Justine Larbalestier

Comments

1. Dess Says:

   thank you! i loved magic’s child by the way. the magic or madness trilogy is tied for first with the midnighters and the twilight/new moon/eclipse series for my favorite books. i loved them so much.

   June 1st, 2007 at 11:39 AM

2. maiyri Says:

   I feel kinda silly, as I just realised this, but I read all three of your Magic trilogy in, oh, a weekend. Now my library has only a couple of new books for me to read. Especially as I finished ‘Pretties’ last night. Love both series, and agree with Dess up above, Twilight rocked, and I’m about to start on NewMoon, which only just came out here. The lovely Librarian ladies, who try their best to get the books i request, are starting to get sick of me…grin.

   Mai

   June 16th, 2007 at 2:15 AM

3. Dess Says:

   same here only i had to rush out to buy them because my library, as much as i love it, never has any good young adult books (no mater how much i suggest. but this is reasonable seeing as its a free library so i’m sure they have to wait until they have money)

   June 16th, 2007 at 3:31 PM

4. 4. Justine Says:

   Dess & Mai: Thank you! So pleased you enjoyed them.

   June 24th, 2007 at 11:13 AM

5. Kitty-chan Says:

   Umm… kinda a random question. I was so surprised when Danny and Reason did… well you know. Why have that? (Not critisizing or anything, but I was just sooo surprised. I also realize that without that, there wouldn’t be any Magic’s Child at all.) Just something I pondered.

   -Kitty

   November 28th, 2007 at 9:28 PM

6. 6. Justine Says:

   Kitty-Chan: You know I think you’ve answered your own question. Also if you read it very carefully it’s clear that Raul Cansino totally influenced what happened. It definitely wouldn’t have happened without his interfering magic.

   November 28th, 2007 at 10:20 PM

7. Rosalie Says:

   How exactly do you rewrite. I can never figure it out. Once, it’s written, it’s written. I can’t rewrite anything. When I try to rewrite, say, a poem, it feels as though I’m forging it because my poems are usually written ‘in the moment’ so if I try to add something, it changes the entire mood or it just seems off. I, as an aspiring writer, have heard and read that all authors do is rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. I just can’t figure it out. In English we are suppose to rewrite our essays, but I just add stuff and take stuff out to make it smoother. I’m not talking about essays, that was just an example. I’m talking about novels, poems, and stories. This is probably way over my head, anyway . . .

   November 29th, 2007 at 7:35 PM

8. 8. Justine Says:

   Rosalie: I have (at long last) answered your question here:

   http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/?p=890

   January 2nd, 2008 at 11:06 AM

9. Kadie-Wa Says:

   When I was reading magic lessons, i noticed that they ate spagbol…which I absolutely love. Well, I don’t mean eating it, because I’ve never seen it in any stores. I also saw it in the uglies series. I thought that it was really cool how it was in both books. But I guess i was wondering who’s book it started in??

   January 4th, 2008 at 4:42 PM

10. 10. Justine Says:

    “Spag bol” short for spaghetti bolognese is pretty standard Aussie thus Scott stole it from me. Like much of the slang in Uglies actually.

    January 4th, 2008 at 4:53 PM

11. Kadie-Wa Says:

    Ohhhh! Sweet! Is spag bol good? I live in the U.S.A, and that’s probably why I’ve never heard of it before.

    yum….i want to try some now.

    January 4th, 2008 at 6:16 PM

12. 12. Justine Says:

    it’s a very common dish both here and in Australia and elsewhere. Is from Italy originally. You’ve probably even had it. Here’s the wikipedia entry about spag bol.

    January 4th, 2008 at 7:39 PM

13. Kadie-Wa Says:

    Wow, cool!! Thanks for all the awesome information!!

    January 4th, 2008 at 9:56 PM

14. Rosalie Says:

    Why is ‘wettened’ not a word?

    February 28th, 2008 at 8:26 AM

15. 15. Justine Says:

    Rosalie: It is now!

    August 27th, 2008 at 5:39 PM

16. Nicolás Says:

    Hi! I’ve read the “Magic or Madness” trilogy and i gotta tell ya CONGRATULATIONS! You got me hooked and i couldn’t leave those books down. Really, the rule “if you don’t use magic you’ll go nuts, but if you use it too much, you’ll die at you 20′s” how great was that? You put you characters in a really messy situation.
    I’m from Argentina, so you’re books aren’t here so i had to buy ‘em at amazon.
    I have a question: I’m writing my first novel and i think i have a good story to tell, somethin’ that hasn’t been written at least not in Argentina. Luckyly i fell in love with my characters and their world and i hope it can get published ’cause i’d really like to get my first novel out there.
    But lately i got scared, likee “oh my god what if nobody will want my book? what if i’m being naive and i’m wasting my time?” Do you have any kind of advise for these feelings i’m getting?
    I believe in my story but lately i’ve been having these feelings… this scary feelings…hehe
    By the way, i’m looking forward for the fairy novel and i’m sure i’ll buy it.

    Take care and keep the good work!
    you’re already Argentinian fan

    September 3rd, 2008 at 3:05 PM

17. 17. Justine Says:

    Nicolás: Thank you so much. I’m dead pleased you enjoyed my books. (I love Buenos Aires, by the way.)

    Sorry to take so long answering your question.

    The answer is: Yes. I get those feelings all the time. I worry that what I write is crap more often than I like to admit.

    In fact, I wrote two novels that have never been published. But I don’t think I wasted my time on them. They taught me a lot about writing. I’m still very fond of my first novel and have hopes that one day it will find a publisher. You never know.

    I suspect that doubt is a part of the creative process for many writers. (Not all, though. I know at least two happy doubt-free writers.) It seems to be for me. As long as you don’t let the doubt get in the way of actually writing—which you don’t seem to be—then I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

    Good luck!

    November 26th, 2008 at 11:16 PM

18. Rebecca Says:

    I loved the Magic or Madness series! (I just finished the last book today!) I also loved How to Ditch Your Fairy. =) I love you and your husband’s books.

    Also, I have a question. Do you know where I might be able to get the font that is used for ‘madness’ on the cover of Magic or Madness? (Same cover that you have for it on the site.)

    February 27th, 2009 at 6:22 PM

19. 19. Justine Says:

    Rebecca: I’m sorry but I have no idea what that font is or where it came from. Authors have almost nothing to do with their covers. It’s all controlled by the Art department of the publishing company.

    So pleased you liked the books! (I do get to control what’s inside my books.)

    February 27th, 2009 at 6:44 PM

20. Stephanie Leary Says:

    Rebecca, WhatTheFont might help.

    February 28th, 2009 at 12:30 AM

21. Rebecca Says:

    I didn’t think you would know, but it never hurts to ask! ;D

    And thanks Stephenie, I haven’t found it yet, but maybe I will soon! ^^

    March 4th, 2009 at 5:38 PM

22. AJ Says:

    First of all I would like to state that I read your first book (Magic and Madness) and absolutely loved it. I thought it had a good flow and great plot. I also plan on finishing the trilogy.

    Umm… I was wondering if I could get some advice, I write too and have great respect for the authors that are out in print, I understand that you’re probably are very busy, but if you could answer my questions it would be greatly appreciated

    okay

    1) Did you write from cover to cover, or did you write your favorite parts out and string them together? I understand that you recommend against outlines for young writers, but I was wondering if writing out of order could be dangerous as well.

    2) Do you have a set time frame that you write in every day or a minimum requirement? Why?

    3) How do you know when one chapter ends, and a new one begins?

    4) Do you have a recommended time frame to spend on the first draft (second, third, ect.) or does it just depend on the author?

    again, any responses would be greatly appreciated, if you answered a question on this sight already please let me know, I appologize and will look over your advice section again.

    Thank you for your time

    *~AJ~*

    June 9th, 2009 at 10:02 PM

23. Rebecca Says:

    Hey Justine!

    I just thought I’d tell you how happy I was a month ago to find out that my library’s teen book club’s first book was your book, Magic or Madness!
    I was very ecstatic, and I even got my best friend to read the series, and she loved it! The turnout wasn’t very good, at first the organizer wasn’t even there, but we soon found her, and someone else even showed up. (Not including the organizer there were three people: Me, my best friend, and the one other person.)The meeting was terrific though! We discussed the book, answered each others questions, and decided to finish the series for the club. Though it was such a small group the experience was great, and I’m very glad to see more people get into your books.

    I’m not exactly sure why I’m telling you this, but I hoped you enjoyed hearing it!

    ~Rebecca

    July 10th, 2009 at 2:05 AM

24. Nicolas Says:

    Hi Justine! I’m dying to get the Fairy book in paperback and the new one Liar. I was wondering, when are we gonna be able to read your books in Spanish?
    Love your work! Keep doin’ it!

    August 13th, 2009 at 1:56 PM

25. 25. Justine Says:

    Nicolas: Thank you!

    All my novels have been pitched to various Spanish publishers. Unfortunately, they are yet to pick any of them up. I remain hopeful though that one day it will happen. Spanish is the only language I can read other than English—not that well, solo un poco—so I’ve always to crack the Spanish language market.

    August 16th, 2009 at 4:32 PM