The time I didn’t have a title {2}

When it was announced that Amy Tintera, Debra Driza, and Shannon Messenger were going to be at Mysterious Galaxy, it was a sure thing. And then Roshani Chokshi was announced and I nearly lost my mind in excitement.

I got down to the store around 5pm. With just coming off of YallWest and Fierce Reads the the next day, Michelle and Keiko weren’t planning on going. Keiko ended up coming down to hang out, and then decided to stay.

We bought books and got Starbucks and just hung out like normal. We went into the super sekrit back room, but I didn’t come out with anything {which I made a point to say so I had witnesses.} Roshani got to the store early and I took her over to Kelly. There were a few girls who were quite excited to see her and they chatted for a few minutes.

The ladies got to the store right at 7:30 and Amy opened up by saying that they were going to have a more interactive event.  They wanted to answer mostly questions for the audience.  Amy started out asking a few questions before it was opened up.

What is the most embarrassing moment that happened to you at a book event or something that happened in real life that you put in a book?

R: In college, my boyfriend had a frat thing at the beach. I was coming out of winter hibernation and didn’t really want to go.  Being the make-up junkie that I am, I took the contouring aspect and put it on my abs. I looked goooood. And then karma happened because I went into the ocean and I got stung by jellyfish and everything washed off.  My muscles were running.

D: Did anyone pee on you?

R: No.

A: At an event, I met Veronica Roth, and I was nervous and I ran up to her and said “I loved Divergent the book and the movie wasn’t as good” and I ran away.  Of course I meant to say that the book is always better and other nice things, but I didn’t.

D: Has anyone read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han? I had that sort of thing happen. We had a notebook that we passed back and forth and we wrote about the swim team boys. One day it was gone.  And then we found those swim team boys reading all of the things we said about them.

S: I got into writing via Hollywood and I would say yes to everything. I said yes to a trivia game and I lost horribly and I was on it for a week.  It was also at a time in my life before anyone told me that bangs weren’t a good look for me.  I would get calls from people that I hadn’t talked to in a while asking me if they had just seen me on a horrible game show.  With bangs.

Let’s talk kissing scenes. What are your favorite parts?

S: I like to write the lead up. I love the almost kiss and then take it away. I think writing kissing scenes is embarrassing. I didn’t want to use the word tongue because it’s horrible, so I just kept using hands. And the smoldering was just too much.

D: I like the pre-kiss chemistry. I like the back and forth rapport. I love the anticipation.

A: I like the anticipation, but I like writing the kissing. I’ve heard that you’re not supposed to use the word tongue. I make it as steamy as I can and then let my editor pull me back.

R: My editor has a strong romance background. How do you make the build up and first kiss unique? First love is different for everyone. I like to make it sensory. It’s not hands or tongue, but it’s time stopping.

Who is your favorite book boyfriend?

D: St. Clair

S: You took mine.  I mean, come on.  He lives in Paris.

R: And it’s a hot name

A: Warner. Mostly because it’s not someone I would really go for.

R: I would say Roiben from Tithe by Holly Black. I used to wander around in the backyard looking for him to take me back to his world and become his Fairy Queen. My parents used to ask me why I would be outside in the rain.  Another one would be Sam Lloyd from The Diviners.

What is your writing process? Are you a pantser or a plotter?

R: I’m still figuring that out. This is book 1 and it took a long time.

A {to Roshani}: Is this the first book you’ve written?

R: No. But the others were thinly veiled Twilight fanfiction. I say I’m a plotter, but I don’t stick to it. I write a lot on the back of receipts and my parent’s bills. Then they’re like, “Hey. We need this.” I have tell them no, that it’s now more important than whatever it actually is. I feel like my characters get to a certain point and then they no longer want to do what I had planned.

D: I want to be a plotter, but every time I try, I talk myself out of everything. I just have to let the character guide me. I know a few things and the ending, and I let everything just flow out.

S: Each time I go to write a book, I have to learn how to write it. I never seem to know the right way to write a scene and I always hate it. As soon as I read it, I can go back and rewrite it how I want.  For some reason, I need to get the bad scene out first.

A: I’m half and half. I know the beginning, middle, and end. The middle is the most important for me. I outlined Ruined in 2 months, but it took a year to write. You need to find the thing you need to know first.  For me it’s the turning point, which is usually in the middle.

Did you know you wanted to be a writer?

D: I wanted to be a horse. It didn’t work out. I wasn’t encouraged to be a writer. I was told that math was my strong suit. And for the record, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.  Don’t let them push you away from what you want. I didn’t write a lot when I was younger. I was in physical therapy and I didn’t like it.  You have to be on all the time, you have to be a cheerleader.  I’m much happier sitting in the corner writing.

A: I started writing when I was 11 or 12 and I had 6 novels by the time I was in high school. They’re horrible and all under my bed. Everyone always told me I couldn’t do it. I majored in journalism and film. I was miserable and the worst assistant ever.  I got demoted twice in three years.  Someone would ask why I didn’t remind them to go to a meeting and I would be like, “You’re an adult, remember your own meeting.”

R: In hindsight I think I always wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t recognize it. We were given a lot of mythological books and fairy tales. It sounded like magic to me, so I wanted to be a magician. I majored in 14th century British literature in college and somehow made it to law school.  I took a year off to work on writing and all of the components that became The Star Touched Queen blocked up. Just don’t give up on that itch.

S: I was an art major, but I had to realize that I’m not as good as I wanted to be. I’m a renderer. I can see something and recreate it, but I can’t draw what I see in my head. I wanted to draw so badly, I graduated at 16 and went into art school. I made it one semester. I ended up taking a screenwriting class and went to film school. I realized that it wasn’t for me. And then I felt that itch.

Favorite genres of music while writing?

S: The Doctor Who soundtracks when I need instrumental. Or a lot of music I don’t like. I make playlists of things that my characters would listen to, like that horrible Justin Bieber pop stuff.

D: I listen to everything but country. Mostly alternative rock. There’s something called BrainFM and it’s music that helps you focus.  I can usually get a good 2 hours of solid writing done while I’m listening.

A: I listened to The Dark Knight soundtrack a lot.

R: I don’t listen to music that matches my book at all. I listen to hard core rap when I’m writing. If you listen to the lyrics, it’s all about bottles and models. I mean, they’re taking this one moment in time when they’re like a king and it’s the closest part to immortality that you can get.

A: Rap is poetry. We don’t value it in the same way, but I can see it.

What does a normal writing day look like?

S: Right now, completely sleep deprived. I’m currently writing the book that comes out in November. I have to write and write and write until I can’t brain any more. Last night I kept writing until I spelled of with a v.

D: I’m still working towards typical. I have 2 kids who also have ADHD issues, so they’re home schooled 3 days a week. I write the best at night, but that doesn’t work when you have a family. I try to write 2-3 thousand words a day.

A: I’m a full time writer, so I walk my dog and then I start writing. Then I work on a side project too. I write for 25 minutes then take a short break. Then write for another 25 minutes and break. I get a lot more done in the short bursts.

R: I was in law school for a year and then took a year off to write. So I’m at home and there’s coffee for me and sometimes a head scratch from my mom. I get the best writing done in the morning. Sometimes the most important thing is just to get the words on the page. If you hit a block, read the things you love.  Let those books inspire you and help you remember why you’re doing this.

Favorite books?

S: Ally Carter, especially The Heist Society.

D: Melina Marchetta and Stephanie Perkins

A: Harry Potter. Obviously. Simon vs, Eleanor and Park.

R: I love poetry drenched prose. Deathless by Catherynne Valente, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Lolita.

From there, it was time for the signing to start.  I had books for Roshani and Amy to sign, but only Roshani for myself. I had pre-ordered Amy’s book for the gorgeous art cards {which are gorgeous} and completely forgot to grab it. Or the art cards, which I wanted signed.

Anyhoo.

I got to Roshani and she asked if I was me.  I said yes and she jumped up and said that she was going to hug me.  She thanked me for all of the book pushing I had done and that she felt like her book sales were mostly because I had been talking about it so much. {Completely untrue, but I regret nothing}

I had asked the rad people at MG if I could have the display sign {apparently that’s my thing now} and she laughed when I handed it to her to sign.  And when I handed her my book, I told her that she needed to sign Amar over to me properly, as she agreed to do when we talked about it.  She laughed and said that she loved how sneaky I was about it.

As she was signing my things, I started talking to Amy about it.  Amy said that she was excited to read it and thought that she would really enjoy it because she had seen how much I liked it.  I laughed and said that I liked that I had that sort of reputation.  {Seriously, you guys.  If you haven’t read it, you need to.  It’s going to be one of my top 5 of the year.}

I think I ended up petting Ruined while saying goodbye to Amy.  I waved to Debra and Shannon and told them that I would see them soon.  And after saying goodbye to Sam and Kelly, I left.

This panel was a lot of fun.  They were silly together and it was interesting to see the group have more of a relaxed approach to the questions and topics.  I can’t wait to see them again.