Holly Cupala's Blog, page 17

Story Secrets: FREEFALL by Mindi Scott + Giveaway!

It is my pleasure to get to introduce you to Mindi Scott, fellow 2010 debut author of FREEFALL, which comes out in just a few days! In the meantime, Mindi has generously promised a copy of FREEFALL to one lucky reader (see below for details).

I'd heard about Mindi and was so excited to find out she's a hometown Seattle girl! We met at the SCBWI Western Washington Conference last spring - in fact, you can meet Mindi in my TMAS author secrets video:

Welcome, Mindi!

*****

FREEFALL is the tale of sixteen-year-old boy, Seth McCoy, who was the last person to see his best friend alive and the first to find him dead. The story begins about two months after that event when some of the numbness is starting to wear off and Seth has to decide how to move forward with his life.


Holly Cupala: so what is the story behind the story?

Mindi Scott: My husband has been in various bands since he was in high school, so a lot of the dynamics and band details are from my observations being around musicians all the time.
Also, I have certainly experienced loss, grief, and pain. None of the character backstories in Freefall match my life, but I found it very easy to relate to some of them. There's actually a conversation between two of the characters about what it's like to dream about people who have passed away. Every time I read it, I'm kind of overcome by this feeling of gratitude, like, I am so glad that someone else understands!

Of course, the funny part is that I'm the one who wrote their dialogue and, in fact, created them, so it makes complete sense that they would understand!


Holly: What do you most hope your readers will take away?

Mindi: I really wanted to show how communication and connecting with people can help someone pull themselves out of a rut, so I hope readers will pick up on that.


Holly: Any story secrets you might be willing to share?


Mindi: Originally, Seth's mom was having a fling with the drummer in Seth's band. (I know, right?!) Everyone who read that draft thought it was pretty scandalous, but the real reason I ended up changing it was because I discovered that it had nothing to do with Seth's arc.

Also, there used to be a character named Hailey who figured prominently into the story. She was the girlfriend of Seth's older brother as well as the sister of Kendall (a girl in the story). I realized, though, that Hailey was undermining the roles of both Seth's mom and Kendall, so Hailey had to go!


Holly: What's up next?

Mindi: I'm working on more contemporary YA novels and hoping for the best!

*****

Thank you, Mindi!


THE GIVEAWAY

Mindi has generously agreed to give a copy of FREEFALL to one lucky commenter! You have until Monday at midnight to comment on one of the following: a) why you'd love to read FREEFALL, b) if you have ever dreamed about someone you have loved or lost, and if the dream changed the way you thought about them, or c) why you think grief and healing are important subjects in YA lit.


And here's an extra treat, readers...the book trailer for FREEFALL. Enjoy!

Hooray!!!!!

I know you've been on pins and needles (ok, well at least I have)...

So this is just a quick note to say the second novel (still tentatively titled STREET CREED) is off to my editor!!!!

All of the people in my life have been just awesome and understanding that I've been in this crazy process ranging from total despair to blissful hope. So I think, like the little ginger kitty there, they have been right there with me. Especially wonderful for their support, ideas, information, and general brilliance are Molly Blaisdell, Martha Brockenbrough, Janet Lee Carey, my friend Gena, best friend Amy, and my husband (who actually makes me jump for joy like that just because I get to be with him.)

Ok, so in other news, Trini over at A Book Lover's Review conducted a top secret interview with Miranda from TELL ME A SECRET (warning, spoilers!).

Lots of lovely people are saying nice things about TMAS! Eleni at La Femme Readers, Pure Imagination, Fantasy 4 Eva, Jenny at Dreaming of Books, Erika Breathes Books...much gratitude to all of you.

OH! And BRAZIL!

BRAZIL IS AWESOME!

Brazil is buying rights to publish TELL ME A SECRET! Brasil, eu amo você. Special thanks to all of the Brazilian readers who contacted me about wanting to read TMAS - all of you helped in the process! Hugs!

Story Secrets: THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE by Liz Gallagher + giveaway!

Liz Gallagher - author, readergirlz diva, Through the Tollbooth blogger, VCFA grad and all around awesome friend is here to chat with us about her debut book, THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE and the companion novel, MY NOT-SO-STILL LIFE (coming in May 2011!).

Thanks, Liz, for stopping by to tell us your secrets!

*****

THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE is about Alice, a Seattle girl learning the difference between a crush and love and love and best-friendship as she's caught between her always-been-there boy b...

rgz LIVE with Maureen Johnson

Join readergirlz and me for a Twitter chat tonight with Suite Scarlett and Scarlett Fever author Mareen Johnson! ***sounds of cheering*** It all starts at 6pm PST/9pm EST - search for the #rgz discussion and follow @readergirlz, @maureenjohnson. I'm @hollycupala! ;-)




Don't have a Twitter account? It's fast and easy to set one up!

At http://twitter.com/, just click on the yellow "Give it a try" button to get started. All you will need is your name, a unique user name, and an email address. Add...

Visiting over at Denise Jaden's!

Ms. Jaden, brand spankin' new debut author of LOSING FAITH, invited me over to her blog today to chat about TELL ME A SECRET, writing, and the secrets of my past. (No cults involved, but a wacky senior project involving kissing and corpses...but nothing zombie-like, I promise.)

Check it out!

Also, I just discovered that LOSING FAITH has a super cool trailer:

Don't you love it? I can't wait to read the book.

Shark-mare

I had this crazy nightmare last night. It seriously woke me up in a cold sweat, even though it actually sounds pretty hilarious now:

I'm at the ocean shore in a cove lined by a beautiful forest of trees. We've just received word that there's a shark who can come on land and attack people, and it's coming my way!


I see it, out there in the water. Dun...dun....dun...dun...



It's coming toward me...

Dun...dun...



Wait! I spot a giant driftwood tree growing out of the beach at an angle over the ocean. I...

Story Secrets: IF I STAY by Gayle Forman

I'm very excited to welcome author Gayle Forman to Story Secrets today to talk about IF I STAY, in anticipation of the sequel, WHERE SHE WENT. (In fact, Gayle just finished up the sequel's Teaser Tour.)

I had the pleasure of meeting Gayle in person at the wonderful Teen Author Carnival this last May, still to be recorded as one of the coolest events I've been to yet! Gayle was generous and lovely and charming.

Welcome to Story Secrets, Gayle!

*****

On a day that started like any other… Mia had...

Re-visioning for books and bloggers

So I'm in the midst of this completely hair-pulling revision of the second novel, still tentatively titled STREET CREED.

But in all honesty, the hairs really have to go, or be colored and trimmed and styled or something - so it's good news, even if its painful! So wish me luck and maybe a cheer...

In the meantime, I've been thinking about re-visioning on the blog, too. What would you readers like to see? More writerly stuff? More books and authors stuff? More everyday random stuff?

I'll still h...

Inara Scott coming to Seattle!

Are you in town this eve? A bunch of us YA types are headed to Third Place Books in Ravenna to hang out with debut paranormal author Inara Scott.

Ravenna Third Place Books
DATE: September 13, 2010
TIME: 5PM
LOCATION: 6504 20th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115
MORE INFO: http://ravenna.thirdplacebooks.com/au...


Here's what lots of cool people are saying about Inara's novel, DELACROIX ACADEMY: THE CANDIDATES. Plus we'll all head to U-Village after to catch up with Inara and show her a Seattle-...

#Booklove: dying to read!

To wrap up #BookLove week (a.k.a. Random Acts of Publicity), I'm posting a big list of books I'm dying to read - some of them already in the world and some of them yet to come.

See, that's the trouble with BookLove...the TBR pile just keeps getting bigger! Here are some in mine:

BAMBOO PEOPLE by Mitali Perkins
Charlesbridge, 2010, 11 and up
Chiko isn't a fighter by nature. He's a book-loving Burmese boy whose father, a doctor, is in prison for resisting the government. Tu Reh, on the other hand...