Author Spotlight - Cole Gibsen

Howdy!  Welcome to week 2 of my author spotlight.  This week, I'm happy to host Cole Gibsen, author of Katana from Flux.  I was lucky enough to meet Cole through my agent at the time.  She ended up signing to the same agency and I had the privilege of reading parts of this before it sold to Flux.  Even back then, I knew it was something special.  Getting to read the finished book was a treat.  Here's the description from the publisher:

Kill Bill meets Buffy in this supernatural samurai tale Rileigh Martin would love to believe that adrenaline gave her the uncanny courage and strength to fend off three muggers. But it doesn't explain her dreams of fifteenth century Japan, the incredible fighting skills she suddenly possesses, or the strange voice giving her battle tips and danger warnings. While worrying that she's going crazy (always a reputation ruiner), Rileigh gets a visit from Kim, a handsome martial arts instructor, who tells Rileigh she's harboring the spirit of a five-hundred-year-old samurai warrior.Relentlessly attacked by ninjas, Rileigh has no choice but to master the katana--a deadly Japanese sword that's also the key to her past. As the spirit grows stronger and her feelings for Kim intensify, Rileigh is torn between continuing as the girl she's always been and embracing the warrior inside her.

Buffy AND Kill Bill?  Those are two of my favorites.  Katana had a lot to live up to, and I'm happy to say that it does.

It starts with a toaster and goes on from there.  Rileigh Martin is the kind of character you want to root for.  She's spunky and real, but put in these unreal situations.  Her normal life suddenly becomes anything but, and she finds herself fighting simply to stay alive.  Much like Buffy when it first came out, I think people might be inclined to dismiss Rileigh because she's not a philosophy spouting teen straight out of a John Green book, but they'd be foolish to do so because the character Cole has created is something really special.

And then there's Kim.  Her love interest.  I'm not usually a fan of books with such blatant romantic elements, but Cole handles this deftly, managing to make it all so believable and beautiful.  The fantastic thing about Cole's writing is that she manages to be snarky and witty and funny and lyrical in the same book, weaving all these disparate elements together.

The one thing a lot of books get wrong are the fight scenes.  Characters throw punches that could never, not in a million years, connect, but Cole's fight scenes are well thought out, masterfully choreographed, and I know for a fact that she actually ran through some of them before putting them in her book just to be sure she got the details correct.  And it shows.

Katana is a one-of-a-kind book.  Funny without being silly, romantic without being saccharin, action-packed without being shallow.  Rileigh Martin will win your heart and you'll root for until the last page, cursing the heavens that you have to wait until 2013 for the sequel.  

This book is a must buy!

Come back Wednesday for my interview with Cole.  I promise not to wear the mask this time.

Author Spotlight - Interview with Margie Gelbwasser

EDITED:  The video is back up.  Sorry for the mishap.

Soooooo, I really wanted to do something a little different than just sending Margie some questions and posting her answers.  I had this mad idea to try and put together a video interview.  Mad because I've never edited video, as evidenced by the video you're about to watch.  All rough cuts, stutters, jumps, are my fault.

But Margie does a brilliant job answering my questions, so watch, enjoy, and go buy Pieces of Us!  And then come back Monday for my review of Cole Gibsen's Katana, followed by her interview and guest post.

Happy Release Day

Go buy these books.  Now.

    

Author Spotlight - Margie Gelbwasser

Due to a technical error on my part, we're switching Margie's interview to Friday and she's posting a guest blog here today.  And what a post it is.  For the record, I agree with every word Margie says about this topic.

Shield Those Innocent Teens

There's a movie coming out soon called Bully. You have probably heard about it. It follows five families and their experiences with bullying. From what I've read, the film sounds real and raw. Apparently, that's a problem. Apparently, it's too real. So disturbing, that this documentary received an R rating. Yes, it's only appropriate for those 17 year old and older. Therefore, many of the teens who experience bullying today will not even be able to see it. 

 The language, say some parents, is too graphic. The content, they continue, is too troubling. Yes, let's shield our teens from the harshness. It's just a movie, right? Not like it's real. Oh, wait. What's that? It IS real. It's a reality many teens face today. But it's too upsetting to let them see what they already know? Really? 

 Yes, I know the rating doesn't mean that teens can't see it. They only need an adult to be present. But what about those kids who don't speak up about the bullying or wait until it's too late to do so? What about those who suffer in silence? This movie would make them feel less alone, let themselves be heard.  

To me, seeing this movie with a guardian is beside the point. I feel the rating and parents' “concern” speaks to a greater issue regarding abuse and bullying. We want our children to be safe, so much so that we protect them from the very things they already know and are trying to come to terms with. 

 My new novel, PIECES OF US, comes out this week, and some reviewers have said that this book is not appropriate for teens. Not, “best suited for mature teens,” not “best for the older teen,” just “not for teens” OF ANY AGE. A few even went so far as to say they would not let anyone under 25 read this book. Yes, it has mature content: abuse, cyberbullying, rape, graphic language, and dating violence. But the words can be heard in hallways in high schools across the country. Cyberbullying has driven kids to suicide. Rape is a reality too many teens live with as well. And dating violence? Let's not even pretend that there aren't too many young women out there who stay with the guy because they think that's what love is. 

 Lest you think I'm not a parent, I am. My son is little now, but when he comes to me with the tough questions or is a teenager and wants to read books like PIECES OF US or see a movie like Bully, I'll use these opportunities as teachable moments. I'll watch the movie with him, read the book as well. We'll talk about what the characters' behavior means. If he's seen anything like that. What he can and should do in those situations. 

 The bottom line is this. Not all teens are the same. Some CAN handle the painful issues. Some can't. Often, the teen knows which category she or he falls into. The problem with saying a book should not be read by ANY teen or that a movie should not be seen by ANYONE under 17 is that you're hiding material many kids CAN handle and desperately need. Don't take it upon yourself to decide what's best for all teens. Odds are many have lived and seen the very things you're trying to hide. 

To learn more about Bully and sign a petition to give it a PG-13 rating, check out it's website: http://thebullyproject.com/#/abouttheproject

Thanks, Margie!  Come back on Friday to see my riveting interview with the awesome author of Pieces of Us.

Pieces of Us - Review

From the publisher:

Two families. Four teens. A summer full of secrets.  

Every summer, hidden away in a lakeside community in upstate New York, four teens leave behind their old identities…and escape from their everyday lives.  

Yet back in Philadelphia during the school year, Alex cannot suppress his anger at his father (who killed himself), his mother (whom he blames for it), and the girls who give it up too easily. His younger brother, Kyle, is angry too—at his abusive brother, and at their mother who doesn’t seem to care. Meanwhile, in suburban New Jersey, Katie plays the role of Miss Perfect while trying to forget the nightmare that changed her life. But Julie, her younger sister, sees Katie only as everything she’s not. And their mother will never let Julie forget it.  

Up at the lake, they can be anything, anyone. Free. But then Katie’s secret gets out, forcing each of them to face reality—before it tears them to pieces.

Writing a review of a book like Pieces of Us is difficult. I met Margie Gelbwasser through our 2010 debut book group THE TENNERS, and I've been a fan ever since.  Her debut Inconvenient was heartbreaking and beautiful; a frank look at the effects alcoholism can have on a family.  Pieces of Us continues Margie's tradition of delivering bracing honesty and refusing to pull punches.  


Alex isn't the kind of character kids should look up to.  Katie is so damaged and broken that she can't even see how damaged she truly is.  Kyle is the least messed up of these characters, and even he often tried my patience.  But despite how fractured and screwed up they are, they are hauntingly beautiful.  And that is thanks to Margie's expert handling of them.  She doesn't hold back.  The pain, the anguish, the brutality of their lives, is painted on the pages without a filter.  These characters aren't two-dimensional creations whose problems all reset at the end of the book, they're as real as characters in a book can be.  I wouldn't want to be friends with Alex, but I knew guys like him.    


Pieces of Us isn't an "issue book."  There is no tidy resolution, no easy answers, no after-school special sing-along to carry everyone home.  It will break your heart a little if you let it, and you should let it.  Because this is a special kind of book, framed by wonderful, lyrical writing.


I said this was a tough book to review because each of these characters will, at least once in the book, make you hate them.  I've always believed that the best books are the ones that leave you thinking about them for days.  Books that strike such a sharp chord inside of you that you can't get the characters out of your head.  Pieces of Us is one such book.  I'd rank it up there with books like Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why and Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta.  And though you may hate Alex and Katie and Julie and Kyle at different points in the book, by the end, their pain will be yours, and you won't help but feel for them.  


Should you read Pieces of Us?  Yes.  This is a book that deserves to be read, to be talked about.  To be loved and hated and given to everyone you know.  Books are meant to make us feel, and Pieces of Us will leave you raw.   It's that good.


Be sure to come back Wednesday for my in-depth interview with Margie Gelbwasser!

Dark Days Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of The Dark Days of Me and Him is live!

Check it out, or start from the beginning and read all the chapters.  If you don't want to read on a computer screen, chapters 1-4 are available as an e-book download.

And stop back tomorrow for the first day of my March Author Spotlight.  First up is Margie Gelbwaser.

March is for Great Authors

So, for the month of March I'm going to be spotlighting some fantastic authors.  We'll spend a week with one of four authors.  Monday I'll post my review of their current book.  Wednesday we'll have an awesome interview, and Friday the author will have a guest post on a topic of their choosing.

The first author up is Margie Gelbwasser, whose book PIECES OF US is out March 8th.

My second featured author is Cole Gibsen, whose debut KATANA is also out March 8th.

So be sure to check back on Monday, March 5th when I'll have my review of PIECES OF US!