Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Awesome Authors: Lisa McMann


We are sooooo lucky to have Lisa McMann with us today! She is the author of the New York Times bestseller WAKE. Its upcoming sequel, FADE, arrives in February 2009 and the third book in the series, GONE, is slated for spring 2010. WAKE is a YALSA BBYA nominee and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adults. You can find Lisa on Myspace, Facebook, Goodreads, Shelfari, Twitter, and http://lisamcmann.com.

Blogs are a central part of the Bradford Novels universe. If you have a blog, why did you start blogging, and how did you come up with the name for your blog?
I started blogging several years ago as a way to tell funny stories about my family and general observations about life and writing. I had a small following of online friends and I used a pseudonym. A few years ago, I put that blog to rest and went "professional" with my blog. I called it Five Point Five, because I had a formula that said something like, if you write 5.5 words a minute for 5.5 hours a day, you'll end up with a 70,000-word novel in 5.5 weeks. Something like that, anyway. Now, my blog is simply my name, or WAKE, or something—I keep changing it.

What's your favorite thing about blogging?
I totally love the new button options after each post where people can check a "reaction" button. I usually have a "Cabe is so hott!!" option, and that one always gets the most votes, no matter what the post is about.

What's the difference between a blog and a diary?
A blog is so, like, OUT THERE. Public. I would never blog about my secrets. A diary is private. Sometimes a diary is just what's written in your thoughts.

GoldenGirl is full of scandals and exposed secrets. What was the biggest scandal at your high school? Did your classmates discover any of your deep, dark secrets?
I went to a private, Christian high school. People sent their kids there because they thought that would keep them away from drugs and stuff. SO not the case. There were major parties always going on. I didn't really go, though. I was sort of nerdy. And I was pretty private. I just collected everybody else's secrets so I could write them into stories. Muahahaha.

What are your most recent books? What new projects are you working on now?
The WAKE trilogy. Book 2, FADE, comes out this month (Feb) and continues the story of Janie and Cabe. I just finished writing GONE (Book 3), and that is in the editing stages—it is scheduled for spring 2010. I'm not yet sure what my next project will be, but I have a few ideas and I'll be announcing that on my blog as soon as I am able.

13 comments:

  1. I loved WAKE and can't wait to read FADE.
    Interesting what Lisa says about religious school--I had a similar experience in Jewish day school. LOTS of scandals. Maybe we were all rebelling, feeling like we had something *extra* to prove?
    And I love the idea of the "reaction" button on the blog! Sorta similar to the quizzes and polls that some of the Bradfordlies run (looking at YOU, Toni_the_Tigress)...

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  2. I don't know if Lisa is going to check back but I'm curious if she knew that WAKE would be a trilogy when she started working on it or did that idea come later. I know Bradford was conceived as a series and I'm interested in how that changes how you approach the work...

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  3. Micol -- Yes, I that might be part of it!

    Noah, I wanted WAKE to be more than just one book, and I had book 2 sort of written when we sold WAKE. I also felt like there should be at least one more after FADE. My editor and I had a terrific discussion about what would come next and we decided that three books was going to be just right.

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  4. You have an amazing editor! I mean, the entire Pulse team is FAB, but I can say that she is one of my oldest friends and colleagues in the business.

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  5. Also, three books is perfect. You have enough time to really get to know your characters, but you can stay primed for new projects. I've got my fingers crossed for more books in the Bradford series, but there's something to be said for variety.

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  6. Definitely. And I adore Jen. She's wonderful and so great to bounce ideas off of.

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  7. I *heart* Cabe!

    WAKE was amazing and I can't wait to get my hands on FADE. Just a few more days!!!

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  8. I am feeling showered with love...and I like it! Love you both too. --JK

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  9. JK! Thanks for stopping by! Most supportive editor EVER!

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  10. (Except for MY editors, of course)

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  11. Yay, JK!

    Thanks for having me here today, Micol!

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  12. I can't wait to read Fade! I absolutely loved Wake!

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