Fandom Confessional With Natalie Whipple

I'm back! With my usual antics in hand—no crying like last time, I promise, even if this is another truth.

Mindy McGinnis Tells the Truth About Survival

Before we get on to the awesome video, we need to announce the winner of our INSOMNIA Dare Giveaway! Gillian Berry! You Win! Jenn will be in contact with you soon and congrats.

Recently someone asked our group of authors how much we were like our main characters. That's kind of a tricky one to answer for me, but I did my best for you in a rambunctious vlog.

I'm also blogging on the Lucky 13s today about self-sufficiency, and how it does not relate to writing... at all. We need our critique parters. Cherish them, love them. Feed them organic food.

Elsie Chapman Takes the Dare!

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right? So when I was in Tokyo recently for vacation, fellow Thirteener Ellen Oh dared me to vlog myself eating something a little...out of the norm. Which was pretty much the perfect dare, considering not only do I love eating (especially Japanese food!), but Japan does wacky well. So part 1 is me eating chicken sashimi, and part 2 is me drinking a selection of rather uniquely flavoured Japanese sodas. Enjoy!

Come back Tuesday for our next guest poster! 

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Elsie grew up in Prince George, BC, before graduating from the University of British Columbia with a BA in English Literature. She currently lives in Vancouver with her husband and two kids, where she writes to either movies on a loop or music turned up way too loud (and sometimes both at the same time). She's repped by The Chudney Agency, and her debut novel, DUALED, will be published by Random House in February, 2013. A sequel, DIVIDED, will be published February, 2014. Find her online at at her blog elsiechapman.com or tweet with her on Twitter!

Jay Kristoff Takes the Dare!

Today we've got the fabulous Jay Kristoff, author of STORMDANCER (September 2012, US/UK/AUS), lined up for a guest post on the blog. First off, here's the official blurb for STORMDANCER:

The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever.

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST 
The hunters of Shima’s imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.

A HIDDEN GIFT 
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

Sounds pretty damn epic, right? Now Jay being Jay, he did not disappoint. You guys, he did a vlog. It was stupendous and hilarious and all sorts of amazing. These few minutes will change your life forever, so sit back and enjoy. (Warning: Jay swears. Not too much, but he swears! Just so you guys know.) Thank you so much, Jay, and we hope STORMDANCER will be a huge success!

Jay Kristoff is a Perth-born, Melbourne-based author. His first trilogy, THE LOTUS WAR, was purchased in the three-way auction by US publishing houses in 2011. He is as surprised about it as you are. The first installment, STORMDANCER, is set to be published in September 2012 in the US, UK and Australia.

Jay is 6’7, has approximately 13870 days to live and does not believe in happy endings.

Check him out on his website, and you can preorder STORMDANCER at Amazon here or at Barnes and Noble here!

Up next on Friday the 31st is Elsie, so send her a truth or dare here! If you're an author or soon-to-be-pubbed author and want to play, go here (we're booked up for a while, but please feel free to still sign up)!

Amy Spalding Takes the Dare!

I am super excited for our guest post today because it's from none other than my good friend, Amy Spalding! She is also one of my critique partners, which means I am lucky enough to have read her debut THE REECE MALCOLM LIST, a novel I love with all of my heart. Because truly, what's not to love about books that tackle musical theater, complex family dynamics, and boys with good hair? Unfortunately, you have to wait until February 2013 to read this book, but in the meantime, why don't you add it here on Goodreads?

Speaking of boys with good hair, Amy kind of, sort of (totally) loves Zac Efron. And because I am evil, the list of dares I sent included publicly professing her love for him. Or, more specifically:

Compose an ode to Zac Efron

So she did:



Amazing, right? No, seriously. Guys. She did that. And here is the ode written out for posterity and your entertainment:
 

Ode to Zac Efron

 O ye of High School Musical fame

Whose ridiculous looks I tried to resist

With hair which no gel or mousse could tame

Who if others mock I will OH YES get pissed

He danced on a golf course and got all groovy

He had a ghost brother and also a ghost lay

He went to war and—oh never mind

You can excuse me for missing a Nicholas Sparks movie

Your taste might be lacking but, Zac Efron, it's OK

I'm in this for your hair, not for your mind!

I think he's okay with that.

Amy, you took on this dare like a champ. I'd bet money that this tops the odes to Zac Efron recited whilst holding a Zac Efron doll from High School Musical. So thank you.

Next up on the blog is . . . me! Send me your truths and dares here, please.

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Amy Spalding grew up in St. Louis, but now lives in the better weather of Los Angeles. She received a B.A. in Advertising & Marketing Communications from Webster University, and currently works as the Digital Media Planner for an independent film advertising agency. Amy studied longform improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and can be seen performing around L.A. Her debut novel, The Reece Malcolm List, will be published by Entangled Teen in 2013, and combines many of her favorite things in life, including Stephen Sondheim and boys with great hair. You can find out more about Amy at her website, Twitter, or Goodreads.

Crissa-Jean Chappell Takes the Dare

Today's guest post is from my fellow agent-mate and author Crissa-Jean Chappell, whose novel NARC is out tomorrow (!), from Flux. As a big fan of Crissa's first book, TOTAL CONSTANT ORDER, I know we're in store for another beautifully written story and I can't wait to learn more about Aaron and his world.


Crissa chose the following dare:

Draw a character from your upcoming book, NARC.


And she did:

 

Crissa says:

I was inspired by the Book Bird TV series from the 1970s. (Yes, I'm a dork and I loved all the educational shows on PBS. I'd stay home sick from school...camped out on the living room couch with Ritz crackers and tea. This TV show was my absolute favorite.)

Thanks so much for taking the dare and giving us a peek into NARC and your serious illustration skills, Crissa. And happy almost-pub day!

April's up next on the blog, so make sure to check back this Friday. (You still have time to leave her a truth or dare here!)

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Crissa-Jean Chappell's debut novel, TOTAL CONSTANT ORDER, was published by HarperTeen. It is a Florida Book Award medalist, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, and a VOYA Perfect Ten. Starred review. Editor's Choice Book. Her new YA mystery, NARC, will be available August 8 from Flux. You can find out more about her and her books on her website.

Mindy McGinnis Takes The Truth

It's time for me to take a truth, and while I'm more of a stretching-the-truth kind of girl, I did find one suggestion in the truths that definitely resonated with me. Follower Orchid F. wants to know if there's anything that scares one of us more than having our book out in the wild for the masses to read. My answer is - definitely.

So what scares me? Watch my fun vlog to find out.

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Mindy McGinnis is a YA author and librarian. Her debut dystopian, NOT A DROP TO DRINK, will be available from Katherine Tegen / Harper Collins Fall, 2013. She blogs at Writer, Writer Pants on Fire. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Jenn R. Johansson Takes The Dare

When I played truth or dare as a teenager, I usually picked truths because I was afraid of what they'd make me do...

I should've remembered that before choosing this dare.

Anyway, I picked a dare from Tiana Smith (whom I still consider to be a sweetheart even if this vlog makes statements to the contrary). Her dare was: Record yourself reading an excerpt from your novel in a ridiculous accent.

Oh, yes... I did.

Thanks for the fun dare, Tiana! Since this is my first time playing, you get to choose a prize. A $13 giftcard or a young adult book from my secret stash! E-mail me at fridaythethirteeners[at]gmail[dot]com and let me know which you'd prefer.

Thanks again for joining in on the fun! Come back this Friday, June 15th for a post by the uber cool Erin Bowman!

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J.R. Johansson loves reading, playing board games and sitting in her hot tub. Her dream is that someday she can do all three at the same time. She is a YA thriller author represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her debut novel, INSOMNIA, is due to be released in Spring 2013 with Flux. You can find her on twitter, goodreads, her website, or her personal blog.  

Elsie Chapman Takes the Dare

WARNING: This vlog is a reading of material that is of a sexual nature. So if you're under the age of 13, please do not watch.


All right, now that I've gotten that out of the way, I'm taking the dare this week. It comes courtesy of my friend and fellow Thirteener, April Tucholke, who dared me to do a reading from Flowers in the Attic. With its touchy themes, I'm not sure how it would do today, but back when I was a young teen it was the book to read. Not only was this the book we hid from our parents, it was also the one we hid from our teachers at school.

Up next on Tuesday, June 12th, is the lovely Jenn R Johansson! Got a humiliating truth or dare for her? It'll be her very first as a Thirteener, so go here to submit!
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Elsie grew up in Prince George, BC, before graduating from the University of British Columbia with a BA in English Literature. She currently lives in Vancouver with her husband and two kids, where she writes to either movies on a loop or music turned up way too loud (and sometimes both at the same time). She's repped by The Chudney Agency, and her debut novel, DUALED, will be published by Random House in February, 2013. A sequel, DIVIDED, will be published February, 2014. Find her online at elsiechapman.com.

Mindy McGinnis Takes the Dare

We've probably all worn clothes our mom didn't care for at one point in time. My mom and I had an ongoing prom dress feud during my high school career, so when I spotted this dare from Larissa Hardesty I knew it was time to relive the past:

Find and post and old video of yourself from high school. Or make a video montage of old pictures of yourself from high school - bonus points for embarrassing pics :P 

And what better way to relive the embarrassing pictures of the past than to create an embarrassing vlog in the present? I call it, "Garment Disagreements with Mother."

Thanks for playing, Larissa! For your prize I'll send you a copy of Spring Fevers, an anthology of short stories that I contributed to.

If you've got a Truth or Dare for the lovely Thirteeners, let us know by hitting up the Truth or Dare page!
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Mindy McGinnis is a YA librarian and writer repped by Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary. Her debut YA novel, NOT A DROP TO DRINK will be available from Katherine Tegen/ Harper Collins, Fall 2013. Mindy blogs at Writer, Writer Pants on Fire, and serves as a moderator on the writing forum AgentQuery Connect. She also contributes to the group blogs From the Write Angle and The Lucky 13s.

Erin Bowman Takes the Truth

It's that time again -- truth or dare time! Elodie had asked: Who is your secret crush from YA lit? Well, Elodie, you may have gotten more than you bargained for because I have far more than one. I'll let the vlog take it from here:



Huge props to Elodie for such a great question! As a thank you, I'm giving you a $13 amazon or B&N giftcard (your choice) so that you can buy one of these novels and fall in love with the characters just like I did! Just email me via our Thirteeners account -- fridaythethirteeners[at]gmail[dot]com -- so I know where to send your prize.

And to everyone else: Perhaps you would like to submit some more truth and dares for us? In the video I said we'd answer one next week, but I actually lied. It will be TWO weeks before you see another truth and dare because next week is Friday the 13th! We have a special post planned (complete with giveaway items!) so be sure to check back!

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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 Winter of 2013. You can visit her blog (updated occasionally) or find her on twitter (updated obsessively).

Elsie Chapman Takes the Truth

My first vlog, folks. Not just for Friday the Thirteeners, but ever ever. Please be kind.

So a couple of weeks ago I was in NYC for spring break. After I got to meet my amazing editor and agent, it just seemed like the perfect time to tackle a couple of truths about the writing process. And then vlog about it. (I'm sure there's a connection between the two...somewhere.)

Also, you know what they say about how everyone hates the sound of their own voice? I realized that THIS IS TRUE. SO, SO TRUE. I also swear I'm not nearly so valley-girl-sounding in real life.

Still, I hope you enjoy!

Okay, now that you're done laughing at me, got any burning truths or dares you'd like to submit? Do so here. And come back next Friday, April 6th, when the fabulous Erin Bowman takes her turn at Truth or Dare!

Kasie West Tackles a Dare

Thanks, Sara B. Larson for this awesome dare! For your troubles, you win a 30 page critique. AND the opportunity (how come it took me three tries to spell the word opportunity? Does that say something about me?) to watch me make a fool of myself (which is probably what you were after in the first place).




I thought I'd be all cool and relate this dare to writing, but then I just sat there staring at the blinking cursor going: Uh.......

The best I can come up with is kind of a given and that's: Make sure you give your characters flaws. Even if you don't use their fears as part of the plot, know their fears, their goals, what keeps them awake at night. It makes them come alive on a page.

Tune in Tuesday to see Megan complete her dare. Don't forget to leave us more dares by filling out this form. Natalie Whipple is up next. Come on, you know you want to watch her make a fool of herself (or is that just me?).

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Kasie West writes YA paranormal. She graduated from Fresno State University with a BA degree that has nothing to do with writing. She earned her masters in Junior Mint eating (which is awarded after eating your millionth King Size box....and is now working on her PhD). She loves sappy alternative rock ballads and reading way past her bedtime.

Her debut novel PIVOT POINT will be out with HarperTeen in the Winter of 2013