This week, we have Rhonda Stapleton. Rhonda started writing a few years ago to appease the voices in her head. She has a Master’s degree in English and a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. Rhonda works as an editor for a legal publishing company and enjoys freelance editing and offering editing workshops. Because one writing group is never enough, she belongs to Romance Writers of America, several online and local writing chapters, and Romance Divas. Rhonda lives in Northeast Ohio with her two lovely, energetic children and fiancé, who are more than enough to keep her busy when she’s not writing. In the twelve minutes of free time she has each day, Rhonda enjoys reading, writing poetry, singing in the shower (and in the car, at work, or basically anywhere that provides oxygen), drinking chai tea, and playing on the internet.

Stupid Cupid by Rhonda Stapleton

Here’s a little bit about STUPID CUPID, Simon Pulse, December, 2009.

STUPID CUPID is the first book of a trilogy in which a 17-year-old girl becomes a cupid for her high school, arranging matches with a tricked-out Palm Pilot.

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

…cried like a baby–I got the email from my agent that the book passed the acquisitions meeting, turned toward my fiance, and bawled into his shirt. I was so relieved and happy that I couldn’t even think straight. haha

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

It’s a little frightening, actually, in some ways–because I sold on proposal, the pressure’s on to make sure the rest of my book, as well as books 2 and 3, are up to snuff. However, it’s a wonderful, thrilling validation of my writing to be contracted. Someone else out there loves it and believes in me enough to invest time and money in me! What an amazing gift!!

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

I started writing seriously back in 2004. My first book (an adult chick lit) was sent out to over 100 agents, and no one picked it up (some because it WAS a chick lit). I honestly don’t know why, as it was a brilliant book. haha. I found an electronic publisher for it though, and moved on to my second book, which was my first young adult novel. That one got me my agent. However, it was my second young adult novel, STUPID CUPID, that got me contracted with Simon Pulse.

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive in general (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

I plead the fifth.

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

Oh, man. Let me tell you, I’ve had some heart-breaking rejections before, including ones from agents who said they love my writing, but didn’t know where to place my work. Those really are the worst AND the best, I think, because I KNEW I was SO close to finding that right home, but not quite there…it was like an oasis within my grasp, but it faded between my fingers. Torture!!

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

1 year – 2 years

Prior to selling your books, you were …

Working a full-time job unrelated to writing

Now that you’ve sold some books, you plan to …

Reduce the number of hours I’m working at my current occupation

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

I worry about making sure my writing is on par with where it should be, obviously. I also worry about being able to obtain future contracts and keep my books coming out consistently.

What is one of the biggest myths in children’s book publishing that you wish aspiring writers would just forget about?

Myth–anyone can write a children’s book; they’re so much easier than writing for adults (and because I’ve been around kids, I can write them).   Truth–WRONG. Pick up a book and read it. REALLY study it. Children’s books (especially YA, which I write) have a surprising amount of sophistication, and writing them requires tapping into the core of an adolescent’s emotions and experiences and conveying them AUTHENTICALLY. It’s not an easy thing to replicate, and it takes effort. Luckily, since I seem to be a perpetual teen trapped in a woman’s body, I find it suited to my own voice. hahaha

Any inspiring quotes you live by?

For me, one of the most inspiring quotes was, “Don’t consider yourself a writer–consider yourself a rewriter.” This reminds me to not too much pressure on myself when writing that first draft. No one’s manuscript comes out perfectly; all works need anything from minor tweaking to major overhauling, and my work will likely fall somewhere in the middle. haha

Any advice for aspiring authors?

My first piece of advice–READ READ READ! This is vital–not only read novels and current books, but read agent/publisher/author blogs, keep up on the industry news, etc. Knowing what’s out there, what’s hot, etc is vital for both new and established authors, I believe!   My second piece of advice–WRITE! This is obvious, but if you don’t actually finish a manuscript, how do you know that you can write one? When I’m working on a novel, I write steadily, five days a week, until I finish it. I take this as seriously as my day job.

Aside from WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS<—shameless plug, are there any other books on craft you recommend?

Here are some of my favs:   Strunk and White’s _The Elements of Style_ is a must-have. Having a sophisticated style is vital in writing, in my opinion.  Browne and King’s _Self-Editing for Fiction Writers_ is another great resource.  Scharton and Neuleib’s _Things Your Grammar Never Told You_ is a really fun, funny grammar source. I always recommend this book.  Stilman’s _Grammatically Correct_ (can you tell I have a lot of grammar/style books on here? Well, I think it’s important, and a writer can never have too many tools)  Lukeman’s _The First Five Pages_ is another must-read. You really don’t have much time to grab the attention of that agent or editor!  Marshall’s _The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing_ is a good one if you have problems staying organized or pacing yourself properly.  I hope some of these help!

Finally, Snoop wants to know: why do you hate blue food so much? What did the raspberry slushy ever do to you?  A–Why, that’s a fantastic question. Frankly, I think blue food is gross, and I have a total mental block against eating it. That includes M&Ms, slushies, juice, etc. You don’t find blue food in nature (and NO, I don’t think blueberries count, as they’re purple).   Actually, blue is an appetite suppressant, so if you’re dieting, eat on a blue plate, and you actually eat less food. So, there ya go. haha

This concludes our interview with our latest author Rhonda Stapleton. We wish her much success with her debut novel STUPID CUPID.

To see what Rhonda is up to these days, visit her blog at http://www.rhondastapleton.blogspot.com or her website at http://www.rhondastapleton.net.

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You’re in the right place. WFCAT has changed outfits temporarily until we figure out what is going wrong with the old site design. Until then, you can still visit your favorite haunts. It just won’t look the same as it did before. Enjoy!

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Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

This week, we have L.K. Madigan. Lisa is married with one son, and two big black dogs. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where it’s green and gray. When she’s not reading, writing or playing with her family, she pursues hobbies like photography, music, bike riding, and sweeping up dog hair.

Here’s a little bit about FLASH BURNOUT, Houghton Mifflin, Fall 2009.

FLASH BURNOUT chronicles a chaotic year for sophomore Blake, who, after taking a picture of a passed-out street person for his photography class, finds himself ditching his girlfriend, prowling skid row and tracking down his best friend’s long-lost mother.

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

L. K. Madigan

Tried to keep the car on the road.   Tried to unfreeze my brain enough to understand what my agent was telling me.  Shook.  Made three semi-coherent phone calls to my husband, my sister, and my friend.  Went to my job, where I squealed, and jumped up and down, and did almost no work the rest of the day.

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

For me, it symbolizes validation … that all those solitary hours of writing time were not in vain.

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

Write.  Revise, revise, listen to critique partners, revise, revise, submit.  Collect rejections.  Start a blog on LiveJournal. Enjoy wider writing community and meet new friends.  Collect rejections.  Soak up sympathy and wisdom from writing friends.  Accept book deal!  Live happily ever after.

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive in general (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

26-50

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

Really? Okay, but I need to lie down on your virtual couch while I recount my worst rejection, hereafter to be known as The Incident.   From initial query letter to rejection, I spent five months working exclusively with an agent who requested two rounds of revisions. She was kind and professional, and never promised that I would end up with representation … but if I could go back in time and kick my own ass, I would.   Ultimately, she felt that the book wasn’t strong enough for her to sell. While the rejection was painful, I certainly did not want an agent who didn’t believe in my book! Another agent felt differently, and offered me representation.   That same manuscript, deemed ‘not strong enough’ by the first agent, was so enthusiastically received by an editor at Houghton Mifflin that she offered me a two-book deal.  I see that our time is up, Doctor, so we’ll have to discuss “best” (?) rejections next time. Perhaps I could journal about them in the meantime.

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

2 years – 3 years

Prior to selling your books, you were …

Working a full-time job unrelated to writing

Now that you’ve sold some books, you plan to …

Not change a thing

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

That I will get run over by a bus before I live to see my book in print.  No, I’m kidding.  Kind of.   I worry about being a one-hit wonder. Thanks for asking.

If you’ve already begun or have finished the editorial process with your publisher, let you us know what that’s been like.

I found the revision process for FLASH BURNOUT really exciting – my editor sent me a letter with big picture suggestions, and a marked-up manuscript with specific comments. I just finished the revision process for my second novel – due out in the Fall 2010 – which was a bit more intense. But still exciting!

Describe a typical day in your writing life.

First the Inspiration Fairy wakes me gently, and hands me a cup of coffee and a hot, fresh burst of genius prose.  Actually, no.  I don’t have typical writing days, since I work full-time at a regular job. My writing life consists of begging, stealing, and snatching time to write.   You might find me staring bleary-eyed into my laptop at 5:30 a.m., scribbling notes at stoplights, or asking my family to go out for pizza while I work on a manuscript. When I’m deep in the middle of a book, the characters keep trying to talk to me throughout the day. I jot down cryptic notes until I can grab a piece of writing time.

Describe an Ah-ha moment you might have had that influenced your writing in a positive way.

Epiphanies in writing are hard to deconstruct. You may ponder a plot point for weeks, and suddenly one day the answer sneaks into your head while you’re having dinner or taking a shower. It feels like magic, but probably it’s your smart subconscious brain working away on the problem while you’re doing other things.

What is one of the biggest myths in children’s book publishing that you wish aspiring writers would just forget about?

Sadly, it is a myth that if you write a really good book, it will one day be published. As wise Jane Yolen says of the publishing process, “Know that it is out of your hands.”   I’ve known several talented writers – better writers than I – who gave up. They couldn’t stand the cycle of queries, submissions, rejections, and close calls. Aside from writing a good book, elements of luck, timing, and connecting with the right people all play a part in getting published.   If you believe in your book, you should never give up.  But you should also keep writing, because you don’t want to pin all your hopes on one book.

Any inspiring quotes you live by?

There are so many terrific quotes! In fact, here’s a collection of them:  http://www.quotegarden.com/writing.html  But one that I keep handy when I’m in the middle of a novel comes from E.L. Doctorow: “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Observation and imagination. You need both to write fiction.   And don’t fear the words! Let them pour out, even if they’re stilted and trite. Until you put words on the page, you have nothing to work with. I promise you they will improve as you polish and revise.

Aside from WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS<—shameless plug, are there any other books on craft you recommend?

BIRD BY BIRD, by Anne Lamott. ON WRITING, by Stephen King.

Finally, Snoop wants to know: What do you mean, you “love to punch and kick”?   I take tae kwon do with my son. I’m still a beginner, but I love it! The round kick is my favorite. My instructor says my kicks are “gorgeous.” (Preens.)

This concludes our interview with our latest author L.K. Madigan. We wish her much success with her debut novel  FLASH BURNOUT.

To see what Lisa is up to these days, visit her blog at http://lkmadigan.livejournal.com.

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Give Up The Ghost by Megan Crewe

This week, we have Megan Crewe. Megan lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband and two cats. She has worked with children and teens for several years, in rec centers and schools, and as a private tutor for children with special needs. In her free time, she reads everything she can get her hands on, travels to distant locales, and speculates about the ghost that may or may not be living under her bed.

Here’s a little bit about GIVE UP THE GHOST, Henry Holt, Fall 2009.

GIVE UP THE GHOST is a paranormal YA in which a teen outcast who sees ghosts and uses the secrets they dig up to expose her fellow students’ deceits must choose between revenge and compassion when the popular student council V.P. comes to her for supernatural help.  It will be published by Holt in Fall 2009.

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

Megan Crewe

I had a funny situation, because just before Christmas we heard from an editor that he planned to offer after the holidays.  So I had a little moment of happy dancing and joyous shrieking, but I had to try not to get too excited just in case it didn’t actually happen.  Then I did more shrieking and babbled to my husband and called up my parents when the offer officially came.  A week later, we got another offer.  All I can say is it’s a good thing the walls of our apartment are thick because otherwise people would have been wondering what crazy, shrieking person lived next door!

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

It feels…  really nice.  Okay, really really really nice!  I love that now when I say “I’m a writer” to people, and they ask, “Oh, do you have any books published?”, I can tell them there’s one on the way.  I love looking at the shelves in the bookstore knowing not too long from now my book will be there, too.    It seems silly, because I always considered myself a writer, and I don’t think you have to be published to call yourself one, but it all feels much more real now.

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

I’ve been writing seriously since my early teens.  I had several short stories published between then and my early twenties, but I’ve gradually realized that novels are my real love.  I knew I wanted an agent before pursuing publication, and I was lucky enough to find a wonderful one who loved my book.  It was a long haul–exactly one year from the book going on submission to publishers to the first offer–but we both believed in the book, and now here I am!

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive in general (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

100+

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

The most heartbreaking rejections were from the editors who wanted to make an offer on the book, but couldn’t because somewhere along the process someone else at the publishing house said “No.”  Knowing you’re that close, and that there’s someone who wants to work with you but can’t for reasons beyond your control–it’s hard.  But at the same time those are the best rejections, because even if it was a “No”, I knew someone had really loved the book.

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

3 years +

Prior to selling your books, you were …

Working a part-time job unrelated to writing

Now that you’ve sold some books, you plan to …

Not change a thing

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

Worry, me?  Heh.  Let’s see:  Will my revision letter give me a heart attack?  Will I like my cover?  Will people buy my book?  Will people like my book?  Will people assume I am my main character and start asking me to talk to dead relatives for them?  So, just a few things.

Describe a typical day in your writing life.

I get up, eat breakfast, and then sit in my comfy writing chair with my laptop.  My desktop computer stays off during this time because otherwise I am easily sucked into online wanderings.  If I’m writing a first draft, and I have time, I’ll usually write a chapter (I try to write 1000 words at a minimum).  If it’s a later draft I may write two chapters.  Then I catch up with my email and online communities, maybe post in my blog, and get ready for the day job.

What is one of the biggest myths in children’s book publishing that you wish aspiring writers would just forget about?

One of the biggest myths in publishing in general is that you can only get published if you have connections.  I’ve seen people give up because they believed this, which makes me incredibly sad because it’s so untrue.  I didn’t know any of the editors who bought my short stories.  I’d never talked to my agent before querying her, or even commented on her blog, and I didn’t know any of her current clients, either.  I had no connections to anyone in book publishing.  And most of the people I know who have books out or coming out got there the same way–by writing the best stuff they could and querying and sticking with it.

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Read lots, in lots of genres.  You never know what will inspire you, and the more you read, the better you understand plot, characters, setting, and everything else, in all their variations.  And write.  Write even when you’re afraid you’ll get it wrong.  Nothing is set in stone.  If it doesn’t come out quite the way you wanted, rewrite.  And rewrite again.  Eventually, you’ll get there.  You don’t get anywhere if you’re not writing.

Finally, Snoop wants to know: What would you most want to see happen to your books after publication?

I would love, more than anything, to have a fandom.  For readers to enjoy my books enough that they want to be a part of them, to discuss them and add to them, to write fanfiction and draw fanart.  Knowing people got into the books that much…  It would just be amazing.

This concludes our interview with our latest author Megan Crewe. We wish her much success with her debut novel GIVE UP THE GHOST.

To see what Megan is up to these days, visit her blog at http://megancrewe.livejournal.com or her website at http://www.megancrewe.com.

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People who cashed in on the freetiquee bonuses from Take the Dare: Snoop and I are still chompin’ away. Thank you so much for you patience as we work through them all. In the meanwhile, enjoy some TV programming featuring myself and a few of my fellow writer colleagues on ABC 7. (Snoop did all the camera work.)

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Kate Messner

This week, we have the magnificent Kate Messner. Kate grew up in Western NY, graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Communication with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, and worked as a television news producer and reporter in Syracuse, NY and then Burlington, VT, before going back to school to get a teaching degree.  For the past twelve years, Kate has been a teacher of middle school English.  In 2006, she earned National Board Certification in Early Adolescent English Language Arts and frequently gives teacher workshops on technology integration, differentiating instruction, and of course, reading and writing across the curriculum.  She lives on Lake Champlain with her husband and two kids and loves spending time on the water and in the mountains.

Here’s a little bit about Kate’s book THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z – Walker Books for Young Readers  (September 2009).

Gianna Zales is a star runner with one more hurdle to jump before she goes to cross-country sectionals – a monster leaf collection project.  But to get it done, she’ll have to survive a little brother who thinks he’s a member of the paparazzi, a grandmother who leaves her false teeth in the refrigerator, a rival who desperately wants to take her place at sectionals, and a best friend whose feelings about her are changing like the leaves.  Gianna Z needs a stroke of brilliance to make it work!

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

My agent called my cell phone while I was driving my son to soccer practice to let me know that Walker Books for Young Readers had made an offer.  I think I screamed, or at least squealed, because my son immediately said from the back seat, “Does somebody want your book?”  Somebody did, and in fact, we were operating on a fairly short timeline for publication, so I was working on revisions within a month.

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

In some ways, it’s impossibly exciting, but in many other ways, nothing has changed.  I still sit down at my computer every night to work on my current work-in-progress, and I still have the same worries about whether it’s good enough.  2009 is circled on my calendar, though, and every so often something happens to remind me how very real it is!  There are so many benchmarks along the way – line edits, copy edits, author photos, contact from the publicity department – and I’m trying to enjoy every minute.

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

I’ve always loved writing, but I grew up in a small town, and we didn’t have authors visit our school, so to me, they always seemed like far-away experts – not ordinary people like me.  I had been actively writing books for kids since 2001, attending conferences, submitting, getting rejections, when a small regional press bought my first middle grade historical novel, SPITFIRE, about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to fight in a Revolutionary War battle on Lake Champlain.  I wrote a second regional historical novel with that publisher and enjoyed working with them, but I wanted my next book to have a wider audience, so I started querying agents in the summer of 2007.

That December, I signed with the brilliant and scrappy Jennifer Laughran of ABLA.  She sold my novel, THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z, to Walker Books in the spring.  While she was shopping it, I kept working on other projects, and we actually found  homes for those before the novel sold!  My chapter book series, starting with MARTY MCGUIRE, FROG PRINCESS, will be published by Scholastic Press, starting in 2010, and my first picture book, OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW, will be published by Chronicle Books.

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive IN GENERAL (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

• 0-10
• 11-25
• 26-50
• 51-100
• 100+

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

My most heart-breaking rejection was from the first agent I queried.  I had met her at a conference and felt SURE she was the one.  She had asked for extra time with an exclusive on a full manuscripts and had promised to let me know within a week.  I was camping with family that week and checked email obsessively.  When the email finally arrived, it was a rejection – a lovely, kind one, but a rejection all the same.  I was so disappointed.

My best rejection came from an agent who took the time to write a personal letter describing a problem with the beginning of my novel.  After I read that letter, I cut the first three chapters, rewrote some parts, and submitted the manuscript successfully to the agent who represents me now.

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

• 0-3 months
• 3-6 months
• 6 months to 1 year
• 1 year – 2 years
• 2 years – 3 years
• 3 years+
• The manuscript has been around longer than I have.

Prior to selling your books, you were …

Working a full-time job unrelated to writing

I was – and still am – a full-time middle school English teacher!

Now that you’ve sold some books, you plan to …

Not change a thing

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

Oh gosh…how much time do you have?  I worry about living up to expectations, about how my books will be received.  Putting a book out there in the world is so wonderful and yet so terrifying in some ways.  Mostly, though, I’m thankful that one of my dreams has come true, and I try not to let the worries overshadow that.

If you’ve already begun or have finished the editorial process with your publisher, let you us know what that’s been like.

It’s been fantastic! My editor started the process by sending me a four-page revision letter, detailing what she felt were the major issues with the manuscript, and I can honestly say that all of the issues she raised rang true for me.  I worked through her list and used a checklist of my own to revise. Then, she sent a second letter – two pages this time – with line edits on the manuscript, and I made more changes.  Copy edits came next, and I learned a lot about the nitty-gritty details of my writing.  For example, I sometimes write compound words as two separate words, and I reaalllllly love commas!

Describe a typical day in your writing life.

I teach during the day and have two kids, so my writing life begins after they’ve gone to bed at night.  I generally write from about nine to midnight, and I aim to get in at least a thousand words a day if I’m working on a new project.  In addition to that time, I “steal” writing time whenever I can.  I’ll often work on revisions while I’m watching my daughter’s skating lesson or waiting for my son to finish soccer practice, and I scrawl little notes all the time.

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Give yourself time to practice and learn your craft, and don’t feel guilty about taking that time.  That includes reading as well as writing. Read at least a hundred books in the genre in which you want to write to get a sense for how things work – or not – in that style of writing.  If you write for children, try to do some of that reading out loud.  You’ll get a much better sense for the music of picture books and middle grade novels, for the language of a chapter book or the voice of a YA novel.

Aside from WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS<—shameless plug, are there any other books on craft you recommend?

It’s not exactly a book on craft as much as it’s a hilarious collection of inspirations, but I love Anne Lamott’s BIRD BY BIRD.  Bits of that book have gotten me through my most frustrating writing days, and without it, I’m not sure I’d be answering these questions as a debut author right now.

Finally, Snoop wants to know: where, oh where, do you get your ideas?

During my school visits, kids always like to know where I get my ideas.  The answer is…everywhere!  I carry a notebook with me, so when I have an idea, I can scribble it down right away before I forget.  I wrote the first draft of my picture book OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle Books) on a school bus on the way home from a 7^th grade field snowshoe field trip in the Adirondacks; it’s scribbled in bumpy bus writing on the back of an attendance sheet.

I think one of the most important things to do if you want to be a writer is to lead an interesting life. Go outside.  Try new things.  Talk to people, especially people whose lives are different from yours.  And don’t pass up opportunities.

This concludes our interview with our latest author, Kate Messner. We wish her much success with her debut novel TTHE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.

To see what Kate is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.katemessner.com  or her blog at http://kmessner.livejournal.com.

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FYI: Snoop and I are working hard on processing payments and wrapping up the Take the Dare: Show You Care auction. If you cashed in on a Free-tique opportunity, you will be contacted as soon as the dust settles. In the meanwhile, enjoy the After-Hours party going on at www.cynthealiu.com. We hope to get back to everyone within the next week.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then I have to say, you MUST join the free-tique list in case another free-tique opportunity rolls around.

Cheers, everyone, and thanks for Showing You Care!

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Mandy Hubbard

This week, we have Mandy Hubbard. Mandy grew up on a dairy farm outside Seattle, where she refused to wear high heels until homecoming and hated them so much she didn’t wear another pair for five years. A cowgirl at heart, she enjoys riding horses and quads and singing horribly to the latest country tune. She’s currently living happily ever after with her husband (who, sadly, is not a Duke) and her daughter (who is most definitely a princess). Prada and Prejudice is her first novel.

Here’s a little bit about PRADA & PREJUDICE, Razorbill, June 2009.

Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

Prada and Prejudice is about a teen girl named Callie who buys an expensive pair of Prada heels in an attempt to impress the cool girls on her class trip abroad-only to trip, conk her head, and wake up in 1815!  She stumbles about until she meets the kind-hearted Emily, who takes Callie in, mistaking her for a long-lost friend. Sparks soon fly between Callie and Emily’s cousin, Alex, the maddeningly handsome-though totally arrogant-Duke of Harksbury. Too bad he seems to have something sinister up his ruffled sleeve…

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

Almost couldn’t breathe. Seriously, I had to breathe through my mouth until my heart rate went back to normal. I called everyone I knew and then popped some champagne that night to celebrate. I also used my book deal as an excuse to buy pretty much any book I wanted, since it would be tax deductible.

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

It’s fun to feel like I am suddenly a “legitimate” writer. I think we writers have a hard time proudly declaring ourselves writers unless we are published, and that’s a shame. We all work hard to perfect our stories! But talking about my book to people has been really fun, like I have something valuable to share with people.

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

Everyone said getting an agent would be really hard, so when I got an agent quickly I was sure my books would sell just as fast. It ended up being 2 1/2 years from my first agency contract, two separate books on submissions totaling 38 rejections, 9 drafts of PRADA & PREJUDICE… it was not at all an overnight sale as I had imagined. But I think there are far more stories like mine than people realize, but authors don’t like to share how difficult it can be. I think that’s sad, because it is so encouraging to learn that others faced hardship before succeeding!

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive in general (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

51-100

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

My hardest one was from an editor who truly loved my book and wanted to buy it, and got tons of people at her house on board, but got turned down at the last minute when they decided their program should only publish paranormal books. I swear to you I spent a good hour trying to figure out if I could add a ghost to PRADA & PREJUDICE! Aside from that, the other 25 rejections weren’t so hot either. I think every house in NYC rejected me, until I rewrote the book from scratch and received two offers after less than two weeks later. One of those offers came from an editor who had rejected me twice already!

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

2 years – 3 years

Prior to selling your books, you were …

Working a full-time job unrelated to writing

Now that you’ve sold some books, you plan to …

Not change a thing

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

Sales. I worry no one will read it, or that the big chain stores won’t stock it, which can kill your career before it gets off the ground.

Describe a typical day in your writing life.

I write on a laptop on the train (thirty minutes to and from work) and after my daughter has gone to bed–after 9PM.

Any inspiring quotes you live by?

“A published author is an amateur who didn’t quit.”   It was on my blog before my sale, reminding me of my goal, and I have kept it there, reminding me of what it took to get here.

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Never give up. I firmly believe that anyone can be published if they dedicate the time to learning the craft, and they refuse to take no for an answer.

Finally, Snoop wants to know: How did it feel to see your cover for the first time?

I freaked out. I didn’t realize when she called it a ‘cover comp’ that it meant it wasn’t the actual cover, but a mock-up of the general design. The legs they had put on the original cover looked like they’d ben run over by a car. Once I realized they were doing a photoshoot for my actual cover, I breathed a sigh of relief, and the final product turned out beautifully.

This concludes our interview with our latest author Mandy Hubbard. We wish her much success with her debut novel PRADA & PREJUDICE.

To see what Mandy is up to these days, visit her website at www.mandyhubbard.com.

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Sarah Rees Brennan

This week, we have Sarah Rees Brennan. Sarah was born and raised in Ireland by the sea, where her teachers valiantly tried to make her fluent in Irish (she wants you to know it’s not called Gaelic) but she chose to read books under her desk in class instead. She lived briefly in New York and somehow survived in spite of her habit of hitching lifts in fire engines. She began working on The Demon’s Lexicon while doing library work in Surrey, England. Since then she has returned to Ireland to write and use as a home base for future adventures. Her Irish is still woeful, but she feels the books under the desk were worth it.

Here’s a little bit about THE DEMON’S LEXICON, which comes out on June 2, 2009 (tomorrow!).

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

THE DEMON’S LEXICON is about two brothers, Nick and Alan, who are on the run from magicians.   The magicians have control of demons, who steal people’s bodies, control animals, and change the weather. Nick and Alan pretty much just have swords and guns, and neighbors who wonder what all the freaky noises are about.   Then a boy with a demon’s mark and a girl with trouble written all over her arrive on their doorstep, the magicians deliver a very disturbing message, and from the back alleys of London to the woods of the English countryside, the chase is on: they have to hunt the magicians who have always hunted them.

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

Lay on the kitchen floor with the phone clutched in my hand. ‘You should go to bed,’ my agent said, and hung up. I lay there and watched for a few hours as the sky changed to morning. I was totally in shock.  Then I stood up, it hit, and I called my parents laughing and crying at once. ‘Who is that on the phone?’ I heard my mother ask my father. ‘It’s Sarah,’ he said. ‘…I think she’s having some kind of seizure?’

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

I’m not sure that I do feel official yet. I would be crushed but not surprised by a note from the publishers saying ‘You have been Punk’d! Love, Simon & Schuster.’ But I think when I see the book in shops, well then, um, I just hope the people in the shop won’t think I’m having a seizure.

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

I’ve been writing stories since I was five, and finished my first book when I was seven – it was about ponies and ninjas, my two favourite things at the time. Starting this young meant my family’s response to the book deal was ‘Took you long enough…’   I always wanted to be published but uh, I think when I was seven I assumed that someone was just going to arrive in a chariot to collect the manuscript and shower me with gold dust. When I was twenty-one and the chariot had not yet arrived, I moved to New York to do a publishing internship, where I learned a lot about how the business works, and when my visa expired I moved to England.  My plan when I’d finished and revised The Demon’s Lexicon was to submit it to a carefully chosen list of agents, but I kept reading Kristin Nelson’s blog and one late night in a fit of insanity, I queried her – and only her. I was ridiculously lucky, and she took me on. She’s so ridiculously awesome, I secretly believe she has super powers.

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive in general (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

0-10

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

When I was seventeen, I received a long letter telling me that the most important thing I had to do was stop writing fantasy, because it didn’t sell and wasn’t really worthwhile: that it was a waste for a writer with talent. I’m really glad the book I wrote at seventeen didn’t get published, and I’m even more glad I didn’t listen to another word of the letter.     Heart-breaking are the little dry, impersonal notes: it’s horrible for all writers to get form rejections! And yet of course we all get them. Everything’s easier once the rejections start getting personal, guys!

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

6 months – 1 year

Prior to selling your books, you were …

Working a part-time job unrelated to writing

Now that you’ve sold some books, you plan to …

Other

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

Oh, earning out. I regularly get into a tizzy that the book won’t do well, and then I won’t get to write more books, and what if it’s all my fault because I didn’t do enough promotion, or what if people just don’t like the book? Then I start to resemble an agitated penguin, and my friends smack me around the head and tell me to take a deep breath.

If you’ve already begun or have finished the editorial process with your publisher, let you us know what that’s been like.

My editor sent me back my manuscript, decorated prettily with many-coloured Post-Its. It looked like Joseph’s Amazing Technicolour Manuscript. My father opened it for me since I was in the countryside writing with friends, read the first line and said ‘Sarah, your editor’s written you this lovely letter!’ and I told him, ‘Oh, Dad. It’s all downhill from there.’  It was a really good, in-depth edit, and once I had OD’d on tea and despair for a day I got started on it, and it’s a much better book now. I think my editor may have super powers as well.

Describe a typical day in your writing life.

I get up, make my first cup of tea, and check through the internet for any news. Then depending on whether the news is good or bad, I make either my second cup or my first pot of tea, consult my chapter plan, which is always mysteriously crumpled up under my bed, and start writing. Throughout the day I administer tea as necessary – and in cases of real emergency, I apply cupcakes.

Describe an Ah-ha moment you might have had that influenced your writing in a positive way.

I remember two people discussing a story of mine, and one of them pointed out that we couldn’t rely on the point-of-view character. That honestly hadn’t occurred to me until that day, not properly: it started an enduring fascination with unreliable points of view, and the little hints you can give to show the point of view character’s perspective on the world is not the only one possible. Every book can be like a mystery, as well as whatever else it is. The possibilities are endless!

What is one of the biggest myths in children’s book publishing that you wish aspiring writers would just forget about?

That there is any one path to success. There are a million different paths, and I think stressing out looking for the one true key to being published is bad for people. Plenty of other stuff to be stressed out about in the crazy world of publishing!

Any inspiring quotes you live by?

Well… I try to aspire to this one, but I don’t know if I manage it at all.  ‘Tell me a story. In this century, and moment, of mania, Tell me a story. Make it a story of great distances, and starlight… Tell me a story of deep delight.’ – Robert Penn Warren.   I also like Oscar Wilde’s ‘Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.’

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Plan things out. Even a rough sketch of things to come really helps me, and I didn’t do it for years because I thought it’d tie my hands. Also, it helps for when you get bored half-way through writing the book and start to have crazy thoughts, like ‘What if I introduced ninjas? Or ponies? Or… ninja ponies!’

Aside from WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS<—shameless plug, are there any other books on craft you recommend?

Does JRR Tolkien’s ‘On Fairytales’ count? I think it’s one of the best and most inspiring books out there for readers and writers of fantasy.

Finally, Snoop wants to know: It would be nice if other people asked ‘Who is that woman walking down this random Irish street?

She has the fire in her eyes of a genius! Also very good hair.’  Failing that, if I was asked to pick one superpower, it would be invisibility. Lots of people say flying, but I like to wear dresses a lot, so you can see how that would end badly. And I could use invisibility to fight crime.

This concludes our interview with our latest author Sarah Rees Brennan. We wish her much success with her debut novel THE DEMON’S LEXICON.

To see what Sarah is up to these days, visit her blog at www.livejournal.com/users/mistful or her website at www.sarahreesbrennan.com.

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This week, we have Megan Frazer, who studied English literature and creative writing at Columbia University. She lives with her husband in Maine, where she is a high school librarian.

A little about, Secrets of Truth & Beauty:

Secrets of Truth & Beauty is the story of a former child beauty pageant winner turned overweight teen, who struggles with family secrets and her own sense of self over the course of a transformative summer on a goat farm with her estranged older sister.

Now let’s start the interview. When you received your offer, what happened?

There were several publishers interested, so I kept getting update calls from my agent, Sara Crowe. She had mentioned going to auction, but then Donna Bray and Emily Schultz pre-empted. I expected to be a crier and a screamer, but I think most of the conversations with Sara consisted of me saying “Uh huh, okay, okay.” I’m still amazed at it all.

So now that you have a contract, what’s it like to be on the other side-on the verge of publication? What does it feel like to be official?

Honestly, and I imagine many AOTVs will answer similarly, I still don’t feel official. I feel like someone could take this away from me at any moment. I keep waiting for it to feel “real.”

Tell us a little bit about your path to publication.

I had been writing for adults, but then a couple people suggested I try YA. Once the idea for the novel came to me, I just ran with it. I can’t say the writing was easy, but Dara’s voice came easily to me. And writing it was joyful. Once I finished, I queried agents, which led me to Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger. She offered representation two days before my wedding – that was a good week.

And here’s our favorite question. How many rejections did you receive IN GENERAL (not just for this book) before you landed your first major publishing contract?

Do you mean by agents or publishers? This was the only book that I’ve had sent to publishers, and I’m not sure how many rejected it. As for agents for all books, that’s got to be. . .

• 0-10
• 11-25
• 26-50
• 51-100
• 100+

Tell us about one of your most heart-breaking rejections and about one of your best.

I think they are the same. I got a personal rejection from The New Yorker. It hurt to come so close, but also felt really good because, you know, it was The New Yorker.

How long did it take to sell your books, from putting the first words on the page to receiving an offer?

• 0-3 months
• 3-6 months
• 6 months to 1 year
• 1 year – 2 years
• 2 years – 3 years
• 3 years+
• The manuscript has been around longer than I have.

Prior to selling your books, you were …

Working a full-time job in the writing industry

Well, it wasn’t exactly in the writing industry, but in the book industry: I was, and am, a librarian.

What are some of the new things you worry about now that you have a contract?

I am a champion worrier, and could write paragraphs and paragraphs about my neurosis. I will spare you and just give you the top three:

3. My reviews will be terrible.

2. I won’t get any reviews.

1. I won’t get published again.

Any advice for aspiring authors?

There are some people who I read that I am so jealous of – the way they put words together just amazes me. It’s important to realize that no matter how much you admire someone, you can’t be that person. You need to develop your own voice and play to your own strengths.

Aside from WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS<—shameless plug, are there any other books on craft you recommend?

On Writing by Stephen King. It’s part memoir, part inspirational, and part nuts and bolts. It’s one of those books that make me want to go right to my computer.

Finally, Snoop wants to know: What’s your favorite kind of cheese?

Why thank you for asking, Snoop. I’m sure you know that cheese plays a big part in my novel, so of course I’ve given the topic of cheese a lot of thought. Of course you can’t be a good sharp cheddar, and goat cheese makes me swoon, but I’m going to go with delicious fresh mozzarella. For today, anyway.

This concludes our interview with our latest author, Megan Frazer. We wish her much success with her debut novel Secrets of Truth & Beauty.

To see what Megan is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.meganfrazer.com.

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