Introducing 2011: Kim Harrington

Kim's debut novel, CLARITY, will be published on March 1, 2011 by Scholastic.

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1. How did CLARITY come to be? Was there anything that specifically inspired you to start writing it?

Strangely enough, CLARITY came from one line that just popped into my head. And from those five words grew a snarky, sarcastic main character and her unusual family. I played the “what if” game to figure out what was the worst thing I could do to them. And CLARITY was born! The line that started it all is in the finished book. It’s the last sentence of chapter two.

2. If you could befriend Clare with any YA character, who would it be and why?

Peeta. Because Clare loves baked goods. ;)

3. Did you have to do any research before writing?

A little bit. CLARITY takes place in the height of tourist season on Cape Cod. I didn’t have to research the ups and downs of growing up in a tourist town since my father’s from the Cape and I’ve spent a ton of time there. However, my family does not run a psychic business out of their home, so I did do a little research on that. I visited a few psychics, including one family business.

4. If you could have any "power" what would it be?

It’s not one of the powers in my book, but out of all powers in the world, I’d pick teleportation. Mainly because I’m impatient and would love to just magically be at my destination and skip all that airport stuff.

5. What's next for you writing wise?

Up next is the sequel to CLARITY (official title to come). And I'm also writing a standalone paranormal mystery--a ghost story--called GLIMMER, which will come out after that. Very exciting!

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Thanks so much, Kim!

Click here to visit her website and find out more about CLARITY!

Introducing 2011: Christopher Grant

Christopher's debut novel, TEENIE, will be published on December 28, 2010 by Knopf Books for Young Readers.

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1. As a male, how did you step into Teenie's shoes?

Without fail (and for obvious reasons), this is always the first question people ask when they find out that I've written from a female's perspective. I always think of John Leguizamo saying, "I don't know how I do it. I just do it."

A more acceptable answer may be that I fancy myself a good listener and have one of the best outlets to hear teenage banter. Riding the the NYC subway everyday, I "overhear" tons of dialogue that can readily be incorporated into my stories. Even when I'm unsure of where the dialogue will fit, I know when I hear something good and make sure to write it down anyway. My niece helped me a great deal as well, acting as my consultant on all things current. I choose to say current because I'm not sure if it's still cool to say cool.

2. What was the inspiration for TEENIE?

I read an article about publishers looking for men writing from a woman's perspective. I grew up in a household dominated by strong female influences (my mother and three aunts). Given my upbringing, I felt uniquely equipped to tell that kind of story. The idea forTeenie came about while I was having a discussion with an editor regarding some of my earlier work. She asked if I could write young adult fiction and the image of a fourteen year old girl just popped into my head.

3. Did you put any of yourself, or people you know, into Teenie and Cherise?

Teenie is choc-full-of my life experiences. Teenie is loosely (and I use the term loosely very loosely) based on one of my nieces. Cherise is a combination of about five girls that I had crushes on at various points of my life, the aggressive, confident young woman who always knows what's going on and what's in style. Teenie's father Beresford is a combination of my mother and three of my uncles. Her brothers are based on my older brother, who tormented me mercilessly, much as Teenie's brothers harass her.

4. It's Teenie's dream to study abroad in Spain, are you a traveler? Is there one place you really want to go?

I have only recently started traveling but enjoy it immensely. The most exotic place I've been so far is Dubai. There are too many places I want to visit to pick just one. I'm a wildlife geek so a safari in Kenya is high on the list.

5. Is there something you especially want readers of TEENIE to take away with them?

Being a first generation American, I struggled with many of the same issues that Teenie faces. It was a constant battle, trying to find the balance between the traditional customs instilled by my mother and the new "American" way of doing things. I wanted to give readers a window into that struggle, with a West Indian twist. In my humble opinion, stories centered around West Indian characters are under-represented in fiction, especially young adult. I had an absolute blast writing this book. It would be awesome if people have as much fun reading Teenie as I did writing it.

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Thanks so much, Christopher!

Click here to visit his website!

Introducing 2011: Carrie Harris

Carrie Harris is a geek of all trades and proud of it. Brains are her specialty; she used to work in a lab where they were delivered daily via FedEx. After that, it seemed only natural to write a zombie book. Now she lives in Michigan with her ninja doctor husband and three zombie-obsessed children.

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Carrie's debut novel, BAD TASTE IN BOYS, will be published by Delacorte Press on July 12, 2011!

1. What was the inspiration behind BAD TASTE IN BOYS?'

I’m a huge monsterphile. Zombie movies in particular always crack me up, because movie characters never seem to have any problem believing that their neighbors are turning into zombies. Um, hello? Only crazy people think things like that. So I started off thinking I might want to do a book about a completely rational person who discovers a zombie virus. And then I started mashing it together with other ideas that I had floating around in my head, kind of like a math project gone completely whack-a-ding-hoy. So Bad Taste in Boys is really Frankensteinian weird science plus the undead football players from Beetlejuice divided by high school geekery.

If math books were more like that, I might have become a mathematician.

2. What was your reaction to finding out you were going to be published?

Well, the road to publication was very long for me. Like *cough* fifteen years. *cough* When The Email finally came, I ran around the house screaming and then left a voice mail for my husband that said: “OhmygodcallmecallmeCALLMERIGHTNOW!” And then I put Thriller on and did the zombie dance, because that’s obviously the best way to celebrate selling a zombie book.

About an hour later, I realized I should probably email my agent back. I went to my computer and found another email from her asking if the shock had killed me and did she need to call an ambulance.

3. In what ways do you relate to Kate?

One of my friends always calls me Kate Grable in disguise, which cracks me up. And admittedly, we are similar personality-wise. But the biggest similarity? High School Carrie and Kate both have HORRIBLE taste in guys. I dated a guy who got a cue ball stuck in his mouth, and one who thought he was a werewolf, and…I could continue, but it’s too painful to remember. Lucky for both of us, our tastes improved. Drastically.

4. Zombies are obviously a big part of BAD TASTE IN BOYS. Did you have to do any research on them before writing?

I’m already a huge fan of zombies and creatures in general, so I was pretty familiar with the standard mythology. But it took a lot of work to get the science just right. My poor husband; every five minutes I was asking him another question about hypothetical viruses or zombie combat. But he’s a ninja/doctor, so these things fall into his area of expertise!

Really. I’m married to a ninja. How cool is THAT?

5. If you were trapped on a deserted island, what three books would you want with you?

Well, I have to go with a survival manual of some sort, because that just seems logical. I’m not going to be able to read much if I’m DEAD, right? And then I’ll choose two of my comfort reads—old favorites that I go to when my brain feels like it’s dribbling out my ears. I’m thinking Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett, and maybe The Hunger Games. It’s hard to feel bad about being stuck on an island when you’re snarfing coconut milk out your nose as a result of reading the former, or drooling over Peeta when reading the latter.

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Thanks so much, Carrie!

Click here to visit Carrie's (awesome) website!

Introducing 2011: Amy Holder

Amy's debut novel, THE LIPSTICK LAWS, will be published in April 2011 by HMH/Graphia!

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1. What was the inspiration for The Lipstick Laws?

I really wanted to have fun while writing this book, so first and foremost, I wanted to write an entertaining read. Apart from that, I was also inspired to explore the ups and downs of social hierarchies in high school, while delving into body image issues and social bullying within the plot.

2. In what ways are you similar to April?

For starters, we both have naturally curly hair that we wish we could trade in for long, thick, straight locks. I'd love to be able to let my hair air dry out of the shower without looking like Medusa's twin... and so would April. We also share a similar sense of humor and a love of good sales. April's desire to fit in and be accepted is something I struggled with as a teen as well, which I think is a pretty common feeling at that age.

3. Did you put any of your high school experiences into The Lipstick Laws?

The high school and town in this story are fictional, but they're set near the real area that I'm originally from and spent my high school years around. A mall that I used to constantly patrol as a teen even makes an appearance in the book, so that's one aspect borrowed directly from my teen years. Without giving away any spoilers, there are some other minor aspects of the book that are loosely inspired by my high school experiences, but no scenes are exact matches.

4. What was your reaction to seeing your awesome cover?

After freaking out in the confused presence of my pets, I shared it with family and friends, posted it all over the internet (after the okay from my editor), printed it out and taped it to my desk to stare at, and lastly, I created a shrine to worship Carol (the cover designer). Okay, I'm exaggerating on the shrine bit, but Carol would be fully deserving of that kind of worship.

5. If you could travel to any place in the world, where would it be and why?

Oooh... This is a tough question because there are so many places I want to travel to. Australia has always been on the top of my travel wish list because I'd love to see Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef. Not to mention, who can resist an Australian accent? A close second would be Ireland because I'm part Irish, and it would be wonderful to see where some of my ancestors came from.

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Thanks so much, Amy!

Click here to visit Amy's website!

Introducing 2011: Karen Mahoney

Karen Mahoney gave up on her dreams of being Wonder Woman a long time ago, but has instead settled for being a writer of contemporary or “urban” fantasy. Karen – or Kaz, as many of her friends call her – has been published alongside some of her favourite authors, in anthologies like THE ETERNAL KISS and the forthcoming KISS ME DEADLY (both by Running Press). She is still in complete shock about this. Her debut YA novel, THE IRON WITCH, will be published in the US by Flux and in the UK & Australia by Random House Children’s books, February 2011.

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Kaz's debut novel, THE IRON WITCH, will be published by Flux in February 2011!

1) What was the inspiration behind THE IRON WITCH?

First of all, thank for having me!

Three things combined to provide the initial spark of inspiration for THE IRON WITCH: an article called 'The Armless Maiden and the Hero's Journey' by Midori Snyder (http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrHJourney.html), about the mythic tradition of the 'Armless Maiden' or 'Handless Maiden' folktales; my interest in alchemy; and... yes... a dream. Two dreams, actually. One was dark and confused, and all I could remember afterwards was a broken boy who'd suffered terrible injuries; and the other dream was of a girl being chased by screaming monsters as she ran through a forest. These two came together in the book and recognized something of themselves in the other.

Pretty heavy stuff, right? ;)

2) Did you have to do any research on fey or alchemy before writing?

Yes, lots! Well, I'd already done a lot of research on alchemy because it's something I was interested in before. But I dug deeper - much deeper - and even read the journals of famous 16th century alchemists. I wanted to imagine what it would be like for a seventeen-year-old girl in today's world, if she'd been brought up amid the claustraphobic environment of a group of alchemists who protect all kinds of secrets. The fey research didn't need to be as in-depth, simply because it's something I've read so much about over the years. I think it's in my bones. My university dissertation (many years ago!) was on folklore, and it's something that always inspires me. Still, I did research different myths and legends about elves from around the world - and then I threw it all out the window and created my own version! My elves are nothing like Orlando Bloom in The Lord of the Rings movies (sadly), but are dark and twisted and born of wood and earth. I had great fun coming up with them.

3) You've been published before in short story collections, what's different about writing a novel?

Oooh... good question. It's so very different, and so much harder - at least, it is for me. Although my first published story ('Falling to Ash' in THE ETERNAL KISS) got some great reviews, I am very much aware of its shortcomings. When you're writing something around 10,000 words, as opposed to a novel of nearer 70,000 words (as all mine seem to be), there is the obvious lack of space. You can't develop sub-plots and it's important to find the heart of your story as soon as possible - otherwise you can waste a lot of time writing stuff that needs to be cut. I'm speaking from experience! But there is also something satisfying in the challenge of writing a shorter piece and, even though I went way over my word limit in my latest effort (it's closer to a novella), I think I was more successful.

4) In what ways do you relate to your main character, Donna?

I wish I could say I'm as strong as Donna. She is filled with an inner strength that she really has to dig into during the events of THE IRON WITCH. But I think she gets her sense of justice from me; if there's something I hate more than anything, it's injustice. And bullies. Donna deals with both of these issues - and a lot more! - in the book. I also relate to her in an 'actual' way in that I loosely based her best friend, Navin Sharma, on my own best friend. My friend loves this, and is more than happy to find a prominent Indian character in my debut novel. :)

5) What's next for you writing wise?

I'm really busy right now - crazy how things seem to happen all at once. I'm currently working on the sequel, THE WOOD QUEEN. It picks up just a couple of weeks after the first book, although there isn't a cliffhanger in THE IRON WITCH. I wrapped up the major plot points, but it was definitely open for lots more adventures - some huge discoveries to look forward to for Donna! My second 'short' story came out a couple of months ago in KISS ME DEADLY (the follow-up to last year's THE ETERNAL KISS), and my story/novella - 'The Spirit Jar' - is another tale of Moth the teenage vampire. I've written a novel about Moth, BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS, that my agent and I are hoping to sell soon - watch this space! I also have an essay published in the forthcoming SmartPop anthology dedicated to The Vampire Diaries TV show. The book is called A VISTOR'S GUIDE TO MYSTIC FALLS (http://www.smartpopbooks.com/book/a-visitors-guide-to-mystic-falls) and is due to be published in October - it was genuinely an honour to be invited to write something for it.

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Thanks so much, Kaz!

Click here to visit her website!

Introducing 2011: Keri Mikulski

Keri Mikulski teaches writing and resides at the Jersey Shore with her family, where she plays a ton of pick-up basketball and worships Derek Jeter from afar. A three-sport athlete, Keri took enormous pride in her lucky game day scrunchies and half-top Nike Air Jordans.

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Keri's debut novel, HEAD GAMES, will be published by Razorbill/Penguin in January 2011!

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1. What was the inspiration for Head Games?

Everything pretty much inspires me – places, people, music, dreams, and even simple words or phrases.

However, specifically with Head Games, the story began with a ‘what if’ – ‘What if a super tall, super nice, and super talented freshman basketball player would only consider guys who were taller than her? What if she was ferocious on the court, but a total people pleaser off? Then I let my crazy imagination run wild, added embellished details from my own high school experiences, and ended with Taylor Thomas’s story.

2. Have you used any parts other than the setting of the first two Pretty Tough books for your part of the series?

Since it’s set a few years later than the first two series books (which were originally written by the fabulous Liz Tigelaar and published in 2007), Beachwood Academy and the general setting (Southern California) and one character, Martie are the same, but the entire cast of characters (besides Martie) and story lines are different. Also, instead of third person, the new books will be written in first person.

3. Which character do you relate to more- Taylor (the athlete) or Hannah (the fashionista)?

Definitely Taylor the athlete…fashion and I only go as far as handbags and even that is limited. The fashion part of the book was definitely the most difficult for me to write.

4. What plans do you have for future novels in the series?

So far Book 4 will follow the mean girl in HEAD GAMES, Kylie Collins. I’m in the process of revising her side of the story right now and having a blast. As far as the rest of the books, I have a couple of ideas I can’t wait to tackle.

5. Did you have to do any research on basketball or modeling before writing?

Yes.. A ton… Basketball wasn’t too tough since I played since I was seven. But I still relied heavily on a college coach and WNBA journalist to make sure every detail is correct. However, fashion was another story. I Ti-voed as many episodes as I could of America’s Next Top Model, read every Teen Vogue I could get my hands on, and researched fashion trends. Thank God for my fashion savy editors. J

Thanks for having me, Kelsey!! Happy Summer!

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Thanks so much, Keri!

Click here to visit her website.

Introducing 2011: Alissa Grosso

At various points in her working life Alissa has

been a tavern wench, a term paper writer, a newspaper editor and a

children’s librarian. She owns very few garments that aren’t covered

with cat or dog hair. She lives in New Jersey.

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Alissa's debut novel, THE SUBROSA SEMESTERS, will be published by Flux in March 2011.

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1. THE SUBROSA SEMESTERS has gone through a few title changes, how has each one come to be and why was it ultimately rejected (or kept)?

Over its long history (I began the first version over 10 years ago) quite a lot changed. In its many draft forms the title of the novel was THE BALDERDASH SEMESTERS. I can't recall why I originally chose the title. The draft that I finally submitted for publication had almost nothing in common with that original book other than the same title and a few of the same character names. I clung to the title because I completely lacked the brain power to come up with anything even remotely decent, but I'm not sure that the title entirely fit the novel.

THE SUBROSA SEMESTERS was suggested by my publisher, Flux. I'm pretty sure I sounded like a complete idiot on the phone when I heard about the new title. I made my editor repeat the words like three times. Then I asked him to spell it. Then I had to admit that I didn't know what it meant. I have since been reassured that many folks don't know what it means. It means literally "under the rose" but is used to describe something that's secret, and that does really fit the novel better than "balderdash" which was thought to have a more old-fashioned sound to it.

2. You describe THE SUBROSA SEMESTERS as a "dark tale of high school popularity"- what exactly does that mean?

Good question. I like to use vague shorthand because I am horrible in summing up a whole novel in a couple of sentences, but I will do my best.

THE SUBROSA SEMESTERS tells the story of a high school clique that is anything but conventional. The lives of these seemingly misfit girls all seem to be headed in different directions, but they have a secret. (This is why the new title fits the novel a little better.) This secret, which has led to their popularity also turns out to be the cause of their downfall.

3. In the past you've written some short stories, what was the biggest difference between writing them and a full novel?

Well, the biggest difference between writing short stories and novels is the length. It took me from first draft to final draft over ten years to write THE SUBROSA SEMESTERS but I was only working on it off and on. A complete short story can be written in a single weekend.

The thing about novels is that characters and the story can have a lot more depth. In a short story, I don't really get to know my characters as well as I do in a novel.

4. In what ways have you put yourself into your characters?

Another great question. At first, I was thinking that none of the characters in THE SUBROSA SEMESTERS were really autobiographical in any way, but then I realized there is a character that is most like me. It wasn't immediately apparent to me, and might not be to a lot of folks because it's a guy. I have a lot in common with Alex who is the boyfriend of Hamilton, the leader of the clique. I wouldn't go so far as saying that he's me in male form, but now that I think about it I wonder if my subconscious saw some connection between the two of us when it gave him a name that was vaguely similar to my own.

5. Is there a specific message you are trying to spread by writing THE SUBROSA SEMESTERS?

I wouldn't go so far as saying that there's a specific message to THE SUBROSA SEMESTERS, but at the core of the novel is the idea that the popular high school student doesn't always have to fit into a narrow stereotype. I loathe stereotypes, and have strived hard my whole life to defy them.

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Thanks so much, Alissa!

Click here to visit her website!