Manga Monday: Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki

Genre: Action, Adventure, History, Slight Romance, "Shounen".

Synopsis:

A hundred and fifty years ago in Kyoto, amid the flames of revolution, there arose a warrior, an assassin of such ferocious power he was given the title Hitokiri: Manslayer. With his bloodstained blade, Hitokiri Battosai helped close the turbulent Bakumatsu period and end the reign of the shoguns, slashing open the way toward the progressive Meiji Era.  Then he vanished, and with the flow of years became legend.

In the 11th year of Meiji, in the middle of Tokyo, the tale begins. Himura Kenshin, a humble rurouni, or wandering swordsman, comes to the aid of Kamiya Kaoru, a young woman struggling to defend her father's school of swordsmanship against attacks by the infamous Hitokiri Battosai. But neither Kenshin nor Battosai are quite what they seem....

Rurouni Kenshin is one of those quintessential mangas set in the Meiji Era starring a samurai. An assassin turned wandered trying to atone for this sins. I would definitely recommend watching the anime since the fight scenes would be more impressive. The coloring is a little off for me, but the details and the oomph factor in the anime makes up for it. Sometimes it gets a bit annoying, but once you get past it, Rurouni Kenshin is one of the best anime/manga of its genre.

Monday Mystery: Barbara Dee

Barbara Dee's latest novel, This Is Me From Now On ("It's a comedy about a pair of middle school girls who play matchmaker between their teachers...badly."), just released recently. You can find Barbara at her website.

Just a short quick (but fun!) interview with Barbara.

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1. Have you decided to play cupid at some point?

Once in college I set up a close friend with a guy I knew from high school. To this day I think they would have been a perfect match, because they were both incredibly passionate about movies. But on their date they ended up having a screaming match at a Wendy’s about some movie which he liked and she really, really hated. So she stormed out, immediately called me--and let’s just say she never took my dating advice again!

2. Did you have an "eccentric" neighbor at one point in your lifetime?

Yes! When I was a teenager our apartment was next door to a woman who wore flowered silk robes and WAY too much eyeliner. Sometimes when I’d be waiting at the elevator, she’d run down the hall, grab my arm and ask, “How old do you think I am?” I always answered, “Twenty-five,” because that was what she wanted to hear. She was nuts, obviously, but she always accepted UPS packages for us, so I guess she was a pretty good neighbor. [I like your neighbor! My neighbor just likes to leave open trash outside for days, but hey a couple police offices came up to me one day and asked if this lady *points to picture* this next door].

3. What is the most evilest dare you can think of?

I think it would be really evil to dare someone to speak the truth for an entire year. Can you imagine? No white lies, no “Of course you don’t look fat in those jeans,” no “I’d love to, but I’m washing my hair that night.” (No “You look twenty-five” either, come to think of it!) I’m pathetically incompetent at lying--I blush much too easily--but I’d never accept this dare myself!

4. Do you also think that the skirt on the cover is gravity-defying? I find it cute, just saying lol

Haha! Yes, that skirt is gravity-defying, but really adorable, don’t you think? If I had a skirt that behaved like that, I’d install a trampoline in my living room!

(Amazon has this great zoom feature for the cover, which I like to abuse sometimes)

Thanks Barbara! Does anyone else want to own this gravity-defying skirt?

Monday Mystery: Laura Pedersen

Today I have a guest post from the author of Beginner's Luck, Heart's Desire, The Big Shuffle, and Best Bet, Laura Perderson. You can find Perderson here at her site.

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Question: Since you've worked with both Random House and iUniverse--a self publication company--was there a huge difference between the two? Is there a preference? Was there a certain reason why the lastest addition to your Hallie Palmer series was published through iUniverse rather than Ballantine Books?

Answer: Yes, there’s a big difference between working with Random House, a large corporate traditional publisher and iUniverse, a self-publisher─lots of pluses and minuses, so at the end of the day, it has to be a good fit for that particular project. Along similar lines, Fulcrum, a small but well-regarded traditional publisher, put out my humorous memoir BUFFALO GAL in 2008 and will also be releasing my nonfiction BUFFALO UNBOUND this fall. Again, that’s been a happy and successful relationship because it’s a good fit.

By putting the novel BEST BET out through iUniverse I was able to control the cover design. I don’t consider myself to be a terrific artist but I do have strong feelings about how the cover needs to express the story inside the book. With a traditional publisher, most non-blockbuster authors aren’t going to get much say over that. You can offer suggestions and tweak things, but it will rarely be your vision. Next, traditional publishers find themselves in the business of following trends and keeping an eye on the bottom line. For them, a shorter book is usually a better book because there’s a sense that attention spans have become shorter, and it’s a fact that a book with fewer pages costs less money to print. Certainly Jane Austen would be required to lop off 20,000 words if she were submitting a manuscript today. And Tolstoy would have to pick one, War or Peace. The Hallie Palmer series of novels (BEGINNER’S LUCK, HEART’S DESIRE, THE BIG SHUFFLE, BEST BET) is intended to have a somewhat timeless feel to it. Hopefully that’s not a euphemism for slow, since I like to think that the humor and plot twists keep things moving along. Still, the main character often works in a garden, and I wanted the books to have a transcendental sensibility, and for that I needed a few more pages. The good news is that all of my publishers have been supportive of my choices since the main thing is to keep connecting with readers. Almost all the books have picked up a few prizes and continue to sell well so hopefully that’s happening.

The main dilemmas I find that people have when deciding between a traditional house and self-publisher are sales and editorial. Random House will always get its books in the big stores and most of the small ones. iUniverse has a relationship with B&N and will list your book on Amazon.com, but you’ll have to contact small stores yourself or else take out a few ads in publications like PW. Being that my book BEST BET was the last in a series I didn’t really have to worry about that because readers who run across the earlier books will go looking for the final installment and find it easily enough. And BEGINNER’S LUCK is on so many high school reading lists that a lot of series traffic comes from there. I also donate copies of my books to libraries in New York State (where I’ve always lived) and Ohio (where the Hallie Palmer series takes place) since I loved my local library as a young person and nowadays they’re struggling due to cutbacks. With regard to editing, I found the services that iUniverse offered sufficient for my needs since in addition to writing eleven books I also wrote for The New York Times for ten years. And as every writer knows, the days of the Maxwell Perkins-style editor has gone the way of the two-martini lunch. Publishing house staff has been cut and everyone is doing the work of three people. Many writers I know hire a freelance editor before turning their work into a traditional publisher. As for marketing, unless you’re a bestselling author, you have to do most of that yourself as well these days.

Question: Was Beginnger's Luck's cover redesigned to fit the rest of the series? Will Heart's Desire's cover also be redesigned?

Answer: To answer your specific question about cover design, Random House has said they’re in the midst of a cover redesign for the first three books and this is why if you order a copy of BEGINNER’S LUCK you’ll receive one cover, and if you look it up on Amazon.com you’ll see another. Ideally, when a TV or movie version comes out we’ll redo them all to be in keeping with that, perhaps by incorporating the actors.

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Laura Pedersen was the youngest columnist for the The New York Times. Prior to that she was the youngest person to have a seat on the floor of the American Stock Exchange and wrote her first book Play Money about that experience, which received a starred Kirkus review and became a bestseller. Laura has a finance degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

In 1994 President Clinton honored Pedersen as one of Ten Outstanding Young Americans. She has appeared on shows such as “CNN,” “Oprah,” “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” “Primetime Live,” and David Letterman. She has also performed stand-up comedy at “The Improv,” among other clubs, and writes material for several well-known comedians.

Laura’s first novel, Going Away Party, won the Three Oaks Prize for Fiction and was published by Story Line Press in April 2001. Her short stories and humorous essays have won numerous awards and been published in literary journals and magazines. Her second novel, Beginner’s Luck, was published by Ballantine Books in January 2003 and selected by Barnes & Noble for their “Discover Great New Writers” program, by Borders for their “Original Voices” program, and by The Literary Guild as an alternate selection. Heart’s Desire, the sequel to Beginner’s Luck, was also chosen for the Literary Guild. Additional writing includes the novels Last Call, The Big Shuffle (featured by Target Stores as one of their best books for Fall 2006), Best Bet, and a collection of short stories called The Sweetest Hours. Laura’s humorous memoir Buffalo Gal (2008) won "Best Memoir" from ForeWord Magazine and an honorable mention for the Eric P. Hoffer book award. Buffalo Unbound will be published in fall 2010.

Laura lives in New York City and teaches at the Booker T. Washington Learning Center in East Harlem. She is a member of the national literary association P.E.N. (poets, essayists and novelists).

Monday Mystery: News

Except change "summer" with "winter". Now that your ears/eyes are bleeding here's the news. Because we just got hit with this massive snowstorm (16-20 inches worth of snow) therefore school's out! At least for today anyhow. I'm doing absolutely nothing for today--woot!

In other news I celebrated my blogversary yesterday! So Happy Birthday Books by Their Cover for being 1 year old now. It seems as though I felt more excitement during my half-year mark than yesterday lol. Oh well.

Monday Mystery: Tattoos

What does one do when one gets bored and is surrounded by temporary tattoos? She tattoos their respected books for the heck of it and prays that there would be no water damage.

If anyone is actually curious enough to want to do it themselves, just leave me a comment asking. Otherwise it's pretty much straight forward.

Monday Mystery: Lauren Bjorkman

1. You're asked to disguise yourself and given a choice of a wig. Which type would you pick? (A neon purple afro, a platinum blonde fohawk, a midnight blue mallet, etc?)

I’m partial to a bright fuchsia bob with bangs. Imagine me in a plastic mini skirt and high-heeled boots to match. And large, very dark sunglasses.

2. Have you done any awesome pranks that you would like to brag about?

I like to do silly things to get a reaction, like wearing flippers to bed or offering a friend a shot glass full of water.

One late evening when I was a teen-ager, I unscrewed the light bulb in my dad’s bathroom and put Saran Wrap over the toilet. This was very daring of me on account of his temper. Then I hid out in my bedroom, which was the next room over, to listen. First he cursed the light. After that I heard a sound not unlike rain hitting an umbrella. What the…? After a few seconds, he laughed loudly. Phew!

3. What unmentionable foods have you eaten or would like to try?

I once had coagulated duck blood soup in a meat market in southern China. Never again. The same goes for sea cucumber. But I enjoyed yak butter tea, except when there was a fly in it. I could imagine ordering haggis after a pint or two at a pub in Ireland.

(I've had pigs blood and I kind of like it coughcough)

4. I like waffles, do you? Or are you a pancake fan?

Crispy brown waffles with blueberries. Yum

5. Ever lit anything on fire?

My husband is the pyro of the family. He likes to fill a plastic bag with hydrogen and light it on fire. It makes a satisfying fwoosh and ball of flame.

I haven’t lit anything bad on fire—I’m too well behaved I guess :D But recently my son lit a candle in his room. He came out to talk to me, oblivious to the fact that the hood of his shirt had caught fire. I tackled him to the ground and rolled around to put it out. No one was injured. He saved the shirt as a souvenir to brag to his friends.

6. Do you have any future plans of a book?

My new YA, Miss Fortune Cookie, will come out in spring of 2011. It is the story of a friendship triangle gone wrong—with bad advice, teen pregnancy, a Mini Cooper, an unexpected romance, and fortune cookies. My agent is calling it a Chinese-American Juno.

I’m also working on a story about a girl who runs away to Morroco to search for her mother that abandoned the family years before.

There are more ideas brewing.

7. What is your favorite nursery rhyme (I'm currently doing a research paper on that)?

When I was small, I enjoyed the old woman who lived in the shoe because I liked the idea of unconventional living spaces—caves, tree-houses, underwater palaces, etc.. And I loved Humpty Dumpty because I didn’t get to eat eggs as often as I wanted them. Just kidding. Sort of. I felt sorry for him, too.

Thanks for the fun and creative questions, Yan!

Lauren

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Check out my review of My Invented Life here. Find Lauren are her website

Monday Mystery: Dia Reeves

Welcome Dia Reeves, author of Bleeding Violet. You can stalk her at her twitter and site.

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If you're named after a food/snack would kind would you be?

I think I'd be something like chocolate-covered kettle corn. Cuz I am both salty and sweet. Mostly salty though, if I'm being honest. ;)

You're given a roll of tinfoil. What would you do with it? Or better yet, duct tape!

I'm really unimaginitive when it comes to household tools. If you gave me tinfoil, I'd wrap a potato in it and bake it at 350 degrees. And if you gave me duct tape, I'd probably take someone hostage and strap em to a chair. I seriously can't think of what else anyone would use duct tape for, except for use on actual ducts and, you know, strapping hostages to chairs. Call me old-fashioned.

Sock puppets!

Radio isotopes! Milkbone! What other random things can I shout out? I know: jock straps!

You've mentioned how you're the queen of emoticons so show us some skills and beat Lara's pirate kitty!

I3 <-- That's me mooning Lara's pirate kitty. :p

I dare you to lick something (preferably Sharon's cat [Sabrina looks scary O_O])

Sorry. I only like Sharon as a friend. xD

Choose: a mud bath/wrestle against a baboon or being dunked in a tub of lard or watch Sharon do a belly dance.

Belly dances are mating rituals. I do NOT want to mate with Sharon. That said, do you have a video of her dancing or something? Not that I'm interested. I'm just, you know, making conversation. ;)

What's your patented battle cry?

Back off, sucka! Totally strikes fear into the hearts of evildoers.

Give yourself a question then answer it.

Why do I know only the zaniest bloggers--*cough* Yan *cough*--on the planet? I suppose it's because like calls to like. Still, you definitely pwn zany, Yanyan.

Monday Mystery: Dan Elconin

Dan wrote NEVER AFTER when he was 14. Check out his website here. And while you're leave, buy his book!

NEVER AFTER:
"There is no place like a dysfunctional home.

Leaving everything behind for the Island was Ricky's dream come true. When his happily ever after is not quite what it seems, he discovers that running away means running toward bigger problems.

Trapped on the Island, Ricky must join together with the only people he can trust to help him face his fears and return home. But the only way off the Island is to confront the person who trapped Ricky and his friends in the first place. With countless enemies and true peril staring them down, Ricky's mission to leave this so-called paradise will become a battle for their very lives."

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1. Have you ever worn tights? Be honest now.

- No, but I have worn a skirt, a tube top, high heels, nail polish, and makeup. I’ll do almost anything to get a laugh.

2. Aside from Peter Pan, what other Disney movies have you watched and enjoyed?

- I pretty much like them all. My favorite is Mulan.

3. Have you read any fairy tale retellings before? If so what's your favorite?

- I actually haven’t read any other fairy tale retellings. I like to pretend mine’s the only one =)

4. An apple a day keeps the doctor away--what can a hammer keep away though?

- At least two doctors.

5. Do you like tap dancing? I have a sudden urge to break out with some jazz hands.

- Tap dancing is cool to watch. As for tap dancing myself, I have enough trouble with teen dancing, and that’s basically just moving your hips slightly while holding a drink.

6. It's Turkey Day! What are you planning to do? Like for example, dare to watch New Moon?

- As one of the characters in my book says, I’m planning to eat and eat and eat until I cannot POSSIBLY eat another bite. And then I’m gonna eat some more.

I think I’ll save New Moon for the next time I dress up like a girl =)

7. Sparkly vampires, does this rob them of their manhood?

- No, but being in Twilight does.

8. So for some reason or another I decided to post a picture of a banana slug on my blog. What is the most vile animal you can imagine?

- My roommate. But isopods are a close second. Particularly the tongue-eating variety.

9. So you wrote Never After when you were 14? Impressive! Did you ask your English teacher for help along the way?

- No, I never liked talking about my book. Besides, I believe the best teacher of writing novels is reading novels.

10. Ever fell asleep somewhere you really shouldn't fall asleep?

- Yeah. During a college final exam.

Monday Mystery: YUM!

Inspired by My Invented Life by Lauren Bjokman.

Don't those banana slug look delicious? If you answer yes then I dare you to eat it:

"Move over gummy worms, there’s a new treat in town! These incredibly realistic Gummy Banana Slugs are 5-1/2 inches long and weigh in at an impressive 45 grams each. Delicious banana flavor!

Shipping Weight ~ 1 lb.

Top 10 Banana Slug Facts:
1. Banana Slugs get their name because of the unique flavor of their slime.
2. Banana Slugs communicate using telepathy. [!?!?!]
3. Banana Slugs can grow up to twelve feet long. [gag]
4. Banana Slugs eat dirt, pine needles, and small mammals. [omfg mammals!?]
5. Banana Slugs can be trained to tie themselves into a knot. [why?]
6. Banana Slugs have two pairs of tentacles.... the shorter ones detect light and the longer ones pick up radio signals. [I think they're lying to me]
7. Banana Slugs can survive in outer space. [yeah they really are]
8. Banana Slugs reproduce by biting themselves in half. [me too!]
9. Banana Slugs are immune to human stomach acid, so if you swallow one, it will live inside you. [shudder]
10. Banana Slugs express emotion by wheezing."

Sadly it's out of stock. *deep sigh of regret*

Monday Mystery: Lindsay Eland

My sister and I used to play the ever-popular “would you rather” game, where the two choices are both equally awful, but you have to—you just have to—choose which one you would rather have or do or be. So I thought, huh? Why not play it right now for Yan’s Monday Mystery?

Soooooo….

Would I rather:

Get face-clawed by a cheetah

Or

Be kicked in the chest by a wild mustang

For this one, I think I’d have to go with choice number two: the kick to the chest. My main reasons being that:

1. I do not like the sight of my own blood…but then again who really does?

2. I think it would be terrifying to be that “up-close” to a cheetah

3. I’d always have the scar running down my face where he’d clawed me, and my face would be plastered all over AOL News and I’d be known as “Lindsay the Cheetah Girl” and really that doesn’t have a nice ring to it.

The mustang kick is equally awful though, because surviving a blow to the chest, is most likely very slim. Still, I’d take my chances. For one thing, I like the idea of myself trying to get close to a wild mustang because that is just a wildly romantic picture in my head, and then there is the obvious “no scar on the face so therefore no “Lindsay the cheetah girl” pictures on AOL News. And then maybe, with all the publicity surrounding me, I’d be able to buy the wild mustang, tame it, and ride it…which is also lives up to the wildly romantic picture in my head.

How about another one?

Would I rather:

Kiss a jellyfish

Or

Step on a crab

Definitely the “step on a crab.” Kissing a jellyfish would be very painful and besides they look very slimy, very squishy, and very squashy and I don’t want to touch something, let alone kiss something that is very slimy, very squishy, or very squashy. And really, do they have lips? And for that matter…do they even have eyes? A little too weird.

Okay, now my debut middle grade novel, Scones and Sensibiliy (December 22, 2009 Egmont-USA) is about matchmaking going miserably and hilariously wrong. So, in that vein, my question to you is…okay, so it doesn’t have anything to do with that, other than I think this question is hilarious.

Would you rather:

Be born with a giraffe’s neck

or

Be born with an elephant trunk?

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So readers! If you can kindly answer Lindsay's question to you you'll be in the drawing for some swag! Bookmarks, book plates, little duckies, whatever I can find! This will be in one and a half weeks!

Monday Mystery: Lara Zielin

1. Which flavor of a donut do you like best? Which donut shop to you get your donuts from? What is one flavor that must be made possible!

It’s a little lame of me, but I’m a powdered-sugar donut kind of girl. I just never met one I didn’t love. But, don’t get me wrong. I’ll chow down on a cruller, a chocolate glazed, a crème-filled … just about any donut, anywhere, anytime.

Recently, I have started buying my donuts at Dunkin’ Donuts, but I like to buy local so I think I’ll start sniffing around for the best mom and pop donut shop in my hood. If a donut shop near where I lived could make a chocolate and peanut butter donut, I would crumple to the floor in a happy faint. I might never stop eating them. Om nom nom.

2. Can you squeeze yourself into a cabinet when playing hide-and-seek? Name your best hiding spot? Behind your hands?

Please. I just wrote a book about donuts. I’m not squeezing myself into much of anything these days.

My best hiding spot as a kid was in a bathroom closet at the end of a long hall. The closet was huge and I could ball up in the bottom of it with some towels in front of me. No one ever knew I was there. Lara: 1; Searchers: 0.

3. When playing jump rope with someone else, have you ever considered "accidentally" tripping them with the rope during a mid-jump?

Uh, yeah. Totally. Because grade school? Can be brutal. Brutal, I tell you. Sometimes the only way you get back at someone for blabbing to Justin Bernacke that you have a crush on him is to trip them with the jump rope at recess. Also, it makes it look like an accident, which saves you from having to go to the principal’s office. This is all hypothetical off course. *coughs*

4. Ever had taco flavored Doritos? Would you like some?

Okay, I’m gaining weight just reading these questions. First donuts, now Doritos. But yeah, I want some. Is the Pope Catholic? Much like the powdered-sugar donuts, I never met a chip I didn’t love. Except maybe salt and vinegar chips. There’s something about the vinegar that doesn’t sit with me. Maybe I just haven’t spent enough time in England eating them with some fish.

5. If an acquaintance hands you a questionable brown piece of candy and calls it chocolate, would you do any of the following:

a) sniff it

b)bring it to your mouth, pretend to put in your mouth with your entire palm covering said mouth, then pretend to chew very loudly while the "candy" is still in your hand

c) say thank you and that you'll eat it later so it won't ruin your appetite

d) accidentally throwing it at her/his face saying that there was a bee near him/her and had reacted so swiftly that the candy flew out of your hand

e) claim that you're allergic to anything with sugar

f) no response then fake faint/dizziness

Okay, this interview is officially making me fat. But I would do C. Because I’m a Midwesterner and we’re very polite. We don’t like to tell someone that their questionable candy looks disgusting and we’d rather lick the bottom of our mousepad. No, we simply accept the candy, smile graciously, and say that we can’t wait to eat it later. And then we throw it in the trash. But no feelings were hurt! This is important. (Also, I’d like to say for the record that I love option D, but I’m not that quick on my feet.)

6. If you had to live in a room with dolls, which doll would you pick? Barbie? My Little Pony? G.I. Joe?

Do I really have to live in a room with dolls? Is this my only option? Because a room full of dolls does not a good night’s sleep make. I’m just saying.

But okay, I would pick all the above. In the interests of giving them all more diverse life experiences, I’d make G.I. Joe ride My Little Pony to the Dream House. Barbie wouldn’t be there because she’d be with Snake Eyes fighting some epic military battle (turns out she’s really good at languages and she’s serving as a critical interpreter). Then, maybe just for kicks, I’d get Rainbow Bright in there and make Barbie give her a makeover because those rainbow tights and that stringy yarn hair are SO not flattering.

7. Little blue truck. Assess this.

It’s owned by the reclusive and not-oft-mentioned Garbage Smurf, who is always trying to get Smurfette to go out with him, but she consistently refuses because he smells like damp pretzels.

8. Type all the emoticons you know of.

Rather, if I may, I’d like to type the best icon in the whole world. My husband and I created it when we were dating. Are you ready? World, I give you …. PIRATE KITTY!

P-{

Yar. Mew.

9. :D :) :/ :l :( D: >:( o_o o_O O_O x.x

This is a sneak preview of a review I'm planning to do, can you describe my though process?

Clearly you had great hopes for this book. As you delved deeper into it, it began to disappoint. It only got worse. It shocked you with its high, high level of crapitude. Eventually, you died a little inside – a small corner of your heart actually began to decompose and rot – because it was so terrible. To this, I say I’m sorry.

10. Boxers or briefs?

Uuuuh. Um. Well, I’m not … I mean, I don’t. Er. Hey look over there! It’s my new website!

Monday Mystery: Megan Crewe

Megan's Top 5 Ghost Movies

I already have a list of my favorite ghost books on my website so I figured it'd be fun to talk about ghosts in another medium: movies! These are my five favorite portrayals of ghosts on the big screen, in chronological order. If you haven't already seen them, give 'em a watch. If you have, why not watch them again?

The Watcher In The Woods (1980) -- I'll admit, I haven't seen this one since I was a kid, so I don't know how well it holds up. But it's one of the first movies I think of when remembering movies that creeped me out. Very suspenseful and spooky. Plus it has Bette Davis in it, which raises the awesome level by like ten points right there.

Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) -- The only movie version of A Christmas Carol I've been able to get through. Does a great job of capturing the original story while making it somewhat kid-friendly--though, whoa, it does have some pretty dark moments. The bit with the Ghost of Christmas Future in the graveyard still freaks me out!

Ghostbusters (1984) -- How can anyone not adore this movie? I do not know. Bill Murray makes such a charming scoundrel, the idea of capturing ghosts with scientific methods is genius, and really: Slimy spirits. Realms of evil in a refrigerator. Giant marshmallow man. I shouldn't have to say more. Hilarious and spooky at the same time.

Ghost (1990) -- I've always loved the idea of a character having to solve the mystery behind his own death. Add a fake medium who suddenly becomes not-so-fake (much to her dismay), a believable romance, and intense emotional moments like the floating penny, and you've got a keeper.

The Frighteners (1996) -- It's possible some of my inspiration for GIVE UP THE GHOST came from this movie--after all, it is about a guy whose only friends are ghosts. But Frank uses his ghost friends in a very different way (scamming folks) and for a very different reason (death of his wife). Another movie that balances laughs with scares to great effect, and the romance is so sweet.

Thanks for hosting me!

Megan

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Megan Crewe

http://www.megancrewe.com

Monday Mystery: Jess C. Scott

Jess is an indie writer whose novel EyeLeash is already releases. You can find her here.

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1. I saw tofu meat at the store for around $5, what's your opinion on that? Is it worth it? How do you suppose companies make tofu meat anyway?

I'd prefer calling a rose, a rose (which means if it's *actually* tofu, I'd appreciate it BEING called "tofu"!). It'd be worth it if it tasted very good -- tofu has loads of natural goodness + nutritional value too, so I don't mind paying for that.

I've heard about cloned tomatoes and cloned beef/meat. Perhaps companies combine "meat essence", with tofu, and market it as tofu meat. As for how the whole production process goes -- I think I'd rather not know. Maybe they clone mad cows -- so people wouldn't know what they're consuming anyways...

2. If you can roll around in anything from a product of Mother Nature what would it be?

A bed of roses (petals only, no thorns)...think of the softness, the decadence, the romanticism. For extra pleasure, I'd have dark chocolate on the side, and play Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses" in the background as well.

3. Tell me a story of how Father Time and Mother Nature hooked up.

FT was bored -- time was infinite. It needed to be of essence.

MN was exhausted -- her energy was scattered, in trying to keep her minions together. There was no order, no sense of organization.

FT noticed MN, and complimented her on her beauty and charm.

MN reciprocated in kind. She complimented FT on his "renowned prowess".

He smiled. She smiled.

FT & MN wanted to make things work out for the both of them, forever.

They wanted something eternal, renewable, and lasting.

They conspired to form: the 4 seasons.

So it all began, on a fantabulous Spring day, with a gorgeous blooming of fresh flowers.

4. Do you prefer Baby New Year or Cupid?

Neither -- I'd go more along the lines of Thor, with his might hammer, or Robin Hood and his bow and arrow (he'd PWN Cupid any day!)...guess I'm more of a warrior sort?

Both Baby New Year and Cupid are too cutesy-wootsy for me. Exception to the depictions of Cupid in classical paintings, such as Bronzino's The Allegory of Lust (1540-50) [featuring Venus & Cupid].

5. You're stuck on an island. What you bring to best rescue yourself?

One of those gryphons or zeppelins from the Warcraft universe. One of Gandalf's eagle-friends from LotR would do too. Then again, I'm someone who enjoys solitude from time to time, so I might not need to have to call upon their kind assistance in the first place.

6. A serial killer bunny is after you. Do you A) Chase it back, remove its hide then make gumbo out of it? B)Run for dear life then throw a giant rock at it once it's below you C) Nothing D) All of the above

A) Too gruesome

B) I've no strength to hurl a giant rock

C) No way!

D) N/A

Therefore, my answer is:

E) None of the above -- I'd get the help of The Energizer Bunny (is this serial killer bunny its nemesis, The Duracell Bunny?).

7. Ask yourself a question than answer it.

Qn: Could you describe yourself 10 years ago, and now, both in 5 words only?

Ans: (In)sane, drive, introspective, complex, intense. No changes in a decade.

8. Why is 7 scared of 9?

Conventional answer: Bcoz 7-ate-9 *insert LOL's*

My answer: 7 may have luck on its side. But according to Dante's Inferno, there are 9 levels of Hell -- by that token, 9 may be the more powerful and formidable force than 7.

But I wouldn't be fearful or worried, if I were 7. Because 7 owns the deadly sins -- "Lust", "Gluttony", "Greed", "Sloth", "Wrath", "Envy", and "Pride".

P.S. I have been banished to the Fifth Level of Hell, according to the Dante's Inferno Test.

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Jess has kindly offered an e-book of her book Eyeleash. I think it's international? (I lost the email! *sobs*). Let's make this last for 1 week so it'll end on the 21st.

Monday Mystery: Heidi R. Kling

So we're countering Josh's interview with Heidi's for a little friendly battle! Ha! Heidi's book SEA comes out June of next year!

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1. Have you ever wore fishnets, spiked accessories, or mini short shorts?

Fishnets, yes. I used to work at a costume shop. Spiked accessories and mini short shorts ditto.

2. So Sharon calls you a chinless monster huh?

Yes.

3. If you can have a stalker, would you? And how many?

I have many stalkers, yes, but I would love some more.

4. Evil sock puppets. Eat your flesh or stab your eyes out?

Eat your flesh. I'm into Zombies.

5. So you're suck between a rock and a hard place. Describe this "hard place" It smells like rotten eggs and Josh Berk and Sharon Luvs Cats reside there.

6. Have you ever had the urge to go streaking in the middle of day?

Come to think of it...

7. Have you ever starred at someone until they went away?

No. When I stare at people they melt. Does that count as 'going away'?

8. Would you like to live in a library or in the clouds (literally)?

The clouds. I love Care Bears and all things fluffy.

9. Can you describe your peepee dance for me?

Dude. Lots of jumping up and down and running is involved.

Thanks for interviewing me!

Monday Mystery: Josh Berk

So we have Josh Berk today! He's an upcoming author of The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin (Feb. 9th 2010).

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Josh: "Great questions! Ha! So fun. All answered! I might seem like I'm being a bit defensive/obnoxious, but it's all totally in good fun! I like to argue with the questions."

1.Name your favorite disco song/artist.

How old do you think I am? Just because I had a big bushy jewfro in highschool doesn't mean I'm old enough to remember disco. I went to high school in the '90s! I listened to punk rock and alternative jams. Still do! That said, I guess I'll go with "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" for the sheer ridiculousness of the multi-shake title.

2. Have you ever worn platform heels or white bellbottom jeans?

Seriously: I am not that old.

3. Have you ever attempted to do a split?

Not intentionally. I like to move as little as possible, basically.

4. Did you ever have the sudden urge to bathe yourself in macaroni and cheese?

Not until now that you mention it.

5. Mud cake, any experience with those?

Is this a cake made of mud? That you eat? No.

6. Sticks and stones may break my bones but what about giant loofahs?

Err on the side of caution, my friend.

7. You have a choice between being shredded by a chainsaw or being eaten by a dinosaur as a whole, which would you choose?

I think there is something seriously wrong with anyone who wouldn't go dino in this scenario.

8. You’re left in a room with only a spoon and a screaming baby, what’s your plan of attack?

Are you implying that a possible plan would be to use the spoon to eat the baby? I'm against the eating of babies, despite what you've heard.

9. I have a rock and you have a piece of paper, who do you think will win the battle?

I'm a pretty serious RPS (rochambeau) player, so yes, I have often wondered why it is that paper covers rock. Why doesn't the rock just smash through? Or why didn't they pick some other three things that would work better? Maybe like hammer, nail, wood. The hammer could beat nail, nail could pierce wood, and wood could ... wait, that doesn't work either. What was the question? I'd still win. If anyone reading this meets me in person, challenge me to rock-paper-scissors. I promise I will win. Every. Time.

10. This is your last song, would you like to take a bow, jump into the crowd of fans, or pull down your pants for the most memorable finale alive?

I'm pretty sure anyone who knows me even the slightest bit can guess the answer ;)

Monday Mystery: Allen Zadoff

Why write a book about food?

Allen Zadoff, author of Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have

They say write about what you know, and I know food. I don’t know it in a professional way like a contestant on Top Chef or the guy who yells a lot on Cake Boss, I know it in a personal way, as a formerly fat kid, someone who got down and dirty with more than his share of pizza, donuts, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Actually, I used to love leftovers more than meals. I’d wait until my parents went to sleep and then I’d sneak into the kitchen and put cold, leftover lasagna into a bagel and eat it like a giant pasta sandwich! I hid food up my sleeves, in my pockets, under my mattress. Anywhere as long as I could eat it without being seen. I was just like a girl on a date. I’d eat a small salad in front of my family, and the minute they left the house, I’d gobble down an entire bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

I loved food, but I hated feeling different. And that was the downside of overeating: it made me really big, and I was miserable because of it. In my novel Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have, the protagonist, Andrew Zansky, suffers in a lot of the same ways I did in high school. Not fitting into desks, avoiding gym class like the plague, being invisible to girls… it’s the universal story of fat kids (boys and girls) the world over. The difference is that I was pretty serious, and Andrew is one of those kids who is really funny about things, and his journey is a lot different than mine because he sort of comes to appreciate his body and make peace with his size. Who said big is bad, right? But I didn’t know that until I was like 28 years old and I’d lost a whole lot of weight. Maybe I’m a slow learner.

So I think you’re getting the idea that Food, Girls is not just about food, but it's about what it feels like to be big in small world, and I wrote it because that was my actual experience for a long time. But Andrew isn’t the only character who wants to be different in the novel. There’s April, a Korean girl who wears blue contacts so she’ll look more—I don’t know what. And Nancy Yee who hates being so skinny. It seems like that’s part of the human condition, doesn’t it? We always want to be different than we are. But isn’t being different what makes us so interesting in the first place?

Anyway, these are the kinds of questions I explore in Food, Girls. I hope you’ll read it when it comes out in September, and let me know what you think!

Monday Mystery: Michelle Zink

Who You Need

It may seem like writing is a solitary profession – and in some ways, it is – but it shouldn’t be. Really, it’s good to have all kinds of people around when you’re working on that first draft or, horror of horror, revising.

And in my experience, that includes;

1. Someone who will tell you you’re brilliant

Let’s face it, sometimes we’re not looking for constructive criticism. Sometimes we don’t want someone to tell us that a character could be better developed or the pacing is slow at the beginning of the book. In fact, sometimes those comments just make us cry. Or scream. Or throw things. In short, sometimes we just need to be told our work is awesome.

2. Someone who will tell you the truth

Because even though it feels good to have someone tell you that you are brilliant, surrounding yourself with only those kinds of people won’t do you any good in the long run. In the long run, you need someone who loves you and your work enough to tell it to you straight. But only while you can still fix it. After that, see Necessary person #1.

3. Someone who will tell people you are busy

Because when you are in the writing groove – that amazing, exhilarating place where the story feels like it’s telling itself – even something like a phone call can blow it all to bits. Come to think of it, this is doubly true when you’re in that horrifying, depressing place where you can’t even remember what the story’s ABOUT.

4. Someone who will bring you food

Actually, make that someone who will bring you decent food. That’s because if you’re on a deadline or just in the zone, there will be long periods when you will eat nothing punctuated by moments of sheer gluttony with whatever you can get your hands on. Preferably something you can eat while typing. In short, a writer can live on hand-held food alone.

5. Someone to remind you that you are more than a writer.

Because you ARE. It’s easy to get caught up in our work and in seeing our work in the public eye. It’s easy to worry about what reviewers, critics, readers, and bloggers, think. But we need people in our lives to remind us that we are more than our writing. A child needing a bedtime story, a spouse needing a companion (and talk about anything BUT writing), a friend needing a shoulder to cry on, a pet needing to be fed. All of these remind us that, however all-encompassing our work can feel (and it CAN. We do, after all, spend large parts of our lives in made-up towns, planets, worlds), we are more than that. LIFE is more than that.

And having people around us to put it all in perspective is the best kind of gift.

Monday Mystery: Fugliness with the Twilight Cast

So this will be the debate of the century. We're talking about whom you think is the not-best looking one: Jacob or Edward. I'll show you pictures at their prime and let you guys decide. Trust me, it ain't pretty.

Dammit! Taylor Lautner doesn’t have horrid photos! Well I'm screwed...so uh enjoy ugly photos of Robert Pattison then I guess. If anyone of you can find some heinous pictures of Taylor, I would appreciate it...

Monday Mystery/Tuesdays Throwups: Geektastic Giveaway!

As I said last week I'll be giving away 3 copies of Geektastic to my readers! And we can just call this post...Tuesday Throw-up? O.O

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Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside) and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult literature: M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr.

With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!

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So here are the rules:

You must give me your geekiest tales to be entered. I will select a panel of judges to pick the best entry and she/he will be an automatic winner. The rest of you with face the horrors of random.org and my excel spreadsheet.

+1 if you spread word of this contest (blog, twitter, facebook, paper airplanes...oh! you can also email 5 friends and CC me a copy to be counted as an entry if you can't blog. Blog=email=blog. One or the other Twitter, facebook, and paper airplanes are their own separate thing). It's an entry per method. Remember to leave me a link! I won't count it if I can't find it!

And...that's basically it. I want your geekiest tales and spread the word if you want. I won't count extra entries for followers because it takes a while to count those. Remember that Huggles Part 2 may happen sooner than you think...

This is a US only contest because Little Brown will be the one shipping it. Contest will end on August 17th giving you 3 whole weeks to enter. Please leave a way for me to contact you.

Monday Mystery: Julie Kraut

So this week we have Julie Kraut. Her latest book Slept Away can be bought at Amazon Borders Barnes & Noble IndieBound Random House. You can visit Julie here

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What’s my favorite childhood summertime treat?

While I’m not one to turn down a grill-cooked burger, a rocket pop, or even a sugary cup of bug juice, my absolute favorite childhood summertime treat is a s’more. And to be honest, I’m not really sure why. Well, I mean, I know why I like s’mores. Melty chocolate, graham crackers, cooking on a stick, and finger licking are all elements to any successful meal. But, s’mores have a nostalgic appeal to me that doesn’t really make sense. When I eat them, I think back on my childhood summers at camp and smile. But the truth is, I never ate a real s’more at camp.

My camp was kosher and even though I couldn’t quite understand what wasn’t kosher about marshmallows, we weren’t allowed to have them. Instead, we used marshmallow fluff. Now don’t get me wrong, marshmallow fluff is delicious in its own right. But it’s just completely different from actual marshmallows. It’s even in an entirely separate food group, if I’m not mistaken. At camp, we’d make graham cracker, chocolate, and fluff sandwiches, wrap them in tin foil, and then throw them on the fire to cook and call them s’mores. But, even at nine years old, I knew this was a cheap imitation of the real thing. Part of the s’more experience is the process of slow roasting (or fast incinerating) the marshmallow over an open flame. The fluff version lacked a certain human touch and that trademark carcinogenic element that makes s’mores uniquely delicious.

So while it’s not really a favorite treat from my childhood summers, s’mores are still my favorite childhood treat and I have them every time I go camping now. I guess I’m just making up for the missed memories, one burnt marshmallow at a time.