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Musical Theater! Tanya Lee Stone!

Bad_boypb

Tanya Lee Stone is my friend. We went on book tour together for two weeks and we still like each other after!

Also we're gonna be on an NCTE panel (hello, English teachers!) in November to talk about sex in YA novels! Which is something I know lots about. And so does she. And so do Laurie Halse Anderson, Lara Zeises and Brent Hartinger know lots about it, and we are all going to talk TOGETHER. So that will be fantastico.

More importantly, Stone's novel A BAD BOY CAN BE GOOD FOR A GIRL is a really fun and easy read that is also extremely thought-provoking and librarians tell me it won't stay on the shelves. (Well, the one librarian at ALA who thought I was Tanya and not myself said that -- but she was VERY excited to meet me/Tanya!)
Also, just becauase I know some people are scared-off by the title: this is a deeply moral, nonjudgemental and well-considered book. It's about three very different girls who date the same player guy and how the choices they make shape who they want to be. About empowerment.

Anyway, BAD BOY is now out in paperback, with a cool new cover. You can buy it here from Books Inc, home of Not Your Mother's Book Club.

(A digression: By the way, I am traveling and my rental car has Satellite Radio. Did you know there is such a thing as an ALL BROADWAY STATION? Lordy me. I just discovered it. It is channel 77, at least over here on the east coast where I am. I am late to the party, I am sure -- but it is so fun! The announcers are VERY campy. At least the main one I have heard. He says things like, "Fab-uh-lus, fab-uh-lus, Bernadette Peters sounds just Ah-mAH-zing, doesn't she?" Anyway. If you've got the satellite radio and you like Dramarama, show tunes and all that jazz, go listen up!)

Okay. Back to Tanya. She was all over the Musical Theater Interview, and she was Eliza in My Fair Lady! And she has very interesting things to say about Idina Menzel, which I think you all should read.


The Dramarama Musical Theater Interview
-- with Tanya Lee Stone

1. You were in a play in high school, weren't you? Tell me all about it.
Oh yeah! Liza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. My brother told me it was best when he kept his eyes closed, though, because I sounded awesome but I look petrified. Sad, but true.

2. Give me song lyric that makes you laugh. Preferably from a show, but I'll cut you some slack if whatever you quote is funny.

For anyone who actually has a B.A. in English (Like Me!)--From Avenue Q:

What do you do with a B.A. in English,
What is my life going to be?
Four years of college and plenty of knowledge,
Have earned me this useless degree.
-----
Now of course, I'm happy to add that working writers are living proof that this ain't true--but it still makes me laugh!

3. If you've seen a show on Broadway, what was your first one? Whom did you go with, who was the star, what did you think of it?

Oh my god, the horrors. I was 12 years old and the show was Piaf. PIAF! My stepmother took me and I'll never forget the scene where one prostitute was checking Edith Piaf for a item that could only be described as a mistaken member of the crustacean family, and I turned to my stepmother to find out what the heck was going on. Um, that show was for mature audiences, which I was not.

4. What's your showbiz fantasy?

Performing opposite Mandy Patinkin in...anything.

5. Which Broadway diva are you, deep inside? And why? Ethel Merman, Carol Burnett, Nell Carter, Kristin Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters, Julie Andrews, Bebe Neuwirth, Audra McDonald, Carol Channing, Mary Martin, Barbra Streisand? Or someone else?

Idina Menzel. I'll stop everything to watch or listen to her.

I love Idina because she is so just who she is. Growing up doing theater and being of Russian Jewish descent as well, a piece of me always felt a tiny bit self-conscious that I would never be the perky blonde with the perfect nose. I adore Idina in part because if she ever felt that for a second in her life, it never comes through on stage. She is all that, and then some, and all of her emotion comes flying out of her mouth. She sort of epitomizes the whole "take me as I am" motif. And the voice says it all. I mean, wowza. If I could sing like that...I'd never stop.

6. Write me a nice little song lyric for the book you're promoting right now. Please.

to the tune of Wicked's I'm Not that Girl (first part hardly changed at all--sorry, it's just such a good fit!)

Hands touch, eyes meet
Sudden silence, sudden heat
My heart leaps in a giddy whirl
But he's a bad boy
And I'm a good girl

Don't dream too far
Don't lose sight of who you are
Don't remember that rush of joy
Cause he's a bad boy
And I'm a good girl

Ev'ry so often we long to steal
To the land of what-might-have-been
But that doesn't soften the ache we feel
When reality sets back in

Shark smile, pulls me in
But she who's easy, she wins him
Turns his head with a sexy grin
Now that's the girl he chose
And Heaven knows
I'm not that girl

Don't cry, stand strong
Don't you let him string you along
You need a boy who can see your light
This is not your fight
You're not that girl.

P.S. from E: Here is a really unattractive picture of (from left to right) Tanya, me, Simon Cheshire and Jen Bryant. I feel compelled to tell you we are all much better looking than that, and that my boobs are not really that big, either.

Teentitans2cropped


ALA 2nd day

My second (and last) day at ALA was a blur. Breakfast with some really interesting and opinionated librarians; then I found a friend from DC to hang with for an hour, then signing, lunch and more signing.
Then parties!
and dinner!
and parties!

So it was excellent. Small highlights:

One lovely librarian who raved and raved about my book and I said which one? and the one she loved was A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone.

I snuck into/crashed a dessert party with John Green and snagged chocolate cake and bumped into Susan Patron and didn't get caught!

I got to chat with Jack Prelutsky! I got a book signed by Judy Blume. Likewise Annette Curtis Klause.

We had teen author responsible drinks, and it was mobbed. This is a vital part of literature, really growing at the moment, and it was so great to be there with all these talented people who write for the same audience I do! Cecil Castelluci had an autograph book and was getting everyone to sign it. I told Marcus Zusak how much I liked I am the Messenger and he seemed profoundly embarassed. Several people, all in cute dresses, told me they had read my post about cute dresses for conferences and showed off their excellent purchases!

Must go catch train. Goodbye, ALA!


ALA rundown so far

I am at ALA! Yesterday, I caught the second half of the Sins of YA Literature pre-conference extravaganza. Librarians in costumes! Writers dressed as sins! A fascinating panel on censorship and another on the economics of publishing -- but I missed Cecily von Zegeisar on the sin of popularity, which I would have loved to hear.

Elizabeth Partridge, though she wonderfully enjoined librarians to be "secret condom fairies" -- meaning have a bowl of condoms in the library bathroom -- gave her speech on Lust about the ways in which books can help teenagers avoid the negative consequences of lust. So it was about teaching kids to avoid sexual harassment, unwanted pregnancy and assault. She also spent a good amount of time on Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, which to my eye is about rape and its aftermath, which is rather a different thing than lust.

Anyway, with all respect to Partridge, I felt there was a lot unsaid about the way books for teenagers explore lust, and the wide range of ways in which it is portrayed. At one point, she said she didn't want to get into discussing "chick lit", and I wished she had. Because there is such an interesting and wide-ranging portrayal of lust in "chick lit" for teenagers --- from Georgia Nicolson's "red-bottomosity" to Sam's nervous interest in Ready or Not to the betrayals in Shrimp and Cupcake to the pursuit of an encounter that leads to regret in Traveling Pants.

Anyway, I do always love a talk that makes me feel lilke I need to write a long meandering blog entry, so I was very glad I saw Partridge speak, even though I disagreed with her in may ways.

Then there was partying! With many really interesting and charming librarians. Also authors.
(Name-dropping ahead. Avert your eyes if you will.)
Avi!
Chris Crutcher!
John Green!
David Levithan!
Jack Gantos!

(hm. why am I only meeting the male authors? Wonder if am an incorrigible flirt or possibly devastatingly attractive. Or possibly just male-oriented and need to get in touch with my female core? Or possibly was luck of draw and cocktail party situation. Not sure)

Oh! Ellen Wittlinger, the wonderful, gave me a shout-out in her speech and I was so tremendously flattered.
and
I met Virginia Euwer Wolfe and she had read Dramarama!
So now I am feeling important, which is good because I have only had 5 and a half hours sleep and I am generally a 9 hour girl.

Today, signings at noon at Random House and at 4 at Hyperion.
Head spinning.

Woohoo!

xo
E



Procrastination Meme


I can not resist a meme! I have huge amounts of work to do today!
Gacked from Professor Nana, with some modifications.

1. Your Middle Name: I'll just say, you already know it.
2. Age: Much older than my target audience.
3. Single or Taken: Taken.
4. Favorite Movie: So many! So many! Gregory's Girl.
5. Favorite Song or Album: Right now? Umbrella by Rihanna. It was something else three days ago, though.
6. Favorite Band/Artist: I am never sad to listen to songs by George Gershwin. (Dork alert)
7. Dirty or Clean: Dirty is the new clean.
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings: Yes, tattoo. One. No, piercings.
9. What's your philosophy on life? Don't panic.
10. Is the bottle half-full or half-empty? Half-full.
11. What is your favorite guilty pleasure? I have no guilt about pleasure.
12. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you: I am a crazy dancer.
13. You can have three wishes (for yourself, so forget all the 'world peace etc' malarkey) - what are they : Money for bigger home. Health for someone I love. Inner calm.
14. Can we get together and make a cake? Yes, but I might be bossy. I make a lot of cakes.
15. Which country is your spiritual home? England.
16. What is your big weakness? Exhaustion.
17. What was your best/favorite subject at school: Literary criticism.
18. Describe your accent: BBC American with a slight touch of Boston and a very mild lisp.
19. What do you wear to sleep? Outrageously cute pajamas.
20. Trousers or skirts? Excuse me, but dresses. I am excited to go to ALA and wear my cute conference dresses!

Tag, if you're in the mood.


Ice Cream! and ALA

What Ben and Jerrys ice cream flavor are you ?


You are half baked !!!A mellow medley of emotions and a pleasant personality. You get even the busiest of bees to stop and smell the roses. Rock on !
Take this quiz!



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Gacked from Newbery honor writer Cynthia Lord.

Oh, and a reminder:
I will be at ALA this coming weekend -- at the YALSA sin sin sin thing, in the audience; likewise at the Booklist Author forum, and the YALSA party after that. Come find me and say hello!

Saturday, NOON
I'm signing The Boy Book & The Boyfriend List at Random House booth 3107
Oh, and this, if you're interested in books for younger readers.

Saturday, 4 PM
I'm signing galleys my literally warm off the presses book, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Scheduled for publication in March 2008. Hyperion booth 2900.

Then the Random House party that evening.

I hope you'll come by and see me!

--E


Megan Crane loves Patti LuPone


Frenemies_coverMegan Crane and I have very parallel careers.
Only here's what Marian Keyes said about her new book, FRENEMIES, that she didn't say about my new book. Because Marian Keyes, international bestselling author, has never heard of me. But she has heard of Megan, and she's really into her, too:

"FRENEMIES is a hugely enjoyable novel with brilliant, convincing characters and dialogue.
It's romantic, funny, intelligent, believable, and gripping. I couldn't put it down
and am now very sorry it's finished!"
— Marian Keyes, international bestselling author of Angels and Last Chance Saloon

FREN-E-MY\noun: The friend who gives you the sweetest smile to your face, while holding the sharpest knife to your back. We’ve all heard the saying, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” but what if they’re one and the same? The book is about a woman who catches her best friend canoodling with her boyfriend -- and the fallout from all that.
(Hm. I am thinking if you liked The Boyfriend List, you are gonna like this one. It is published for grown-ups, just so ya know.)

Crane wrote English as a Second Language (which I really, really liked) and Everyone Else's Girl, and her blog is here. You can buy the book here, or at any online bookseller or local independent!

The Dramarama Interview, with Megan Crane:

1. You were in a play in high school, weren't you? Tell me all about it.
I totally was. I was in "Carousel" and "Anything Goes." (And in junior high school I was in 110 Degrees In The Shade, which is about as esoteric as it gets, I think.) I was so fantastic as a chorus member that all audiences gave me my own, personal round of applause. That's not true at all. I mean, I was in the chorus, and I was awesome, but that awesomeness was largely unappreciated. Which is no doubt why I did not pursue my Broadway dreams.

2. Give me song lyric that makes you laugh. Preferably from a show, but I'll cut you some slack if whatever you quote is funny.

Rapunzel's Prince in Into The Woods, "Dwarfs are very upsetting." Still makes me giggle.

3. If you've seen a show on Broadway, what was your first one? Whom did you go with, who was the star, what did you think of it?
My first show was Evita, with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. My mother took me and told me very seriously that unlike at home, with the record, I was not allowed to sing. I was dazzled.

4. What's your showbiz fantasy?
To be Patti LuPone. Seriously. To have that gigantic voice-- wow.

5. Which Broadway diva are you, deep inside? And why? Ethel Merman, Carol Burnett, Nell Carter, Kristin Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters, Julie Andrews, Bebe Neuwirth, Audra McDonald, Carol Channing, Mary Martin, Barbra Streisand? Or someone else?

Patti, of course. I've always hero-worshipped her.

6. Write me a nice little song lyric for the book you're promoting right now. Please.

Frenemies are those who pretend they care,
But real friends can see there's nothing there.
(I think I'll stick to books!)


ALA

Librarians! Hello!

I will be at ALA this coming weekend -- at the YALSA sin sin sin thing, in the audience; likewise at the Booklist Author forum, and the YALSA party after that. Come find me and say hello!

Saturday, NOON
I'm signing The Boy Book & The Boyfriend List at Random House booth 3107
Oh, and this, if you're interested in books for younger readers.

Saturday, 4 PM
I'm signing galleys my literally warm off the presses book, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Scheduled for publication in March 2008. Hyperion booth 2900.

Then the Random House party that evening.

I hope you'll come by and see me!

--E