Pay It Forward Interviews - Karen Mahoney!

Happy Friday, all!!!

It's time to finish up our Pay It Forward Author Series with a great, great girl from across the pond...

KAREN MAHONEY!!

1. Tell us about your book. (Publication Date, Publisher, One or two sentence description.)

1. THE IRON WITCH (Llewellyn*Flux, early 2011) is a contemporary fantasy set against the backdrop of a centuries-old war between human alchemists and the dark elves (who were kicked out of Faerie for being... um... dark). Aided by a gorgeous half-fey dropout, a girl with magical iron tattoos must race to save her best friend's life - even if it means betraying the secret of immortality and confronting the very thing that destroyed her family. Secret societies! Adventure! Romance! Indian cooking!

Find out more at: www.kazmahoney.com

2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent)?

Ooooh... The Journey! The thing with me is that I came to all this later than a lot of my writer friends. I always WANTED to be a published author of fantasy novels (preferably for teenagers), but I never had confidence in myself - for a lot of reasons that we won't go into here. ;) I always wrote - well, apart from the 5 years I gave up completely - but in January 2007, a good friend took me aside and told me to stop whining about my 'lost dreams' and get back to work! REAL work. Which I did. (I am forever grateful to him, by the way, and not only is a character in THE IRON WITCH very loosely based on him, his name will be front and centre under: Dedicated to...)

Anyway, I digress. So I wrote and wrote and wrote. I wrote a LOT in the following year; I honestly believe that all the frustration during those five years when I gave up sort of poured out in one go. It was like a tidal wave of creativity! In January 2008 I started querying agents in the US with THE IRON WITCH. I'm from the UK - based in London - and I'd already decided that because I love urban fantasy so much (both YA and adult) I wanted to be published first and foremost in the US market. In July 2008 I signed with an agent who I can only describe as that very dangerous cliche: Dream Agent. We revised and went out on submission later that year. But! The road to publication is never smooth, and in January 2009 (there are lots of January's in this story!) the publishing industry in the US got into some serious trouble which affected many writers out on submission, especially those looking for their first sale - myself included. We waited... and waited... and waited. To cut a long story short, after a total of 10 months on submission I finally started getting offers and signed with Flux in a two-book deal. Flux could not have been more enthusiastic about the book and the world I created, and I am so grateful to them for this opportunity! Not only do I get to see my debut novel on ACTUAL bookshelves, I'm able to write the sequel under contract. *beams*

3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?

As I said in the previous answer, I sort of DID give up during my earlier incarnation as a writer, but I realise now that I just wasn't ready back then. It wasn't my time. When I started again in January 2007 I can honestly say that I never once thought of giving up. I'm not saying there weren't 'down' periods (for sure, it was tough being out on submission with a wonderful agent but not getting any responses from editors at all) but I was never down enough to want to throw in the towel. Maybe I would've got there eventually, but I told myself: Just try for 5 years. If you don't have a book on the shelves by 2012, maybe this isn't for you. Luckily, my first book will be out in early 2011 so I didn't do too badly.

Other things that helped keep me going: the writing community, especially those writing urban fantasy and YA. LiveJournal was such a source of inspiration during the first couple of years, along with VerlaKay's blueboards and many other writers' blogs. I am grateful for how generous the YA/MG authors community is! If it weren't for the internet, I would never have met all my wonderful friends and CPs and fellow writers. I was also lucky enough to get introduced to editor Trisha Telep shortly after I signed with Miriam Kriss, and because Trisha had worked with Miriam's clients on an adult anthology and they had a good relationship, I was given the opportunity to submit a short story to a YA vampire anthology. My story, 'Falling to Ash', seemed to go down very well and has enjoyed a lot of success and positive reviews in THE ETERNAL KISS (Running Press, 2009). I have a follow-up story coming out in another anthology this summer. While we out on submission with THE IRON WITCH, that anthology kept me going throughout last year - working on it, seeing it published and then getting emails and LJ comments from teen readers all over the world. It was wonderfully inspiring! :)

4. Bonus: Favorite kind of cupcake? (NO cupcake is NOT an answer O_O)

4. Hmm... this is a difficult question, V. I do love cupcakes, but I'm definitely addicted to blueberry muffins. But okay, since you insist! *g* It would have to be a chocolate cupcake, there is absolutely no contest from any other kind. (Please see photo!) Mmmm....

Victoria, thanks so much for having me - you are one of those awesome and inspiring people that I'm happy to have met! Thank you for sending me many of these: *\o/* when I needed them most, especially in recent months.

Karen, you are incredible, and I'm happy to know you and to witness your ascent into rock star-dom :)

Thanks everyone for joining me this week! Be sure to check out Karen's blog HERE, and have a great weekend :) Thanks to all the authors for participating!

Here are the other Pay It Forward Interviewers...
Elana Johnson, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Kirsten Hubbard, Susan Adrian, Dawn Metcalf, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Gretchen McNeil, Kim Harrington, Tiffany Schmidt, and Suzette Saxton/Bethany Wiggins.

Three Times the Fun this Thursday!!

This lovely Thursday is three times wonderful.

1. I'm off to Atlanta for author photos!!
2. My interview is up over at the simply marvelous blog of Lisa and Laura Roecker, AND
3. I get to continue our Pay It Forward Author Interview series (dreamed up by Elana Johnson) with the fabulous...

DAWN METCALF!!

1. Tell us about your book. (Publication Date, Publisher, One or two sentence description.)

SKIN & BONES is a dark, paranormal YA novel about Consuela, a suburban teen who discovers she has the power to remove her skin and craft news ones out of anything - air, earth, feathers, fire - to keep people from dying before their time. It is based loosely on the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos and I describe it as "Latina Buffy meets Quantum Leap." SKIN & BONES is due out by Dutton Books, spring/summer of 2011.

2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent)?

Oh dear. Well, it wasn't the usual way! I went to SCBWI's Winter Conference in New York in 2007 and signed up for a Writer's Intensive -- that's where 7 other writers and one professional critique your 500 word sample. (*gulp*) The editor I met at my table later asked me for the manuscript. I was thrilled! But it was rejected. I sent her another...which was also rejected. And a third...you get the picture! What I didn't expect was that the editor would call me, tell me that these were good books but not a "breakout novel," and asked what I'd like to be known for? I described my latest project, SKIN & BONES. She asked if she could read the four rough chapters and notes. I said, "Sure," thinking that she would give me feedback. Instead, she gave me an offer!

3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?

Yes and no. No, I never feel like giving up on writing. Yes, I've felt like giving up on the writing-for-publication process. It has not been an easy road, despite my fairy-tale beginning. With an offer in hand, I approached my favorite agent...but never heard back. I picked my Top Five and met them all, chose a successful and savvy agent...who then disappeared. Dissolving that relationship, which was one of the hardest things I had to do, I was back looking for an agent and chose a great one recommended to me by my editor. In the meantime, I'd been bumped once (from spring/summer 2010 to fall 2010) and then again (from fall, 2010 to spring/summer 2011). You can imagine how this can play havoc with your creative brain! Fortunately, I've had a lot of time to explore online opportunities, social networking, research, make friends, write another book, keep busy & still hold a candle for my editor who -- believe me -- is worth waiting for!

I try to remember through all the hard stuff that this is a lifelong dream come true and I am very, very lucky.

4. Bonus: Favorite kind of cupcake? (NO cupcake is NOT an answer O_O)

Anything chocolate. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! (No sprinkles, though.) Mmmm!

Dawn, you're marvelous. Thank you so much for stopping by! Everyone, be sure to follow Dawn (in a non-creepy way) back to her BLOG!!

Here are the other Pay It Forward Interviewers...
Elana Johnson, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Kirsten Hubbard, Susan Adrian, Dawn Metcalf, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Gretchen McNeil, Kim Harrington, Tiffany Schmidt, and Suzette Saxton/Bethany Wiggins.

Pay It Forward Interviews - Kiera Stewart!

Pay It Forward Week continues with our third guest, a pretty rocking woman who is my editor-mate, the fabulous...

KIERA STEWART

1. Tell us about your book. (Publication Date, Publisher, One or two sentence description.)

 

FETCHING, December 2011, Disney-Hyperion.

(Stealing the PM description here: A crew of middle school nobodies secretly use dog training techniques on their classmates to go from eighth-grade underdogs to leaders of the pack, only to discover being top dog isn't all they expected it to be. 

 

2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent)?

 

*lays down on couch and prepares to re-live harrowing journey*

 

It started innocently enough. I made my lists, devised a strategy (three or so agents at a time), got all chuffed up about my query letter, told myself I wouldn't let the rejections get me down, and then BLAM! The first rejection stung more than I expected. The second had me questioning my writing ability, my story, and myself as a whole. And the third? Well, the third brought me to tears because it wasn't just a standard rejection. It was a request for a full, which overinflated my heart with hope, and only THEN turned into a polite rejection, therefore effectively sticking a pin into that overfull heart. 

 

The following months saw much of the same cycle of hope and despair -- both speedy rejections and requests for fulls. Then, one day, an agent emailed me to schedule a call. We talked for a long time, and she said all sorts of fantastic things about my writing, nearly causing me to faint with joy. She asked me to tweak a few things in the story, and I did, quite happily. But then a month later, the crushing pain arrived via email. The revision didn't move her, she said, and the market sucked even more than it did the month before. STAB! It felt like a terrible breakup, and I was tempted to take to my bed for about a month, waking only to write a few lines of bad poetry here and there.

 

Thank God for the Verla Kay blueboards. Very few people outside of the writing world really understand the misery. After a few days of whining, crying, and okay, posting anonymously about my strife, I forced myself back into the game. The upside to this? I became a little jaded. Rejections were like paper cuts rather than the full-on assaults they used to be, and interest felt more like little snack-bites of hope rather than organ-altering, head-swelling promises. And then, when I least expected it, I got THE CALL. One of the best memories of this whole experience was being able to send an email to other interested agents with the words, "I HAVE AN OFFER" in the subject line. And yes, in all caps. 

 

And then it got even better. People wanted to buy my book! And we had a sale! I feel so fortunate that things worked out the way they did. I have both a wonderful agent and a fantastic editor, and all that angst along the way? Was totally worth it.

 

3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?

 

For a while, querying did seem like an "all signs to point to no," type of situation. But my best friend/chief beta reader kept saying, "I can't imagine someone not loving this book." And she's the type of friend who will tell me (and often does) when I'm being stupid, clueless, naive, or basically any form of ass clown. The Verla Kay boards, like I said, were also an infinite source of support from smart, experienced, helpful people who really know what they're talking about. And I think stubborness played a small role in it too.

4. Bonus: Favorite kind of cupcake? (NO cupcake is NOT an answer O_O)

 

Now, this changes from time to time, but I can say that I can really, really appreciate a really well-done vanilla. *ducks* But hang on! I'm not talking about let's-just-add-sugar-and-a-teaspoon-of-the-synthetic-stuff and pass it off as vanilla, but the really, really GOOD stuff. The kind of cupcake you can huff and actually start hallucinating about warm, exotic places. Pure Ugandan Gold.

 

Or, wait. Do they make ice-cream cupcakes? Because that would totally work as well.

~*~

Kiera, thank you so, so much for sharing your fabulous answers, and everyone, be sure to check out Kiera's BLOG!

Here are the other Pay It Forward Interviewers...
Elana Johnson, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Kirsten Hubbard, Susan Adrian, Dawn Metcalf, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Gretchen McNeil, Kim Harrington, Tiffany Schmidt, and Suzette Saxton/Bethany Wiggins.

TOO MUCH AWESOME FOR ONE POST.

The title says it all!! I have for you TWO AWESOME THINGS.

1. This week on the YA Rebels, we're having guest authors. And mine is...



2. It's time for my next Pay It Forward Interview!! It's none other than the witty, talented, pixie-haired...

TESSA GRATTON!

1. Tell us about your book. (Publication Date, Publisher, One or two sentence description.)

BLOOD MAGIC is a contemporary gothic horror love story insane Frankenstein amalgam of a book about two teens who meet in a cemetery and plunge into a dangerous world of dark magic, first love, and the deadly secrets that hide in blood.  It comes out Summer 2011 with Random House Children’s Books, and the sequel CROW MAGIC comes out in 2012. More here: www.tessagratton.com

  

2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent)?

WELL. I did this weird thing where I would write a book, query 5 agents, and when they would read 50 pages or a full only to say “sorry, nice, but no,” I’d write a whole new book.  Instead of, ya know, trying more than 5 agents.

I did this three times. And finally I had this YA book that I was really happy with and my crit partners (Maggie Stiefvater and Brenna Yovanoff) said, “TESSA THIS IS THE ONE.”  So I wrote a query to Laura Rennert of ABLA, who was also Maggie’s agent, saying that I was Maggie’s bloodier doppelganger and that we should have literary babies (half of this clause is absolutely true). I only sent the book to her, and because she knew who I was through working with Maggie and our fiction website The Merry Sisters of Fate (www.merryfates.com), she asked for and I gave her an exclusive.

Three weeks later we signed together.  We did some revisions after that, sent Blood Magic out to editors, were slowly and achingly rejected, revised again, sent out again, and then in August 2009 Blood Magic went to auction while I was at a wedding in England. WHEW. 

It was almost exactly one year from writing the first words to getting the first offer.

 

3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?

Only one time. I mentioned above that our first round of submissions failed.  My book went to THREE acquisitions meetings, and still the final answer was no.  I worked with my agent, my crit partners, and my SO to figure out what was drawing everybody in so well, but then ultimately causing them to reject.  It came down to the fact that in the last third of my book I was dealing with to pretty major taboos; queerness and necromancy/suicide/grief.

The queer issues/gender issues were what had caused me to write the book in the first place, but the way the book developed over 6 complete rewrites made those issues less of the focus (to the betterment of the story, I assure you). It became painfully clear that I was trying to do too much. To say too much.  The queer/gender issue had to go. It was too big for the role I’d given it.  

When I quit graduate school to write, I promised myself I’d always try to make a difference with my stories. And I still believe that. But removing that theme from Blood Magic was the hardest thing I’ve ever done with my writing, emotionally and spiritually.  But I truly believe that it is better suited to another story.

The morning I finally made the decision, I shut myself up in a bathroom stall and balled my eyes out. For about 2 minutes I considered quitting.

But I knew if I did, I’d never find the right chance to tell all the stories I’m meant to tell.

4. Bonus: Favorite kind of cupcake? (NO cupcake is NOT an answer O_O)

Red Velvet. Or lemon. Or… red lemon velvet. Does that exist? I should experiment.

Thank you, Tessa! Loved those answers. Everyone, make sure you check out Tessa's RIDICULOUSLY PRETTY WEBSITE.


Here are the other Pay It Forward Interviewers...
Elana Johnson, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Kirsten Hubbard, Susan Adrian, Dawn Metcalf, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Gretchen McNeil, Kim Harrington, Tiffany Schmidt, and Suzette Saxton/Bethany Wiggins.

Pay It Forward Interviews - Myra McEntire

This week is made of EPIC.

First, the YA Rebels are having GUEST REBEL WEEK, and oh man, oh man, we have some AMAZING guests. Check in each day to see who we've snagged!!

Second, there's a movement happening in the writer blog world this week. It came from the frightening and wonderful minds of Elana Johnson and Lisa and Laura Roecker (where my own interview will be up Thursday!). It is called...Pay It Forward Author Interviews.

The point: To inspire.

For the next five days, I'll be spotlighting five up-and-coming authors! Just a quick glimpse at some truly talented writers. They made it, or they're well on their way. Interviews will be going up all over the interwebs. Some authors with agents, others with deals. All have found their way through part of the maze to publication!

Here's the lineup:

Monday: Myra McEntire
Tuesday: Tessa Gratton
Wednesday: Kiera Stewart
Thursday: Dawn Metcalf
Friday: Karen Mahoney

Up first, the incredible, astonishing, charming...


MYRA MCENTIRE.


1. Tell us about your book. (Publication Date, Publisher, One or two sentence description.)


HOURGLASS will be released in Summer 2011 by Egmont USA. It's a time slip romance about a girl named Emerson who can "see" people from the past, and the boy who knows what her ability really means. Romance! Murder! Intrigue!


2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent)?


I entered a query letter contest that set things in motion. An agent expressed interest - I sent out letters to my top ten picks - and the third offer was a charm. I am with my DREAM agent, Holly Root at Waxman Literary. Absolutely adore her.


3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?


Five minutes ago? Yes. Part of the purpose of my creation is to tell stories - I know this in my bones. It's a gift and it's a job (and as Holly says the job part "isn't always sunshine and kittens"). Some days the work surprises me with yummy goodness, and some days it's utter crap. But I don't know what the day will produce if I don't put my bum in the chair and try. So I do - every day.


4. Bonus: Favorite kind of cupcake? (NO cupcake is NOT an answer O_O)


I'm usually a chocolate gal, but I'm a huge fan of the "Miss Princess" at Gigi's Cupcakes. Also? It comes with a tiny little crown that I can wear when I take over the world. http://www.gigiscupcakesusa.com/cupcakes.aspx

*~*~*~*~*~

Thank you so much, Myra, for stopping in. You can find Ms. McEntire at her BLOG, and on TWITTER.

And check back tomorrow for another awesome author!

Here are the other Pay It Forward Interviewers...
Elana Johnson, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Kirsten Hubbard, Susan Adrian, Dawn Metcalf, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Gretchen McNeil, Tiffany Schmidt,
Kim Harrington, and Suzette Saxton/Bethany Wiggins.

Bright Lights, Big City, 18 Miles of Books, and 14 Bars of Chocolate!

I'm home! Wow, what a trip.

So, my week in NYC was a crazy mix of work and fun and awesome and a little stress and a TON of sugar!! I was lucky enough to be there with three of my closest writing buds, Tiffany Schmidt, Susan Adrian, and Emily Hainsworth.



There was much play, from the Empire State Building at 1am, to Dylan's Candy Bar, to fun lunches and drinks night, and cocktails with pub friends, to Hitchcock and Rainbow Brite viewings, and converting the closet into a phone booth, complete with chair. We even kidnapped the wonderful author Nova Ren Suma, and made her signed books in there!



I was also lucky enough to have an incredible high tea with a friend who is fast becoming one of my favorite people. And I got to meet Alex Bracken, who is ADORABLE! I also met Sonia Gensler, Shana Silver, Kim Harrington, Jen Hayley, and many, many others!

And after SCWBI, my mom flew up and we played for a few days. We took morning walks in Central Par, ate most of NYC's sushi, drank pear martinis, went to the Tim Burton exhibit, and saw West Side Story on Broadway!

And I got to see my agent, Amy! AND my editor, Abby! I call these two my A Team, and they've totally earned the title. Neither has a Mohawk, or a giant silver chain, but they rock just as hard. I am so incredibly lucky to have them. And they put up with my constant sugar high speak, which is admirable :p

NYC by the numbers!

Cupcakes consumed: 4 (+ 3 mini ones)
Times to Dylan's: 2
Chocolate bars bought: 14
Times to the Strand: 3
Books amassed: 12 (9 bought, two given by editor, one given by tea friend)
Times I saw agent: 2!
Times I saw editor: 1! <--first time!
# of hot chocolates consumed with said editor: 1
Pieces of news to share: 1



So, my little piece of news isn't terribly exciting, but I found out my pub date. I can't give you the date yet, but I needed to make a correction. I had said before I was a WINTER 2011 debut, and I am now a SUMMER 2011 debut. Originally I believed Winter to be at the BEGINNING of Hyperion's year, but actually it was at the end, so I wasn't pushed back, I was bumped up! Anyway, wanted to clarify.

My mom jokingly said "You've finally found your people," in reference to all the wonderful bookish people I got to see and share my time with, and I couldn't agree more.

So now I'm home, and trying to detox and not think about how much I'd love to still be there, in the city, sipping cocoa and walking for hours and finding new worlds within slices of city. At a time in my life where I feel very much up in the air, where I feel like I could just change or morph or wander off at a moment's notice, it was hard to leave. I am sure that the city's strange gravity will draw me back.