In honor of my first post in an embarrassingly long time, let me present a wonderful emerging talent in the world of women’s fiction and a lovely person, Japan aficionado Wendy Tokunaga!!!!

Wendy is the author of the well-received, MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT, two children’s novels, and many short stories published in various literary journals. Not only is she a rockin’ novelist, but in her spare time, Wendy is Wendy sings bossa nova, cool pop, jazz standards and Japanese songs accompanied by her surfer dude husband Manabu on electronic keyboards. Her latest is LOVE IN TRANSLATION a November 2009 release from St. Martin’s.

A teaser…..

After receiving a puzzling phone call and a box full of mysterious family heirlooms, 33-year-old fledgling singer Celeste Duncan is off to Japan to search for a long, lost relative who could hold the key to the identity of the father she never knew. Once there she stumbles head first into a weird, wonderful world where nothing is quite as it seems—a land with an inexplicable fascination with foreigners, karaoke boxes, and unbearably perky TV stars.

What inspired Love in Translation?

Many things. LOVE IN TRANSLATION is my cockeyed valentine to Japan, which is a place I’ve both loved and loathed, a place that has fueled both fascination and frustration. And it is also a place that has had a huge impact on my life and writing. I also wanted to explore what it means to be a gaijin (foreigner) in Japanand the benefits and downsides of that status and what happens when a gaijin sings in Japanese. I also am fascinated by the concept of the homestay, (something I never experienced), and how that would impact someone as an adult who grew up in foster homes and who never experienced a real family.

How do you go about choosing a setting for your novel? Does it, like New York in Sex and the City, almost play the part of another character in the book?

Love in Translation takes place mainly in Tokyo and because of the circumstances of the story, that’s really the only place it can be. Yes, I think Tokyo does become a character in the book. The novel is sort of my cockeyed valentine to Japan, a place I’ve found both fascinating and frustrating at different times in my life and one that has had a major impact on my life and writing. 

Who’s your favorite literary villain? Why?

Actually, I like it when the hero or heroine can also be seen as kind of a villain. And one of my favorite literary characters of this variety is probably Emma Bovary in Madame Bovary. She can be construed as both an oppressed woman and a selfish jerk, a victim of her time and circumstances and a conniving manipulator. When I first read it in high school, I found her deeply sympathetic. When I revisited the book again more recently, a lot of my reaction was along the lines of, “What a bitch!” (Sorry…must interceed…Nadine here. I LOVED Madame Bovary. I had the opposite reaction. Wasn’t too sypathetic towards her as a still-in-the-bloom-of-youth teenager, but as I got older, I totally got her.)

Where do you write?

I’m lucky enough to have my own office at home where I do most of my writing. In the last place we lived I used to share an office with my husband and that was much too distracting and cramped. But after I’ve done some writing I like to print out what I’ve written and go to a coffee house or somewhere to read it and make notes. And I also do writing in my mind as I lie awake in bed, trying to fall asleep! (Isnt that the most inspiring time of the day?? Maybe it’s all that reflecting on the hours that just passed…)

Which craft books have inspired or helped you throughout your writing career?

 There are many and some are not technically “craft” books such as “The Resilient Writer: Tales of Rejection and Triumph from 23 Top Authors” by Catherine Wald. Others include “bird by bird” by Anne Lamott, “The First Five Pages” by Noah Lukeman and “The Art & Craft of Novel Writing” by Oakley Hall.

What comes most naturally for you to write, dialogue? plot? character? What’s the hardest?

 Easiest for me is plot and that’s what I try to spend time sorting that out on the first draft.  I also like to “talk out” my plot to friends and keep refining it that way. The most difficult is slowing down and spending time on description. I don’t care for long passages of description, but you must have some. So I try and strike a happy medium, but it isn’t easy for me.

What has brought the greatest joy since you were published? The greatest angst?

 I’d say the greatest joy is having readers who appreciate your writing. And the greatest angst is in working hard to keep those readers and gain more.

What do you love about being an author?

 There’s so much that I enjoy. First, it’s great to be paid for something you love to do. But I also find it inspiring to help other writers. I enjoy telling my story of woe on my road to publication and let others know that they don’t need any special connections to the publishing world in order to get published. I like to promote the message that you should never give up. And if you work hard, keep at it and be flexible, your publishing dream may come true. I also like helping other writers make their work the best it can be.

What’s one piece of writing advice you’ve found valuable on your journey to publication?

 That often you won’t discover the real story you’re trying to tell until the revision process. (Amen, sista)

What’s next for you?

 I’m working on a novel that is a different departure for me: it has very little to do with Japan!

Find more information at Wendy’s website (www.WendyTokunaga.com). And look for her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wendy-Nelson-Tokunaga/52795977320) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/Wendy_Tokunaga)

I could not possibly be more thrilled to present According to Jane, a debut novel by one of my dearest writer friends, and one of the kindest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.  And Marylin is truly the postergirl for that karmic adage - what goes around comes around. After joining RWA and become an active member of her chapter and online communities, tirelessly supporting writer friends and soaking up valuable craft knowledge in the meantime, Marylin got every novice author’s Cinderella moment: According to Janewon the much coveted Golden Heart Award for best novel with Romantic Elements and it would go one to be published by Kensington a few months later.

I was lucky enough to read a preview copy of AtJ - fans of Jane Austen, or of great, heartwarming romantic stories shouldn’t miss this one!

Without further ado, here’s the charming author.

(PS - Check out Marylin’s much-trafficked blog where she often hosts coffee, books, and /or chocolate - but mostly chocolate - inspired giveaways, plenty of writing advice, and hilarious life musings)

Q:Tell us about your latest release and the inspiration behind it.
A: My debut novel, According to Jane, is the story of a modern woman who–for almost two decades–has the ghost of Jane Austen in her head giving her dating advice. I first read Pride & Prejudice as a high-school freshman. Like my heroine Ellie, I raced through the novel way ahead of the reading assignments. I loved both the story and Austen’s writing style immediately. Her books changed the way I perceived the behavior of everyone around me, and I spent the rest of freshman year trying to figure out which Austen character each of my friends and family members most resembled! Also like Ellie, I had a few (okay, a lot) of less-than-wonderful boyfriends, and I would have loved to have been given romantic advice from the author I most respected and the one who’d written one of my all-time favorite love stories.

Q: Which scene in your novel did you love writing? Why?
A: One scene I had a lot of fun with was the bar scene in the first chapter where my main character runs into her ex-high-school boyfriend for the first time in four years. It was a situation I had never experienced personally, but I could imagine the comical possibilities so clearly and feel and the frustration of my heroine as if I’d been the one standing there, facing the jerk and his latest girlfriend, while Jane Austen ranted about how “insufferable” he was.

Q: Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?
A: Aside from being on the newspaper and yearbook staff in high school and publishing some academic work in college, I didn’t take writing seriously until I was about 30. I was a stay-at-home mom with a baby and desperately in need of a creative outlet, so I began writing poems, essays on being a parent and educational articles for family magazines. I wrote my first book having never taken a creative-writing class or even having read a book on the craft of fiction. (The lack of craft is very evident when I reread chapters from that first book, btw! I don’t recommend this level of ignorance…)  I got some feedback though–mostly negative–from a prominent literary agency, which led me to study fiction formally, delve into craft books and, eventually, go to my first writing conference. It was there that I heard about RWA. I joined, wrote three more unpublished manuscripts and, then, came up with the idea for According to Jane. My agent signed me on this book and submitted it to editors, but it needed to be significantly restructured before it sold. Nine months after it won the Golden Heart and was revised (again), it finally did sell–to John Scognamiglio at Kensington–on a sunny and surrealistic day in April 2008 J.

Q: Which ‘craft’ book has inspired or helped you the most throughout your writing career?
A: I’m a BIG fan of craft books, so I have more than one! I used Blake Snyder’s SAVE THE CAT! almost religiously in the plotting of my past several books. I’m still very sad that he’s no longer with us. As far as a great reference guide, Robert McKee’s STORY is incredible. It has more information about writing craft than I can ever internalize. Also, whenever I need a more emotional pick-me-up, I grab the Ralph Keyes book THE COURAGE TO WRITE. I recommend it to everyone.

Q: Where do you write? Describe your writing space – is it a cluttered mess or minimalist heaven?!
A: I write in my home office–a messy, absolutely cluttered place–I won’t deny it! There are stacks of paper and towers of books everywhere, but also a very nice window overlooking our backyard. Sometimes I’ll write at a local coffee shop (either with my laptop or, most often, just with pen and notebook paper), and that location has the advantage of endless cups of coffee and occasional snacks.

Q: What’s one piece of writing advice you’ve found valuable on your journey to publication?
A: Don’t follow trends just because you think it’ll be an easier sell. And write the books that fit your voice. If what you love writing happens to be a hot-selling genre, great. If your writing voice happens to be perfect for the genre you want to write in and love to read, that’s awesome, too. But–if not–write long and hard enough to find what DOES fit you and your style best. Because then, even if it takes longer to make that first sale than you expect, you’re writing the kinds of stories you most enjoy, and that passion has a way of working itself into the projects you’re creating.

Q: Do you have a sample chapter posted? (URL to chapter, if you have it.)
A: Yes! On my website I have a segment of Chapter One available for anyone interested in reading. It’s here: http://www.marilynbrant.com/extras.html Also, if you go to the Amazon page for According to Jane (here: http://www.amazon.com/According-Jane-Marilyn-Brant/dp/0758234619/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238387155&sr=1-1), there’s a “Search Inside This Book” feature, and people can read samples from scenes throughout the novel.

Thanks for a great interview Marylin!

For the chance to win  a copy of According to Jane (and other cool stuff) please visit Marylin’s blog!

I’m very excited to be touring Carleen Brice today, and her second novel, Children of the Waters, the follow-up to her best-selling debut novel, Orange Mint and Honey.

Carleen doesn’t just write and blog about racially diverse characters - in the age of exploding Hispanic and Latino populations in the US, a half-Hawaiian, half-Kenyan President at the helm of the world’s sole Superpower, and, my personal favorite, an Arab version of American Idol on my mother’s kitchen TV set, you have to have something more than a racially diverse cast of characters to contribute to the dialogue.

In Children of the Waters, Carleen presents us with two sisters on opposite sides of the racial divide, and spins a tale of reconciliation through a maze of rejection, lies, and pain.

Here’s the author, in her own words…

Q. Readers of this blog know I am very seriously into traveling - what’s your idea of the perfect travel destination and why?

A. Someplace with a beach, turquoise waters, a hammock & drinks with umbrellas in them. Self-explanatory I think.

Q. How do you go about choosing a setting for your novel? Does it, like New York in Sex and the City, almost play the part of another character in the book, or could the plot be transported to another setting and work?

A. So far, my books have been set in Denver and I kind of like writing about this city, but setting isn’t really a character in either novel.

Q. Who’s your favorite literary (or movie) villain? Why?

A. The monster in Aliens. I love that it’s a kick-ass female monster vs. a kick-ass female heroine!

Q. What would you change about your life if you became the next Sophie Kinsella?

A. I’ve fantasized a lot about winning the Oprah lottery or having one of my books pictured in Michelle Obama’s hands. But really my imagination fails after paying off debt, helping out my family and taking a trip to some destination like the above. I think I’m pretty much living the way I want to be living, so I don’t think much would really change.

About the author

Carleen Brice’s debut novel, Orange Mint and Honey, was an Essence “Recommended Read” and a Target “Bookmarked Breakout Book.”  For this book, she won the 2009 First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and the 2008 Break Out Author Award at the African American Literary Awards Show. Orange Mint and Honey was optioned by Lifetime Movie Network.

Her second novel, Children of the Waters (One World/Ballantine), a book about race, love and family, just came out at the end of June. Booklist Online called it “a compelling read, difficult to put down.” Essence says, “Brice has a new hit.” You can read an excerpt at her website http://www.carleenbrice.com/.

She is at work on her third novel, Calling Every Good Wish Home, and she maintains the blogs “White Readers Meet Black Authors” www.welcomewhitefolks.blogspot.com and “The Pajama Gardener” www.pajamagardener.blogspot.com.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Carleen!

Imagine waking up one morning, after what seems like an interminable dry spell, and find out you’re pregnant. That’s the high concept behind Melissa Clark’s clever Swimming Upstream, Slowly. Here’s the author, in her own words…

(cute cover, no?)

Q. Tell us about your latest release and the inspiration behind it.

A. “Swimming Upstream, Slowly” is a novel about Sasha Salter, who wakes up one day to find she is pregnant. Only problem is she hasn’t had sex in over 2 years. The doctor’s diagnosis is that Sasha’s body has been harboring a ‘lazy sperm’. Sasha must now open up the Pandora’s box of her past loves to figure out which of her exes is the father - and what the future holds in store.

The idea was born because I was having lunch with a friend and overate. I lifted my shirt to expose my bloated belly and the friend said, half joking, “Are you sure you’re not pregnant?” and I said, “Yeah, right, from a lazy sperm.” I went home that night and started outlining the idea for a movie. I decided, eventually, to write it as a novel instead.

Q. If you were in charge of casting the movie adaptation of your book, who gets the call?

A. Natalie Portman gets the first call. I think she could bring depth and humor to the character. If she’s busy making another movie or doing something wonderfully humanitarian we give Jennifer Gardner a jingle. She’s likable, vulnerable. If she’s having a baby then we try Drew Barrymore because she has nailed these roles in the past. There are lots of male parts in this movie, too. I’d love to see Emile Hirsch do a romantic comedy.

Q. Could you please tell us a little about your writing background?

A. My dad is a writer, so I was always playing on his typewriter and writing on legal steno pads. I wrote short stories from the time that I could write. I studied writing and literature in both college and graduate school. In my 20’s to mid-30’s I worked as a writer in television. I created a kid’s show called “Braceface” which ran for 5 seasons. I loved that experience, but really wanted to write a novel, so I quit my own show and set out to write “Swimming Upstream, Slowly.” It was the best risk I’ve ever taken!

Q. Is writing your main job?

A. I still consider writing my main job even though I’m now teaching at the college level. In between grading, preparing lectures, meeting with students, etc. I somehow manage to find time to write. When I wrote “Swimming…” it was my only job. I had the luxury of time and money from the TV show. Now, my writing time is more precious because it is limited.

Q. What comes most naturally for you to write, dialogue? plot? character? And what’s hardest?

A. I love writing dialogue. I’ve written a few plays in the past and found it incredibly satisfying. I learn so much about my characters through what they say. I often have the feeling that they speak through me and I’m just listening and transcribing their words. I know a lot of writers feel this way. It’s hard for me to slow down and be descriptive - really describe a setting or something. I am very aware of this and tried to do it more consciously in the new book.

Q. What is one of the nicest compliments that you have ever received about your book(s)?

A. “I read it in one sitting.” Since it took a year and three months to write, I am amazed and flattered when someone tells me they zipped through it.

Thanks Melissa!

Melissa Clark is the creator and executive producer of the award-winning television series, ‘Braceface’, and has written for shows on the Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Fox. She received a master’s degree from the writing program at U.C. Davis, and currently lives in Los Angeles. This is her first novel

I am very proud to present my longtime friend and agent buddy - Malena Lott!

Her latest -Dating DaVinci (how cute is that title??) - opens with the sad state of Ramona Elise’s life. Widowed, 36, with two children, Ramona is a pro when it comes to making her kids happy, but what about herself? Will a young Italian student help her find her way?…

Q. Readers of this blog know I am very seriously into travelling - what’s your idea of the perfect travel destination and why?

As a manic mod mama of three, I don’t get to travel nearly as often as I’d like. That being said, I love to get away with the whole family at least twice a year - this year we went to Branson, MO, Colorado and Ft. Worth (on the train!). I love spending as much time as possible in nature. My favorite vacay was Kauai, Hawaii -it’s just so picturesque and tranquil. Must. Return. Soon.

Q. How do you go about choosing a setting for your novel? Does it, like New York in Sex and the City, almost play the part of another character in the book, or could the plot be transported to another setting and work?

Picking the setting is one of my favorite parts of brainstorming upfront, because I do think it’s so important. I selected Austin, Texas as the setting for Dating da Vinci because I wanted a college town and Austin is the home of UT (rival to my beloved Sooners), because I needed Leonardo da Vinci to be in America on a student visa and Ramona is finishing her Ph.D. And I’ve actually been there several times, so that helps, too. 

Q. What would you change about your life if you became the next Sophie Kinsella?

After hiring the cook, the nanny and the housekeeper, I guess I’d start interviewing stylists and personal shoppers (loathe grocery shopping.) No, seriously, I don’t think much about my life would change except that I wouldn’t get “that look” from my darling husband when I’ve gone on a shopping spree and I’d get to vacation more and feel good that my kids can go to college easily and perhaps not have to work as much as I did. not that I’m complaining. On second thought, maybe I would spring for the housekeeper. Loathe laundry nearly as much as grocery shopping. That reminds me, that load needs to be changed out. Be back in a sec.

Q. Any tried and true tricks for beating procrastination?

I have to say, I’m pretty lucky. Hugh (Jackman) typically promises a shirtless steak dinner (him, not me)  if I meet my word count goal.  If that’s not enough motivation, Brad’s aromatherapy massages usually get me in the mood, though sad to say, it’s not for writing. Heck, usually my imagination can trick me into getting back on the laptop to write away into the sunrise. Like, “finish this and you’ll be as famous as Sophie Kinsella and you’ll never have to buy groceries again and you can spend all your time lounging on the beaches drinking frozen Flirtinis!” I’m so easy.

Thanks Malena!

Here’s a great premise from young author (who also hapens to be gorgeous - check out that author pic!) who has met with publishing success in this doom-and-gloom economy: To her family and friends, Jennifer is an investment banker with too little time on her hands to date. In reality, Jennifer is an undercover ”temptress” sleuth who goes by the name Ashlyn and specializes in testing the fidelity of spouses with dubious inclinations.

The Fidelity Files has already hit the Denver Post bestsellers’ list and is being released in the UK, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Taiwan. Can you say ‘wow’?

Here’s the author, Jessica Brody, in her own words:

Do you put your friends in your books? Names, incidents, characteristics? Have any of them recognized themselves in a not-so-good way?

My friends are definitely in my books. There’s one in particular that stands out. One of Jen’s friends, Zoë, has a bad case of road rage. And she tends to talk on the phone while she drives, so Jen often finds herself on the phone with Zoë while she’s cursing out another driver. I have a friend who does that and that’s where I got the idea. This friend has read the book but I’m not sure how she feels about the similarities. She acts like she’s fine with it, but I guess you never know. She could secretly be totally offended. (I am so psyched Jessica admits to this… to all those authors out there who venhemently deny this: I’M NOT BUYING!)

I can’t sing enough praise for Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. It has “saved” so many manuscripts of mine. It’s meant for screenwriters but it works flawlessly for novels as well. It’s just a very intuitive way to write stories and make sure the audience isn’t bored to tears because nothing is happening for fifty pages. Now, I consult the book before I even start writing and I use his “beat sheet” to help me outline the major story points. It saves me so much time later on! (I actually saw Blake in person in San Fran earlier this year and he’s GREAT. I ran to the Borders across the street to buy the book but they were out… thanks for reminding me to order it!)

Do you write from a character or from a plot idea?

I’m definitely more driven by character. I like thinking up interesting characters with intriguing back stories and then forming a world around them. Like, “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a story about a woman who tests men’s fidelity for a living?” Then I go forward from there. “What would her life be like?” And “What kind of interesting things would happen to someone like that?”

What other art form inspires you as much as writing?

Before I started writing full time, I actually dabbled a bit in songwriting. One of my songs even won a songwriting competition. But I soon realized that I could only write song lyrics after I’d had my heart totally stomped on and destroyed by some dumb, stupid boy. Apparently, that was the outlet for my pain. And so once I found myself in a good relationship, the song lyrics stopped coming. I have to say, though, I don’t really miss them! (Wow… how talented is this girl??)

Now that you are published, what (if anything) have you changed about your writing routine?

I hate to say it, but I tend to procrastinate a lot more now than I ever did before I got published.  I think there’s something about that desperation for a book deal that keeps you on track. Now, I just find so many other things to do. It’s really bad! In terms of actual writing, I think I’ve definitely grown as a writer since I got published and I’m learning to trust my instincts more when it comes to what is working and what isn’t. I used to fight that voice inside that says, “This scene really sucks,” convinced that I wasn’t experienced to know what I was talking about. Now, when I hear that voice, I listen and start pounding on that delete key.

Thanks for a wonderful interview Jessica!

How cute is that name?

I am so behind my touring, it’s terrible really. Blame it on Cuba - I am just now recovering!

If you’re a Desperate Housewives enthusiast - or if you entertain fantasies that the biaatch next door could be magically teleported to a planet far, far away, then Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead is for you. (Looking for something hilarious and entertaining is an acceptable reason as well, though far less comical). Here’s a blurb:

Nora Ephron Hates Her Neck. Big Deal! Mindy Sherman hates her whole body.

In Mindy’s yoga-obsessed, thirty-is-the-new-wife neighborhood, every day is a battle between Dunkin’ Donuts, her jaws-of-life jeans, and Beth Diamond, the self-absorbed sancti-mommy next door who looks sixteen from the back. So much for sharing the chores, the stores, and the occasional mischief to rival Wisteria Lane.

It’s another day, another dilemma until Beth’s marriage becomes fodder on Facebook. Suddenly the Ivy League blonde needs to be “friended,” and Mindy is the last mom standing. Together they take on hormones and hunger, family feuds and fidelity, and a harrowing journey that spills the truth about an unplanned pregnancy and a seventy-year old miracle that altered their fates forever.

Let’s hear it for the author,in her own words:

Q. What was the inspiration for your new novel?

A. Of my four novels, DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD is the only one that was inspired by, well, me! This story is based on my first novel, ALL IN THE CARDS, which was never published, but did take a very exciting journey to Hollywood. Back in 1997, Bette Midler optioned it for a feature film (she was looking for a follow up comedy to “First Wives Club”). Exactly! Wow! First time out and it’s a homerun. Sadly, the reason you never heard of it is because ultimately, Bette and her partner couldn’t get financing or find the right screenwriter to adapt it. Bye bye Bette… Now fast forward to a few years ago. My novels, A LITTLE HELP FROM ABOVE, CLAIRE VOYANT and FATE & MS. FORTUNE had done very well but were about single women looking for love in all the wrong places. I wanted to write about my “peeps” in the suburbs and pitched my editor on letting me rewrite ALL IN THE CARDS. She was hesitant because she wasn’t sure Avon was the right publisher for a suburban/soccer mom story with bickering neighbors. Then came “Desperate Housewives” and suddenly it was, get me suburban/soccer mom stories with bickering neighbors. Timing is everything…. So although DEAR NEIGHBOR is an incarnation of my earliest novel, it is a much richer, deeper, funnier story and is resonating with readers of all ages.

Q. Which scene or scenes in your novel did you love writing?

A. I am crazy about writing dialogue and would spend days working on a scene between Mindy and Beth to make sure that I got the tone, the phrasing, the timing and the subtle nuances just right. There was so much that they wanted to say to each other after eight years of making each other crazy, I just had to let it out a little at a time, like air coming out of a balloon. But the scene I loved writing the most was the one where they are in a hotel room and Beth confronts the fact that she might be pregnant. It is a funny, poignant moment where both characters reveal their greatest joys and misgivings of motherhood and I remember when I sat at my computer, the words just poured out and I had to sit still to hear every last word coming through. I realized at the end that they had just broadcast my own conflicts and vulnerabilities about being a mom and it was whoa… where did that come from?

Q. When and where do you write? Is it cluttered or minimalist heaven?

A. I’m a crack-of- dawn morning writer maybe because my muses are busy all night and can’t wait to have me pour out what they sunk in (at least they let me go to the bathroom first). That being said, when I’m in the zone, I write morning, noon and night. I know I’m done, however, when I look up at the computer screen and I see this, “She said, hjkljkl;uiop.” Then it’s time to shut the lights. As for where I write, the majority of my work is written while chained to my computer table which is situated right smack in the middle of my master bedroom… I never thought this would be my workspace. I always fantasized about having the kind of home office that “playwright” Diane Keaton got in “Something’s Gotta Give.” - this huge, white, ocean-facing office that was stocked with floral bouquets and a breathtaking view. Perhaps one day, but for now it’s fine. I look out at my beautiful backyard and at least my commute is a breeze. Not to mention I can make it to the fridge in under thirty seconds. (I love that office too… what a dream!)

Q. What is one of your strangest/most quirky author experiences?

A. My first three novels are a trilogy in that they all deal with the super natural. All of my main characters have funny and intriguing encounters with the other side, the after life, and/or a ghost. But never did I expect that I would personally have a strange encounter with the spirit world while I was hard at work. And yet… I had been writing my debut novel, A LITTLE HELP FROM ABOVE over a three year period, and as you can imagine, was very very tired. All I wanted to do was cross the finish line, have a good cry and eat a box of Mallomars… One night, I was working on the final pages and was so bleary eyed I convinced myself that the ending was terrible but maybe my editor wouldn’t notice, or would say to me, no, this is great, don’t change a word. But just as I was fixing the last page, we had a power outage and the whole house went dark. It was so strange. There was no storm, no reason to lose power. But when the lights came back on a minute later, I had lost the latest version of the ending. It literally disappeared and I freaked out and cried. How could this happen? On a whim I called my neighbors to see if their power had gone out but it turned out ours was the only house that did… Clearly it was a sign from above. The next morning I started over on the ending, and when I finished, it was so much better, so much more rewarding. This time I cried from joy. I had finished and it was great.

Q. If Oprah invited you on her show, what would the theme of that show be?

A. Sigh. I’ve actually had the distinct privilege of appearing on Oprah to discuss my non-fiction book, 50 FABULOUS PLACES TO RAISE A FAMILY, and I gotta tell you, it was awesome. She was soooo nice and I and my husband/co-author were treated like royalty. We got the limousine, the fancy hotel, the nice dinner out, hair and make-up and a souvenir coffee cup that still sits on my desk as a pen holder. And Steadman was there, too (he smelled so good!) Would I love to be a guest again? Are you kidding me? It would be a dream come true to be invited back as a best selling novelist. In fact, I had a dream scene in DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD that involved my character Mindy being on the show to talk about what it was like to live next door to Beth, the bitch. It had to be cut because of space limitations, but trust me, Oprah is always on my mind. Nobody sells a book like her. (Oprah?? Dude - seriously??!!)

Kelly Parra’s latest (after her popular debut Graffiti Girl) combines teen angst, a look into Mexican folk culture and paranormal beliefs with blogging and a budding romance with a “mysterious guy from the wrong side of town”. Sound like a killer original background for a coming-of-age novel? You bet! (and you guys know what a sucker I am for anything remotely “cultural” for lack of a better word).

Q. Which scene (or scenes) in your novel did you love writing? Why?

I loved writing the suspense scenes in Invisible Touch. Suspense scenes really drive me, and are the only scenes that flow easily for me.  I don’t want to give any details away about the book, but there are a couple of suspenseful scenes near the end…

Q. What were some of your favorite books as a kid?

I didn’t read as much as I would have liked, but when I did I loved being swept away in the world of V.C. Andrews’ books. (Ooh yes! I’d devoured a few of those too back in the day!)

Q. Celeb you fatasize the most about while writing your male characters?

Hmm, I don’t usually fantasize about celebs in my books, but the celebs who inspire my characters are Milo Ventimiglia from Heroes and Jensen Ackles from Supernatural.

Q. What would you change about your life if you became the next Sophie Kinsella?

I would definitely make our life a little bit easier, and buy a home with an office for me! Its my goal for myself. (Actually, I will take this moment to comment on my own “home office” fantasy… something I’d seen in a hotel room where the sleeping area of a bedroom is separated from the “office” area by a pair of french doors hiding a sort of little anteroom… I would get lovely drapes to cover the french doors in case I stay up writing into the night… ahhh… to dream…)

Q. My most embarassing-in-retrospect heartthrob is Jordan Knight of New Kids on the Block - who’s yours?

I was a BIG Kirk Cameron fan back in the day. (hahhaaaaaaa!!!)

Thanks for having me on your blog, Nadine! (a total pleasure, Kelly!)