Win a copy of *The Vinyl Princess* 'zine by Yvonne Prinz!

So imagine, if you will, my girlish squeal of delight when, one morning, my boss handed me a package addressed to Edge of Seventeen. Mail! Yay!

The return address said Yvonne Prinz. "Hmm. Who's that? ," I thought. Then it dawned on me. Yvonne Prinz: author of the incredibly cool novel The Vinyl Princess, co-founder of the indie record store Amoeba Music ,blogger and 'zine author! Inside the package was a bunch of copies of her 'zine and a bunch of VP buttons. I have three of each to give away, so be sure to enter your name below to get one.

Mandy put me on to The Vinyl Princess last year and after I read the novel, I think Mandy's review of the book perfectly captures my feelings for this book. See Mandy's enthusiastic review of The Vinyl Princess here. And her further musings here.

The 'zine that I'm giving away is like a love letter to music: vintage vinyl reviews, top ten lists, a comic strip and more.

****

Edge of Seventeen is Back!

After a bit of an extended vacation, Edge of Seventeen is back! Mandy has offered me the enormously thrilling responsibility of taking care of this baby for a while. So, I've already written a few blog posts but I suppose it's never too late for official introductions. My name is Erica and I work at Words Worth Books in Waterloo. I love reading kids and YA books and I have a special interest in anything with a steampunk aesthetic. I hope that you'll enjoy my posts. Mandy will continue to post reviews once in a while, in between running a world-class local independent bookstore. In order to accomplish all of this, Mandy will give up sleep.

So, in honour of Mandy and the love for YA that we both share, I thought I'd share with you a little Q&A, to get right back to the heart of why it's so much fun to blog about Young Adult fiction.

Erica: Hi Mandy!
Mandy: Hi!!!

Mandy and Erica, blog-size.

Erica: What are you reading right now?
Mandy: The new Michael Ondaatje. It's okay.
Erica: I know that you have a very special place in your heart for teen fiction, especially dystopian fiction. Is there anything that you've read lately that's wowed you, or anything that you are anticipating?
Mandy: I'm anticipating reading the new Kenneth Oppel and the new Maureen Johnson, for sure. Recently I finished the new Eileen Cook book, I think it's out in January. (I'd have to look up all the titles hahaha)
Erica: What is it about Young Adult fiction that draws you to this genre? The hot boys? 
Mandy: Hahahahahaha! The only guys I find hot in YA are the Weasley twins.
Erica: No!

Weasely Weasleys

Mandy: Yes!! And both of 'em!  For awhile when I was reading more YA, I loved it because there was such a huge community dedicated to it. And I had started reading the blog Bookshelves of Doom http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/ , and I loved her review style. She got me on to so much and I just went with it. And then a lovely librarian friend was also locally blogging about teen books and I was hooked.
Erica: When you mention the YA community, what do you mean? Readers, bloggers, authors?
Mandy: Mostly bloggers, but also publishers. There was all this new buzz about the teen genre and I wanted to be part of it.
Erica: There are LOTS of blogs on the web, and lots of YA book blogs, to boot. What sets Edge of Seventeen apart from the rest, in your opinion?
Mandy: Actually I think EOS is pretty standard in terms of a book blog. BUT I think with your renewed interest in maintaining it, and your injecting it with Steampunk goodness, it'll really become something.
Erica: I don't think the blog is or has ever been standard! Your sheer enthusiasm and amazing author interviews made me a loyal blog reader.
Mandy: Every blog should have some unique focus to it, in partnership with being a straightforward teen book review blog. Pick a passion and incorporate it into your blog and you'll stand out. I never really did that.
Erica: I endeavor to take the awesomeness that you started and continue it.
Mandy: Ha ha ha, you'll make it great.
Erica: Anne of Green Gables was the book that made me into a reader. It has a strong female character, which is something that I still love in YA books. Was there a book like this for you?
Mandy: One of the books that made me into a reader was Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I loved it. It was also the beginning of my love for Sci-Fi. But I can't remember my first book, per se.
Erica: You've interviewed quite a few fantastic authors on your blog. Which one would you most like to take out for dinner? What would you chat about over coffee and dessert?
Mandy: I'd love to have dinner with Bernard Beckett just because I have a crush on him. It's possible that I wouldn't have much to say to him except "Genesis was amazing...." I might have more to say to Meg Rosoff though, just about anticipating how a story is developed. I'm in awe of How I Live Now. All of the elements of the story and the way she builds it up, it's remarkable.
Erica: You're remarkable. Thanks for creating such a fantastic blog and thanks for chatting with me.
Mandy: Anytime!! 

Review *Ship Breaker* by Paolo Bacigalupi

This novel is INTENSE. I was first attracted to the book because of it's awesome cover. The photo here doesn't do it justice: in real life you can clearly see that it is meant to look like weathered metal, probably copper, and the title looks as if it's been etched into the metal. Gorgeous.

Once I got past the cover, the story itself drew me in faster than any book I've read recently.  The story opens in an extremely claustrophobic setting as Nailer, a teenage boy, clambers through a service duct on a grounded oil tanker. Ship Breaker takes place in a future when oil is scarce and discharged oil tankers are docked on the the coast to be broken down for parts. Nailer's job, along with the rest of the teenage crew, is to scavenge copper wiring from grounded ships (thus: ship breaking). Smaller kids like Nailer are preferred for this work, because they can easily navigate the narrow ducts in the tankers.

Listen to this nail-biting description of one of Nailer's salvage missions:

 All around, the duct pinged and creaked. It sank slightly, tilting. The whole thing was on the verge of collapse. Nailer's frantic activity and extra weight had weakened it. ...Metal shrieked. The duct dropped out from under him. Nailer scrabbled for handholds as his world gave away.  His fingers seized scavenged wire. For a second it held, suspending him above an infinite pit. Then the wire tore loose. He plummeted...

Aargh! **bites nails**

Nailer and his friends live in the Gulf Coast region where the worst of the frequent storms that rip along the coast are nicknamed "City Killers": storms so intense that the obliterate anything in their path. In Ship Breaker's dystopian future, global warming is NOW and New Orleans has sunk, twice. I know, know. I hear you saying: "This all sounds terribly grim. Why would I want to read another dystopian YA  novel that's so unrelentlingly BLEAK?" Well, for one, Bacigalupi is an amazing author. I read this book late into the wee hours of the morning because I needed to know what would happen next. Brilliant pacing. And secondly,  as with many dystopian novels, there is a hopeful undercurrent. Nailer's life is all hard knocks and he has an extremely dysfunctional relationship with his dad. His dad is a drug addict who thinks only of when and where his next fix will come from. So, ever resilient, Nailer finds family in his friend Pima and her mother, Sadna.

Family. It was just a word. Nailer could spell it now. Could see all the letters strung together. But it was a symbol, too....Family wasn't any more reliable than marriages or friendships or blood sworn crew , and maybe less. His own father really would gut him if he ever got hold of him again; it didn't matter if they shared blood or not....But Nailer was pretty sure that Sadna would fight for him tooth and nail, and maybe even give up her life to save him.

Nailer ALWAYS finds a way. He never gives up. Sure he falters and stumbles at times, but there's always a will. It's easy to draw similarities between Ship Breaker and The Hunger Games; between Nailer and Katniss. Both Nailer and Katniss are prisoners of circumstance who have to rely upon their own inner resourcefulness. And both books play around with the subject of class, comparing the haves to the have nots. In Ship Breaker's future there is no middle class: the rich are rich and the poor are dirt poor.

I recommend Ship Breaker to anyone who's enjoyed some of the more popular dystopian teen fiction of the last little while: The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, and Divergent. This is also an excellent novel "for the dudes."

-Erica

Faerie Tale Musings

Please allow me to break away from books for a moment to describe an experience that was at least faerie-tale-ish. Last week, my husband and I took an early morning walk to Sabletine, a local patisserie, thinking of chocolate croissants and european-style coffee the whole way. As we approached Sabletine, something in the window of the next-door consignment shop (Patina) caught my eye. In the window tied to a  hanger that displayed a lacy camisole was a pair of pink and green ostrich feathers. Hmm. But hunger trumped interest so we went directly to Sabletine. Emerging about 30 minutes later, covered in croissant dust and energized by the strong coffee, we entered Patina.  I tried on a few things that, as it turned out, didn't fit; however, on our way out my husband pointed out a coat: long, black velvet, with a fur collar and lined with what looked like satin. I turned over the tag and read: 1940s Opera Coat. Hmm. I tried it on .

Opera Coat. Yes, I am indeed grinning like an idiot as I wear a winter coat in 35 degree weather.

Now here's where it gets a bit weird. When I looked in the mirror with this coat on, I really felt like I was in a some sort of mythologically-inspired folk tale. I felt as if I was late for a meeting with Baba Yaga; or that I should be strewing breadcrumbs behind me or something. Well, I WAS covered in croissant dust.

Anyway, I bought the coat, and the ostrich feathers. The lovely lady that sold them to me looked me straight in eye when I approached the counter, and frowned slightly. "Oh", she said, "You aren't the lady that was looking at this coat yesterday." "What does that mean!?" I thought, panicking. "Does that mean that I can't buy it!" Interrupting my rapid spiral of despair, she continued, "But she had plenty of time to come back and get it." Phew.

"Remarkable bird. Beautiful plummage, in'it?"

As she touched the ostrich feathers to put them in the bag, she told me that they had come to her through a older lady whose grandmother had worn them in her hair on her wedding day in the 1940s. Her fiance had just returned from the war and had purchased her her several gifts, two of which were these feathers and the lacy camisole that shared space in the shop window until I plucked the feathers away. After she told me this she said, almost wistfully, "And I guess that story dies here." Being a soft touch, I promised to share the story with others whenever I wore the feathers. So there you have it.

And this is my cat. He is VERY interested in this feather.

Holly Black's wicked "Modern Tale of Faerie" series.

On a related note, lately I've been reading Holly Black's modern faerie tales. This woman knows how to write edgy, fast-paced fantasy. Tithe is a about a teenager who stumbles into the faerie world and unwittingly becomes a pawn in the rivalry between two faerie kingdoms. I love the fact that Black portrays teenagers as real people. There are suggestions of sexual situations, and some language, so I'd recommend these books to a 15+ audience. Totally worth checking out.

An Interview with Author Anna Humphrey!

Anna Humphrey is the author of two amazing young adult novels: Rhymes with Cupid (HarperTeen), and most recently, Mission (Un)Popular (Disney/Hyperion). Rhymes with Cupid is a light-hearted romance that takes place around Valentine's Day. Let me just say that this little book had me grinning from ear-to-ear the whole time. Seriously. Grinning like an idiot.

Mission (Un)Popular is the story of Margot Button, a newly-minted seventh grader who struggles to reinvent herself in the seemingly perfect setting of a new school, a.k.a., new beginning. But her new best friend, Em, is trouble with with a capital T: wildly manipulative, selfish and hiding a troubled past. I loved how Margot's character deals with the turmoil: not neatly, in a 1/2 hour sitcom kind of way, but messily, realistically and honestly.

Anna's a busy mother of two on top of her full-time job as a writer, and as you'll see below, she is made of awesome. I hope you enjoy our chat!

Erica: Hi Anna. Thanks for making time today.

Anna: Hi Erica!

Erica: 2011 has been a big year for you... two books in one year!

Anna: It's definitely been busy! I also had a baby somewhere in there. It's all been a bit of a blur.

Erica: I bet! You have two young children at home. What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?

Anna: There are so many advantages, really. I love that I (mostly) get to set my own schedule and that I can fit the stuff of life (laundry, errands, etc.) around my writing time. I also love the flexibility it gives me when it comes to my kids. They go to daycare part time, but we still get to spend the afternoons together.

Anna: And as for the disadvantages... my office supplies have a way of ending up in my daughter's craft box... but that's about the worst of it.

Erica: Aww. So cute. Your second novel (or second to be published), Mission (Un)Popular, takes place in junior high school. The main character, Margot Button, refers to the eve of a new school year as “School Year’s Eve”. I love this expression! Why do you think the transition between grade six and grade seven is such a magical (yet terrifying!) time?

Anna: I think it's magical (or, it was for me, and it is for Margot) because changing schools seems like such a fresh start--a real opportunity to reinvent yourself. But it's definitely terrifying, too. First of all, because kids can be SO ruthless and mean at that age. And also because trying to become a new, improved version of yourself isn't easy, and it never comes without risk.

Erica: I absolutely agree. There is a power shift that occurs in young girls not just in middle school, but even as young as kindergarten. Divisions happen, cliques form and girls are pitted against one another. Why are girls so mean to each other? And why is this so much more intense in the pre-teen years?

Anna: God! I wish I knew... Maybe then I could protect my daughter from it. I worry about girls. I really do. My daughter's in kindergarten and, like you say, it's already happening to some degree. If I had to guess why girls get mean, I guess I'd say it all comes down to our fear of not being good enough, or worthy enough. We take each other down to make ourselves feel better and safer, socially speaking. It's sad and wrong, but I think every one of us has been guilty of doing it at one point or another. And it gets especially bad in the preteen years, I think, because that's when you start taking a really close look at your peers and trying to figure out where you fit in, or IF you fit in.

Erica: Your book has some pretty powerful stuff to say about self-esteem and conforming to peer pressure. How do you hope your book will be received by girls that are Margot’s age?

Anna: I hope they'll be able to read it, and laugh in places, and not feel preached to in any way. Kids that age have enough people telling them what to do. If they're able to relate to Margot and what she's going through, and maybe cheer her on as she comes to realize what's right for her... well, that'd be more than enough for me.

Erica: I think you've hit the nail on the head. Kids this age don't want to be preached to. Lord knows that I didn't listen when my parents told me that the mean girls in grade seven were just "jealous." "Jealous of what?" was all I could think!

Erica: One of the things that I noted while reading Mission (Un)Popular was that Margot’s character is really believable. Thank you for not writing Margot as a child. Twelve year olds, whether we like it or not, know and experience a lot more than we’d like to admit. Do you think twelve-year-old girls have changed significantly over the years?

Erica: I mean, from our experience of seventh grade to what it's like today?

Anna: Agreed. Twelve year olds definitely know more (and have been through more) than most parents or other adults like to admit... And I'm willing to bet that today's twelve year olds are up against even more than we were at that age. I mean, everything just seems to move faster these days, don't you think?

Erica: Yes. The internet has become a whole new tool for social interaction and bullying. In fact, in your novel, Margot and her best friend, Erika, sort of breakup over the internet. On your blog, you have some pretty cute musings on what it means to be a best friend. What is your best friend like?

Anna: My best friend is made of rainbows. Seriously. She's amazing. Loyal and honest and smart and funny and always, always there for me. She's the one I call when everyone in the entire house has the flu, and she shows up every time. I've known her since I was 15 . Actually, Mission (Un)Popular is dedicated to her.

Erica: Yes! I noticed the dedication. She sounds AMAZING. You're really lucky!

Erica: I noticed some serious Sarah Dessen love on your blog! What other authors would you love to have coffee with?

Anna: I also have a great big author-crush on Susan Juby. She wrote Alice, I Think, and its two sequels. She's hilarious. She's also Canadian, and that makes me love her even more. Also, Gordon Korman. I could read I Want to Go Home a hundred times and not be sick of it.

Erica: Susan Juby! Totally worthy of an author crush! Gordon Korman's great too! One last question: You'll be leading writing workshops for 9 to 12 year olds this fall at TPL (Toronto Public Library). Magical or terrifying?

Anna: Oh. SO terrifying. Don't tell the Toronto Public Library this, but I have no idea what I'm doing, and public speaking makes me feel barfy. That said, I'm also really excited about the opportunity to write with a group of girls. I think that, once I get over my nerves, we're going to have an amazing time together.

Anna: Or guys... sorry. I should add that guys are totally welcome to sign up, too! I hope some will!

Erica: Thanks for your time, Anna! You are my new author crush.

Anna: Awe. Shucks. Thanks, Erica. It was great talking with you!

"Steampunk is what happens when Goths discover brown..."

This is a photo of author Cherie Priest. Just as I try not to judge a book by it's cover (but I do anyway), I try not to judge an author by her author photo (so I will anyway). This photo is just too much fun. Let's see if we can pin her down.

1) She has blue hair!

2) She is wearing aviator goggles

3) Fingerless gloves. Check.

4) She appears to be posing

in some sort of a steamship/factory/military base

Now, if we add all of these elements together and factor in the major clue in the word "steamship", we can make an educated guess that Cherie Priest is a steampunk fan. The best description of steampunk that I've heard so far is "polite punk", or technology meets romance. For a lengthier definition, see here: http://steampunkscholar.blogspot.com/2009/02/towards-definition-of-steampunk.html

Priest is probably best known for her award-winning steampunk novel, Boneshaker. Dreadnought was written after Boneshaker and has some of the same characters, but it's not necessary to read the books in sequence. So, because Boneshaker was on backorder with the publisher, I decided that to give Dreadnought a go.

Dreadnought is marvellously pulpy, with a remarkable, strong, female character who makes her male counterparts sit up and take notice, thank you very much. Mercy Lynch is whip-smart, sassy and funny. Here's a little sample of her awesomeness:

"It's funny what they say about men in uniform - how people think women just can't resist 'em. Fact is, I think we're just pleased to see a man groomed, bathed, and wearing clothes that fit him."

She knows how to defend herself, is not afraid to travel alone, and is shrewd enough to unravel the mystery at the heart of his story, largely on her own.

Dreadnought takes place during the Civil War (or Priest's version of) and begins with the heroine of the novel, Nurse Mercy Lynch , receiving a telegram informing her that her estranged father is gravely ill. She leaves her post at the hospital and begins the long, dangerous trip across the country, first by zeppelin and them by train. Zeppelin crashes, armoured battle trains, wild-west type ambushes and zombies figure prominently in the a high-energy tale that ensues.

Dreadnought reminded me of everything that was good and smart and fun about Joss "Buffy" Whedon's wild-west television series Firefly. I loved this book and anxiously await the the arrival of Boneshaker!

Kenneth Oppel - in store tomorrow!!!!

We are pretty excited to meet the award-winning children's author and host Kenneth in the store. Stop by - he will be here and reading to us at 10:30am!

Vampire Diaries: T.V. Show and Music Video

So I'm watching The Vampire Diaries the other day and I realize there is NON-STOP music through the whole show. Alaric is telling the group some important plot details and it's all chilled and there's music playing basically over top of their conversation. How overstimulating. Are the creators so worried about losing their audience to "boring" scenes, like when they TALK? *Otherwise, loving Damon this season!*

I still have some VD books to get through. It surprised me how much I got into them.

And I do have to give cred to the sound crew at VD; there's tons of music, but it's so awesome to see them include Hope Sandoval, Tegan and Sara, Imogen Heap, Metric, Neko Case.

Win *The Monstrumologist* by Rick Yancey!

This is a scary book. The freaking creepy creatures, Anthropophagus, are unlike any monsters I've recently read about. The cover blurb by VOYA is actually on the ball when they say it's a cross between Mary Shelley and Stephen King; there's a historical, classic gothic genre thing working here, but modernized with gore.

The new paperback edition has the first chapter of The Curse of the Wendigo, (sequel).

So win it! Fill in the form below and spread the word.

Blog Tour for *Plain Kate* by Erin Bow AND Giveaway!

Plain Kate is Erin Bow's first novel and we're kicking it off with a blog tour! This is the first stop and I have to say it's fitting because Erin is a local author for me. I see her at the bookstore often and we're proud that she's garnered attention for Plain Kate that has stretched far outside our community.

Erin is a talented author and I devoured Plain Kate. Here's a little chat we had about her book, and if you live in Canada, enter below to win a finished copy!

***

Mandy: Hi, Erin! Thanks for making time today. :)

Erin: Hello Mandy! No problems.

Mandy: Summer has gone by too quickly. This September is a big month for you!

Erin: Crazy big. Release day is only ten days from now, which is scary and awesome. I don't know exactly what I expect to HAPPEN on release day, mind.

Mandy: It might feel more like a release month, rather than just a day. But for you, I'm sure the sun will be brighter. :)

Erin: The idea of someone actually reading the thing is -- overwhelming, is I guess the word I'm looking for.

Mandy: Plain Kate isn't the first book you've written and published -- will it be a different feeling when PK releases compared to past books?

Erin: I've had a little reader response trickle in from the ARCs. But even with that, I can't get used to the idea that people who aren't related to me are going to read the book. I think it will feel different. It's been different so far. I thought I was prepared for publishing a book, but the SCALE of publishing a novel with a big house is so different than publishing my poetry. It really is another world. I could probably put everyone who read my last book of poetry in a room. And not a huge room.

Mandy: And there's been quite the buzz at Arthur A. Levine, and Chicken House for your book.

Erin: The novel is much more out of my hands. It has more life of its own. There could be no better cheerleader for a book than Arthur. He's been amazing.He got up in front of this huge room of people at BookExpo and started talking about the books he'd worked on, Harry Potter and The Golden Compass and so on. And in the next breath he's talking about Plain Kate.

Mandy: Yeah, he has a few successes as an editor under his belt.

Erin: I knew it was coming but I still nearly fainted away. He deserves his successes, let me tell you. He's a genius editor, in addition to a good cheerleader.

Mandy: The role of an editor for a book isn't talked about as much as it should be. But I think they are instrumental.

Erin: Arthur certainly was crucial to KATE. The ending we came up with together is almost unrecognizably different. As in, different people live and die for different reasons.

Mandy: I noticed in one of your blog posts, as you were editing PK, that you completely changed the last few chapters before publication. What was there originally (broadly speaking, of course) that you felt needed to go?

Erin: Hmmmm, I am not sure how to answer that without spoiling things for those who haven't read it. One of the rules of magic in the book is that every gift has a cost. In the original version, the scales didn't balance. I wanted to give my characters a more happy ending, but I took too much away from them by doing so. The things that Kate discovers about herself at the end -- and they are important things -- have to come at a cost. In the original, they didn't. In the final version, they do.

Mandy: Oh wow, great answer, actually. The balance of magic is very important in PK. To the world of fantasy, typically.

Erin: Has to be. I can't remember who said that "if everything is possible, nothing is interesting." If you give people magical powers, you also have to give them increased burdens -- weaknesses or responsibilities. Or their lives are too easy.People with easy lives are dull to read about.

Mandy: Absolutely. Which is why I said that PK really reminded me of A Wizard of Earthsea. So much of that book is about balancing magic. And the importance of the shadow.

Erin: Earthsea is my all-time favorite!

Mandy: An absolute classic!

Erin: I didn't have it consciously in mind when the idea came to me about a girl who sells her shadow. But I think it must have been lurking in my dreams somewhere. I could really dissolve into fangirl squee about Earthsea at this point. The bit with Ged ... where he dreams about the shadow outside the door, and then it's inside the room, and YIKES. Those are great books.

Mandy: I like that you mention PK relating to a dream. Elsehwere you say it was "written under the spell of a Russian fairy tale". Can you say a little more about the tone of PK, how it relates to spells and dreams?

Erin: Hmmmm. I think it has a rather "high" tone, like a spell or a dream. It takes itself absolutely seriously. It doesn't have any of that modern irony that's so common (and usually quite enjoyable) in contemporary fantasy. It's not at all meta. I'm reading a book right now, quite a good one, that uses what it calls "the politically correct phrase 'person with paranormal identity.'" That's pretty much the opposite of the tone PK had to take. I think if it had stepped outside itself, even a little, it would have broken its own spell. But because it's unbroken, it can get away with spell-like elements: the stolen shadow, the talking cat, the ghost made out of fog.
Mandy: It is a serious book. And dark, like a traditional fairy tale. But there are definitely funny parts, most often involving Taggle, Kate's talking cat.

Erin: Taggle just about steals the show, doesn't he. But he's just saying what you know all cats are thinking. It's really an honour for us to get to live with them and pet them and give them fish.

Mandy: hahaha, do you own cats? They obviously have a special place in your imagination.

Erin: I have a cat: Augustus Asparagus, First Cat of the Empire. We call him Gus and sometimes he answers. I like how self-possessed cats are; I admire them. But would it hurt sales if I admitted I really want a dog?

Mandy: haha, it just might. Keep the dog thing under your hat for now ;) How amazing was Meg Rosoff's comment about Taggle being one of the most delightful talking cats in children's literature?

Erin: I swooned. I love Rosoff's work, and I'm so honored she loved mine. It's been interesting, her blurb. Sometimes the publisher uses the part about the cat, and sometimes they don't. I think mentioning the cat, and Taggle, makes it sound like a different book than it is. More Disney, you know? Talking animal sidekick he may be, but Taggle is definitely no Disney creature.

Mandy: I was going to say, after reading PK I think it's suited just as much for adults as for young adults. There is no Disney there.

Erin: I think in fact he'd object to "sidekick."

Mandy: I was personally worried, getting near the end, that you were going to make me cry. :) You must have been affected emotionally countless times while writing..

Erin: Did you cry? People cry...I cried, yes. I wonder if that's tacky, like laughing at your own joke. But I did.

Mandy: I was very moved by Taggle's whole story, especially how the book ends. He was the most real to me, as I read.

Erin: I delayed writing the ending for weeks and just about had a breakdown during the time. Finally I found myself at a Tim Hortons with an hour to kill before a radio interview, and I had nothing but my notebook, so I just sat down with some cranberry juice and scribbled it out. It was an intense experience, writing the climax. I'm sure the Timmy's people were about ready to call the Community Mental Health workers. Taggle is the most real, hmmmm? I live most with Kate and Linay, personally. But Taggle is very dear.

Mandy: Linay also was very vivid. He reminded me of David Bowie from Labyrinth! But Linay's story was a lot more complicated.

Erin: Awesome! He'd like that. He has a theatrical streak and probably just about has himself convinced that he's a goblin king. Linay is ... yes, complicated.

Mandy: I had a bit of a crush on him, I have to say.

Erin: You know how bad guys never think they're bad guys? But Linay is quite aware of what he's doing, and I think very torn about it. He has some intense regrets. I ALWAYS fall for the villians. And the tortured unhappy people. Perferably as played by Alan Rickman. Linay is a strange case. He's definitely the villian and he does terrible things to Kate.

Mandy: Hahahaha, me too! Love Alan Rickman. Linay IS pretty aware of what he's doing. I don't think he actually disliked Kate. He just needed something from her and she was willing to give it away.

Erin: But he's also the person who sticks by her, is most faithful to her, believes in her and tries to help her. No, he doesn't dislike her. He says he likes her, in fact, and he's not lying.
He just saw her as weak enough to exploit. The basic complication of the novel is: He's wrong.

Mandy: PK really is a coming of age story. Kate is tested by so many big life situations in one adventure. What is it about this time in a person's life when they leave childhood that is great fodder for story?

Erin: I'm not sure I know. It's certainly one of the classics, though. I guess "becoming who you are" is one of the fundamental human stories. I have had the odd complaint from reviewers that Kate's story is too reactive, that's she's too passive. I think of it differently: that she's surrounded by things that are bigger than she is, caught up in larger events -- as we all are -- and in the midst of that, she has to learn to take control of her own story.

Mandy: I didn't read Kate as being passive at all.

Erin: She does make mistakes, though, and certainly struggles with some decisions.

Mandy: That's a great line about her having to learn to take control of her own story.

Erin: I can see where that reads as "passive." My agent hated the middle bit of the book, which I always think of as the Stolkholm chapters. Kate stays somewhere she clearly shouldn't. But we're not always ready to jump free when we should, and she isn't.

It *is* a good line. I must use it somewhere.

Mandy: Especially since she's already lost so much by the middle of the book. Her mother, her father, her home. I imagined Kate would want to hold on to what she could. Like her art, woodcarving. It's the thing that keeps her together.

Erin: The truth inside the wood. You could (I am making this up on the fly) read that as a metaphor for her journey. She gets carved away to something stronger, more beautiful. But the woodcarving does keep her together. It's the one thing she has complete confidence in, and that never wavers, no matter what else happens in the book.

Mandy: I love that she carves even though she's not recognized by the Guild. The last thing I'd love to know: is there a sequel? Do you feel a sequel is necessary or maybe a companion book set in the same world, with different characters?

Erin: The British title of the book is going to be Wood Angel. I resisted that at first -- I'm so attached to PLAIN KATE -- but I've grown to like it. She is rather an angel of the wood. Something strong and good and out of place ... with a knife in her hand. I have no plans for a sequel. I know, that makes me rare among YA authors.

Mandy: It ends very well in itself. A complete story. All credits and debits balanced, magically and emotionally.

Erin: I won't rule out a companion book -- there are secondary characters in this book that I like -- but I feel as if Kate's story is told. She is not going to go on and save some different city. in book two. Right now I'm working on a few things that are entirely independent. I'm so glad you liked it, Mandy. Wordsworth is my bookstore, you know. A little slip taped to the cover there means as much as a starred review elsewhere.

***
Follow the full blog tour for Plain Kate and enter to win a copy of the book each time! See below for blog stops and dates. Good luck!

September 18th:
http://www.blogger.com/www.yabookshelf.com

September 19th:
http://www.letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/

September 20th:
http://www.lil-library.blogspot.com/
http://www.lavenderlines.wordpress.com/

September 21st:
http://www.21pages.x10hosting.com/
http://www.bellasbookshelves.wordpress.com/

September 22nd:
http://www.todays-adventure.com/

September 23rd:
http://www.themoodyteenager.blogspot.com/

September 24th:
http://www.maybe-tomorrow.net/
http://www.shelfelf.wordpress.com/

Industry Bigmouths: How Book Bloggers are Changing the Publishing Industry

When I started blogging last year I was amazed when publishers and those in marketing were paying attention to my posts. I would write a book review or offer a book for giveaway and I'd get an email offering an author to interview or another book for a contest. I started noticing that I was on industry emailing lists for online promotion, and it was happening for a lot of other book blogs, that I could see.

I think it's fascinating, the role that bloggers are playing in the publishing industry. As reviewers and "industry bigmouths" (a positive term for bloggers and online promoters within the publishing industry), book bloggers have changed the way books are promoted and popularized.

And I wanted to know more, so I turned to a fantastically smart and insightful lady who not only maintains her own book blog, A Certain Bent Appeal, she was also recently promoted to Online Marketing Coordinator at Penguin Canada. Her name is Bronwyn Kienapple and I couldn't wait to chat with her about the world of book blogs and publishing!

***

Mandy: You are the online marketing coordinator at Penguin Canada. 1) Holy Cow and 2) what do you do in a day?

Bronwyn: :) 1) It's pretty much my dream job. I started as the publicity assistant here two years ago but eventually began adding tasks to my job description that looked a lot more like online marketing. These included helping to build Penguin's Bloggers & Books Network. And I also started infiltrating online communities like LibraryThing, the Ning Book Bloggers page, and also contributing to the corporate twitter account @penguincanada. Now I get to do all of this full-time, which is amazing.

2) I do social media marketing. And I do Penguin.ca updates, and update our microsites such as hamishhamilton.ca, penguinbookclub.ca etc. I also write the business to business newsletter, among other duties.

Mandy: And what is the Bloggers and Books Network? I've checked it out, but what is its function on the publishing end? Did you help develop it?

Bronwyn: Our former online marketing manager, Christina Ponte, built the concept. The Bloggers & Books Network is a network of top Canadian book bloggers. Interested bloggers can fill out the questionnaire at penguin.ca/bloggernetwor​k. The results come back to me and I enter that person into our database. They are then eligible to receive advance review copies of Penguin books. Myself, or one of our publicists, will email select bloggers based on their interests and they have a chance to receive a copy to review. So on my end, what I did was build relationships with these bloggers, find out their specific interests/reading preferences, and get books out to them that they'd enjoy reading/talking about.

The function of the Bloggers & Books Network is to get top Canadian bloggers talking about Penguin books. But selfishly, it's allowed me to meet some really cool Canadian book people too.

Mandy: Yeah I bet you've met some great bloggers via the network. I love the level of community online with book bloggers in particular. I'm fascinated by the rise in blogging and how popular it's become to the publishing industry. You must have seen this rise? How did it start, what were the signs? How do publishers see book blogs?

Bronwyn: When I first joined Penguin in 2008 our involvement with bloggers was minimal. This has only really exploded in the past year. People were interested in talking to bloggers but they needed to be educated on the purpose of blogs, the impact these blogs had on consumer purchasing habits etc. Now there is much more acceptance as to the role blog reviews have in getting the word out about our titles. I noticed in the US this year a lot of bloggers participated in Book Expo America and also that they had their own specific networking events. I see major publishers talking up bloggers all the time on twitter. Publishers have really caught on to how powerful some of these bloggers can be. A good example is Tricia Woods' Hey Lady blog. She has a lot of followers. She influences a lot of people.

This is a major sign that publishers take bloggers seriously. I think publishers see bloggers the way they see independent booksellers. In that they are hand-selling books to the consumer. It is one thing to run ads, to have a print review run in the Globe, to buy placement at Indigo. But a recommendation from a trusted bookseller has a higher likelihood of influencing a sale. It's a much more genuine, trusted interaction…

Mandy: you're awesome.

Bronwyn: Same thing with bloggers - they build a readership. The readers come to know the blogger and feel as if they are a trusted source, if they come to agree with that bloggers' book choices. Thus, any recommendation they make is much more likely to affect purchasing habits than most anything else.

*whew* typing at warp speed here!

Mandy: There is something about a personal recommendation made available by an actual reading blogger. Does it help that the blogger is seen as unbiased? I mean, Penguin sends ARCs out, but that never means a blogger has to say anything good about the book or even post about it?

Bronwyn: Absolutely. Some bloggers are clearly biased in that they are looking to receive products and thus don't want to print anything negative. But the same can happen with print journalists. Readers will sniff out this tendency. The bloggers we want to deal with are ones who are unbiased, who will tell their readers exactly what they think of a book, while still being fair. When I send out a book for review there is the understanding that the blogger will review it but I'd rather they posted their honest opinion than one that is skewed towards the positive. If their readers don't trust the blogger to be honest, then there is less of a chance they will jump to purchase a book if a good review is printed. We want this to happen.

Mandy: So there is no worry about posting a negative review? By that I mean an honest opinion that says "Hey, I just didn't like this book and here's why..."

Bronwyn: If it's searingly bad then obviously I would prefer they not post it but who am I to say? It's their blog so they call the shots. The only thing I dislike is when a blogger cuts down a book "just for the fun of it." But that very rarely happens.

Mandy: Your own personal blog, A Certain Bent Appeal, must give you a great perspective. You're a blogger AND you work within the industry. Is there any trend in blogger-ville that is on the way to happening? Something you see in the near future that will affect the blogging world, or some way the blogs are changing the publishing world?

Bronwyn: Book blogs are becoming much more savvy about marketing themselves, both to their readers and to publishers. As there are many more book bloggers now, they are able to share knowledge and drive traffic to each others' sites etc. This makes them much more powerful. They can also teach each other about how to interact with publishers - who to contact to get review copies, how to format their posts, what extra content they can add (which they can partner with publishers to get - like excerpts, photos, giveaways etc.). Dealing with publishers likely seems overwhelming but book bloggers are now as numerous as soldiers in an army and they have more collective bartering power.

Blogs are changing the publishing world in that the focus is shifting away from traditional print, radio and TV media. These avenues are still extremely important as they attract a large number of readers/listeners/viewer​s but at the same time, there is not as much book coverage to be had as there used to be. Online is expanding at a rapid rate and so publishers' focus is naturally shifting in that direction.

Of course, this takes a degree of savviness in terms of the online world so there is a bit of a learning curve. But not an insurmountable one.

Mandy: It also means that bloggers are coming out of the initial stigma of "anyone can start a blog; who says they are experts in their chosen field?"

Bronwyn: Well that stigma still exists. And to be honest with you, it exists for a reason. It takes a lot of time and hard work for a blogger to build his/her writing skills, readership, design skills etc. to a point where their blog has impact. But this still doesn't discount the casual blogger who has a dedicated (but possibly small) readership. As long as they influence some people (genuinely), then they have a place in the blogging world.

Mandy: Absolutely. The "voice" of a blog always keeps my attention. I love the header for your blog by the way!

Bronwyn: Thank you! I found the image (and used with permission) on deviantart.

Mandy: Oh really? I love how much free stuff there is online to help bloggers out. Content and programs and widgets and such.

Bronwyn: Yes, there is a lot of content and support that can be found online for free. It's just getting the knowledge to use those things that's the hard part!

Mandy: It does take a long time to develop. In your opinion, both as a blogger (and blog reader) and industry person, what are the indicators of a successful book blog? Why do you go back to the blogs you read regularly?

Bronwyn: A successful blog to me as a publishing person is one with strong metrics. And that have a large number of subscribers, either through Google Reader or what have you. Also a high number of comments. And that the blogger takes the time to really market themselves via Facebook, Twitter, online communities, Amazon reviews etc. This means translates as "hugely influential" to me. It's pretty bald, but it's what I look for. But as a blog reader, I look for more subtle things like design, in-depth coverage, writing style, passion etc.

I love a passionate reader who takes the time to really review the book, not just rehash the plot. I love depth of involvement with a text.

Thanks so much, Bronwyn!

Win a hardcover edition of *The Eternal Ones* by Kirsten Miller!

I LOVE the Kiki Strike series, which only consists of two books right now. The third book in the series will focus on master of disguise Betty Bent and is called The Darkness Dwellers.

In the interim, Kirsten has released another non-Kiki Strike book called The Eternal Ones--an epic love affair, reincarnation, and a murdered rock star. Plus 'Ouroboros' is a great word.

Kirsten has been seen around the internet describing The Eternal Ones as "sinister sexy strange". And she mentions being challenged by writing in the third person:

"I love writing in first person because it allows me to adopt a more conversational tone. And make lots of poo jokes. (Seriously, the Kiki books are full of them.) Writing in the third person was a challenge. I know it will sound a bit strange, but when I started The Eternal Ones, I didn't enjoy the sensation of spying on my characters. I got over it after a couple of chapters and let my characters' dialogue be the outlet for my unusual sense of humor" (interview with The Story Siren)

..And make lots of poo jokes. Nice. I kind of love Kirsten Miller.

So win her new book in hardcover! Enter via the form below and, as always, if you choose to pass along info about this contest via facebook, twitter, or if you follow EOS or become a new follower, tell me and be entered TWICE! Good luck!

Mandy

*Zombies Vs. Unicorns Trailer*

I still fall into the Unicorn camp.

This trailer is awesome. It's short, has kind of stop-animation with 2D drawings, and engages that primal, comic-book nerd need to pair disparate entities together for a match to the death. My favourite part? the disgusting crunching noise at the beginning as the Uni imaples the Zomb.

Also, I wonder, can you have a Uni-Zomb (where the Uni has been bitten and returns as a horned Thestral looking thing) or a Zombuni (Zom-BOO-ni) (which is just a zombie with a horn on its head)? Huh? Ever think of that?

*Win* a Hardcover of *Clockwork Angel* by Cassandra Clare!

So I am back to blogging this week (late this week, I know), and kicking it off with a giveaway for a finished hardcover edition of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare!

....and I KNEW it! Cliff Nielsen does the cover design. I don't know if you'll remember my love for Cliff, but maybe it's time I contact him for an artist interview. He's designed some great teen books, such as Ice by Sarah Beth Durst. And of course, Clare's earlier series, The Mortal Instruments.

A hypothetical snippet of that interview:

me: "Wow, how do you make it so shiny?!"
Cliff: "...uh,well, you know, I just do my thing..."
me: "FAScinating!"

I have yet to read the complete Mortal Instruments series, starting with City of Bones, but it's definitely on my Soonish list.

Clockwork Angel is the first in a planned series called The Infernal Devices. On her wicked-cool website, Cassandra says that you don't have to have read Mortal Instruments to read Infernal Devices. The latter is a prequel series which compliments the original series and shares a few characters. The world of the Shadowhunters, shared by both series, is well-imagined by the author and she gives a breakdown of its description and laws here. Clockwork Angel is set in an alternate Victorian London, with an Angel-hybrid paranormal/steampunk twist.

I love Cassandra's initial inspiration for the series:

"I actually got the idea for The Infernal Devices before I got the idea for The Mortal Instruments. It started with a strong mental image: the image of a Victorian-era girl and a boy standing on a bridge in London while creepy-looking mechanical monsters came after them. I had always loved the Victorian age in London, and always wanted to write a story set there; I knew I wanted to include steampunk elements, and I knew I wanted there to be a love story. I knew I also wanted to bring in fantasy and magical elements, and that the main character of the story would be a girl with an unusual power — the power to change her appearance and disguise herself as anyone" (full interview)

"standing on a bridge in London while creepy-looking mechanical monsters came after them..." what an awesome image.

So win a copy! Simply enter your name and email into the form below (information is never shared) and cross your fingers! Good luck to everyone. Contest ends September 20th!

Like this giveaway? Want to support this blog or future giveaways hosted by Edge of Seventeen? Pass on the word via Facebook or Twitter.

Glad to be back,

Mandy

.....*pokes head out, squints*.....

...Hi.

It's been awhile.

I'm coming back to blogging the first week of September. But I thought I'd do a soft return post. I'm getting things ready for that first week of blogging; have my giveaways all lined up (and there WILL be great stuff up for grabs! I've missed the excitement and the winning and the community), and some posts in mind. But I could use a bit of help.

I haven't read any blogs for 6 months. I work at a bookstore, but haven't been as up-to-date on my teen reads. So I missed an entire summer of books! And summer, even if you're not still in school, is THE time for reading.

I need guest posts about your fave book this summer. I'll post them the first week of September. Let me know what I missed, what needs to be on my TBR pile for the Fall. What's been out, what have you read, what's the best of the season? I just need a few lines about what made that read so great.

(All guest bloggers will have their name entered 10 times per giveaway, during my "Edge of Seventeen Returns! -- With Booty!" book giveaway week)

Some other cool things I'll be doing in September include being the first stop for Plain Kate's blog tour, a new YA title by Erin Bow published by Arthur A. Levine, an imprint of Scholastic. It's been getting a lot of buzz -- and I hope to amp that buzz because Plain Kate is great.

And I'm travelling in late September for the "Smart Chicks Kick it Tour", where a line-up of awesome lady authors tour mostly the States but then show up in Brampton, which is close to me. My travelling companion is my blogger BF Kiirstin, from A Book A Week.

Glad to be back.

Mandy

Edge of Seventeen will return!!

In My Mailbox This Week!

I haven't read anything by Cyn (Sin?) Balog, and Sleepless looks really good. I LOVE the cover, the flower--beautiful. It's about a Sandman who falls in love with a girl, one of his human charges. Although he's not allowed to mess with their dreams, Eron feels drawn to lonely Julia, who's boyfriend recently died in a car accident. It's out in July.

And Saving Maddie looks good, too. A preacher's son falls for the town bad girl--can he save her?

AND, I was just speaking about Dark Life last week, and now I can dig right in. Dystopia under the water, what can I say?

Poisoned Honey is a fictional story about Mary Magdalene. I think before she meets The Man. Her story is about her connection to the spirit world and the magic and power she finds there. Actually I'm fascinated by this one.

I just love the title to Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots.

Mandy

What books did you get this week?

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren!