Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Interview with Lisa Samson


Lisa Samson, the author of the Hollywood Nobody series and many more agreed to do an interview with me. Thanks a bunch, Lisa!





1. What are some of the things you like to do, except writing?

I love to read, do needle work, cook, and my favorite thing is to hang out with people! The more the merrier here at our house. I like to go to the movies too, but that's gotten pretty expensive, so I don't get to do that as much as I'd like.

2. How long have you been a Christian?

I've been Christian knowingly since I was three! But it's still been such a journey trying to figure out what it really means to be a true follower of Jesus, not someone who just believes it's all true.

3. I saw on the back of your teen books, another author encouraged you to write YA books, were you kind of nervous about them not being as good as your adult books?

I'm always nervous whatever I'm writing won't be any good, so it felt just the same!


4. In the Hollywood Nobody books, Seth and Scotty text a lot, did you have to learn what some of the letters and symbols mean? Like w means with, lol means laugh out loud, or did you know them off the top of your head?


I love text messaging, so I got into the language quickly. Now, I'm normally a full-word texter, but I receive a lot of them with symbols and abbreviations. I dropped my phone in the driveway last winter, it snowed overnight, so I had to get a new phone. I got one of those kind with the full keyboard and I love it.

5. Are you working on any books right now?

I'm working on my next adult novel and am dreaming up the possibilities for my next YA series! I stand in front of the Young Adult section in Barnes and Noble and am mystified sometimes. "What do people want to read that's different?" I know vampires, supernatural stuff is so popular, but do I want to add another vampire series to the mix? Or a series about mean girls? Hey, how about a series about mean vampire girls? So any help there would be appreciated!

6. Are you planning on writing any more YA books in the feature?

Ha! I just answered that! Great minds think alike! Hopefully I'll start working on one soon. (If I can just figure out what to write! Aah!!)

7. Where do you usually write your work? Do you write in bed, on a desk, or anything?

Anywhere. Bed. Couch. Front porch. And even my car! Sometimes, when I can't concentrate, I drive to a parking lot and work.

8. When did you know you wanted to write?

I've always loved to read, but I never really considered writing until I was 28! It's never too late to begin! I just decided to write a book, that's all. And I could basically do it. I really believe it's just a gift God gave me, and I'm very grateful.

9. In school, what are some of the things you were good at?

Well, let me first start off and say that I am not, nor have I ever been, good at Math. When the kids reach about 5th grade, their dad has to step in for homework help. I always loved history and biology. History, because it's one great big story, and biology because, well, the human body, nature in general, has always fascinated me. I mean . . . eyeballs . . . amazing, aren't they?


Thanks so much Lisa! Thanks for taking to time to do this for me!

Natalie

Thursday, July 9, 2009

The Darkest Hour by Erin Hunter


Title: The Darkest Hour
Author: Erin Hunter
Stars: 4
Description: ThunderClan's darkest hour is upon them, as Tigerstar's quest for power plunges all the Clans into the most terrible danger any cat has ever faced. In order to save his Clan and his friends, Fireheart must uncover the meaning of an ominous proclamation from StarClan: "Four will become two. Lion and tiger will meet in battle. Blood will rule the forest" The time has come for prophecies to unfold, and for heroes to rise.
This last book is the Warriors series is a great book. This series is one that any kid would like, I really liked them. I am kind of sad to see the characters go, but I am glad that there are more series about these cats. The author did a great job with really getting into the mind of a cat.
Natalie

Friday, July 3, 2009

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke


Title: Inkheart
Author: Cornelia Funke
Stars: 4
Description: Meggie’s father, Mo, has an wonderful and sometimes terrible ability. When he reads aloud from books, he brings the characters to life--literally. Mo discovered his power when Maggie was just a baby. He read so lyrically from the the book Inkheart, that several of the book’s wicked characters ended up blinking and cursing on his cottage floor. Then Mo discovered something even worse--when he read Capricorn and his henchmen out of Inkheart, he accidentally read Meggie’s mother in.
Meggie, now a young lady, knows nothing of her father's bizarre and powerful talent, only that Mo still refuses to read to her. Capricorn, a being so evil he would "feed a bird to a cat on purpose, just to watch it being torn apart," has searched for Meggie's father for years, wanting to twist Mo's powerful talent to his own dark means. Finally, Capricorn realizes that the best way to lure Mo to his remote mountain hideaway is to use his beloved, oblivious daughter Meggie as bait!
This book is really good! The author just has a great talent for writing. I loved the book the Thief Lord and this book I think is one of her bests also. I started reading this book a couple of years ago, and then I got bored and my mom started reading it to my brothers and I. And then I watched the movie and I wanted to read the book over again to refresh my memory so I could read Inkspell, this second book in this series.
I think that the villains and the heroes in the book are really cool and do recommend this book to everybody!
There is a little bit of laungage in this book. The "D" word a couple of times and Go* and stuff like that.
Natalie