Elise Allen's Blog, page 3

Laurie Stolarz’s New Book!

Hey, everyone!  Big congratulations to GCC-member Laurie Stolarz! Her new book, Deadly Little Lessons released this week!

Here’s a little about the book:

Camelia Hammond’s trying junior year of high school is finally over…but her troubles aren’t. After she discovers a painful truth about her family, she escapes to a summer arts program in Rhode Island. Determined to put family – and boyfriend – drama behind her, she throws herself into her artwork.

At the arts school, she gets caught up in the case of Sasha Beckerman, a local girl who is missing. Even though all signs suggest that the teen ran away, Camelia senses otherwise. Eager to help the girl, she launches her own investigation. Meanwhile, Camelia realizes how much she misses Ben, despite being committed to Adam.

But time is running out for Sasha, and Camelia will have to trust her powers if she’s to save her. Will the lessons Camelia has learned in the past give her the strength to do so?

AND, to make things even more exciting, Laurie has a brand new contest!  Here’s what she says about it.

I’m calling it Karma Chameleon – yes, after the Boy George song from the ’80′s (in case any of you have heard of it; if not, you can YouTube it for fun).  I’m naming it that, not because of Boy George or his song, but because the contest is all about karma – good karma that is, and the spreading of it, and because, five books later, I thought it’d be the perfect time to celebrate Camelia from the Touch series (recall that Camelia’s real name is Chameleon).

The contest is all about giving and getting – hence the karma part.  As many of you know, the law of karma, in its simplest definition, is that whatever you put out to the world – energy or otherwise, good or bad – comes back to you.  And so, in the spirit of good karma, let’s spread some goodness.   I want to encourage readers to do a good deed, i.e. organize a fundraiser or food drive, volunteer to tutor or teach something, visit the elderly or a children’s hospital.  All good-karma submissions will be entered into a drawing to win autographed copies of some of my Touch series books. I’ll be sharing the most inspiring stories on my website and Facebook, and I’ll Tweet about them as well (with your permission, of course).  For more information, see the official guidelines and rules on my web site: http://www.lauriestolarz.com/news.html

Love, love, LOVE this contest!  Absolutely check it out!  Doesn’t Laurie sound great?  Here’s some more about her, PLUS some tips to unleash your psychic abilities!

Laurie Faria Stolarz is the author of Deadly Little Secret, Deadly Little Lies, Deadly Little Games, Deadly Little Voices, Project 17, and Bleed, as well as the bestselling Blue is for Nightmares series.  Born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, Stolarz attended Merrimack College and received an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston. For more information, please visit her Web site at www.lauriestolarz.com.

Follow Laurie:

FaceBook:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/laurie.st...

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/lauriestolarz

Sign up for her e-Newsletter for updates on contest, book, and appearance info: http://www.lauriestolarz.com/newsletter.html.

Laurie’s Guilty Pleasures

Favorite snack: Popcorn with Earth Balance butter and lemon/pepper seasoning.

Touristy Trip: Paris.

Fashion addiction (at the moment): artfully torn jeans, tall boots, pretty scarves, and Michael Stars tees.

Dessert: Dark chocolate in almost any form – the darker the better.

Fast food: French fries at least once every few months (with lots of ketchup).

Beauty Binge: Aveda haircare products, which includes indulging in high-and/or-low-lights every eight weeks. Also, Caudalie skincare, Ineke perfume (Field Notes from Paris), Revitalash mascara, and Buxom Lips from Bare Escentuals.

Late-Night TV: Real Housewives of (wherever).

Chick Flick: Never Been Kissed, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Juno, Green Card, Once, The Devil Wears Prada, Bridget Jones Diary, Thelma & Louise, Mean Girls, Moonstruck, Clueless, Under the Tuscan Sun, and anything with John Cusack.

Nightlife: Pilates in front of the TV (a regular occurrence), answering e-mail (also regular), and dinner and/or a movie out with friends (happens far too rarely).

Cheap Thrill: Window-shopping, tabloid magazines, buying a new lip gloss, a tall cup of coffee from Starbucks.

Ultimate Splurge: G2O Day Spa for a massage.

Other Random Info

Favorite Quote: Perseverance is key.

Favorite cuisine: Indian food – onion chutney, curried vegetables, and kashmir bread. I also love cheeseless pizza from Bertucci’s.

Interests: Vegetarian cooking, holistic nutrition, aromatherapy.

Favorite Music: Adele, Fergie, James Blunt, Gavin Rossdale, Tori Amos, Sting, Sarah MacLachlin, Gwen Stefani, Black-eyed Peas.

Hobbies: Walking, napping, cooking,, interior decorating.

How to bring your psychometric senses to fruition

By Camelia Hammond, main character, TOUCH series by Laurie Faria Stolarz

1. Make yourself comfortable in a place that feels “sacred” to you. For some it’s outside, surrounded by nature; for others it’s a favorite chair or surrounded by candles; for me, it’s wherever I’m doing pottery.

2. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breath, letting go of any stray or nervous thoughts.

3. Now, take an object in your hand. A good idea is to have someone give you something they’ve owned for a long time, i.e. a favorite bracelet or a set of keys.

4. Close your eyes again and concentrate on this object. Be aware of any thoughts or feelings that come about as a result of holding this object. Talk those ideas through, even if they seem silly or insignificant, but never make information up.

Remember, this takes practice and a bit of experimenting. The goal is to begin tuning in to your own inner awareness and your ability of perception. What often works for me is asking a question aloud, and then sculpting out the answer, using my power of touch in a creative and organic way.

Good Luck!

 

 

Dial Us for Murder is Coming BACK!

I’ve told you about Dial Us for Murder, the amazingly-insanely-disturbingly-riduculously absurd mystery party company that Debbie McMahon and I created. We both miss the events like crazy… so we’re bringing them back!

Check out our new Facebook page to find out more about the events and see some phenomenal pictures.  Then give us a “Like” so you’ll be in the know for all the new stuff we’ll be rolling out, both live events here in L.A., and at-home versions that you can experience wherever you may be.

Also, I’d love to know your opinion — if you could live out a wild night in any time period whatsoever, what would it be?  Who knows, maybe Patches and Mittens will make it happen!

 

Full-On Geek Outtery

I may have told you this before, but a VERY successful screenwriter-friend of mine swears by this maxim:

Never Geek Out.

Oh sure, you can geek out on the inside when you meet someone you’ve always admired; but if you let your soft geeky underbelly show through, you’ll never be on equal footing with said admiree, so he or she will never take you seriously.

I keep this in mind all the time… usually while I’m geeking out on someone in the most embarrassing way possible.

I told you all about my multiple geek-outs over Caroll Spinney, yes?

Well, this time it was another kids’ TV star.

I was at a cocktail party filled with kids’ TV writers, producers, agents… a lot of them people I know and was thrilled to hang out with.

But one person kept catching my eye.  He looked very familar… and I finally figured out why.

He’s in Love Handel.

Yes, yes, I’m aware Love Handel is not only fictional but also animated, a band featured in Phineas and Ferb, but this guy was in it!  I swear!  He looked exactly like Bobbi Fabulous!

Turns out there’s a reason for that.  The man was Bobby Gaylor, who is not only a remarkably gracious, lovely, and hysterically funny human being; he’s also the visual inspiration for Mr. Fabulous.

And he writes for Phineas and Ferb.

And he does the voice of Buford.

Do I even need to tell you that geeking out quickly ensued?

My screenwriter-friend with the maxim would have hung his head in shame.  Not only did I gush all over Mr. Gaylor, but I quoted him back to him (as if he might by surprised by the things he had said), and even sung a few bars of There’s a Nerd-Sized Hole in My Heart.

Then I asked him to record a message to my daughter in Buford’s voice.  I am beyond grateful that the wonderful Mr. Gaylor not only didn’t have me removed from the party, he in fact did record the message to Miss M, who was thrilled beyond belief.

She thinks I’m the coolest Mom ever.

Oh, how little she knows…

I trolled for your geek-outtery stories back when I blogged about meeting Oscar, but it’s been awhile since then — any new ones?  I always love to hear I’m not alone…

Mr. Belding’s In My Garage!

I think I’ve mentioned that my first “Hollywood” job was a stint on Saved By the Bell: The College Years.  From there I moved around in Peter Engel land (he exec-produced Bell and all its clones), including a stint with the rotating cast of Saved By the Bell: The New Class.

During the holiday season, I’m doing a major clean-out of the garage, and look what I found:

Uh-huh, signed by the big “B” himself.  Hey hey hey hey hey!

What bizarre things have you unearthed while cleaning?  I can’t wait to hear!

Why I Love Eileen Cook

Here’s my list of why I love Eileen Cook…

1) Her author picture includes dogs.

2) Her capacity for snark is matched only by her capacity for outrageous screwball-comedy plot-twists.

3) She loves a good list.

Okay, I actually don’t know if in her personal life she loves a good list, but every single one of her books features at least one, and usually several, lists.  In fact, here’s a great drinking game: have several people sit in a circle, each holding a different one of Eileen’s books.  Take turns reading one chapter at a time, and each time there’s a list, everyone drinks.  I guarantee you’ll all be blitzed by the second time around.

But today I’m not here to talk about Getting Loopy With Eileen Cook (though that’s certainly something on my long-term to-do list), I’m here because she’s part of the GIRLFRIENDS’ CYBER-CIRCUIT, and she’s touring her newest book, The Almost Truth.

Shall I present you with a summary?  I shall.

From the author of Unraveling Isobel and The Education of Hailey Kendrick, a smart, romantic novel about a teenage con artist who might be in over her head.

Sadie can’t wait to get away from her backwards small town, her delusional mom, her jailbird dad, and the tiny trailer where she was raised…even though leaving those things behind also means leaving Brendan. Sadie wants a better life, and she has been working steadily toward it, one con at a time.

But when Sadie’s mother wipes out Sadie’s savings, her escape plan is suddenly gone. She needs to come up with a lot of cash—and fast—or she’ll be stuck in this town forever.

With Brendan’s help, she devises a plan—the ultimate con—to get the money. But the more lies Sadie spins, the more she starts falling for her own hoax…and perhaps for the wrong boy. Sadie wanted to change her life, but she wasn’t prepared to have it flipped upside down by her own deception. With her future at stake and her heart on the line, suddenly it seems like she has a lot more than just money to lose….

Hmmm… “one con at a time?”  Might that include a list of cons?  I’ll go fill my red Solo cup just in case, and in the meantime I’ll present you with:

My GCC Interview With the Fabulous Eileen Cook

If you had no other responsibilities and could take off on a retreat to your dream place to write, where would that be, and what would your dream daily schedule be like?

I would retreat to a place near the ocean. There is something about the sound of waves that puts me in a state of bliss. The house would have great views, comfy sofas, and an endless supply of great tea in the morning and wine at night.  I’m more an introvert so there wouldn’t be parties at night, but I’d love to snuggle in with my dogs, some good movies and great friends.

Is there a character you thought would be in the book, but who landed on the cutting room floor?  Conversely, is there a character you never expected to appear, but turned out to be intrinsic to the story?  If so, tell us about him/her.

 This is one of the few books where I did quite a bit of planning and plotting before I started writing. (I’ve been known to wing it.)  Everyone I thought should be there did make an appearance, but the character of Chase took on a greater importance than I expected. Funny how cute boys can have that kind of staying power.

Writing rituals: do you have any?  If so, what are they?  If you don’t follow them, do you find it harder to write?

I’m not a very ritual driven person- my life is too chaotic to be too rigid!  I can write just about anywhere at anytime.

Ever gotten a piece of fan mail, or had an experience with a reader that really stands out in your mind?  Tell us about it!

A reader wrote me once to tell me that her mom was going through cancer treatment and that she was able to laugh during it because she was reading my book.  Knowing I was able to make someone feel a bit better, even for just a moment, was fantastic.

Let’s reach back to school and describe your book in a single… HAIKU!  Three lines, five syllables-seven syllables-five syllables.  Ready?  Go!

ARGH. I hated writing poetry in school. I was terrible at it then and still really bad.  I’m going to simply say the book has con artists, boys, missing kids, and a stuffed bunny. Trust me- you want to know how it all comes together.

Really?  No haiku?  Eileen!!!!

Okay then, guess it’s up to me.

The brilliant Eileen

Her books make me laugh so hard

Milk snarfs out my nose.

See?  How hard was that?

Thanks for stopping by, Eileen, and best of luck on the latest release!  I can’t wait to read it!

How to Juggle in Six Easy Steps

Hello, my friends!

As you may or may not have noticed,  with the exception of Monday’s post, I have been incredibly blog-absent lately.  There’s a really good reason for this: I’ve been incredibly work-and-family-present (including a trip last June overseas — hence the picture of me with a Scottish llama), so it’s all good.  That said, I miss blogging — not because I miss babbling into WordPress, but because this was a big way I hung out with people online.  The extended blog-cation has been a bit of an extended communication-cation too, and that’s a bummer.

So now here I am with a bunch of fabulous projects on the horizon, a bunch of real-life commitments that excite me… and a desire to get back into hanging with you guys more regularly.  It’s a lot of juggling.  How can I make that work?  I figured I’d do research on that wonder of wonders, the Internet.  Specifically, I’d look up “How To Juggle In Three Easy Steps,” since of course anything worth doing can be done in three easy steps.

I didn’t find three, but I did find a site that advised how to do it in six easy steps, so let’s see if it helps.

1. Choose Suitable Balls

See?  Already I’m entertained.

But it works beyond making me giggle.  I have a tendency to choose unsuitable balls (tee hee), and say yes to too many projects.  I’ve gotten much better at that recently, and really try to stick with projects that are smart career choices, and/or true passions.

2. Toss One Ball for Awhile to Get the Feel of Juggling

Hmmm… maybe I did this when I took the extended blog-cation — really pared back and concentrated on just a couple things, instead of taking on everything at once and going crazy.

3. Practice Scooping

Oh man… already my metaphor is falling apart.  Practice scooping?  Really?  I have no idea what to do for this one.

Maybe this wasn’t the best idea.  But in the spirit of working effectively, I’m NOT going to scrap the post!  That would make the last bout of blogging a waste of time, and it’s all about time-effectiveness, right?

My takeaway is that while I still don’t have the answer, I’m going to do my best to make it work because I miss chatting with you.  And to that end…

How do you manage juggling all the zillions of things you have to/want to do each day?  What are your favorite tools and tips?

Oh, and if you really do want to learn to juggle in six easy steps, here‘s the site I found.

I look forward to your thoughts!

YA for NJ!!!

As an east coast girl (ah, my poor Eagles…), I’m especially happy to be a part of YA for NJ, an auction to raise money for Hurricane Sandy victims.  I’ve contributed a signed hardcover copy of Populazzi, but that’s only the beginning of what you’ll find on the site.  Other notable items…

A manuscript critique by Zareen Jaffrey, who edited both Devoted and True .

She gives fantastic notes.  I can tell you from experience that your writing will absolutely benefit from her input.

An ARC of Matthew Quick’s new book, Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock .

Seriously — don’t get me started on the genius of Q.  All his books are brilliant, including Oscars front-runner The Silver Linings Playbook.  That said, my personal favorite is Sorta Like a Rock Star, which absolutely stunned me with its power.  Believe me, you cannot go wrong with a Matthew Quick book, and snagging the ARC will give you a front-row seat to The Next Big Thing.

A Set of Four Autographed Novels by A.S. King.

I have never met A.S. King, but it’s a good chance that if I do, I will go all fangirl on her.  Please Ignore Vera Dietz and Everybody Sees the Ants are both beautifully honest and remarkably unique.  King sees the world like no one else; she stands right next to Q in my pantheon of favorite YA authors.

A Huge Wealth of Other Riches!!!!

Seriously, you’ll be blown away by the items available for auction, so please check it out, and if you see something you like — bid away!  The proceeds go to a great cause, so thanks in advance for your bids!

 

The GCC Presents Mindi Scott’s LIVE THROUGH THIS

Hey everyone!  It’s Girlfriends Cyber-Circuit time again, and it’s my pleasure to present Mindi Scott’s new book, Live Through This!

Here’s a little about the book:

From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a mom and stepdad who would stop at nothing to keep her siblings and her happy.

But Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now that Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

In this unforgettable powerhouse of a novel, Mindi Scott offers an absorbing, layered glimpse into the life of an everygirl living a nightmare that no one would suspect.

It sounds great, and I’m not the only one who thinks so.  Kirkus gave it a starred review, and said, “What makes this more than another ‘problem’ novel is the author’s steadfast refusal to deal in stereotypes and easy answers.”

No easy answers?  Perfect — let’s see how Mindi does with my GCC questions!

If you had no other responsibilities and could take off on a retreat to your dream place to write, where would that be, and what would your dream daily schedule be like?

I love tropical places and would love to be able to spend my mornings writing and the afternoons exploring and relaxing at the beach.

Is there a character you thought would be in the book, but who landed on the cutting room floor?  Conversely, is there a character you never expected to appear, but turned out to be intrinsic to the story?  If so, tell us about him/her.

I don’t have a scenario exactly like either of those, but Xander, a character from my first novel, Freefall, ended up in Live Through This, even though I hadn’t outlined it that way. Originally, my protagonist’s friend had a boyfriend named Michael, but I realized after a while that since Michael acted like Xander and spoke like Xander, he should just be Xander.

Writing rituals: do you have any?  If so, what are they?  If you don’t follow them, do you find it harder to write?

I don’t specifically have any rituals, but I do best when I handwrite my first drafts anywhere other than my office, and then type up and revise the scenes only in my office.

Ever gotten a piece of fan mail, or had an experience with a reader that really stands out in your mind?  Tell us about it!

I’ve had a few moving emails where readers have expressed that my characters’ stories have helped them find some kind of comfort, peace, or joy in their own lives. Those are the ones that stand out the most for me.

Let’s reach back to school and describe your book in a single… HAIKU!  Three lines, five syllables-seven syllables-five syllables.  Ready?  Go! 

Coley’s “normal” life

Complicated by secrets

She can’t ever tell

Excellent answers, Mindi!  I’m so impressed that you handwrite your first drafts — I can’t even read my own handwriting.  Congratulations on the new book!

 

Come See Me in Chatsworth!

Hey, everyone!  I’m very excited because next week I get to celebrate Teen Read Week by appearing with Mark London Williams at the Chatsworth Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library!  If you’ll be in the area, please mark your calendar and come on by!  Mark and I will read from our books, we’ll chat about anything and everything, and… we’ll have snacks.

Here are the basics:

WHEN: Wednesday, October 17

4pm to 5pm

WHERE: Chatsworth Branch LAPL

21052 Devonshire Street

Chatsworth, CA 91311

818-341-4276

WHY: Didn’t I mention the snacks?

Plus we’ll get to hang and chat and have a fabulous time!

A link to the full flyer is below.  Please feel free to share with anyone you think might want to join us!

As for the picture of the miniature horse above, I happen to spend a lot of time in Chatsworth, and almost every day I see a miniature horse on a leash.  Sometimes I even stop the car, leaping out practically before it’s in park, and attack the horse with hugs, scratches, and carrots I keep with me just for such an occasion.  So if you come out to Chatsworth for the event, you just might see a miniature horse.  Totally worth it.

Hope to see you there!  And if you have any specific snack requests, let me know and I’ll see what I can do!

Meet the Author

Gretchen McNeil’s New Book TEN!

Want to really get to know someone?  Spend upwards of six hours in the car with her.  At the end of that, if you still want to hang out with her?  You have found someone truly fabulous.

Gretchen McNeil is truly fabulous.  We did a couple legs of the Stages on Pages tour together, including one in NoCal that included not only the aforementioned car ride, but also an impromptu wine tasting in the middle of a small town that looked exactly like an Old Time Americana movie set.

But wait, it gets better.  Not only does Gretchen rock as a human being, her books are also fantastic.  Her debut, POSSESS, scared the crap out of me when I made the mistake of reading it at three in the morning, and now she has a brand spankin’ new release, TEN.

Here’s a little about the book:

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?

I know.  I totally want to read it.  Immediately.  Just maybe not at three in the morning.

First though, I’m going to ask Gretchen some questions.  Then we can all grab a copy of the book and start reading!

If you had no other responsibilities and could take off on a retreat to your dream place to write, where would that be, and what would your dream daily schedule be like? 

Gretchen: I vacationed once in a beach house on a state beach north of Fort Bragg, California.  The house was made primarily of glass, with two story windows looking straight out to the ocean over the sandy dunes.  I’ve always wanted to write there: get up in the morning, go for a walk on the beach with the dog, then back home to coffee and breakfast, a few hours of writing and then freedom for the rest of the day.  *sigh*

Is there a character you thought would be in the book, but who landed on the cutting room floor?  Conversely, is there a character you never expected to appear, but turned out to be intrinsic to the story?  If so, tell us about him/her.

Gretchen:  YES.  Just recently in my new book 3:59 I had to cut two characters – friends of the main character – and their parallel universe counterpoints.  In my original incarnation of the story, they were important players, but as the plot and focus of the novel changed after a few drafts, they became marginalized, then were just gone completely.  It happens.

Writing rituals: do you have any?  If so, what are they?  If you don’t follow them, do you find it harder to write?

Gretchen:  Well, I need coffee.  And I like to write in bed, propped up with pillows, preferably with some sort of sporting event on the television. That’s as close to ritual as I get!

Ever gotten a piece of fan mail, or had an experience with a reader that really stands out in your mind?  Tell us about it!

Gretchen:  I was at a book fair last fall – my first – and a teen reader literally freaked out when she met me.  I was like, “Why are you crying?”  She said, “Because you’re Gretchen.”

Yeah.  I’m not sure any author – especially not ME – should have that power!

Let’s reach back to school and describe your book in a single… HAIKU!  Three lines, five syllables-seven syllables-five syllables.  Ready?  Go!

Gretchen:

Teens on an island.

There’s a killer amongst them.

About to get real.

(I hate you.)