Roz Peterson on Inside the Character's Studio

Give it up for Roz Peterson, the star of Lauren Bjorkman's My Invented Life, on Inside the Character's Studio!

Roz and Eva are sisters, close friends, and fierce rivals. Roz fantasizes about snagging the lead in the school play and sexy skate god Bryan as her boyfriend. Sadly a few obstacles stand between her and her dreams. For one, Eva is the more talented actress. And Bryan happens to be Eva’s boyfriend. But is Eva having a secret love affair with a girl? Enquiring minds need to know.

Roz prides herself on random acts of insanity. In one such act, she invents a girlfriend of her own to encourage Eva to open up. The plan backfires, and Roz finds herself neck deep in her invented life. When Roz meets a mercurial boy with a big problem, she begins to understand the complex feelings beneath the labels. And she gets a second chance to earn Eva’s trust.

My Invented Life is set in a small California high school during rehearsals for a Shakespeare comedy.

Welcome, Roz!

What is your favorite word?
clotpole

What is your least favorite word?
ex-boyfriend

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
When I'm up on stage, my wings unfurl and I can fly.

What turns you off?
unrehearsed death scenes

What is your favorite curse word?
dankish puttock

What sound or noise do you love?
applause, mingled with stomps, and hoots of approval

What sound or noise do you hate?
the sound of my nails being chewed to the nubs.

What profession would you like to attempt?
professional acting (for obvious reasons, and not just to meet the hotties)

What profession would you not like to do?
accountant (for even more obvious reasons, though I bet there are a few cute accountants, too)

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Shakespeare is dying to meet you.

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Check out other interviews from Inside the Characters' Studio here.

Sunday Awesome: Tigers in a Tub

I don't understand it either.  But I love it.

What do Goethe, Dostoyevsky & Austen have in common?

At first glance, not much...but when you see what the Pawling Book Cove has scheduled for the afternoon of November 14th in Pawling, New York, it all becomes awesomely clear!

I'm super excited to announce that I'll be signing with the hilariously awesome Michael Northrop and the incredibly talented Dina & Daniel Nayeri at that very place at that very time! I will say that Gentlemen and Another Faust were two of my favorite 2009 books...and I'm honored that the Book Cove has included me in this sure-to-be terrific event!

Michael says that Pawling is a great little town...and I believe everything he says. Also, I know for a fact that upstate New York in mid-November can be gorgeous (as long as it's not rainy and frigid)...so if you're in the area, please consider a trip up on Metro-North (or down, left or right via other modes of transportation) and come hang out with us for the afternoon!

Kyra Sellers on Inside the Character's Studio!

I'm super excited to host the awesome Kyra Sellers, the star of Barry Lyga's Goth Girl Rising, on Inside the Character's Studio!

Time is a funny thing in the hospital. In the mental ward. You lose track of it easily. After six months in the Maryland Mental Health Unit, Kyra Sellers, a.k.a. Goth Girl, is going home. Unfortunately, she's about to find out that while she was away, she lost track of more than time. Things seem normal at first. Roger's his typical, pain-in-the-ass fatherly self. Jecca and Simone and the rest of the goth crowd still do their thing. And Kyra is back in black, feeling good, and ready to make up with the only person who's ever appreciated her for who she really is.

But then she sees him. Fanboy. Transcended from everything he was into someone she barely recognizes.

And the anger and memories come rushing back.

Fanboy. The Spermling. Miss Powell. Roger.

Her mother.

There's so much to do to people when you're angry.

Kyra's about to get very busy.

I have it on good authority (ie, Barry's) that Kyra is not the sharing type, so I'm even more honored than usual that she consented to doing this interview!

What is your favorite word?
I love saying "douchebag." It just rolls off the tongue.

What is your least favorite word?
The F-word. I don't say it anymore.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Telling people the truth. Especially when they're in denial.

What turns you off?
Hypocrisy

What is your favorite curse word?
Hmm. Well, I say "shit" a lot, but that's not really my favorite. Probably "bitch," because it has so many uses, you know?

What sound or noise do you love?
Silence.

What sound or noise do you hate?
People not shutting up.

What profession would you like to attempt?
I don't know. I haven't thought about it since before my mom died. I guess... Honestly, I never thought I'd make it past 16.

What profession would you not like to do?
Anything where anyone else tells me what to do.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
I don't want to answer- What? I have to? I guess... Look, I don't think I'm going to the Pearly Gates, but I guess if I get there somehow, I hope God says, "Your mom is waiting over by the chocolate trees and the coffee fountain." Shut up - I am SO not crying.

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Check out other interviews from Inside the Characters' Studio here.

Win great stuff from the 2009 Debs!

Laurel Sewell on Inside the Characters' Studio!

I am so hapy to host Laurel Sewell, the main character of Aprilynne Pike's Bestselling Wings, on Inside the Character's Studio! Aprilynne is a good friend who has written a fantastic (in all senses of the word) book, and if you're one of the 13 people left in the world who haven't read it...go now!

Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful--too beautiful for words.

Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.

In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

Welcome, Laurel!

What is your favorite word?
Sunshine. Also my favorite thing. Can those go together?

What is your least favorite word?
Barnes. Even the sound of that name makes me squirm!

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
I like to go outside and play my guitar. It relaxes me and helps me think.

What turns you off?
Dark rooms with no windows. I can't concentrate!

What is your favorite curse word?
I admit, I say damn a little too often.

What sound or noise do you love?
I love music. Almost any kind!

What sound or noise do you hate?
My parents yelling. At me or each other. I hate it.

What profession would you like to attempt?
I think I would like to be a nurse.

What profession would you not like to do?
Strangely, I don't want to be a doctor.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
That my family and friends have been waiting for me.

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Check out other interviews from Inside the Characters' Studio here.

Readers' Questions: Answered! (GIVEAWAY BELOW!)

I've been saying that I would do a Readers Q&A post for ages...and finally...here it is! I've received a ton of questions by email, twitter and facebook, and am psyched to have a chance to respond!

So, in no particular order, let's get to it!

Q. Will there be a sequel to The Season?
A. Ok, this is probably the question I get asked the most...online and in the real world...and I'm afraid I don't have a great answer, except to say that, as of now, there are no plans for sequels to The Season.

Q. When will Freddie, Lord Stanhope get his book?
A. When I wrote The Season I had no idea that Freddie would be such a popular character--although I shouldn't be surprised, because we girls definitely like our bad boys. Of course, there's nothing terribly wicked about Freddie--he's more bark than bite when you really get to know him. That said, Freddie has many many oats to sow before he'll be ready to settle down--but when he does meet his match, I can assure you that fireworks will ensue! I'd like to write Freddie's story one day--but he needs to cook for a few years before he's ready to fall in love.

Q. How long does it take you to write a book? What's your process like?
A. This question makes writing a book seem way more organized that it is for me. I love the idea of having a process, but mainly I spend a lot of time being insane before I actually get myself into a zone. My books take between 4 and 6 months to write, and then require another 2 or 3 months for editing and revisions. I'm very lucky to work with two of the most incredible editors in the world--they're brilliant, insightful women who make me look like a far far better writer than I actually am. :)

As for Process, so far, all three of my books have come to me with the very first scene: The Season began with Alex's dress-fitting for her coming out; Nine Rules... began with a meeting that happened 10 years before the actual book is set (which is now the prologue); and I met my current WIP's heroine while she was receiving the news of her father's death--and responding to it in a rather bizarre way.

After I meet them, though...my characters can't do anything else without me knowing precisely where they're going and what they're doing. I'm a heavy outliner...my outlines are very stream of conscious--they tell the story from beginning to end, but range in format, voice, tense, tone and can even be snippets of dialogue that pop into my head and ultimately become a part of the finished book.

Once I have an outline, I write longhand...everything related to a book goes into a single notebook and then I edit it into my computer...so I tell myself that I'm really handing in a second draft when I send my editors my first draft.

Because of my deadlines, I write as much as I can, whenever I can. There's no rhyme or reason to it. It's just all the time. This makes my process harried and harrowing--but boy is it awesome when you write that last word!

Q. What's your favorite part of writing? Your least favorite?
A. Revisions are my favorite part, because that's the time when you're really working to make it a terrific book. Editors are incredible. My editors are two of my favorite people in the world because they look at my messy, unpleasant manuscript and they see the gold in it. And then they help me mine it. I like the "team" feel to revisions. They're hard, but you're not alone.

My least favorite part is the second to last chapter. Always. In my books, it's usually a chapter where lots of stuff is happening, plots are at their climax, characters are having their moments of clarity, loose ends are tying themselves up into (I hope) neat little bows. And I'm SO CLOSE to the end. But not there yet. I HATE not being there yet.

Q. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? When did you first know you ARE a writer?
A. When I was in high school, some teacher in some class asked us to make an "About Us" card--it's a half a piece of construction paper with a picture of 16-year-old me and a bunch of random facts...favorite book, favorite movie, weakness, etc. One of those things was "dream job." I wrote Romance Novelist. So, I don't know when, exactly, I knew I wanted to be a writer, but it was pretty early on.

As for the second half of that question, well...I guess it shows a bit of my weakness that I don't usually show...but I still don't think of myself as a writer. It's such a scary, amazing, unbelievable thing...it's almost like i'll jinx myself if I actually say the words out loud.

Q. What music inspires you when you write?
A. I listen almost exclusively to classical music (on my Pandora station) when I write. Boccherini, Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, and dozens of others. But almost all of my books have a pop song that serves as their modern inspiration. Nine Rules... was inspiried by Jason Mraz's I'm Yours, my current WIP's theme song is Brett Dennen's Darlin Do Not Fear.

I think that's a good list for now...if y'all would like, I'm happy to do this feature more frequently...maybe once a month? If you're interested, post your questions for November in comments or tweet them @sarahmaclean! I'll answer them...and give one lucky questioner a signed copy of The Season!

Oscar Banks on Inside the Characters' Studio

Give it up for Roz Peterson, the star of Pam Bachorz's Candor, on Inside the Character's Studio!

Oscar Banks has everything under control. In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, he’s found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages. He’s got them all fooled: Oscar’s the top student and the best-behaved teen in town. Nobody knows he’s made his own Messages to deprogram his brain. But then Nia Silva moves to Candor, and Oscar falls in love. He must choose whether to let Nia be lost to brainwashing—or to sacrifice himself.

Welcome, Oscar!

What is your favorite word?
escape

What is your least favorite word?
control

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
getting away with something

What turns you off?
having to obey

What is your favorite curse word?
The Messages make it too hard to curse. Usually it's not worth the effort.

What sound or noise do you love?
The scrape of my girlfriend Nia's skateboard coming down the sidewalk.

What sound or noise do you hate?
The Messages, crawling around in my brain 24-7. I hate them all and I hate my father for putting them there.

What profession would you like to attempt?
I never really thought about this until you asked. But I'd like to be a scientist so I can find a way to break the Messages' grip on people's brains.

What profession would you not like to do?
My father thinks I'll be taking over the family biz of building a town that controls all its residents. Never.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
I'd like God to tell me there will be zero background music in Heaven. In Candor, you never escape the music--or the Messages.

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Check out other interviews from Inside the Characters' Studio here.

On Beauty.

My fabulous editor shared this on her FB profile, and I had to share here.

I am such a huge fan of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty...it's so hard to remember that beauty is defined in so many more ways than what's on billboards and television screens...this helps though...

Even as I wonder how I can learn to Photoshop myself like this!

ode to eric, on our second anniversary

my husband, he is pretty nice...
he manages my crazy and disposes of our (unwelcome) mice,

he takes the late-night dog walk when i'm in bed...
he makes me laugh when i could see red,

he accepts the fact that i write romances...
even as i sigh over darcy at country dances,

he brings me flowers just because...
and out of the sink, he cleans the scuzz,

he worries about me when i am hurt...
and, man, can that guy make composted dirt!

and, two years after we vowed in health and sickness...
i still see him as an embarrassment of riches.

**with apologies to poets everywhere.

Kat Crosby on Inside the Characters' Studio!

Give it up for Kat Crosby, the star of Sydney Salter's Jungle Crossing, on Inside the Character's Studio!

Thirteen-year-old Kat can think of dozens of good reasons not to go on a boring family vacation to hot, grungy Mexico. Number one: missing her friend Fiona's minicamp. If she's not there, she'll begin eighth grade as a social reject. And it looks like she's the odd girl out on vacation, too. When Kat's parents arrange for her and her younger sister, Barb, to go on a teen adventure tour, Barb makes more friends than she does. The only person who will talk to Kat is Nando, a young Mayan guide (who happens to be quite a cutie). Each day as they travel to different Mayan ruins, Nando tells Kat and Barb another installment in the original legend of Muluc, a girl who lived in the time of the Ancient Maya. The dangerous, dramatic world in which Muluc lives is as full of rivalry, betrayal, jealousy, and sacrifice as Kat's world at school. And as she makes new friends and discovers new treasures in Mexico, Kat begins to wonder: Is she willing to keep sacrificing her self in exchange for popularity?

Welcome, Kat!

What is your favorite word?
Minicamp

What is your least favorite word?
Mexico

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
I like to draw, but please don't tell anyone. Fiona wants us all to take dance again this year.

What turns you off?
Oh, I have a whole list, starting with forced family vacations to Mexico and ending with mean teen tour guides!

What is your favorite curse word?
Barb. My little sister is a serious curse in my life!

What sound or noise do you love?
Quiet. The kind you hear in a Mayan village.

What sound or noise do you hate?
The crazy sounds a plane makes while taking off--I'm so afraid of crashing!

What profession would you like to attempt?
I'd like to illustrate Nando's story about Muluc. And maybe some other books someday.

What profession would you not like to do?
Hotel maid.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Don't worry, Fiona isn't here (she didn't meet the requirements). But Muluc is waiting for you. And does she ever have a story to tell!

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Check out other interviews from Inside the Characters' Studio here.

Redecorating!

You may have noticed that some things have changed on the blog in the last few days--we've gone from plain, old blog to new, improved and chocolatey awesome website!  With clickable header links!  And nifty pages promoting other authors and goodies from around the web!

This website has been a long time coming--my insistence that the blog remain the centerpiece of the whole thing sent at least one web designer into fits and it fell to Eric to pick up the pieces and make the whole thing work.  And work it does!  Go on...click around!  Revel in the new pages!  And the lovely red links!

And, of course, you can't have missed the incredible art.  That is all thanks to the lovely and talented Joanne Renaud, illustrator extraordinaire.  Joanne has a gift for turning historical costume into stunning art....you must go right now to her online portfolio and check out the fantastic work there.  I was very very lucky that she wasn't busy illustrating for someone far more famous than me when I asked her to draw the girls from The Season and the hero and heroine of Nine Rules to Break When Romancing A Rake! Thanks, Joanne!

Thanks for coming over and checking out the new digs...let me know if there's anything that seems wonky!

Signs of Autumn

Fall has officially fallen here in Brooklyn--Eric, Baxter and I took a walk this morning to buy a large pot that will be the winter home of Eric's incredibly healthy, entirely accidental chili pepper plant (which grew over the summer from a batch of dried chilis tossed into an empty windowbox after they had collected dust long after I bought them on a trip to New Mexico)--and I'm reminded of all the reasons why I love New York City...and the East Coast.

Fall weekends in the city are stunning...all blue skies and crisp breezes...and my very favorite thing about city living--the fact that every corner deli doubles as a flower shop--becomes even more awesome. Pumpkins are piled up outside of the entrances, waiting to be bought and carved, mums are lined up down the sidewalk in an explosion of fall colors, and dahlias make their appearance.

I try to have fresh flowers in the house as often as possible...when they cost $5, there's really no reason not to have something beautiful on my kitchen counter...but dahlias are my absolute favorite. They're only around in the fall...and they come in these stunning colors, brilliant deep reds that hint at purple, burgundies that look more like burgundy than the wine they reference, oranges that bend into yellow, or is that red? They're gorgeous. And they're special to me for a number of reasons...they were the cornerstone of my wedding bouquet (we were married in October), of the little posies that littered our wedding reception...and they were my grandmother's favorite flower.

My grandmother was British...the most British of British women, and, while I often regret that I was not able to spend more time in England with she and my grandfather, one of the things I do remember is that she loved freshly cut dahlias. Apparently that's a genetic thing. Because when I saw them in my corner deli today, I got more excited than I should have done. And now there is a bright, burgundy bouquet in my kitchen.

And a newly potted chili plant with one, beautiful red chili on it. Any suggestions of what we should do with it?

Jisetsu!

Ok...when I looked up "Season" at this free online translator, it provided six different Japanese words for it: kikou, jisetsu, kou, kisetsu, jiki and jibun. I don't speak Japanese, so I chose the one I most like saying. I'm sure one of my brilliant readers will tell me which of these words I should actually be using.

The point is...OMG THE SEASON JUST SOLD TO JAPAN!!!

Alex is a jetsetter--rumor has it that she's going to be rejacketed with love for release in Japan in the next 18 months (they don't tell authors anything, really), by the incredible Japanese publisher, Shogakukan!

Domo Arigato, Shogakukan!