I’ll be doing a series of school visits and one public signing. If you live in the area, I hope I get to meet you!

I’ll be visiting: Neptune Middle School, Neptune High School, Manasquan High School, and Point Pleasant Beach High School. And I’ll be doing some really fun surprise giveaways at each school!

I’ll also be doing a book signing (open to the public!) here:

BookTowne
Manasquan, NJ
Thursday, Feb. 23
3:30 pm to 5:30 pm

I hope you’ll come by and say hi!

Have a great weekend everyone!

XO
Jessica

Ask and you shall receive!

Ahem...Announcing the very first SAVE THE CAT! Novel-Writing Workshop in AUSTIN!

The workshop will take place on the weekend of April 14th and 15th, 2012. 

All the details, including price and how to register, can be found by clicking here!

In case you’re new to all this, here’s my “spiel” about the SAVE THE CAT! method and the class:

Basically I owe my entire novel-writing career to Save the Cat! A book series by the genius Blake Snyder about how to outline any story in the world. He calls his trusty “formula,” the “Blake Snyder Beat Sheet”, and it consists of 15 “beats” (or story points) that fit into pretty much any movie ever made. And I’ve adapted them to novels to help me outline all my books. Since starting to use the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet, I’ve sold nine novels. Yep…NINE! I don’t think that’s a coincidence! Now, I never start writing another book until I’ve got my trusted 15 beats in place.

And during this two-day workshop, I’m going to teach you exactly how I do it!

Basically it works like this: you come to the workshop with an idea for your next novel (all genres welcome!), the group  spends the next two days working through the 15 beats of each of your ideas, and by the end of the weekend, you have a sturdy (unbeatable!) outline to start writing your book with!

Space is extremely limited. There are only EIGHT spots open for this class. So ACT FAST!

Hope to see you there, Texans!

Happy writing!

About FANGTASTIC:

Praise for the VAMPED series:

“Perfect for teens and adults, this is a book to share, savor and revisit. ReVamped is full of smart, spot-on dialogue, engaging, authentic characters and a plot that’s so much fun it’s impossible not get swept up.” —Examiner.com

My Interview with Lucienne:

What kind of research did you have to do to bring Gina to life on the page?

The good thing about writing a heroine who’s an eighteen year old girl is that I was once an eighteen year old girl.  (We won’t go into how long ago that was!)  That’s pretty much where our similarities end.  Gina is a fanged fashionista, who only “survived” her senior prom because of a make-out session with the surprise hottie of the evening…the class chess champed who’d recently been vamped himself.  I can’t claim any firsthand knowledge of such things, but I have been to a few proms in my time.

My research mostly involves locations.  Fangtastic is set in Florida, where I now live, but I made a fieldtrip to a club very similar to The Tower where the vampire lifestylers meet.  I also interviewed a friend of mine who is an integral part of the New England vampire community to find out a lot of what I needed to know about the philosophy, beliefs and terminology.  It was really fascinating!  (My husband and I met working at a haunted house, so we have many friends in unusual fields to draw on.  Some have appeared on shows like Face Off and Oddities.)

 If you could have dinner with one of your characters who would it be?

Bobby Delvecchio, the chess champ turned vampire hottie, the one responsible for Gina’s unlife style.  In my mind he looks like Zac Efron, so he’d be very easy on the eyes.  Plus, he’s a geek-boy and I’m a geek-girl.  I think we’d have a lot to talk about.

What’s the first thing you do when starting a new book? What’s the first thing you do when finishing a new book?

First thing: panic.  Last thing: celebrate.

Okay, maybe not so much panic.  At first, I’m all fired up, excited, writing a mile a minute.  Then I remember the story actually has to go somewhere, and I’m not exactly sure where.  That’s when the panic sets in.

Which fictional character do you have a secret crush on?

I think we’ve covered that one <g>.  Oh, you mean any fictional character?  Sorry, I was lost in Bobby’s eyes.  Rohan from Melanie Rawn’s Dragon Prince series.  I love a hero who’s not so caught up in his pride that he won’t play the fool if necessary to outmaneuver the enemy.  I guess by that account, I’m also a big fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel and Sherlock Holmes, who, while pretty full of himself, has played many parts, some ever so humble.  I also fell completely head over heels with Peeta from the Hunger Games trilogy.

What are you working on now?

I’ve just turned in the fourth book in the Vamped series, Fangtabulous, to my publisher.  That’ll be out in January of next year.  Now I’m hard at work on the second book in my Latter-Day Olympians series (adult urban fantasy).  Crazy in the Blood is the sequel to Bad Blood, which is out in digital already and will be released in print on May 1^st!

I’m also currently running a spread the love contest, if anyone wants to swing by.  It’s easy to enter, and the prize for one lucky winner will be a Kindle and carrying case.  Details are here: http://luciennediver.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/contests-kindle-fangtastic/.

About the author: 

Lucienne Diver is the author of the popular Vamped series of young adult novels (think Clueless meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer).  School Library Journal calls the first book, “a lighthearted, action-packed, vampire romance story following in the vein of Julie Kenner’s “Good Ghouls” (Berkley), Marlene Perez’s “Dead” (Harcourt), and Rachel Caine’s “The Morganville Vampires” (Signet) series.” VOYA has suggested that the books “will attract even reluctant readers.”

Her short stories have been included in the Strip-Mauled and Fangs for the Mammaries anthologies edited by Esther Friesner (Baen Books), and one of her essays appears in the anthology Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories (HarperTeen).

Visit her online at: LucienneDiver.com

And now to the reason you clicked on this post!

This just in! The first ever released summary of UNREMEMBERED has been posted.

Click here to read it!

I hope you enjoy! And I hope you enjoy the new site!

Jessica

Attention, writers!!! Back by popular demand (I’ve always wanted to say that!), I’m doing another SAVE THE CAT Novel-Writing Beat Sheet Workshop!

I was thrilled when the kind people over at Blake Snyder Enterprises (publishers of the SAVE THE CAT books and software) asked me to teach another class. And of course, I said yes!

The workshop is two-days in Los Angeles, CA and takes place over the weekend of March 3rd and 4th.

Update! The workshop on March 3rd and 4th is now SOLD OUT! But we have opened up another workshop on March 31/April 1. 

All the details, including price and what you will learn can be found here: http://www.blakesnyder.com/services/novel-writing-beat-sheet-workshop/

And if you have absolutely NO idea what I’m talking about and are thinking to yourself, “Save the WHAT?”, then let me fill you in:

I owe my entire novel-writing career to Save the Cat! A book series by the genius Blake Snyder about how to outline any story in the world. He calls his trusty “formula,” the “Blake Snyder Beat Sheet”, and it consists of 15 “beats” (or story points) that fit into pretty much any movie ever made. And I’ve adapted them to novels to help me outline all my books. Since starting to use the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet, I’ve sold nine novels. Yep…NINE! I don’t think that’s a coincidence! Now, I never start writing another book until I’ve got my trusted 15 beats in place. 

And during this two-day workshop, I’m going to teach you exactly how I do it!

Basically it works like this: you come to the workshop with an idea for your next novel (all genres welcome!), the group  spends the next two days working through the 15 beats of each of your ideas, and by the end of the weekend, you have a sturdy (unbeatable!) outline to start writing your book with! 

Space is extremely limited. There are only SIX spots open for this class. So ACT FAST! 

Oh, and if you want to read the beat sheet for THE KARMA CLUB that I published on Blake Snyder’s blog, click here!

Hope to see you there! Happy writing, writers!

Jessica

About DEADLY LITTLE VOICES

From DEADLY LITTLE VOICES

“You’re just one big fat joke,” the voice hisses.

I cover my ears, but the insults keep coming.

“Just do it,” a voice whispers.  It’s followed by more voices, of different people.  They talk over each other and mingle together, producing one clear cut message – that I’m a waste of a life.

I rock back and forth, trying to remain in control.  I smother my ears with the sheet.  Press my forehead against my knees.  Pound my heels into the floor, bracing myself for what comes next.

Meanwhile, there’s a drilling sensation inside my head; it pushes through the bones of my skull, and makes me think that I’m going crazy.

“Please,” I whisper.  More tears sting my eyes.  I shake my head, wondering if maybe I’m already dead, if maybe the voices are part of hell.

Check out the book trailers

DEADLY LITTLE SECRET:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fzMpVMy2fQ
DEADLY LITTLE LIES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Qk0VG2Nz0
DEADLY LITTLE GAMES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc8N4Q0YDuM

TOUCH SERIES CONTEST 

From the author: “In keeping with Touch series tradition, in celebration of the release of DEADLY LITTLE VOICES, I’m launching my annual “winner-gets-to-have-a-minor-character-named-after-him/her” contest!  The grand prize winner will get to have a minor character in DEADLY LITTLE LESSONS, the fifth and final book in the TOUCH series named after him or her.  Other prizes include autographed book copies and the opportunity to have original work appear on my web site, Facebook, and Twitter pages.  OFFICIAL RULES and GUIDELINES for this contest are on my website, under NEWS.  ALL ENTRANTS MUST SIGN A RELEASE FORM, DOWNLOADABLE FROM WWW.LAURIESTOLARZ.COM/NEWS.html. Sign up for my e-Newsletter for updates on contest, book, and appearance info:http://www.lauriestolarz.com/newsletter.html


Praise for the TOUCH series

Texas Tayshas List, 2010 (DLS)

Children’s Book Council’s 2010 & 2011 Teen Choice Book of the Year Nominee

Reluctant Reader Quick Pick Nominees, 2010 & 2011, American Library Association

Teens@Random, Favorite Book of 2009 (DLS)

Gold Star Award, TeensReadToo.com, 2009 (DLL)

“…lively first-person narrative…. CW-worthy dialogue, quirky secondary characters, romance and suspense: a winning combination” – Kirkus Reviews

“An engaging, eerie tale about the darker side of relationships – when it becomes a matter of life and death to know who your friends are.” – KLIATT

“The book was full of shocking surprises and revelations, earning the book five stars. This is a must-read for fans of romance, suspense, and mystery because it won’t disappoint.” – Teens Read Too (DLL)

“Laurie Faria Stolarz is a master creator of suspense and romance. Her words cause the heart to pound, the palms to sweat, the spine to shiver, and the stomach to flutter. The trepidation born from the anonymous threats will make the pages fly, and the palpable tension between Camelia and Ben as they attempt to ignore their hearts causes the fire to burn hotter.” – TeenReads.com

Laurie’s Guilty Pleasures

Favorite snack: Popcorn with soy butter and lemon/pepper seasoning.
Touristy Trip: Paris.
Fashion addiction (at the moment): artfully torn jeans, tall boots, pretty scarves, and Michael Stars tees.
Dessert: Dark chocolate in almost any form – the darker the better.
Fast food: French fries at least once every few months (with lots of ketchup).
Beauty Binge: Aveda haircare products, which includes indulging in high-and/or-low-lights every eight weeks. Also, Caudalie skincare, Ineke perfume (Field Notes from Paris), Revitalash mascara, and Buxom Lips from Bare Escentuals.
Late-Night TV: Real Housewives of (wherever), Mad Fashion, Fashion Hunters.
Chick Flick: Never Been Kissed, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Juno, Green Card, Once, The Devil Wears Prada, Bridget Jones Diary, Thelma & Louise, Mean Girls, Moonstruck, Clueless, Under the Tuscan Sun, and anything with John Cusack.
Nightlife: Pilates in front of the TV (a regular occurrence), answering e-mail (also regular), and dinner and/or a movie out with friends (happens far too rarely).
Cheap Thrill: Window-shopping, tabloid magazines, buying a new lip gloss, a tall cup of coffee from Peet’s or Starbucks.
Ultimate Splurge: G2O Day Spa for a massage.

Other Random Info

Favorite Quote: Perseverance is key.
Favorite cuisine: Indian food – onion chutney, curried vegetables, and kashmir bread. I also love cheeseless pizza from Bertucci’s.
Interests: Vegetarian cooking, holistic nutrition, aromatherapy.
Favorite Music: Adele, Fergie, James Blunt, Gavin Rossdale, Tori Amos, Sting, Sarah MacLachlin, Gwen Stefani, Black-eyed Peas.
Hobbies: Walking, napping, cooking, shopping, interior decorating.

How to bring your psychometric senses to fruition

By Camelia Hammond, main character, TOUCH series by Laurie Faria Stolarz

1. Make yourself comfortable in a place that feels “sacred” to you. For some it’s outside, surrounded by nature; for others it’s a favorite chair or surrounded by candles; for me, it’s wherever I’m doing pottery.
2. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breath, letting go of any stray or nervous thoughts.
3. Now, take an object in your hand. A good idea is to have someone give you something they’ve owned for a long time, i.e. a favorite bracelet or a set of keys.
4. Close your eyes again and concentrate on this object. Be aware of any thoughts or feelings that come about as a result of holding this object. Talk those ideas through, even if they seem silly or insignificant, but never make information up.

Remember, this takes practice and a bit of experimenting. The goal is to begin tuning in to your own inner awareness and your ability of perception. What often works for me is asking a question aloud, and then sculpting out the answer, using my power of touch in a creative and organic way.

Good Luck!

About the author: 

 Laurie Faria Stolarz is the author of Deadly Little Secret, Deadly Little Lies, Deadly Little Games, Deadly Little Voices, Project 17, and Bleed, as well as the bestselling Blue is for Nightmares series.  Born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, Stolarz attended Merrimack College and received an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston. For more information, please visit her Web site at: www.LaurieStolarz.com

Hey all! Sorry for the LONG gap between blog posts. Things have been quite busy over here. I FINALLY finished the second draft of UNREMEMBERED, the first book in my upcoming sci-fi trilogy! I’m really excited about how the revision came out and now my fingers are TIGHTLY crossed that my editor is just as excited!

The hubby and I celebrated the completion of the manuscript by taking a quick last-minute cruise to the Caribbean. It was so amazing and JUST what I needed.

Here are few of my favorite pics from the cruise!

Hanging with our new friend, “Mickey” at the Roatan Marine Sciences Institute in Honduras!

Very excited to have my lovely SeaPass card!

Saying goodbye to Miami.

My “Statue of Liberty” pose, complete with napkin hat provided by Angel, our  kick-ass waiter!

Showing off my SUPER stylish motion sickness pressure point wristbands!

So, now I’m relaxing at the in-laws house in Dallas, getting ready for a BIG Texas Christmas! I hope everyone has a very happy holidays!

Peace on Earth,
Jessica

It’s time for another Guest Star! Our guest this week is Kristina Springer, author of the brand new release, Just Your Average Princess!

About JUST YOUR AVERAGE PRINCESS

Right now my newest YA book, THE PAPARAZZI PROJECT, is on submission. This was a super fun book to write and I think any tabloid loving teen will love it.

About the author: 

Kristina Springer is also the author of The Espressologist, a Society of School Librarians International Book Award Honor Book, and My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours, which Meg Cabot calls, “Irresistible as a fluffy kitten. I laughed out loud and so will you!” You can visit her online at Kristina Springer, follow her on Twitter @TinaSpringer, or friend her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KristinaSpringer.

It’s time for another Guest Star! Our guest this week is Jeri Smith Ready, contributor to the brand new anthology, Enthralled

About ENTHRALLED

About the story “BRIDGE”

And here’s my interview with the author, Jeri Smith-Ready

What was your favorite part of writing this book? Your least favorite part?

My favorite part was trying something different-writing in free verse. I’ve always loved reading it, in books by authors like Ellen Hopkins, Lisa Schroeder, and Jame Richards.  It drills down to bare emotions and forces the writer to choose precise words to express their meaning.  I loved creating rhythms and sounds to reinforce the feelings and thoughts Logan was trying to get across.

My least favorite part is my fear that I did it wrong.

As writers, we all love to procrastinate. What’s your favorite procrastination activity?

Hands down: Twitter.  I’ve never been addicted to anything-food, video games, drugs-but I’m addicted to Twitter.  It’s like my lifelife to other people.  I have this fear that if I leave it for a day, everyone will forget about me.  So it’s more than an addiction, it’s a full-blown existential crisis!

If your main character, Logan, could give one piece of advice to teenage girls, what would it be?

Since he died from a mixture of drugs and alcohol (not an overdose, but a deadly combination), he would definitely warn teens to stay away from that stuff.  Especially alcohol, because it makes you do stupid things (like take drugs).

As a guy talking to girls, he would say to watch out for “bad boys.” They’re so popular in YA literature, but in real life, they’re not secretly good on the inside, waiting for the right girl to come along and redeem them.  They’re just bad. Except Logan would use a harsher word than “bad.”

If there was one thing about Logan’s life that you’d like to have in your own life, what would it be? What about the one thing about his life that you’d NEVER want to have?

I would love to be a musician!  I’ve always dreamed of performing in a band-I guess that’s why I love reading aloud so much.  And to have the close relationship he has with his siblings, both the ones in the band (Siobhan and Mickey) and his younger brother Dylan.  My brother and sister are eight and ten years older, and while we’re close now, when I was growing up it was like having four parents.

I wouldn’t want to live in a world with ghosts everywhere, even if I wasn’t young enough to see them.  That would be really creepy.

What are you working on next?

I’m still revising/perfecting SHINE, the third part of the SHADE trilogy, which comes out May 1.  Then I’ll write the final book in my adult vampire series, LUST FOR LIFE, which comes out next October.

Then I start my first YA contemporary, slated for a Fall 2013 release. We’ll be announcing more details next month, but I can tell you this much: 1) it’s about a boy and 2) I am very, very excited about it!

About the author:

Atop Sugar Loaf Mountain!

So here I am in gorgeous, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and it couldn’t have exceeded my expectations more! It’s so beautiful here! I love it!

I really enjoy experiencing new countries and cultures. And since it’s my first time here, I thought I’d share with you a few things that I love (so far!) about Brazil.

A quick disclaimer: I’ve only been in the city of Rio and so these impressions are limited to what I’ve seen here. I obviously can’t speak for the rest of the country!

Food/Drink:

•  There’s cheese EVERYWHERE! In the pastries, in the bread, served as a side dish. And since I’m such a big lover of cheese, this won me over on day ONE!
• The soda here is made with actual sugar (not high fructose corn syrup!) In fact, when I tried to explain this strange American phenomenon of the High Fructose Corn syrup to a Brazilian friend of mine here, she looked at me with a funny expression and said, “Corn? In soda?” Exactly!
• The coffee is heavenly! And it’s served (at least at my hotel) with a choice of cold AND hot milk! And the milk is thick and creamy and delicious! I haven’t seen a dinky little artificial creamer cup anywhere.
• They serve coconuts with a straw in it! As evidenced in the photo. It’s better than any “juice box” of coconut water I’ve ever tasted! The coconut is literally pulled from the tree, a whole is drilled in it, a straw is added, and voila! Refreshing drink! (And” it’s got electrolytes!” Note: if you haven’t seen the movie, Idiocracy, either go rent it or disregard this joke.)
• Other random foods I’ve found irresistible: Pão bisnaguinha (little sweet bread rolls that look like mini hot dog buns), pipoca caramel (caramel popcorn), Aipim Frita (some kind of fried root vegetable similar to a potato that reminded me a lot of potato pancakes), Guarana Soda (which tastes kind of like ginger ale but sweeter, hence, better!) and Pão de Queijo (cheese bread. Let’s face it, is it EVER possible to go wrong when you put cheese and bread together?)

General Cultural Observations:

• When you order something “pequeno” (small), like coffee, drinks, etc, it’s actually SMALL! As someone who has often been accused of “eating like a bird,” I’m very appreciative of this. I’m tired of ordering “small” portions in the U.S. and not even being able to finish them. And then feeling guilty for wasting food. Since when did the “small” soda at fast food restaurants become a Big Gulp? Observe the photograph. This was a “chocolate pequeno” (A small hot chocolate) or as my husband likes to say, “Jessica Size” and I actually finished it! And the tiny little spoon was just too “fofa” (cute) for words.
• The public buses (at least the ones in Rio) have both a driver AND a cashier, who sits in a little booth behind the driver and sells tickets. I find this to be completely brilliant! I’ve been to so many countries where the driver is both the driver and the cashier and not only does it slow down the entire boarding process, it puts a lot of stress on the foreigner (that would be me) who is trying desperately to figure out how much I owe, how to ask how much I owe in a language I barely speak, and which one of these unfamiliar colorful bills is the right denomination (all while the driver is speeding to the next stop). So thank you, Rio, for this simple yet effective solution!
• And speaking of unfamiliar colorful bills, the money here has animals on it! As an animal lover, I find this to be totally awesome! I mean, seriously, how cool is it to pay for your dinner with money that has a monkey, a parrot and a jaguar on it? I’ll tell you…. it’s REALLY cool!
• Rio has some of the most well groomed dogs I’ve ever seen! I’m not kidding! Around 6-8 pm, everyone is out walking their dogs and it looks like a dog show. The coats are shiny and immaculate, as though the dogs spent the entire day at the beauty parlor while their owners were at work. They make my dogs (who spend their days, rubbing themselves in the dirt and chasing squirrels through fields) look like bums!
• Everyone here is really active and in shape. There are always people jogging, biking, and playing volleyball all day long. It’s great! Check out the picture of the Ipanema beach strand on Sunday. They close the street to cars and everyone is out walking! And instead of fast food restaurants and Starbucks on every corner, they have juice shops. Seriously, the Brazilians LOVE their juice. And I don’t blame them, it’s delicious! So hmmm….juice instead of fast food on every corner, real sugar instead of High Fructose Corn syrup, and I haven’t seen a single overweight local? Seems pretty self-explanatory to me!
• And the final thing that I love about Rio (so far)…is that everyone is really nice! They smile at you, and are helpful and are very appreciative when you try to speak Portuguese! (The operative word here being “try”).

Well, that’s all for now! I’ll post more first impressions as they come!

Tchau!
Jessica