However you and yours celebrate the Holiday Season, we hope you have a good book to keep you company!
Will be back to announcing authors on
Monday, December 30th.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
Local Favorite, Belle Whittington returns for MCBF 2014!
Welcome Back Belle Whittington!
Belle resides somewhere north of Houston, Texas in a small
inconsequential town with the smallest most inconsequential name. There in the
shady reaches of the pines, elms, and oaks, she daydreams of adventures and
secrets that she weaves throughout her stories.
She studied literature at University of Houston and is quite sure that
she has the best readers and fans in the whole wide world.
Visit Belle on the web at:
Website: http://www.bellewhittington.com/
Authorgraph (for free e-book autographs)
The Charming Belle did a quick interview with us. Read what she said here:
At what age did you start writing?
I suppose the first part of my answer
would be a question: define “writing.” To me, writing is more than just
scrawling words across the page. To me, writing begins in the daydreaming
… the listening to the characters whisper their story into your imagination.
I have been daydreaming stories for as
long as I can remember. My first recollection of wanting to be a writer
was when I was in the second grade, and my teacher, Mrs. Rambin, would have us
lay our heads on our desks after lunch while she read us stories full of magic
and imagination.
Most of my early writings were stories
with a twist of science fiction…even my earliest poems. I remember
sitting on the dam of a neighbor’s pond around the time I was eleven, writing a
story about space travel. In fact, I still have that little handwritten
story. It’s still bound in the same yellow notebook that I put it in way
back in the sixth grade!
Growing up in Nacogdoches, the oldest
town in Texas, afforded me summers full of adventure with my friends. I
call on those adventures and memories a great deal for my YA stories.
Cicada has a lot of the energy of those childhood adventures spun
throughout. One of them is something that actually happened to me when I
was thirteen years old. I was on one of my adventures in the woods with
my dog, Dusty. We made our way through the woods to a neighboring pasture
and crawled through the barbed wire fence.
When we got to the top of one of the
rolling hills in the grassy field, I realized I was standing in the middle of a
giant circle imprinted in the pasture grass. No one had ever told me
about crop circles at that time in my life, so I just thought it was an odd
occurrence that there was a strange circle in the tall grass. Now
that circle is forever memorialized in my YA/NA crossover CICADA trilogy
Patty
Campbell talks about the germ for a piece of writing being like the sand in the
oyster. What is your grain of sand? Do you begin with character or
setting or something else?
My stories are character-driven.
My characters actually step through a portal into my imagination one at a
time and introduce themselves to me. Readers may be surprised to know that
the first character I met in CICADA wasn’t the main character. It was
Everett. He, of course, ends up being the bravest and least apprehensive
of all the characters in these books, and sometimes I think that’s why he’s the
favorite character for most of my readers.
Being an avid daydreamer is what creates
the fertile soil for that seed to germinate. People-watching helps create
a vast encyclopedia of character traits. Daydreaming about things
happening at interesting places and locations builds a rich library for
settings.
For me, it all starts with that one
daydream with that one character. After that, the floodgates open and I’m
swept away!
Do you outline before you write or just
dive in?
The first character who introduces
himself/herself to me also tells me the beginning and ending of the story.
As I meet each of the other characters, they share with me some important
stops they wish to make along their journey.
I’m a character-driven plotter, I guess!
Why do you write for Young Adults?
I write
Young Adult fiction, because I get a chance to re-live my youth knowing all I
know now.
Who is
your favorite character you have written or read about?
My answer is going to reveal the depth
of my nerdiness. Brace yourselves. My favorite character I’ve have
ever read is Beowulf. He is the true hero in every sense of the word.
One must not confuse the real story of Beowulf with the warped ones in
the movies, though.
What is
one thing you would like your readers to know about you?
I love my readers and fans with a
passion.
In high school, where did you fall? (Prom
Queen/King, Gamer Geek, Brainy/Book Nerd, Jock, Shy/Quiet Scholar, Skate Rat,
Stoner, Class Clown, etc.)
I was the shy/quiet daydreamer who
always had a notebook and pen, writing away at science fiction stories or
poems.
Do you
have a pet (pets)? Tell us about it (them) and how they help/hinder your
writing.
Yes! If you follow me on Facebook,
then you’ve seen pictures of my doggie. Her name is Sascha Marie.
She’s a four-year-old Lancashire Heeler, which is a rare breed in the US.
But we didn’t purchase her. She’s a rescue. 
She’d been purchased from a breeder
somewhere up north by someone in Houston. He’d decided he didn’t want her
as a puppy and dumped her at the local animal shelter when she was four months
old. Apparently, she’d been herding his children around like a little
flock of sheep! After a little research, I was able to locate a breeder
of Lancashire Heelers who helped me track down my fur baby’s history.
But the only history that matters is
that she’s a part of our family, and on days that she’s at the vet or groomer,
our house is very quiet and lonely. She is, indeed, the heart of our
home.
I’d like to say that Sascha Marie helps me
with my writing, but that wouldn’t be a true statement. This furry little
whirlwind likes to interrupt me with demands for snacks, snuggles, or potty
breaks. Sometimes, she’s just nosey and wants to go outside to see what’s
going on with the neighbors. But even though she likes to interrupt and
herd me around, I can’t imagine my home without her in it.
What books or authors have
most influenced your writing most?
Every single book and author I’ve ever
read has influenced my writing in some small way. If I had to list
authors who’ve had the biggest impact on my love of words, I would list William
Shakespeare and Robert Frost. Yes. I’m a nerd.
Which famous
person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?
I would love to meet the guy who was my
childhood hero: Lech Walesa. In my high school years, during the 1980s, I
would rush home after school and turn on the news to see what other
extraordinary things he’d done that day for his people in Poland. He is a
great man who fought for the rights of his people. He sacrificed much,
even his own peace and well-being, so that his country could be free from
Communist oppression.
Wanna see some of his quotes? You
can read them here: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/l/lech_walesa.html
I warned you about my extreme nerdiness,
right?
It’s the
dawn of the zombie apocalypse, what 3 things are a must to take with you when
you flee your home for refuge from the undead hordes??
Assuming “things”
are inanimate objects aside from my doggie and family members, I would choose
these three things to take with me:
- My copy
of “How to Survive the Zombie Outbreak” book
- A bag
full of canned food from my kitchen cabinets
- A box of matches
Don't miss the opportunity to meet Belle at the
held at Lone Star College - Montgomery
on February 15th.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Victoria Scott is BACK for MCBF 2014!!
Victoria Scott writes teen
fiction and is represented by Sarah Crowe. She’s the author of the Fire & Flood series published by
Scholastic, and the Dante Walker trilogy
published by Entangled Teen. Her books have been bought and translated in nine
foreign markets including the UK, Germany, Turkey, Poland, Australia, China,
Brazil, New Zealand, and The Netherlands. Victoria lives in Dallas with her
husband and adores cotton candy. Visit her online at VictoriaScottYA.com.
The ADORABLE Victoria recently answered a few interview questions for us. Read her answers here!
Do you outline before you write, or just dive in?
I outline
more and more with each book. The one book I didn't get published was the only
one I didn't outline. Go figure. As I read and study process, I realize there
really are crucial parts of the story you miss without outlining. For me,
anyway.
In high
school, where did you fall? (Prom Queen/King, Gamer Geek, Brainy/Book Nerd,
Jock, Shy/Quiet Scholar, Skate Rat, Stoner, Class Clown, etc.)
I was a
cheerleader who dreamed of being a goth girl. We always want what we don't
have, I suppose.
Do
you have a pet (pets)? Tell us about it (them) and how they help/hinder
your writing.
Yes. My cat
has the most ridiculous face, ever. If I even look at him while I'm writing, I
start laughing. Works well for those humorous scenes.
Patty
Campbell talks about the germ for a piece of writing being like the sand in the
oyster. What is your grain of sand? Do you begin with character or
setting or something else?
For me, it's
a bad situation. And it usually involves a lot of darkness. Potential for
conflict = good fodder for writing.
If you didn't get to meet Victoria last year,
don't miss your chance on February 15th at the
held at Lone Star College - Montgomery.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Welcome Back Joy Preble to MCBF 2014
Welcome Back to MCBF, Joy Preble!
Joy
Preble is Texas girl who was born and raised in Chicago and a former high
school teacher who now writes full time, which means she gets paid for making
up stuff. Joy’s THE SWEET DEAD LIFE series (THE SWEET DEAD LIFE and the
forthcoming THE A WORD (May 2014), both from Soho Press) is part of the new
Soho Teen imprint. Kirkus hailed THE SWEET DEAD LIFE with “Hallelujah! A
paranormal tale of angels…that breaks the mold.” She is also the author the
DREAMING ANASTASIA series (Sourcebooks) that combines paranormal romance with
Russian folklore. DREAMING ANASTASIA was nominated for a Cybil Award in the
Teen Sci-Fi/Fantasy Category in 2009. It was named a Best Book for Children,
Teen Category in 2009, and was featured in Justine Magazine. Joy also has a
contemporary mystery/romance on the way: FINDING PARIS will be out in Spring,
2015 from Balzer and Bray/Harper Collins When she’s not writing, you can find
Joy eating guacamole and unsuccessfully battling her Bravo channel addiction.
Joy took a few minutes to do an interview with us. Read what she said here:
I
used to just start writing when a character or idea came to me. But now I am an
outliner, although a rather loose-ish, bullet-point type outline. Partly this
is because I tend to write stories with mystery elements and you really do have
to know where you're going. Partly this is because I need to see if there's
actually a story under there to work with. Writers -- or least this one-- tend
to have these brilliant-sounding ideas pop into our heads, but sometimes there
really isn't enough to the premise. Like I might think, hey! I'm going to
re-imagine Goldilocks and the The Three Bears as a YA novel! And then I
realize, hmmm… not so much plot here. (Although now that I think about it,
maybe it could be a NA novel… okay, no.) And I also outline because my editor
at Soho Press wants to see one for each project. That's the thing when they pay
you for books-- you do what you're told, particularly because it helps develop
a collaborative partnership and allows us to create better books. Honestly, I
can't imagine NOT outlining anymore.
I
write for young adults because that is the age where everything is new and
fresh and emotional. First loves, first losses, first taste of independence…
these things happen earlier and later, but there is just something about 14-17
and the intensity of what we feel that is often diluted as we get older and our
responsibilities grow greater. You know lately I've been joking that I must
have a huge amount of issues to work out still from when I was 14 because Jenna
Samuels, my protagonist in THE SWEET DEAD LIFE series, has been my easiest and
favorite character to write so far! Think about it: when you're fourteen,
you're starting high school and it's a hugely important time in your life so
far, but you are totally powerless about so much, including driving a car. I
think it's been easy and fun to tap back into that angst!
In
junior high, I wrote Star Trek fan fiction, often focusing on getting Mr. Spock
a love life. Yes, J.J. Abrams, I thought of it first! Also in high school, I
dated the first marching band chair bassoon player. Amazingly, I emerged
unscathed from this.
Do you have a pet (pets)? Tell
us about it (them) and how they help/hinder your writing.
We
have a boxer/basset mix named Lyla. We rescued her 2 years ago and now she is
queen of the house, which she totally deserves since whoever had originally had
her had just kicked her out onto the street! She is VERY long and very funny
and very verbal and is also the first dog I have ever had! When I write, she
lays next to me in whatever patch of sunshine is available. Often she
snores--loudly. Occasionally she heaves a huge sigh, as if to say, "Oh!
I'm here where it's warm and happy and there is kibble in my bowl."
What books or authors have most
influenced your writing most?
Everything
I read influences me in some way or another, but a few that come to mind right
now are: Sarah Dessen, Libba Bray, Maggie Stiefvater, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
It’s
the dawn of the zombie apocalypse, what 3 things are a must to take with you
when you flee your home for refuge from the undead hordes??
Zombieland,
the movie, because it has the survival rules mapped out. (Double tap! Check the
back seat! Cardio!)
Antiobiotics
and water purifier because I read Ilsa Bick's ASHES series and I know I'll need
some.
At
least 3 weaker, slower friends.
Meet Joy as she joins us again at the
on February 15th at Lone Star College - Montgomery.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Introducing Stasia Ward Kehoe to the 2014 MCBF Author List!
Welcome Stasia Ward Kehoe...
Stasia Ward
Kehoe grew up performing on stages from New Hampshire to Virginia. She holds a
BA in English from Georgetown University and an MA in Performance Studies from
New York University. She now lives in western Washington state with her husband
and four sons. THE SOUND OF LETTING GO is a Junior Library Guild selection and
just received a starred review from PW.
Visit her
online at www.stasiawardkehoe.com.
At what age did you start writing?
I STARTED WRITING IN EIGHTH GRADE, INSPIRED BY A FANTASTIC ENLISH TEACHER, MR. ARENA. HOWEVER, I NEVER ASPIRED TO BE A WRITER. EVEN IN COLLEGE, WHEN READING AND WRITING WERE MY FAVORITE ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES—AND I WROTE POEMS AND PLAYS AND PAPERS AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS. IT WASN’T REALLY UNTIL I STARTED WORKING ON THE BUSINESS SIDE OF THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY, AND BEING EXPOSED TO MANY, MANY WONDERFUL BOOKS, THAT IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT I COULD TRY TO BE AN AUTHOR IN MY OWN RIGHT.
Patty Campbell talks about the germ for a piece of writing being like the sand in the oyster. What is your grain of sand? Do you begin with character or setting or something else?
I USUALLY BEGIN WITH A CHARACTER WHO BOUNCES AROUND MY HEAD FOR DAYS, WEEKS, YEARS…UNTIL HE OR SHE COLLIDES WITH A “WHAT IF” SORT OF QUESTION. IN THE CASE OF MY NEWEST BOOK, THE SOUND OF LETTING GO, I BEGAN WANTING TO WRITE ABOUT A COOL, TOUGH, TRUMPET-PLAYING GIRL. THEN THE QUESTION OF “WHAT IF SHE LIVED IN A HOUSE WITH AN AUTISTIC BROTHER WHO COULDN’T BEAR LOUD SOUNDS (LIKE TRUMPET) OR UNPREDICTABILITY (LIKE JAZZ IMPROVISATION)? AND THE STORY GREW FROM THERE.
Do you outline before you write or just dive in?
I DO NOT OUTLINE AND
TEND TO WRITE CHRONOLOGICALLY (BEGINNING-TO-END). I CANNOT WRITE SCENES TO “PUT
IN LATER,” THOUGH I KNOW AUTHORS WHO CAN AND DO. THAT
SAID, I AM MORE THAN WILLING TO COMPLETELY REWRITE AND CHANGE MAJOR PLOT AND
CHARACTER ELEMENTS IN REVISION. So, IN A WAY, I LOOK AT MY ENTIRE FIRST DRAFT
AS A SORT OF OUTLINE. NOT SUPER-EFFICIENT BUT THAT’S HOW I ROLL.
Why do you write for Young Adults or Children or Adult (whichever is pertinent)?
I DON’T. I WRITE STORIES THAT INTEREST ME ABOUT CHARACTERS WHO INTEREST ME. AND THEN MY AGENT AND EDITOR TELL ME THEY ARE YA. IN MY HOUSE, I HAVE A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD WHO ACTS FORTY AND A SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD WHO CAN BE SORT OF IMMATURE. SO, I GUESS I FEEL LIKE YOUNG ADULT (LIKE EVERY OTHER READING CATEGORY) IS A STATE OF MIND. DON’T KNOW HOW ONE COULD WRITE TO A STATE OF MIND…
It’s the dawn of the
zombie apocalypse, what 3 things are a must to take with you when you flee your
home for refuge from the undead hordes??
THREE? ONLY THREE THINGS? I WRITE 400-PAGE NOVELS ABOUT ENTIRE TOWNS! SHORT LISTS ARE NOT MY FORTE. AND I’M NOT GOOD A CLEVER, SUCCINCT SNARK. SO…
--A BLACK FLEECE TRACK
SUIT (I LOVE ANYTHING MADE OF SUPER-FUZZY FLEECE AND DARK’N’WARM SEEMS LIKE A
GOOD IDEA)
--COFFEE (LIFE IS ALWAYS
BETTER CAFFEINATED AND I IMAGINE IT’D HELP WITH THE RUNNING-FROM-ZOMBIES
ACTION)--THE COMPLETE WORKS OF ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (PREFERABLY MADE OUT OF SOME SORT OF EDIBLE, CHOCOLATE-FLAVORED PAPER, JUST IN CASE, YOU KNOW, I GET REALLY HUNGRY)
Come meet Stasia at the
on February 15th at Lone Star College - Montgomery.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Welcome Back Nikki Loftin to MCBF 2014
Welcome Back... Nikki Loftin returns to MCBF
Nikki Loftin
is the author of two middle grade novels: THE SINISTER SWEETNESS OF SPLENDID
ACADEMY (winner of the 2013 Writer’s League of Texas Book Award), and
NIGHTINGALE’S NEST (coming February 2014), both published by Razorbill/Penguin.
Nikki’s short children’s fiction has appeared in Boy’s Life and Pockets
magazines, and she is a contributor to Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to
Their Teen Selves (Zest books, Nov. 2012).
Nikki lives
and writes in the Texas Hill Country, surrounded by dogs, goats, and rambunctious
boys. She prefers scary stories over sweet ones, reads so much it’s
embarrassing, and loves ice cream almost as much as she loves writing. Say hi
at www.nikkiloftin.com.
Find out more about Nikki in her interview below:
At what age
did you start writing?
Why do you write for Children?
I write for
children because I like them best.
Not that you
adults aren’t all lovely people, I’m sure you’re great. It’s just that I prefer
the honesty and fierce sense of social justice, the humor, and the emotional
truths of kids.
I also feel
like a part of me – an important part – is still nine or ten years old. I may
look old on the outside, but inside, I’m still that little girl who climbed out
on the roof to read until it got dark every night, whose best friend was a
sycamore tree. I think I’m writing her stories.
Do you have a pet (pets)? Tell us about it (them) and how they
help/hinder your writing.
I have two
dogs and two goats. Honestly, I don’t think their presence affects my writing
at all! (Except when the dogs insist on being walked or petted in the middle of
an important scene.) But the animals do help my emotional state when I’m
dealing with the business side of things. I mean, have you ever seen goats jump
around when they’re playing? They are adorable. Almost adorable enough to make
a writer forget all those rejections.
It’s the dawn of the zombie apocalypse, what
3 things are a must to take with you when you flee your home for refuge from
the undead hordes??
My kids and I
have given this one some thought. (Zombie Apocalypse is a favorite road trip
game.) Definitely I would take duct tape. You can’t go wrong with duct tape
–you can use it for a bandage, to tape yourself in a tree to sleep at night,
etc.
I’d also take
my son’s water purification filter – the one he’s using for his science project
on water quality. You could suck up a mud puddle and be fine, and since I’d be
heading for the forest, I’d need one of these.
Last? A
machete. Of course I have one. Don’t ask why. And don’t ask about those stains
on the blade.
We are so lucky to have Nikki making
a second appearance at the
on February 15 at Lone Star College - Montgomery.
Don't miss your chance to meet her!
Monday, December 16, 2013
Welcome Heather Reid to the 2014 MCBF Author Lineup!
YA Author, Heather Reid joins the 2014 MCBF Author Line-Up
Heather L. Reid is both American and British and has called six different cities in three different countries, home. Her strong sense of wanderlust and craving for a new adventure mean you might find her wandering the moors of her beloved Scotland, exploring haunted castles, or hiking through a magical forest in search of fairies and sprites. When she’s not venturing into the unknown in her real life, she loves getting lost in the worlds of video games or curling up by the fire with good story. For now, this native Texan is back in the Lone Star State, settling down with her Scottish husband and working on the sequel to her Young Adult paranormal debut, PRETTY DARK NOTHING.
Find out more about Heather at her website, www.heatherlreid.com and in her interview here:
Patty Campbell talks about the germ for a piece of writing being like the sand in the oyster. What is your grain of sand? Do you begin with character or setting or something else?
Each story is different. For Pretty Dark Nothing, it started with a ‘what if’. As a child I suffered from Night Terrors and sleepwalking. Later in life, I struggled with depression. These experiences let me to wonder what life would be like for a teenage girl in high school if her nightmares started to manifest into her reality. What were these nightmares, what did they want, and why her? The idea of the nightmares turned into demons that exploit insecurities and manipulate negative thoughts. From there I moved on to character development.
One of my other stories started with a character. Her voice came to me so strong that I couldn’t ignore it and had to find out more about it.
Another novel I’m working on was inspired by a documentary I watched on the dust bowl, so the germ can come from anywhere and everywhere as long as you are open to finding it.
Do you outline before you write or just dive in?
Dive in! I like to feel my way through a story, to let it grow organically and see where the characters take me. I don’t like trying to stuff them into a box.
In high school, where did you fall? (Prom Queen/King, Gamer Geek, Brainy/Book Nerd, Jock, Shy/Quiet Scholar, Skate Rat, Stoner, Class Clown, etc.)
I didn’t fit neatly into any one category. I was the overachiever drama/choir girl who got along with almost anybody and who was also a book nerd and a gamer geek. You could often find me playing old school dungeons and dragons on a Saturday night with my guy friends.
It’s the dawn of the zombie apocalypse, what 3 things are a must to take with you when you flee your home for refuge from the undead hordes??
I have a dagger hanging on my wall and that would be the first thing I would grab. Great for plunging into a zombie’s brain!
I would need to pack a backpack with as many gluten free foods as I could. I have celiac disease, which means I can’t have any wheat, bread, oats, or anything that contains wheat. It’s not like a normal allergy, if I get wheat in my system, it kills the villi in my stomach which soak up nutrients and deliver it to the body. Without nutrients getting delivered to my body I would eventually I would starve to death . So gluten free foods would be essential for my survival.
My car keys. Let’s hit the road and get as far away from the city as possible.
Meet Heather at the 2014 Montgomery County Book Festival on February 15th at Lone Star College - Montgomery.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Introducing Kristin Rae to the 2014 MCBF Author List
Kristin Rae
was born and raised in Houston, Texas, where she lives with her husband and
their two boxers. She’s addicted to books, music, movies, crafty things, and
chocolate. A former figure skating coach, LEGO merchandiser, and photographer,
she’s now happy to create stories while pretending to ignore the carton of
gelato in the freezer. Wish You Were Italian is her debut.
It's not
uncommon for me to start with a title. I know. Weird. I keep a running list of
potential titles and I've developed story seeds for each of them.
Why do you
write for Young Adults?
I love how
enthusiastic YA readers are, and the intensity of feelings, hopes, dreams....
It's such a unique time in life, and through my characters I'm able to relive
so many of those firsts in a more dramatic way. It's just so fun to write!
Do
you have a pet (pets)? Tell us about it
(them) and how they help/hinder your writing.
I have two
boxers, Duke and Mylie. Mylie's pretty independent, but Duke can often be found
curled up on the floor next to my desk. They only hinder my writing the hour
and a half leading up to dinner time when they stare me down and take turns
whining.
Which famous person, living or dead would
you like to meet and why?
Gene Kelly.
I'd love to dance with him.
It’s the dawn of the zombie apocalypse,
what 3 things are a must to take with you when you flee your home for refuge
from the undead hordes??
Assuming I
had an Undetectable Extension Charm on my backpack: I'd take my entire bookcase
because clearly there would be no electricity to recharge an ereader, my
chocolate stash because I'd spend the last known days of my life eating
whatever I wanted, and my toiletry bag so I could keep brushing my teeth and
washing my hair until supplies ran out.
Meet Kristin, a true hometown darling, at the 2014 Montgomery County Book Festival
on February 15 at Lone Star College - Montgomery.
Welcome Back to MCBF, Krissi Dallas!
Welcome Back, Krissi Dallas
Krissi Dallas
loves pop music, mismatched socks, and fried chicken. She lives in Fort Worth,
Texas with her youth minister husband, Sam, and enjoys hanging out with her
quirky middle school students and building the magical, and mysterious world
that makes up the Phantom Island series. Be sure to check out Windchaser,
Windfall, Watercrossing, and the latest release, Watermark. Krissi loves
connecting with teens, as well as readers and writers of all ages! You can
stalk her online at www.KrissiDallas.com.
Find out more about Krissi in her interview here (by the way she is ADORABLE!!):
Why
do you write for Young Adults?
Working
with teens is my heartbeat. As a junior high teacher and the wife of a youth
pastor, I've seen teenagers change the lives of others and impact a society in
powerful ways. With that age group, everything is do or die, life or death
DRAMA, and I love that about them. If you can set the heart of a teenager
on fire, they can and WILL accomplish great things. My writing flows out of
those real-life experiences and tries to somehow capture the urgency and
passion of that age group and all that they can (and want) to be.
Who is your favorite character you
have written or read about?
I
think my favorite character I've written is my main villain in the Phantom
Island series. I won't say who it is exactly (that's part of the fun of the
series - figuring out who to trust), but I will say that it is a female. I find
myself fascinated by her--by understanding what makes this woman tick, why she
makes certain choices, and what she truly believes. She's the hero of her own
story, however twisted it is, and I both love and hate her. It was only after I
wrote her that I realized, she's ME. The darkest part of me. The person I might
become if I gave into my every self-serving, innately dark desire. She's
the Anti-Krissi and, by extension, the Anti-Whitnee since my main character is
based off of a lot of my own traits.
What
is one thing you would like your readers to know about you?
I
want readers to know that I love Jesus. Above all other things I fangirl about,
my relationship with Christ is the most satisfying and most
motivating aspect of who I am. It's just as simple as that. And everything
I write, the light AND the dark, funnels through that worldview.
In
high school, where did you fall? (Prom Queen/King, Gamer Geek, Brainy/Book
Nerd, Jock, Shy/Quiet Scholar, Skate Rat, Stoner, Class Clown, etc.)
I
had two sides - the girl who sat and got lost reading books and writing stories
in spirals in the back of class when she should've been studying (NERDY!) and
then the girl who sang and acted onstage, took leadership roles, was voted
Class President, etc (BOSSY!). If my life now speaks anything of my life then,
it says that I spent my teenage years making a lot of loyal friendships and
strong relationships with people who still matter to me today and support my
endeavors. Best teenage years ever.
It’s
the dawn of the zombie apocalypse, what 3 things are a must to take with you
when you flee your home for refuge from the undead hordes??
Are
you kidding? In a zombie movie, I'd be, like, that first extra who gets killed
off in the opening scene. I'm not built to survive. So I guess I'd take my
husband and my two Yorkies - and hope that they've got the skills to get us
through. My little five-pound pups are FIERCE, y'all.
If you didn't get the chance to meet her last year, don't miss it at the 2014 Montgomery County Book Festival
on February 15 at Lone Star College - Montgomery.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
MCBF 2014 welcomes Kay Honeyman to the author lineup
Introducing Kay Honeyman...
Kay Honeyman grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and attended
Baylor University, graduating with a Bachelors and Masters in English Language
and Literature. The Fire Horse Girl (Arthur
A. Levine/Scholastic) is her first novel. She currently teaches middle school
and lives in Dallas, Texas. You can visit her online at www.kayhoneyman.com.
Kay answered a few questions to give our readers a little extra info about her. Read her responses here:
Patty Campbell talks about the germ for a piece of writing
being like the sand in the oyster. What is your grain of sand? Do you begin
with a character or setting or something else?
It takes about three or four grains of sand before I can
start turning them into a story. I usually need a character, a situation, and a
setting. For THE FIRE HORSE GIRL I knew that I wanted to write the story of a
girl immigrating to America through Angel Island (the Ellis Island of the West
off the coast of San Francisco). I also knew that I wanted her to be
strong-willed and stubborn, and I wanted her to feel out of place. I had written
several chapters before I discovered the Fire Horse women.
Women born in the year of the Fire Horse (a year in the
Chinese zodiac know for strong, bold women) are seen as dangerous, even cursed.
Birth rates can plummet in some Asian countries. The description of Fire Horse
women fits some of my favorite women, real and fictional. That was the last
grain of sand I needed.
Do you outline before you write or just dive in?
I much prefer just throwing words on a page like an
over-caffeinated monkey and then wondering why it doesn’t turn out perfectly
the first time around. It is not the most productive system, nor is it
recommended by any of the writing books I’ve read, but it does result in
endless revisions. I am working on getting better at outlining, but I am a slow
learner. I think of my first draft as a rough outline and build from there.
In high school, where did you fall? (Prom Queen/King,
Brainy/Book Nerd, Jock, Shy/Quiet Scholar, Skate Rat, Stoner, Class Clown,
etc.)
I fell in the cracks between all of these. Maybe that is why
I love to write about labels and identity.
What books or authors have most influenced your writing?
I am most influence by writers like Jane Austen and Edith
Wharton. I love they way they pick at society, pointing out people as
beautiful, ridiculous, noble, and fascinating creatures. I have read To Kill a Mockingbird every year for the
past decade. If you ask me what I’ve read recently that I love, it’s usually
the last book I read, because that is the story swimming in my head.
It’s the dawn of the zombie apocalypse, what 3 things
are a must to take with you when you flee your home for refuge from the undead
hordes?
This one stumped me, so I did what any author would do when
blocked by lack of knowledge, I googled it. Based on ten minutes of research, I
have decided to pack the following: a baseball bat (many sites chose this as
the weapon of choice), matches (fire, historically been valuable and handy),
and a tent since I will be getting out of highly populated areas. I think I
would be zombie meat against a horde, but I like my chances mono-e-mono. They
are slow moving and not known for their intelligence.
Thank you for taking a few minutes to answer our questions, Kay!
Meet Kay with the other authors at the 2014 Montgomery County Book Festival on Feburary 15th.
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