End of Summer Shamelessness

Summer may be over, but it's still hot here in Southern California, and for Inkies around the country who have some hot, hot news to share!

P.J. Hoover's debut with Tor SOLSTICE has a beautiful cover along with a wonderful blurb from Cynthia Leitich Smith!

Piper's world is dying. Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.

Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.

An imaginative melding of mythology and dystopia, Solstice is the first YA novel by talented newcomer P. J. Hoover.

Awesome, right? And the blurb from Cynthia Leitich Smith:

“Solstice is one red-hot read—it intrigues, sizzles, and satisfies.” —Cynthia Leitich Smith, New York Times bestselling author

The fantastic trailer for THE CRIMSON CROWN by Cinda Williams Chima is now live, featuring an original song by Roto. Check it out before you can see it theaters this fall!

Cinda's not the only one with a brand shiny new trailer. Grace Lin's STARRY RIVER THE SKY (which now has 5 starred reviews) is also live!

So amazing. Both of them!

Speaking of reviews, DIVERSE ENERGIES, a multicultural YA dystopian anthology (Tu Books) has a new one. The anthology features short stories by our own Ellen Oh and Cindy Pon, as well as award winning authors such as Ken Liu, Paolo Bacigalupi and Ursula Le Guin. Kirkus gave Diverse Energies a very positive review in their October 1 issue:

As the title promises, this sophisticated science-fiction anthology is diverse in nearly every sense of the word... Readers will find poor children working in mines and factories, a have-not yao boy kidnapping a rich you girl and a girl reeling as the world inexplicably changes around her, and no one else notices. Although many stories imagine bleak futures, their tones are refreshingly varied... Careful, curious readers will be rewarded, though probably not comforted, by the many realities and futures imagined here.

Yep, that's a win!

And last, I announced a new book deal a couple of weeks ago, for 2014 and 2015. Not fantasy, but I thought I'd let you know anyway.

Author of POSSESS, TEN and the upcoming 3:59, Gretchen McNeil's new Don't Get Mad series, GET EVEN and GET DIRTY, pitched as Revenge meets The Breakfast Club, about four girls who form a secret revenge society for bullied classmates which goes well until one of their targets turns up dead, to Kristin Daly Rens at Balzer & Bray, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown (NA).

And that's all the awesomeness for this week!!!!

Interview with Jennifer L. Armentrout, author of the Lux series from Entangled Teen and the Covenant series from Spencer HIll Press

Parts of this interview appeared on my blog at http://lisa-amowitzya.blogspot.com/2012/07/interview-with-jennifer-l-armentrout-ya.html 

From Jennifer’s website: Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you've heard about her state aren't true. When she's not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russel Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories....which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is the author of the COVENANT Series (Spencer Hill Press), the LUX Series (Entangled Publishing), and the upcoming YA contemporary mystery/thrillers DON'T LOOK BACK (Disney/Hyperion Fall 2013) and yet untitled book (Disney/Hyperion tentative Fall 2014).

I first heard of Jennifer when I signed with Spencer Hill Press this past February and I was astounded by all of the buzz about her online and the sheer volume of books she had coming out. Since that time, Jennifer’s books have been appearing on best-of lists as well as USA’s Today's best books of 2012.

At this point, I have read nearly every book Jennifer has written, including the two released Covenant titles from Spencer Hill Press (HALF-BLOOD, and PURE) as well as the arc of the soon to be released DEITY. I’ve also read the prequel novella, DAIMON. Additionally, I have read both released books in the LUX series from Entangled Publishing, (OBSIDIAN and ONYX).

I must say, although Jennifer and I are actually colleagues, I am a huge fan girl and not above major gushing. First, I admire the sheer volume of her productivity. In her interview on my blog, Jenn admits to writing ten hours every single day! It’s totally amazing. But first, before we meet Jenn, let me talk a little about OBSIDIAN and ONYX. Yes, I love the Covenant series, but oh—DAEMON—her protag from the Lux series is such an amazing character. In fact, that is the thing about Jenn. She writes breathless YA paranormal fantasy, but with such sharp craft, spot on humor, plot twists you never see coming and depth of character, it is totally impossible not to inhale her books in giant gobbles.

Now, about OBSIDIAN. First, the blurb.
Starting over sucks.
When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.
And then he opened his mouth. 
Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all.
But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.
The hot alien living next door marks me. You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip.
The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.
If I don’t kill him first, that is.

I was a little hesitant to read this at first. The whole idea that an alien romance could be swoon-worthy just didn’t grab me. I was worried it was going to be Twilight with little green men. And then I started reading. And reading. And laughing. And gasping in shock and wonder. I was hooked. And when I finished, I quickly grabbed the supplemental novella, SHADOWS, about what happened to Daemon’s missing twin brother and found it riveting as well as heartbreaking.

So now for the blurb on Onyx, the second book in the Lux series.

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks… Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems. Something worse than the Arum has come to town… The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we’re linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there’s this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that’s possible. Against all common sense, I’m falling for Daemon. Hard. But then everything changes… I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me? No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies… 

Onyx picks up where Obsidian leaves off at a breakneck pace. It’s packed with, yes, romance, but also adventure, mystery and all kinds of action. You never know what twist is coming next. Kat, the mc, is a very likable character. She is outspoken, feisty and no swooning violet when it comes to the smart-alecky Daemon. She doesn’t necessarily want to be involved with him, and certainly doesn’t need him to complete her. Yet, somehow, now that she is in on the secret, there really is no escape.

Now, let’s talk to Jenn.

LA: Tell us about how your life has changed since your first book, Half-Blood was released in November 2011.  

JLA: I don't think my life has really changed that much except I get a lot more emails now and comments on Facebook. I still spend the bulk of my time writing and pretending to write. How did you come up with the idea for the Lux series? Obsidian is the book that almost didn't happen. I had turned in a manuscript to my editor, an adult novel, and she had asked if I'd ever been interested in writing about aliens in high school. That was all she said. My response was to laugh and say no, because seriously, aliens in high school? But after I got off the phone, I started thinking about it and the characters came first-Katy and Daemon and then I got an idea for the plot. I wrote the first three chapters and sent them off to the editor and she loved it. I wrote half of Obsidian having no idea what the aliens really looked like. So it almost never happened.

LA: Was Daemon inspired by a real person? What about Kat? 

JLA:  I don't know anyone like Daemon, not really. He's a product of my overactive imagination. The same with Kat, but I did base her book loving tendencies on the bloggers I talk to.

LA: How many books will their be in the Lux series? 

 JLA: Five books, not including novellas.

LA: Tell us about your world building process. Since this is a fantasy blog, inquiring minds want to know. 

JLA: My world building is very spur of the moment with the exception of the Covenant Series, because I modeled that after ancient Greece. I usually start with an idea and build off of there. When I read through the first draft, I tend to tweak the world to make it stand out more or hopefully do that.

LA: Any fantasy writing tips you'd like to share with the readers of this blog? 
JLA: Write what you want to write about-what you want to read, because then you will enjoy what you're writing. Don't write to trends or what you think a publishing house is acquiring at this given moment. Your writing needs heart and that only happens when its something you're truly invested in.

Great having you stop by, Jenn! Keep rocking the world and keep those books coming!

visit Jenn on her blog: http://jenniferarmentrout.blogspot.com/
There you can find out about all things Jennifer and her books, (and her smexy characters!)

posted by  Lisa Amowitz

My book BREAKING GLASS will be released by Spencer Hill Press in July, 2013. 

Keep an look out for a slew of yet to be revealed cover designs I've done for SHP. 

visit me at: http://lisa-amowitzya.blogspot.com/

Non-Fairy Tale Retellings

Fairy tale retellings are a constant in the fantasy genre, and here at the Inkpot we’ve talked about them before. But popular as they are, they’re not the only tales that can be retold. Lately I’ve been reading a lot of retellings of stories other than fairy tales, which led me to think about the things various types of retellings have in common… and the things that set them apart.

No matter what the original source, I think the best type of retelling is one that draws upon the power and magic of the original while still delivering something new and interesting. And some retellings – of poems, legends, or nursery rhymes– operate under the same sort of logic as fairy tale retellings: the original is spare, and serves as a foundation to be fleshed out. But what if you’re retelling Shakespeare or Jane Austen? I’ve never tried it, but I’m sure the challenges are very different when you’re reimagining an already fully-realized story.

The category that spurred this post is a recent spate of retellings of nineteenth-century novels, and particularly two stellar examples: Ironskin by Tina Connolly (steampunk Jane Eyre with faeries) and For Darkness Showsthe Stars by Diana Peterfreund (dystopian Persuasion). Others that I haven’t read yet, but am looking forward to, include Jane & Catherine by April Lindner (retellings of Jane Eyre & Wuthering Heights). 

Edgar Allen Poe is another author who seems ripe for being retold, with books like the dystopian Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (you can guess which story that’s based on…) and the forthcoming gothic fantasy Ashes on the Waves by Mary Lindsey (based on Annabel Lee).

Greek myths and legends have long been a favorite, from classical retellings like Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman (Hades & Persephone) to contemporary re-imaginings like the upcoming Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (the Odyssey).

It also seems the category of retold stories will soon be expanding, with a variety of intriguing new retellings coming up. There’s a retelling of Peter Pan, Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, currently in stores; a retelling of an Agatha Christie novel, Ten by Gretchen McNeil, was discussed here recently; an anthology of retellings of Mother Goose rhymes, Two and TwentyDark Tales, is coming in October; and though its publication date is still far away, I’m fascinated by news that a retelling of the Nutcracker, Winterspell by Claire Legrand, is in the works.

What other stories would you like to see retold? Any other new retellings coming up that you’re looking forward to – or past retellings that you want to recommend? Please share in the comments!

Featuring GRETCHEN MCNEIL and TEN!

Today I am so happy to feature our very own Gretchen McNeil and her brand new book, TEN! TEN just released yesterday. Woot! Woot!

For those of you who have not yet read the book, head to your favorite bookstore pronto and buy it! You don't want to miss it. And trust me, it will keep you up all night :)

Gretchen joins us today to talk about herself, her books, and all the good things in life!

 Hi, Gretchen!

 *****

PJH: You’ve just run into an old classmate from high school and you tell them your latest book just came out. They ask what it’s about. What do you say?

GMcN: Ten teens trapped on an island with a serial killer. It's an homage to Agatha Christie's masterpiece And Then There Were None, in a throwback style to the Christopher Pike novels I loved as a teen.


PJH: I'd love to hear about the writing process for TEN? Did you plan a bunch ahead of time? Are you a quick first drafter? Do you spend gobs of time revising? How does the writing mind of Gretchen McNeil work?

GMcN: I write quickly, which came in handy for this book. I had to write the first draft of TEN in ten weeks, due to deadlines for my publisher. So there was literally no room for error. I had a tight outline, which did vary somewhat from the final product, but at least gave me a strong guide to follow. In the end, I wrote the first draft in eight weeks, had some trusted friends read it and give me feedback, spent a week revising and sent it off.

TEN by Gretchen McNeil (Balzer & Bray, September 18, 2012)

PJH: Tell us about the research! Did you seriously research a bunch of killing methods online? Did the FBI come after you? What's the craziest thing you discovered in your research stage?

GMcN: Oh, I'm sure my Google searches have landed me on some sort of government watch list. The trickiest part of TEN is coming up with unique ways to kill people. I realize that makes me sound like Dexter, but it's true! Can't just have the same old, same old.

The craziest thing I discovered is that you can actually electrocute someone using a generator, some jumper cables and a doorknob. That's all I'm saying.


PJH: You are doing an amazing job of marketing this book! It's everywhere. When it comes to marketing, what do you think makes the biggest difference in whether a book is successful?

GMcN: The biggest difference is getting your book in front of people and I've found that word of mouth can really accomplish that. One person who reads and loves your book tells ten others. If only five of them read it and love it, but each tells ten more people, etc. etc. Well, you get the picture.

POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil (Balzer & Bray, 2011)

PJH: What is next? WIPs? Future publications? Please tell all!

GMcN: Next up is my Fall 2013 release 3:59, a parallel universe doppelganger story about two girls who are the same girl but different, who discover that their parallel worlds connect every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. After that, I just announced my next two books, GET EVEN and GET DIRTY, books 1 and 2 in the Don't Get Mad series, for 2014 and 2015. I pitched them as Revenge meets The Breakfast Club, about four girls who form a secret revenge society for bullied classmates which goes well until one of their targets turns up dead.

PJH: Thanks so much, Gretchen!

****

About TEN:

And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives – three days on Henry Island at an exclusive house party. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their own reasons for wanting to be there, both of which involve Kamiak High’s most eligible bachelor, T.J. Fletcher. But what starts out as a fun-filled weekend turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly, people are dying and the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?
 

*****

Praise for TEN:

"TEN is a real page turner! Gretchen McNeil knows how to plot a thriller: Her setup is flawless and the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat." – Christopher Pike, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the THIRST series and REMEMBER ME

"Gretchen McNeil's TEN is my new number one! I jumped at every creaking floorboard in my house and on the page. This is sure to be a teen thriller classic!" – Nancy Holder, Bram Stoker Award winning author of THE SCREAMING SEASON

"You want to read this book. McNeil incorporates all the thrills and chills of a horror movie into this fast-paced, gripping tale. With its quippy dialogue, it’s like reading Scream. This reviewer got the willies while reading Ten on a sunny afternoon." – Top Pick in Romantic Times, September 2012

"A scary gorefest of murder and mayhem, not for the faint of heart [...] a breathless read." – Kirkus

"Agatha Christie meets Gossip Girl [...] in McNeil’s (Possess) throwback to old-school thrillers [...] has all the hallmarks of a traditional slasher flick, including imprudent sex, gory slayings, and dramatic revelations." – Publisher's Weekly

****

Bio:
Gretchen McNeil is an opera singer, writer and clown. Her YA horror POSSESS debuted with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins in 2011. Her follow up TEN – YA horror/suspense about ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer – will be released September 18, 2012, and her third novel 3:59, sci fi doppelganger horror is scheduled for Fall 2013. Gretchen's new YA contemporary series Don't Get Mad (Revenge meets The Breakfast Club) begins Fall 2014 with GET EVEN, followed by the sequel GET DIRTY in 2015, also with Bazler + Bray.

Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys and she sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen blogs with The Enchanted Inkpot and is a founding member of the vlog group the YARebels where she can be seen as "Monday."

*****

P. J. Hoover is the author of the upcoming dystopia/mythology YA book, SOLSTICE (Tor Teen, June 2013), the upcoming Egyptian mythology MG book, TUT (Tor Children's, Winter 2014), and the middle-grade SFF series, THE FORGOTTEN WORLDS BOOKS (CBAY, 2008-2010). You can read more about her and her books on P. J.'s website or blog.

Chinese Dragons, Mermaids, and Unicorns

It's fairly well known that the Western legends of dragons differ greatly from the Eastern mythology. Westerns dragons are evil fire-breathing monsters that tend to covet treasure and fair maidens; and are usually heroically killed. Eastern dragons are awe-inspiring, lucky protectors that can rule the clouds or the sea. However, without a doubt, both creatures are referred to as dragons. The differences that a cultural lens create have always been fascinating to me.

Because it is not only with dragons do the East and West have a common creature with conflicting mythologies.  There are mermaids. In the west, mermaids are beautiful, fish-tailed females that lure men to watery deaths.

In Chinese mythology, there is a famous mermaid and she, ironically, brought men to life. Nu-gua, a goddess with a fish tail, was bored  with the earth having only dumb beasts. So, with a lovely clean batch of mud she began to fashion little beings that looked like her--only giving them legs for fun. She was quite pleased with her little people but it took so long to make them and earth was so large and empty. So, to speed things up she took a rope and dipped it into a large batch of mud that was conveniently located (not that nice, and were three different colors of it, black, brown and yellow). This mud-covered rope she spun over her head, the drips and spatters of mud becoming new people.  These new people were, of course, not as well-formed and refined as Nu-gua's original batch but there were a lot of them. So Nu-gua had the people made from mud-drips into commoners and peasants while her hand-formed people became the aristocrats. Thus, the Chinese class system was formed! Not very politically-correct, but it is a contrast to the languid, lovelorn mermaids of the west.

Another same-but-different mythological creature is the unicorn. The Chinese unicorn or the qilin is a symbol of longevity and good omen, just like the Western unicorn. However, the qilin  has the skin of five colors and scales like a fish. It walks on water and its horn is fleshy, to signify that the qilin is an animal of peace--its horn could never be used as a weapon. Very different from the pure white unicorns that I drew on my notebooks in 7th grade!

Other then curiosity, why does this matter? Well, as authors, our jobs are to write stories with a fresh perspective. In all the stories of the world, they say there are only really two plots (hero goes on a journey or stranger comes to town). All the rest is texture and layers--so why not look at a different cultural fabric for inspiration? For all their differences,  the creatures are the same.

Grace Lin is the author and illustrator of picture books, early readers and middle grade novels. Grace's newest novel, STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY, a companion novel  to her 2010 Newbery Honor book WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON comes out in October!