Erin Bowman Takes the Dare!

This fabulous dare came in from Andrea, one of our readers, and it sounded like too much fun to pass up:

Write a short Dr. Seuss-inspired poem version of your book and post it on the blog.

I absolutely adored Dr. Seuss as a child. These stories were some of the first read to me, and the first I was able to read on my own. (Did you know Green Eggs and Ham has just fifty words, only one of which is more than one syllable?) And even with such a simplistic vocabulary, these books were drilling some very important lessons into my little head.

If Dr. Seuss books were titled according to their subtexts, via Buzzfeed

Ahem. Moving on to my dare...

I spent a little time browsing through a bunch of Dr. Seuss books, and finally settled on the one I thought I could rework to represent my debut novel, Taken.

So now, here is my Dr. Seuess-esque poem for Taken, inspired by Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!

Your birthday’s come.
Your birthday’s now.
You’ll go, go, go!
We’re not certain how. 

You will go by Heist.
You will go, ciao!
Gray Weathersby, you’ll be going now. 

You can try to fight it.
You can kick and scream.
But it’s still coming for you.
So don’t struggle,
Please! 

We don’t care.
You can’t escape that light.
You can’t escape that light even if you like.
If you try to run, it will still find you.
Just go, go, go.
Accept it, please do. 

Gray Weathersby, I don’t know how.
Gray Weathersby, you’ll be going now. 

You will go in a flash.
You will go in a blink.
You will go in a burst of light, I think.
If you wish not to, alas you’re stuck
Your birthday’s here, you’re out of luck. 

Don’t run away,
Please, Gray,
You’ll be going either way. 

Gray Weathersby
We don’t know how.
Gray Weathersby
You’ll be going now! 

We said go and go we meant.
The time had come.
So Gray…went.

Yeah, I might have had a little too much fun doing this. Another Thirteener will be up next week to answer a new truth or dare, but until then, you can always get your book-nerd fix on our Thirteeners tumblr.

Thanks again for the fun dare, Andrea!

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Erin Bowman is a YA writer, letterpress lover, and Harry Potter enthusiast living in New Hampshire. Her debut novel, TAKEN is now available from HarperTeen, and FROZEN releases 4/15/14. You can visit her blog (updated occasionally) or find her on twitter (updated obsessively).

Erin Bowman Takes the Dare

The dare I'm tackling today comes from our very own Megan Shepherd: Write three haikus about your book. I thought this sounded way too fun to pass up.

TAKEN is split into four parts, and I'm going to use the titles of the first three sections as jumping points for the poems...

Of Heists

for boys of eighteen,

an unavoidable fate:

gone, vanished, taken

---

Of Walls

to climb would mean death

but it's beckoning, calling

the promise of more

---

Of Rebels

a boy named Gray stands

among trees, his bones aching

for answers, for truths

Okay, this turned out to be way more fun than I expected. Perhaps it was just the creative break I needed from all the promotion/marketing I've been doing leading up to TAKEN's release. (Just a little over a week to go!)

Jenn will be up next week to answer a truth or dare, but in the meantime, check out our brain new Thirteeners tumblr! Our love of books and pop culture doesn't sleep over there, so don't miss out. :)

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Erin Bowman is a YA writer, letterpress lover, and Harry Potter enthusiast living in New Hampshire. Her debut novel, TAKEN, comes out from HarperTeen in April 16, 2013. You can visit her blog (updated occasionally) or find her on twitter (updated obsessively).

April Tucholke Takes the Dare

Okay, so Robin Weeks dared me to: Compose an open letter to the author(s) who wrote the books you are comparing or have compared your own book to. Talk about what you loved about his/her/their book(s) that inspired you to such blatant *ahem* emulation.
 
I'm going to take a twist on this dare. When I lived in Scotland, I wrote a series of letters to certain tourism offices in Britain, concerning authors/books/film adaptations that I love and that have inspired my writing. Below I've posted two. This is a longer post. Stick with it.

Letter 1:
 
November 24, 2009
Welcome to Yorkshire
Dry Sand Foundry Foundry Square Holbeck

Leeds, LS11 5WH 



Dear Office,

When I was offered the post of governess at an estate located in West Yorkshire, I was overjoyed. Having read certain works of classic literature set in your lovely moors, I had reasonably high expectations of what my new life would be like. Alas, nothing has fallen into place. My charge, rather than a misbegotten daughter of a French opera singer, was instead a very legitimate British girl of four whose favorite occupation was not dressing in fine clothes and singing lewd songs but playing boyishly out of doors (!) in pragmatic, waterproof attire. 



Then there is the matter of my employer. His name was Edward, but I always referred to him as Sir -- something I knew I would cease to do as soon as, after much Gothic confusion and struggle, we became engaged. But that's just it! I was prepared for him to already be married, of course, a predicament which would surface on the day of own wedding -- the rascal! But his wife was supposed to be mad, and locked away, not traipsing about with perfect sanity, planning vacations with Edward to the south of France, and scolding me for looking dreamy and not being about my work! 



Last, but not least, was the lack, the utter lack, of mystery about the manor 
where I worked. Were there labyrinth hallways? Yes. Were there dark chambers and ill-lit stairways? Yes. But there was no lunatic laughing in the middle of the night, no unexplainable fires, no bitten strangers, and not ONE mad woman locked in an attic. 



Not one. 



Please address my concerns.

Sincerely,  
Ms. A. Genevieve Tucholke
Spinster of St. Stephen’s Parish
 

Response: None, the humorless bastards.

Letter 2:

August 21, 2009 
Hampshire Office of Tourism 
Mottisfont Court High Street Wincester, Hampshire

Dear Office,
 
I have enjoyed your travel video series on BBC hosted by one Miss Marple. She aptly demonstrates both her sleuthing and traveling abilities as she solves murder cases throughout rural England, primarily, I am led to believe, in Hampshire. She serves as something of an inspiration to the rest of us spinsters. Her tip on catching the 4:50 from Paddington has been nothing short of life-altering.

On a recent motoring trip through England, however, I must admit to a great disappointment. While the villages of Hampshire were just as quaint and lovely as depicted in the travel video series, not a single murder occurred during my travels. For several weeks I motored through rural England, spending nights at village inns and listening closely to local gossip...but not once did I encounter dark family secrets or criminal plotting. And the greatest disappointment of all: I never encountered a single murder. Not one.

Now, much as I enjoyed your travel video series, I must inform you that it was misleading. (Please refer to the episodes “Murder at the Vicarage” or “The Moving Finger” for examples of what was reasonably expected). I shall not visit England again for several years. In the meantime, however, please consider expanding such attractions as poisoning, mistaken shotgun blasts, and vengeful stabbings to various villages as depicted in the non-fiction travel video series.

Sincerely, 
Ms. A. Genevieve Tucholke 
Spinster of St. Stephen’s Parish

Response: They totally sent me a letter. It was witty and dry and British and awesome, detailing their distress at the lack of murders and crime and corpses during my travels. They "completely sympathised with my disappointment about the lack of murders" but they wanted to focus their attention on "promoting Hampshire as a safe destination where visitors can relax...without fear of loss of life." 

I kept it on the fridge for months.


Questions:

1. Any wild guesses as to the fictional inspirations for either letter?
2. What tourist office would you choose to annoy with your letters?

 
April Genevieve Tucholke is a full-time writer who digs classic movies, red-headed villains, big kitchens, and discussing murder at the dinner table.  
 
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea will be published August 15, 2013 by Penguin/Dial
 

Liz Fichera Takes the Dare!

We are very excited to have author Liz Fichera as our guest blogger today! Liz's debut novel HOOKED will be be published by Harlequin Teen on January 31st, 2013.

Here's a teaser blurb!

Sparks fly when a Native American girl with a killer golf swing joins the all boys’ golf team at her high school and takes on the boy with the killer smile.  It’s Perfect Chemistry meets Catching Jordan with a dash of West Side Story.

HOOKED sounds fantastic, and we're looking forward to seeing it hit the shelves. Today, Liz is tackling a dare via vlog--she's going to read out loud some prose she'd written as a kid. Thanks for signing up to play truth or dare, Liz!

HOOKED is currently available for pre-order at any bookstore.  However, anyone who purchases through her hometown bookstore, The Poisoned Pen, will receive an autographed copy.  The Poisoned Pen ships worldwide.  Additionally, there is a huge pre-order promotional contest beginning on November 1 that includes giveaways and prizes.  Check Liz’s web site for the details.

Come back to visit us on Friday because Alexa's up! Send her a Truth or Dare here! 

____________________________________________
Liz Fichera is an American author who writes stories about ordinary teens who do extraordinary things.  Originally from Park Ridge, Illinois, she moved to the American Southwest after college never expecting to live more than one year among cactus and people who’d never seen snow. She was wrong.  To learn more, visit LizFichera.com 

Betsy Cornwell Takes the Dare!

Today's guest poster is the fabulous Besty Cornwell, whose debut novel TIDES will be published by Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on June 4, 2013. That's a long time to wait for Betsy's novel, but here's a little description to tide you over (pun totally intended) until then:  

When high school senior Noah Gallagher and his adopted teenage sister, Lo, go to live with their grandmother in her island cottage for the summer, they don't expect much in the way of adventure. Noah has landed a marine biology internship, and Lo wants to draw and paint, perhaps even to vanquish her struggles with bulimia. 

But then things take a dramatic turn for both of them when Noah mistakenly tries to save a mysterious girl from drowning. This dreamlike, suspenseful story--deftly told from multiple points of view--dives deeply into selkie folklore while examining the fluid nature of love and family.


Sounds fantastic, right?

Betsy chose to do an interpretive dance to a reading of her novel and while I would call it a raging success, check out the video below to witness this dare in all its glory:




Thanks so much for playing, Betsy!

                                                                        ----

Debut author Betsy Cornwell wrote TIDES as a student at Smith College, where she graduated in 2010. She was a columnist and editor at Teen Ink before receiving an MFA in creative writing at the University of Notre Dame, where she also taught fiction writing as well as film and television studies. She is currently writing and traveling in Europe. For more about Betsy, please visit her website at www.betsycornwell.com.

A.G. Howard Takes The Dare

Today's guest is A.G. Howard, author of SPLINTERED, coming January 2013 from Amulet Books. Anita decided to show us that she can tell a story in pictures just as well as she can using words.

You may have guessed that Anita's talents overflow on the page as well. Here's a glimpse of what SPLINTERED has in store for you:

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

_____________________________________________

Anita Grace Howard is most at home weaving the melancholy and macabre into settings and scenes, twisting the expected into the unexpected. She’s inspired by all things flawed, utilizing the complex loveliness of human conditions and raw emotions to give her characters life, then turning their world upside down so the reader’s blood will race.

Be sure to drop by her blog, A Still and Quiet Madness, as well herTwitter or Facebook Author Page and say "Hi." She's always up for meeting new friends!

Megan Shepherd Takes the Dare

Happy Friday!

Today I chose a dare from Jen Klein that goes something like this:

Choose a character from your upcoming book.  Reenact his/her most dramatic moment.  Use props and costumes if necessary.  Photograph and post.

I wouldn't say this is the MOST dramatic moment in my character's life, but it's pretty darn dramatic. And it required safety goggles and live fire.

Thanks for the dare, Jen! Next up on the blog is a guest dare by Mindi Scott on Tuesday, October 9, and then our own Mindy McGinnis will answer a truth or dare on October 12.

-------------------------------------------

Megan Shepherd is a young adult writer living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Her debut novel, The Madman's Daughter, comes out January 29, 2013 from Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins, and is the first in a Gothic thriller trilogy. She’d love to hear from you at her blog, Twitter, Facebook, or on Goodreads.

Kat Zhang Takes the Dare!

Today we are so very excited to have YA author Kat Zhang on our blog for a guest post! First off, here's the official blurb for her debut novel, WHAT'S LEFT OF ME (HarperCollins, September 18th, 2012) That's today! Happy book birthday, Kat!!!

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Not only does WHAT'S LEFT OF ME sound absolutely amazing, Kat herself is pretty awesome, too. AND fearless enough to tackle this dare from our own Erin Bowman: Because Addie and Eva share a body, WHAT'S LEFT OF ME uses some unique dialog treatments to illustrate conversations between the two girls. We dare you to document a conversation between you and your Muse in the WLoM-style and share it on Thirteeners. 

Go, Kat!

A Skype Conversation Between Kat and Her Muse

Ring…

Ring…

Ring…

*click*

KAT: Hello? Hello? You there?

KAT: Helllloooo??

MUSE: *yawn*

KAT: Woah, why’s it all dark over there?

MUSE: It’s late over here. Bedtime in Muse-land.

KAT: Oh. Wow. I never knew we were on different time zones. 

KAT: That explains a lot, actually.

MUSE: Well now you know!!

KAT: Hope I didn’t wake you. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something. There are these reviews I’ve been getting…

MUSE: Yeah?

KAT: And, well, some of them seem to indicate that there are people out there who didn’t like my book. What’s up with that?

MUSE: You realize I’m a muse and not a therapist, right?

KAT: But I can’t afford a therapist.

MUSE: That’s what those poor people you call your friends are for.

KAT: Touché, Muse. Touché.

MUSE: Anyway, suck it up. There’s my advice. How about you get on that Book 2 instead of whining?

KAT: Well, actually, I was going to bring up Book 2. I’ve been so stuck on some scenes, and, while I’d really hate to say this, I don’t think you’re keeping up with your half of the deal.

MUSE: What deal?

KAT: You know, the one where you...feed me story ideas, and I...well, use them.

MUSE: That sounds like a terrible deal for me.

KAT: Well, I mean, it’s kinda your job, right? Like, your life purpose? To help writers?

MUSE: See, this sense of entitlement is where you’re running into problems.

KAT: I—I’m sorry.

MUSE: I’m doing my best here. See? I’ve got this plot board going on and everything.

KAT: I, uh, I really appreciate that.

MUSE: Good. Was that too hard to say? All I ever wanted was some kindness! Some appreciation! Maybe a day named in my honor?

KAT: Yeah, I’ll...get on that.

MUSE: You just get back to that writing. I’ll figure out these plot holes. 

MUSE: Eventually.

KAT: Great! Thank you so much! Bye, then!

MUSE: Bye!

*click*

MUSE: Man, finally, she’s gone.

*ding!*

MUSE: Oooh, is that the pizza guy?

~~~

OUTTAKES

MUSE: Hey, do you think I could dress up as that girl from The Ring for Halloween?

MUSE: ...How about now?

SEVEN DAYSSS

Kat Zhang is an avid traveler, and after a childhood spent living in one book after another, she now builds stories for other people to visit. An English major at Vanderbilt University, she spends her free time performing Spoken Word poetry, raiding local bookstores, and plotting where to travel next. What’s Left of Me–about a girl with two souls–is her first novel and will be released by HarperCollins on 9/18/2012. She is represented by Emmanuelle Morgen of Stonesong. You can read about her travels, literary and otherwise, on her website or check her out on Twitter.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound

Thank you so much for playing with the Thirteeners, Kat! Up next is Jenn, so send her a Truth or Dare here!