Marta Acosta's Blog, page 6

Context is All & New Reviews

When I recently commented that Anne Bronte doesn't get much attention, author and blogger KT Grant aka KatieBabs shared this delightful cartoon by Kate Beaton .

KT/KatieBabs writes erotica and I think that will be the next hot (hawt?) genre with the success of 50 Shades of Grey. Sex comes out of the closet, or dungeon, or whatever. Of course, what makes 50 Shades so insanely popular is the action within the context of the passionate emotional relationship, because context is all.

I've tried to make actions true to characters within the context of Dark Companion. A few early reviewers don't agree that my protagonist would make the decisions she does, but perhaps they have rosier views of the lives of most foster children than I do. Susanne Babbel, Ph.D., references a former foster child in a series she wrote on the foster care system:

Amy (name altered)...told me that roughly nine out of ten fellow foster children she crossed paths with claimed that they had been abused by their foster parents.She also expressed that foster children are often taught by their circumstances not to speak up and are conditioned to think abuse is "normal.".

I tried to address the questions of context in my Behind-the-Scenes with Dark Companion Q&A.

I realized last week that my book is being released on Tuesday! All this time and it's finally coming out. Here are a few nice early reviews:

 "Simply put, Dark Companion is an enchanting Gothic read, deliciously reminiscent of Jane Eyre...a complex and beautiful read full of shades of gray and uneasy moral choices, charming and haunting."
.........................................Kara-Karina, Nocturnal Book Reviews

"I absolutely loved it. I found the gothic nature of the book quite reminiscent of Jane Eyre, but with a fairy tale spin. I loved the mythological aspect of the trees in the book, and how much this subtly played into various plot points...I found the book to be lovely. I thought the writing was lush, and often haunting."
..........................................Tiffany, Tiffany's Book Shelf

"I think readers who love the paranormal and romance with enjoy getting to know the smart and feisty Jane Williams and will empathize with her. The story has wonderful gothic overtones that are highlighted by the quotations from gothic novels of the past that begin each of the chapters."
.........................................Kathy Martin, Ms. Martin Teaches Media

"I am happy to tell you that this creepy, dark and unique novel delivered. It has mystery, romance, interesting characters and a plot filled with twists...The tale Acosta has spun is unique and at times very dark. The whole tale is shrouded in mystery and we learn things as Jane does. This added to the whole creepy factor and I loved every minute of it!"
.........................................Kimba, Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer


"While containing aspects of stories that I love, this is not a cookie cutter tale that falls into one category or another...I'd say this is definitely a book to read. I think Marta Acosta is a genius because anyone who can combine the feel of Dangerous Minds, Jane Eyre, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants all into one smorgasbord of awesomeness is full of win!"
.........................................Jessie, The Elliot Review


 

Publishers Weekly Rave & Behind the Scenes with DARK COMPANION

I've waited for years and now there's less than a month before the release of Dark Companion! Alexandra Machinist, my wonderful agent, surprised me this morning by sending the terrific review in Publishers Weekly:

Buttressing adult author Acosta's (the Casa Dracula series) YA debut are nods to the gothic tradition and Jane Eyre parallels that she encourages through epigraphs, character names, and the events that unfold. Her well-drawn characters shine--Jane especially, whose very nongothic life on the street makes for a gritty opening and influences the whole. Jack Radcliffe (the mountain-biking incarnation of Mr. Rochester) and Jane's clearly delineated classmates are vivid actors in the drama as well...

Acosta's story is an impressive contender in the crowded YA paranormal field.

It's so nice that the reviewer saw all the gothic references!

I've been talking a lot about gothics, especially with readers who have questions about the genre and my novel. One reader told me that she enjoyed getting a "behind the scenes" perspective, so I decided to post a Q&A with answers to questions at Marta Acosta's Dark Companion . This Q&A is on a separate blog because it has so many spoilers.

I've done a little searching around and I think that Craig White of the University of Houston does a great job summarizing the elements of gothic fiction.
haunted houses - castles - woods mazes - labyrinths - closed doors & secret passages/roomslight and dark interplay with shades of gray or blood-red colors fair &ampdark ladies - twinning, doubling, & doppelgangersrepressed fears & desiresmemory of past crime or sindeath & decaybad-boy Byronic heroesblood as visual spectacle and genealogy/ethnicityspectral or grotesque figureslurid symbols, creepy or startling sounds, screams in the night, groans from unknown rooms I can put a check next to each of these elements!

 

Kirkus Praises DARK COMPANION & Contest for All of My Novels!

I'm having a contest at my Vampire Wire blog for signed copies of all my novels: my entire Casa Dracula series, Nancy's Theory of Style, and an ARC of Dark Companion. The contest is open worldwide and runs through June 15.

I received a great review from Kirkus Book Reviews for Dark Companion, which called the novel "savvy" and said it has "bracing astringency."

It’s a breath of fresh air in a genre marked by creaky gender relations and unchallenged class stratification.

Smart, ambitious and now aged out of foster care, Jane Williams is thrilled with her free ride to Birch Grove, a prestigious private high school. Her scholarship includes a cottage of her own, courtesy of headmistress Radcliffe and her family. Jane’s streetwise toughness conceals a naive, inexperienced heart that’s soon given to self-centered but gorgeous Lucian Radcliffe. (His musician brother, Jacob, has his own disturbing appeal, but he’s no Lucian.) While Jane recognizes that Lucian harbors his own sinister agenda, she thinks she’s willing to pay the price, which buys other compensations.

This Jane’s true peers are the heroines of the historical gothic romances. Quotes from such deathless classics as The Monk and The Castle of Otranto, among others, begin each chapter, making the book something of a survey of the genre all by itself.

This story is a change from my romantic comedies, and that can be a bit of a surprise to my Casa Dracula fans, but I've always written darker stories and I really enjoyed returning to a grimmer tale.

I'm back to writing funny fiction today, but my train of thought keeps getting derailed by my dogs, who are being driven to insanity by squirrels scampering through the trees. Note to self: next time, get cats.

Bookmarks, Book Tours, and Book Reviews

I just received Dark Companion bookmarks and post-card size flyers. I think they look wonderful! I'll be taking these items with me when I do local bookstore visits and when I join in on the Tor Teen Book Tour this summer! I'll be going to several cities in the Midwest and West, but I don't know the locations yet.

If you'd like a chance to win a copy of Dark Companion, Goodreads is running a contest for ten copies that ends on June 8.

Only another month until the book's release and the reviews are starting to come in!

Be prepared for Gothic-type mysteries, unusual plot elements and an old-world feel. Fortunately, I found myself enthralled by it's eccentricity and fully enjoyed it.Giselle, Xpresso Reads  
Dark Companion was an enjoyable and fantastic read that had me turning the pages with smiles and frowns and “WTF” moments. I love books that still remain on in my mind after I finish (in a good way) and this certainly did.Pixie Lynn Whitfield, The Bookaholic
A warm and delightful YA, full of surprises and unexpected revelations, “Dark Companion” is just the type of novel I hope for when I seek out a YA story.Mallory Anne-Marie Forbes, Mallory Heart Reviews
Dark Companion gave me the creeps at how believable the storyline was. But as chillingly creepy as it was, it's also beautiful, and one I will love forever.Debbie, I Heart YA Books
Dark Companion was wonderful! As soon as I finished reading it last night at around 11pm EST. I got on my iPhone and pre-ordered a copy! I have never done that before.Jennifer Dream, Hollow Readers
 
  

Dark Companion ARC Contest Winners & Happy Hour to be an Audiobook!

my 'Monsieur Tillier' rose today 
I can't believe the holidays are over and it's already 2012! I suppose I'll have to take down my Christmas tree  -- even though I wish I could have colored lights up all year round. Thanks to everyone who subscribed to my new site! The winners of my contest for signed ARCs of Dark Companion and cover flats are:


Kelly H & Lelelia
Congratulations! I'll be emailing you for your mailing information. I'll also be having more contests for Dark Companion swag when it's available.

Even though I'm looking forward to my new writing projects, I haven't forgotten my old pals from the Casa Dracula series. In fact, I have great news -- the Casa Dracula books will be coming out as audio reads! I'm really thrilled that actress and comedian Deanna Moffitt will narrate Happy Hour at Casa Dracula. Deanna has toured with one of my very favorite comedy groups, Chicago's famed Second City, and she has the smarts and the snark to bring Milagro to life.

I've always wanted my books to be recorded, but my publisher owned the audio rights.  When I was finally able to get those rights reverted to me, I didn't have a clue how to get them made into audiobooks. So I did some research and found out about Amazon ACX  (Audiobook Creation Exchange). ACX gives book rights owners a way to connect with audiobook producers and talented voiceover artists. I listened to several actors and when I heard Deanna (who made me laugh), I knew she would be fantastic as my narrator Milagro.

I think ACX is an amazing opportunity for authors. Publishers are hoarders as far as audio rights are concerned: they collect them in overwhelming piles until they've forgotten what they have, but they still don't want to give any away. Since producing and packaging CDs is expensive, only really big books ever made it to audio. However, digital technology changes the whole game -- more and more people are joining sites like Audible to get MP3s of novels. There's no shipping or shelf-space required for a digital recording.


Creating an audiobook means that I have one more chance to go over my manuscript, make tweaks and corrections.  I'll update you about the process and share the new cover art when it's available. (And I met a marvelous illustrator at a friend's latke party!)  The audiobook should be available in Spring 2012.

Best wishes for your New Year!

DARK COMPANION ARCS Have Arrived! Contest

My fabulous editor surprised me with a few Advance Reader Copies of Dark Companion! The cover looks wonderful and will look even more amazing when it's published in hard cover. Above, you can see my trusty typewriter and the ARCs. I try to type out haikus every day on 3x5 cards. My haikus are not very good, but writing them makes me feel artistic. My dog Betty von Snoggles disagrees and often chews up my poetry. But Betty's issues with my writing are another story.

I'm having a giveaway and you can win a signed ARC just by subscribing to my blog updates. (Use the form in the column at left.) I'm giving away TWO COPIES, plus miscellaneous bookmarks and postcards for my other books.

The contest runs through December 31 and is limited to the US and Canada. Winners will be selected by random draw.

Wherever You Go, There You Are

 This beautiful sample book cover for Jane Eyre was created by Claire Louise Milne. I think it is the best cover I've ever seen for this book. Jane is wearing her modest gray dress and carrying her sketchbook. She's plain, but with a graceful simplicity and she's aware of what's happening around her. I think the artist's love for the book is evident.

I'm currently proofing the galley passes of Dark Companion. I get fixated on little things: a comma here, hyphenation there, the repetition of a word or phrase. I am armed with green pencils, a pink eraser, post-its, and tea. No matter what changes and corrections I make, after the book is published, I will find Issues that I wish I had addressed.

But there is something to be said for not overthinking and futzing too much with a story. The classics that we all love may have been rigorously edited, but they were not endlessly tweaked.  Charlotte Bronte didn't send letters to dozens of carefully selected agents saying, "It's like The Devil Wears Prada only without the fashion and the crazy woman isn't her boss, but is locked in the attic!" Or "She's as plain as she is plain-spoken, and he's as angsty as he is wealthy. Will they ever find love? A precocious illegimate child provides hijinks!"

If this book were submitted to agents today, they'd want 200 pages cut. They'd want more action. They'd want the sexy times. They'd want Jane to have a makeover and a sassy ethnic and/or gay best friend. Oh, la...how lucky we are to have the book as it is!

Preliminary Cover Art!

I'm very happy to have the first mock-up of the cover art for Dark Companion. It's posted on my home page, which I managed to mess up by trying to format it. This is why I so appreciate design geeks.

I will try to have all this fixed by someone who understands what she's doing.

My summer has gone by in a foggy murk...day after day of chilly fog, which is fine weather to work in. If it was warm and sunny, I'd want to escape my laptop. But, as Mark Twain said, "The coldest winter I spent was a summer in San Francisco." Today I went to the post office to mail off manuscripts and, hoorah!, I found Mark Twain stamps there. So I bought as many as they had.

My favorite Twain quote is "Use a word and not its second cousin."

I'm starting to work on my next book, a mystery featuring one of the characters in Dark Companion. I have a million book titles for this proposed series. Unfortunately, editors would like to see chapters, not merely titles.

Spring has Sprung!

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The sun has finally come out here in the San Francisco Bay Area and I'm taking a breather from writing. I handed my Young Adult Gothic in to my editor at Tor, and I'm anxiously awaiting her response.

[image error]I am still calling it "unnamed YA Gothic for Tor" because we don't have a title. I'm so obsessed by this that I actually dreamed of the perfect title...and then forgot it when I awoke.

I have been a long-time fan of Gothic novels, and I had a great time researching chapter intro quotes for the Unnamed YA.  Project Gutenberg has many classic novels, including available as free reads. I'll compile a list with links and add it here.

So if you're wondering, what exactly is a Gothic? Well, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is my gold standard. It has the crazy wife hidden in the attic, a lonely house in the middle of nowhere, a broody, dark hero, an orphan, and supernatural elements.  I had a copy of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca somewhere in my bookshelves and I'm in the mood to read it, but can't find it. I may have to buy another copy.

And that's how I always end up with two or three volumes of the same novel.

 

February News

[image error]These two months have zoomed by since I've been revising The Shadow Girl of Birch Grove for my editor at Tor Books. I'm quite excited about the changes I've made. I'm also really happy to be entering the Young Adult book field. I have no idea what's hokay or not for YA books. Cursing? Sex, drugs, rock and roll? I included what I thought was appropriate to the story and will leave it to my editor to decide.

As a teen, I read adult novels exclusively. When I was a high school sophomore, I saw an older student sitting on a bench, engrossed in a science fiction novel. I asked her about it, and she told me without hesitation that I wasn't mature enough for it. That started me on a sci-fi kick and she became my best friend. I've been thinking a lot about her lately, and how we would trade books and dream about being writers.

My editor would like another title for my Young Adult book. I cannot think of a good one.