Showing posts with label Stages on Pages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stages on Pages. Show all posts

Friday, September 28, 2012

Friday Five -- Gretchen McNeil

Today's Friday Five is with the fabulous author of POSSESS (which scared me so much I had to stop reading it) and TEN (which I cannot wait to read - and finally can!).  She is a trained opera singer and still sings with the Cirque Berserk  in Los Angeles.  She vlogs with the YA Rebels.  She tours with Stages on Pages.  And on top of all that, she is just a charming person, and not at all scary in real life.


THE FIVE:

1.  What would your super power be?

I'm ALL about shape-shifting.  I think it's the actress in me – the idea of pretending to be someone else.  Mystique was always my favorite mutant.


2.  What is your most unappealing habit?

I'm a nail-biter.  Have been since I was a kid.  I do it unconsciously when I'm nervous: in a scary movie, watching my favorite sports team in a big game, reading an edit letter from my editor…

3.  What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?

When I was a senior in college (and already accepted to several graduate opera programs), the choir director at my undergrad university took me aside one day and told me I sang with an "ugly tone."  I looked him dead in the eye and replied, "Well, the graduate departments at three conservatories didn't think so."  He shut his trap and walked away.

4.  What is your guiltiest pleasure? 

Champagne.  I can't help myself.  I LOVE it.  Love.  Like it's my desert island "food."  Yeah, this probably isn't something I should be admitting in public…

5.  What song would you have played at your funeral?

"Monkey Gone To Heaven" by the Pixies.  :D

ABOUT POSSESS:


Rule #1: Do not show fear.
Rule #2: Do not show pity.
Rule #3: Do not engage.
Rule #4: Do not let your guard down.
Rule #5: They lie.

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

You can order POSSESS here!

ABOUT TEN:

And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives – three days on Henry Island at an exclusive house party. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their own reasons for wanting to be there, both of which involve Kamiak High’s most eligible bachelor, T.J. Fletcher. But what starts out as a fun-filled weekend turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine. 

Suddenly, people are dying and the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

You can order TEN here!


ABOUT GRETCHEN:

You can find Gretchen on her website.
On Facebook.
And on Twitter.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Friday Four!

It's Friday and I don't have a Friday Five!  Forgive me, my friends, and let me offer instead a Friday Four.

As some of you know, I'm spending this weekend touring with some of the Stages on Pages authors, Stasia Ward Kehoe, Gretchen McNeil, Elise Allen and Kim Culbertson.  Can I just say here that these ladies are amazing?  They come from a variety of backgrounds and a variety of locations, but the one thing they all have in common is a love of the arts and a love of writing.  We spend our evenings talking books and theater, dance and music, art and life with teenagers, retirees, booksellers, librarians and anyone else who will join us, and it is always inspiring and always delightful.

THE FOUR:

Stasia Ward Kehoe is the author of AUDITION, a novel in verse about a ballerina from a small town who is chosen as a scholarship student to a big-city ballet school.  Gorgeous writing.  Amazing characters.  And Stasia is an absolute dream to know as a person.

Gretchen McNeil is the author of POSSESS, the story of a teen exorcist in San Francisco.  I have had to stop reading this book at least five times now because it scares the pee out of me.  But I'm determined to finish.  Her new novel, TEN, will be out in September, and is a retelling of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None - ten teens stuck on an island with a serial killer.  Chilling.

Elise Allen is the author of POPULAZZI and co-author with Hilary Duff for the Elixir series.  POPULAZZI is the story of a girl navigating her way through a new school during her junior year with the help of the best friend she had to leave behind.  Her friend's advice?  Climb The Ladder and become the most popular girl in school.

Kim Culbertson is the author of INSTRUCTIONS FOR A BROKEN HEART and SONGS FROM A TEENAGE NOMAD.  I've only read Instructions, and loved the account of a girl on school trip to Italy, learning to heal after the betrayal of her boyfriend (who happens to be on the trip as well. With his new girlfriend.)  Amazing prose, and Kim deftly shows the transformation of girl to artist through the visions of Italy.

These are four to watch out for, my friends.  And if you ever hear they're speaking near you (with or without me!), make the trip.  It's worth it.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Stages on Pages Tour!


The amazing authors of the Stages on Pages tour have invited me along for their Northern California events!  There will be readings and giveaways and possibly song and dance (though probably not from me!)  I'm honored and humbled to be included in such talented company.  If you are anywhere near the following venues, please make the journey to come and see them (I mean us!) and say hello.

Wednesday, MAY 30 from 3:30-5 PM
Belmont Library
1110 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont, CA
Elise Allen, Stasia Kehoe, Katherine Longshore & Gretchen McNeil
*Win a bundle of novels by Stages on Pages authors*


Thursday, MAY 31 at 6:30 PM
Center for the Arts, Grass Valley, CA
in conjunction with The Bookseller
Elise Allen, Kim Culbertson, Stasia Kehoe, Katherine Longshore & Gretchen McNeil
*In a lovely theater space, these authors may not just read, they may dance...and sing (hear that, opera buffs?)*

Friday, JUNE 1 at 7:00 PM
Towne Center Books, Pleasanton, CA
Elisa Allen, Stasia Kehoe, Katherine Longshore & Gretchen McNeil
*Attention aspiring writers: We'll be meeting up for dinner and spilling secrets about the writing biz (keep watching our Facebook Page for 5 pm restaurant details)*

Saturday, JUNE 2 at 11:00 AM
Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA
Elise Allen, Kim Culbertson, Stasia Kehoe, Katherine Longshore & Gretchen McNeil
*Get ready to put the authors ON THE SPOT and WIN books, swag, and even a 20-page manuscript critique!*