Cassandra Rose Clarke will be at MCBF 2014

Cassandra Rose Clarke joins the fun for MCBF 2014

Cassandra Rose Clarke is an author of speculative fiction for both teenagers and adults. She grew up in south Texas and currently lives in a suburb of Houston, where she writes and teaches composition at a local college. Her first novel, The Assassin’s Curse, received a starred review from Kirkus and was nominated for YALSA’s 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults, and her short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons and Daily Science Fiction. 

 

For more on Cassandra, visit her website at http://www.cassandraroseclarke.com

 

Read more about Cassandra in her interview below:

At what age did you start writing?

I can’t remember the exact age, unfortunately. However, I always loved making stories up, and I remember writing stories and plays when I was in elementary school.  In fourth grade I took a career test on the school computers and learned my highest match was novelist. I guess it was ordained from the start!

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?

It depends on the book, but usually it’s something very small, almost abstract—an image, a feeling, a character quirk. From there, the characters and setting tend to evolve simultaneously.

Do you outline before you write or just dive in?

I used to just dive right in, but these days I outline. The problem with diving right in is that sometimes it works beautifully—a story grabs me and won’t let go. Other times, though, I waste a lot of time figuring out what I want to happen.  I’ve slowly learned how to outline to help make my writing more efficient.

Why do you write for Young Adults or Children or Adult (whichever is pertinent)?

I write for both young adults and adults, and I’d like to try my hand at writing for children in the future. I like writing across the age groups because it broadens the sorts of things that I can write about and explore. YA lets me take part in the magic of reading—there tends to be a less jaded view of books among YA readers, and I love that. Writing for adults lets me deal with issues and events that aren’t yet a part of teenagers’ lives. I can’t imagine writing for just one age group!

Who is your favorite character you have written or read about?

While I can’t really pick a favorite character (that’s like picking favorite children, in a way), the character I had the most fun writing was Ongraygeeomryn, the manticore from the The Pirate’s Wish. She doesn’t think like a human at all, and it was so much fun to figure out all the strange ways she would react to a given situation.

What is one thing you would like your readers to know about you?

I hated The Assassin’s Curse when I finished writing it (mostly because I’d been messing with it so much), and it went on to become my best-selling book! Just goes to show that no author is a good judge of their own work.

In high school, where did you fall?

I floated around between groups, so I had friends among the stoners, the over-achievers, the nerds, and so on, but I never really fit in with a particular clique. Seventeen magazine informed me at one point I was a “Drifter” so I guess that would be my proper high school designation.

Do you have a pet (pets)?  Tell us about it (them) and how they help/hinder your writing.

I have two cats named Robert Barcatheon and Leeroy Catkins. They love to bother me when I’m on my computer. Leeroy will meow, very loudly and insistently, until I stop what I’m doing and come pet her. Robert just jumps on my desk and sits on my keyboard.  So basically they hinder my writing all over the place. I still love them, though!

What books or authors have most influenced your writing most?

Margaret Atwood because I love her use of language and structure, the complexity of her characters, and the way she plays around with genre. Gabriel Garcia Marquez because One Hundred Years of Solitude was so unlike anything I’d read, and it helped me to see that you didn’t have to stick to genre divides. Kelly Link for much the same reason.

Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

Probably Wong Kar Wai, a film director from Hong Kong. He’s my favorite director of all time, and he’s also one of my biggest non-writer influences, so I would love to have a chance to talk to 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??

Running shoes, a hammer (the closest thing to an anti-zombie weapon I have in my apartment), and a box of Kind bars

Meet Cassandra at the

2014 Montgomery County Book Festival

on February 15th

at Lone Star College - Montgomery

Welcome Dotti Enderle to 2014 MCBF

Dotti Enderle is coming to MCBF 2014

Dotti Enderle is the author of dozens of books for children, including Grandpa for Sale and The Library Gingerbread Man. Her young adult novels are published under the pen name, Dax Varley. She resides with her husband in Richmond, TX.

Read Dotti's interview here:

Do you outline before you write or just dive in?

I jump in feet first. I have an idea where the plot is going, but many times it takes an unexpected turn.

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.)

Shy/Quiet, but not scholarly at all. I just sort of existed.

What books or authors have most influenced your writing most?

In 1999 I read the book, When Zachary Beaver Came To Town by Kimberly Willis Holt. My first thought was, ‘Why can’t I write something like this?’ So I took a highlighter and marked up the book, highlighting the hook, which verbs she chose, how she handled dialogue. I learned more from that dissection than from any of the writing classes I’d taken.

Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

Washington Irving. I just published a YA novel based on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” I’d really like to say thanks.

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 trusty slingshot, sensible shoes, and a lot of clean underwear. If I’m encountering zombies, that underwear will be needed!

 

Meet Dotti in the Children's Zone at the

2014 Montgomery County Book Festival

on Saturday, February 15th

at Lone Star College - Montgomery

Welcome Kim O'Brien to the 2014 MCBF Author List

Kim O'Brien joins the lineup of 2014 MCBF

At Emory University in Atlanta, Kim earned a B.A. in psychology, but then decided to pursue the dream of writing by attaining a master's degree in fine arts from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY. She worked many years as a writer, editor, and speechwriter for IBM before becoming a full time mom and fiction writer. She’s been happily married for 24 years and has two beautiful daughters. A more recent addition to the family is an eight-pound Maltese/Schnauzer mix named Daisy.

Kim is the author of eight inspirational romance novels and seven non-fiction, children’s books. Her first YA thriller, Bone Deep, will be published in March 2015. She loves to hear from her readers and can be found at www:kimobrienbooks.com, facebook, and Twitter (kimobri).

Read Kim's interview here:

At what age did you start writing?

I was about ten years old. My best friend and I started a neighborhood newsletter called “The Outlaw.” (The cover was a drawing of a rearing horse. I was very into horses.). Our publication featured short stories, news, and a lot of drawings. We didn’t have computers back then, so we manually typed each issue and used carbon paper. Each copy cost ten cents. I think I still have some for sale…

Do you outline before you write or just dive in? 

A little of both. I like to know the basics of the story before I start – like who my characters are and what they want. I also jot down one-sentence ideas for scenes. The more I know about my story before I start to write, the easier it is (and there’s less rewriting too). But a lot of times I like to let the story unfold as I write it. It’s much more fun to find out what happens as I go along.

Do you have a pet? Tell us about her and how she helps/hinders your writing.

I have an eight-pound Maltese/schnauzer mix named Daisy. Every morning we walk three miles together and then come home and go to work. Her job is to sleep or look out the window while I write. Sometimes I bounce ideas off her and she never has anything critical to say. On the downside, she is always up for a break and if you lie on the couch and she gets in your lap, she puts you right to sleep.   

What books or authors have most influenced your writing most?

One of my favorite authors is Jodi Piccoult. Each of her books is written in many different points of view, so the reader truly experiences the story from many perspectives. Her stories have heart and depth and this has encouraged me to dig deeper into the minds of the characters I create. I really love complex stories – the ones that require characters to make tough choices – and I love twists that come naturally in a story, ones that aren’t an effort to manipulate the reader, but happen because of all the elements in a book come together.

On the dawn of the zombie apocalypse, what three things are a must to take with you when you flee your home for refuge from the undead hordes?

A coat as I get cold very easily and will probably be hiding in the great outdoors in some national park. I would also bring a pen and spiral notebook to record the details of my survival in hopes of someday publishing this journal and having Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt star in my story. And third, I would take my dog. Not only would she alert me to the presence of any zombie heading my way, but also she has a good nose for finding food. I think this would come in handy.  NOTE: I did not take my family into consideration when deciding what to bring. Surviving a zombie apocalypse without them wouldn’t be much fun, even if I got a movie deal out of it.

Meet Kim at the

2014 Montgomery County Book Festival

on Saturday, February 15th

at Lone Star College - Montgomery

Lynne Kelly joins the 2014 MCBF Author List

Welcome Lynne Kelly to MCBF 2014

Lynne Kelly lives in Spring, Texas, where she works as a sign language interpreter and writes books for kids and teens. Her debut novel, CHAINED, was released in 2012 by Macmillan/Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.  

For more information, visit Lynne's Website at http://lynnekellybooks.com/wordpress/.

 

Read Lynne's interview below:

 

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?

Plot is always last for me. For CHAINED, the idea came first, as a story about a captive elephant who escapes and returns home. Sometimes I have a character in my head for a while, and I have to figure out a story for them, and other times I think of a setting that would be cool and I come up with a character to put there.

 

Do you outline before you write or just dive in? 

I'm not much of an outliner; I prefer to just start writing and discover the story as I go. At some point though, like after a really messy first draft, I have to do some kind of plotting so I can figure out where the story needs to go.

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 good student, and pretty quiet around people I didn't know, but I'd turn into more of a class clown if I had friends in class with me.

Do you have a pet (pets)?  Tell us about it (them) and how they help/hinder your writing. 

Yes, I'd been pet-less for a few years but adopted a cocker spaniel, Holly, in March. I love having a dog next to me while I write. If she hinders my writing, it's because she loves to sleep in and snuggle.

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?? 

Other than the usual necessities (like water), I'd like to have a supply of Trader Joe's chocolate-covered almonds, a tree tent, and my iPhone, preferably with a zombie locator app.

Meet Lynne at the

2014 Montgomery County Book Festival

on February 15th at Lone Star College - Montgomery. 

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

2014 Montgomery County Book Festival

on February 15 at Lone Star College - Montgomery.

 

Don't miss your chance to meet her!

Author Chris Cander joins the line-up at the 2014 MCBF

Introducing Chris Cander...

Like most writers, Chris was first a reader—of books, of course, but also cereal boxes and shampoo bottles and billboards. Her favorite gift as a kid was a dictionary, which she read from cover to cover. After she published her first poem and won a regional creative writing contest, both at age ten, she knew she’d spend her life pursuing happiness via the written word.

Chris graduated from the Honors Program at the University of Houston in 1990 with a BA in French and a minor in Political Science. In 1994, she attended the Ploughshares International Fiction Writer’s Seminar at Kasteel Well, Netherlands. The following year, she attended the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, where she was able to work alongside some of her favorite authors.
Although she now focuses her efforts on fiction, Chris also writes children’s books and continues to write articles for health and fitness, lifestyle, and parenting magazines, and is collaborating on two screenplays. She is also a writer-teacher for Houston-based Writers in the Schools (WITS), which engages children in the pleasure and power of reading and writing. In her spare time, she works as the PR chairperson for her children’s elementary school. Chris well knows that the pen is mightier than the sword, but she’s willing to wield one of those, too. A former fitness competitor and model, she currently holds a 2nd dan in taekwondo.

Chris is a member of of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Author’s Guild, and MENSA. She lives with her husband and children in Houston, Texas.

Find out more about Chris at her website

and below in her interview!

 

 

At what age did you start writing?

I can't remember a time when I wasn't writing; everything about it held me fascinated--from learning to hold a pen to pulling stories from my imagination to actually crafting a narrative.

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?

It starts with an idea: I wake from a dream in which I hear a line of dialogue spoken in a distinctive voice; or an unexpected character shimmers to imaginary life like a mirage in my mind, compelling me to find out who she is and what she wants; or I’m stuck in a thought-loop about one of humanity’s conditions and I want to explore it from a safe distance. Then I wander into the story, letting the characters reveal themselves, and over the course of a novel, I figure out the “what happens” parts and hopefully, we all (the characters, the readers, and I) end up in a satisfying place.

Do you outline before you write or just dive in?

 

My friend Lisa Cron, author of WIRED FOR STORY talks about the benefit of building the framework that will underlie the story before the writing begins, figuring out exactly what it is that the characters think they want, what they really want, and what’s keeping them from getting it. That sort of pre-writing makes a lot of sense to me, but actual outlining? No. Part of the magic of writing—maybe most of it—comes from the spontaneous adventures that unfold on the page as I’m doing it.

 

Why do you write for Young Adults or Children or Adult (whichever is pertinent)?

I write for children because I have them and those are the stories they want to read. I write books for adults because those are the stories I want to read.

 

 

Thanks for taking time to let us get to know you, Chris!

 

 

Meet Chris at the

2014 Montgomery County Book Festival

on February 15, 2014.

Molly Blaisdell joins the 2014 Montgomery County Book Festival Author Line Up

Welcome             Molly Blaisdell...

Texan Molly Blaisdell started her first fan fiction group in junior high and never stopped writing. Today, she writes about geek girls with lofty dreams and about the absolute craziness of falling in love. When Molly's not writing, she's curled up with a book, heading to late night showings of popcorn blockbusters, or watching for shooting stars on a clear night. If she sees the moon in the daytime, she thinks she's lucky. PLUMB CRAZY is her debut romance novel. Molly lives in College Station, Texas with her college sweetheart Tim and two cats – one evil and one good.

 

Learn a little more about Molly in her interview below.

Do you outline before you write or just dive in?  Generally, I am a fan of the outline. If you don't give me a map, I'll never arrive. That said, I don't use formal outlines but rely on a synopsis format. I determine how many chapters I need. I add a few lines under each paragraph that sums up the action in that chapter. This is my method. I don't think there is a right way to write. I write my way, but yours may be very different.  

Why do you write for Young Adults or Children or Adult (whichever is pertinent)? Honestly depending on the season, I write for all three. My upcoming book, PLUMB CRAZY (Swoon Romance, May 2014), is a crossover for teens and adults. 
When you write a story, it's not for right now. It's for somebody, someday. It's also about once-upon-a-time, an imagined history. I write because I feel very connected to the future and the past. I'm hardwired to bring them together, to tuck something in your pocket for the road ahead. I find stories keep percolating long after you read them, and they are there to help in your trials and triumphs. 
There is usually humor in everything I write, too, because, to me, there is enough drama already. Laughing helps us all survive the degradations of this life. An excellent life is about making a difference in whatever way you can. Writing is my way.
Do you have a pet (pets)? Tell us about it (them) and how they help/hinder your writing.

I have two pets currently. Mr. Tibbs, who was rescued as a kitten from an abandoned house, and Mr. Oreo, who was a rescued cat from a local shelter.  

Mr. Tibbs is a giant cat. He is part Maine Coon and very calm. He is so huggable and when I can't find my way in a story, hugging Mr. Tibbs always helps. 

Mr. Oreo is a little tuxedo cat and a trickster. He likes to sit on my laptop keys and scratch through the manuscript pages while I'm editing. My printer jams a lot because, yes, that is also his favorite place to sit. And also in any box, the smaller the better. 
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 hope someone has written the Complete Guide for the Zombie Apocalypse because I could really use that book. I'd also take a water purifier and a ninja/superhero/immortal (because I'm not fighting zombies. No way!). 


 Thanks for the interview Molly! 

Meet Molly at the 2014 Montgomery County Book Festival on February 15, 2014.

For more information, visit www.mollyblaisdell.com/.