Ginger Rue's Blog, page 9

JUMP in VA, LA

Cute pics from JUMP Starters in Virginia and Louisiana!

T-shirts are on their way!  Thanks!

Taking early childhood literacy to new levels! Thanks, Leslie!

Go See THE FIFTH QUARTER!

Actress Andie Macdowell has a new movie coming out in March.  It's called The Fifth Quarter, and it's terrific!  I interviewed her for Guideposts magazine recently and so enjoyed meeting her.  I can't believe I had the nerve (insanity?) to have my picture taken with one of the most beautiful women in the world, but here it is.  She is even more beautiful in real life than she is on the movie screen or in magazines, if you can believe that.  Maybe it's because she's such a lovely person.  I was impressed by how smart she is, and how she really cares about doing the right thing and trying to be a good person.  And she's just wonderful in her new film, so have a movie night and go see it!

Hanging out with Jaguars

This sixth grade girl was so adorable, I wanted to put her in my pocket and bring her home!

Today I visited Rock Quarry Middle School in Tuscaloosa and had a wonderful time meeting the students.  They asked awesome questions about the writing process, where ideas come from, and all the stuff that would make their teachers and librarians proud!  Thanks to Mrs. Hickman for inviting me!

JUMP Start in Ohio

Doesn't it just make you want to run out and buy several dozen copies?

Look what I found in my inbox yesterday!  My first picture from a JUMP Starter!  Jennie in Ohio is on the team to help promote JUMP in her area.  For sending me this lovely pic, she'll get a free JUMP t-shirt!  Can you say "coolest girl in school"?  Yeah, I think so!  Thank you, Jennie!

Sign Me Up for Gallagher Academy

Still can't believe I actually got to speak at the NCTE Convention with my favorite YA author, Ally Carter!  Also found out that Ally's really nice and smart editor is also Rachel Hawkins's editor.  Rachel is the author of the popular HEX HALL series and lives in an Alabama town I'm not allowed to name at this time if I want to continue to live in the glow of the University of Alabama campus.  If you haven't read their work already, Carter and Hawkins are two fabulous, fun writers you should check out!  Their books will make you laugh out loud and keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next.  Oh, and btw, Ally is a peach!  Sweet and friendly and seemingly unaware of how much I dorked out with excitement over meeting her!  Thanks to NCTE and Random House for letting me be a part of the convention line-up!

I'm Not Worthy!!! I'm Not Worthy!!!

Remember on WAYNE'S WORLD when Aerosmith performs in Wayne's basement?  ("Aerosmith is in my breakfast nook!?!!")  I'm about to have a similar experience this week at the National Council of Teachers of English.  Why, you ask?  Because I'll be speaking with New York Times Bestselling author Ally Carter!  I'm such a huge fan of the Gallagher Girls series…the only thing I don't like about those books is that I didn't write them.  Ally has a great voice and is a phenomenal storyteller.  I can't wait to read her newest, HEIST SOCIETY…and get her to sign it for me. As Wayne and Garth would say, Party time!  Excellent!  Woo woo woo!!!

JUMP Starters!

Thanks again for all the responses to the JUMP Starters contest!  The first 25 responders who will receive a kit with a free copy of JUMP, a poster, and bookmarks are…

Sylvia and Teresa in California

Anita in Georgia

Rachael in New York

Alexis and Jennie in Ohio

Veronica in Florida

Rebecca in Texas

Patricia in Alabama

Lee in Massachusetts

Jenny in New Jersey

Regan in Arizona

Amanda in Iowa

Christie in Pennsylvania

Java in Michigan

Emily in Missouri

Vanessa in Wisconsin

Leslie and Shelby in Louisiana

Tasha in North Carolina

Kim in Virginia

Rebecca in Illinois

Emily in Tennessee

Summer in Maryland

Allison in South Carolina

As you know, we chose the first 25 from different states, and then the first responders from states already represented to fill out the list.  I'll be contacting each of you to get your mailing addresses so we can get those kits in the mail!  And for those who commented but were beaten to the punch, I'd like to send you some cute JUMP bookmarks (they have little plastic high heels on them, for the "walk in someone else's shoes" theme–they're pretty adorable!).  Oh, and my publisher says I have to limit the contest to the U.S., so apologies to my British friend…but maybe I can still hook you up with some bookmarks! 

Thanks again, everybody!

Wow!

Thanks to everyone for the amazing response to the JUMP Starters contest!  I'll be posting the official list soon and getting snail mail addresses to send out those kits.  There are still four slots left for unrepresented states.  So far, we have heard from California, Georgia, New York, Ohio, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Arizona, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia, either Kansas or Missouri (???–not sure which "KC" we were talking about), Illinois, Tennessee, and Maryland.  Hope to hear from four other states very soon–can't wait to get those t-shirts ordered and get them in the mail!  I'll be in touch with you guys in the next week or so!  Thanks again!

Be a JUMP Starter!

Even in the Internet Age, the best buzz a book can get is still word-of-mouth.  Get some real people behind your book and they'll help you promote it.  At least, that's what my publisher and I are hoping!

That's why we came up with the idea for JUMP Starters.  JUMP Starters will be 25 people who will be selected to help spread the word about JUMP in their communities.  They'll receive a free kit in the mail with a copy of the novel, a poster of the book jacket, and bookmarks to hand out to whomever they choose.  If they can convince a bookstore or library in their town to hang up the poster, and then send me a picture of themselves beside the poster, they'll get another freebie:  a JUMP t-shirt.  And let me just say that this is a pretty cool t-shirt:  a crimson color similar to the background on the book jacket, with yellow print.  I have to pay for mine, but JUMP Starters will get theirs FREE!

Interested?  All you have to do is stop by the blog here on October 1st and leave a comment that you'd like to be a JUMP Starter.  The first 25 people from 25 different states are in like Flynn.  (I'm not sure who Flynn is, but apparently, he is very "in.")  The reason for the 25-different-states thing is simple:  I personally know every single person in the states of Alabama and Mississippi and have already tried to hand sell my book to each of them.  Just kidding.  I know only about 99.9% of them.  I need some geographic diversity!

So, I hope to see you back here on October 1st.  The contest opens at 12 a.m. Central time, because I'm in Central time, and I can't do the math to calculate the time zone differences.  (That's why I became a writer.)  Hope you'll join in the fun!

Q &A with Author Lindsey Leavitt

Lindsey Leavitt

If you haven't already read Lindsey Leavitt's debut YA novel, Princess for Hire, what are you waiting for?  For those of you who already love Lindsey, and for those of you who soon will, enjoy the Q&A!

GR:  One of the interesting things about P4H is that you put Desi in situations that aren't the traditional princess schtick—like an Amazon princess, a sci-fi TV show princess, etc.  What made you decide to break the mold like that?

LL:  Well, let's be honest. Princesses are pretty played out. I knew I had to put a new spin on it. And once I started to research, I realized there are so many different KINDS of princess. I didn't just want the pink poofballs little girls go for when they play dress up–the less expected, the better.

GR:  Were you obsessed with princess stories growing up?  If so, which ones did you like best and why?

LL: I wasn't. Like, at all. I was more into Little House on the Prairie and Hardy Boys books. The thing about princesses that appealed to me, though, was that they were special. Even if that specialness came simply by being born. 

I did always like Disney's Belle from Beauty and the Beast because she liked to read, had brown hair and brown eyes. She was probably the only princess I could see myself in–I mean, Rapunzel? Rat's nest much?

GR:  When will the sequel to P4H be available, and how many books will be in the series?

 LL:  May 3. There will be 3 books in the series. I considered 4, but after writing the second, it should reach a really strong conclusion by the end of 3. Plus, I have all these other book ideas I'm DYING to start!

GR:  OK, some questions for aspiring writers.  What's your background as far as learning the craft of writing?  How'd you land an agent and a publisher?  Any good stories behind the scenes?

LL: My background is in elementary education, so I didn't go to school to be a writer. I learned to write by reading and writing. For years. I also attended conferences and read a bunch of books on writing, but really, the best way I know how to learn writing is, you know, writing. 

I found my agent the good ol' fashioned way—cold query. She got back to me in a couple of weeks, and from there it was just a few days before she offered representation. Of course, I'd been in and out of query hell for a few months (and revised many times, as well as wrote another novel), so it wasn't a total breeze. We submitted to publishers at the beginning of summer, which everyone says can be a slow season, so I didn't expect to hear much for a month or two. So, whoa, I was shocked when my agent called just a week into submission to say we had interest. The rest was all hazy bliss and ended in an auction that was win-win either way. I don't think I have or ever will experience that unique blend of excitement, anticipation and nerves quite like I did during my first submission.

GR:  Did you have in mind a series all along, or did your agent or publisher encourage that?

LL:  I knew it had potential to be a series, but I'd heard that you shouldn't write three books and THEN try to get a publisher, because they might not sell and then you have three books worth of work, instead of one. So I threw everything into that first book and wrote a little synopsis for a sequel. From that, I was offered a three book deal. I had to cut the second half of the first book so I could work it into the series story line. So lots of revising went into PRINCESS FOR HIRE, but set things up for what's in store in book 2 and 3.

GR:  What advice would you give YA writers?

LL:  Write write write. Revise revise revise. Then worry about publication. You have to be a writer before you can become an author. And if there isn't any interest in that book? Write write write a new one. And revise, revise, revise…

GR:   If you could sub for a royal today, who would you be, and what would you do for her?

LL:  Chelsy Davy. Okay, so she's not royal. She's Prince Harry's off-again girlfriend. So obvs I would get them back together. There might be kissing involved. All for her own good, of course.