Elise Allen's Blog, page 10

Book Scoop: Post-Tour Wrap-Up

Remember a couple weeks ago, when I posted that I installed the WordPress app on my iPad so I could blog while I was away?

Oops.

I meant to post, truly I did.  The trip was just a crazy-fabulous whirlwind, and when I wasn't doing author appearances, I was either running a marathon, hanging with my family, or falling asleep completely exhausted.

So, um… no posts for awhile.

But now I'm back!  Got home in time to see yet another hideous Eagles fourth-quarter collapse, rested up, and woke at 5am thanks to jet lag — a great thing, since it gives me time to post.  I have a zillion things to share, but I'll start with a rundown of the author appearances.  I was going to do them all right now, but I think that would run far too long.  Instead, maybe I'll make this week all Book Scoop posts and separate them out.

We start with…

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011, 7pm

Children's Book World, Haverford, PA

I LOVE THIS BOOKSTORE!!!

Granted, I fell in love with lots of bookstores on the east coast whirlwind, but Children's Book World scored extra points because:

They're my hometown indie bookstore.
I developed a total girl-crush on Heather, one of the staff members, to the point where I totally want to hang with her when she visits L.A.
Heather served a giant tray of Philly soft pretzels… with chocolate dipping sauce.

I spent my entire childhood in Philly.  I sucked down soft pretzels like they were ambrosia (food-of-the-gods ambrosia, not that-weird-canned-fruit-coconut-cool-whip-thing-my-mom-made ambrosia), and never once did it even cross my mind to dip them in chocolate.

Oh.  My.  God.

Forget dipping french fries in milkshake; if I were writing Populazzi now, Cara would be dipping soft pretzels in chocolate sauce.

This was the most casual of all the appearances — more a small party than book signing — and every one of us there went on a book-buying spree, grabbing up not just copies of Populazzi, but all kinds of others as well.  It was impossible not to — the store is laid out so vibrantly, Heather is so knowledgeable, and the chocolate-dipped pretzels were so intoxicating, we couldn't help ourselves.  I grabbed books by Dav Pilkey and Jon Scieszka for Miss M; my friend Brian snagged Heather-recommended chapter books for his nieces; the ten-year-old daughter of another friend got an American Girl book-and-stuffed-dog combo… there was something for everyone.

Some more delicious tidbits from the evening:

Children's Book World rocks so hard, they've had J.K. Rowling there for a book signing.  Uh-huh — that's like the kid-lit equivalent of a Papal blessing.

~
The store is usually not open in the evenings; if they do open their doors, it's for an  event.  This makes things particularly cozy and lovely, since 90% of the people who walk through the door have gone out of their way to come specifically to the event.

~
Along with J.K. Rowling, their long list of Authors Who Have Darkened Their Doors includes two more whom I worship, one from afar and one I'm proud to call a friend: Laurie Halse Anderson and Matthew Quick.

And a final interesting fact — as the evening wound down, I signed stock (so if you want a signed copy of Populazzi and you're in PA, go to Children's Book World!!!!).  Heather gave me a stack, and when it was done I turned to the wall behind me, on which ten more copies were displayed.

"Should I sign those too?" I asked.

No, Heather said, those were for school book fairs.

Turns out in the past, the store has sent author-signed copies of books to school book fairs, and the books were shunned.  Not only did the non-personalized author-signature not add value for the book fair shopper, it was a detriment — the signed book had been written in, was therefore marred, and didn't sell.  Pretty fascinating, right?

There you have it: the first stop on the Elise Goes East Tour, my official new favorite home town indie book store (Children's Book World), and official new favorite home town snack (Philly soft pretzels dipped in chocolate).  Which of course leads me to a question — two questions, in fact:

What's your favorite home town indie bookstore and why?

What's your favorite home-town-specific snack?

Can't wait to hear, and I'll share more east coast tidbits tomorrow!!!

 

Scoop Soup: Publishing From My iPad

I'm trying the Word Press app on my iPad for today's post, since I'll be traveling. Let's see if I can add a picture..

Okay, it's do-able… Not sure if I can use it as a featured image… I will try.

Fair warning – while I'll be blogging is trip, the posts might be a tad wonky.

Anyone out there used this app? Any tips? Thanks!!!

Oh, and in case anyone's interested in following my slow progress on Sunday's NYC Marathon, I'm bib number 60433!

Industry Scoop: Populazzi Movie Update

When we last left our heroes, Populazzi's film rights had been optioned by Wind Dancer Films, and they were starting to look at screenwriters.

Wind Dancer is not required to let me behind the curtain for any of their process, but they are awesome, wonderful people, and they're kindly keeping me in the loop.  This is ridiculously cool for me, and I also get to pass along what I experience to you, so you can join me on the option journey.

Last week I got to read some scripts from some of the potential screenwriters.  This was fascinating for two reasons.  First — obviously — these are people who might write the Populazzi screenplay.  On that score I was thrilled — they're terrific.

The other fascinating part was that the samples I read are screenplays with "industry buzz."  These are specs that get execs all kinds of excited.  What did they have in common?

No real shock — they all have very strong hooks.

For anyone who doesn't know, a "hook" is a high-concept conceit on which all the action hangs.  A movie like Freaky Friday has a strong hook: mom and daughter swap places.  A movie like Swingers — four guys hang out in L.A. — does not.  A hookless movie can be terrific (I loved Swingers), but it's unlikely to get buzz as a spec script.  (A spec script is one written "on spec" — for free — and then shopped around by the screenwriter's peeps.)

I used to chafe at the criticism "it needs a stronger hook."  Life doesn't have hooks.  If a movie/book/TV show has strong characters and a great story, shouldn't that be enough?

Now I get it.  I hook makes a movie/book/TV show easy to understand in moments.  That makes it easier to pitch, easier to market, easier to sell.  But if something is just a hook, it won't work.  The 1980′s George Lucas movie Howard the Duck was super-high concept — duck from outer space comes to Earth — but a hook was all it had, and it tanked.  Freaky Friday, however (I'm thinking of the remake with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis; I have to admit I never saw the original), had a strong hook, plus it was charming, real (within its completely unreal concept), and emotionally satisfying.  It was successful at the box office, and a thoroughly enjoyable watch.

So… think about your favorite movies: do they have strong hooks?

I'll start with a few of mine:

The Princess Bride — true love overcomes all odds in an ancient land.  No, not a strong hook… but a brilliant, brilliant movie.  (And one that did poorly when it was first released, probably because it had no hook, so it was tough to explain its genius in a commercial.)

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure — boy loses his bike and goes on wild, cross-country adventure.  It's a hook, but not a super-strong hook.  It's Pee-Wee himself who makes it a high concept sell, just because of who he is.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure — Time-traveling Encino slackers grab historical figures and bring them back to the '80′s so they can both pass their test and save humanity's future.  Huge, high-concept hook; most excellent feature entertainment.

Your turn — what are your favorite books/movies, and were you drawn in by their hooks, or did they win you over without a strong hook?

Fit'n'Food Scoop: NYC Marathon, Here I Come!!!!

It's Wednesday, two days before I head to NYC, four days to the MARATHON!!!!

The picture is my medal from my last NYC marathon, several years ago.  I'm super-excited to tackle this race again, though I'm trying to temper my expectations.  My best long runs have been veeeeeerrrrrry sloooooowwwww.  When I try to go fast, I end up hurting myself.  So much as I know I'll be so excited that I'll want to race like a kid zooming onto the playground, I also know that if I do, I'll be hobbling by mile 13.

My plan?  5:1 run:walk from the start (okay, maybe 10:1), slow and steady all the way.  If I finish under 5 hours I'll be elated, but I'll be happy just to finish (though I'd rather not take more than 5 and a half hours).

Bonus — I get to hang at the starting area with one of the BRILLIANT execs at Wind Dancer who optioned Populazzi!

I'd also love to hang with any blog readers out there who are joining me in this crazy venture.  Anyone else running the NYC Marathon this year?

 

Family Scoop: Hot Dog, What a Great Halloween Costume!

Come on, tell me I'm not the only one who dressed her pet (sorry Riley, I mean furry child) up for Halloween.  What did yours wear?

Book Scoop: BOOKPLATES!

Check out the pic — aren't they cute!!!

They're bookplates, and I had a bunch printed out so people can get signed books even if I'm not physically there to sign them.

They do me no good in my hands; if I'm near one of my books, I can go ahead and sign it — no plate necessary.

However, if they're put into books at bookstores, those books become "signed by the author," the bookstore puts a fancy sticker on the cover, and they're usually displayed more prominently.

So to make the bookplates work, they need to be places I'm not.

That's where you come in, if you're willing. 

First, if anyone out there wants a bookplate for their own copy of Populazzi, just email me (elise@eliseallen.com) with your address and I'll send it your way.

Also, if anyone is interested in helping me get more signed copies of Populazzi on shelves, email me that too!  I'll send you signed bookplates you can take to your local bookstore, and (with the store's permission — they can't label them "signed" if they don't know) you can stick them in their stock of books!

This all leads me to a question: do you tend to go into local bookstores and browse, or do you do more of your book shopping online?  Personally, I do both.  I make a ton of purchases online, but I also regularly jaunt to those precious few bookstores still open near me and make an obscene number of purchases.

One more thing: I have some east coast appearances coming up!  Check them out — I'd love to see you there!

 

Scoop Soup: Congratulations, Giveaway Winner!!!!

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First, thanks so much to everyone who entered my Thousand Thank-You Giveaway!!!  It was so wonderful hearing from all of you!  I wish I had a ton of signed copies of Devoted, so I could give them all to you.  I will keep doing giveaways on the site though, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, after tallying up all the comments and tweets and letting Random.org pick one person at random, the winner is…

Jessica, @hilaryduffrocks!

Jessica, congratulations!  I'll be sending you a copy of Devoted, signed by Hilary Duff and myself, a signed copy of Populazzi, and a bonus book that you can pick from the list below:

A. Possess by Gretchen McNeil

B. Audition by Stasia Kehoe

C. From Bad to Cursed by Katie Alender

D. Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick

E. Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley

F. The Education of Hailey Kendrick , by Eileen Cook

G. My Life, The Theater, and Other Tragedies , by Allen Zadoff

These are all terrific books — you can't go wrong with any of them.  I'll even try to get the bonus book signed for you, since all the authors are people I know (and they're all crazy-fabulous!).  So Jessica, shoot me an email (elise@eliseallen.com) with your mailing address and your choice of bonus book, and I'll get your package out to you ASAP!

Again, to everyone else, thank you so much for joining in the giveaway!  I look forward to doing more, and to keeping up with all of you both here and on Twitter!

Book Scoop: Totally Crashing Stages on Pages!

Thursday and Sunday I got to do one of the things I LOVE, which is hang out with other authors.  The amazing Stasia Kehoe was kind enough to invite me along on the Stages on Pages L.A. tour, and I did my first two stops last week.  Thursday I was with Stasia and the hysterically brilliant Gretchen McNeil at Mrs. Nelson's Book Shop in LaVerne.  The store is fantastic, and we had the added bonus of hanging out with blogger/writer Janelle Alexander.

The concept behind the Stages on Pages tour is simple.  All the authors are in some way involved — or have previously been involved — in the performing arts, and we discuss how that informs our writing and our books.  Sometimes the tie is clear, as in Stasia's book Audition.  Other times it's more oblique, as in Gretchen's Possess or in Populazzi.  No matter what, our tie to the arts has informed the way we write, which is something we always discuss.

(My performing art was acting — I was a hard-core theater geek in high school, theater major in college, took a semester of conservatory training at the National Theater Institute, and came out here originally to act.  I believe I've shared with you all my one line in the show California Dreams.  It wasn't pretty.)

So Thursday at Mrs. Nelson's was the three of us, then Sunday at Vroman's Bookstore (don't get me started on how much I love that bookstore — everyone should shop there!) we were joined by Allen Zadoff, whom I've adored from the minute we met at a LAYA (Los Angeles Young Adult Author) event.  I've read two of his books, Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have and Hungry, and was impressed by both of them.  His latest is My Life, The Theater, and Other Tragedies, and I can't wait to read it.

Also at Vroman's, we got to meet writer/blogger Nutschell Anne Windsor.  It was terrific chatting with her, and I'm eager to see the pictures she took!

The Stages on Pages tour is a blast, and in an amazing stroke of luck, they're going to be in New York when I'm back east for the marathon… so I'm joining them!  If you're in or around New York, come join us!  Here are the places I'll be hopping on the tour wagon:

Thursday 10 NOVEMBER – Books of Wonder, NYC from 6-8 pm

with Gretchen McNeil, Sheela Chari, Rosanne Parry, Stasia Kehoe, Jessica Martinez

*

Friday 11 NOVEMBER – The Voracious Reader, Larchmont, NY at 6 pm

with Gretchen McNeil, Sheela Chari, Rosanne Parry, Stasia Kehoe, Jessica Martinez

*

Saturday 12 NOVEMBER – Dolphin Bookshop, Port Washington, NY at 4 pm

with Gretchen McNeil, Sheela Chari, Stasia Kehoe, Jessica Martinez

I'm really looking forward to it!

Thanks Mrs. Nelson's and Vroman's, thanks Stasia, Gretchen, and Allen, and thanks to everyone who came out to join us at the appearances!  It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to do it again!

Also, don't forget my 1,000 Tweep giveaway!  All this week, comment on this page and Tweet about the giveaway to be entered to win signed copies of Devoted, Populazzi, and a bonus book!

 

Scoop Soup: A THOUSAND THANK YOUS!!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Thanks to all of you, I've reached 1,000 Tweeps, which is just an insane number.  I appreciate it, and look forward to sharing all kinds of fun stuff with you, and following your tweets, too.  One new Tweep, @tristybby (Tristan of the "HD" tattoo) has already told me exciting news about a show in which she's performing (The Marriage of Bette and Boo at Sunset and La Brea for L.A. peeps).  I hope to get out and see it, and look forward to more news about everything going on with all of you.

So as I've been promising, it's time for a GIVEAWAY!!!

But before I can tell you that story, I have to tell you this story.  (My daughter's been reading a lot of Captain Underpants.)

We have a winner of the Hilary Duff Sharpie!!!  "Mass" has been chosen at random (thank you, Random.org) as the winner!!!!  Mass, if you're out there, email me your address, and I'll get your prize out to you!!!!

Now without further ado, the giveaway.  Here's what I've got:

1) A copy of Devoted signed by both Hilary and myself.

2) A signed copy of my solo YA novel, Populazzi

3) Your choice of ONE of the following books, all of which are recent or semi-recent YA books written by author friends of mine.  (I will do my best to get this book signed for you as well, but can't promise it'll happen for sure.)

A. Possess by Gretchen McNeil

B. Audition by Stasia Kehoe

C. From Bad to Cursed by Katie Alender

D. Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick

E. Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley

F. The Education of Hailey Kendrick , by Eileen Cook

G. My Life, The Theater, and Other Tragedies , by Allen Zadoff

How do you enter this giveaway?

1) Leave a comment.  Each person who comments gets one chance in the giveaway.  You have to be a Twitter follower (since that's what we're celebrating with the giveaway), so please put your Twitter name somewhere in the comment.

2) Tweet about this giveaway, and mention me (@EliseLAllen) so I see it.  Each day you tweet about it, you get another entry.

3) On Friday, October 28th, I will visit the good people at Random.Org once again, and choose a winner from the entries!

Good luck, and THANK YOU again!!!!

xo,

E

 

Fit'n'Food Scoop: 23 Miles!!!!

So yesterday I posted about what I did Friday night, which was a trip to Barnes and Noble to  see Hilary Duff sign copies of the book I co-wrote with her, Devoted.  If you check out that post and leave a comment this week, you'll be in the running for an "official" Hilary Duff Sharpie.  I only have one, and much as I think it's super cool, I'm so blown away by her fans' dedication that I'd much rather send the Sharpie off to one of them (or one of you, if you're a fan).

Today, however, I'm posting about what I did Saturday… which is run 23 miles.

I usually start my runs at 7am, but I was exhausted after sitting in a comfy chair for several hours Friday night (I know, the tortures of my job…), and slept in so late that I didn't get to Marina del Rey and start the run until 9am.  Still early enough to enjoy the marine layer cool… but not for long.

I started out with a 10:1 walk:run ratio.  For those of you not familiar with the kooky marathon subculture, the walk:run is a technique pushed by Olympic marathoner Jeff Galloway.  His theory is that by including brief but consistent walk breaks into your 26.2 mile run, you rest your legs even as you push forward, since you use different muscles to run than to walk.  If you're disciplined enough to stick with the run:walk from the very beginning, even when you're pumped and motivated and want to speed, you'll be well-rested and strong even at the end of the race.

I believe in the run:walk.  I did my second-fastest marathon time while keeping a 4:1 ratio the entire time.  My fastest marathon was without the run:walk, but it included a two-mile stretch of staggering, and a near-complete internal collapse at the end of the race.  I believe if I'd done the run:walk consistently in that race, I'd still have managed a Personal Record, and would have felt much more human at the finish line.

That said, part of me feels like a wuss when I run:walk.  That part is pure ego and has a remarkably low I.Q., so I'm better served when I ignore it.

For my first three and a half miles, I stuck with the 10:1 ratio, then I was joined by my old running partner, Michelle — yay!  Michelle was supposed to run the NYC Marathon with me, but hurt her foot and had to stop training.  She finally got the go-ahead to run, and I used "taking it easy on her" as my excuse to switch to a 5:1 ratio.  Michelle and I spent two miles in chatty bliss, then she peeled off to go home and I continued on.

For those of you who know L.A., my route stretched from Fisherman's Village in Marina Del Rey, up along the bike path through Venice and Santa Monica, up the California Incline, all across San Vicente to Wilshire, back down Wilshire to Ocean, down to Pico, back onto the beach path by Shutters, then along the bike path back to Marina del Rey.

I was tired by the end, but strong.  After my hideous long run two weeks before, I finally feel like I'll be just fine at the marathon… though I'll have to discipline myself to stick with the run:walk so I don't crash at the end.

Any other runners out there?  Do you ever run:walk, or do you prefer to keep running steadily the whole way?  If so, do you pause to walk through water stations, or do you take in water and fuel on the run?