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Some of the people who enjoyed Liar have started telling me that they want to read something else like it. I'm not sure what to tell them. I can't recommend one of my other novels because they bear no resemblance to Liar and readers would just be disappointed.
Here are three novels that people have compared to Liar:
Jacqueline Woodson's If You Come Softly. This is hugely flattering. Softly is one of
the best books I've ever read. I think Liar has some of the emotional intensity of Softly and it shares an NYC setting---with Central Park playing a key role in both novels. If Liar evokes New York City even half as well, then I've done a bang up ...
Posted by Justine at 2:12, January 2nd, 2010 under Liar, Reading, Young Adult literature |
This is
my annual post where I sum up what happened in my professional life in that year and look ahead to what's going to happen in 2010. Basically I do this so I can have a handy record that I can get to in seconds. (Hence the "last day of the year" tag.) Do feel free to skip it. ((Cause it will be boring. Don't say you weren't warned.))
This year, though, was less happy than any of the previous years I've summed up here. Thus my summary is brief. I want to get past 2009 and on to the fun of 2010 as fast as I can.
Books out: Liar (hc in US & tpb in Oz), HTDYF (in ...
Posted by Justine at 0:59, December 31st, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, Bloggery, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Last Day of the Year, Liar, Magic or Madness trilogy, Travelling, Unicorns, Zombies, Zombies v Unicorns |
Searching for something else entirely, I stumbled across
this old post from March 2007 where I asked my faithful readers to help me choose what to write next. I decided it would be fun to do an update. Fun for me, anyways. ((Hey, it's the holidays no one's reading this right now.))
First on the list of possibilities is this one:
The compulsive liar book narrated by a—you guessed it—compulsive liar. Downside: will involve lots of outlining. I hates outlining. Plus it’s going to be so hard! Upside: whenever I mention this one folks get very excited.
Sound familiar? Why, yes, it's the book I wrote next: Liar which published in September this year. As it happens it involved no outlining at ...
Posted by Justine at 19:59, December 26th, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, Liar, Love is Hell, Writing goals & milestones, Writing life, Writing process |
This goes out with love to some dear friends of mine. You know who you are.
There's an
xkcd cartoon so famous that many refer to it by its number, 386. It's my favourite and one that is referred to frequently in the Larbfeld household.
"OMG!" I will yell, looking up from my computer.
"Is someone wrong on the internet?" Scott will say, making me feel a wee bit foolish, and deflating my outrage by at least 50%. Thank you, Randall Munroe.
Turns out that it's not as famous as I thought it was. Recently I discovered that
my sister, who makes a living in the visual effects industry, had never ...
Posted by Justine at 20:38, December 23rd, 2009 under Bloggery, Liar, Young Adult literature |
Micah, the first person narrator of Liar, is very explicit about music not being her thing:
I hate music. It hurts my ears, my brain. Even the membranes in my nose. Any music. All music. I can’t distinguish between hip hop and hillbilly ramblings, between symphonies and traffic noise. All of it hurts.
So it's a bit weird given that I listened to so much music while writing Liar. I know that she would hate very single one of these, but they were essential for me to get in the right state to be able to write Micah's voice. I needed short cuts to sadness, anger and confusion. Hence the following songs proving to be just the ticket:...
Posted by Justine at 4:14, December 19th, 2009 under Liar, Writing process |
I keep being asked the same basic question about Liar so I thought that I would answer it here before pushing it across to the
Liar FAQ. My answer is not a spoiler as it touches on stuff that is revealed in the first few pages.
The question is:
Q: What do I know is true that Micah tells us?
A: It's not straight forward for me to answer this question. What I thought I knew about Micah changed as I wrote the book. But I can tell you that all Micah's fundamentals are absolutely true. Her race, her age, her gender, her neighbourhood---she is from the East Village of New York City, her parents. I also know that she had ...
Posted by Justine at 20:12, November 19th, 2009 under Liar |
I know I wrote a whole tip telling you to ease up on yourself and
expect badness in your first draft. I encouraged you to just pound it out and leave the editing till later.
Sadly, that doesn't work for every writer. Nor does it work for every book. Although I bashed out a crappy zero draft for the majority of my books, I wrote Liar editing as I went. I don't think it would have worked to have written it any other way.
I wrote Liar scene by scene. Working on each one until it was polished and gleaming and then, and only then, moving on to the next one. The scenes in Liar are pretty short so it ...
Posted by Justine at 13:51, November 16th, 2009 under Liar, Writing process |
This year I've been getting more and more people asking about ebook editions of my novels. This is my general response to that query.
First of all: you're asking the wrong person. My publishers are in charge of the electronic rights to my novels. If you're curious
John Scalzi has more to say on this question. If you're desperate for ebooks of my stuff bug my publishers, not me. That will be much more effective.
But here's what I know: Penguin has made electronic editions of Magic Lessons and Magic's Child available. But for some reason not the first book in that trilogy, Magic or Madness. Apparently they're working on it. That's all I know.
Bloomsbury, who publish How To Ditch ...
Posted by Justine at 21:02, November 13th, 2009 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar, Magic or Madness trilogy, Publishing business, Reading, Young Adult literature |
Today (yesterday) I had my last school events of the Liar tour at Joliet West High School and Glenbard South High School in the outer suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The students at both schools were amazing and asked many smart, engaged, funny questions. It was a total pleasure to meet you all. Thank you.
In other news
Cristina Hernadez posted her midterm project for her painting class on her blog and I was so impressed I asked if I could share it with you here. Remember, Cristina? She's the one who photoshopped a very
disturbing version of Maureen Johnson's Suite Scarlett.
Here's her midterm painting:
Wow, huh? Cristina also had to write an essay about the painting and I ...
Posted by Justine at 3:10, November 5th, 2009 under Book tour, Ideas, Liar, Love is Hell, Praising, Writing process |
Don't forget to look out for
Scott's NaNo tip today.
And here's where I'll be in Chicago today and tomorrow:
Tues, 3 November, 7:00PM
B&N Skokie
55 Old Orchard Center
Skokie, IL
Wednesday, 4 November, 7:00PM
Anderson’s Bookshop
5112 Main St
Downers Grove, IL
Same deal: if all who turn up have read Liar then I will tell you what really happens at the end.
Hope to see some of you there!
Posted by Justine at 1:06, November 3rd, 2009 under Book tour, Liar |
Tomorrow is the first day of
National Novel Writing Month. Although I've never taken part in it and probably never will, ((November is almost always a travelling month for me.)) I think it's an awesome way for beginning writers to learn the art of the first draft. I know many pro writers who also use the month to help them slay their deadlines. Nothing like knowing you have comrades-in-arms in your writing struggles.
Scott and me decided that we'll spend the month offering tips. Scott's tips will be over on
his blog and will appear on the odd numbered days of November, mine will be here on the even days. Though as I'm still deep in Liar promotion, I ...
Posted by Justine at 15:14, October 31st, 2009 under Liar, Writing process |
When I first got the idea for Liar I thought it would be a comedy. I thought it would be a goofy, screwball comedy with a protag who was lying about herself out of boredom and insecurity and that as the layers of her lies were peeled away chapter by chapter---"Actually, I'm fourteen, not seventeen, but that's only three years diff. Not that big of a lie, right?"---through a series of misunderstandings and misadventures she would learn to like herself and lose the need to lie so much. It would be heartwarming, they'd all hug it out, and everyone would learn and grow. You know only funny. Really funny.
The finished Liar turned out somewhat differently. Less with the funny.
This happens ...
Posted by Justine at 12:01, October 30th, 2009 under Ideas, Liar, Writing process |
In the last few weeks I've spent an inordinate amount of time talking about the writing of Liar and making much use of
jigsaws as a metaphor to describe said writing. Turns out that Margaret Drabble has also been thinking long and hard about jigsaw puzzles---longer and harder than me, truth be told--- ((Though can truth be told when I'm discussing Liar?)) and has written a whole book on the subject: The Pattern In The Carpet, which I am now longing to read.
You all need to listen to this
interview with Margaret Drabble about her personal history with jigsaws. Romana Koval is one of my favourite interviewers and the whole thing is utterly delightful from start ...
Posted by Justine at 19:37, October 26th, 2009 under Book tour, Liar, Listening, Praising |
I now say a fond farewell to the peoples of the Pacific North West. Goodbye Seattle and Portland! What gorgeous cities you are. My timing was perfect: all the leaves were gold, red, maroon, pink, orange and brown. Spectacularly gorgeous. Also mostly the weather was crisp and clear. Only two raining days. Well done, Pacific North West.
My favourite part was getting to meet so many of the people who comment on this blog such as Pixelfish, Saints and Spinners, AndrewN, and the people I met last night whose names I've forgotten because my brain is fried. So sorry! And meeting Lizzy-wa and Captain Cockatiel again after two years.
The most amazing thing happened last night at the Clackamas Town Ctr Mall ...
Posted by Justine at 12:55, October 23rd, 2009 under Book tour, Liar, New York City/USA |
So far on my tour I have persuaded people who attended my events
to read Flygirl by
Sherri L. Smith, ((As well as many other novels.)) to try their hand at writing novels, that kangaroos deliver the mail in Australia, that if only they were good I would reveal the true ending of Liar and that procrastination is good for you.
I have eaten ribs, sushi, power bars, beef jerky, salads, steak, eggs, not enough fruit.
I have signed books, business cards, scrap books, casts, receipts, Leviathan and a plastic doll.
I have answered no email, ((Have barely had time to read any.)) read no blogs, or newspapers. I have zero idea what is going on in the real world. ...
Posted by Justine at 10:25, October 21st, 2009 under Book tour, Liar |
Today I fly to Seattle, which could not possibly be as cold and wet as it is here in New York City. Surely not?
Here are my public events in Seattle:
Monday, 19 October, 4:00 pm
Mukilteo Public Library
4675 Harbour Pointe Blvd.
Mukilteo, WA
Monday, 19 October, 7:00 pm
UWash Bookstore
4326 University Way N.E.
Seattle, WA
...
Posted by Justine at 8:54, October 18th, 2009 under Book tour, Liar, New York City/USA |
A while ago I posted about my
writing goals. I
updated it a year ago with the publication of How To Ditch Your Fairy. But now I have published Liar which is in a whole new genre and allows me to cross even more off my lists.
My goals are not stuff like Become NYT Bestselling Author or Win Nobel Prize. Winning prizes and making bestseller lists is not something I can control, but I can control what I write. So that's what my goals are about. Simple, really.
First the genres:
Romance
Historical
Crime (what some call mysteries)
Thriller)
Fantasy
SF
Comedy
Horror
Mainstream or litfic (you know, Literature: professor has affair with much younger student in the midst of mid-life crisis)
Western
Problem novel
YA
The publication of ...
Posted by Justine at 15:28, October 17th, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar, Writing goals & milestones |
Today I blogged
over here. Those of you who've been wondering about the process of writing Liar might find it interesting.
Today I prepare for my appearance in
Larchmont tonight and the many appearances I'm doing next week in
Seattle and Portland. Then I'll be at the
Teen Lit Festival in Austin next Saturday. That's quite a temperature range. Packing's going to be fun!
For those of you who only read the posts and not the comments, you really need to check out the comments on the
White Writer Advantages thread and the
Hating Female Characters one. People are being astonishingly smart.
Posted by Justine at 13:23, October 16th, 2009 under Bloggery, Liar, New York City/USA, Praising, Writing process |
For a while now I've been thinking about how many readers seem to hate female characters more than they hate male. Or rather that the same behaviour from a male character is okay but someone inexcusable in a female. Sarah Rees Brennan has written about this phenomenon
most eloquently:
Let us think of the Question of Harry Potter. I do not mean to bag on the character of Harry Potter: I am very fond of him.
But I think people would be less fond of him if he was Harriet Potter. If he was a girl, and she'd had a sad childhood but risen above it, and she'd found fast friends, and been naturally talented at her school's only important sport, ...
Posted by Justine at 13:50, October 15th, 2009 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar, Magic or Madness trilogy, State of the World |
I'll be here:
Friday, 16 October, 7:00 pm:
Voracious Reader
1997 Palmer Ave
Larchmont, NY
It's a very short train ride from Grand Central so if you're in NYC and wish to hear me be witty and wise you can do so! It's even closer if you're in Westchester County and thereabouts, (which you would probably know if you were in Westchester County or thereabouts).
I'll be talking about Liar, writing and life, and answering all your questions. In fact, I have decided that this will be the event where I tell the true ending of Liar. So if you don't attend you will never know! Though I did say I would reveal all in Memphis and Nashville yet I didn't. But I'm quite sure ...
Posted by Justine at 15:11, October 14th, 2009 under Book tour, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar, Magic or Madness trilogy |
When I was a brand new about-to-have-my-first-book-published baby author I freaked out entirely about blurbs. I was sure I needed them. Or rather my brand new baby book needed them. I panicked and decided I needed to ask every single published writer friend I knew. But then when it came to actually asking them I froze. It was so icky and embarrassing.
"Hello, oh lovely writer friend of mine, so, um, I know we've known each other for years and, um, gotten drunk together, even though getting drunk is wrong and neither of us plans to ever do it again, and, um, where was I? Did you hear about them Sparks? Suck, don't they? Er, why did I phone you? No ...
Posted by Justine at 23:10, October 13th, 2009 under Liar, Magic or Madness trilogy, Publishing business |
This is a little bit weird. I had no idea it existed and stumbled upon it while, yes, I confess, googling myself. ((What? I wanted to check out some more Liar reviews. That's not a crime, is it?)) So here is my husband talking with the Romantic Times about my latest book and what it's like writing in the same room:
Here's my response:
Firstly, those who've heard me talk about writing may remember that I, too, use that high diving metaphor. Yup, stole that one from Scott. Hey, he steals heaps of my stories and metaphors too. We're an equal opportunity story-stealing household.
It's also true that we ...
Posted by Justine at 10:17, October 11th, 2009 under Liar, Scott's books, Writing process |
This is where I'll be today in Nashville, Tennessee:
Saturday, 10 October, 2:00-3:00 pm
Southern Festival of Books
Talk in Room 16
Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN
Followed by signing
3:00-4:00 pm
War Memorial Plaza
Between 6th & 7th Avenues.
Nashville, TN
For those who've been asking, I'm happy to sign whatever books you want me to sign. I don't even have to have written them. If you can't make the official signing I'm happy to sign whenever you see me. Though, obviously, not in the middle of my talk. Because that would be weird.
The talk will be about Liar. I will, of course, tell everyone what the real ending is. So if you don't make it you'll never know . . .
I've really enjoyed my whirlwind trip ...
Posted by Justine at 9:41, October 10th, 2009 under Book tour, Liar |
I've received a lot of mail this week. Most of it asking the same question: "Could you tell me what really happens at the end of Liar?"
I have already answered that questions on the
Liar FAQ. But I'll answer it again: No, I won't tell you what really happens. You have to figure it out for yourself. You can do so in some excellent company
over here.
There are other questions about Liar I totally will answer. But only if you ask them
over here.
I'm also being asked about the Liar tour:
Details can be
found here.
Scott and me are only doing one event together and it's in New York City at the beginning of November ...
Posted by Justine at 0:20, October 8th, 2009 under Book tour, Liar |
Tomorrow I will be in Memphis, Tennessee. I'm ridiculously excited about this. Not least because I've never been there before. I've always wanted to see Graceland. My kind publishers have allowed space in my program so that I may do so. Woo hoo!
Here is tomorrow's event:
Thursday, 8 October, 6:00 pm:
Davis-Kidd Booksellers
387 Perkins Ext
Memphis, TN
Then on Saturday I'm in Nashville at the Southern Festival of Books. Nashville's another city I've never been to before. Actually, I've never been anywhere in Tennessee before. I have high hopes for the barbeque. Here's my Saturday schedule:
Saturday, 10 October, 2:00-3:00 pm
Southern Festival of Books
Talk in Room 16
Legislative Plaza
Nashville, ...
Posted by Justine at 8:13, October 7th, 2009 under Book tour, Liar |
If you're busting to talk about Liar with other people who've read it this is the place for you. Here you can say whatever you want about the book without fear. Go forth, speak, theorise, argue, enjoy!
For those of you haven't read it you really really really do not want to look at the comments below.
Go here to see my arguments as to
why you do not want to be spoiled. You should also avoid reviews. ((You should especially avoid the Horn Book review of Liar because it's so outrageously spoilery I cried when I read it. Though if you've read Liar you should definitely check it out because it's a very interesting take on the novel.))
Liar ...
Posted by Justine at 9:20, October 3rd, 2009 under Best of Blog, Liar |
Yup, it's finally here. Liar is now officially out in the world in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA! Is it just me or did that take FOREVER?
Also available for the first time today (officially) the audio books of
Liar and
How To Ditch Your Fairy. As well as the gorgeous US paperback of How To Ditch Your Fairy which as I may have mentioned multiple times is
my favourite cover of all time. (Look to your left at the squashed fairy.)
If you can't afford to buy new books right now, but are desperate to read Liar, I recommend getting your local library to buy a copy (if they haven't already) or having a friend who ...
Posted by Justine at 12:49, September 29th, 2009 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar, Listening |
Pixelfish wants to know what a problem novel is. My own definition until fairly recently was: "a contemporary realist YA novel that I don't like because it's preachy and condescending and defines teenagers in terms of their 'problems' (which half the time I would not define that way) and most teenage readers hate." (Here is a
more useful definition.)
The problem with my definition, other than it's way too personal, is that it's not true. During the past few years of talking to teenage readers and school librarians I've learned how incredibly helpful many find problem novels. Readers told me over and over again that they were able to find someone like themselves in the main character dealing with ...
Posted by Justine at 13:06, September 28th, 2009 under Liar, Young Adult literature |
My wonderful publisher and editor at
Allen & Unwin, Jodie Webster, sent me this pic from her local bookshop in Melbourne, Fairfield Bookshop, (which you'll be shocked to hear is in Fairfield). I suspect it will be the only time that the pile of my books is bigger than Stephenie Meyer's! But, hey, I'll take it while it lasts. Maybe the proximity will rub off on my sales. I can hope, right?
In other news we almost had a NZ winner of the Liar sightings contest. She even had to make them open up a box to get her Liar sighting. Fortunately for my readers in NZ, it was
my sister, who's working in Wellington for ...
Posted by Justine at 10:13, September 27th, 2009 under Liar, Sydney/Australia |
The winner from the US of A, Carrie, found Liar at the
Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, Massachusetts ((Why, yes, I did have to look up out to spell that.)). Here it is:
Our Australian winner is Emma of Canberra who picked up her copy at her local Borders in Canberra. She reports that she found it on the "Borders Recommends shelf in YA. (Prominently displayed at eye level no less!)" And here is Emma with a copy of Liar:
Congrats to you both!
The
Liar sightings contest is not over yet. Our New Zealand friends still have to claim a prize when they send photographic evidence of Liar in a Kiwi book shop. Sources ...
Posted by Justine at 19:50, September 23rd, 2009 under Liar |
I've already talked about this a fair bit, basically
pleading for people not to give away any of the
twists and turns of Liar. For the most part bloggers and reviewers for the trades have done exactly that.
I would like to thank them for being so amazing about not spoiling Liar. I'm really astonished by how considerate reviewers have been. Thank you!
Of course, inevitably, there are spoilers out there in the broad, wild intramanets. Not all reviewers feel
the same way about spoilers that I do, which is absolutely their right. I cannot make anyone not spoil Liar I can merely request. ((The blog overlord, alas, only controls this blog with an iron fist.))
But I would like ...
Posted by Justine at 12:07, September 21st, 2009 under Bloggery, Liar |
I have created a
Liar FAQ page on account of I've already gotten the same three questions many many times already and the book isn't even officially out yet. If you have any more questions about the book feel free to ask them
over there. And, yes, I have not answered the third questions in any detail that's because I'm working on a whole post about it.
Some other questions I've gotten lately:
Q: Will you be posting a spoiler thread so that we can talk about Liar without having to be super careful about spoiling people?
A: Only one person has asked for this. If there seems to be a demand of more than one I'll put up a Liar ...
Posted by Justine at 14:42, September 20th, 2009 under Admin, Liar |
Mary Kuna bought her copy of Liar at
Westminster Books in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada but only found out about the
Liar contest after she'd already taken the book home. But I decided to relax the contest rules because Liar debuted in Canada first. As you see this is not a photo of Liar in the book shop:
As someone who really hates having my photo taken I admire her strategy here. It's something I've seen lots of people do with the cover of Uglies. In fact most covers that are faces ((Of which there are many in YAland.)) lend themselves to the face swap out photo. I'm sure this is not the last one with ...
Posted by Justine at 12:35, September 19th, 2009 under Frippery, Liar |
Thus far I've had a number of reports that Liar is available in some shops in Canada. But so far no sightings in Australia, New Zealand or the United States.
I am offering a prize to the first person to send me photographic evidence of Liar in shops. Either post a link in the comments or send me a jpg
here and tell me where the shop was.
I'll give one prize per country. So the first person from NZ gets a prize as does the first from Australia and the US. And, yes, Canadians can compete because while people have told me they've seen the book I've seen no photographic evidence and nothing's real without a photo, ...
Posted by Justine at 14:05, September 18th, 2009 under Liar |
Yesterday I shared the US trailer for Liar, today it's time for the Australian Liar trailer:
Whatcha reckon? It's difficult for me to say seeing as how that's my words and my voice, and me and Scott shot some of the footage. I can say that I think the team at
Allen & Unwin did an awesome job editing it all together. They've managed to make me sound smarter and more coherent than I actually am. Thank you.
Oh, and good news for those of you in Australia and New Zealand. I've been told that Liar's official release day is 28 September but it will probably start ...
Posted by Justine at 1:53, September 17th, 2009 under Liar, Sydney/Australia, Viewing |
Just found out that my US publisher,
Bloomsbury, together with
BookSpots has put together a trailer for Liar:
Pretty good, eh? It kind of reminds me of late 1950s/early 1960s film credits. Feel free to share the link far and wide.
Is it just me or is this the year when book trailers are everywhere? My favourites so far are
Scott's,
Libba's,
Robin's and
Diana's. I also love
Lauren's but it's not live yet. Keep your eyes peeled. ((Or maybe don't. Eyes peeled sounds so painful.))
What do you think about the whole book trailer thing?rty od
Posted by Justine at 0:15, September 16th, 2009 under Liar, Viewing |
I now have almost all the dates and times for the
US Liar tour. For the first time ever I'll be doing some tour stops in the South and the Northwest. In fact, my only repeat visits are to Austin, Philadelphia and, of course, NYC. ((I mean, I live here half the year, I'll always do appearances in NYC.))
But first I must apologise. Profusely. Despite
what I said earlier, I will not be visiting Phoenix. I'm very disappointed. Phoenix was one of the first cities mentioned for this tour and the Bloomsbury publicists did every thing they could to make it happen. But alas. If it was down to me I'd spend a week in Phoenix visiting every ...
Posted by Justine at 12:01, September 13th, 2009 under Book tour, Liar, New York City/USA |
Okay, this, I'm really excited about. Remember when I posted about
getting to sit in on the recording of the audiobook of Liar? Well, now you can listen to some of it.
I'm thrilled and delighted with the amazing job Brilliance Audio did. Channie Waites is perfect reading in Micah's voice. But don't listen to me, listen to her, and make up your own mind:
01 Part01-01-Telling the Truth
The audio version of Liar publishes at the same time as the book in both North America (29 Sept) and Australia (1 October). Here are the links to buy the Liar audiobook in North America:
CD and
MP3. And in Australia:
CD.
Hope you like it as much as I ...
Posted by Justine at 16:14, September 10th, 2009 under Liar, Listening |
Because of the
jacket change there was a wee bit of doubt that the US edition of Liar would be available on its scheduled release date of 29 September. I'm here to tell you that it most definitely will be available on that date. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up in book shops ahead of schedule.
How do I know?
Because of this:
Yup, those are my author's copies of Liar. They're here and it's only the beginning of September. I'd say we're good to go.
Posted by Justine at 13:28, September 5th, 2009 under Liar |
Enough of youse lot are wondering what's up with me not blogging every day that I am driven to offer an explanation for my blog silence of late. A brief explanation: travel, busy, knackered, bad sport karma.
I have many posts brewing or brewed. More on race, writing and publishing (here's a
few links to
others. I'm especially loving the Writers Against Racism series on
Amy Bowllan's SLJ blog like
this one with Ari of
Reading in Color.); a complaint about Being Human (Why does the woman have to be a timid ghost? Wouldn't it have been much more interesting if she was the werewolf or the vampire? Um, okay no need to write ...
Posted by Justine at 15:21, September 2nd, 2009 under Bloggery, Excuses, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar |
In addition to my
Melbourne Writers Festival events---first one is
tomorrow with Scott and Isobelle Carmody *squee*---soon I'll be off on my second US tour. Pretty, exciting, eh?
I just added a few events to the
appearances page. So far I have events confirmed (or close to) for Phoenix,
Nashville, Memphis,
Austin, Seattle, Portland and New York City. I'm especially excited about those first three cities as I've never been to any of them before.
Also: Memphis = Gracelands = Justine hyperventilating. For those of who don't know, yes, I am a daggy Elvis fan. Goes back to
when I was very little.
There will be at least one or two more cities on my tour. ...
Posted by Justine at 21:58, August 21st, 2009 under Book tour, First Kiss, Frippery, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar, New York City/USA |
My last week in NYC I was invited to visit the studio where the audio book of Liar was being recorded. Even though I had a gazillion million things to do I made sure to get there. I'm so glad I did. It was an amazing experience.
I'd never had my prose read out loud by a talented actor like Channie Waites before. It was a revelation. I know it's a cliche but she really did make my book come alive. Bits that I hadn't realised were funny, she rendered funny. (In a good way!) It was strange and wonderful and gave me chills. And as you can see I'm really struggling to articulate how incredible it felt to listen to ...
Posted by Justine at 2:44, August 12th, 2009 under Liar, New York City/USA, Praising |
Yes, the new cover means that it is unlikely possible that Liar will may not be available in US and Canadian stores on the announced publication date of 29 September. I don't know what the new pub date is but it will definitely be in October. As soon as I know I'll pass it on. Update: My US publisher says there's still a strong possibility Liar will be available at the end of September as planned. (Note: this is the hardcover first edition of Liar I am talking about. There will not be a North American paperback until next year.)
There is no planned UK edition as UK rights have not sold. The English language editions, both to be ...
Posted by Justine at 0:23, August 9th, 2009 under Admin, Liar |
As you've probably heard by now Liar is getting a new cover for its publication in October. ((No, it's not actually out yet.)) First Bloomsbury considered going with the Australian jacket of Liar and specifically with the black and red version you can see
here because that would be the easiest thing to do. The design already exists after all and the window to make the change was very narrow.
However, given the paucity of black faces on YA covers, and the intensity of the debate around the original Liar cover, Bloomsbury felt really strongly that a more representative approach was needed. Rather than using a stock photo, Bloomsbury went the whole hog and did a photo shoot. The ...
Posted by Justine at 17:41, August 6th, 2009 under Liar, Praising, State of the World |
As you may have already discovered if you read Publisher's Weekly's "
Children's Bookshelf," Bloomsbury is rejacketing the hardcover edition of Liar. My wish came true much sooner than I expected. Thank you to everyone who expressed your concerns. Thank you to Bloomsbury for listening.
As soon as the jacket is final, which should be soon, I'll be posting it here. Yes, I was involved in the cover design process.
I am delighted that my post about the original Liar jacket got some traction. But everything I said there had been said many times before by authors and bloggers of colour. Whitewashing of covers, ghettoising of books by people of colour, and low expectations (reflected in the lack of marketing push behind ...
Posted by Justine at 16:07, August 6th, 2009 under Bloggery, Liar, State of the World |
In the last few weeks as people have started reading the US ARC of Liar they have
also started asking why there is
such a
mismatch between how
Micah describes herself and the cover image. Micah is black with nappy hair which she wears natural and short. As you can see that description does not match the US cover.
Many people have been asking me how I feel about the US cover, why I allowed such a cover to appear on a book of mine, and why I haven't been speaking out about it.
Authors do not get final say on covers. Often they get no say at all....
Posted by Justine at 12:02, July 23rd, 2009 under Liar, New York City/USA, Publishing business, State of the World, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 11:43, July 7th, 2009 under Bloggery, Liar, Scott's books, Whingeing |
Posted by Justine at 2:22, June 27th, 2009 under Liar, Vainglory |
Liar just sold to
Salani in Italy. They're the publishers of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. Cool, huh? For those keeping count Liar has now sold in six countries. This is massively more sales than any of my other books have made prior to publication. I am dizzy. (I posted recently on
how foreign rights works for those who want to know why I am so excited.)
In other news: today I met someone who looks so much like Tom in the Magic or Madness trilogy I almost gasped. He's a red head and taller and older (20 rather than 15) than Tom, but other than that identical. I had to stop myself from calling him "Tom." This ...
Posted by Justine at 13:20, June 19th, 2009 under Liar, Magic or Madness trilogy |
Because my next book is Liar there has been much talk of lying on this blog lately. But for all that talk I haven't yet touched on people who are forced to lie about who they are in order to survive. Libba Bray
posted beautifully and movingly about her gay dad and the ways he was forced to lie:
My dad came of age in the 1940’s in the Deep South. Being gay was more than just not okay then; it was downright dangerous. When my father was involved with a man while stationed in Korea and it was discovered, he was given a dishonorable discharge from the Army, which in effect nullified his service to the country and haunted ...
Posted by Justine at 8:31, June 17th, 2009 under Liar, State of the World |
