Delightful Debutantes #39 - Kate Karyus Quinn and Another Little Piece.

Hi Kate! Congratulations on the publication of Another Little Piece. What’s been the most exciting part of your journey as an author so far?

There have been so many exciting parts, but this – right now – is the most exciting part. Knowing that my book is in the hands of readers and that people are connecting with it is just so amazing. It’s also really thrilling to hold the final hardcover copy of the book in my hands. It is so unarguably real that I don’t even need to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.

Describe Another Little Piece to potential readers in a tweet: (140 characters or less). 

Oh! I am so bad at this. In fact, almost every time I write a tweet, I have to trim it down before I can actually tweet it. But regardless here I go:

Screaming and bloody: a girl disappears. 1 yr later she's found with no idea who she is except the idea she may be a monster. Is she right?

At the time of writing these questions I’ve just finished Another Little Piece and my initial reaction to this book was a great big Wow! Another Little Piece is one of the most original books I’ve read in a long time. Where did you get the inspiration for this one? I’m very interested to know the thought process behind this book!

I honestly started this book without knowing what it was going to be about. All I knew was that I had a missing girl and there was more to her time being lost than a simple kidnapping. I tried starting the book a few different ways and none of them really worked. Then I saw her walking through this field wrapped in a garbage bag. That’s when I knew that I’d found my beginning. The rest of the book I wrote in mostly the same order as it exists today. I discovered all those different bits and pieces along with Annaliese.

While reading Another Little Piece, I admit I was a little confused at times (at first I thought this was a missing persons/murder mystery book – the paranormal element somehow bypassed me when I first read the synopsis). One aspect of the book I’d really like to know more about is the ‘Brujas’ and the mysterious ‘Physician’.  Are there any plans for a short story/companion novel on the background to this, or should I just relish the mystery here?

The only character who I’ve played with the idea of writing more about is Jess (a fairly minor character who comes into the story briefly towards the end of the book). But honestly right now I don’t have any plans for a short story or companion novel, but who knows – I could be in the shower one day and the perfect idea for one might hit me.

I want to add, though, that I do understand the frustration of wanting answers. I am a huge TV watcher and some of my favorite shows are often the most confusing ones. Lost is a great example of this. Or Mad Men, which is currently on the air. Over time I’ve come to embrace the ambiguity built into these shows and the amount of discussion they generate. In fact, one of my favorite parts of watching Mad Men is the day after the show when I get to read recaps from Slate or Vulture and see what someone else took away from the episode that I might not have caught. There is so much in that show that is happening under the surface and may not ever be answered to the satisfaction of the viewers, but that is part of what keeps me watching and thinking about the show even when it’s not on.

FIVE things readers should know about Another Little Piece:

1.      When I first started writing ALP, I titled it: Immortally Wounded. About a quarter of the way into writing the first draft I realized that was incredibly cheesy and changed it to Remnants. I was never super crazy about that, though, and soon decided to change it once more to Another Little Piece – taken from the song lyrics for Another Little Piece of My Heart. This title stuck all the way through finding an agent and being published by HarperTeen.

2.      The character of Dex was originally named Dezi, but somewhere along the way I started calling him Dex instead and it stuck.

3.      Dex also had a friend in the first version, and she had a whole backstory and history. She was cut in my first major round of revisions.

4.      I was inspired to add the little spitball poems scattered throughout the book after reading THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson.

5.      I live in and grew up in Western New York and that is part of the reason why I chose to set ALP there.

FOUR books you’d recommend to anyone who loved Another Little Piece:

A Certain Slant of Light Laura Whitcomb

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E Pearson

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

THREE tips for aspiring authors:

Write as much as you can. Read as much as you can. Don’t forget to breathe.

That last tip is just good advice for everyone.

TWO books on your summer reading list:

Only two!?!?! Hmm… okay, well there are many many more than this, but I have been meaning for quite a while to get around to reading the final book in Holly Black’s Curse Workers series, which I absolutely adore. And I am also dying to read Mindy McGinnis’s NOT A DROP TO DRINK. It doesn’t come out until September, but I am hoping to get an ARC into my hands sometime before then.

ONE book you’re working on now: I read that your next book is called Don’t You (Forget About Me) Can you tell me anything about that one?

Yes, my next novel is another standalone from HarperTeen and it will be out sometime in 2014. Right now what I can tell you is that it is definitely similar to ALP in that there is a creepy scary vibe and lots of twists and turns.

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Thanks so much for the great Q&A, Kate. I wish you lots and lots of success with Another Little Piece and I can't wait to read Don't You (Forget About Me).

Read my review of Another Little Piece: HERE.

                                                                                               
 Find out more about Kate by reading her BLOG and following her on TWITTER.  

 

Book Reviews: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn, Parallel by Lauren Miller & The Ruining by Anna Collomore.

Eerie, atmospheric, and at times downright confusing; while Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn is a highly original and stunningly written debut, it is also one that’s set to divide readers with both its ambiguous nature and its total love of gore.

Missing for almost a year, Annaliese Rose Gordon turns up out of the blue with a head injury and zero knowledge of her whereabouts for the past year.  While the doctors attribute her amnesia to the head trauma, Annaliese knows better; she knows she’s not the girl she used to be. That’s why she doesn’t remember, not the details of her life, or her parents, who she now refers to as ‘the mom’ and ‘the dad,’ for they are not her own, nor the boy she used to love, ‘Rice 16,’ who begs forgiveness for past sins; not that Annaliese remembers what he did, because it didn’t’ happen to her. While she was away Annaliese changed; and it’s not just that she’s uncomfortable in her own skin – it’s that she’s a whole other person entirely.   Aided by flashbacks, a boy who films death and a girl who talks to ghosts, Annaliese must find out the truth before her haunted past catches up with her once more.

Another Little Piece should come with a warning. So, I’ll give it to you now: This book will mess with your mind. It will make you ask all the questions; and it will frustrate.  It will make you think, and ponder and wonder.  It is such a strange book that, in fact, I labeled it a ‘WTF book’ on one Goodreads status update. But, you know what; for all of that I pretty much loved it. It’s lucky for me that I’m drawn to the ambiguous (I’m a huge Twin Peaks fan, after all), and it helps that I love horror too. If you don’t then Another Little Piece probably isn’t for you, because it doesn’t shy away from the bloody stuff, that’s for sure. It’s also not the book to read if you want all the answers – because you won’t find them here.  But if you’re looking for something thought-provoking and different from possibly anything you’ve ever read before then check this one out – it’s a book with real ‘heart.’ (That’s a little in-joke right there for anyone who’s read the book!)

In short: Mind-Blowing.

 Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn.  Publisher: HarperTeen.  Released: June 2013. Ages: 14+    Rating:  4 out of 5.   Source: Received from publisher for review.

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Cosmic forces collide to create multiple parallel worlds in a debut that sometimes confuses and often over-complicates.

Abby Barnes had a plan. Right now, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she should be preparing for her first semester at Northwestern University as Journalism major. Instead, because of a split-second decision which saw her opt to take a drama class, Abby spends her days on a Hollywood movie set and her nights partying in pajamas with the hottest not-so-young actor in Hollywood. It might seem to you like Abby’s living the dream, but it’s not her dream, and so when Abby wakes up to a whole new world, and finds herself in a dorm room at Yale, it looks as though maybe, just maybe all her dreams have come true. But how did this whole new life come to be? And will it last? Thankfully Abby’s best friend, gorgeous geek Caitlin is on hand to help, along with an eccentric professor who provides the (boring) science.

Hmmm…I’ll tell you one thing – Science and me – we just don’t mesh. We never have.  I also have a problem with time jumps when they are overly complicated, as they are here. I found myself flipping back through the pages of Parallel more than once wondering what the hell was going on; and often when I thought I’d gotten to grips with the point of this plot, I’d go and lose it all over again. Because it’s not just Abby’s parallel life and the reasons for it that we’re dealing with here, there’s also another version of Abby (One-Year-Ago Abby) who makes choices that directly affect this (Former-Hollywood-now-Yale) Abby’s life.  Got that? No – me either. Not really. There's also a love triangle, and when parallel universes are involved matters of love become especially tricky; for tricky read messy as all hell.

So, I had some issues with this book, but that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it. I did. Just not the science. Or the confusion. But I liked the idea of it. I loved the writing – and would certainly read more from Lauren Miller in the future. Also, while I while I didn’t totally connect with the character of Abby in this one (I found her too interfering by far at times in the lives of others), there are some great secondary characters in Parallel; Astronomy Boy who is a total cutie and Caitlin, Abby’s best friend, the most well-developed character in the book and the true star here for me.

In Short: Confusing. 

  
Parallel by Lauren Miller.  Publisher: HarperTeen.  Released: May 2013. Ages: 13+    Rating:  3½ out of 5.   Source: Received from publisher for review.

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Desperate to escape her none-too-happy home life and the dark secrets that plague her past, Annie Philips is over the moon when she lands the enviable position as nanny to the practically-perfect-in-every-way Cohen family; but what Annie doesn’t realize is that no family is perfect – all have their secrets, and far from heralding her new dream start, Annie’s arrival on Belvedere Island to start a new life in the palatial home of Walker Cohen and his glamorous young wife Libby is the beginning of a nightmare that will haunt Annie’s life, and her mind, forever.

The Ruining by Anna Collomore is just the kind of book I love. A psychological thriller that will appeal to fans of Adele Griffin’s Tighter, The Ruining mixes The Turn of the Screw with The Yellow Wallpaperfor a story where nothing is quite as it seems – or is it? Right from the start we know that Annie’s new dream life isn’t all that – but just like Annie, we want to believe in the dream. However, far from being the supportive ‘older sister’ character that she paints herself to be, it soon becomes clear that all is not right with Libby Cohen. At first Libby is supportive and encouraging of Annie’s choices; advising her on college courses, discussing boy-next-door Owen and Annie’s obvious attraction to him - but that soon changes. And as Libby reveals her true – petty, overbearing and vindictive - colours, we are left to ask if the glamorous young mother with a handsome husband, two adorable kids, and successful career really has it out for this girl; or if this unseemly turn of events exists only in troubled Annie’s mind.

Ah, this book was so promising, and I loved it right from the start. However, after such a great start, The Ruining took a turn for the awfully predictable, and I have to say that the ending of this one – after an initially great set up – was a real letdown. Books such as this need an ending that is either shocking or ambiguous; The Ruininghad neither and that was a real shame.

However, the author has published the alternate ending on her blog, and if, like me you were a little let down by how things turned out in the book, you should take a look: CLICKY

In short: Anti-climactic.

  
The Ruining by Anna Collomore.  Publisher: Razorbill.  Released: February 2013. Ages: 12+    Rating:  3½ out of 5. 

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Read All About It #2 - Recent exciting Book Deals!

I'm back with another installment of Read All About It where I'll feature all the latest and greatest book deals according to...me! This time round you can find out about Philippa Gregory's new YA deal, an exciting movie deal for the book that's being hailed as a YA "Time Traveller's Wife" and lots more exciting stuff too...Read on to find out more!

Philippa Gregory Signs Deal for Four YA Historical Romances

Admittedly my info on this is a little scant. No titles or synopsis yet, but the news that Philippa Gregory is going to be writing YA is excitement enough, right? I love her adult titles, and I can't wait to find out what historical period she's going to concentrate on for these books. These will be published by Simon & Schuster in the US and UK with the first book releasing in summer 2012.

What the Publishers are Saying:

"We are tremendously excited to welcome Philippa Gregory to the Simon & Schuster Children's list. Her magical storytelling, combined with romance and strong characterisation, will have enormous appeal to the young audience. We look forward to working with our colleagues across all of Simon & Schuster to bring her stories to young readers worldwide."  - Ingrid Selberg, Publishing Director, Simon & Schuster.

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann:

Spanning three decades with a story told to the backdrop of 1940's, 50's and 60's America Tigers in Red Weather sparked an eight publisher auction with Picador set to publish in the UK and Little, Brown in the US winning American rights. I adore books which take family secrets and lies and take them on a journey through time. Can't wait to read this one!

More About the Book:

Set primarily in 1950s America, Tigers In Red Weather is the sweeping novel of a wealthy East coast family with troubling secrets at its core. It is a story of betrayed loyalties and violence suppressed beneath a polished facade, only to emerge over the course of summers - against a backdrop of cocktails and jazz – in ways that are surprising, revealing, healing and tragic. Superbly characterised, told from five points of view and across three decades, this is storytelling at its finest: ambitious, accomplished and utterly involving.

What the Publishers are Saying:

"I'm thrilled to be working with a talent as arresting as Liza's. She has tremendous novelistic flair and is a consummate storyteller. Tigers In Red Weather is a glorious, elegant and committed novel, boldly in conversation with such classics as Tender is the Night and Revolutionary Road, yet doing something entirely fresh. It spread around the company like electricity and we couldn't be more excited to be publishing it." - Kate Harvey, Editorial Director, Picador.

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone:

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone isn't a new acquisition - this was originally announced back in April when the book was still known by it's original title Mobius.  However, since I'm really excited for this one (This is the one they are calling the YA "Time Travellers Wife) and since the movie rights have  just been acquired by CBS Films, I thought I'd mention it here. Look out for Time Between Us in Autumn 2012 from Random House Children's Books in the UK and Hyperion in the US.

More About the Book:

Time Between Us is about Anna, a 16-year-old living in a small town in Illinois in 1995, and Bennett, a 17-year-old in 2012 living in San Francisco, who can time travel. He finds himself in Anna's world, and the two fall in love even though they know Bennett will eventually have to go back to his own time.

More About the Author:

Blog: Tamara Ireland Stone

Twitter: @tamaraistone

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn:

HarperTeen always have really exciting titles, and this one coming in 2013 sounds really, really good! The synopsis has me really intrigued and I can't wait to find out more!

More About the Book:

A girl wakes up wandering the roads of Oklahoma knowing that she is occupying another girl's body -- and that she has killed the girl whose body she is in -- who then returns to the girl's parents in upstate New York to uncover who she really is, and who else she has killed.

More About the Author:

Blog: Kate Karyus Quinn

Twitter: @KateKaryusQuinn

After You by Jessica Corra:

After You, the debut novel from Jessica Corra is another one to add to your 2013 wish list! Billed as Before I Fall meets The Sky is Everywhere I want to read it already, um, even though I haven't read either of those books yet. Don't judge! I'll get to them...

More About the Book:

Eighteen-year-old Camilla Jay has the power of second chances. She can rewind to any day and relive it, and she remembers everything. A tragedy like the death of her twin sister Madelyn shouldn’t be possible. Camilla rewinds to the same day over and over, but Madelyn dies each time – by her own hand. Madelyn doesn’t want saving.

Madelyn’s death allows Cam to finally connect with her long-time crush Wall. As they grow closer, Camilla uncovers a series of writings Madelyn did about her own ability to forward in time. Madelyn believed killing herself was the only way to save Camilla from a horrible fate. Cam’s not convinced.

Cam tries to find a way to save Madelyn without bringing about the things her sister saw. Madelyn didn’t think it was possible, and that by trying to save her, Camilla will destroy herself. Camilla doesn’t know what to believe, but one thing becomes clear: if she saves Madelyn, she’ll lose Wall. Is she willing to gamble everything?

More About the Author: 

Blog: Jessica Corra

Twitter: @jessicacorra

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Additional info & quotes: 

booktrade.info, The Bookseller, Publishers Lunch

Please note:  Release dates and book titles may not be final and may be subject to change.