Interview with Lisa Amowitz, on BREAKING GLASS and Ghostly Demands

Today we have with us fellow Inky & debut YA author Lisa Amowitz, who's ghostly Breaking Glass releases this month.

On the night seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her from beyond the grave, he's not sure whether they're real or if he's losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unraveling the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the next victim himself. Breaking Glass is a gripping, emotionally-raw story. Jeremy's story is at times reality-bending, but heartbreakingly real. It's a gritty YA mystery with creepy supernatural elements, that explores some disturbing & mature issues. The pov character, Jeremy Glass, is deeply flawed, but also sympathetic. I was routing for him — even yelling at him at times! — but always on his side. I flipped through the pages greedily, wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Hi, Lisa, thanks for chatting with me today! Jeremy Glass is such a wonderfully complex character. He's a terribly flawed boy--even self-destructive--and yet he's also so sympathetic. What do you think it is about Jeremy that makes  him so appealing to readers (or what is it about him that appeals to you as the author)?

LISA: What I love about Jeremy is that no matter what, his mind is always working — he's clever and funny. And though I guess his ability to mask his pain is what makes him able to hide it so well, I think it is also what is so endearing about him. His heart, underneath the pain, is essentially pure and caring —his wacky humor and nerdiness are the defenses he has constructed to protect it (along with some other not so endearing habits).

If you were haunting someone, theoretically, of course, what three items would you demand to appease you and send you off happily to the afterlife?

LISA: 
1) A really good strong cup of coffee with half and half — hot in winter, iced in the summer. Even as a ghost I know I will want that — whether I can drink it or not.
2) Pandora so I can still listen to my favorite music — no music would really be HELL.
3) Supernatural email — there must be an internet in the afterlife, right? Or would I just be able to speak to whomever I wanted into their minds?
4) Really nice shoes. Hey — even ghosts need to look their best.

I'm sure I'm going to make a really lousy ghost — I am way too high maintenance!

That's four, but anything for you, Lisa! I love the idea of Supernatural email. :-)

Where did the initial idea for Breaking Glass come from? 

LISA: Oh boy..I've answered this so many ways. But I'm going to back to the very beginning like my friend Kimberly Miller who wrote TRIANGLES did. In a recent interview she said her book started as a few lines in a file. So did mine. It was back in the winter of 2009, and I wrote something like:

Recuperating boy raises missing girl from the dead...hanky panky ensues. 

Okay — those weren't the exact words, but I do remember that I called it Spectacular. Initially I was going to have ghost posess the boy's current girlfriend, but nixed that idea fast. I didn't actually start writing Breaking Glass until the winter of 2011, by the way.

What's your favorite scene? 

LISA: I have a few, but one of them is when Jeremy comes home from the hospital on a snowy winter night a few weeks before Christmas, in deep physical and emotional pain. His father is also devastated and, as usual, has a terrible time trying to communicate with Jeremy — so what does Jeremy do? He makes a lame but totally barbed joke that makes his poor dad feel even worse. I have a son, so that's how I learned all this stuff. To me, that scene captures the dynamic between Jeremy and his dad perfectly and illustrates how stuck they both are. It also captures some of the bleak angst people who are not so happy often feel around the holidays.

If you could cast Jeremy in the movie version of Breaking Glass, who would the actor be? 

LISA: Ahhhh! No!!! It's so hard. The only person who could do him justice is Jesse Eisenberg or Michael Cera, but they are both too old and too well known and not really cute enough! But they are smart enough.

I love it! I can picture Jesse Eisenberg for Jeremy! Thanks for the interview, Lisa. That was a lot of fun. To learn more about Lisa, her books and her art, visit her blog. And get up a copy of Breaking Glass. It would be a great (creepy) book for one of those summer thunderstorm days when you're curled up in a cozy armchair (praying your house doesn't get hit by lightning ;)). 

We leave you with this serious question: 

If you were a ghost, what three things would you demand before you went off to the afterlife? (We'll assume in your ghostly form you can actually appreciate corporeal items. ;))

Embarrassed by the Shamelessness

So apparently its been like a month since I did a Shameless Saturday post. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?  I swear I'm losing my marbles, on deadline for this new book.

Whatever.  I'm here now, right?  DOESN'T THAT COUNT FOR SOMETHING???

On with it.

Book Expo America 2013 is rapidly approaching, and several Inkies will be in attendance. Lisa Amowitz will be signing BREAKING GLASS at the Spencer Hill Pres booth #2567 on Thursday, May 30th at 9:00am.  Dawn Metcalf will be stopping by the Harlequin Teen booth #1238 on Thursday, May 30th.  Amy Butler Greenfield will be at Simon & Schuster's blogger preview party Tuesday night, May 28th.  And I will be signing copies of 3:59 at Table 12 in the autographing area Thursday, May 30th at 10:30am.  Yeah, BEA is going to be nuts!

We've got a cover reveal!!!

The cover and title for the sixth book in Scholastic's INFINITY RING series has been released. BEHIND ENEMY LINES by Jennifer Nielsen, takes our heroes, Dak, Sera, and Riq into the heart of World War 2 where they must help the allies succeed with a most dangerous spy plan that will either chance the course of the war, or else destroy any hope for victory and freedom. It will be released on November 26, 2013.  Wanna see?

In addition, Jennifer's THE FALSE PRINCE is a double 2013 Whitney Award winner for Best Middle Grade Book of 2013 and also Best Overall Youth Book of 2013. In addition, it is a nominated title for Yalsa's Teens' Top Ten books!  Phew.  That's a lot of news!!!!

Speaking of awards, both THE CABINET OF EARTHS by Anne Nesbet and THE EXCEPTIONALS by Erin Cashman are on the Bankstreet Best Children's Books of the Year list, 2013 edition! Plus, Lena Coakley's Witchlanders was named an Honour Book for Canada's White Pine Award at the Forest of Trees, Festival of Reading, Canada's largest children's literature festival. And Goodreads named Amy Butler Greenfield's CHANTRESS one of its top 6 "Movers and Shakers" for May YA releases. Plus there's a swag and finished copy giveaway running at thoughtsandroses.blogspot.com this week.

We've got some great news for brand news books here at the Inkpot. Ellen Booraem’s TEXTING THE UNDERWORLD, due out in August, got its first journal review—and it has a star attached! Noting that the book has death as its major theme, Kirkus Reviews said:

“Booraem applies a light touch to her heavy subject . . . . But she doesn’t avoid staring death in the face, saddling her likably unlikely hero with an agonizing decision that, though framed in fantasy, is all too gut-punchingly real. Like Conor, readers will emerge from this adventure a little better equipped for heroism.”

Makes me want to snatch it up!

On the announcement side of things, new Inkie Katherine Catmull and three other middle-grade authors, Stefan Bachmann, Claire Legrand, and Emma Trevayne, have been posting creepy/spooky/unnerving short-short pieces at EntertheCabinet.com since January 1. This week Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins) announced that they will publish a collection of the stories, tentatively titled THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, in summer 2014.

And on the debut side of things, Lisa Gail Green's THE BINDING STONE (the first book in the Djinn series) is now available on Amazon!

Lisa also has amazing blurbs from both Nancy Holder and Lisa Desrochers!

"I dream of Lisa Gail Green! The Binding Stone is magical in so many ways. My Djinn asks for my third wish? The sequel, of course!" - NYT bestselling author Nancy Holder

"Genies like you’ve never seen them, THE BINDING STONE is a wild ride of treachery and deception. For my first wish, I’d like a sequel, please." - PERSONAL DEMONS author Lisa Desrochers

Rock on.

See what happens when I forget to post?  Things get crazy.

Interview with Lisa Amowitz, author of BREAKING GLASS

Lisa Gail Green here to bring you an amazing interview with the one and only Lisa Amowitz!

First a little about the book:
(From Goodreads)
On the night seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her from beyond the grave, hes not sure whether they're real or if he's losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unraveling the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the next victim himself.

I cannot WAIT to read this book. So let's get to the questions!

1. Give us some background on Lisa Amowitz. When did you start writing and why?

I guess I was always attracted to words. Anyone who spends more than five minutes around me knows that I LOVE to talk--I think it may be my superpower. But seriously, I've mostly been an image person my whole life. I started drawing at age 3 and went on to earn a BFA in Illustration and an MFA in Painting. I teach Graphic Design. But in Iooking back, I realize that I have always been a storyteller. My students are not surprised that I love to write, given my love of typographic design.

Growing up, my most influential book was the Golden Book of Fairytales with lush and magical illustrations. I was obsessed with it and struggled to create my own version of that world. Then I decided I needed to write my own stories to illustrate. Years and years later, after many false starts and attempts I finally managed to complete an entire book that was not an excuse to make illustrations. And it was awful. But I was bitten by the writing bug. I went on to write five more books, the fifth being BREAKING GLASS.

2. Why Breaking Glass? Where did the idea come from and why a male MC?

I'm not sure I have a really straight-forward answer to this. While our kids were growing up, we spent entire summers in various locales in Upstate New York. Most of my books emerged from the places we stayed. Breaking Glass partly formed while we were staying on a horsefarm. I don't know what it is about that house, maybe it was the fights between the weirdly uptight owner and her spoiled rotten daughter who could not seem to find happiness in such an idyllic setting, but in my mind their house is where Jeremy lives. However, the twisting winding roads of the more suburban town of Croton-on-Hudson where our close friends live, became the locale. Croton is not all that far from Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow and has its own eerie vibe that I love. My son used to fish on the Reservoir there with our friends' son. So, the town is a mash-up of a few places.
As for Jeremy Glass, I'm not really sure where he comes from other than as a mother of a son I have learned that male teens use humor to dodge almost any issue. The idea that a boy could work so hard to hide his emotions and do such a good job of it, fascinates me. I guess I wrote from the male POV out of curiosity. Also, as a teen myself there were always those boys who would become obsessed--the less you wanted them the more they wanted you. So, in a sense, as the mother of a son and a daughter, I wanted to explore both sides of the coin. Plus, I just love a good mystery.

3. We know you create gorgeous covers, it must have been really cool to do your own. Can you tell us a bit about that? 

It was probably the very thing that convinced me to sign with my publisher, Spencer HIll Press. I could not believe they would give me such an amazing opportunity. But based on my previous work, they agreed to give it a go. It took SO MANY mockups. I was so nervous and unsure and Kate Kaynak was SO patient. It was finally at the insistence of my daughter and her two best friends (all target audience, btw!) that I go with the creepy cover I have and I am very pleased with it.

4. Was there any part of the story that did not come naturally to you? What was the hardest part to write? 

Getting started was the hardest part. I had this idea sitting around for two years before I started writing. Then I could not figure out how to present Jeremy. I knew I wanted him smart and snarky, but also troubled. It was only after a conversation with a therapist friend (who is, coincidentally the same friend who lives in Croton) that the motives and psychological underpinnings of a closet drinker became clear. I am not an alcoholic, and am fortunate not to have this disease in my family, but once I understood WHY Jeremy drank, I have to admit, the book wrote itself. In fact, in June of 2011 an author friend challenged me to finish the last third of it in two weeks. I balked, she pressed, and I did just that.

 5. Plotter or Pantser?

A little bit of both. To make an analogy--I'm like a person who buys a map, plots out the route and the important stops along the way, then tosses out the map and goes off road. I always equate writing to a journey. I like the unexpected aspect of it, though I usually do have a definite destination in mind. One thing I spend a lot of time on is building my characters. I need to know them very well before I start writing, but I get to know them much better once I do.

6. Guilty pleasure? I know mine include coffee and chocolate. Sometimes wine. 

Coffee! But I am not at all guilty about it, so I think my main guilty pleasure is an iced chai with cream, and in the summer a rootbeer float with vanilla ice cream. I try to keep off the calories, so if I splurge I have terrible guilt and need to head immediately to the gym.  I have no guilt whatsoever about a little wine here and there--it's healthy!

I like that answer! *sips wine* Seriously, folks - go mark this book on Goodreads and preorder on Amazon. 

Belated Shamelessness

I was supposed to post this last week.  Lest you think that's becoming rather a broken record response with dear bubble-headed Gretchen, I have a decent excuse this time.

I got engaged last weekend.

:D

The authors in today's post have been very understanding of having to wait an extra week for me to toot their horns.  They deserve a round of applause!

First off, a cover reveal!  This is AIRE by Lena Goldfinch, designed by her and another talented Inkie, Lisa Amowitz!!!

AIRE is available now!

Dawn Metcalf has ARCS of INDELIBLE and she's giving them away!  Trust me, you want to win one. Look for them on Goodreads, Netgalley, at BEA and contests at www.dawnmetcalf.com!

Speaking of new works, Laura Williams McCaffrey has a new fantasy short story out on YA Literature Network's site, which pretty much looks totally and utterly amazing.

There's an Inkie out there getting mad love from Kirkus!  Yes, Kirkus!!!!  A BOX OF GARGOYLES, the sequel to Anne Nesbet's much ballyhooed THE CABINET OF EARTHS, earned a starred review in this month's issue! This is my favorite line:

"A flavorful mille-feuille with equally tasty layers of dark magic, light comedy, and salty determination." 

A BOX OF GARGOYLES hits shelves May 14th.

And last but not least, there's a new First Five Pages Workshop this week, run by our own Martina Boone.  Check it out!

That's it for me this week.  I'll just be over here in the corner, staring at my shiny ring!

Happy Shameless New Year!!!

2012 was a banner year for the Inkpot - releases, awards, new book sales, critical acclaim.  How can we possibly top that?

Our bi-monthly shameless posts will show you!!!!

Case in point, or first shameless post of 2013 is just chuck full of awesomeness.  Don't believe me?  Take a look!

Starting off with a bang, featuring the cover release for Dawn Metcalf's INDELIBLE, he first in a new series from Harlequin Teen, which will hit shelves July 2013!

There's a new blog on the scene for 2013!  Lisa Amowitz, along with author Michelle McLean, has founded the new Scene 13 blog to showcase and highlight 2013 releases. In total there are 29 members including Inkies Lena Goldfinch, PJ Hoover, Ellen Booraem, Lisa Gail Green and Hilari Bell.

Speaking of Lisa Gail Green, she recently announced her 2013 debut THE BINDING STONE, the first in her Djinn series. Check back here for more updates!

We love collaborative Inkie efforts here in the Inkpot, so we're proud as punch about all the rave reviews for DIVERSE ENERGIES, a multicultural YA dystopian anthology featuring works by Cindy Pon and Ellen Oh.  Here are the latest reviews:

from VOYA:

Teen angst in the future makes for a very popular genre and this well-written collection should prove popular if promoted to the The Hunger Games or Divergent series crowd.

from Publisher's Weekly:

While there's not a single misfire in this anthology, particular works stand out. Ellen Oh's "The Last Day" takes place in a world torn apart by a decades-long war...and Cindy Pon's "Blue Skies" is almost painful in its longing for escape. Not only do these stories feature racially diverse casts, set all over the world or in space, some have gay and lesbian protagonists, giving readers plenty with which to identify.

Amazing!

More accolades for Anne Nesbet's THE CABINET OF EARTHS which appears on the Chicago Public Library's "Best of the Best" list for 2012 and is a Finalist for the 2012 Cybils award for Fantasy & Science Fiction (Middle Grade), along with Jennifer Nielsen's wonderful book, THE
FALSE PRINCE.

And to top it all off, Shannon Hale just put THE CABINET OF EARTHS on her list of "'Girl'
books that boys love"!

Which dovetails into our big finale here with perhaps the most exciting news of all. Paramount Pictures has announced it has contracted with Bryan Cogman, story editor for HBO's GAME OF THRONES series, to adapt the screenplay for Jennifer Nielsen's THE FALSE PRINCE.  HBO?  GAME OF THRONES?  OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See?  2013 is going to give 2012 a run for it's money...  :)

Happy New Book Year!

Happy New Year! This is one of my favorite times a year; fat with promise, with hopes and dreams and goals...and fat with BOOKS!

SO MANY good books coming out in the next few months! I've asked the Inkies to help me get my TBR list all nice and corpulent and oozing with stories I can't wait to read. So here goes (I'll start):

In case you missed it, the first book on my list was featured last week on the Inkpot: PROPHECY, by our own super-awesome Ellen Oh. Go read the interview, and then go buy the book!

It's a good thing my signed copy of PROPHECY is winging its way to me right now, because all the other books on my list are SO FAR AWAY. *cries* I fell in love with TYGER TYGER a hundred years ago and have been waiting impatiently for the completion of the series ever since. Only five months to go for the release of WHEN THE STARS THREW DOWN THEIR SPEARS!

Another one that's even FURTHER away *shakes fist* is the second book in Sarah Rees Brennan's unassailable gothic trilogy, UNTOLD (UNSPOKEN, the first book, is made of so much awesome it hurts my brain...it hurts it and then my brain is like THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU MORE PLEASE). (and, thanks, Masters of the Book-Release Universe, that's the only semi-coherent link I can find because it doesn't come out until SEPTEMBER)

GRR. Let's move on to what everyone else is looking forward to. I need to be cheered up.

Lisa Amowitz:

Well, mine for starters!

BREAKING GLASS comes out in July 2013 from Spencer Hill Press and I may have another one to sneak in, but that's still up in the air..

But I am also seriously looking forward to the next installment in Laini Taylor's DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE trilogy, PRODIGY from Marie Liu (that's not out yet, is it?) THE GATHERING DARK, by my good friend Christine Johnson, and the next installment of Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Boy series. And anything that John Green puts out--as they say--I will read his grocery list. :)

Just started Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy (SHADOW AND BONE) and I LOVE IT--also loving Will's GOBLIN SECRETS--too much to read!!! Not enough time!!!

TRUTH. Looking forward to more Grishas and Ravens, myself.

More delicious books under the jump!

Shaker of Shamelessness

I have no idea what a "shaker of shamelessness" might be, but it sounded cool.

:D

Anyway...

We're going to start off with a cover reveal, woo hoo! THE RUNAWAY KING, the sequel to THE FALSE PRINCE by Jennifer Nielsen, is just ten kinds of awesome!

To celebrate the announcement, she is giving away a signed ARC to a reader who wants it NOW! Enter for a chance to win at http://tinyurl.com/csavhh2

Not only that, but THE FALSE PRINCE has been nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award, as one of the best middle grade books of the year. If you want to vote for that book (or any of the nominees in all twenty categories), you can find it here.

Stay calm, I have more covers to reveal!!!!!

Megan Crewe has not one, but TWO cover reveals! THE WAY WE FALL and THE LIVES WE LOST have a brand new look!

Speaking of covers, Lisa Amowitz has an announcement!

Lisa Amowitz's VISION, the first in The Finder series, in which a young man discovers that an ability to read the objects he touches is linked to his migraines; when a murder rocks his sleepy town, he must use his newfound gift to track the killer and discovers a shocking truth connected to his own troubled past, plus a sequel, to Vikki Ciaffone at Spencer Hill Press, by Victoria Marini at Gelfman Schneider.

In addition, Lisa's cover design business is in full swing.  The cover reveal for EXTRACTED (The Lost Imperials, Book One)!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard about Superstorm Sandy that slammed the east coast this week.  Our own Anne Nesbet weathered the storm in Philadelphia, camped out in her daughter's dorm room. Then she came back to California to find ARCs of A BOX OF GARGOYLES, which means she also have a cover!

Lastly, not a cover reveal, but an AWESOME new book deal announcement from Anna Staniszewski!

MY VERY UN-FAIRY TALE LIFE author Anna Staniszewski’s next two novels, THE DIRT DIARY and THE DIRT WAR, about a fourteen-year-old girl who joins up with her mom’s house-cleaning business, only to find herself inside the homes of the most popular kids in school—and stumbling across their secrets, again to Aubrey Poole at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, by Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency (World English).

Arc Sharking at the BEA, 6/5 and 6/7/12

The BEA takes place in the sprawling Jacob Javits Convention Center on the western edge of Manhattan between 33^rd and 38^th street. It is roughly the size of the Continental Airlines Terminal at Newark International Airport. In other words—vast. The visitor check-in area even reminded me of an airport check-in.

The booth floor is basically five city blocks of wall-to-wall books and the people who love them—publishers, bloggers, writers, booksellers and books everywhere! New, not yet released books being given away in piles. People with bags chocked full of these free arcs! For me it was like dropping a kid in a toy store and telling them the toys are free.

The bigger publishers occupy the mid-zone area with booths that are more like portable showrooms. It would be like going to Barnes and Noble except the authors show up, sign their book, and then let you take it away for free. I picked up an arc from the author Mark Frost of his new book The Paladin Prophecy from Random House and only later (still kicking myself!) realized the man co-wrote one of my favorite TV shows of all time, Twin Peaks, wrote the screenplay for the Fantastic Four movies and went to my alma mater, Carnegie-Mellon University. Okay—so I really am going to start looking in those about the author blurbs fast before I walk away. And you can be sure I am reading that book.

Lesson learned: you need a BEA strategy

The back of the booth floor also has a table area where people assemble (in very long lines) to get arcs signed by authors, as well. There are also multiple panels taking place throughout the day in the staging areas. I caught part of a YA panel with Melissa Marr. Honestly, the place is so huge and frenetic, I am certain I missed most of what was going on.

So, I had originally taken it upon myself to be the Enchanted Inkpot BEA roving reporter. Armed with a small digital recorder and my smile, the first day I got there I wandered around asking people this question:

What do you see as the most important trends in children’s book publishing in the next five to ten years?

First of all—full disclosure. I somehow managed to erase everything I’d recorded. Apparently the recorder kept turning on in my purse—and poof! All gone. But, it’s not really a problem because, in the end decided to give up the whole idea. A lot of folks were reluctant to be quoted knowing that their words would be published and I thought it would be dishonest to do so without their consent. However, if you simply engaged people in conversation, they were very happy to talk and that was so much fun.

So I’m going boil down what I learned into a pastiche. A few people were okay to go on the record, so I’ll mention them by name.

Lisa interviews the Sock Monster, Lish McGlovin

The first person, or to be specific, non-person, I encountered was the sock monster, Lish McGlovin , who was hitching a ride in Kate Milford’s bag. I did ask the question of Lish and her response was, “Phumph. Come back later after Kate and I discuss this for a bit.”

But after a series of interesting and animated conversations, I was able to draw a conclusion.

No one has a clue where publishing is going.

If you ask a small publisher they will tell you the future is theirs. A larger publisher will tell you that they are all about great content and the delivery method is always evolving. I heard from a lot of people that ebooks are it and also Ipad interactivity. I also heard from other people that no one thinks real solid books are going anywhere—instead that they may become even more valued as objects of art, that ebooks, Ipad apps and traditional books can all co-exist in one happy world.

The one thing, though, that everyone, seems to agree about is change. Things are shifting and changing right under our feet. But no one seemed particularly downbeat or nervous. In fact, they seemed happy to embrace the unknown and actually be excited about it.

I did have a nice little chat with my publisher, Kate Kaynak of Spencer Hill Press, and she believes that there is plenty of room for publishers of all sizes. That change is good, and in fact presents more opportunities for everyone, including smaller publishing houses and indie writers.

It’s an exciting time. You can feel the buzz in the air.

Eventually, I found my way back to Kate Milford and Lish McGlovin who then pointed out that indeed, Kate herself was on the cutting edge of publishing innovation. With her were copies of the arc for her forthcoming independently published novella, The Kairos Mechanism. Lish nodded her little horned head and said, “See? Kate’s leading the way to the future of publishing!”

I had this conversation while waiting online to get an arc of Suzanne Lazear’s new book, Innocent Darkness. While sitting on the floor chatting with Lish and Kate, I also started talking with the young lady sitting next to us, who happened to be a blogger from Virginia named Jessica Coates of Book and Sensibility. Turns out I was so impressed with young Jessica that I walked her over to the Spencer Hill Press booth and got her an internship with them.

So, in conclusion, the coolest thing in this brave new world is interaction. And I don’t mean Ipad interactivity (which seemed to have everyone intrigued)—I mean human interactivity. Writers interacting with readers. Bloggers interacting with publishers, etc. BEA is a hive of interactivity and it is just plain awesome.

And the best thing about it is the arc booty I took away—I really got the hang of that Arc Sharking thing on my second trip back. If you do ever come to BEA, bring a sturdy shopping bag and comfortable shoes!


from Left to right, Jessica Coates with Lish McGlovin, Kate Milford



Suzanne Lazear holding Lish McGovern



The people at Spencer Hill Press--From Left to right, Marie Romero, Associate Editor, Vikki Claffone, Editor (she is my editor!), Trisha Wooldridge, Editor, and Kate Kaynak, Editor



Lisa Amowitz writes YA paranormal thrillers. An artist and graphic designer by trade, she teaches graphic design at a NYC college. Lisa designed her own book cover and hopes to do more. She is a mom of an an actual teen, so YA; she's living it. She is represented by the Victoria Marini of Gelfman Schneider. Her young adult novel, Breaking Glass, will be out in July.

DARK and STORMY First Lines!

Okay, who doesn't love a great first line? First lines can set the tone for entire stories. They can convey raw emotions. They can be the inspiration for entire novels. P. J. (Tricia) Hoover here, and I am totally guilty of having an entire novel of mine inspired by a first line. The funniest part? That line didn't even survive revisions! But the novel remains (SOLSTICE, Tor Teen, June 2013), so all is good.

Anyway, here at The Enchanted Inkpot, we thought it would be fun to collect up a bunch of first lines for our works-in-progress (WIPs). Some first drafts. Some final. All amazing! So here they are for your reading pleasure.

***

BEST FIRST LINES EVER

Lots of people in New York go to church on Sunday. Even more than that sleep in. Mike and I meet for pizza.
“My treat,” I say.
Mike slaps down a twenty before I can get my wallet out. “Next time, Logan.”
I scowl but don’t argue because Mike always pays. I used to put up more of a fight; it never works. And since I don’t have a job and my aunt has a strict no-allowance rule, I’m penniless lots of the time. Truly, I need to find a job. Having no money sucks. -- P. J. Hoover, title TBD


Death stalked the spider, pre-algebra book in hand. --Ellen Booraem


Lydia Cohen gazed at her fingers, the bare swath of nail revealed by the chipped black polish reminding her vaguely of the Horn of Africa. -- Lisa Amowitz, EXCEPTIONAL

There's a right way to do things and a wrong way, if you're going to run a hotel in a smugglers' town. -- Kate Milford, GREENGLASS HOUSE

Surely it was the persistent Yorkshire wind that made the legions of gravestones all lean towards the parsonage, but ever since Anne was a child she'd had the notion that the stones were straining towards her home, their progress glacial, yet inevitable, their one aim to break through the low stone wall that held them back, to invade the little patch of green that separated the parsonage from the graveyard, and envelope them all. -- Lena Coakley, THE WORLDS BELOW

The girl with no name stood on the stone steps looking up at the building in front of her. -- Miriam Forster, prequel to CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS


Josie's ancient Tercel shuddered in protest as she stepped on the accelerator.
"Come on." She leaned forward in her seat, willing the old car to go faster. "If I'm late again Mr. Reed is totally going to fire my ass."
As if in answer, the Tercel lurched forward. The car, a hand-me-down from her cousin, was older than she was, and the engine screeched in protest as she held the pedal to the floor. The speedometer flickered, desperately grasping for 45MPH. For a fleeting moment, Josie thought the Teal Monster, as her friends had dubbed her car, might actually have some kick left in her.
Yeah, not so much. The engine sputtered, momentum slowed, and Josie had to downshift to third gear.
"I hate you," she said, slapping the steering wheel with the palm of her hand. "Just so you know." -- Gretchen McNeil, 3:59


The music beat hard against Joy’s ribs. -- Dawn Metcalf, INDELIBLE (Harlequin Teen, July 2013)

Joy grabbed the first ceramic platter piled high with Cobb salad and ran a moist towel around the rim, making it neat. -- Dawn Metcalf, sequel to INDELIBLE, 2014


I was twelve the day the king ordered Nowan flogged to his death.
It was not the first time he had been beaten, for he was my whipping boy. But, unlike on previous occasions when he had been punished for my mistakes, I was unaware of having done anything wrong, and couldn’t understand my father’s sudden rage. -- Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban, THE REVENGE OF THE WOLF KING

It hung there, suspended between two trees, a giant bolt of cloud. A promise. I am not a cloud. I am a flying saucer. I can take you away. Just stretch out your hands and leap. Tempting. -- Keely Parrack


The mirror shattered into a thousand tiny fragments. -- Leah Cypess, sequel to DEATHSWORN


By the time Jonah broke into the dungeon, the sorcerer was dead. -- Cinda Williams Chima, THE ENCHANTED HEIR

Queen Calendrea stood high on a hill at the edge of a clearing, shrouded in shadow, a wolf her sole companion. The old woman’s brilliant green eyes pierced the darkness, scanning the field. She tentatively stepped forward, the hem of her cape billowing out behind her in the bitter wind. Satisfied, she quickened her pace, as the thick clouds that wrapped around the sky parted directly above her, allowing the moon to shine down brightly. She stopped at the edge of the precipice and stared down at the village hamlet below, only a few lights twinkled against the night sky. -- Erin Cashman, LEGEND OF THE FOUR


The alarm sounded at 3:35 in the morning. The lights flashed blindingly bright, illuminating the frightened faces of my capsule mates Specimen Iota and Specimen Theta. I wasn’t frightened, though. That was an emotion I hadn’t been programmed with yet. -- Sybil Nelson, DARK MARCO
 

Arms pumping, Thackery sprinted for the chainsaw and swept it up from where it lay on top of a fresh grave. -- Caroline Hooton


Riev crouched in the wagon's shadow, watching and listening. -- Hilari Bell, THE FIXER


The last day of Kaile's life did not start well. -- William Alexander, GHOULISH SONG

The Envoy tossed itself at the world. -- William Alexander, WIP

May your first lines be fun, crisp, and free of cliches, back story, and characters looking in the mirror. And may you nights be ever dark and stormy!

Thanks for reading!