Interview: Marissa Moss - Mira's Diary: Home Sweet Rome

Author Marissa Moss is here at The Hiding Spot to answer a few questions about herself and her newest novel, Mira's Diary: Home Sweet Rome! I'm relatively new to the world of Mira and her time-travelling mother, but I remember reading her Amelia books (Amelia's Notebook) and loving the illustrations littered throughout the novels and the unique format! The Mira books continue this format and add a fun twist to history!

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The Interview

Did you have trouble writing any of your characters or specific scenes within the novel? Or, were any characters or scenes particularly easy to write?

The scenes with Giordano Bruno were tricky because he was such a brilliant thinker and I wanted to give some sense of his genius while still engaging the reader.  I think he's someone who should be as famous as Galileo.  He was a fascinating blend of physicist, philosopher, writer, mathematician and social thinker, a true Renaissance man, like Leonardo da Vinci.

Has the title changed or stayed relatively the same as your novel journeyed towards publication?

The title started out as Arrivaderci, Roma, then Ciao, Bella, and ended up as Home Sweet Rome.  I think titles are sometimes the hardest part of writing a book!

What book or author has most influenced you as a writer or in general?

I don't think there's any one book, but I'm influenced by a broad range of writers, from Roald Dahl to Karen Cushman to Sharon Creech to Sharon Draper.  I have a lot of writer heroes.

What jobs did you have on your way to becoming a writer/published author? Is there a certain work experience that has shaped your writing?

I waited tables for a looooooong time while trying to make it as a writer, an experience that didn't benefit writing, but didn't take away from it, either.  I also worked for a couple of years teaching art to elementary school kids, and although that was a lot more fun, it drew on the same creative energy that writing does, so was much harder to do while trying to break into publishing.

If you had to pick a favorite word, what would it be and why?

One word only when the English language is so incredibly rich?  If I have to pick one word to sum up my writing career, it would be "determination," because that's what it took, a lot of determination.

My blog is dedicated to my personal hiding spot, books. Who, what, or where can be credited as your personal escape from reality?

I'm not sure I'd say books are my escape from reality -- to me, they're another reality, equally valid and as compelling as the one we live in.  As a writer, telling stories is definitely my refuge.

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Find out more about Marissa and her books here!

   

     
   

 
 
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Interview: Jessica Verdi - My Life After Now

Author Jessica Verdi is here at The Hiding Spot to answer a few questions about herself and her debut novel, My Life After Now! Read on to find out more about the challenges of writing this story about HIV-positive Lucy and the search for the perfect title!

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The Interview

Did you have trouble writing any of your characters or specific scenes within the novel? Or, were any characters or scenes particularly easy to write?

The hardest scenes to write were the dark, sad, heavily emotional ones – maybe because I’m a generally optimistic person, and it was sometimes tricky to get into that headspace. The scene where Lucy first gets her HIV-positive diagnosis was particularly challenging, because she goes through about a zillion emotions, but I didn’t want the narrative to sound like it was rambling. And one of the emotions she hits on is a feeling of extreme bleakness, which I knew I needed to portray in a way that was appropriately bleak but not flat or boring.Overall, though, the plot of the story came to me pretty easily – way more easily than any of my subsequent projects. Once I knew who my character was, I knew what her journey was supposed to be.

Has the title changed or stayed relatively the same as your novel journeyed towards publication?

The title was actually originally On the Plus Side, but my editor felt strongly (and rightfully so) that it called pregnancy to mind, which this book is obviously not about. Since I am terrible at coming up with titles, I left the renaming in the hands of my capable editorial team, and I love what they came up with. The title My Life After Now really leaves you asking that question of, after so much goes wrong, what now? I think it’s perfect for the book.

What book or author has most influenced you as a writer or in general?

Ned Vizzini (author of It’s Kind of a Funny Story) is an idol of mine. He does so effortlessly and flawlessly what I aim to do in my own work – he tells real stories about serious, edgy issues, but infuses them with lightness and humor.I also absolutely adore Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I think that’s pretty much a perfect book.I also have to thank Stephanie Meyer. Even though I don’t write about vampires, or fantasy at all really (at least not yet), the fact that she had never written a novel before Twilight and was relatively inexperienced yet still found a place in the literary world was very inspiring to me. I only started writing a few years ago, but knowing that there were people out there who hadn’t been writing their whole lives and who hadn’t gone to school for creative writing yet had still found success really helped me to believe that maybe, just maybe, I could do it too.

What jobs did you have on your way to becoming a writer/published author? Is there a certain work experience that has shaped your writing?

It took me a while to figure out that writing was what I really wanted to be doing, so I’ve had many different jobs over the years. I was an actor for ten years, auditioning in New York and every once in a while getting cast in plays and musicals. I’ve also been a bartender, a New York City tour guide, a dog groomer, a landmarks preservationist, and a theater ticket seller. My years as a performer definitely helped me write My Life After Now, because my main character, Lucy, is an actor and the star of her high school drama club. Because I know so much about that world, it really helped me create the theatrical setting of the book.

If you had to pick a favorite word, what would it be and why?

I love the word “wonderful.” It’s just so… wonderful, haha. It immediately brings to mind joy and awe and happiness and fun and beauty. I think people don’t use it enough.

My blog is dedicated to my personal hiding spot, books. Who, what, or where can be credited as your personal escape from reality?

Books for sure. I have a few go-to books that I’ve read a hundred thousand times but that always make me feel better during a down day. Sophie Kinsella’s Remember Me? is one of them. I also love film and television, so when I need to escape from reality I’ll put on The Vampire Diaries or Gilmore Girls or the Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice. Those are some wonderful (see, there’s that word again!) worlds to get lost in for a little while.

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Find out more about Jessica and her books here!

   

     
   
 
 
 

Review: The Aviary by Kathleen O'Dell

Twelve-year-old Clara Dooley has spent her whole life in the Glendoveer mansion, where her mother is a servant to the kind and elderly matron of the house. Clara has never known another home. In fact, she's confined to the grand estate due to a mysterious heart condition. But it's a comfortable life, and if it weren't for the creepy squawking birds in the aviary out back, a completely peaceful one too. 

But once old Mrs. Glendoveer passes away, Clara comes to learn many dark secrets about the family. The Glendoveers suffered a horrific tragedy: their children were kidnapped, then drowned. And their father George Glendoveer, a famous magician and illusionist, stood accused until his death. As Clara digs deeper and deeper into the terrifying events, the five birds in the aviary seem to be trying to tell her something. And Clara comes to wonder: what is their true identity? Clara sets out to solve a decades-old murder mystery—and in doing so, unlocks a secret in her own life, too. Kathleen O'Dell deftly weaves magic, secret identities, evil villians, unlikely heroes, and the wonder of friendship into a mystery adventure with all the charm of an old fashioned classic.

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Every time I stumble across a book like Kathleen O'Dell's The Aviary, I'm amazed that more readers - of all ages - don't read middle grade. The Aviary is very Gothic in setting and tone and simultaneously bursting with colorful characters, a unique combination. There are secrets and magic, plus a good dose of realism and a lesson or two as well. It actually reminded me a bit of Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

The main character, Clara, is a delightful character: headstrong, adventurous, and incurably curious.  I would have enjoyed The Aviary based solely on the premise and setting, but Clara made me love it. Her curiosity was engaging and infectious, ensuring that the reader was never plagued by a dull moment or stale passage, simply because Clara herself was always plotting her next move and going off on some adventure.

Since The Aviary is in many respects a mystery, there are many great elements I feel I can't really comment on in much depth. I can, however, say that every detail in The Aviary comes together quite elegantly and I was left completely satisfied by the ending. I spent much of the novel hypothesizing about how everything fit together... I liked that the mystery wasn't ridiculously easy to solve, but all the pieces of the puzzle were there, waiting to be put together by the reader and the intrepid Clara.

The Aviary is one of wonderful titles that can be enjoyed by a wide variety of readers. It is, plain and simple, a wonderfully written and imagined novel and didn't feel at all confined to one specific reading level. It could easily be a read for the whole family and will appeal to those who usually read young adult or adult titles.

Knopf Books for Young Readers, September 2011, Hardcover, ISBN:  9780375856051, 337 pages.

Review: Dualed by Elsie Chapman

You or your Alt? Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

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Elsie Chapman's debut Dualed is one of the best dystopian novels I've read since The Hunger Games and Divergent. For me, it was the action, philosophical elements, and strong female heroine of Dualed that put it in the same league as these successful predecessors. In addition to these elements, Chapman offers readers an entirely new world and society to explore... and attempt to comprehend. 

In West Grayer's world, every individual has an Alt: a genetic twin. Each twin in raised separately and grows up training to face the other in a fight to the death. Neither knows when they will be pitted against the other or what skills the other might bring to the table. In this forced showdown meant to simulate a "survival of the fittest" scenario, it isn't always clear who should be considered the "fittest." 

I loved the questions raised by Dualed. It could easily be assumed that the reader would want West to win against her Alt, but things aren't so clearly black and white.West's Alt is very much like and very much unlike her, meaning she's still just a girl. It's difficult for the reader to determine if she has any villainous traits that would help guarantee that West is definitely the one who should survive between the two. There is a scene in which West eavesdrops on her Alt's parents, and they appear to be completely normal people who don't deserve to lose their daughter. With these types of portrayals and scenes, it's hard to pick a side while West and her Alt battle to survive.

Another interesting element of the plot is West's involvement with a group of organized criminals who oppose the government. West becomes an hired assassin, available to kill an Alt at a price for an individual for an Alt who feels unable to do it themselves. Highly illegal and dangerous, West and the group's actions called further attention to the idea of which individuals are the "fittest" and most deserving of a future. The government clearly finds physical strength and ability (and any other talents that make for good soldiers and fighters) to be the most desirable and "fit," while having no use for more intellectual or creative skills. In essence, the government is for the death and eventual extermination of those who possess undesirable and unnecessary talents. This is an completely terrifying idea - imagine a world filled only with individuals who possess one type of talent. What a boring and, ultimately, ill-equipped world.

Dualed is a fantastic debut that will truly make the reader consider the importance of diversity while entertaining with a fast pace and strong protagonist.

Random House for Young Readers, February 2013, Hardcover, ISBN:  9780307931542, 304 pages.

Review: Also Known As by Robin Benway

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.
Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

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I have so much respect for every one of Robin Benway's novels. Each one has a totally unique premise and main character, but they're all somehow easy to relate to and more fun than the last. 

The protagonist in Also Known As, Maggie, reminds me of a younger version of Stella, Charlize Theron's character, from the movie The Italian Job, which is one of my absolute favorites. Maggie is a teenaged safecracker who travels the world with her parents and she's the best at what she does. What Maggie isn't so good at is being a "normal" 16-year old girl, which is a key element of her newest mission: Jesse Oliver. 

It's Maggie's job to gain Jesse's trust in order to find out information about his father and gain access to the safe in their home. As one might imagine, things don't go exactly as planned. Maggie quickly learns there's a lot more to Jesse than she first assumed... and he's more than a little interested in her as well.

While I loved Maggie, her friends, Angelo and Roux, often came close to upstaging her. Both were such interesting characters that I found myself wishing Benway would tell more about them. Angelo is a friend of Maggie's family who also works for the same organization, but as a forger. He gives exceptionally good advice and has wonderful fashion sense. Roux is a strong individual who fully admits to creating her downfall from the popular crowd, but she never loses sight of who she is. I would love to see a future book about Roux, which some involvement from Angelo of course, since the two characters really seemed to be bonding by the end of Also Known As.

While Also Known As isn't a terribly complicated thriller and mystery, as it focuses much more on the characters and their relationships than the actual mystery (I can't actually remember exactly what Maggie is hoping to find when she picks the safe in the Oliver house), it still kept me guessing. I was never completely sure who Maggie could or should trust.

For me, Benway's newest offering is in the same vein as Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls and Heist Society books, but perhaps for a slightly older audience. I have a soft spot for Carter's books and, while Also Known As has definitely similarities, both authors successfully bring something unique to the premise. I highly recommend Also Known As and am sincerely hoping for a sequel!

Bloomsbury Juvenile, February 2013, Hardcover, ISBN:  9780802733900, 320 pages.

Giveaway: Notes from Ghost Town and The Butterfly Clues

I've got finished copies of Kate Ellison's Notes from Ghost Town and The Butterfly Clues to give away to a lucky winner at The Hiding Spot. Find out more about Notes from Ghost Town below and enter for your chance to win!

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About the Book

They say first love never dies...
From critically acclaimed author Kate Ellison comes a heartbreaking mystery of mental illness, unspoken love, and murder. When sixteen-year-old artist Olivia Tithe is visited by the ghost of her first love, Lucas Stern, it’s only through scattered images and notes left behind that she can unravel the mystery of his death. 
There’s a catch: Olivia has gone colorblind, and there’s a good chance she’s losing her mind completely—just like her mother did. How else to explain seeing (and falling in love all over again with) someone who isn’t really there?
With the murder trial looming just nine days away, Olivia must follow her heart to the truth, no matter how painful. It’s the only way she can save herself.

About the Author 

Kate Ellison spent a lot of time as a child, in Baltimore, pretending to be things she wasn't: a twin, a telekinetic, a benevolent witch with a box full of magical stones, a spy, a soccer player. She trained as an actor in Chicago and has walked across the entire country of Spain. She is a painter and jewelry-maker, and has at least one artist friend who really does keep his true name a secret from the world. He told her, but don't ask her to tell you—she's not gonna do it. Kate lives in Brooklyn, New York. The Butterfly Clues is her first novel. Find out more about Kate here!

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Review: Blaze (Or Love In the Time of Supervillains) by Laurie Boyle Crompton

Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She's desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark's feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her "sext" photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now...

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I picked up Blaze (Or Love in the Time of Supervillains) because I loved the title and concept. While I felt that there were some definite rough parts of Crompton's debut, I can't say it wasn't unique.

My favorite aspect of the novel is the close relationship between Blaze and little brother (and only sibling). The two are extremely close and, though he's younger, Blaze's brother is very protective of her. Their relationship felt realistic and reminded me of my own relationship with my little brother. 

Blaze's insistence that her crush, Mark, is actually a good guy and that he is genuinely interested in her felt realistic most of the time, but sometime it pushed into less unbelievable territory. Still, I have to consider the fact that, after an individual has convinced themselves of certain things, it can be hard to change perception or admit being mistaken. So I think this played into Blaze's letting things go so far with Mark (or Sleazeball as I like to call him). 

Throughout the novel, Blaze alternates between embracing her role as "soccer mom," driving her little brother and his friends to soccer and whatnot, and being very bitter towards her adopted role and her single mother who works long hours at the hospital. Blaze romanticizes her absent father, who left the family years before to pursue an acting career in New York City, and often paints him as the hero to her mother's villainy. I know that this may be a typical adolescent point-of-view and reaction to the situation at hand, but, after Blaze realized her father wasn't all she had made him into, I would have really liked to see her apologize to her mother! Or have some type of moment with her. 

I also found the "guy" humor in the novel to be a bit jarring. I don't consider myself a prude or anything, and I know that teenage boys are smelly and whatnot, but discussion of those smells and all that has never been very amusing to me and for some reason, still doesn't seem like something people should talk about aloud. It doesn't offend me or anything, I just avoid it, but it's unavoidable in Blaze. Maybe I'm just weird and nobody else would be thrown off by this, but it was kind of distracting for me.

In comparison, I loved the comic book elements and talk Blaze often slips in and out of or makes reference to. The illustrations within the text are all amazing and were a positive addition to the text. They definitely allowed me to connect more closely with Blaze, who I was feeling some distance to because of the previously mentioned "guy" humor.

Lastly, at the end of the book, Blaze's brother and his friends decide to slash Mark's tires. WHAT!? Again, maybe it's just me, but this did not seem like acceptable retaliation or like something Blaze should congratulate them on doing... Maybe this is something kids do these days? As someone who had to replace a tire this week (not even all four tires) and who wanted to cry as I paid the bill, I couldn't help but feel this was over the top and unnecessarily cruel because, in the end, Sleazeball's parents are going to pay that bill. Plus, helloooo, destroying property is not cool. 

Overall, Blaze (Or Love in the Time of Supervillains) was pretty good, but there were some negative aspects that definitely detracted from my enjoyment. I do, however, think my issues were entirely personal in nature and the next person to pick up the novel may not be fazed at all! Unless you really connected with something in my review that you think you'd find distracting, I recommend giving this debut a try! Don't forget to check out my interview with the author, Laurie Boyle Crompton, here!

Sourcebooks Fire, February 2013, Paperback, ISBN: 9781402273438, 309 pages.

Feminist Reads Challenge February Updates, Reviews, and Giveaway

I hope everyone had a wonderful February! 

In the January Update post, I mentioned having a hashtag (#feministreadschallenge) for when participants want to tweet reviews, comments, etc about the challenge, but I haven't noticed very many people (myself included!) using it. Instead, I've set up a Twitter account for the challenge: @femchallenge. Hopefully this will be a bit more user friendly, as pertinent tweets will simply show up in your feed for you to follow links or retweet! :)

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The winner of the January giveaway (for a copy of Megan Shepard's The Madman's Daughter) was Riedel Fascination! Please send your mailing information to thehidingspotATliveDOTcom to claim your prize!

This month's giveaway is for a finished copy of Elsie Chapman's Dualed! This debut was one of my February Feminist Reads. I loved the driven main character, West, who'll go to any length to survive the crazy world in which she's grown up.

About the Book:

Click image to add on Goodreads.

You or your Alt? Only one will survive. 

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life. 

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her. 

Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

To be eligible to win, all you have to do is leave me a link on the Mr. Linky to one of these two things: 

1. Your review of a book you've read for the Feminist Reads Challenge. The review can be posted on your blog, Goodreads, or wherever. (If you've written more than one reviews, link each separately and you'll get an entry for each!)

1. If you aren't a blogger, or are super busy like me and haven't don't always have time to write reviews in a timely manner, you can leave a link to a tweet, Goodreads status, or something in which you talk about and promote whatever you've been reading/have read for the challenge or promote the challenge. If you're tweeting, don't forget to use @FemChallenge!

For a bonus entry leave a comment on this post talking more about what you've read, plan to read, have read and are considering rereading, like about the challenge, dislike about the challenge, suggestions etc, etc. Comments brighten my day! (I'll add in these entries later before I pick a winner!)

If you want to win this book, but haven't signed up for the challenge, NEVER FEAR! There's still plenty of time to sign up... the year is young! Go here for more information regarding the challenge!

Link away, my fellow feminists!

Giveaway: Nobody and Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I've got finished copies of Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Nobody and Every Other Day to give away to a lucky winner at The Hiding Spot. Find out more about Nobody below and enter for your chance to win!

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About the Book
There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away. 

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.
The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.
Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them.

Check out Jen's website and this video, in which she discusses Every Other Day:




About the Author 

Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been, in turn, a competitive cheerleader, a volleyball player, a dancer, a debutante, a primate cognition researcher, a teen model, a comic book geek, and a lemur aficionado. She's been writing for as long as she can remember, finished her first full book (which she now refers to as a "practice book" and which none of you will ever see) when she was still in high school, and then wrote Golden the summer after her freshman year in college, when she was nineteen. 

Jen graduated high school in 2002, and from Yale University with a degree in cognitive science (the study of the brain and thought) in May of 2006. She'll be spending the 2006-2007 school year abroad, doing autism research at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

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Interview: Laurie Boyle Crompton - Blaze (Or Love in the Time of Supervillains)

I'm thrilled to welcome Laurie Boyle Crompton to The Hiding Spot to talk a little bit about her new book, Blaze (Or Love in the Time of Supervillains)! Keep reading to learn more about Laurie's entertaining debut and check out my review, here!

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The Interview

Did you have trouble writing any of your characters or specific scenes within the novel? Or, were any characters or scenes particularly easy to write? 

In the book Blaze makes some really bad decisions and it was difficult to allow her to make those choices. It was completely true to her character and it’s not an author’s job to protect their characters from themselves, but it was really hard to let her fall. Especially the scene when she is on the date in her van with Mark. I wanted to yell at her to run away through the cornfield! On the other hand, the scenes with the cretins were especially fun to write and flowed easily.

Has the title changed or stayed relatively the same as your novel journeyed towards publication?

I originally submitted the book under the title Fangirl and her Subatomic Sweatmobile of Doom. This was initially shortened to just Fangirl and Sourcebooks designed a cover with that title and a girl’s face wearing a superhero mask. That image was released online and posted on Amazon for a few months before a decision was made to completely rework the book so that people who weren't superhero fans would give it a chance, too. I absolutely loved that original cover, but I had been careful to make the book accessible to those who aren't necessarily comic geeks and agreed it would be a shame if others wouldn't give it a chance based on the cover. Along with the cover redesign they played around with a number of titles and finally settled on Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains). I couldn't be happier with the way everything worked out and am glad I trusted the Sourcebooks team to come up with an even better cover and title for the book.

What book or author has most influenced you as a writer or in general? 

I read Anne Lamot’s book on writing titled Bird by Bird many years ago and it really gave me a good perspective on how to approach writing and publishing. It also has some great life lessons in there and is a book I highly recommend. Also, I was a huge fan of Stephen King back in high school and when he wrote a book titled On Writing I absolutely devoured it. So much great insight and wisdom from both of these authors! I rarely re-read books, but have gone back to each of these numerous times.

What jobs did you have on your way to becoming a writer/published author? Is there a certain work experience that has shaped your writing? 

I've done everything from waiting on tables to teaching high school English at an all-boy’s school. I think waitressing did the most for me as far as motivation is concerned. That is one tough job! On your feet all day for little pay and going home smelling like burritos. Just awful. That was what convinced me to get my butt back to college. It was also great for observing all sorts of people and gathering information for my novels. Waitresses meet all sorts of characters and then in the end they get to see how different people tip. The customers who give you a hard time, but then are generous with a tip are interesting in a way that friendly and generous ones or mean and stingy ones aren't I've also written for various trade magazines which taught me about editing and deadlines and writing, but I’d recommend waitressing if you really want to give a writing career a kick in the butt.

If you had to pick a favorite word, what would it be and why? 

The word “Offer” because that is what was in the subject line of the email I got telling me I sold my first book. After years of skimming rejection letters for the word “Unfortunately” it was such sweet victory!

My blog is dedicated to my personal hiding spot, books. Who, what, or where can be credited as your personal escape from reality? 

We have a rustic trailer across from a farm upstate in New Paltz, NY which is where I spend every spare moment I can. Sometimes reality and work follow us up there so it’s not a total escape, but it is far preferable to the noise and busyness of Long Island.

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Find out more about Laurie and her books here!