An Amusing Anecdote

I don't have a lot of funny boy stories from back in high school to use as fodder for my YA manuscripts (I was either too shy or too mean to attract their notice--still not sure which) but I do have one gem of a story that I think might be funnier to share with you all.

I think I'll call it "Why Seventeen-Year-Old Alexandra Thinks Boys Suck"

It was a school break (Thanksgiving, I believe) and the second to last night before school began again. I'd gone to the local coffee shop, equipped with headphones and ipod, to do my maths homework (yes, we had maths homework over the holiday--that was what I got for taking AP Calculus, which I then never used neither to get into college nor once I was in college.) As I was walking up to the coffee shop, there was a group of boys sitting outside at one of the tables.

One guy asked me, "Hey, were you the girl who did Pink Floyd at the Battle of the Bands?"

I said yes, I was, since I had (and had gotten a fair amount of teasing for it, too.) I asked the boy what school he went to, since he clearly didn't go to mine. He replied that he went to a neighboring school, and then invited me to sit down. I said no, I wanted to get a drink and go inside. He tried to insist that I sit with him and his friends, but I declined and went inside, ordered my coffee, and proceeded to take a table at the back of the shop, put my headphones in, and start my homework.

But lo, not two minutes later, someone takes a seat at my table without asking. I look up and it's the boy from outside.

He proceeds to ask me, "Why didn't you come back outside?"

To which I gestured at my calc book. He didn't seem to get it. Instead, he started asking me questions, which forced me to take my headphones out, lest I appear rude (the irony.) The first question he asked me was how old I thought he was.

I am relatively certain I replied with as much disinterest as I could.

I probably threw a number out there, and then he proceeded to tell me he was sixteen. (Gee, couldn't tell.)

He then picked up my ipod, put one of my earbuds into his ear (ew!) and started scrolling through my songs, all the while keeping up a useless dialogue with me about the bands he found on my ipod. I have to make the point that he bypassed the numerous classic rock albums (including every Floyd album up to The Final Cut) and picked out the random crappy metal bands my ex-boyfriend had added on there, somehow thinking I might want that music (I didn't.)

I was shy and awkward as a seventeen year old, so it took me a while to muster up the courage to interrupt him, get my ipod back, and say that I had to do my homework. But I got there, and I did it. (Though I think I burned that pair of earbuds.)

However he didn't go away. He asked what I was doing the next day. I didn't want to hang out with this dork on the last day of holiday, so I lied and said I was going to the mall (which was over an hour away, since I lived in the middle of nowhere.) He asked me if we could hang out after I got back from the mall. I said no. But he wouldn't give up, he wanted my phone number and wanted me to take his so that just in case I got back early, we could go see a movie. I thought it would make him go away, so I let him have mine (and I've never made that mistake again, I am happy to say.)

The next day, he called me twice and texted me about going to a movie. I didn't answer, and then later on had to hear from my ex-boyfriend (in a complaining, accusatory way) about this kid who I had apparently "flirted" with, led on, and then ignored at the coffee shop.

My impression of the whole thing?
There was definitely a reason that at seventeen, I was convinced that boys' brains were actually a combination of cement and already chewed Brussels sprouts.

Sorry it's not a funnier story. I wasn't much of a boy-magnet when I was a teenager, so it's the best story I got.

Dark Fantasy Winners!!

I have spent the last... several hours (je pense) tallying and using random.org to calculate the winners! Not so fun for me, but lots of fun for you because I haz announcement:

The winner of the CLOCKWORK ANGEL ARC is:

Hillary!

The winner of the PARANORMALCY ARC is:

Vicki S.!

The winner of the HALO ARC is:

Abby Annis!

The winner of the signed WHITE CAT is:

Necie Jones!

The winner of the SAPPHIQUE ARC is:

Jeremy West!

And the winner of the DRACULA IN LOVE ARC is:

titania86!


If you didn't win, don't worry. I have a couple more ARCS that I want to give away. :) Thanks to everyone for playing and for all the awesome followers I have that made this contest possible in the first place!!

[Winners, I've emailed you all asking for your addresses. If you don't email me back within 2 weeks, I'll be forced to give over the lovely prize to someone else.]

Contest update! (proposition for getting more entries)

Hey guys! So tomorrow (27 July) at midnight EST, my Dark Fantasy contest closes.

And I have a proposition for you all, if you want to earn some extra entries. I'll give you +2 if you tweet about the contest (sorry, not for every time you tweet--just one tweet, and you get +2). Don't worry about the form or anything, just leave me a link with your twitter in the comments here, and so long as your name is the same as the one you used to sign up, I'll easily be able to add your points to your total. You can put my twitter handle (@a_shostak) in there if you want, but I won't make you, since I rarely use my twitter anyway. But it would be nice to mention my name :)

If you've not yet entered, but you're going to, I've updated the form so you don't have to worry about commenting or anything :)

Deep Thoughts in 2 paragraphs or less

I've been thinking a lot lately (okay... in the past hour) about ideas for stories. I know I have a ton of them floating around in my head, and I bet you all do, too. I have word documents just listing all the titles or ideas I've come up with, so I don't forget them all. But not all of them get written; actually sometimes I surprise myself by which stories choose to be written and which ones stay in the womb of creativity growing their butterfly wings (yeah, mixed metaphor.) Sometimes it's not the ideas that I've had the longest, or that are even my "pets" at the time that want to be written. Sometimes it's something tiny I almost forgot about, and then all of a sudden the main character is banging on my skull going "HEY! My turn! I'm going to start talking and you'd BETTER have a word document open!"

So, my fellow writers. Have you ever been surprised by which idea fleshed itself out, and jumped to the front of the long line, demanding to be written? What was it about the story, do you think, that ultimately called to you above all the rest?

Cute and fluffy with not much substance... like cake.

Just for fun, I made this little thingie of some old pictures of my kitten. This is her when I first got her, when she was a 6 week old fuzzball.



I thought I'd share it with you all, in case anyone was in need of warm fuzzies today. :)

CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare

So I just finished my ARC of CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare.



OH. MY. GOD.

I already loved steampunk, I already loved Victorian London, I already loved Cassandra Clare's world, but now... I've been reduced to a squeeing fangirl puddle.

We return to the world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders, but in Victorian London, with a new protagonist, Tessa Gray. She's not a Shadowhunter, but a girl with the unique (and demonic) ability to change into other people. The plot had so many twists and turns, I constantly found myself gasping, flipping back, flipping forward (because I couldn't take it) and reading a mile a minute. I dragged it with me everywhere.

Plus, there was not one, but TWO hot guys. Will and Jem. They were both great, but I loved Jem the most.

If you were already a Cassandra Clare fan, you do NOT want to miss this one. If you don't even know who Cassandra Clare is (and I'm gonna look at you funny if you don't) then this is a fantastic place to start! And if you were wondering about steampunk but haven't yet had the chance to check it out, read this! It's a great introduction! It comes out August 31, but if you can't wait that long...

(Next up is my review of WHITE CAT by Holly Black which is also HOLY CRAP AMAZING!!! And I'm giving away a SIGNED copy in the same contest as Clockwork Angel!)

I'm giving away my copy!

Click HERE to enter!

And the academy goes to...

WINNERS OF THE BARRY LYGA CONTEST!

Another special thanks to everyone who entered, and especially to everyone who participated in Barry Lyga rocks day. AND a big thanks to Barry for putting up with all the squeeing that happens whenever he comes around. (It's hard being that awesome, but someone has to do it! And I think Barry does a great job!)

Before I say anything... I feel the need to tell you all how freaking hard I looked for an appropriate LOLcat. And I couldn't find one. I'm so upset. I love spamming you all with lolcats. My kitten (evil spawn) wouldn't pose for a picture, either. Instead, she tried to eat the camera.

Onto THE WINNERS!

The winners of the signed copies of HERO TYPE are:

Jenny Martin

and

Niki

The GOTH GIRL RISING winner is:

Karen Amanda Hooper

and the winner of the ARCHVILLAIN arc is:

Julie Musil

Carol was also nice enough to add in a fifth prize, a copy of BOY TOY. So, as a surprise, we drew for a fifth winner! And that person is:

Taffy Lovell

Congrats to all the winners! Thanks to everyone for making it such a fun contest!!!

<3<3<3

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(p.s. Didn't win? Enter my Dark Fantasy contest, in which you can win an ARC of CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare, among other things!)

Book Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Over the weekend, along with HUNGER, I also finished NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer. There must be something in the water, because the last three books I've read (all fall releases) have just been astoundingly amazing. WOW, there is such a talented group of authors writing in the YA fantasy genre right now.

So I have yet ANOTHER gorgeous cover to show you (because the covers of MATCHED and HUNGER weren't already totally drool-worthy.)



Calla is a young alpha wolf with her own small pack of Nightshade wolves. She's been betrothed to Ren, an alpha of a rival pack, for her entire life, and in a few months from the start of the book, they're to be married, to start a new pack.

I don't know where to begin with this one. It was one of those books that I stayed up until I literally couldn't keep my eyes open to read, and when I was done I just sort of stared at it, wondering why it had ended and why I didn't get to read more.

I love me some badass female characters, and Calla totally fit the bill. As an alpha wolf, she's tough, not afraid to tell people what she thinks, and a natural born leader. She's not afraid of a fight, and she goes after what she wants--even when what she wants goes against what she's always believed.

The plot is great. It's a good balance of these lovely emotional sections, and then breakneck speed action, and the wolf lore that we learn throughout the book is just so creative. The entire set up of the world is unique--I've never read anything quite like it--and I was so impressed.

It's a book about loyalty, and when loyalty crosses over into servitude, and knowing the difference. It's also a book about the strength of being a female in a man's world, because (you can probably guess) as a female wolf, that means Calla has to take a backseat to Ren once they're mated, and it grates on her as the mating approaches. Sometimes it made me so sad, because she felt replaced, and less important, and it just made me think. The best part about it all, though, was Shay--the boy Calla is not supposed to be attracted to--constantly questioning Calla's trust in the pack, and asking her why she submitted to something that told her she was secondary and subservient.

Ok, hopping off the feminist soap-box now. The book ends on this cliffhanger that just made my mind go round and round and round. When it comes out, BUY IT!

Book Review: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler is a story about an anorexic girl who becomes one of the four Horsemen of the apocalypse: Famine.


(click on the image to go to the Hunger Goodreads page.

I have to say, this book was brilliant. It mixed a fantasy element with the sensitive issue of anorexia and body dismorphic disorder. What I loved the most was Lisa, learning to use her powers as Famine to do good in the world instead of bad, and finally realizing she was strong enough.

Every character was three-dimensional, the plot moved along with a fast-pace, and the emotions felt organic and real. I think Kessler did such an elegant job weaving in the true horrors of being anorexic with the plotline, and the balance of seriousness but also hope, was perfect. The main character Lisa was compelling and believable, and easy to relate to. Her struggles were tangible, and from the first page I was rooting for her.

The world of the Horsemen was well-developed, but it rightfully took a backseat to the more pressing issues of the book. Death was a delightful character. I can't wait to see more of him in later books.

Literally the only complaint I had with this book was that I wished it was longer! But luckily, Kessler has 2 more books in the Horsemen of the Apocalypse series coming out next year and the year after (about War and Pestilence), and I freaking can't wait!

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p.s. Don't forget to enter my Dark Fantasy 100+ followers giveaway!

Apparently all my characters wish they were feline...

Every page, literally every page, in my manuscript, someone is hissing something.

They all think they're cats.

Help!

(Clearly I have my favorite words that I overuse. I really wish my firewall didn't block wordle (and I'm too stupid to know how to undo it) so that I could get some help in the repetition department. What words do you guys use constantly?)

Barry Lyga Rocks Day!

Today is the day that all those fantastic letters to awesome author Barry Lyga go up! I'll post a big list at the end of this entry, so you can go look at all of them if you want. And don't forget that our contest is still open today, so if you want to enter to win some truly fabulous books.

Anyway....

Dear Monsieur Lyga,

I very much enjoyed having the opportunity to meet you (and get a personalized ARC!) at ALA. I already thought you were awesome, because your books span several genres, and deal with some hard subjects but in a very unique and insightful way, but now I think you're especially fantastic. You told us about creating a graphic novel, you were willing to dispense knowledge about the publishing industry and about your writing process, you told us the story about how you got an agent, you went to dinner with us (hooray!) and you're just in general a very kind person.

Plus, where else can I start a conversation about bad grammar and NOT have people constantly leaning back with eyes glazed over? And what about all those different colored pens? That was hilarious, and now I'm tempted to bring a copy of each of your books when next I see you at a signing, so you're forced to whip out at least 5 of the colors.

I can't wait to see Archvillain on shelves, and for your graphic novel to come out! :)

Sincerely,

Alexandra/professional fangirl



Other participants (read them all!)

Sara McClung
Carolina Valdez Miller
Jenny Martin
Jonathon Arntson
Julie Musil
Karen Amanda Hooper
Kristen Yard
Niki
Shannon O'Donnell
Shannon Whitney Messenger
Simon Larter
Sydnee Thompson
Tiffany Neal
Tina Lynn Sandoval

Book Review: MATCHED by Ally Condie

At ALA this weekend, I was lucky enough to get an ARC of MATCHED by Ally Condie! Holy AWESOME!!! I've never had an ARC before, actually I've never even seen an ARC before (other than pictures) so this was like... omg I basically died. And to get one that's had so much buzz around it? Dear Penguin, you made me feel really special. I'm very likely to buy like all your books now. The best part is, I actually got to MEET Ally.



Don't worry, I'm not telling you all this to make you jealous. Because I will be having a contest (or three) to give away this ARC and the others that I was lucky enough to be able to get! So stay tuned, because I'm not hogging this baby. It's too good--one of you will have a chance to win it!

Anyway, on to my review.



MATCHED is a dystopian love story, in which everyone lives in the Society, where basically everything is accounted for. You're assigned your work position, your future husband or wife (called your Match), where you live, what you eat. All variables are taken care of. But something goes wrong with Cassia's match, and when she's supposed to be seeing one face on the screen, for a moment she sees two. After that, she has to choose between two boys, and between following the Society, or finally finding her own path.

The one hesitation I had when I read the back of this book was that I was afraid it would be a story about love making someone's rebellion possible. That is so far from the truth, I am happy to say! Instead of it being about love, it's about Cassia's growing feelings of discontentment making her romance with Ky (the accidental Match) possible. Each time Cassia examined the Society, each little thing that made her question something around her, all of those opened the doors for her to be able to love Ky. It was really great.

Cassia was a delightful main character. Her growth as a person was palpable, and it came across really well. I especially loved that her feelings of rebellion don't come from some angry or wounded place--they come from her observations, her questions, her grandfather, and poetry. And Ky teaches her things, too. They're able to learn from each other.

The cast of characters around Cassia are all really well written and three-dimensional, too. Even the ones that only show up in a couple of chapters had clear motivations. I don't want to give too much away, because I feel that naming several of these characters might lead to spoilers, but this isn't one of those novels where there are two dynamic leads and then a bunch of people only intended to make the leads look more dynamic. Each supporting character let you see a different part of the Society, one that perhaps we wouldn't be able to see through Cassia's eyes alone.

As far as worldbuilding went, I was very very pleased with MATCHED. I thought the world was really plausible as a potential future for a society like ours. I could completely see that after capitalism and people making selfish bad choices that affect everyone, not just ourselves, and ruining the environment and tearing out all the natural things on the planet, that everyone might find it a good idea to regulate society, so none of that happens again.

There's a slight literary taste to the writing style, which isn't surprising since on the back of the book it says Ally Condie used to be a high school English teacher.

I think fans of YA, both young and old, will enjoy this book a lot.

You can visit Ally Condie online at allysoncondie.com