Magan Vernon's Blog, page 47

The Fangirl interviews Jennifer Bosworth author of STRUCK

Jennifer Bosworth is the debut author of STRUCK. Earthquakes, doomsday cults, a teenage lightning addict, and the end of the world. May 8 2012, FSG/MacMillan.

The Fangirl found another great author on Twitter!  One day I saw that Jennifer was following me on Twitter, so I checked out her profile and then soon found that EVERYONE was talking about STRUCK.  Thus, I knew I had to snag a Fangirl Friday interview!

Fangirl: For those who haven't heard of STRUCK, can you tell them what it's about?


Jennifer: Here's my newly extended synopsis:

Mia Price is a lightning addict.

She's been struck so many times she's lost count. She can't sleep, she's covered in veiny red "lightning scars," and repeated strikes have even stopped her heart on occasion. Still, Mia can't resist a storm.

That's why Los Angeles, where it never rains, is the perfect place for her to find peace . . . until a massive earthquake devastates the city.

Now Mia finds herself struggling to hold her family together in a strange and terrifying new version of Los Angeles. The beaches have become massive tent cities populated by millions of homeless. Downtown is a wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the attendees drawn to the destruction by a magnetic force they cannot deny.

The blind prophet of a doomsday cult called the Church of Light, who predicted the earthquake with frightening accuracy, says a storm is coming to usher in the end of days, and only his Followers will be saved. Mia's traumatized mom has become obsessed with the Church of Light, while her younger brother Parker is desperate to join a second doomsday cult called the Seekers. But Mia is the one both cults need.

The Seekers are recruiting people with an energy-based power they call the "Spark," and Mia has it stronger than most. They claim the false prophet of the Church of Light will bring about the end of the world, and they are the only ones who can stand against him.

But without Mia on their side, they will fail.

Mia's lightning addiction is both the key to saving the world . . . and destroying it.

Fangirl: How did you come up for the idea for this novel?

Jennifer: It was one of those perfect storms where two ideas collided. I was reading some book I can't even remember the name of, but it mentioned a fault nearly ten miles deep that runs beneath downtown Los Angeles. If an earthquake ever originated from this fault, L.A. would be in big trouble, because most buildings are not built to withstand more than a 7.0 earthquake. That fact haunted me. Then I read a book by Alice Hoffman called "The Ice Queen," which was about a woman who is struck by lightning and loses the ability to see the color red. The book included a lot of fascinating factual information about lightning and what it can do to people who are struck, and also mentioned that people who are struck by lightning are far more likely to be struck again.

Struck.

Earthquakes. Lightning. I put the two together, started thinking about how a fault line creates friction, and friction is energy, and lightning is attracted to energy. I came up with the idea of lightning causing an earthquake. Then I needed a character. A human lightning rod.

Or . . . even better, a lightning addict. And that's how STRUCK and Mia Price were born.

Fangirl: Did you have any pitfalls on the path to publication? How did you get through them?

Jennifer: Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes. It took me quite a while to find my voice. I started out writing adult dark fantasy. My first two books were 800 pages long because––I didn't realize this at the time––I was trying to jam at least four books into one. I was taking everything I was a fan of and trying to stuff it into a single book. It wasn't until I tried my hand at screenwriting that I learned what "high concept" meant. After that, things started to fall into place.

Fangirl: Is STRUCK going to be a stand alone or should we expect more from this world?

Jennifer: Right now I'm working on a book what has crossover elements with STRUCK, but I'm completely open to doing a sequel. The characters have started talking to me again lately, so I feel like it might be about time to start giving them voice.

Fangirl: May 2012 is a long time to wait for this novel, what can us readers do to pass the time in anticipation of this novel?

Jennifer: Well, there are so many fabulous books out there right now, YA and otherwise, so I know I'll be passing the time reading my friends' books. But . . . in regards to STRUCK, I'm working on a short origin story of the book's villain, which will most likely appear on Tor.com next spring. And my husband and I are working on an insane book trailer that, I can promise you, will be nothing like any book trailer you've ever seen. Minds will be blown.

Fangirl: If any part of your book could play out in your real life, what part of it would you want to and why?

Jennifer: I've always wondered how I would fare in a disaster situation. I'd like to think that I'd be calm and collected and know exactly what to do. So, just out of curiosity, I'd go for the apocalypse.

Fangirl: Did you have any sort of a musical playlist while writing STRUCK?

Jennifer: I actually made a playlist that tells the story of STRUCK, but I can't reveal it to you, otherwise I'd give away the ending. I'll tell you three songs that are on the playlist, though, in no particular order.
Danger! High Voltage, by Electric Six

Kill Me Now, by The Chapin Sisters

Too Hot to Sleep, by Eilen Jewel

Fangirl: If STRUCK were to be made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?

Jennifer: I'd have to time travel some younger/older versions of these actors:

Mia Price – Ellen Page. She manages to be cute, smart, and snarky at the same time.

Rance Ridley Prophet – Cillian Murphy. Those eyes . . .

Jeremy – Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Have you seen "Brick"? Wow. That hair. Those glasses.

Katrina – Eliza Dushku, for the sexiness factor.

With the exception of Eliza, I'd just steal the cast of "Inception."

Fangirl: Favorite book, movie, and food?

Jennifer: The Gunslinger, by Stephen King; Flash Gordon, the 1980 version (It's my favorite bad movie. Does that count?); and kettle corn. I've gone through lone stretches of time where I hate kettle corn for every meal.

Fangirl: Words to live by?

Jennifer: Don't let other people do your thinking for you. That's also the subliminal message embedded in the pages of STRUCK.

I should post something...

I can't think of what to say, because I have so much that needs to be posted!

But here is what you can expect from me in the coming weeks:

Fangirl Friday with Jennifer Bosworth (author of Struck)

Fangirl Friday with Megg Jensen (Author of Anathema and a giveaway!)

Review of Soulkeepers by GP Ching (and another giveaway!)

The Fangirl awards (more info to come on this)

And there will probably be more, so stay tuned, keep following because you know what would be awesome?  Getting to 300 followers, yep yep.

Fangirl Friday: G.P. Ching

GP Ching is the author of The Soulkeepers series and rebel suburbanite who makes wicked cookies, kicks patootie at Guitar Hero, and thinks guinea pigs are the perfect pet.  You can find her online at GPChing.com
The Fangirl met G.P. at a local RWA meeting, after much proding from her crit partner (Kienna Riley), she decided to ask G.P. for an interview.  After being sucked into the first book of the SoulKeepers series, The Fangirl wants to share her Fangirlness of G.P. with the world.





Magan: For those that haven't read the Soulkeepers series, can you tell them what it's about?

Warning: Spoilers. If you haven't read the Soulkeepers yet, you may want to skip to the second question.

G.P.: Weaving Destiny is the second book in The Soulkeepers Series. In the first book Jacob Lau discovers he is a Soulkeeper after a brutal car crash leaves him orphaned. A Soulkeeper is genetically gifted human being that has the power to fight Watchers, otherwise known as fallen angels. Soulkeepers only come into their power when a stressful event activates the gene.

At the end of the first book, Jacob's girlfriend Malini shows signs of carrying the Soulkeeper gene. Weaving Destiny is Malini's story and picks up three months after the end of The Soulkeepers. Malini desperately wants to determine if she's a Soulkeeper. She's frustrated because she's thrown into The Soulkeepers' battles without the necessary power to protect herself. Fitting in matters because the Soulkeepers are so much of Jacob's world and she's afraid if she doesn't find her power, she'll lose him. It doesn't help that a new Soulkeeper named Mara comes to town who takes an interest in Jacob. Malini has to sort out her insecurities about Jacob while she figures out who she is and what she is becoming.

Magan: What inspired you to write this novel?
G.P.: After I wrote The Soulkeepers, which was inspired by a conversation I had about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Weaving Destiny just came to me. The characters in my head decided what would happen. I wrote the book in a fraction of the time it took me to write the first.

I will say that as the story unfolded, I thought a lot about self-esteem in young women. Girls sometimes define themselves by their boyfriends. Sometimes, women don't give themselves enough credit for what they can accomplish on their own. It was important to me that I write a story where Malini is the hero of her own destiny. She changes during this book from someone who things happen to, to someone who makes things happen.

Magan: Did you have to do any sort of research to write this novel? How did you go about that?
G.P.: I did some research on the game of cricket. There's a scene where Malini has a vision of her father and grandfather talking about a game. Of course, since Malini is Indian, it couldn't be baseball. The more popular pastime in India is cricket. So, I needed to learn enough about the game to write the scene. Most of the other research was done as part of book one.

Magan: How did you decide to go with Darkside publishing? What makes it the best home for your novel?
G.P.: DarkSide Publishing specializes in Young Adult novels for the eBook market. There have been many publishers in the romance genre that have done this for years but for YA it's still an emerging market as more young people get eReaders. I think ePublishing is the way of the future and felt that DarkSide had the most attractive business model.

Magan: Did you have any pitfalls or times that you wanted to give up on writing? What kept you going?
G.P.: I've never seriously considered giving up writing entirely. I love writing. I'll do this until I die. I certainly have enough manuscripts started to keep me busy until I die!

As far as pitfalls, sure I have bad days when I'm not happy with a review or with how many books I've sold that day. That stuff can be frustrating. But reviews and sales are just the icing on the cake. The joy is in the writing itself.

Magan: What's next for you writing-wise?
G.P.: The Official Weaving Destiny Blog Tour starts September 12! Visit www.gpching.com to enter to win your choice of Kindle or Nook. Plus over a dozen blogs are participating with reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways. If you want to win a free copy of either of the Soulkeepers eBooks, follow the tour!

Return to Eden, Dr. Silva & Gideon's story, will be available Winter 2012. There is room in the story for additional books beyond Return to Eden if readers want more from the series at that point.

I also have a stand alone YA called Grounded, a futuristic dystopian. I can't talk too much about that one yet, but I'm very excited about the possibilities.

Magan: Did you have any sort of a musical playlist for this novel? If so, could you share it with us?

G.P.: Yes. My playlist is available at www.thesoulkeepersseries.com, on the Weaving Destiny page. You can also watch the book trailer there.

Magan: If Soulkeepers were to be made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
G.P.: This is a tough one. I think Jacob and Malini would have to be played by yet unknown talent. There just aren't enough young multi-cultural actors. However, generally speaking, if I had to pick well-known actors that fit the descriptions in the book, I would say Parminder Nagra as Malini, and a young Keanu Reeves as Jacob.

Magan: Favorite book, movie, food?
G.P.: My favorite books (I couldn't possibly name just one): Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Memiors of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin, The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

My favorite movie is a classic - Better Off Dead with John Cusack.

My favorite food is a cheeseburger and onion rings from Schooners in Bloomington IL.

Magan: Words to live by?

G.P.:"Don't you know about destiny, Malini? Destiny is not a place that we navigate to like a pinpoint on a map. Destiny is a fabric woven from our choices. It is the cloak we wear every day and the shroud that covers us in our death. You can't wait for destiny to find you. You make it for yourself." -From Weaving Destiny


Thanks again for the interview!  And blog readers, look for my upcoming review of SOULKEEPERS and a special giveaway!

First Campaigner Challenge!

You know I'm going to end up following all of you back...eventually...when my child stops teething (Oh please let that be soon!)

Until then you get THIS first campaigner challenge

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, "The door swung open" These four words will be included in the word count.



If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: "the door swung shut." (also included in the word count)

And here is my attempt:
 
The door swung open and all eyes were on me. The last time I had been dressed in all white at church was my first communion and while that had twice the people, not all of them were watching me as they were today.


I took my steps slowly, not wanting to make my sweetie wait, but just taking my time and letting it all in. We had been waiting years for this day and now that it was finally here I wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

Alot of my family didn't show up, not approving of the marriage, but as the people who truly cared about me looked on with awe as I made my way down the aisle, I knew that I was doing the right thing.

Finally I made it to the altar as the pastor looked down at me, I took one last look at the crowd before he began.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Alison Marie Clark and Jennifer Louise Smith in Holy Matrimony."

And then on all the naysayers and angry protestors, the door slammed shut.


188 words, BOO YAH.

Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter Cookies

To celebrate Karen G's Labor Day BBQ.  Not only am I participating, but I thought that I should share the recipe to my famous Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter Cookies that I am bringing to the BBQ.

Trust me you will love them!

And while your here, you can check out my blog, or go visit some of my fellow campaigners blogs!  I'll finally be catching up and visiting everyone's blogs this weekend.  Oh and I'm also going to have lunch with the FABULOUS GP Ching. 

So have a great holiday weekend and maybe make some cookies for yourself :)



*1 stick butter
*1/4 tsp vanilla
*1 egg
*1 eight oz cream cheese
*1 box butter cake mix
*powdered sugar
*1 bag chocolate chips

-Beat vanilla, eg, cream cheese, and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Mix in dry cake mix and chocolate chips, then chill in fridge for atleast thirty minutes.

-Roll into balls (about golf ball size or a little smaller, I usually place them on a sheet and make all of the balls first) and then drop into powdered sugar before placing on greased cookie sheet.

-Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  Will make about 30-50 cookies.

Now I really want to eat some, droooollllll

How to write on your Ipad

Stacey Kade was asking me how to write on an Ipad, so I thought I would do a demonstration.  Olivia also wanted to help, so I hope we kept you entertained and informed!

I'm a Campaigner, like Alex P. Keaton

Since, you know, my uncle used to say that I was a young politician like Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties, I decided to join the Campaigners.  Okay, or I just want to help build my writing platform....or run for office someday.
Either way, check out the Campaigners and watch me as I try to be the next Alex P. Keaton of writing and join the campaign for yourself!