Making movies

Many authors dream not only of having their book optioned, but of actually being made into a movie. But many are called , and few are chosen. [Full disclosure: including, so far, me.]

""In 25 years in publishing, at Little, Brown and as a literary agent, I've found that most novels I've worked on ended up getting optioned by somebody," said Colleen Mohyde of the Boston-based Doe Coover Agency," but not one movie has been made." "

Read more here.

I'm a cruel, cruel woman

I've put more than 500 miles on one pair of Brooks Addictions, so it's time to change to a new pair. I love these shoes, even though they are supposed to be for someone with low arches who overpronates and I have high arches and supinate. It feels kind of cruel, though, to take the new clean pair out into the dirty world.

Are you a YA librarian or a YA book blogger?

Torched Book Cover

Are you a YA librarian or a YA book blogger? Would you like a free book?

I have a few ARCs left of Torched, which comes out in March. The publisher describes it like this: "When Ellie’s parents are busted for possession of marijuana, the FBI gives her a choice: infiltrate the Mother Earth Defenders (MED), a radical environmental group, or her parents will go to jail. At first Ellie is more than willing to entrap the MEDics, but the more time she spends undercover—particularly with Coyote, the green-eyed MEDic that she can’t stop thinking about—the more she starts to believe in their cause. When talk turns to murder, Coyote backs out, but Ellie is willing to risk everything to save her family—even if it means losing Coyote and putting her own life on the line."

If you would like a copy, send me an email with your name and address. Send it to aprilhenrymysteries at yahoo dot com. If more people have requests than I have copies, I'll have a drawing. Runners up will be eligible for an ARC of Face of Betrayal, my April adult mystery with Lis Wiehl.

Those who can't do, teach?

Teen (who was only recently promoted from kid) is being taught to write stories and essays this year. But sometimes what teachers teach and what I actually do as a writer who makes her living writing is completely different.

For example, Teen asked me, “Does every paragraph in your books have a topic sentence and three supporting sentences?”

Her teacher’s approach feels like learning how to dance by looking at a diagram. Or watching a video that doesn’t show the dancers’ feet at all.

Teen is supposed to find a way to write a creative story about a past event. She chose the 1904 World’s Fair. It featured corn palaces, and she wanted to combine it with some elements of the Children of the Corn movie. She wrote it out and asked me to look to it over. Immediately, I became like all the critics I don’t like to listen to. “But why did X happen? There has to be a reason.” And then I got explain the concept of “plot holes” to her.

What Would Emma Do?

What Would Emma Do
What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook, is a book about, of course, a high school senior named Emma. She has committed a few sins, but kissing her best friend’s boyfriend is the worse. And since she lives in a small town, everyone knows everything about everyone else. Now her best friend isn’t speaking to her, her best guy friend is making things totally weird, and Emma is running full speed toward certain social disaster.

Time to pray for a minor miracle. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Emma to stop trying to please everyone around her, and figure out what she wants for herself.

I asked, Eileen answered
A. What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you? Bonus question: have you used it, in any way,in a book?
Q. When I was young my younger brother was born with a terminal condition. I remember that I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I knew how upsetting it was for my parents. I understood that he was in fragile health and I was almost scared of him. Once my mother had stepped outside to get the mail and he began to cry. I remember thinking that he was going to die right there and then and I was terrified. I knew there was nothing I could do, but I felt totally useless. I’m not sure if it is connected, but I hate still hate situations where there are people in distress and I can’t help. This may explain why I went into counseling as a day job.

A. Mystery writers often give their characters an unreasoning fear - and then make them face it. Do you have any phobias, like fear of spiders or enclosed spaces?

E. I absolutely loathe spiders or any type of creepy crawly creature. Sometimes I lay in bed at night and wonder what I would do if a spider slowly lowered itself onto my face. Then I have to get up and turn on the light. Just because I told you my phobia- you aren’t going to make me face it are you?

A. Do you have a favorite mystery book, author, or movie?
E. I LOVE mysteries! Picking one favorite is hard so I’m going to cheat and list a couple. Minette Walters, PD James, Ruth Rendall/Barbara Vine (same author different name).

A. At its heart, every story is a mystery. It asks why someone acts the way they did - or maybe what will happen next. What question does your book ask?
E. Can you still have strong relationships with people when you don’t want the same things anymore? I am fascinated by how we change and how those around us deal with that change.

A. Is there a mystery in life that you are still trying to figure out?
E. How can I fit in everything I want to do/see/visit in this life?

Laurie Stolarz has the magic touch

Anyone who has sold a half million books, been on bestseller lists, and been on the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list, the Top Ten Teen Pick list, and YALSA's Popular Paperback list knows how to write great books.

Deadly Little Secret (A Touch Novel) is no exception. It's by Laurie Stolarz.

Description
Until three months ago, everything about sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at an art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes far from ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe he's trouble, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. Instead she's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help – but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something...but he's not the only one with a secret.

I asked, Laurie answered
A. What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you? Bonus question: have you used it, in any way, in a book?
L. When I was doing the research for Project 17, I went to the abandoned mental institution on which the book is based. Growing up, the former mental hospital was rumored to be haunted (there are actually unmarked graves on the premises). Once I really started delving into the research, visiting the place took on a whole new meaning (knowledge really IS power). I was so horrified that I couldn’t sleep at night. So, yes, I have used this fear to write a book.

A. Mystery writers often give their characters an unreasoning fear - and then make them face it. Do you have any phobias, like fear of spiders or enclosed spaces?
L. I’m the biggest wuss ever, even though I write this scary stuff, too. You name it – bugs, critters, haunted houses, dark places, basements, attics, creaking noises at night, horror flicks, abandoned places, the list goes on and on. I use all of this in my writing.

A. Do you have a favorite mystery book, author, or movie?
L. I love Stephen King and Robert Cormier. I also love The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and Our Secret History by Donna Tartt. As for movies, I love the Scream trilogy, though I have to watch most of it with a pillow over my eyes. I also like I Know What You Did Last Summer (but again with the pillow). I’m not into the mega-horror stuff that’s out now. If I watched any of that, I’m not even joking when I say I wouldn’t be sleeping for days.

A. At its heart, every story is a mystery. It asks why someone acts the way they did - or maybe what will happen next. What question does your book ask?
L. What happens when you fall in love with someone who could possibly kill another, including you?

A. Is there a mystery in life that you are still trying to figure out?
L. I think there are so many mysteries in one’s life. Unraveling those mysteries and getting to the answers – and finding new mysteries along the way – is what we’re meant to do I believe.

What the critics say
"[L]ively first-person narrative," raves Kirkus [full disclosure: Kirkus never raves], "CW-worthy dialogue, quirky secondary characters, romance and suspense: a winning combination." KLIATT says, "An engaging, eerie tale about the darker side of relationships - when it becomes a matter of life and death to know who your friends are.". And Teens Read Too says, “The book was full of shocking surprises and revelations, earning the book five stars. This is a must-read for fans of romance, suspense, and mystery because it won't disappoint.”

About the author
Laurie Faria Stolarz is the bestselling author of the Blue is for Nightmares series: Blue is for Nightmares, White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, Red is for Remembrance, and the forthcoming Black is for Beginnings. She's also written Bleed and Project 17. Do you think that it's a coincidence that Laurie was born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts?

Watch the trailer

Plusses and MInuses of Boot Camp

I decided to start taking a bootcamp class my gym offers.

Pluses
- By starting now, I avoid the January rush.
- I'm home and exercised by 7:40.
- It may encourage me to eat better.
- Fantasies of being buff and thin like gorgeous Swedish-looking woman exercising on the mat behind me.

Minuses
- 5:30 a.m. alarm after 10 months of getting up when I want to (which actually has worked out to getting up at 6 when my husband's alarm goes off)
- An unbelievable number of crunches (note to self: do not go all out on first set. Because there are four more.)
- Yawning at 9:45 a.m.
- Boot camp! What am I thinking! I hate people telling me what to do. And I'm not a military type person. Although I was wooed by Westpoint the first year they started having women attend. Deal breaker for me: bathrooms were unisex and there were no doors on the toilets.