Rachel Hawkins's Blog, page 3
June 14, 2011
Happy Book Birthday, HOURGLASS!!
Oh, what a fabulous day this is, Mes Anges! For today, you can go out and buy one of my FAVORITE books I read this year, Myra McEntire's HOURGLASS!
Now, first off, I have to say, yes, yes, Myra is one of my Beffies. And trust me, if you met her, she'd be one of your Beffies, too because she's HILARIOUS and so much fun. Something tells me they are STILL telling tales of the girl's weekend....er....WRITER'S RETREAT Myra, Victoria Schwab, and I spent in Huntsville, AL back in December.
BUT. I am very serious about never, ever pimping books that I did not love, even if I love the author. Mostly because that makes me feel gross.
Like this, but in my soul-region.
So Beffies or no, when I say I love Myra's HOURGLASS, it's because HOLY SHIZZ I LOVED THIS BOOK. Now, I can never do something as amazing as what Myra did for ME when DEMONGLASS came out (....and now I just lost like half an hour to rewatching all those Doctor Who videos. Siiiiigh.)
But what I CAN do is tell you all about HOURGLASS and why you will lurve it like burning.
1) The heroine, Emerson Cole, like Mah Gurl Sophie, has been through a LOT in her 16 years. But whereas Sophie's main issue is doing magic that gets, um, out of hand ("Eyes of my heart" anyone?), Emerson sees things that aren't there. Or are they? Em is tough without being bitchy, vulnerably without being weak, and snarky without being mean. In short, she is totally, heartbreakingly real and I ADORED her.
2)As she learns more about her gifts, she meets not one but TWO hot boys (although only one has a shot at her heart, which is a refreshing change!) I actually don't want to say too much about Michael because you all need to meet him for yourselves. I will say that he is SMOKING HOT, but also thoughtful and kind. I enjoy these qualities in all boys, fictional or not. :)
3)Emerson gets involved with a super cool secret society for other people with "gifts." IT'S LIKE X-MEN, PEOPLE. That is a way STRAIGHT to my heart!
4)Michael and Emerson have to stop a murder...that's already happened. Oh yeah. TIME TRAVEL, BABY. You should already know how I feel about time travel (See above, RE: Doctor Who.)
5)And last but not least, the book has a FABULOUS Southern setting. Now, here's the deal. I'm from the South, so needless to say, I feel some attachment to the region. And sometimes when I read books set here, they feel less like the South as I know it and more like an attraction at Disneyworld. ("Iiiiiiittttt's...DIXIELAND! Everyone lives in an antebellum mansion and eats cornbread and speaks in sassy epigrams! YAAAAY!") But Myra is also from the South, and as a result, the town of Ivy Springs feels so familiar and authentic that I could practically feel the humidity. LOVE.
That's HOURGLASS. Come on. You wanna read that, don't you? You want it in your face RIGHT NOW.
So run out today and buy it, because trust: the only thing bigger than Myra's enormous heart is her imagination. And you wanna get all up in that. :)
XOXO!
Now, first off, I have to say, yes, yes, Myra is one of my Beffies. And trust me, if you met her, she'd be one of your Beffies, too because she's HILARIOUS and so much fun. Something tells me they are STILL telling tales of the girl's weekend....er....WRITER'S RETREAT Myra, Victoria Schwab, and I spent in Huntsville, AL back in December.
BUT. I am very serious about never, ever pimping books that I did not love, even if I love the author. Mostly because that makes me feel gross.
Like this, but in my soul-region.
So Beffies or no, when I say I love Myra's HOURGLASS, it's because HOLY SHIZZ I LOVED THIS BOOK. Now, I can never do something as amazing as what Myra did for ME when DEMONGLASS came out (....and now I just lost like half an hour to rewatching all those Doctor Who videos. Siiiiigh.)
But what I CAN do is tell you all about HOURGLASS and why you will lurve it like burning.
1) The heroine, Emerson Cole, like Mah Gurl Sophie, has been through a LOT in her 16 years. But whereas Sophie's main issue is doing magic that gets, um, out of hand ("Eyes of my heart" anyone?), Emerson sees things that aren't there. Or are they? Em is tough without being bitchy, vulnerably without being weak, and snarky without being mean. In short, she is totally, heartbreakingly real and I ADORED her.
2)As she learns more about her gifts, she meets not one but TWO hot boys (although only one has a shot at her heart, which is a refreshing change!) I actually don't want to say too much about Michael because you all need to meet him for yourselves. I will say that he is SMOKING HOT, but also thoughtful and kind. I enjoy these qualities in all boys, fictional or not. :)
3)Emerson gets involved with a super cool secret society for other people with "gifts." IT'S LIKE X-MEN, PEOPLE. That is a way STRAIGHT to my heart!
4)Michael and Emerson have to stop a murder...that's already happened. Oh yeah. TIME TRAVEL, BABY. You should already know how I feel about time travel (See above, RE: Doctor Who.)
5)And last but not least, the book has a FABULOUS Southern setting. Now, here's the deal. I'm from the South, so needless to say, I feel some attachment to the region. And sometimes when I read books set here, they feel less like the South as I know it and more like an attraction at Disneyworld. ("Iiiiiiittttt's...DIXIELAND! Everyone lives in an antebellum mansion and eats cornbread and speaks in sassy epigrams! YAAAAY!") But Myra is also from the South, and as a result, the town of Ivy Springs feels so familiar and authentic that I could practically feel the humidity. LOVE.
That's HOURGLASS. Come on. You wanna read that, don't you? You want it in your face RIGHT NOW.
So run out today and buy it, because trust: the only thing bigger than Myra's enormous heart is her imagination. And you wanna get all up in that. :)
XOXO!
June 13, 2011
Kathryn Tucker Windham
Sad news in Alabama, Mes Anges. Kathryn Tucker Windham passed away yesterday. Now, some of you may not know who she is, but if you like the HEX HALL books, then you owe her a bunch. I can honestly say I don't think I would've become a writer without her.
The first time I ever heard of Mrs. Windham was in my elementary school library. It was Halloween, and I was in the 1st or 2nd grade. Our librarian, being awesome, held up a book called Thirteen Alabama Ghosts And Jeffrey.(Jeffrey was the ghost who allegedly lived in Mrs. Windham's house in Selma.)
I can remember being like, "HOLY CRAP THERE ARE GHOSTS IN ALABAMA? I LIVE IN ALABAMA OMGWTFBBQ!" Our librarian read us a story from the book- a TRUE story- about a place in Newton, Alabama, which was only like TWENTY MINUTES AWAY FROM WHERE I LIVED. It involved a Confederate soldier (most ghost stories in the South do), and when he was hanged for desertion, he was too tall and his feet touched the ground. This was, as you can probably imagine, somewhat problematic when trying to hang someone.
So the Bad Dudes Who Were Hanging Him dug a little hole under his feet so that he would slowly strangle to death.
Yeah, my librarian was kind of bad-ass.
Although not as bad ass as THIS librarian who has a Dewey Decimal code tattooed on her body. That is one hardcore librarian.
And, legend has it that even to this day, that hole is still there, and if you ever put anything in it, it will MYSTERIOUSLY VANISH OVERNIGHT. *cue spooky music*
So while most of my classmates were all 0_0, I was more :D because scary stories set in my home state? That was, as far as Wee Rachel was concerned, AMAZEBALLS.
Okay, I didn't really think it was amazeballs because I didn't know that word yet. But it was 7 year old me's version of amazeballs, so probably "Unicornglitter" or something.
And then! Even more amazeb- er, unicornglitter, I got to go to this cool thing called a Young Author's Conference (shut up, it was totally cool), and Kathryn Tucker Windham was there! And I got to buy my VERY OWN COPY of Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey! AND I GOT HER TO SIGN IT! And not only did SHE sign it, but Jeffrey did, too! Okay, so maybe it was just her using funny handwriting to scrawl his name, but WHATEVER. To a 7 year old, that was MAGIC.
I still have that copy of Thirteen Alabama Ghosts, although it is pretty worn out these days. I can't even tell you how many times I read it. How I practically memorized the stories. How I annoyed my parents on car trips by reading the stories to them and then wanting to DISCUSS the stories. How I wanted to visit every place she talked about in that book.
It wasn't until many years later that I realized just how formative both meeting Mrs. Windham and reading her books was for me. She was the first author I ever met, and even though I probably couldn't have thought this at the time, I'm sure that meeting her helped make authordom seem like an attainable goal. There she was, just a lady from Alabama, just like me, writing books.
And not only that, her books were about Alabama, and though her, I learned that every place has stories and myths and legends. Any place can be magic if you know where to look.
So I wanted to take a minute and pay tribute to that. I never got to meet Mrs. Windham again, and I wish that I could have told her all of this. But since I can't I encourage you to go out and find her books (she did a number of them, all on ghost stories/folklore set in the South.) And don't just read her books. Find the stories in your own places. The legends and the myths. I think she'd like that.
Until next time! XOXO!
The first time I ever heard of Mrs. Windham was in my elementary school library. It was Halloween, and I was in the 1st or 2nd grade. Our librarian, being awesome, held up a book called Thirteen Alabama Ghosts And Jeffrey.(Jeffrey was the ghost who allegedly lived in Mrs. Windham's house in Selma.)
I can remember being like, "HOLY CRAP THERE ARE GHOSTS IN ALABAMA? I LIVE IN ALABAMA OMGWTFBBQ!" Our librarian read us a story from the book- a TRUE story- about a place in Newton, Alabama, which was only like TWENTY MINUTES AWAY FROM WHERE I LIVED. It involved a Confederate soldier (most ghost stories in the South do), and when he was hanged for desertion, he was too tall and his feet touched the ground. This was, as you can probably imagine, somewhat problematic when trying to hang someone.
So the Bad Dudes Who Were Hanging Him dug a little hole under his feet so that he would slowly strangle to death.
Yeah, my librarian was kind of bad-ass.
Although not as bad ass as THIS librarian who has a Dewey Decimal code tattooed on her body. That is one hardcore librarian.
And, legend has it that even to this day, that hole is still there, and if you ever put anything in it, it will MYSTERIOUSLY VANISH OVERNIGHT. *cue spooky music*
So while most of my classmates were all 0_0, I was more :D because scary stories set in my home state? That was, as far as Wee Rachel was concerned, AMAZEBALLS.
Okay, I didn't really think it was amazeballs because I didn't know that word yet. But it was 7 year old me's version of amazeballs, so probably "Unicornglitter" or something.
And then! Even more amazeb- er, unicornglitter, I got to go to this cool thing called a Young Author's Conference (shut up, it was totally cool), and Kathryn Tucker Windham was there! And I got to buy my VERY OWN COPY of Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey! AND I GOT HER TO SIGN IT! And not only did SHE sign it, but Jeffrey did, too! Okay, so maybe it was just her using funny handwriting to scrawl his name, but WHATEVER. To a 7 year old, that was MAGIC.
I still have that copy of Thirteen Alabama Ghosts, although it is pretty worn out these days. I can't even tell you how many times I read it. How I practically memorized the stories. How I annoyed my parents on car trips by reading the stories to them and then wanting to DISCUSS the stories. How I wanted to visit every place she talked about in that book.
It wasn't until many years later that I realized just how formative both meeting Mrs. Windham and reading her books was for me. She was the first author I ever met, and even though I probably couldn't have thought this at the time, I'm sure that meeting her helped make authordom seem like an attainable goal. There she was, just a lady from Alabama, just like me, writing books.
And not only that, her books were about Alabama, and though her, I learned that every place has stories and myths and legends. Any place can be magic if you know where to look.
So I wanted to take a minute and pay tribute to that. I never got to meet Mrs. Windham again, and I wish that I could have told her all of this. But since I can't I encourage you to go out and find her books (she did a number of them, all on ghost stories/folklore set in the South.) And don't just read her books. Find the stories in your own places. The legends and the myths. I think she'd like that.
Until next time! XOXO!
May 27, 2011
WTF Friday, Part III
A month or so ago, I was hanging out with my friend Ashley, and she casually asked me, "Soooo...you wanna go see the creepiest house in Opelika?" (Opelika being the small town next to Auburn.) And since I love creepy things, I was all, "SURE!" And then she took me HERE:
To quote Velma, JINKIES!!!
Now, already, you're probably thinking, "Wow. That is one scary house! I cannot IMAGINE what would make it ANY CREEPIER!" Well, Mes Anges, what if I told you it wasn't JUST a creepy abandoned house, but in fact a creepy, abandoned FUNERAL HOME. Because it is. There are coffins still inside. See?
SERIOUSLY Y'ALL I CAN'T JOKE BECAUSE I DO NOT EVEN...
Oh, and a hearse in the garage. That's right. When whoever owned this house fled into the night as I assume they did, they did so leaving a VERY EXPENSIVE CAR behind.
Say it with me, Mes Anges: W. T. F????
Just in case you doubt the terror that is this place- THIS PLACE THAT IS LIKE 15 MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE- here's a video of me, Ashley, and Chantel creeping around this creepy house like a bunch of creepers. Creepily.
Happy weekend, and sweet nightmares! XOXO!
To quote Velma, JINKIES!!!
Now, already, you're probably thinking, "Wow. That is one scary house! I cannot IMAGINE what would make it ANY CREEPIER!" Well, Mes Anges, what if I told you it wasn't JUST a creepy abandoned house, but in fact a creepy, abandoned FUNERAL HOME. Because it is. There are coffins still inside. See?
SERIOUSLY Y'ALL I CAN'T JOKE BECAUSE I DO NOT EVEN...
Oh, and a hearse in the garage. That's right. When whoever owned this house fled into the night as I assume they did, they did so leaving a VERY EXPENSIVE CAR behind.
Say it with me, Mes Anges: W. T. F????
Just in case you doubt the terror that is this place- THIS PLACE THAT IS LIKE 15 MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE- here's a video of me, Ashley, and Chantel creeping around this creepy house like a bunch of creepers. Creepily.
Happy weekend, and sweet nightmares! XOXO!
May 23, 2011
I LIIIIIIIVE!
OMG, I haven't blogged in nearly 2 months?? That is ESCANDALO, and I apologize, Mes Anges! (Did you see how I used two different languages there? That's because I'm super-cultured and sophisticated and stuff.)
What do you mean this picture Small Son took of me while I was playing video games begs to differ?
There are several reasons for my slackassedness, however. One is the carpal tunnel, which makes typing for extended periods hurt like the fires of hell are licking my general wrist-region, Futuro or no.
Never forget.
And since I have a WHOLE BUNCH O'BOOKS TO WRITE, I have no time for pain, and as such, must be sparing with my typing. Hence lack of bloggage.
Other things blog-blocking me this month included Small Son getting very sick with The Strep. How sick? This is the pic I took of him on the way to the doctor:
Is that not the most pitiful face you have ever seen? I only look this wretched the day after a deadline. Or when Starbucks is out of frappucinos.
Luckily, Small Son is, well, Small and therefore ridiculously resilient. 3 hours after this picture was taken (and once he'd been pumped full of antibiotics), he was asking to go to the pool. Oh, to be five!
And then, once Small Son was healed, we went to MAINE! If you've been hanging around this blog for long, then you know we go to Maine every May, and every year, I return happy and more centered and slightly fatter due to all the lobster. It's funny how quickly all of us here at Chez Hawkins became attached to Maine, especially since the first time we went, it felt very....well, foreign to us. The Husband and I are born-and-bred Southerners, and we love our hot weather, and our giant oaks, and the aggressive greenness of May in the South. In Maine, spring has barely sprung in May, so it's very strange to go from our flip flops and shorts to wellies and jeans. But now, I honestly think my year would feel off without that trip.
If he'd only been holding a lobster, this pic would basically sum up Maine.
Chilling on the front porch, eating Oreos for breakfast. As you do.
In roughly 13 years, this picture will probably be blown up and displayed at Small Son's high school graduation party, and I will cry and cry. Trufax.
So that was my May! Oh, I also went to the Rochester Teen Book Festival, but that experience was so amazing that it requires it's own blog post...
Until next time! Which will hopefully not be in effing July! :)
XOXO!
What do you mean this picture Small Son took of me while I was playing video games begs to differ?
There are several reasons for my slackassedness, however. One is the carpal tunnel, which makes typing for extended periods hurt like the fires of hell are licking my general wrist-region, Futuro or no.
Never forget.
And since I have a WHOLE BUNCH O'BOOKS TO WRITE, I have no time for pain, and as such, must be sparing with my typing. Hence lack of bloggage.
Other things blog-blocking me this month included Small Son getting very sick with The Strep. How sick? This is the pic I took of him on the way to the doctor:
Is that not the most pitiful face you have ever seen? I only look this wretched the day after a deadline. Or when Starbucks is out of frappucinos.
Luckily, Small Son is, well, Small and therefore ridiculously resilient. 3 hours after this picture was taken (and once he'd been pumped full of antibiotics), he was asking to go to the pool. Oh, to be five!
And then, once Small Son was healed, we went to MAINE! If you've been hanging around this blog for long, then you know we go to Maine every May, and every year, I return happy and more centered and slightly fatter due to all the lobster. It's funny how quickly all of us here at Chez Hawkins became attached to Maine, especially since the first time we went, it felt very....well, foreign to us. The Husband and I are born-and-bred Southerners, and we love our hot weather, and our giant oaks, and the aggressive greenness of May in the South. In Maine, spring has barely sprung in May, so it's very strange to go from our flip flops and shorts to wellies and jeans. But now, I honestly think my year would feel off without that trip.
If he'd only been holding a lobster, this pic would basically sum up Maine.
Chilling on the front porch, eating Oreos for breakfast. As you do.
In roughly 13 years, this picture will probably be blown up and displayed at Small Son's high school graduation party, and I will cry and cry. Trufax.
So that was my May! Oh, I also went to the Rochester Teen Book Festival, but that experience was so amazing that it requires it's own blog post...
Until next time! Which will hopefully not be in effing July! :)
XOXO!
April 4, 2011
Random Blog of Randomosity
Ugggggggh. So I got all psyched this morning to finally, FINALLY do my big "HAWKADDA TOUR 2011" post, only to discover that my phone ate the majority of my tour pics. LE SIGH. So until I see if The Husband has the pics (since I was constantly texting him shizz from tour, like, "HEY LOOK THIS HOTEL BRINGS A GOLDFISH TO YOUR ROOM IF YOU GET LONELY!" Seriously. There are hotels that do that. It's MAGIC), I'll just do some OTHER kind of blog. Perhaps one consisting of Random List of Stuff That Is Going On? Yes, let's do that.
1) I've been up to my eyeballs in Writerly Work here lately. Putting the finishing touches on HEX HALL 3: PROMISE TO ANNOUNCE THE TITLE SOON, which is both fun and sad. It's hard to believe that I'm more or less done writing about Sophie and Co. *sniff* Oh! And in further Exciting Hexy News, DEMONGLASS spent not one but TWO weeks on the NYT list, and for that, I thank you muchly!!
2)Speaking of TRIPLE HEXXX, I've gotten a lot of questions about is it done, and if it IS done, why is not in your various faces, like, YESTERDAY WTF HAWKINS?? To which I say, YES, the book IS DONE. And by done, I mean I have written the first draft and done the first round of edits on it. We're still polishing it, and then it has to go to copy edits, and pass pages, and what have you. Publishing it a slow bizness. Also, release dates are set YEARS in advance, so even if I had managed to turn the book in, like, SIX MONTHS ahead of deadline (which- Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHAHAHA!), it STILL wouldn't come out any earlier than March 2012. And I feel your pain, Mes Anges, I do! I've been waiting FIVE YEARS for the new George R.R. Martin book to come out, and his last book ended on an EVEN BIGGER CLIFFHANGER than DEMONGLASS did.
He may LOOK kinda like Santa, but George R.R. Martin makes me cry in my soul. Y U NO GIVE ME FIFTH BOOK, GEORGE? (Sorry. The "Y U No" meme is my New Favorite Thing.)
3)In addition to working on HH3, I've been working on REBEL BELLE, the start of a new trilogy coming out in Summer 2012. (That's right! Mere months after the HEX HALL series wraps up, you'll have a whole new series filled with kissing and sword fights and wackiness!)
4) Oh, and have I mentioned that this summer, I'll be writing a spin-off to the HEX HALL series? Because THAT IS HAPPENING! And I am VERY EXCITED! So even though Sophie's story wraps up in Book 3, she might make a few cameos in the new book. We shall see! As for who the spin-off will be about, it's a character we don't meet until Book 3. I think you'll like her a lot, though. Sophie certainly does!
5) This Saturday, I'll be in Houston, Texas for the Teen Book Con! I'm VERY excited about this as A) Houston was AMAZING to me and Sarwat on tour, and B) Houston is filled with extremely delicious Tex Mex food, and as I could eat Mexican foo EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE- which, if I ate Mexican food every day, would probably be something of a short life- Texas makes me especially happy. I'm also happy because I'll get to see Lindsey, who as you all know, if one of my Writer BFFs. Also exciting? The sweet panel I'm doing with Saundra Mitchell, Andrea Cremer, Joy Preble, and Stacey Kade. We'll be talking about the geopolitical ramifications of YA lierature throughout the 20th century. HAHA! Psyche your mind! We're actually talking about Scary Supernatural Creatures (and we'll probably mention Hot Boys in there, too.)
6) Yes, I said "psyche your mind." When I was in middle school, we never just said, "PSYCHE!" when we were kidding. It was always, "PSYCHE YOUR MIND!" which I enjoy since it sounds more aggressive than your run-of-the-mill, "Psyche!" It's like, not only have I lied to you, I have effed with YOUR MIND.
7)The BFF went to this super-rural high school, and according to her, out there, they said "Neck bone!" instead of "psyche." Which just made no sense to me AT ALL. It DOES make me laugh and laugh to think about though. Neck bone. WTF? Probably had something to do with... I don't know, farming or something.
"Hey, Ma, did you plant the tobacco?" "No, Pa! I planted mango trees instead!" "WHAT?" "HAHA NECK BONE!" "Oh, Ma! You got me good!"
8)With all of this writing+signing books for three weeks+stupidly attempting to write on tiny planes, which resulted in bizarre arm/hand/wrist contortions (and the fact that I STILL only write on a laptop instead of something sensible with an ergonomic keyboard), I seem to have developed carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand. This is vaguely sucktastic and more than a little painful. So to battle the painful sucktasticness, I went out and bought a wrist brace. This is it:
Yeah. FUTURO. So I've started saying it's NOT a Wrist Brace For Carpal Tunnel (Because I Am Old And Lame), but is instead a GLOVE OF POWER that CONTROLS THE FUTURE. Support me in this delusion, Mes Anges.
9) TV is going to be very good to me in April. In addition to HBO's Game of Thrones (see above RE: my love/hate for George R.R. Martin), Doctor Who comes back on the 23rd! I
Look at these fierce Mother Truckers, travelin' through space and time, saving the universe and being awesome.
10) Speaking of Fierce Time Travel Sexiness, a few months ago, I was lucky enough to read an ARC of Myra McEntire's HOURGLASS. Y'all. Y'ALL. I looooooved it! How much? Well, when you buy the book, you can read my gushy blurb all over the back of it. It's soooo swoony and romantic, but it's also science-y and action-y, and I ADORED IT. So go pre-order it. You will thank me. Oh, but Kaleb is MINE AND I WILL FIGHT YOU IN THE STREET FOR HIM. And you don't want that. I'm a kicker.
XOXO!
1) I've been up to my eyeballs in Writerly Work here lately. Putting the finishing touches on HEX HALL 3: PROMISE TO ANNOUNCE THE TITLE SOON, which is both fun and sad. It's hard to believe that I'm more or less done writing about Sophie and Co. *sniff* Oh! And in further Exciting Hexy News, DEMONGLASS spent not one but TWO weeks on the NYT list, and for that, I thank you muchly!!
2)Speaking of TRIPLE HEXXX, I've gotten a lot of questions about is it done, and if it IS done, why is not in your various faces, like, YESTERDAY WTF HAWKINS?? To which I say, YES, the book IS DONE. And by done, I mean I have written the first draft and done the first round of edits on it. We're still polishing it, and then it has to go to copy edits, and pass pages, and what have you. Publishing it a slow bizness. Also, release dates are set YEARS in advance, so even if I had managed to turn the book in, like, SIX MONTHS ahead of deadline (which- Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHAHAHA!), it STILL wouldn't come out any earlier than March 2012. And I feel your pain, Mes Anges, I do! I've been waiting FIVE YEARS for the new George R.R. Martin book to come out, and his last book ended on an EVEN BIGGER CLIFFHANGER than DEMONGLASS did.
He may LOOK kinda like Santa, but George R.R. Martin makes me cry in my soul. Y U NO GIVE ME FIFTH BOOK, GEORGE? (Sorry. The "Y U No" meme is my New Favorite Thing.)
3)In addition to working on HH3, I've been working on REBEL BELLE, the start of a new trilogy coming out in Summer 2012. (That's right! Mere months after the HEX HALL series wraps up, you'll have a whole new series filled with kissing and sword fights and wackiness!)
4) Oh, and have I mentioned that this summer, I'll be writing a spin-off to the HEX HALL series? Because THAT IS HAPPENING! And I am VERY EXCITED! So even though Sophie's story wraps up in Book 3, she might make a few cameos in the new book. We shall see! As for who the spin-off will be about, it's a character we don't meet until Book 3. I think you'll like her a lot, though. Sophie certainly does!
5) This Saturday, I'll be in Houston, Texas for the Teen Book Con! I'm VERY excited about this as A) Houston was AMAZING to me and Sarwat on tour, and B) Houston is filled with extremely delicious Tex Mex food, and as I could eat Mexican foo EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE- which, if I ate Mexican food every day, would probably be something of a short life- Texas makes me especially happy. I'm also happy because I'll get to see Lindsey, who as you all know, if one of my Writer BFFs. Also exciting? The sweet panel I'm doing with Saundra Mitchell, Andrea Cremer, Joy Preble, and Stacey Kade. We'll be talking about the geopolitical ramifications of YA lierature throughout the 20th century. HAHA! Psyche your mind! We're actually talking about Scary Supernatural Creatures (and we'll probably mention Hot Boys in there, too.)
6) Yes, I said "psyche your mind." When I was in middle school, we never just said, "PSYCHE!" when we were kidding. It was always, "PSYCHE YOUR MIND!" which I enjoy since it sounds more aggressive than your run-of-the-mill, "Psyche!" It's like, not only have I lied to you, I have effed with YOUR MIND.
7)The BFF went to this super-rural high school, and according to her, out there, they said "Neck bone!" instead of "psyche." Which just made no sense to me AT ALL. It DOES make me laugh and laugh to think about though. Neck bone. WTF? Probably had something to do with... I don't know, farming or something.
"Hey, Ma, did you plant the tobacco?" "No, Pa! I planted mango trees instead!" "WHAT?" "HAHA NECK BONE!" "Oh, Ma! You got me good!"
8)With all of this writing+signing books for three weeks+stupidly attempting to write on tiny planes, which resulted in bizarre arm/hand/wrist contortions (and the fact that I STILL only write on a laptop instead of something sensible with an ergonomic keyboard), I seem to have developed carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand. This is vaguely sucktastic and more than a little painful. So to battle the painful sucktasticness, I went out and bought a wrist brace. This is it:
Yeah. FUTURO. So I've started saying it's NOT a Wrist Brace For Carpal Tunnel (Because I Am Old And Lame), but is instead a GLOVE OF POWER that CONTROLS THE FUTURE. Support me in this delusion, Mes Anges.
9) TV is going to be very good to me in April. In addition to HBO's Game of Thrones (see above RE: my love/hate for George R.R. Martin), Doctor Who comes back on the 23rd! I
Look at these fierce Mother Truckers, travelin' through space and time, saving the universe and being awesome.
10) Speaking of Fierce Time Travel Sexiness, a few months ago, I was lucky enough to read an ARC of Myra McEntire's HOURGLASS. Y'all. Y'ALL. I looooooved it! How much? Well, when you buy the book, you can read my gushy blurb all over the back of it. It's soooo swoony and romantic, but it's also science-y and action-y, and I ADORED IT. So go pre-order it. You will thank me. Oh, but Kaleb is MINE AND I WILL FIGHT YOU IN THE STREET FOR HIM. And you don't want that. I'm a kicker.
XOXO!
March 11, 2011
WTF Friday, Part II
Okay, so this is NOT the WTF Friday I promised awhile back, but once you see what I have for you today... well, you'll understand why it MUST be shared.
So Sarwat and I are wrapping up our tour this weekend, and it goes without saying that we've had MANY memorable moments. I'll be breaking them all down next week, but I have to say, this picture I'm about to show you? It may go down as my Favorite Thing On Tour Ever (Except For Hanging With Sarwat, and Oh Yeah, That Whole New York Times Thing.)
Picture it: There's me and Sarwat (and our delightful media escort, Brian.) We're at a lovely high school in California to do a talk about writing/our books/whatevs. We walk in, looking for the office, and immediately notice at least half a dozen of these fliers on the walls:
Now, this flier is hilarious for several reasons, none of which I probably have to point out to you. There's the use of the verb "freaking." There's the stick figure in back with his arms up like, "YES! I am freaking at a school dance! I am freaking with ABANDON!"
Then there's the other stick figure who is either like, "WOO HOO, I TOO AM FREAKING AT A SCHOOL DANCE," or is, as my friend Chantel suggested, more like, "OMG I JUST DROPPED MY QUARTER IN THE LUNCH LINE WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!"
But my favorite thing about it is that, having been a teacher, I KNOW the amount of thought and planning that went into this flier. Trust. Nothing gets done at a big public high school without like a bajillion meetings and at least 9,000 people weighing in with their various opinions. Also, if you'll read it, you'll see that there's actually a very complex system set in place should you freak at the school dance. There are WRISTBANDS. And WARNINGS. Like, if you're freaking ONCE, they're all, "Hey. You are freaking, and that is not appropriate," and then you can be like, "My bad. The music of Jodeci overwhelmed me. I shall cease freaking and in shame, hand over my wristband so that all might know me for the freaker that I am."
Apparently, my version of events happens in 1993, which is the last time anyone listened to Jodeci.
I love this. I love everything about it. And I thought y'all might, too. :)
Until bext time, Mes Anges!
So Sarwat and I are wrapping up our tour this weekend, and it goes without saying that we've had MANY memorable moments. I'll be breaking them all down next week, but I have to say, this picture I'm about to show you? It may go down as my Favorite Thing On Tour Ever (Except For Hanging With Sarwat, and Oh Yeah, That Whole New York Times Thing.)
Picture it: There's me and Sarwat (and our delightful media escort, Brian.) We're at a lovely high school in California to do a talk about writing/our books/whatevs. We walk in, looking for the office, and immediately notice at least half a dozen of these fliers on the walls:
Now, this flier is hilarious for several reasons, none of which I probably have to point out to you. There's the use of the verb "freaking." There's the stick figure in back with his arms up like, "YES! I am freaking at a school dance! I am freaking with ABANDON!"
Then there's the other stick figure who is either like, "WOO HOO, I TOO AM FREAKING AT A SCHOOL DANCE," or is, as my friend Chantel suggested, more like, "OMG I JUST DROPPED MY QUARTER IN THE LUNCH LINE WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!"
But my favorite thing about it is that, having been a teacher, I KNOW the amount of thought and planning that went into this flier. Trust. Nothing gets done at a big public high school without like a bajillion meetings and at least 9,000 people weighing in with their various opinions. Also, if you'll read it, you'll see that there's actually a very complex system set in place should you freak at the school dance. There are WRISTBANDS. And WARNINGS. Like, if you're freaking ONCE, they're all, "Hey. You are freaking, and that is not appropriate," and then you can be like, "My bad. The music of Jodeci overwhelmed me. I shall cease freaking and in shame, hand over my wristband so that all might know me for the freaker that I am."
Apparently, my version of events happens in 1993, which is the last time anyone listened to Jodeci.
I love this. I love everything about it. And I thought y'all might, too. :)
Until bext time, Mes Anges!
March 9, 2011
DEMONGLASS+NYT Best Seller List= Rachel Could Faint With Joy
So if you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen that today I got the news that DEMONGLASS debuted at #5 on the New York Times Bestseller list (specifically, the children's list.)
Soon, Mes Anges, I will have the whole story for you. It involves a Magic Starbucks in Menlo Park, California,the amazingness of Agent Holly, several lovely friends, and me crying and laughing all at the same time. I promise to tell it soon!
But for now, all I can say is THANK YOU!! If amazing readers didn't buy my books, there would be no Exciting Lists, and no Crying In Public, and no Being So Full Of Happy You Think You Might Explode. So as excited and thrilled and humbled and overwhelmed as I am by all this, I wouldn't have any of it without you, and I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Wow. That went very Oscar speech, didn't it?
Anyway, promise to post a full tour report soon! I'm having SO MUCH FUN on the road with Sarwat, and I will have MANY stories to tell when I'm not so knackered (that's a fun English word I've picked up from Sarwat. I gave him "y'all," so it's a fair trade!)
Also, we stole a baby. Okay, not really. But we DID hold it for a long time.
Thank you again, and I hope you're all enjoying DEMONGLASS!!
XOXO!!
R
Soon, Mes Anges, I will have the whole story for you. It involves a Magic Starbucks in Menlo Park, California,the amazingness of Agent Holly, several lovely friends, and me crying and laughing all at the same time. I promise to tell it soon!
But for now, all I can say is THANK YOU!! If amazing readers didn't buy my books, there would be no Exciting Lists, and no Crying In Public, and no Being So Full Of Happy You Think You Might Explode. So as excited and thrilled and humbled and overwhelmed as I am by all this, I wouldn't have any of it without you, and I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Wow. That went very Oscar speech, didn't it?
Anyway, promise to post a full tour report soon! I'm having SO MUCH FUN on the road with Sarwat, and I will have MANY stories to tell when I'm not so knackered (that's a fun English word I've picked up from Sarwat. I gave him "y'all," so it's a fair trade!)
Also, we stole a baby. Okay, not really. But we DID hold it for a long time.
Thank you again, and I hope you're all enjoying DEMONGLASS!!
XOXO!!
R
February 28, 2011
ONE DAY MOOOOOOORE!
That's right, Mes Anges! Tomorrow, DEMONGLASS finally hits shelves, and I could not be MORE EXCITED! I actually finished writing it in September 2009, so I've had to wait quite awhile to get to share it with people. But soon there will be no more waiting!! And you'll all learn that it turns out all the events of HEX HALL were a dream! Um... spoiler? ;-)
I also leave for my TOUR OF WONDER tomorrow morning. Sarwat and I will be kicking things off at Anderson's in Chicago tomorrow evening at 7, so if you're in the area, please come say hello!
Also, I'm very excited to announce that my lovely publishers have set up a new website for the Hex Hall series. There, you can find all my tour dates AND read the first chapter of DEMONGLASS if you just can't wait until tomorrow. :)
I'm hoping to blog from the road, but internet is sometimes spotty (or expensive. Seriously, Atlanta airport? $10 for a few hours of wifi?) However, I WILL have my trusty Blackberry, so expect lots of updates on Twitter (I'm @LadyHawkins over there.)
Hope to meet some of you over the next two weeks! And I also hope you all enjoy DEMONGLASS!
XOXO!
Yeah. I did.
I also leave for my TOUR OF WONDER tomorrow morning. Sarwat and I will be kicking things off at Anderson's in Chicago tomorrow evening at 7, so if you're in the area, please come say hello!
Also, I'm very excited to announce that my lovely publishers have set up a new website for the Hex Hall series. There, you can find all my tour dates AND read the first chapter of DEMONGLASS if you just can't wait until tomorrow. :)
I'm hoping to blog from the road, but internet is sometimes spotty (or expensive. Seriously, Atlanta airport? $10 for a few hours of wifi?) However, I WILL have my trusty Blackberry, so expect lots of updates on Twitter (I'm @LadyHawkins over there.)
Hope to meet some of you over the next two weeks! And I also hope you all enjoy DEMONGLASS!
XOXO!
Yeah. I did.
February 24, 2011
L.K. Madigan
As some of you may have seen on Twitter or other places last night, YA author L.K. Madigan passed away from pancreatic cancer yesterday. Although I didn't know Lisa personally, she was very close to several friends of mine, and we had chatted on Twitter. When HEX HALL came out, she sent me a very sweet email saying how much she enjoyed it. That email meant so much to me, both because I'd been such a fan of her debut novel, FLASH BURNOUT, and because it was just the nicest, warmest message at a time when I really needed it. And from what I saw last night, so many other people had similar memories of Lisa. In a business that can be filled with insecurity and pettiness, Lisa was a bright spot. She was encouraging and supportive to new writers, and free with her time and guidance. That is such a rarity.
Yes, she was a gifted writer (again, I can't recommend FLASH BURNOUT or THE MERMAID'S MIRROR enough. They're beautiful books), but she was also a profoundly lovely human being. And to me, that counts for even more. So today I'm sad for my friends who are hurting. I'm sad for Lisa's family. I'm sad for all readers that there won't be any more of Lisa's gorgeous words in the world. But, as Lindsey Leavitt said, I'm so grateful for the longevity of words. That Lisa will still be here every time anyone opens one of her books. And while I'll always hate that I never met her in person, I'll always be grateful for the little bit I did get to know her. And I'll always be thankful for words like the following, which she gave on the "Advice For Writers" page on her website:
The main thing is to WRITE. Some days it might be 2000 words. Some days you might tinker with two sentences until you get them just right. Both days belong in the writing life. Some days you may watch a "Doctor Who" marathon or become immersed a book that is so good you can't stop reading. Some days you may be in love or in mourning. Those days belong in the writing life, too. Live them without guilt.
Yes, she was a gifted writer (again, I can't recommend FLASH BURNOUT or THE MERMAID'S MIRROR enough. They're beautiful books), but she was also a profoundly lovely human being. And to me, that counts for even more. So today I'm sad for my friends who are hurting. I'm sad for Lisa's family. I'm sad for all readers that there won't be any more of Lisa's gorgeous words in the world. But, as Lindsey Leavitt said, I'm so grateful for the longevity of words. That Lisa will still be here every time anyone opens one of her books. And while I'll always hate that I never met her in person, I'll always be grateful for the little bit I did get to know her. And I'll always be thankful for words like the following, which she gave on the "Advice For Writers" page on her website:
The main thing is to WRITE. Some days it might be 2000 words. Some days you might tinker with two sentences until you get them just right. Both days belong in the writing life. Some days you may watch a "Doctor Who" marathon or become immersed a book that is so good you can't stop reading. Some days you may be in love or in mourning. Those days belong in the writing life, too. Live them without guilt.
February 14, 2011
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (Songs)
Happy Valentine's Day, Mes Anges!! Hope it's been a wonderful day full of chocolate and love and, if you are of age, wine. ;-) I have had the same Valentine for nearly 11 years now (WHAT?! HOW has it been that long?!), and since his b'day is veerrrrry close to The Big V Day, we usually don't do much on this particular day. Still, I've come to embrace this holiday. Yes, it was created by Hallmark to sell cards, and YES, it CAN be an opportunity to make the single amongst us feel crappy, but whatevs. It's a day that celebrates pink and love and candy, and I can always get behind those three things.
In honor of the day, I wanted to talk a little about rooooomaaaaaance. Specifically, rooooooomaaaaaaaantic songs. If you've read HEX HALL and/or DEMONGLASS (which is out TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW OMG!), then you know I am a fan of the rooooooomaaaaaance. In fact, I can guarantee you RIGHT NOW that EVERY SINGLE RACHEL HAWKINS BOOK EVER will have a love story and AT LEAST one kissing scene (I would actually write books totally full of nothing BUT kissing scenes, but apparently people like books to have, like, "plots" or whatever.)
The romance-y stuff is always my favorite part to write, so one of the first things I think about when I'm sitting down to start a new book is, "Who is the main couple?" Matchmaking fictional people is way more fun than setting up REAL people, mostly because there are no awkward post-date, "WTF were you thinking?!" phone calls afterwards.
"Seriously, Rachel? He was twice my age and half my height! And I don't think both of us liking 'Fringe' is a solid basis for a relationship. You are so fired as my friend right now."
I've found in making my fictional matches that they don't REALLY come together until I've discovered the perfect song for them. When it comes to finding the right love theme for People Who Love In Your Head (typo, but it stays), it's not just about lyrics or melody or whether or not one character could believably play it while holding a boombox over his head.
Thanks, iPods, for killing Grand Romantic Gestures FOREVER.
It's a weird, magical combo of those things. I tend to know them when I hear them. So without further ado, here are the love themes for all 3 HEX HALL books, REBEL BELLE, AND a couple of Seeeeeekriiiiiit Projects! (Warning: Like a thousand YouTube videos coming right up!)
1) HEX HALL:"Luv," Travis
I've mentioned this song about a million times, specifically that it's the song that Archer and Sophie dance to in the ball scene in HEX HALL. I'm not sure if I've ever said WHY it's their song, though. The first time I heard it, the lyric, "When the mistake we made was in never having planned to fall in love, luv," really stood out to me as just being quintessentially Sophie/Archer (Sopher? Archie? They need a portmanteau!) Also, I like the sort of bittersweet wryness in the singer's voice, especially on that line, "Singing a song, singing along, it makes it easier for me to see you go." It just FELT like those two.
2) DEMONGLASS: "Drumming Song," Florence+The Machine
Oh, how I looooove this song! I love its intensity, I love how it just builds and builds....And it was especially perfect for DEMONGLASS since, to me, this is a song about doing your damnedest to resist someone you want like BURNING. And Lord knows, that's what Sophie's trying to do in DEMONGLASS!
3) HEX HALL 3 WHICH HAS A TITLE I JUST CAN'T SAY IT YET: "Last Night On Earth," American Idiot Cast
Actually presenting this one without much comment as HH3 is still over a year away, and I don't want to spoil anything. I WILL say that this song is not necessarily for just ONE relationship, but actually worked for several. And now I'll be quiet, or I'll end up spoiling the big twist at the end where they all turn in to unicorns. Wait...DAMN IT! ;-)
4) REBEL BELLE: "Parachute," Cheryl Cole
There are so many reasons this song is perfect for Harper Price, my debutante-turned-superhero, and her nerdy/cute love interest/nemesis, David Stark. There's something in the beat that makes me think of people doing Fancy Dancing (of course, that could just be the video), and I love the line about, "It's you and me up against the world, it's you and me," since Harper and David ARE facing some pretty intense enemies. And since the book is all about Harper having to protect David from all MANNER of people out to kill him, I think the parachute imagery is pretty fitting!
5) SEEEKRIT PROJECT 1: "Heartbreak Beat," The Psychedelic Furs
This is such a weird pick since, technically, SEEEEKRIT PROJECT 1 is the closest thing to a high fantasy novel I'll ever write. So do I pick some Loreena McKennit? Maybe some Enya? Nope. An 80s New Wave track. I just...my brain is weird, y'all. Anyway, this song hooked me with the lyrics, "And it feels like love, but it don't mean a lot/ And it feels like love, and it's all that we've got." Those lines just summed up the relationship between my hero and heroine for me, seeing as how both of them would probably rather jump off a cliff than admit that are totally in luuuuuurve. (BTW, this is the thing I talked about writing back during the summer.)
6) SEEEEEKRIT PROJECT 2: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," Lady Antebellum
This book takes place is Small Town Tennessee, so when I was first sketching out the basic plot, I put out a call on Twitter for good country music recommendations. Someone sent me this song, and I immediately fell in love with it. That line that says, "And I'm falling fast, but the truth is I'm not scared at all?" GAH. Perfection for this particular couple. There's also a sweetness to it that really suited the romance in this book (seeing as how this might be the FIRST couple I've ever written that aren't of the, "GOD, I HATE YOUR FACE BUT YOU SHOULD MAYBE MAKE OUT WITH ME RIGHT NOW KTHXBYE" variety.)
So there you have it! The love themes for SIX freaking books! What are some of YOUR favorite love songs, mes anges?
XOXO!
In honor of the day, I wanted to talk a little about rooooomaaaaaance. Specifically, rooooooomaaaaaaaantic songs. If you've read HEX HALL and/or DEMONGLASS (which is out TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW OMG!), then you know I am a fan of the rooooooomaaaaaance. In fact, I can guarantee you RIGHT NOW that EVERY SINGLE RACHEL HAWKINS BOOK EVER will have a love story and AT LEAST one kissing scene (I would actually write books totally full of nothing BUT kissing scenes, but apparently people like books to have, like, "plots" or whatever.)
The romance-y stuff is always my favorite part to write, so one of the first things I think about when I'm sitting down to start a new book is, "Who is the main couple?" Matchmaking fictional people is way more fun than setting up REAL people, mostly because there are no awkward post-date, "WTF were you thinking?!" phone calls afterwards.
"Seriously, Rachel? He was twice my age and half my height! And I don't think both of us liking 'Fringe' is a solid basis for a relationship. You are so fired as my friend right now."
I've found in making my fictional matches that they don't REALLY come together until I've discovered the perfect song for them. When it comes to finding the right love theme for People Who Love In Your Head (typo, but it stays), it's not just about lyrics or melody or whether or not one character could believably play it while holding a boombox over his head.
Thanks, iPods, for killing Grand Romantic Gestures FOREVER.
It's a weird, magical combo of those things. I tend to know them when I hear them. So without further ado, here are the love themes for all 3 HEX HALL books, REBEL BELLE, AND a couple of Seeeeeekriiiiiit Projects! (Warning: Like a thousand YouTube videos coming right up!)
1) HEX HALL:"Luv," Travis
I've mentioned this song about a million times, specifically that it's the song that Archer and Sophie dance to in the ball scene in HEX HALL. I'm not sure if I've ever said WHY it's their song, though. The first time I heard it, the lyric, "When the mistake we made was in never having planned to fall in love, luv," really stood out to me as just being quintessentially Sophie/Archer (Sopher? Archie? They need a portmanteau!) Also, I like the sort of bittersweet wryness in the singer's voice, especially on that line, "Singing a song, singing along, it makes it easier for me to see you go." It just FELT like those two.
2) DEMONGLASS: "Drumming Song," Florence+The Machine
Oh, how I looooove this song! I love its intensity, I love how it just builds and builds....And it was especially perfect for DEMONGLASS since, to me, this is a song about doing your damnedest to resist someone you want like BURNING. And Lord knows, that's what Sophie's trying to do in DEMONGLASS!
3) HEX HALL 3 WHICH HAS A TITLE I JUST CAN'T SAY IT YET: "Last Night On Earth," American Idiot Cast
Actually presenting this one without much comment as HH3 is still over a year away, and I don't want to spoil anything. I WILL say that this song is not necessarily for just ONE relationship, but actually worked for several. And now I'll be quiet, or I'll end up spoiling the big twist at the end where they all turn in to unicorns. Wait...DAMN IT! ;-)
4) REBEL BELLE: "Parachute," Cheryl Cole
There are so many reasons this song is perfect for Harper Price, my debutante-turned-superhero, and her nerdy/cute love interest/nemesis, David Stark. There's something in the beat that makes me think of people doing Fancy Dancing (of course, that could just be the video), and I love the line about, "It's you and me up against the world, it's you and me," since Harper and David ARE facing some pretty intense enemies. And since the book is all about Harper having to protect David from all MANNER of people out to kill him, I think the parachute imagery is pretty fitting!
5) SEEEKRIT PROJECT 1: "Heartbreak Beat," The Psychedelic Furs
This is such a weird pick since, technically, SEEEEKRIT PROJECT 1 is the closest thing to a high fantasy novel I'll ever write. So do I pick some Loreena McKennit? Maybe some Enya? Nope. An 80s New Wave track. I just...my brain is weird, y'all. Anyway, this song hooked me with the lyrics, "And it feels like love, but it don't mean a lot/ And it feels like love, and it's all that we've got." Those lines just summed up the relationship between my hero and heroine for me, seeing as how both of them would probably rather jump off a cliff than admit that are totally in luuuuuurve. (BTW, this is the thing I talked about writing back during the summer.)
6) SEEEEEKRIT PROJECT 2: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," Lady Antebellum
This book takes place is Small Town Tennessee, so when I was first sketching out the basic plot, I put out a call on Twitter for good country music recommendations. Someone sent me this song, and I immediately fell in love with it. That line that says, "And I'm falling fast, but the truth is I'm not scared at all?" GAH. Perfection for this particular couple. There's also a sweetness to it that really suited the romance in this book (seeing as how this might be the FIRST couple I've ever written that aren't of the, "GOD, I HATE YOUR FACE BUT YOU SHOULD MAYBE MAKE OUT WITH ME RIGHT NOW KTHXBYE" variety.)
So there you have it! The love themes for SIX freaking books! What are some of YOUR favorite love songs, mes anges?
XOXO!
