Public Sky [1]

PUBLIC SKY NOVEMBER 2010 [I]
Where YOUR opinion matters, fellow book lovers!

When you visit Borders, Barnes and Noble, Indie bookstore or about any other stores that sell books, in the teen (or adult) section, you see books about vampires, werewolves, mysterious creatures and stories that involves danger that thrills the readers. What are your thoughts on this? Why do you think that teenagers these days (okay, I'm a teenager myself, but still) somehow prefers stories similar to Twilight over...say, The Catcher in the Rye (by J.D. Salinger)?

First, I want to explain that I did not asked this question because I dislike paranormal stuff. I like them, but the shelves are just covered with it. Everything gets predictable and to be blunt; a BIT boring because I like reading varieties.

So here are the answers! (It's by chronological order; whoever answered me first got to be on the top of the list. I just copied their answers, did not shorten or lengthen anything). Comments or email me for your thoughts about either Public Sky and the question above! :)


CATHERINE RYAN HYDE (Author of Pay it Forward)
I think it's a way of coping with the fact that the world is a frightening place. This is what they always say about kids and "Little Red Riding Hood" type stories and about adults who watch horror movies. If you're anxious in a non-specific way, it's comforting to watch someone face a very identified danger and triumph over it. Personally, I'm not very interested in such titles. I prefer to read realistic fiction.

WENDY TOLIVER (Author of Lifted)
Yes, paranormal romance is really big right now, and all you have to do is visit a bookstore to see that. I personally believe this is because teens like exploring imaginative, exciting and dangerous characters, settings and situations. That said, I get emails almost every day thanking me for writing something "real," and when I reach for a new book to read, I don't care whether it's about vampires or someone who could very well go to your high school, as long as it keeps me turning the pages. A good book is a good book, simply put.

JENNIFER HER (A senior in high school and an awesome artist at DeviantArt)
Teens are interested in those kinda vampirey stories because of the forbidden romance or the thrill of the romance. I mean, that's what I think is a huge factor for high school girls or teenage girls. Then there's the out of the ordinary factor. Teens don't always or, should I say, prefer to have a thrilling, imaginative, and/or fictionally interesting plot rather than read a slow going (still fictional) story about normal teenage problems like Catcher in the Rye. That undergoing teenage problems stuff can also be found in any of the fantasy-ish books nowadays focused on young adults. So basically, modern books now that many teenage kids like to read are out-of-the-ordinary interesting, imaginative, keeps the readers focused on popular key factors like romance, and take readers away from reality, kinda.

CINDY RANGEL (A writer and blogger of Bookworm)
I'd say it's because of the suspense and drama that there is to those kind of books with danger in them. They're the kind of books that keep you at the edge of your seat, keep you guessing. Of course, also, each author is different and each author, I'm sure, does something to make their books interesting and individual. =)

ELENI XEKARDAKIS (Blogger of La Femme Readers)
I don't necessarily believe teens choose Twilight over the classics. It just so happens that the classics will always show up in classrooms. So, why not escape homework with a good cup of Edward and his sparkling face? Being a 25 year old English graduate, I unfortunately grew tired of the classics. Teachers would make you dissect the book until you no longer wanted to see it in front of you. However, literature such as the The Catcher in the Rye, The Outsiders or Mice of Men will again remain classic. The messages and well-written quality will be hard to re-create. However, the relatable factor to the characters now a days just isn't there. We live in a world of cell phones, social networks, e-mail, television, etc. These books unfortunately lack the technological and word lingo we use today. Mainly, that's the reason why SOME teens prefer to pick up Twilight or any other supernatural novel instead of a respectable classic.

AMY HUNTLEY (Author of The Everafter)
Thrillers (and the paranormal) have a really long tradition. I think they're especially popular today because everything in our world is so, well, "explainable." Science has eliminated a lot of wonder and awe from the universe. While we love the effects of technology, the paranormal can help us escape into the unexplainable.

KHADIJA FRAIJI (Blogger of Black Fingernailed Reviews)
Well, i personally don't like 'Twilight' at all. The 'vampires' had too many characteristics of mythological fairies and instead of say.... 'vampires'. However i've always been drawn to the paranormal elements in stories, i think part of what makes it so appealing is the otherness. We all want something amazing to happen to us, i think teens are so drawn to vampires and werewolves not because their monsters but because they are something different, from the repetitive romance stories, i think it brings more edge into it. And edginess is always appealing.

JENNIFER MURGIA (Author of Angel Star)
To answer your question, and as an author of speculative fiction myself (Angel Star is about well .... angels!) I truly think there's a part of each and every teenager wishing a little bit of magic exists in the world. When I was a teen, I used to imagine the what-if's. What if vampires existed? What if I were a descendant of an infamous witch? The thoughts would constantly churn and churn and I think it stems from each person wanting to believe they are special, that for one moment no matter how brief or bizarre, we are here for a reason. Seeking out books with a paranormal element instead of realistic issues gives us an outlet to escape into a world unlike our own - and with permission. In one way or another books help us express ourselves, and allow us to step away from our daily routine. To live in a world we deep down wished existed is a gift!

KRISTINA MCBRIDE (Author of The Tension of Opposites)
I think the magic, mystery, and intrigue of these novels hold quite an allure for younger and older readers alike. It's a wonderful way to escape our own reality for a while. Plus, the super-cool covers just call out from the shelves!

JANETTE RALLISON (Author of My Fair Godmother)
When Catcher in the Rye first came out, it was a groundbreaking book because it was edgy, raw, and showed the discontent and disillusionment of teens. (By the way, I read the book as a teen and couldn't relate at all.) But now we have so many of those types of books that you can't walk through a bookstore without tripping over them. So I think teens now are looking for an adventure not a psychological analysis. Paranormal gives readers that adventure.

AMI BLACKWELDER (Author of The Hunted of 2060)
In response to your question, its funny you ask because my parents and I were discussing the same thing. My father says growing up he and friends loved Sherlock Holmes, Nancy drew, Hardy Boys, detective stories and books with kids solving crimes. But today, kids are enthralled with paranormal and we wondered what happened? Why did a switch from the real to the unreal occur and why did interesting books switch from being stories that encouraged rational/deductive reasoning to stories that revolve around thrills and romance?

I tend to think one of the reasons is of course media, and publishers themselves. Everyday we are bombarded with television and video game images. Most conjuring up the idea of the fantastical. Throwing the supernatural in our faces daily supports the idea of its popularity. Kids are easily influenced and want what is popular and cool. Buffy the Vampire and Angel as well as Charmed helped that idea along.

Publishers do the same thing, releasing primarily paranormal YA books today versus detective or crime solving stories for kids. This may have stemmed from the success of Harry Potter and Twilight and the story definitely pushed the paranormal world into the mainstream for publishers. As an author I can tell you honestly that there are many, many publishers who simply want paranormal romance YA novels. Forget other interesting books. Because they know they paranormal YA sells. If the product is all around you, the stories are bound to rub off on many kids.

Another reason is that kids are faced with many pressures today that our parents were not faced with and the kids are being spoiled and not taught how to cope with real life. In turn, kids turn for an escape and want to enter a world more entertaining and forget their worries and woes if only for a week of reading. Escape is a great motivator. But the fact that kids are reading to acquire this instead of doing drugs or alcohol is a great thing! I support that healthy way of fleeing from reality.

Perhaps also because times have changed as well. There is such a focus on sciences and maths for that matter in this day and age, that kids must feel overwhelmed with all the facts and so this release of enjoying the supernatural, or the opposite, must be stimulating. Kids are imaginative and perhaps a deep part of them longs to remember that creative part of themselves, holding onto their childhood for just moments longer when anything was possible and they could be anyone.

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox is a meme by The Story Siren here.

Week: Sunday, August 1 - Sunday, August 8 2010.
Click on each title to go to the Barnes and Noble's web!!!

PAPERBACK/ARCs:


Simon and Schuster:
What Would Emma Do by Eileen Cook
Far From You by Lisa Schroeder

Penguin Group:
Virals by Katy Reichs (ARC) ((VERY excited to read this one!! XD I think this one will be one to compete with Maximum Ride :D))
Dust City by Robert Paul Weston (ARC)

Self Published:
Equilibrium (Book #2 of the Portal Series) by Imogen Rose


HARDCOVERS:

Simon and Schuster:
Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook

Harper Teen:
Tangled by Carolyn Mackler


SWAG:

Life, After by Sarah Darer Littman: A signed hardcover copy of Life, After; 2 bookplates; 1 Life, After notebook. (Note: This is a very good book!!! Read my review HERE)
Tensions of the Opposites by Kristina McBride: Signed post cards and signed bookmarks.
Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook: Post cards.
The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade: Signed post cards and bookmarks.
Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe: Bookmarks.

Scholar Berry's suggestion for the week:

Life, After by Sarah Darer Littman

This book is about a victim of AMIA bombing in Argentina on 7/18/1994. A girl named Dani faces the crisis as her family was forced to move to America.
Dani's boyfriend had moved to Florida. Dani is going to be in New York. Dani needs Roberto...
In America, Dani founds out that the hallways are mean. The girls are mean.
But Dani has her personal GPS to get around the big school building.
Dani discovers that no matter 7/18 or 9/11, going through losses still needs the same cure;
Someone who understands.

Read my full review on Life, After here.

AS: Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting is definitely one of my top favorite books (Yes, it's that good). It's just simply gorgeous and vividly written--definitely a good book worth rereading from time to time. If you missed my review of The Body Finder, click here to read it.



1. (The usual--probably cliche, by now to you) Where did the inspiration of The Body Finder come from?

This is my husband’s favorite question! The original idea actually came from him, when we were driving one day and he said: “What if there was a kid who could find dead bodies?” Of course, in his head it was a middle-school-boy adventure book. But I loved the basic idea…as long as it was a girl in high school and she had a love interest. It took some time to hammer out the rules of her creepy ability (how she would find the dead bodies), but once I did, I was obsessed with getting her story on paper. To this day though, my husband will walk around the house declaring himself my co-author!

2. This is one of the things that intrigued me the most about the book: the part where you wrote about the killer's perspective. It sounded so real--the more I think about it, it's the more like you've studied a real criminal (whereas I mostly watch CSI/similar shows). How difficult was it for you to write the criminal's perspective? Did you do a long research on it?

My first draft only had a few sections from the serial killer’s perspective, mostly because I thought it might be a little too dark and twisted for YA. So when my editor came back and asked for more, I was completely thrilled…I loved writing those scenes (which makes me sounded a little too dark and twisted, doesn’t it?)!!!

3. What was the most difficult part in The Body Finder to write?

I’m not sure I can point at anything and say it was difficult to write. Is it terrible to admit that it was an easy book to write…mostly because I was more than a little obsessed while I was writing it? I fell in love with both the characters and the story, so spending time with them each day was a breeze.

4. I truly love your writing style in The Body Finder. It was just making me so curious; Did you always write like that, or did you especially write it in a way that most people never did (with the 3rd perspective and how the suspense was kept)?

When I wrote The Body Finder, I’d always written in 3rd person. Since then I’ve worked on a project in 1st person and loved the way it turned out. I like mixing POVs, and I think there’s room for a little bit of everything in fiction. I mean, really, how boring would it be if every book were exactly the same???



It was surreal seeing it on shelves for the first time. I thought I was prepared for that moment since I’d already seen a finished copy (I’d held it in my hands, flipped the pages, and I may or may not have smelled it!). But walking into the bookstore for the first time and seeing it there…faceout on real life bookshelves?!?! I’m pretty sure I screamed, or at least squealed. Thankfully no one was standing in my way or I probably would have pushed them down to get to it!

7. Did you always want to be a writer? (If not, ever since when and how did you know you want to become one and what obstacle did you have overcome?)

I started seriously writing right after high school (many, many years ago!). My first attempt at writing a novel (using that word loosely) was a full-on adult horror novel called ONE OF THEM, because I wanted to write like Stephen King (ha!). Fortunately, it was never published but it did make for really good practice. Only when I finally gave up on that manuscript did I discover (and fall in love with) YA!

8. My favorite list of books includes Shiver, Linger (by Maggie Stiefvater), The Hunger Games series (by Suzanne Collins) and The Body Finder (by you, who are so generous by taking your sweet time to answer these questions). What is/are your favorite book(s)/series?

GAH! This is such a difficult question because there are SO many!!! Some of my recent favorite reads have been Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, Firelight by Sophie Jordan, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and anything in the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. But my all-time favorite will always be To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I re-read it every few years)!

9. Some authors can write with music (with lyrics). When you wrote The Body Finder, did you have a certain playlist that you listen to? If not, are there certain songs that you think would fit some scenes in The Body Finder?

I can’t write with music for some reason, and I’m amazed that anyone can. If I like a song I find myself listening to that instead of paying attention to my work. But whenever I hear something slow and melodic by Evanescence, it makes me think of The Body Finder…they just have that haunting sound. And when it comes to the scenes from the serial killer’s POV, I always think of Possum Kingdom by The Toadies (it’s old, but super creepy…especially if you watch the video!).

10. What would be your advice to some of the young writers that hasn't make it yet to the bookstore shelves?

Hang in there! Seriously, I don’t know many writers—or any really—that haven’t faced rejection in some form (and most of us have stacks of rejection letters to prove it). I think that most published writers are published because they never gave up!!!

11. What would be your reaction if The Body Finder is adapted to a movie?

[INSERT HYSTERICAL SCREAMING HERE]



Really, I’m sure you’d hear me from wherever you live!


12. Thank you very much for the copy of The Body Finder and this interview. Is there anything else you'd like to say to the readers?

Just thanks so much for having me here today, and I hope you all enjoy The Body Finder!