YA Author Stacey Kade

Queen of the Dead will be out in paperback in May, and it will have a new look:

I love that they’re in the theater (a pivotal location in the story), but more than that, I love their expressions. Alona is smug (of course), and Will looks completely exasperated, which is about right.

What do you guys think?

I know I’m a bit behind the times with this, but it’s taken me a while to gather my thoughts and get a grip on my feelings, which range from mild frustration to incoherent rage, in regard to the “Season Seven, Time for a Wedding” episode.

Honestly, even after all this time, I’m not sure where to begin. I think I have three main areas of complaint, and to be clear, none of this is about the acting or actors involved. These items are purely related to the writing of the show and the choices the writers are making. (And hey, who am I to judge? I’ve never written for television, so I don’t know what it’s like. I’m reacting to this purely as a viewer.)

First, Becky. Here’s the thing. Becky is an easy target. She’s a joke, a caricature instead of a character. They’ve made her that way, and they just keep going back to that same well, making her crazier every time. It’s weak. I’ll be honest, the first time Becky made an appearance, I thought it was clever, fun. A way of letting us know they’re aware how devoted and passionate (and occasionally a little over the top) the fanbase for the show can be. It was like an inside joke. The second time Becky appeared, I liked her a little less because she was edging closer to crazy (stealing Chuck’s phone to text the boys, taking them away from actual life-saving activities) and completely oblivious to Sam’s lack of interest in her. The first time I can attribute her behavior to being starstruck (presumably she admires Sam as well as finds him attractive). The second time, it comes off more as creepy and manipulative.

And now…now, she’s just ridiculous and, on a certain level, insulting. HELLO. She’s a stand-in for us, the devoted viewers. (Well, those of us who remain devoted…I know that number is shrinking. I’m not even sure if I count myself among them anymore.) The writers have gone to great lengths to make sure that connection between Becky and the audience is made, whether it’s referencing her use of the message boards or, in previous eps, attending an SPN con. If you follow that logic, THEY ARE MAKING FUN OF US EVERY TIME SHE APPEARS. And then with the way Becky is treated on the show…well, if you extend that metaphor to the end, they’re saying: we can treat them (Becky) like shit and they are (Becky is) just crazy enough to keep coming back for more. They (she) will take any scrap of attention we give and be grateful for it.

You know what would have impressed me more? If they’d humanized Becky. Made her a real person with strong feelings toward these people she sees as heroes (and okay, as characters, too.) I mean, isn’t it pretty basic logic that if you’re going to make the AUDIENCE a CHARACTER on your show it should be a character that the audience can like or admire or at least not be embarrassed by?

The writers could have done that. They could have given Becky a nice two or three ep arc where she was helping the boys out, to their shock and perhaps dismay. Because here’s the thing, Becky knows her sh*t and she wasn’t afraid to step in and save Sam when he needed it. They could USE more people like that in their lives. More allies (even crazy ones) would be welcome. Now, granted, a scenario like that would put Sam in a difficult position because he knows Becky’s feelings for him are motivating her willingness to risk her life and he also knows he doesn’t feel the same way toward her, but if they really needed her help…man, that’s juicy conflict. Wish it would have played out like that.

(Hence, the title of my blog post. I mean, take away some of the writer-induced crazy, and here you have a girl who knows what the Winchester life is like, admires what they’re doing, could actually help out from time to time with her comprehensive knowledge about their world, and she’s cute. As I said, Sam Winchester should be so damn lucky.)

Second, Sam and Dean’s attitude toward Becky, both individually (such as Dean’s reaction to them getting married) and together (the “whew, dodged that bullet” attitude at the end.) All right. I admit, I might be a little sensitive about this. But occasionally, I get a little tired of shows hauling out a pretty girl and tagging her as lesser because she doesn’t meet some theoretical higher beauty standard held by the genuine love interests (however few and far between they’ve been) that have appeared on the show. I mean, if we’re going to do this Becky = crazy, defy expectations. Make her gorgeous, make her nuts about Supernatural, and make Dean conflicted about wanting to sleep with her but also afraid of increasing her infatuation AKA craziness.

Also, back to the whole audience relatablity thing…so our stand-in is a lonely girl deemed unattractive (not that the actress actually IS unattractive, but we’re apparently supposed to think she is, hence Crowley’s crack about her having good personality) with no social life, no prospects and the only way she/we can get a date to the reunion is by drugging him? Um, thanks? (Also, she had to MARRY him to get him to go the reunion? She couldn’t just drug him for a night or two? Once again, they’re pointing out the levels of her desperation and asking us to laugh. Yuck.)

One could make the argument that the SPN writers are doing in the Becky episodes what The Big Bang Theory folks do every week–making fun of the very people who like their show. But BBT is a show in praise of nerds and geeks. We laugh because we identify WITH their idiosyncrasies. In this case, with Becky, we’re supposed to be laughing AT her. And quite frankly, I’ve had enough of that for one lifetime.

Third, details, details, DETAILS! Willing suspension of disbelief is all in the details. If you’re going to go to all this trouble of establishing the precept that Sam and Dean must hide–they can’t use the Impala, they have to change their phones on a irregular-regular basis (or whatever Deveraux says), they can’t use any of their regular aliases, they can’t run their credit card scams, etc.– then please tell me how a scene in which Sam is signing his REAL NAME on the annulment papers (and presumably the marriage certificate before it) makes sense? As far as I know, a marriage certificate is a public document, as in one filed at the County Clerk’s Office. I assume that the annulment papers would be the same. If the Leviathans have people in the credit bureaus, I’m assuming they’ve got someone running the occasional Google search as well.

Speaking of which, SAM, way to let Becky tweet about what’s going on so the Leviathans can track her and/or you down. Twitter is public and searchable. Sheesh. The love potion, presumably, doesn’t impact his brain function in any other way other than making him think he’s in love, right?

And this is the first time we’ve heard of Vegas Week, right? In other words, something that is supposed to be so part of the canon that Chuck would write about it…and there’s been no mention of it? To be clear, I don’t have a problem with them filling in the gaps. We don’t know everything about Sam and Dean’s lives and certainly stuff has to happen outside the confines of what we see on the show. But if this is an annual trip, and presumably an important enough one for Chuck to have bothered writing about it, then it feels weird and made up that we’re JUST hearing about it now.

All this being said, I really enjoyed last Friday’s “How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters” so I’m not giving up yet. But…grrrr. The inconsistency is very frustrating.

Note: I’m totally up for a discussion on any of this–love hearing from other SPN fans–but hey, if it gets all name-call-y and nasty–as I’ve witnessed on other sites–I will use my delete powers with impunity.

I’m super excited to share with you the cover for Body & Soul, the final book in The Ghost and the Goth series. I feel incredibly blessed having had such amazing covers for the entire series–a HUGE thank you to Hyperion, my awesome editor Christian Trimmer, and all the designers: Jennifer Jackman, Walker Brockington, and Marci Senders. Also, the models who represented Alona and Will on all three books are just fantastic. They are everything I hoped and imagined Will and Alona to be. And I hope one day to be able to thank them for that!

Okay, so without any further ado…

As I said in my email to my editor, this cover is everything it should be! I love it so much. And yes, it made me all teary-eyed when I saw it.

Will and Alona are holding hands!!! Oh! I just love it. And see how the two of them are looking at each other? There’s such affection and fondness and maybe more…

And that beautiful light at the end of the hall…so perfect.

Obviously, I’m just a wee bit emotional about this cover (I LOVE IT!) And I hope you all feel the same!

(Side note: I did find out today that there WILL be a new cover on the paperback for Queen of the Dead, so we will have one more cover announcement for the series in coming months! I’ve seen it already and it is very cool!)

So, this news is technically up on the Books page already, but I wanted to share it here as well.

The third book is called BODY & SOUL.

You guys, I had so much fun writing this one!!! I envisioned some of these scenes all the way back when I was writing the first book, and it was amazing to finally get to put them down on paper (so to speak). And I’m super excited for you to read it and see what you think. This is the final book in the trilogy.

It is scheduled for release on May 29, 2012. We don’t have cover art yet.

This is my (horrible) placeholder for the Books page (and yes, it’s okay to laugh at my feeble attempt at art):

Clearly, my future as a sketch artist is doomed.

And here, finally, is the jacket copy…but please, don’t read it if you haven’t yet read QUEEN OF THE DEAD. It contains massive spoilers for that book.

Stop now if you haven’t read QUEEN OF THE DEAD…

in
3…

2…

1…

BODY & SOUL

The Ghost
I’ve been trapped in the body of Lily “Ally” Turner for a month now. Talk about a fashion crisis on an epic scale. What worries me more, though, is sometimes I catch Will looking at me like he thinks I’m Lily…or that he wishes I were. Without the good looks of my former self, I don’t know who I am, or if who that is is good enough. I need out of this mess. Now.

Will and I have been looking for a solution, one that would separate me from Lily without killing her. But it’s not going well. Then, when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, we run into Misty, my former best friend and boyfriend-stealer extraordinaire, who claims she’s being haunted…by me. Seriously?

I’m determined to get to the bottom of who’s pretending to be the spirit of Alona Dare (while I’m pretending to be someone else) and then get the heck out of this body. Or die trying…

The Goth
I’ll admit it. It’s really weird to look at Alona but see Lily. I do know the difference, though, contrary to what Alona might be saying. And Alona is more than a pretty face to me, not that she would believe that.

Our one lead for some help in this messed up situation might be a page torn from the yellow pages—the “Psychics” section—I found in my dad’s stuff. One of the “fakes” seems a bit more real—and odd—than the others. Before I can investigate further, though, Alona is off and chasing a ghost that’s probably nothing more than a figment of Misty’s guilty imagination. Now Lily’s family is freaking out because she didn’t come home, my mom is ordering me to stay out of it, and something is definitely wrong with the person formerly known as Lily “Ally” Turner…

One of the privileges of my job is that I sometimes get to read books before their release. This is awesome because nothing makes me happier than finding a great new book and then telling you guys about it.

This year, one of my favorites is Sharks & Boys by Kristen Tracy:

When 15-year-old Enid Calhoun follows her boyfriend Wick to Maryland for a party, fearful that he might be intending to cheat on her, she finds herself sneaking on board a houseboat where Wick and his friends plan to have a wild night. But before the boys discover their stowaway, a hurricane strikes, and the teenagers are carried miles from the shore and shipwrecked. What follows is a harrowing, yet heartwarming, story of survival, as the teens battle hypothermia, dehydration, man-eating sharks—and along the way, confront their own deepest secrets, including their catalytic roles in the disaster.

(Description from BN.com and image from KristenTracy.com)

I first heard about this book last summer when Kristen and I met on the UnREQUIRED Reading Tour. She described it as “The Breakfast Club with sharks.” And of course, that is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I was like, I HAVE to check this out.

You guys. This book kept me in my seat from page one all the way until the end. I was riveted. Because my friend KT? Not afraid to kill people off. And the descriptions of being out on the open water, all alone, with no water and no food…it was enough to make me nervous about ever going out on the ocean again.

And yet, it’s not this big over-the-top “I SURVIVED” kind of tale–it’s mostly about a girl whose life is falling apart. And she makes one bad decision (well, okay, a series of bad decisions that involve following her possibly cheating boyfriend) and ends up in this life-or-death situation.

And it’s funny. I know that seems counter-intuitive but that’s one of things that makes this book so fresh and enjoyable. It’s not like anything I’ve read before.

For example, Enid’s mom makes wedding cakes, and Enid helps by creating the marzipan (it’s edible almond paste that you can mold into shapes) cake figures of the bride and groom. And Enid takes great care to get them just right, to make them as close to perfect as possible.

So, when she loses it a little while delivering the cake to a wedding–she’s freaking out because her boyfriend may have truly broken up with her and then she’ll be left with dating someone like Gary, the weird awkward groomsman–the marzipan figures suffer:

“I bite the shoes off the groom. It only takes one snap of my jaw, and I’ve got a wad of almond paste in my mouth. I chew it like I’ve been poisoned and marzipan tuxedo shoes are the only antidote. At his pant cuffs, I can see my smooth teeth marks.

Then I lift the bride to my mouth. I’m careful to take just her shoes and leave her delicate ankles intact. As I chew the marzipan, I try to swallow it fast. I want to digest it. I want it to become a part of me. I look at the de-footed bride. If you focus on her head, she doesn’t really seem that different. But if you zero in on her ankles, she looks like she’s been in some kind of unfortunate accident with a butter knife. I run my tongue along my teeth and smile. Take that, I think to unnamed hordes of people out there who think I’m boring. I just did something crazy. I just did something stupid for no good reason at all. And I’m not finished either.”

Awesome.

So, in celebration, I’m giving away TWO signed copies of Sharks & Boys! (We may also have a signed deck of Hyperion playing cards to give away as well. I’m seeing Kristen tomorrow–yea!–and I’ll see what else I can get her to sign.)

There are two ways to enter:

1) Leave a comment below with your worst fear/phobia. (For example, mine would be birds. *shudder* Don’t ask.) Make sure to include your email with your comment so I can contact you!

2) Tweet about your worst fear/phobia and use the hashtag #sharksandboys. (Be sure to use the word “and” in the hashtag and not “&” because punctuation always freaks out the hashtag system on Twitter, don’t know why.)

We’ll draw two winners next Friday, July 15. The contest is open internationally.

Just a reminder…Queen of the Dead, sequel to The Ghost and the Goth, will be out on this coming Tuesday!

And to celebrate, we’re having a little party at the Barnes and Noble in Hawthorn Mall. Everyone is invited!

There will be cake, some fun swag, and prizes!

Details
Date: Tuesday, 5/31
Time: 7pm
Location: Barnes and Noble, Vernon Hills, Illinois
(It’s in the mall).

Hope to see you there!

Okay, so first, I have to say I am HUGE fan of Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Carrie Underwood, but in particular, Taylor Swift. In fact, I was just discussing on Twitter last Friday how much I still love LOVE STORY. Gives me chills and makes me all teary-eyed, even after hearing it so many times.

So, on this particular Monday afternoon, I was out walking my dogs and SPEAK NOW came up in rotation (just after Carrie Underwood’s COWBOY CASANOVA, actually….and while we’re at it, Katy Perry’s E.T. is in heavy rotation at my house right now) and I thought to myself, “She is so cool, and I love how she tells a story in the song.”

That’s not the first time I’ve thought that, of course, but it is the first time I’ve thought that and then returned to the house to find out this bit of news:

At various Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Carrie Underwood concerts this summer (Eeeeeee!), Alloy Teen Media will be handing out these most awesome light-up key chains with Queen of the Dead on one side and the most fabulous Ally Carter’s Uncommon Criminals on the other!

The keychains also list links for individual pages for Queen of the Dead and Uncommon Criminals, where you can read the first chapter or so.

Here’s a list of the concert dates where you can get the keychains:
PHILIPS ARENA
TAYLOR SWIFT
ATLANTA
GA
9-Jul

PRUDENTIAL CENTER
TAYLOR SWIFT
NEWARK
NJ
19-Jul

VERIZON CENTER
TAYLOR SWIFT
WASHINGTON
DC
2-Aug

NOKIA THEATER
KATY PERRY
LOS ANGELES
CA
5-Aug

LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD
TAYLOR SWIFT
PHILADELPHIA
PA
6-Aug

STAPLES CENTER
TAYLOR SWIFT
LOS ANGELES
CA
23-Aug

POWER BALANCE ARENA
TAYLOR SWIFT
SACRAMENTO
CA
3-Sep

RAVINIA PAVILLION
CARRIE UNDERWOOD
HIGHLAND PARK
IL
4-Sep

ROSE GARDEN
TAYLOR SWIFT
PORTLAND
OR
6-Sep

BRIDGESTONE ARENA
TAYLOR SWIFT
NASHVILLE
TN
16-Sep

BRIDGESTONE ARENA
TAYLOR SWIFT
NASHVILLE
TN
17-Sep

When you guys go to these concerts and get your keychains, send me pictures! This is just so cool. I’m super excited be included as part of the promotion!

For those of you who don’t have tickets to these concerts (like me!), it sounds like we’ll be getting some keychains here to give away this summer as well.

HUGE thanks to Hyperion and specifically Ann Dye and her team for setting all of this up. You guys are AMAZING!!! Thank you!

PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT be at the RT Teen Day on Saturday, April 9, though there will be QUEEN OF THE DEAD ARCs in the goody bags (100, I believe.) I will, however, be signing on Friday, April 8, 4-6 pm at the same location (The Westin Bonaventure Hotel on Figueroa).

SCHEDULE:
Sunday, 4/3: Arriving in Los Angeles

Monday, 4/4: Signing stock at the B&N in the Grove, Los Angeles. Not sure what time yet, but if you stop by sometime after Monday, there will be signed copies.

Tuesday, 4/5: Big Bang Theory Day! This is when Linnea and are I rolling the dice, showing up at Warner Brothers to wait in line and hoping we get in to see the show filming!

Wednesday, 4/6: RT Convention Westin Bonaventure Hotel
4:45-5:45 p.m. THE NEVER-ENDING STORY: YA SERIES & SEQUELS
Successful series dominate the YA market, but selling and writing a series comes with a unique set of challenges. Join four bestselling series writers as they talk about the appeal of series to a teen audience — and how to keep readers coming back, book after book, without losing your sanity somewhere along the way.

Moderator: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Panelists: Melissa de la Cruz, Stacey Kade, Carrie Ryan, Rachel Vincent

Thursday, 4/7: RT Convention Westin Bonaventure Hotel
2:45-3:45 pm BOYS DON’T CRY (OR DO THEY?): THE MALE P.O.V.
Writing in first-person (or tight third) is a popular choice for novels today. But what do you do when your main character is a guy and you’re not? Bestselling authors discuss the challenges and advantages of writing in the male point of view and how to maintain authenticity. Find out what it takes to make your male character’s voice ring true in the up-close and personal world of “I” and “me.” Handouts with tips and tricks will be included!

Panelists: Stacey Kade, Karen Miller (AKA K.E. Mills), Linnea Sinclair

Friday, 4/8: RT Convention Westin Bonaventure Hotel
2:45-3:45pm SURVIVING EDITS AND REVISIONS (WITH ONLY A FEW TEARS)
You got the contract, you finished the book and now … revisions. The first day you receive that edit letter, you might feel as though completing these edits is an impossible task. It would be easier to write a new book than to try to fix what you’ve already got! But you can do it. Join Bantam author Linnea Sinclair and Disney-Hyperion author Stacey Kade (who are also critique partners!) to watch real edits in action, learn how to break down revisions into more manageable tasks, find out when to ask for help or more information and when (and how) to speak up when you disagree — all while building a positive relationship with your agent or editor.

Panelists: Stacey Kade, Linnea Sinclair

4-6pm Stacey Kade SIGNING @ Expo (Westin Bonaventure Hotel)

Saturday, 4/9: HOUSTON! TeenBookCon
10:00am-4:00pm Alief Taylor High School
Admission is FREE!
So many awesome authors will be attending and speaking. Come listen to the panels and get your books signed!
Panel schedule for the day

I’m attending the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in L.A. in April, and this is the art my publisher created for the poster and program ad. Isn’t it gorgeous? And I LOVE the headline! As a former copywriter, believe me, I know the blood, sweat, tears and rolls of Tums that go into getting those words just right. The fewer words involved, the harder it is, in my experience. And this headline is just PERFECT!

Other random stuff…

–Still polishing my draft of G&G3. At the stage where I’m going through and looking for my favorite (AKA overused) phrases and words. Topping the charts at the moment: “just,” “right,” “really,” “like” and of course, an oldie but a goody, “that.” I often hate this stage because even though I’m picking at each sentence to make it better and the story stronger, it often has the effect of making me feel like I haven’t written a decent sentence in the whole darn thing. But, well, writing is revision, so there you go. And I still need to write up my post-book “what I learned THIS time” blog. But I’m waiting until I actually turn it in, I think. Just in case…

–I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the Portuguese rights have been sold for G&G and QOTD. Just a quick update on that to provide a little more info, based on some questions I’ve been receiving. The company publishing the books is Novo Seculo and there’s no release date scheduled yet as they’ve just purchased the rights. I did receive a lovely email from them this week, and I’m super excited to be in touch with them.

–I’m going to be at the Children’s Literary Breakfast sponsored by Anderson’s on Saturday in Glen Ellyn. If you’re going to be there, please come find me and say hello!

Books:
–Delirium by Lauren Oliver and The Truth-Teller’s Lie by Sophie Hannah are in my to-be-read stack.

–I loved The Iron Duke by Meljean Brooke (adult romance). One of the first steampunk novels I’ve ever read, I think. (I always have trouble telling what’s considered steampunk and what isn’t!) It has amazing world building!

–Tomorrow I’m going out to pick up Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting, Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah E. Harkness.

TV:
–Is it kind of wrong that I’m loving the “over there” Fringe episodes just a little bit more these days? I like Charlie and Lincoln and smiley Fauxlivia. But I would miss crazy Walter.

Movies:
–We haven’t been to the movies since Tron, people. For the husband and I, this is UNHEARD of. In the summer, we sometimes go once a week! So, I think we’re going to try to see I Am Number 4 this weekend. If I can’t talk him into that one, though, what other movies would you recommend?

Posting this a) because it is awesome and b) so my mom can show it to her class (school might block YouTube).

I’m amazed at how skilled this little kid is at acting with that HUGE Darth Vader mask on. I mean, you can tell when he’s disappointed, dejected, taken aback, etc. without being able to see his face. That’s impressive. I think my favorite part is either with the doll or him stalking the dog down the hall. The dad’s expression at the end is pretty good, too. Yea for parents who encourage creativity!

Also, how much do you think the licensing cost them for that music? Yikes. (A big thank you to Linnea Sinclair for the heads up on this video.)