 Anna Minard (The Stranger), Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, and Gayle Forman |  Welcome poster outside the library. (the glare was from the industrial lighting, sorry!) |
This evening, I had the pleasure of attending the last stop of the YA or Bust! author tour across the lake at Roosevelt High School. Having gone to several crowded author events in the past, I showed up an hour early. The benefit of doing something so awkward is that I got to sit in the front row but the downside is that a few of us were hanging around while the janitor vacuumed the library and while the event was set up. But really, at this point I know to just embrace my awkward self and move on. Plus I met some adorable nerdfighters who were also there early.
The authors on the YA or Bust! tour are Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door), Gayle Forman (If I Stay, Where She Went) and Nina LaCour (Hold Still, The Disenchantments). Their camaraderie was evident from the minute they walked up to the table, quickly transitioning from the seats to sitting on top of the tables so they could see and interact more with the audience. The discussion was moderated by Anna Minard from The Stranger. I had a bit of a laugh over the signage outside the school. Here it is:
The authors on the YA or Bust! tour are Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door), Gayle Forman (If I Stay, Where She Went) and Nina LaCour (Hold Still, The Disenchantments). Their camaraderie was evident from the minute they walked up to the table, quickly transitioning from the seats to sitting on top of the tables so they could see and interact more with the audience. The discussion was moderated by Anna Minard from The Stranger. I had a bit of a laugh over the signage outside the school. Here it is:
 Fine. |  Fine. |  Fine. |  Kind of Funny. |
The exclamation point, period, capitalization and commas in the signs prove that they are available for use, but I think the writer got to the last one and tried to fit it all in. I like to read it like this: "Gayle Forman, Stephanie Perkins, and Nina LaCour talking with the strangers. Anna Minard. Event is FREE!" Technically, we ARE all strangers and I quite like Anna Minard just getting one random statement of her name, but this paragraph is neither here nor there and I'll stop boring you to death with the lame things that entertain me.
Minard was a rather entertaining moderator, and it was clear she is herself a huge YA fan. As she introduced each author, she included an anecdotal story about an experience she'd had with one of their books. (e.g. She started reading an ARC of Hold Still after work and forgot to drive home.) Her first question right off the bat was to ask Gayle Forman whether she owned stock in Kleenex tissues, which got a laugh from the audience. Surprisingly, Forman said that If I Stay was actually a joy to write and she found Where She Went to be a much harder experience. Later in the evening, when asked how she felt about writing a sequel to If I Stay that was essentially a spoiler for the first book, Forman said that generally, sequels suck. She never intended to write a sequel but she kept waking up at four in the morning. Her characters seemed to be saying, "think about where you left us" and that was an exercise she wasn't entirely prepared to partake in. Forman spoke a bit about what it is like to be in Adam's head--what it feels like to experience grief one step removed from tragedy, and what it is like to feel like you have no right to the grief you are feeling. I loved that. She also said that she found lyric-writing to be one of the hardest things about writing WSW.
Forman mentioned a blog, The Page 69 Test, wherein author's read and discuss page 69 of one of their novels. All three authors then did so, and here is what they had to say:
Minard was a rather entertaining moderator, and it was clear she is herself a huge YA fan. As she introduced each author, she included an anecdotal story about an experience she'd had with one of their books. (e.g. She started reading an ARC of Hold Still after work and forgot to drive home.) Her first question right off the bat was to ask Gayle Forman whether she owned stock in Kleenex tissues, which got a laugh from the audience. Surprisingly, Forman said that If I Stay was actually a joy to write and she found Where She Went to be a much harder experience. Later in the evening, when asked how she felt about writing a sequel to If I Stay that was essentially a spoiler for the first book, Forman said that generally, sequels suck. She never intended to write a sequel but she kept waking up at four in the morning. Her characters seemed to be saying, "think about where you left us" and that was an exercise she wasn't entirely prepared to partake in. Forman spoke a bit about what it is like to be in Adam's head--what it feels like to experience grief one step removed from tragedy, and what it is like to feel like you have no right to the grief you are feeling. I loved that. She also said that she found lyric-writing to be one of the hardest things about writing WSW.
Forman mentioned a blog, The Page 69 Test, wherein author's read and discuss page 69 of one of their novels. All three authors then did so, and here is what they had to say:
When asked about "that" article from the Wall Street Journal about darkness in young adult literature, the authors were of the opinion that the article was meant to elicit outrage and opinion and it did its job. LaCour spoke eloquently about the importance of including all of these "dark" bits--suicide, drug use, death, etc.-- because it would be dishonest to exclude these real-life occurrences from books.
To lighten the mood, Minard asked Perkins about fashion. Perkins admitted that she sees Lola as a braver version of herself and then somehow the topic changed quickly to The Babysitter's Club (a transition I NEVER have a problem with). In Perkins' opinion, Claudia is the best character, Stacey comes second, and basically everyone else sucks. Aaaaand scene. Everyone was laughing because really, does ANYONE have something amazing to say about Mallory? Yeah, I thought not. Forman jokingly said she was far too sophisticated to read the BSC books--she was reading Jackie Collins instead.
Nina LaCour, when prompted, spoke about how much she enjoys road trips and how they are such a great vehicle (heh) to indicate transition. (going towards the future, leaving everything from the past in the rear-view mirror) She said that she only wants to do fun research for her books so she was happy to do the compulsory road trip and research on girl rock groups for The Disenchantments. LaCour talked about the importance of writing groups and having people to support you, read your work, and the importance of doing those things for others. Forman advocated for time and education to develop your writing skills and Perkins spoke about reading, reading, reading and actually stopping when you find a scene you like or when feel yourself experiencing some emotion. At that point, go back and see how the author brought you there, step by step. I'm no writer but I found this bit of advice interesting. It's always funny to me when I am just moseying along in a book and then I feel outright disgust or elation in one sentence.
To lighten the mood, Minard asked Perkins about fashion. Perkins admitted that she sees Lola as a braver version of herself and then somehow the topic changed quickly to The Babysitter's Club (a transition I NEVER have a problem with). In Perkins' opinion, Claudia is the best character, Stacey comes second, and basically everyone else sucks. Aaaaand scene. Everyone was laughing because really, does ANYONE have something amazing to say about Mallory? Yeah, I thought not. Forman jokingly said she was far too sophisticated to read the BSC books--she was reading Jackie Collins instead.
Nina LaCour, when prompted, spoke about how much she enjoys road trips and how they are such a great vehicle (heh) to indicate transition. (going towards the future, leaving everything from the past in the rear-view mirror) She said that she only wants to do fun research for her books so she was happy to do the compulsory road trip and research on girl rock groups for The Disenchantments. LaCour talked about the importance of writing groups and having people to support you, read your work, and the importance of doing those things for others. Forman advocated for time and education to develop your writing skills and Perkins spoke about reading, reading, reading and actually stopping when you find a scene you like or when feel yourself experiencing some emotion. At that point, go back and see how the author brought you there, step by step. I'm no writer but I found this bit of advice interesting. It's always funny to me when I am just moseying along in a book and then I feel outright disgust or elation in one sentence.
LaCour, Perkins, and Forman.
An interesting fact (to me, anyway) is that Stephanie Perkins worked on Lola and the Boy Next Door for a decade. Anna came afterward and, though she admits it sounds corny, was based on a dream she had of being in a large room with a French boy who had an English accent. Perkins admitted that she's more of an Anglophile but that she searched for a setting that would work for her purposes and that ended up being Paris. She said she did a ton of research because she was afraid of messing something up and that after she got a book deal, she went to France for a month. She'd spent so much time writing about it that it felt like she'd invented this world--she said it felt like she was going to her own Narnia. Also, did you all know that Isla from Perkins' upcoming Isla and the Happily Ever After was a minor character in Anna? I didn't realize that. She revealed that Isla will be set at the same school as Anna and that it will involve Isla's senior year of high school.
Here are a few lightning round questions they answered:
"What scene from your own book is your favorite?"
Forman: The bridge scene in Where She Went and the checkers scene in If I Stay
LaCour: The bike scene in The Disenchantments (note: I can't read my notes to make this more specific)
Perkins: The Luxembourg Gardens scene in Anna and the Thanksgiving bed scenes in Lola.
"Which YA book do you wish you'd written?"
Forman: Jellicoe Road
LaCour: Before I Die
Perkins: Harry Potter
"What advice would you give to 16-year old you?"
Forman: Wear more sunscreen. Also, she talked about how travel is transformative and that she'd give more advice to 15-year old her to travel more. (She ended up spending her 16th year studying in England after a push from her father)
LaCour: Be more adventurous.
Perkins: "I'd remind myself that my dad comes home for lunch."
After the event, I met Sarah and her mother Sandra, both from Clear Eyes, Full Shelves, and Mindi Scott, author of Freefall and the upcoming Live Through This. I am always so excited to meet fellow readers, bloggers, authors, and book lovers. I'm only sorry I don't have a picture to share. *sigh* Maybe next time? There are some great YA events coming up. Get ready for some more recaps!
Have you been to any author events lately?
Here are a few lightning round questions they answered:
"What scene from your own book is your favorite?"
Forman: The bridge scene in Where She Went and the checkers scene in If I Stay
LaCour: The bike scene in The Disenchantments (note: I can't read my notes to make this more specific)
Perkins: The Luxembourg Gardens scene in Anna and the Thanksgiving bed scenes in Lola.
"Which YA book do you wish you'd written?"
Forman: Jellicoe Road
LaCour: Before I Die
Perkins: Harry Potter
"What advice would you give to 16-year old you?"
Forman: Wear more sunscreen. Also, she talked about how travel is transformative and that she'd give more advice to 15-year old her to travel more. (She ended up spending her 16th year studying in England after a push from her father)
LaCour: Be more adventurous.
Perkins: "I'd remind myself that my dad comes home for lunch."
After the event, I met Sarah and her mother Sandra, both from Clear Eyes, Full Shelves, and Mindi Scott, author of Freefall and the upcoming Live Through This. I am always so excited to meet fellow readers, bloggers, authors, and book lovers. I'm only sorry I don't have a picture to share. *sigh* Maybe next time? There are some great YA events coming up. Get ready for some more recaps!
Have you been to any author events lately?
