Susane Colasanti's Blog, page 58

surprises

Since there are only like three other people in the world who still need to finish Mockingjay, it's not really a spoiler to say...Peeta? Really? That was a surprise. I was totally expecting it to be Gale. It was always Gale. Well, I guess it was Peeta before Gale, giving Katniss the bread, saving her life. And I get the whole thing about balance. The ending just wasn't what I was expecting. Of course I liked the book along with Catching Fire. But there was nothing like the rush of reading The Hunger Games. What an amazing ride that first book was. It's sad to see it all end (yes, there were tears while I was reading those last few pages).

There kind of has to be a movie now, right? I can't even imagine how stellar everything will look. Even though the story is so wild, Suzanne Collins managed to make it feel incredibly real. So I don't think the movie will annoy us with any of those unrealistic things that bother me in other movies and shows. Like when people put their shoes up on their bed. Who puts their shoes on their pillow? Or even on their couch? Maybe it's just me, but I always take my shoes off before I get on my bed. Or like with beverages. Characters are always pouring full glasses of juice and then taking one sip and leaving. Or they'll go out to eat and get a soda and right away they're drinking it through a straw with that no-more-drink-left-loud-sucking-straw sound. Dude, it's a full cup of soda. Why the sound effect? And don't even get me started on the scenes where kids are in class and the bell rings and the teacher is yelling the homework assignment after them. No one can even hear what the teacher is saying, much less writing it down. And then everyone hands in their homework the next day? I don't think so.

You could argue that 24 has some unrealistic aspects to it. Like how Jack Bauer never eats or takes a bathroom break. Even though the concept is kind of out there, 24 still feels believable to me. I was addicted to that show right from the start. My friend Jim kept saying that I needed to watch it. That was back before Netflix. It was so frustrating to go into Blockbuster looking for the next disc and them being like, "Yeah...that one's checked out?" Because, as anyone who's into 24 knows, you HAVE to find out what happens next right away or you'll go crazy. Jim and I used to run around pretending to be Jack and Tony. I was Jack, of course. We still talk in 24 Speak.

Like the other day. We were going for a walk along the river and Jim was whipping out his iPhone and going, "Secure the perimeter!" And I was whipping out my shiny new iPod touch all like, "Drop your weapons!" And then, I'm not even kidding you, Jim starts yelling, "Michelle from 24! Michelle from 24!" Because the actress who played Michelle Dessler was running right by us! So then we're running after her and Jim keeps going, "Michelle from 24!" But after a few seconds, I wondered what we were doing. I mean, it totally felt like an ep of 24, but it was actually real life and she was just trying to go for a run. So we stopped and watch her go. I do think it's interesting that Jack Bauer and Michelle Dessler live in the same neighborhood in real life. It's my neighborhood, too, so there are always chances for fun surprises like that. Which is a big part of why I live here. You never know what's just around the corner.

Copy that.

what's good

James Franco is hot. More importantly, he's a super talented actor. I love him best in Freaks and Geeks. There is seriously no limit to the amount of times I can watch that show. Best writing and acting ever. Like this one scene where Sam and Neal and Bill are in gym and Bill is rocking the whole black socks with shorts look.

Neal: You look sort of like my grandpa.

Bill: Oh what, is your grandpa super cool?

So yeah, James Franco. I want to read his new collection of short stories, Palo Alto. I know there's all this controversy about how James's book is getting loads of attention just because he's famous. Does his writing warrant the attention? I'm not sure yet. But look at Steve Martin. His novellas got crazy attention, but guess what? They are outstanding. I cannot wait for Steve's new novel to come out next month. Anyway. I just think it's cool that James is a multi-talented dude. He's a writer, actor, producer, director, grad student, and probably a bunch of other things. And his mom, Betsy Franco, is a fellow YA author. I think that rocks especially hard.

This week went really fast. I suspect that's because I was feeling suffocated by my to-do list. Do you ever feel like there's no possible way you'll be able to do everything you want to get done? Welcome to my October! Oh, and have you ever done something you think is a sweet idea and it gets taken the entirely wrong way? Welcome to my week! It hasn't been the best one ever around here. Which is why I was so happy that Blake Nelson called me yesterday to say that he was visiting from L.A. and could I come out to play? Hells yeah I could! You guys know how much I adore Blake and his books. He's an idol who has become a friend, and that is a righteous thing. Blake had never been to my fave coffeehouse. Of course I needed to correct that situation immediately. So I grabbed my ARC of Recovery Road (coming out in March!) and met him there.

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Now it's back to this first draft. First drafts are always the hardest part of the writing process for me. Plus the heat in my building came on last night. I always feel agitated when I hear the first sounds of my radiator clanking up again. But I'm not feeling as bummed about the impending winter this year as I usually am. And hey, we have two more months of fall! Let's make the most of them, you and me.

did steve tell you that per chance?

Here's what I want to see. A battle where Eminem and Jay-Z rap against Hiphopopotamus and Rhymenoceros.

It would be a close one.

so much closer synopsis

Thanks for all of your sweet feedback on the So Much Closer cover here and on Facebook and Twitter. Your excitement for the book makes me even more excited about it! And your early support means a lot to me. With every new book, I keep finding out that the cover has been released from readers. I'd been wondering when my publisher was going to release the cover when a reader commented here to tell me it was out (thanks, Miranda!). Princess Bookie was the first to break the news on her wildly popular blog, along with the cover of What Happened to Goodbye. Sarah Dessen and I have the same publisher, and it looks like they released the cover of her new book at the same time. Which is so funny because I had just been talking to Sarah about our covers, like, two days before. Then the Compulsive Reader posted our covers. Reading or Breathing spread the love (hi, Kelsey!) and Katie's Book Blog was on it as well.

It's so cool how quickly we can get the word out about upcoming book releases now. Back in the day, I'd have to just sit around and wonder if my favorite authors would ever write another book. This is way better. I know it's mad early, but you can even pre-order So Much Closer if you want. Its Amazon page is here.

If you get my newsletter, you've already read the synopsis of So Much Closer (you can sign up for my newsletter on my website). I'm psyched to share what So Much Closer is about! Here's the synopsis:

*
Scott Abrams is the love of Brooke’s life. He just doesn’t know it yet. So when his family moves to New York City the summer before senior year, Brooke has no choice but to follow Scott. It’s her last chance to prove to him that they’re meant to be together.

But the city is full of surprises that Brooke never expected. Ever since a painful family trauma, she’s been closed off to her family, to her friends, and even to herself. Now, inspired by the thrilling energy of the bustling and creative city around her, Brooke starts to explore her talents and become someone she never dreamed she’d be.

So what will she do when her greatest dream of love finally comes true . . . and instead, she wants something more?

*
Some of you have asked about the title. It was totally influenced by Death Cab's "Transatlanticism," which also connects to a key scene in Something Like Fate. I've also been asked if the girls on the covers of Something Like Fate and So Much Closer are me. While that would be freaking awesome and it's certainly very flattering (I'm far from a size zero, friends), I must regretfully report that they are not me. My friend Courtney Sheinmel commented that it looks like me and John Mayer on the cover of So Much Closer. And someone commented after her to agree! So we'll just go with that.  Yep, that's me and John, chilling on the High Line how we do.  Nice how this turned out to be my dream cover in ways I never even imagined...

so much closer cover!

I'm beyond thrilled to share the cover of my fifth book with you! So Much Closer will be released on May 3, 2011.

You've probably heard that authors usually don't get much input about their covers, if any at all. We can't just say what we want the cover to look like and then that's how it ends up looking. That never happens.

But it happened anyway.



My cover designer at Viking is amazing. I saw Jim a few months before the cover was designed and he asked me if I had any color ideas. It was so amazing that he was asking me about the cover because I had been envisioning the exact cover I wanted for a while. And he actually made it happen.

So Much Closer takes place right here in my New York City neighborhood, the West Village. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I'm infatuated with the High Line. It's this old section of elevated train tracks that was turned into a magical green space with lots of trees and flowers. Some key scenes in So Much Closer take place on the High Line. I really wanted the cover to show my characters on the High Line at sunset or at night. I told Jim about my idea.

Then it was summer and I was wondering what the cover would look like. My books come out in May, which means their covers are done the previous summer. Even though I knew dream covers never happen, the hopeful part of me never stopped believing that it might be possible. That's me, always dreaming big even when something seems impossible. But I really wasn't expecting to get an email from my editor with an initial cover design.

With my characters on the High Line at sunset.

Dude. They actually did a photo shoot on the High Line and created my dream cover.

So there you go. Another example of how dreaming big and speaking up can make amazing things happen. Which is why I will always cherish this dream cover. Plus, the boy model looks sort of like Taylor Lautner, so I'm extra happy. But the most important thing is that you like it. So...what do you think?

austin teen book festival

Instead of jumping right into all of the Austin Teen Book Festival fun I encountered this weekend, I'm going to start with the second most important thing that happened in Austin. Because dude. I visited the actual Friday Night Lights football field that the actual Panthers played on where they actually filmed the show!



As soon as my plane landed in Austin, I started asking everyone about Friday Night Lights filming locations. No one knew where the real field was. Until my driver picked me up for my plane ride home. He knew everything. He had even driven lots of the actors from the show (yes, including Taylor Kitsch, or Tim Riggins as I will always and forever think of him). The football field was on the way to the airport. As we approached this random, dusty little road, I could see the stadium lights above the trees. I could not believe I was seeing the real Friday night lights! The field was overgrown with weeds because they finished filming a while ago, but everything still looked completely familiar. The Panther colors were still there, which had been painted over the original school colors of the Cardinals. The school has been shut down for years. You could see the old colors on a side of the field house that was never filmed for the show, and then the Panther colors everywhere else.



I walked up to the field with the theme song playing in my head and the chills I always get when I hear it. I'm not embarrassed to tell you that I almost burst into tears right there. I mean, this is where Tim Riggins and Matt Saracen and Coach and everyone dominated. This is where they were. But I did feel a little embarrassed in front of the driver, so I played it off like I had something in my eye.

It was really, really hard to leave.

Of course, the most important part of my trip was getting to connect with everyone at the Austin Teen Book Festival. Those readers are incredible! The place was charged with excitement the whole time. Ellen Hopkins gave an amazing keynote address. I loved that she read letters from readers. The ways in which a book inspires you or changes your life or helps you work through problems is the most powerful statement an author can make. It was so exciting to finally meet Ellen, along with author rock stars Ally Carter and Melissa de la Cruz. Here I am with Ally, Melissa, and Ellen at dinner after the festival:

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Lots of people drove two or three hours each way just to be there. And they brought gifts. Shout-outs to Nani for making me a shiny gold star; BookPeople for the Keep Austin Weird sticker and for doing an overall amazing job; my teen escort, Julia, for making sure I didn't get lost (Westlake HS is enormous!); and Girls in the Stacks for giving me the best peanut brittle in the whole entire world. Much love goes out to everyone who helped make the festival such a success!

I had a little time to explore Austin the night before. While I was walking to the deli Sandra Bullock owns, someone thought I was her! Which was very meta (and hilarious). The deli is called Walton's Fancy and Staple and it's the cutest thing ever. The guy working there told me Sandra's there a lot. I think it's cool that she's so involved. There's lots of flowers pastries her sister makes and cozy areas like this one:

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After Walton's, I had to go to Whole Foods. It's the second largest Whole Foods in the world (London has the largest). I cannot describe the enormity of that Whole Foods. It was intense. I got lost looking for water. They even had an entire cupcake counter! At the festival, I heard that you can go up on the roof and everything. Obviously, I must return to Austin. See you again, city that's proud to be weird!

texas event

The Austin Teen Book Festival is this Saturday, October 2! If you're in the Austin area, I'd love to see you. We'll be at Westlake High School from 10:00 to 5:00.  

Everyone keeps telling me how awesome Austin is, so I'm really stoked. Hopefully, I'll have some time to explore downtown. In addition to the cool coffeehouses and live music and indie bookshop BookPeople, Sandra Bullock owns a deli called Walton's Fancy and Staple that I need to visit. And I heard that some scenes from Friday Night Lights were filmed at the high school where we'll be. If I get any inside info, I will def be sharing that with you.
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These authors will be in the house:

Keynote speaker: Ellen Hopkins
Boundary Breakers: Charles Benoit, Susane Colasanti, Ellen Hopkins, Kenneth Oppel, Jon Skovron
Mustache Twirlers: Pam Bachorz, S.A. Bodeen, Ally Carter, James Dashner, Catherine Jinks
Dastardly Daydreamers: Alexandra Adornetto, Melissa de la Cruz, Sophie Jordan, Nancy Werlin, Kiersten White

Bring on the festivies!

jon stewart is my bff

Last night was spectacular. Jon Stewart and every writer on The Daily Show were at the Union Square Barnes & Noble to sign their new book, Earth: A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race. Being the Daily Show nerd that I am, I arrived at 5:00 for the 8:00 event. Think that's crazy early? Dude, I got one of the last seats left in the front section! I don't know how I thought I could waltz in three hours early and score my usual second-row aisle seat. The place was already packed. But I did snag a very respectable fourth-row seat next to three friendly neighbors. It was easy to make friends, all crammed together and clinging to our seats while the entire fourth floor of B&N filled up. People who got there two hours early had to stand.

As always when meeting the people who've inspired me, I was super nervous. I was trying to think up a good question for Jon. I was trying not to geek out. But when it was my turn to meet Jon, I totally did anyway.



Here's Jon looking at copies of my first two books. He got shout-outs in both When It Happens and Take Me There because he is made of all things awesome. I marked the pages with his shout-outs. At least, I thought I did. Until I was walking home and realized I completely missed the two biggest shout-outs in Take Me There.

* bangs head on several hard surfaces *

Why do I always do this? I'm always too nervous to think of anything good to say until after and I end up babbling like an idiot and I couldn't even remember that I said all this cool stuff about Jon and The Daily Show in the books that I gave him.

That I wrote.

But it's all good. Jon thanked me for the books. He even shook my hand!



Did I have a professional photographer following me around to capture this Moment of Zen? Sort of. One of those friendly neighbors I was sitting with was Robert Denbo, who has his own multimedia company. He had a mad profesh camera with him and was totally sweet about documenting me and Jon. If I hadn't been sitting next to him, I wouldn't be able to share these visual aids with you.

The Universe had my back on that one. Respect.

awesome alert

Some awesome people have recently been doing some awesome things. That is why I thought you might want an awesome alert.

Let's begin.

By now, you probably know that I worship Jon Stewart in a godlike way. How stoked am I for his Rally to Restore Sanity? At first I thought the whole thing was a joke to compliment Stephen Colbert's March to Keep Fear Alive.  But then I went to their Twitter page and it says how the rally is on October 30 from 12:00-3:00 at the National Mall. Dude, isn't that ...

thoughts on the autumnal equinox

Well, it's officially fall. I wasn't planning on blogging today. But you know when you have all these random thoughts rattling around and if you try to go to sleep you just end up with a case of noisy brain until three in the morning? In my experience, writing stuff down helps. So here I am sharing with you!

1. It didn't feel like fall when school started. It felt like fall when I went into Whole Foods and saw that they're transitioning from berries to pumpkins. That is a sad state of a...