magic, I really do!
Did you start with a character or with a plot? How did the story emerge?
THE SCARLET STOCKINGS: The Enchanted Riddle began life in infancy as an illustrated story about mice, living in London, brilliantly drawn by my friend Desmond Heeley, a legendary set and costume designer and winner of multiple Tony Awards.
So, the story was inspired by a piece of art?
Yes! The central character was called Daphne. When Desmond was not able to continue with the book, he generously said to me, “Here, you take Daphne and make her your own.” Desmond must also get credit for coming up with the name of our vile villainess, OVA ANDOVA. In writing the book, I hoped to create an unforgettable personality such as Cruella de Vil in THE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIONS. Evil and vicious, but also glamorous and funny.
Are any of the characters inspired by people you know?After I had Daphne and Ova in my sights, I found the other characters sort of created themselves. Magda Magellan, the irresistible musical comedy star, Daphne’s adoptive parents, green grocers in Hoxton in the East End of London, Carlo and Maria Green, the suave impresario of the Ballet Splendide, Serge Petrov, and of course Daphne’s pals, the three other members of the talented street performing group THE BEST OF FRIENDS.
I must admit, I have a PARTICULAR soft spot for Grushka, Ova’s despicable sidekick!
You set this story in such a rich, vibrant time and place. How did you come to choose this setting? I chose to set the story in two locations where I grew up, London and Paris. I chose the 1920’s because this was when women truly came into their own and found the world alive with possibilities. Oh, the glamour, the fashions, the witty slang. Cole Porter and Noel Coward. The Eiffel Tower and dresses by Lanvin. Bliss! I wanted glamour, I wanted charm, I wanted a sense of wonder, I wanted a world in the throes of change, where high spirits and outrageous FUN were paramount. Where anything could happen. And it did!
Briefly describe the revision process. Did the story change much over the course of the revision?THE SCARLET STOCKINGS: The Enchanted Riddle went through four drafts. The first draft was longer than BOTH books of the Bible. I’ve never had a formal writing lesson, however I quickly became aware that essential to the whole process of writing is a clear-eyed editor. You can’t do it by yourself. You become totally wrapped up in the material and unable to see the weaknesses and the inconsistencies.
Tell us about your writing process. Where do you write? When?
The writing process is, of course, completely individual for everyone. When I first began I found that my best time was between 2 a.m. and 11 a.m. I loved the dark, the quiet, the no phones. And I didn’t really know what I was doing so I had to CONCENTRATE. After two Daphne books, and the new book I am currently working on, I have found that I can work at any time. But biorhythmically the morning is still best for me!
What are you reading now?Paul Scott’s brilliant Raj Quartet is high on my list of all time favorite reading. I will be traveling to Rajasthan later this year to do research for a new book.
Born in England and educated in London and Paris, Charlotte Kandel knew by the time she was nine years old that she wanted to work behind the scenes in the world of theater, dance and movies. Charlotte trained for a career in Public Relations, and when her family moved to New York, sshe tarted by working as publicity assistant for a busy producer of Broadway musicals and dramas. This led to a job in charge of publicity at the famed Guthrie Theater. Six years later she left for Los Angeles to become a movie publicist at Warner Bros. Pictures, where she worked her way up to become the studio’s top publicity executive, supervising a team of 200 American and international publicists launching Warner Bros. films worldwide. After 15 years Charlotte left Warner Bros. to fulfill her lifelong dream of writing. THE SCARLET STOCKINGS: THE ENCHANTED RIDDLE is her first book. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 07 February 2008 )
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Written by Stephanie
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Friday, 16 November 2007 |
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 An Interview with Heather Brewer, author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites, about promotion
How does a first-time author begin to promote her book?
First, I think it's always wise to research what more experienced authors in your genre have done, what's worked for them, and what hasn't. If something worked, ask yourself if that's something that would work for your audience. If not, move out, be inventive and find something that will. Really, the very first thing you need to do is to know your own book, and by extension, the would-be readers of your book. Once you understand your audience, you should be able to determine what they want. For instance, my audience is comprised mostly of tweens and teens. And let's face it, they want cool, free stuff. And most of those tweens and teens already love vampires and shop at Hot Topic, so I needed something free that they could find in that store, that would remind them of not just vampires, but also my book. I had buttons created featuring the vampire smiley face on the cover of Eighth Grade Bites for just this purpose. Some essentials for everyone, no matter your genre: a professionally developed webpage that reflects the style of your book, and an active MySpace page. Those are an excellent starting point. I've found a blog to be a great place to connect with readers, but some people are uncomfortable blogging. That's okay, but you'll want to find another avenue that works for you to take blogging's place. The connections you make, even before your book hits the shelves, are crucially important to your success. People tend to support their friends. So your number two priority (after knowing your book) is to make friends with everyone who expresses an interest in your book. (The bonus is that you get to know some really amazing people, all in the name of "work".)
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 November 2007 )
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Written by Stephanie
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Monday, 12 November 2007 |
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An Interview with Jane Zalben, Author/Illustrator of LIGHT
 Where did the idea for LIGHT come from?
Light is the third book in a trilogy about peace. It grew out of the introduction of Let There Be Light, the first one, which I did right after September 11, when I decided that I could no longer work in the way I had been working. I needed something different, something challenging, something that took me on a different road than the one I had been on for so many years. In that introduction, I wrote about a midrash, which is a legend based on a biblical text by Rabbi Isaac Luria of Safed in Israel (1534-1572) who founded the mystical branch of teachings called the Kabbalah. In his poetry he saw the story of creation in this way: When the world began, God planned to put sparks of light into everything. The light was stored in vessels. But it was so strong, the vessels broke into millions of pieces. People were made to find these shards of light. When they bring them together, restoring the shattered jugs, the world will be repaired, he felt. The practice of "repairing the world" is called "tikkun olam" in Hebrew. I decided to write a myth-like folk tale based on this concept, but I wanted to make it for everyone of any religion, to be appreciated on all age levels by different people – very young to very old, as I did in the second book, Paths to Peace: People Who Changed the World. Peace is a concept we all share and have in common – wanting the best for the people we love. Everyone has the power to repair one small piece of the world in their own way.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 12 November 2007 )
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