Author Reply: Alethea Kontis

It's always nice when authors take the time to respond to what I send them. Alethea Kontis somehow managed to find this blog and comment on it! I thought that was pretty cool. So, if you're interested, just check out this post.

Next book: Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden.

Author Reply: Thomas Kaufman

Thomas Kaufman, author of Drink the Tea (original post) wrote back to me to tell me that Steal the Show, his second book, is even better. He's also working on a third Willis Gidney book called Face the Music, which is due in 2013.

Have I mentioned how much I love it when authors reply? Also, sorry-I still haven't finished School for Brides. It's a pretty heavy romance novel, and I just haven't been in the mood for that lately. I have another book that I might pick up instead though. It's called A Little Trouble with the Facts and it's by Nina Siegal. It's more of a mystery novel, so I'll probably be able to get through that better.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Author Reply: Pamela Klaffke

I'm actually pleasantly surprised at the recent promptness of author replies. I have another one to share as well, though I'll probably leave that for tomorrow. For today, I'll just post this reply and the interview with Haywood Smith later. Tomorrow I'll probably post a review of How I Paid For College and the other author reply.

Anyway, Pamela Klaffke sent me a very interesting reply. She said that she agrees that Mason is difficult to deal with, but that she is more interested in writing interesting characters, not characters that are necessarily always likable. She said she's most interested in inner dialogue and that she doesn't think there's a woman out there whose thoughts aren't occasionally nasty. She also said that her relationship with her own mother is very good, and that she thinks her mother was a bit horrified when she read Every Little Thing, because Britt is very different than her mother.

What a wonderfully thorough reply! I definitely think you should write to her if you've read something by her. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you! If you want to learn more about her, check out her website.

Author Reply: Haywood Smith

I got a lovely reply from Haywood Smith, author of Wedding Belles (among other things). She informed me that Wedding Belles is part of a trilogy, called the Red Hat Club trilogy. She also told me that so far all of her other books are standalone, and that soon she'll be releasing revised versions of her historical novels as e-books for younger readers. She said that these offer "accurate history, adventure, romance, strong heroines, and upbeat endings."

For anyone who's curious, her website can be found here. As I mentioned earlier, she agreed to be interviewed, and the interview will be posted either tomorrow or later in the week, depending on what I get done.

Other notes: The next book up for review is How I Paid For College by Marc Acito, and I updated my What I've Read So Far page. If anyone has any suggestions for books, please let me know in a comment. Thanks!

Author Reply: Will Lavender

Super fast author reply! Roughly 4 hours after sending out the original email, Will Lavender, author of Obedience replied! I decided to make a post right away, because, why not?

Anyway, he agreed that the book was complex, and said that he was trying to toe the line between "convoluted and crafty." He also mentioned that his new book, Dominance, came out last week, and that it's a "pretty straightforward murder mystery at heart." Check it out at Amazon here.

That's all for now!

Author Reply: Ransom Riggs

Got an author reply from Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (see original post here). He thanked me for taking the time to write and mentioned that it felt kind of strange to have the book out in the world, since it's been in the works for so long. He also expressed how great it was to get positive feedback from readers. Hear that? Everyone should write to their favorite authors!

See you tomorrow!

Author Reply: Todd Johnson

A rather quick reply! Todd Johnson, who wrote The Sweet By and By said he felt honored that I thought he gave the women authentic voices, "particularly since these particular women's voices don't appear to matter very much in America." He also offered me a signed bookplate! How kind!

Didn't have time to finish a book for today, see you all tomorrow!

Author Reply: Joan Lester

A reply from the author of Black, White, Other. (See original post here.) She thanked me for my email and said she was glad that she made the characters real and understandable!

Also, keep an eye out, Neve Maslokovic, author of Regarding Ducks and Universes (see posts here and here.) has agreed to answer some interview style questions for us!

See you tomorrow!

Author Reply: Jasper Fforde

A very exciting author reply came yesterday: Jasper Fforde! (See my original email here.) He was the first author I wrote to! He is definitely one of my favorite authors of all time. In my email to him I mentioned how one of his books (Shades of Grey) reminded me of The Giver by Lois Lowry. He said that many have pointed out the connection to The Giver, and that there is another book (he didn't say what) that people said was similar. He also said that he's glad that in the entire genre of fantasy, only two books have been mentioned to have similar themes.

I think that it's very cool that he wrote back! I wasn't really expecting him to. On his site he says not to expect it. I have another author reply for tomorrow, so expect that and another review!

Author Response: Julie N. Ford

So Julie N. Ford, who wrote Count Down To Love (yesterday's post) responded! She thanked me for taking the time to email her! She also mentioned how the first amazon review she got left her feeling worried, and gave her a few sleepless nights. I really like that she was that honest with me. She also commented on yesterday's post AND linked to that page in her blog! Her blog is here. You should all check it out!

Later today, expect a review of Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children-a book that was just released, actually, instead of one that hasn't been released yet. See you then!

Author Reply: Marci Peschke & Tuesday Mourning

Happy to report that both the author and illustrator of Drama Queen (see post here) replied to my emails. Tuesday Mourning said that the Kylie Jean series was "a treat" to work on. Marci Peschke said that the lessons about staying a good person and being beautiful on the inside to be beautiful on the outside "seeped in organically," and that "Being pretty inside and out is a lesson my mother taught me!" She also said that getting the books published is a dream come true!

Pretty cool overall. I really like when the authors write back.

Author Reply: Paul Tobin

So, a bonus second post for the day! I got a reply from Paul Tobin, the author for Gingerbread Girl. He said it was very challenging to write Gingerbread Girl, but he's proud of the way it turned out. I would be too! By the way, his website is here if you want to check it out.

Also, you may have noticed that I did some redesigning. It's not nearly as fancy as most of the other blogs I follow, but I think it looks nice. I'll probably be messing around with it more in the future. Note the new "Books I've Read" page-an easier way to check if I've written about a book you like or are interested in! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

One last thing: I will definitely not be posting about Speak Out tomorrow. The reason is this: it is a compilation of short stories, all by different authors. I have been thinking about how I want to handle books like that, and I decided that I would handle each story individually (all in one post) and contact each of the authors individually. I definitely won't have time to finish that by tomorrow. Instead, I will be posting about Haiku for the Single Girl, written by Beth Griffenhagen and illustrated by Cynthia Vehslage Meyers. I may post about a second book later in the evening as well, but it all depends on how much reading I get done tonight. See you tomorrow!

Author Reply: Neve Maslakovic

No new book today. However, I got a reply to one of my emails! Neve Maslakovic (who wrote Regarding Ducks and Universes) sent me a lovely reply. She said Jasper Fforde is one of her favorite authors! She also sent me a link to her blog, which you can find here, so we can all stay up to date as she writes her second book.

I found a website where you can request galleys, and I have a bunch of requests in. I figured it was a good way to find authors I've never heard of on a budget. A few of the requests have been auto approved, so here's a list of what I have tentatively planned for the next few days:
Wednesday-Gingerbread Girl by Colleen Coover (graphic novel)
Thursday-Speaking Out: LGBTQ Youth Stand Up by Steve Berman
Friday-Count Down To Love by Julie N. Ford
Saturday-Liar's Kiss by Jhomar Soriano (graphic novel)

That'll get us through the rest of the week! See you tomorrow!