Meet My Character (a blog tour)

A huge shout-out and thank you to Alyssa Goodnight for twisting my arm suggesting I participate in this Meet My Character blog tour! (Hi Alyssa! You know I'm just kidding. Look! I linked to you twice!)

1. What is the name of your character? 
Raine Watson. I know, I know. Raine is kind of a weird name. And, believe me, I was pretty sick of it by the time I finished the last revision. But the name does have a bit of history. Thirteen years before the book opens, this character was born in the middle of a storm in the back seat of a car. And that's how her free-spirited mom came up with the name Raine. Hey, I could've gone with Pontiac!

2. Is he/she fictional or a historic person? 
Fiction all the way.

3. When and where is the story set? 
Modern day in a made-up town named Yielding in upper New York state. The geography is similar enough to where I grew up (Ontario, Canada) that it felt like a little trip home to the Muskoka area.

4. What should we know about her?
Besides an interesting name, Raine has an interesting gift. She can pick up other people's memories from objects. I actually think I wouldn't mind having this gift myself. Especially when I sense there's more to the story than one of my children is admitting!

5. What is the main conflict? What messes up her life?
So, Raine and her mom move to Yielding and a rented house in time for Raine to start 8th grade. Turns out a girl, Emily H., who used to live in the same house . . . disappeared about six months earlier. The police never found Emily. They never even found one solid clue.

Raine starts picking up memories of Emily H. Can Raine figure out what happened? Throw in the person or persons who don't want the truth to surface, a new school, lying mean girls, a certain boy and, yeah, there's a bunch of conflict.

6. When can we expect the book to be published?
TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015! I sweated bullets over this book. In fact, there was a point when I wondered if I'd ever get it right. I suspect my editor had the same worry. TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015. Whew. I will be dancing all over San Diego.

What happens next? See the names below...bolded, enlarged and linked to websites? Those authors will be posting on Oct 6, 2014 about one of their characters. In fact, you might want to click through now...

Alli Sinclair combines her passion for exotic destinations, the quirks of human nature and the belief that everyone can dance, even if it's to their own beat. Luna Tango is the first in The Dance Card Series, published by Harlequin MIRA. Flamenco and the Russian Ballet will be released in 2015 and 2016 respectively.


Maureen McGowan is the Amazon bestselling author of the action-packed YA sci-fi thriller series The Dust Chronicles: Deviants (2012), Compliance (2013), and Glory (2014).

Misty Simon loves a good story and decided one day that she would try her hand at it. Eventually she got it right. There’s nothing better in the world than making someone laugh, and she hopes everyone at least snickers in the right places when reading her books. She lives with her husband, daughter and three insane dogs in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel or three.

After a fifteen-year stint as an electrical engineer, P. J. (Tricia) Hoover started writing books for kids and teens.  Her middle grade novel, Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life was released this month by Starscape/Macmillan and tells the story of a young immortal King Tut, who's been stuck in middle school for over 3,000 years. Her first novel for teens, Solstice was published in 2013 by Tor Teen/Macmillan.

THE BOOK REVIEW CLUB (May 2011)

Welcome to the May meeting of our Book Review Club! We have a wonderful line-up of books this month. Interestingly enough, we've reviewed more adult books by far. Always a little out of step, I chose two young-adult books. ;) Please grab a coffee and a cookie and make yourself comfortable. Below my review are links to a slew of great reviews by fellow bloggers.

Just last month, my good friend Maureen McGowan (we met online, then discovered she lives within walking distance of one of my sisters in Toronto!) celebrated the release of TWO young-adult books. Both Cinderella: Ninja Warrior and Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer are part of the Twisted Tales series, where fairy tales get a contemporary makeover. In these delightful totally revamped versions, the very capable heroines save themselves and land the prince. In addition, these books are reader interactive, meaning the reader makes choices regarding the path of the story. You can just imagine how much Child #4 is enjoying Maureen's books!

Here's a quick recap of the stories a la Maureen McGowan:

"Seeking to escape the clutches of her evil stepmother, Cinderella perfects her ninja skills and magic talents in secret, waiting for the day that she can break free and live happily ever after." (from amazon.com)

"Sleeping Beauty, instead of sleeping for one hundred years, is cursed to wake only at night and everyone else in her kingdom has the opposite curse – except the minions of an evil vampire queen out for revenge. True love will break the curse, but it’s hard to meet boys when they’re all asleep while she’s awake!" (from Maureen McGowan)

I caught up with Maureen and asked her some questions.

Me: Maureen, I've always had you pegged as a genius. And these books clinch it! I mean, seriously, CINDERELLA and SLEEPING BEAUTY must have been really tough to write. You had to come up with and keep track of a variety of plot lines. How tough was it? Are you an outliner or a panster? Were there moments when you were pulling your hair out?

Maureen: Genius! Ha! I wish. There were many times while writing this book when I concluded I was exactly the opposite of a genius. And yes, hair pulling was involved. ☺

Normally, I’m a hybrid between a plotter and a pantser. I like the idea of plotting and outlining in theory, but if I’m not forced to do a full synopsis before starting, I typically give up at some point, assuming I’ll figure it out as I go along. Even when I do have a book fully plotted ahead of time, I usually think of something great while writing that takes me off in other directions. Then I have to stop midway and re-plot.

The Twisted Tales books forced me to plan more than I usually do, because the alternate routes circle back into common sections. It was both really fun and really hard to imagine different ways in which the plot could unfold yet still lead to a single ending.

Me: Where do you do most of your writing? At home? At a coffee shop? In sweats?

Maureen: All of the above. ☺ I typically like to work in coffee shops, but it depends on the time of year, my mood, and how disciplined I’m feeling. I was at a talk with screenwriter and director Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of our Fathers) recently, and he said he always writes in public. His reason resonated with me. He said: because writing is such a solitary profession, working in coffee shops or hotel lobbies makes him feel like part of humanity. I’d like to think that’s my reason, too. (And not the easy access to butter tarts.)

Me: What are you working on now?

Maureen: My taxes. Oh, you meant writing-wise… I’m revising a dark young adult novel set in a post-apocalyptic world and just starting another young adult novel that, well, I’m not really ready to talk about, yet.

Me: Thanks, Maureen! Best of luck with the Twisted Tales books and ALL your writing projects!

And here's a rare photo of Maureen at the age of 13, the age of many of her readers. I don't think she could be cuter! Maureen's wearing her favorite sweater.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Maureen!

As promised, here are links to amazing reviews by amazing reviewers! Pleae click through to discover books you'll want to read.

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Stacy Nyikos: A MILLION MILES FROM BOSTON by Karen Day (middle grade) **A mother + daughter review**

Lucy Sartain of Ranting and Raving: I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES by Barrie Summy (middle grade, mystery) *Honestly, I didn't pay her!*

Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: CHIME by Franny Billingsley (young adult, fantasy)


ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Scott Parker: SUPERMAN by Tom De Haven

Sarah Laurence: THE TIGER'S WIFE by Tea Obreht (literary)

Stacy of The Cat's Meow: THE KITCHEN DAUGHTER by Jael McHenry (women's fiction)

Patti Abbott: EMILY, ALONE by Stewart O'Nan

Kaye of the Book Review Forum: HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford

Beth Yarnall: IMPULSIVE by HelenKay Dimon (romance) and PERFUMED HEAT by Judy Mays (erotica)

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: HEADS YOU LOSE by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward (crime fiction/mystery)

Beth of From the Desk of Bee Drunken: THE CAZALET CHRONICLES by Elizabeth Jane Howard

NONFICTION REVIEWS

Linda McLaughlin: GOD IS NOT ONE: THE EIGHT RIVAL RELIGIONS THAT RUN THE WORLD-AND WHY THEIR DIFFERENCES MATTER by Stephen Prothero


(Reviewers: You more than know the scoop by now. ;) If I missed your link or made a mistake, email me or leave a comment, and I'll hop right to correcting my mistake. Thank you all so much for your reviews!)

Thank you for visiting!

Panic in the Summy Household

Mr. Veiled Chameleon has been living in his own cage for a few months now.

Is it divorce, reptile style?

Not exactly. But it is a definite separation.

Mrs. Veiled Chameleon had become ubermean, biting and hissing at the male whenever he tried to eat. As a result, Mr. Chameleon was thin and nervous.

Anyway, Mr. Chameleon is now munching up a cricket storm and is, apparently, full of vim and vigor and an adventurous spirit.

Here's what we found yesterday afternoon..

A cage door ajar.


A missing chameleon. (Which takes a bit of time to ascertain because of the whole camouflage thing!)


Mr. Chameleon in the back of a dusty toy closet, eyeing (with both eyes!) a sports car. He ventured about 14 feet from his cage.

Upon his return, Mr. Chameleon scarfed down a couple of crickets, sipped water from a leaf and took a nap. This is definitely a story he'll share with his children. (See how he's shedding? A testimony to his healthy eating.)

And two very fun and UNpanicky links:

Vermont College of Fine Arts' Hunger Mountain journal is accepting entries for their annual Katherine Paterson Prize for Writing for Young Adult and Children contest. Click here for details.

My very good friend, Maureen McGowan's, Switching Places, is a finalist in the Golden Heart! Maureen and I met online, only to discover she lives a couple of blocks away from one of my sisters in Toronto! Do I meet up with Maureen when I go back to the homeland for a visit? Uh, yes!! Maureen chatted with me about the premise of Switching Places a couple of years ago over a chicken Caesar salad. Great premise. Great writing. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she won.



p.s. I have a My Town Monday post for Monday. Finally, I'm getting back in the swing of things.

Keanu Reeves and me

Remember how just recently I was in LA for the SCBWI annual summer meeting? And I met Editor Wendy for the very first time and we went out for a delicious sushi dinner in a teeny tiny restaurant?

Well, apparently, I sat within SPITTING DISTANCE and actually FACING Keanu Reeves for the ENTIRE dinner which lasted at least a couple of hours AND I DIDN'T EVEN RECOGNIZE HIM! Sigh. How could this be? I even saw the Matrix twice. Plus, when you dine out in Hollywood, you're supposed to be on the lookout for celebs. How did I miss him?

After a couple of days of hanging my unobservant, inattentive head in shame, I decided to take action.

I contacted my very good friend Maureen McGowan. Maureen knows anything and everything about movies and directors and producers and actors, etc. She writes a mean film review. She even attends the Toronto International Film Festival every year without fail. If anyone knows how I can sharpen my star-spotting skills (obviously I need no help with alliteration), it's Maureen.

Guess what Maureen admitted? One year, at the film festival, she walked right past Keanu. He was close enough that she could've reached out and pinched him. But she just didn't see him.

Ahhh. The mystery is solved. It's not me. It's Keanu. There's something elusive and slippery about the guy. Probably we could be the only two people sharing an elevator, and I would still look through him.

Actually, it's too bad he didn't spot me at the sushi restaurant. According to an eye-witness, Keanu was very quiet during his meal and did not even talk to the woman he was with.

He could've taken a step and a half and joined our table. Editor Wendy is tres entertaining and no slouch when it comes to lively conversation.

Plus, Keanu and I have quite a bit in common. We both grew up in Toronto. He was a goalie for his high school hockey team. I took skating lessons. He was a manager at a pasta restaurant. I've eaten my fair share of pasta. Obviously, we both like sushi. Come to think of it, there are many moments when our paths could've crossed.

And whose to say they didn't...