Mundie Moms

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Author Interview with Amy Holder
















I'm so excited to have debut author, Amy Holder with us today. Amy's debut, The Lipstick Laws was released on April 4th by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Here's a little bit about her book:

At Penford High School, Britney Taylor is queen bee. She dates whomever she likes, rules over her inner circle of friends like Genghis Khan, and can ruin anyone's life as easily as snapping her perfectly manicured fingers. Just ask the unfortunate few who have crossed her.

For April Bowers, Britney is also the answer to her prayers. With zero friends and nothing close to a boyfriend, April is so unpopular, kids don't know she exists. That is, until Britney notices her. One lunch spent at Britney's table, and April is basking in the glow of popularity.

But Britney's friendship comes with a price tag.

How much is April willing to pay?


Congratulations on your debut book!! April seems like a character a lot of YA readers will be able to relate to. What is something that you share in common with her?
Thank you so much! I hope YA readers will find April relatable! I'm definitely able to relate to her because April and I share a lot in common. We both have naturally curly hair, a quirky sense of humor, the same middle name, a love of good sales, and a knack for making up random words. We’ve also both dealt with insecurities and wanting to fit in as teens. I think those feelings are pretty common in adolescence, so I hope teen readers will be able to connect with April’s story.

What inspired you to write, The Lipstick Laws?
I wanted to write a fun story about the ups and downs of high school and the social hierarchies within it. April’s quirky voice is the first part of the story that came to me, so her character really inspired the whole story to evolve.


Which of your characters has surprised you the most? (in terms of development or character growth)

Britney’s character surprised me a lot because I didn’t think I’d have so much fun writing the villain. It was like an actor getting to play the bad guy. However, as far as character development goes, I was probably the most surprised by April. When I first started writing the story, I did not expect her character to evolve to stick up for herself the way she did. I was very happy that her character developed to not only have a backbone, but also learn to take the higher road in the end while acknowledging some of her own faults as well.


What author do you feel has been your greatest source of inspiration?

I’d have to say Shel Silverstein has been my greatest source of inspiration because he is the author who first sparked my love of reading and writing. A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC was one of my favorite books as a child. His funny poetry is what inspired me to start writing my own humorous poetry when I was six years old...and my writing never stopped after that.


Are there other projects you're working on that you can tell us about?

I’m currently working on another humorous contemporary YA novel...but this one has a bit of a paranormal twist. I’ve also been considering a Lipstick Laws sequel. There are several other ideas swimming around my head as well, but I'm not sure what will hit the bookshelves next. On a non-writing front, there are some exciting things in the works with my television rights for THE LIPSTICK LAWS. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for good things to come!


Which debut books would you recommend that we pick up this year? I can’t answer this question without giving a big shout-out to my fellow Class of 2k11 authors. I’ve had the chance to read many of their ARCs, and I truly adore their stories and writing. I think all readers with various reading tastes will find a book (or more) to treasure within the group, and I highly recommend all of the Class of 2k11 titles. For a full list, please visit our website: www.classof2k11.com

Thank you so much for being with us today!
Thanks so much for the interview!

______________________________

Tomorrow I'll be sharing my review for The Lipstick Laws. You can find Amy at her site here, and on the Class of 2k11 site here

Thank you to Carrie w/ the Class of 2k11 for coordinating our interview and Amy Holder for the interview!!

May Book Releases

MAY is a HUGE book month! I don't know about you guys, but I'm drooling over all the releases this month. If I left off any YA (there's a few MG books on the list too) books being released this month, please let me know in the comments so I can add them. All the book titles are linked back to Amazon.

May 1st
  1. Are You Going to Kiss Me Now? by Sloane Tanen
  2. Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe
  3. Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson
  4. Shine by Lauren Myracle
  5. I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler
May 3rd
  1. Divergent by Veronica Roth
  2. Moon Glass by Jessi Kirby
  3. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
  4. The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch
  5. Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready
  6. So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti
  7. The Royal Treatment by Lindsey Leavitt
  8. Illusions by Aprilynne Pike
  9. Everfound (re-released) by Neal Shusterman
  10. Bite Club (The Morganville Vampires #10) by Rachel Caine
  11. I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
  12. The Summer of First and Lasts by Terra Elan McVoy
  13. The Throne of Fire, Bk 2 in The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
May 10th
  1. Die For Me by Amy Plum
  2. Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs
  3. The Pull of Gravity Gae Polisner
  4. What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
  5. Flawless by Lara Chapman
  6. Bitter End by Jennifer Brown
  7. The Summer Before Boys by Nora Raleigh Baskin
  8. Tighter by Adele Griffin
May 12th
  1. Kane Richards Must Die by Shanice Williams
  2. Dreamland Social Club by Tara Altebrando
  3. Sparrow Road by Sheila O'Connor
May 17th
  1. Vampire Kissed 8: Cryptic Cravings by Ellen Schreiber
May 23rd
  1. Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky
May 24th
  1. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
  2. Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
  3. The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
  4. Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
  5. Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury
  6. Welcome to Bordertown by Holly Black
  7. The Warlock (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel) by Michael Scott
  8. Angel Burn by Lee Weatherly
  9. Something Deadly This Way Comes by Kim Harrison
May 31st
  1. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
  2. Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade
  3. Nightspell by Leah Cypess

In My Mailbox #72

In My Mailbox is a meme started by the Story Siren, and allows bloggers to share what they received this last week to review, what they bought, won or received as a gift.

For Review:
* Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey, published by Penguin/Philomel, to be released on December 8th, 2011
* Vanish by Sophie Jordan (signed), published by HarperTeen, to be released on September 6th, 2011
* Abandon by Meg Cabot, published Scholastic, released on April 26th, 2011
* Cannons at Dawn, Dear America by Kristiana Gregory, published by Scholastic, to be released on May 1st, 2010 TODAY (Mundie Kids review)
* Standing in the Light, Dear America Series by Mary Pope Osborne, published by Scholastic, to be released on May 1st, 2011 TODAY (Mundie Kids review)
* Titanic, Book 1 Unsinkable by Gordon Korman, published by Scholastic, released TODAY, May 1st, 2011
* Cut by Patricia McCormick, published by Scholastic, released on March 1st, 2000
* Nocturne by Christine Johnson, published by Simon Pulse, to be released on August 23rd, 2011
* Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? by Sloane Tanen, published by Sourebooks, released TODAY, May 1st, 2011
* Drip Drop, Tear Drop A Novella by Samantha Young, published by Createspace, to be released on May 9th, 2011
* Blood Ties by Mari Mancusi, published by Penguin, to be released on August 2nd, 2011
* The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab, published by Disney Hyperion, to be released on August 2nd, 2011
* Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley, published by Atheneum (Simon & Schuster), to be released on May 3rd, 2011
* Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott, published by Simon Pulse, to be released on May 24th, 2011
* Ten Things We Did (and probably shouldn't have) by Sarah Mlynowski, published by Harper Teen, to be released on June 7th, 2011

Bought:
I swear whenever I say I'm going to be good and not buy books, I end up buying a lot. Among a few titles not YA related and some great kid books, I also purchased:
* The Gathering by Kelly Armstrong
* Entwined by Heather Dixon

For (upcoming) Giveaways:
* This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Opal
* The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Penguin, Source Books, Harper Teen, Scholastic, Sophie Jordan, Samantha Young, Christine Johnson & Mari Mancusi for this weeks wonderful reads.

What goodies did you receive this week?

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