Guest Post: Leila Sales (Author of Mostly Good Girls!)

Leila Sales, author of MOSTLY GOOD GIRLS, is at The Hiding Spot today to share some songs that inspired her as she wrote the novel... I have to say that I have a number of these songs on my iPod, so I can definitely see why she found them inspiring!

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A Brief Bio

Leila Sales grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2006. Now she lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works in the mostly glamorous world of children's book publishing. Leila spends most of her time thinking about sleeping, kittens, dance parties, and stories that she wants to write.

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Mostly Good Girls Annotated Playlist

I create playlists to go along with every aspect of my life, be it a dinner party or a roadtrip or a gay speed-dating event. (Yes, I do have an iTunes playlist named “gay speed dating.” There are some great tracks on there.) So obviously I made a playlist to accompany the publication of Mostly Good Girls. These songs aren’t about the plot of the book, but they are about the writing process, and about “achieving your dreams.” Achieving dreams is a v. important musical theme.

Here is my Mostly Good Girls annotated playlist, with youtube links to the songs:

1. “We Are Golden,” by Mika. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEhutIEUq8k&ob=av2e. It is so difficult for me to believe that this song wasn’t written about the experience of publishing your debut YA novel. Like, what else could it be about? (Also, not to give you a creepy amount of insight into my everyday life, but if you watch this music video, you’ll get a pretty accurate picture of how I dance around my bedroom. Though I tend to be wearing more clothes than Mika.)


2. “Dancing in the Dark,” by Bruce Springsteen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129kuDCQtHs&ob=av2e. “I’m sick of sitting ‘round here trying to write this book. I need a little reaction, c’mon baby give me just one look.”


3. “Time to Pretend,” by MGMT. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9dSYgd5Elk&ob=av2e. Sure, writing a book is overwhelming, but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute? (Okay, actually, I do that too, even if I am always half an hour late to the morning commute.)


4. “Teenage Kicks,” by the Undertones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVrP6JaPUv0. If I had to summarize what my characters are looking for, my answer, 85% of the time, would be “teenage kicks.”

5. “Come Back from San Francisco,” by the Magnetic Fields. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHjErzA2YAU. “Should pretty boys in discos distract you from your novel, remember I’m awful in love with you.” Sometimes instead of sitting alone at my desk, staring at my computer, I want to go out and do exciting things. Then I ask myself, “Leila! Should pretty boys in discos distract you from your novel?” And then usually I reply to myself, “Yes.”


6. “I Wanna Be Adored,” by the Stone Roses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D2qcbu26gs&ob=av2n. I have heard that some writers don’t care whether they’re adored or not. Maybe, like, J. D. Salinger didn’t care. But most of us would side with the Stone Roses on this one.

7. “Sound of Silver,” by LCD Soundsystem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx4oFRz8LOA. Another great song about being a teenager, or at least remembering being a teenager.


8. “Yes,” by LMFAO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXPT8sw_FjU. This is a ridiculous/genre-defining song about “seeing your dream.” LMFAO’s dreams are slightly different from mine—they are less focused on writing novels and more focused on naked models—but still. Dreams are dreams.

9. “Mo Money Mo Problem,” by the Notorious BIG. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twkh0YiInPM. I also listen to this song whenever I get a raise at work, make $60 babysitting, or find a five-dollar bill in my jeans pocket.


10. “The Jock Jams Megamix.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8bg_jxWFgA. For some reason, I find it necessary to get “pumped up” for writing, as though I’m about to run out onto a football field and score some touchdowns, whereas what I’m actually going to do is sit at my computer and eat chocolate chips. Either way, ladies and gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble!


11. “Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying,” by Belle and Sebastian. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS_DcqPkEYM. B&S has written a number of wonderful songs about writing and literature (some other examples are “Storytelling” and “Wrapped up in Books”). This song is one of their best. “Said the hero in the story / It is mightier than swords / I could kill you, sure / But I could only make you cry with these words.”


Do you have a writing mix, too? And, if so, what songs are on it?

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For more information about MOSTLY GOOD GIRLS and Leila, go HERE.

 



T2T Blog Tour: Review: The Tear Collector by Patrick Jones

Title: The Tear Collector
Author: Patrick Jones
Publisher: Walker
Pub. Date: Sept. 2009
Genre: YA
Main Themes: Supernatural, Love, Family, Emotion
Pages: 263
Plot (from book jacket):
"Between hookups, makeups, and breakups, there isn't a day at Lapeer High School without drama turning to trauma turning to tears.
And tears are just as essential as air for Cassandra Gray. She and her family are vampires who thirst for human sorrow, and the energy that they soak in from a good crying jag can keep them fueled up for days.
Anytime a friend needs a shoulder to cry on, Cass is there. Anytime a boyfriend gets too secure, she breaks his heart.
Cass's work as a school peer counselor and hospital volunteer also provides the perfect cover and access o her family's energy source. But she is getting tired of all the lies and manipulation - especially now that she's actually fallen in love with a human. Can she bear to betray her family for a chance at happiness and a life lived with joy?"

I really liked the idea of The Tear Collector. When I read that the main character was a girl who basically lived off human tears, I was intrigued. While I felt that the idea of the book was well conceived, I didn't think the novel was very well executed.

One aspect that I felt was a major negative of The Tear Collector was the characters. I think this is the aspect that caused the most distraction for me. I didn't feel like the dialogue between characters was well written and I didn't feel like the characters were fully developed or believable.

The romantic aspect of the novel was very disappointing to me. I thought the love story would be greater, more epic, than it was. I felt like Cassandra didn't really do much to deserve any of the devotion that she received - her character was too flat for me to feel any attachment to her and I didn't see how any guy would be attached to her either. Her only quality that I could imagine her using to attract a guy would be her tendency to have sex with guys. I liked the idea of a guy finally seeing more to her than just what she could do for him physically, but I don't think that she ever really showed that other side.

I did think that the premise for The Tear Collector was a really unique and original idea. That was the one redeeming quality, it is unfortunate that I didn't enjoy the other main part of this book: the romance.

Ratings (Out of 10):
Plot: 8
Characters: 4
Writing style: 4
Romance: 4
Originality: 10
Total: 30/50 (D-)

The Tear Collector wasn't a book that I particularly enjoyed, but my sister read it as well and liked it. I recommend reading some other reviews before deciding whether to pick it up youself. More reviews will be circulating as the Traveling to Teens blog tour for The Tear Collector continues!