Day 3: Teri Brown debut author or spunky skater chick?

Tell us Teri--just how much do you have in common with your spunky main character?

In spite of the fact that my main character Serena is deaf and I’m not, I actually have a lot in common with her.

In Read My Lips, Serena moves to a new town and has to try to find a place within the social structure of her new school. While she wasn’t in the mainstream of her old school in the city, she did find a group of skate guys who pretty much let her be herself. There are no skate guys in the new school. In fact it’s pretty much all preps, which makes fitting in that much tougher for her.

I moved a lot when I was a child and trying to start over in a new school is always tough, no matter what age you are. If you feel like fitting in isn’t going to happen, the next best thing is to fly under the radar. And like Serena, I always struggled with being my own, weird, quirky and rebellious self and changing my behavior to fit in.

What was really tough was that I always had hippie type leanings and my high school was full of cowboys. That made it hard for me to fit in. And like my Main character, I always got along with guys way better than girls!

Day 2: The Inside Scoop on Teri Brown

As promised, today we're getting down with Teri Brown, asking her lots of questions about her life as a writer and her new book Read My Lips! Check it out:

So, where do you do most of your writing? What's it look like? (maybe
include a picture if you can get it!)

I actually work in my dining room, only it’s no longer a dining room. We took out the kitchen table and I bought a corner desk. I have all of my stuff (fax, computer, printer, filing cabinet, supplies, etc.) in one area, which I never had before. And I also have this… the best Christmas present I have ever received.

Oooh, a framed cover flat of Read My Lips! Very nice! Can you tell us how the book came about? How did you begin writing it?

My deaf niece told me about an experience she had with someone who tried to speak to her in sign language even though my niece doesn’t sign. I took that experience and fictionalized it. That turned out to be the first scene in the book.

It's amazing the things that spark our imagination. Did anything surprise you or catch you off guard when you were writing your book?

The first YA I wrote (which wasn’t published) was written pretty much straight through. Maybe it was because I was less experienced as a writer, but the process seemed pretty straight forward. When I started on LIPS I was amazed at how much the characters changed and grew as the story progressed. The plot kept changing too, and I had to go back and rewrite a gazillion times. That totally took me by surprise. Now I know that every book is different!

That's so true! Speaking of other books-imagine you have an offer from your dream press to publish your dream book, no matter how insane or unmarketable it might be (though of course it might *not* be). What story do you want to write next/someday and why?

I actually have two dream stories. One is the one I am working on, a paranormal set in Las Vegas. The characters are so alive in this one, I can’t seem to stop thinking about them. This is pretty unusual because I never thought I would write a paranormal. Even though this is a pretty light paranormal, it still has that element.

The other dream book is partly autobiographical which is probably why I keep putting it off. It’s a coming of age story set in Alfalfa, Oregon where I was raised. It’s going to be called Surviving Alfalfa. Great name, huh? I’m pretty much afraid of getting sued, though!

Clearly Teri's survived Alfalfa and then some! Come back tomorrow to find out just how similar Teri and her skater chick main character Serena really are!

Introducing the Amazing Teri Brown!

Summer is here and school may be out, but the Class of 2K8 is still in full swing with lots of amazing releases! Kicking off our summer of fun, we're pleased to present you with Teri Brown and Read My Lips!

Serena just wants to fly under the radar at her new school. But Serena is deaf, and she can read lips really well—even across the busy cafeteria. So when the popular girls discover her talent, there’s no turning back.

From skater chick to cookie-cutter prep, Serena’s identity has done a 180…almost. She still wants to date Miller, the school rebel, and she’s not ready to trade her hoodies for pink tees just yet. But she is rising through the ranks in the school’s most exclusive clique.

With each new secret she uncovers, Serena feels pressure to find out more. Reading lips has always been her greatest talent, but now Serena just feels like a gigantic snoop….

No secret here, Teri Brown was born to write (it was that or become a fry cook):

Teri Brown turned to writing in a desperate attempt to keep from having to get a paying job at her local McDonalds. Fortunately, she's been successful, and is not only a contributing editor for iParenting Media, but also the author of two nonfiction books. Her magazine credits include Writer’s Digest, Women’s Health and Fitness, Dog Fancy, and Oregon Coast Magazine, among others. Teri lives with her husband and children in a dilapidated 1969 ranch style house in Portland, Oregon.

On why she wrote Read My Lips:

"Years ago, my niece was diagnosed as being profoundly deaf. Once the family had a chance to catch its collective breath, my mother in law went on a crusade that lasted until she passed away four years ago. Not only did she fight for her grandchild’s rights, but she went out on a limb to make things better for all deaf children here in Oregon. She was instrumental in getting the Oregon Newborn hearing screening law passed. She used me as a sounding board quite often and I even drove her to the capital a couple of times. The seed was probably planted during that time and grew to fruition while I worked on other things. "

Come back tomorrow when we'll be getting' down with Teri Brown. Erm...or should we just say interviewing her?

Day 4: Giving Thanks Where Thanks Are Due

In getting to know Regina Scott we've learned she writes long hand on airplanes, she's walked in her character's shoes and she has an affinity for costumes, but she also has a long list of loving people she'd like to thank for helping her along the way.

My dedication is long enough that my publisher wondered if it shouldn’t be an acknowledgment instead. Either way, the book really wouldn’t have happened if each of the wonderful people I named hadn’t helped. So, here’s who had a key hand in creating LA PETITE FOUR:

To the Lord for inspiration and encouragement. I believe that the idea for a story, the ability to write, and the courage to keep writing are gifts. It’s only right to thank the Giver for them.

To my Emily and my Larry, for believing in me. It truly is merely a coincidence that my agent, Emily Sylvan Kim, and my lead character Lady Emily Southwell share the same name. But I completely agree with the song by From First to Last: “There’s no one in the world like Emily.” My husband Larry (left), on the other hand, is the wind beneath my wings. He’s become Mister Mom to our sons so I can have more time to write.

To Jessica and Lexa for working so hard. When I accepted the offer from Penguin, I got not only one fantastic editor, but two! Both of them were full of enthusiasm and ideas. It’s been a very interesting journey so far!

To the ever-supportive Kris for brainstorming, Lord Snedley, and blood pooling about decapitated bodies. Yes, really, decapitated bodies. I call Kris my critique partner because people immediately understand the relationship, but she rarely has me review anything she writes. On the other hand, nothing I write as fiction goes out the door without Kris looking at it. I trust her to find the typo on page three as well as the moment my heroine turns whiney. For LA PETITE FOUR, she outdid herself, helping me brainstorm my way out of corners, coming up with way cool supporting characters, and even supplying one of my favorite lines of all time, “Emily was trying to determine precisely how blood would pool around a decapitated body when the footman announced she had visitors.”

And to library staff everywhere, especially Marsha Bates of the Mid-Columbia Library and John Charles of the Scottsdale Public Library, who point us to books that teach, enrich, and set us to dreaming of all we can be. Where would we be without libraries and helpful librarians! Marsha spent hours helping me understand and appreciate the YA genre, giving me reading lists and a personal tour of the YA section, recommending her favorites, and explaining about industry networking opportunities. And I have been proud to associate with librarian, reviewer, and fellow author John Charles for many years. He won my heart when, as Romance Writers of America Librarian of the Year, he said from his spot on a panel on libraries, “My perfect library would be 90% Regency romances and 10% everything else.” God bless you, John! Here’s one more for your library!

We know everyone is so proud of you, Regina. Thank you for sharing those who mean so much to you.

Readers, tomorrow Regina will answer the question, "Why the Regency period?"

Day 2: A Closer Look at Regina

We're back today with the regal Regina Scott, so get settled on your setee and let's get to know this woman who's an intriguing blend of old fashioned charm with modern day sensibilty.

2k8: Tell us, Regina, where do you do most of your writing?

RS: Actually, a lot of my writing is done on airplanes. I work part time as a consultant, and I have to fly all over the country to meet with clients. If I have any work I can do on a plane, of course that comes first. But very often, there’s nothing meaningful I can do squished between two other people for hours at a time, so I write. My first drafts are all done longhand in blank lined journals. To me, the act of writing is a creative process that comes to life in longhand, while the act of editing is an analytical process that really fits best on the computer.

When I’m home, I work in my office, and I surround myself with things that inspire, so when I look up from typing away, I get an instant boost. The silk wall hanging my friend gave me years ago has fairies hidden among the falling leaves, prompting me to look for the unexpected blessing. A needle-point bookmark a reader made for me reminds me that someone out there appreciates my work.

One of my favorite energy boosters is a hand-written sticky over my computer, a quote from author Kate Douglas, who wrote for 20 years before making her first sale. “When I wrote the stories I wanted to write, the way I wanted to write them, when I finally stayed on a path that led to my own satisfaction, the Grail fell softly into my lap.” That speaks to the core story that fills my writing: know who you are and be true to that person.

2k8: That's an excellent value to hold to. Can you tell us how LA PETITE FOUR came to be? How did you begin writing it and make the transition from adult fiction to young adult?

RS: I’d written almost 20 books for adults, but I felt as if something was missing. Then I read a great article in an industry publication about how every author has a core story, a theme that comes out no matter what genre they write in. I got to thinking about my core story: coming to know who you are and how you fit in the world. That works very well in romance and fantasy, two areas I was really interested in. My agent pointed out that I was missing an obvious genre: young adult literature. She thought my voice would be perfect.

I’d read some YA with my sons, but my agent’s enthusiasm made me go out and scour the shelves. Our local library has an awesome YA section, so I read everything I could. And everything I read told me this was where I wanted to be!

One of my published adult books, A DANGEROUS DALLIANCE, featured a quartet of young ladies, sort of a Greek choir for the heroine. I’d had fans ask if I would ever write their story. Here was my chance! I focused on the leader, Lady Emily Southwell, and started writing. Her voice came so easily that I knew I was on to something.

2k8: It's always magical when things just click as if they were meant to be. So, how did you find a publisher for it? Was it hard making a switch?

RS: My agent wasn’t sure how a YA historical would do in the market, so she sent just the concept to several houses. We were stunned with the answers: “We want to see this when it gets done!” Razorbill wasn’t actually one of those houses. Going with them was what a friend calls “A God thing.” My editor called my agent up out of the blue and asked to have lunch, during which they discussed all kinds of things that might fit Razorbill’s list. Purely as an extra, my agent threw in LA PETITE FOUR. My editor loved it, everyone else there loved it, and they made me an offer I was delighted to accept.

2k8: What a wonderful transistion. Did anything else surprise you or catch you off guard when you were writing the book?

RS: Emily’s voice. She was the most real character I’ve ever written. She’ll tell me exactly how she feels about a situation. As we were working through the revision process, my editor suggested a change that seemed pretty basic to me. To my surprise, Emily refused. No matter which way I wrote it, she wouldn’t cooperate. I finally demanded to know why, and she told me in no uncertain terms. Wow. I had no idea she felt that way, but you can be sure those feelings got factored into the story, making it stronger.

You gotta love it when your characters take charge! Regina, thanks for taking the time to speak with us.

Come back Wednesday when we'll take a walk in Lady Emily's shoes.

We're pleased to have you meet Regina Scott

May has been a jam packed month, but we're giddy about having one more debut author. Well, she's sorta a debut author. Regina Scott is actually a best-selling, adult regency author making her YA debut.

Regina always wanted to be an author. She started writing stories for her friends in the third grade. In the eighth grade, she got in trouble for writing a parody of school life, set in a mythical medieval kingdom (hey, she always loved those long dresses too), and lampooning the hottest guy in school. The parody was an instant bestseller, at least at Eisenhower Middle School.

She had to wait a little longer for her next bestseller. After numerous short stories and articles in magazines and trade journals, she got serious about her novel writing and published 17 historical romances for adults, several of which won awards from booksellers and readers. And then her clever agent showed her it would be a lot more fun to write for young adults instead.
Regina and her husband are the parents of two teenage sons. They reside in the Tri-Cities of southeast Washington State and are members of the Church of the Nazarene. Regina is also a decent fencer and owns a historical, fantasy, and science fiction costume collection that takes up over a third of her large closet (remember what we said about long dresses?).

LA PETITE FOUR tells the story of Lady Emily Southwell and her three dearest friends who intend to take Society by storm by hosting the most elegant, elaborate, exclusive ball 1815 London has ever seen. But dashing Lord Robert Townsend insists that Emily honor the engagement their parents spoke of years ago. Has he no sensibilities? No refinement of spirit? No idea he has laid down a challenge Emily has no choice but to accept?

Yet as Emily and her friends come up with ever wilder ways to put Lord Robert in his place, they stumble across secrets better left untold. With the aid of mysterious James Cropper, who seems to be following Lord Robert (or, gasp! Lady Emily?), the girls must determine whether Lord Robert has more up his sleeve than a nicely muscled arm. Otherwise their dreams of a smashing Season just might come crashing down.

Advanced praise for LA PETITE FOUR:

Sophie at "Couture's Fashionable Reads" was kind enough to award La Petite Four a 7 out of 10 in the book's first review. "With clever plot twists, spying, and debonair courtiers, this book will keep you reading to the end!"

Come back tomorrow for an interview with Regina in which she explains the how and the where of her writing process. And take it from us...not many people approach things the way she does.

Day 4: Bacon and Biscuits

Feeling hungry? Sarah Prineas is doling out some viritual biscuits and bacon for breakfast along with the reasoning behind her fattening yummy obsession.

So…biscuits? Bacon?

Yes, there's a whole biscuit subplot running through the three MAGIC THIEF books. Biscuits dripping with butter, and biscuits with bacon, and biscuits with cheese and jam, and stale biscuits dunked in tea, and biscuits used as bait to catch a dragon…

In the appendices at the back of book one, there are even two biscuit recipes. One you'd want to make, the other you'd want to make and then feed to your dog (if you didn't like your dog).

There is a reason for the biscuit plot. Before he gets involved in magical doings, my protagonist, Conn, was a "gutterboy"—a street kid who made his living picking pockets and locks in the Twilight, the bad part of town. Because he hasn't always gotten enough to eat, he's a little obsessed on the subject of food.

Unlike Benet, the biscuit-baking bodyguard/housekeeper from the book, I am not much of a chef. The Pillsbury dough-boy makes the biscuits at my house. But I do know how to cook bacon.

There is an art to it, if you have the patience. You want the bacon nice and crispy, but not burnt, and once the bacon grease gets hot, burnt can happen very fast. I learned how to cook bacon from a friend. What you do is, get a cast-iron pan. Open the bacon package. Throw the bacon in, all in one lump. Cook on very low heat for, like, an hour. Drain it on a paper towel. Save the bacon grease to put on the dog's biscuits.

On the day I signed the book contract with HarperCollins, can you guess what the Prineas family had for dinner?

Now that we've stirred up some some unrelenting cravings in you, make sure to swing by tomorrow when Sarah talks about a book that gave her a whole new perspective on editors.

Day 3: Mapping Things Out

We all know writers have a love of words, but did you know Sarah Prineas also has a love for maps?

An interesting thing about hobbits is they don't like to travel, but Bilbo always loved maps. Especially Thror's map.

I love maps, too, with a deep and geeky love for things like magical runes and "here there be dragons" and the compass rose and place names like "the Withered Heath" and "Mirkwood the Great".

For fantasy writers, maps are really important because we often create what Tolkien called a "secondary world" that is, a world completely removed from the "real" world, with its own geography and history. Maps make real the places of the imagination. That's why you'll see maps in the first couple of pages of many fantasy novels, including THE MAGIC THIEF.
When the book was being designed, my editor asked me for a map sketch to give the artist. I started out by consulting a really excellent map of 18th century London because Wellmet, the city in my book, is very loosely based on it, especially Southwark which was, back then, the seedy side of the Thames. I was inspired by the twisty streets with the funny names:

London map

Then I started sketching, coming up with twisty streets and funny names of my own. This is a detail from the Twilight, the part of Wellmet where you wouldn't want to live:

my map sketch

Then the artist for THE MAGIC THIEF took my sketch and turned it into a real map which is right at the beginning of the book:

book map

I have a puzzle version of Thror's map, by the way. It's one of my favorite things in the world.

What a cool thing to see the evolution of a story map. Now be sure to come back early tommorrow because Sarah will be treating us with biscuits and bacon. Yum!

Day 2: Getting to know Sarah

We're back with the lively Sarah Prineas for an intimate interview with this imaginative author. Settle in for your chance to get the 1 on 1 scoop.

2k8: Tell us, Sarah, where do you do most of your writing? Are you a coffee house writer or house hermit?

Sarah: House hermit. My house is pretty small so I don't have a home office. During my "writing days" (days off from my halftime dayjob) I write at the kitchen table. Keeping me company are the cats, Feather and Sparkle (who, by some weird coincidence looks just like Lady, the cat in THE MAGIC THIEF). This is a picture of them looking symmetrical instead of fighting, which they do on a schedule. I write on a black stealth MacBook computer named Sparks. It has a dragon sticker on it. Also keeping me company when I write is a cup of Lady Grey tea with cream and sugar. Check out the mug! One of my best buddies sent it to me after I got the book's cover art.

2k8: What a great gift! So, how did THE MAGIC THIEF come about? What got you started with the story?

Sarah: It was originally supposed to be a story for Cricket magazine. I had the first couple of lines--"A thief is a lot like a wizard…"--in a file on my computer for over a year: but I didn't have a protagonist or a story. But once I saw the letters to the editor in Cricket asking for mores stories with magic and wizards and more two-part stories, Conn's voice and character leaped into being.

2k8: It's amazing how things evolve, isn't it? How did you end up finding a publisher for it? Give us the deets.

Sarah: My publication story is pretty much textbook and boring. About a month after finishing the novel I got an agent through a referral. The agent had me do some revisions. She sent off the manuscript to 10 editors and after a couple of weeks we did the deal with HarperCollins. As my agent said later, "It's the way deals are supposed to work but never do." Except that it did! It took about a year from the day I started writing the book to the day I sold it.

2k8: Very cool! We like it when things go smoothly. Did anything at all catch you off guard when you were writing it?

Sarah: Oh, yeah. I didn't know I was a children's writer! Well, and first I didn't know it was a novel. It was supposed to be a story, but I found Conn's voice so fun to write and the possibilities of the Wellmet world so exciting, that the story turned into a novel manuscript. When my agent sent it to mainstream children's publishers instead of sf/fantasy ones I was surprised. She knew what she was doing, though.

2k8: We love it when all the pieces fall perfectly together. Now what question won't most people know to ask you? And what's your answer?

Sarah: What's your favorite disease? Lyme disease, definitely. Book one was put onto a "crash" publication schedule, so the editing process happened quickly. My editor called at the beginning of June and asked if I could finish edits by the end of the month. Then I caught Lyme disease (stupid tick). All of a sudden, edits needed to be done by the end of the week. And I did them! With a 102 fever and chills from the Lyme disease. The funny part of it is, my hometown is Lyme, Connecticut. Not funny ha-ha, really…

Wow, talk about rough revisions! And you and Meg Cabot now have something in common. Hopefully you'll share some good things too! Thank you so much for your time, Sarah.

Tune back in tomorrow when Sarah will expound on maps!

Let us introduce you to the magical, mystical Sarah Prineas

We're so excited to introduce you to our magical MG author, Sarah Prineas! Sarah lives not too far from the Iowa River in Iowa City, Iowa, where she works at the University of Iowa. It's a good thing she really likes Iowa… She has two kids and two cats and is married to a mad scientist. Her biscuits are the kind that come out of a can (put 'em on a pan, hope they don't burn...).

THE MAGIC THIEF is her first novel and is the first in a fantasy trilogy—or possibly a series, who knows—about Conn, a scruffy kid with a dark past who survives by picking pockets on the streets of Wellmet. When he picks the wizard Nevery's pocket he sets off on an adventure involving magic, peril, misery eels, pugilistic displays, evil Devices, the most amazing locus magicalicus in the world, and crossing a (mostly) frozen river on a night of stars as bright as daggers. He also eats a lot of biscuits and bacon.

Chapter one can be found here: http://www.magicthief.com/

RAVE REVIEWS!

"Sarah Prineas' vivid descriptions made me feel as if I was walking right next to Conn, her young resourceful hero." –D. J. MacHale author, of the

Pendragon series

"I couldn't put it down. Wonderful exciting stuff."--Diana Wynne Jones, author of Howl's Moving Castle

"Conn's attempts—both sorcerous and light-fingered—to save Wellmet's magic will enthrall readers, leaving them hungry for more of Conn's adventures—and perhaps for a biscuit or two!"--Ysabeau Wilce, author of Flora Segunda

"An uncommonly engaging young narrator kicks this debut fantasy ahead of the general run." --Kirkus (starred)

"What works wonderfully well here is the boy's irresistible voice, which is supplemented by the writings of Nevery in his journal, its creased and stained pages appearing as apart of the design."--Booklist (starred)

Put your hands together for ... M.P. Barker

Please welcome M.P. Barker, debut young adult author of A Difficult Boy.


M.P. is a very interesting and unique member of the Class of 2k8. And we wish you all got a chance to hang around her the way we do. But since you don't, we're doing this interview to help you get to know her. 

Best of all, M.P. is letting us give away her biggest secret.

Here goes ...

M.P. Barker is a TIME TRAVELER!

M.P. Barker: Actually, I'm an archivist and historian. Which, I guess, is sort of the same thing.

2k8: But you worked in nineteenth-century rural New England, right?

M.P. Barker: I was a costumed historical interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village. I milked cows, mucked out barns and found inspiration for my historical novel, A Difficult Boy.

2k8: That mucking out of barns sounds ewwww. But the rest sounds very cool. Are you still time traveling?

M.P. Barker: Well, I work now as an archivist at the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum. This gives me the opportunity to read other people's diaries and letters and snoop through their photo albums.

2k8: Love it! Old-time gossip! What else do you do?

M.P. Barker: I'm also a freelance historical consultant. I've written exhibit text, scripts for historical dramatizations, nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, fundraising materials, and planning studies.

Thanks, M.P. And, now, onto A Difficult Boy. First off, here's the wonderful cover.

cover art credit: Marc Tauss

And here's the flap copy:

It's 1839. Nine-year-old Ethan doesn't want to be an indentured servant. But his family has no other way to pay off their debt, so Ethan must work for Mr. Lyman, a wealthy shopkeeper in their Massachusetts town. At first, Ethan tries to make friends with the Lymans’ other indentured servant, Daniel, a moody Irish teenager. But Daniel, as everyone says, is a difficult boy, and wants nothing to do with him. Then Ethan is shocked to see Mr. Lyman beat Daniel. Soon, Ethan, too, is suffering Mr. Lyman’s blows. Self-preservation finally drives the two boys together, and they begin to form a friendship, but when the boys discover a dark secret about the patron, their lives may be changed forever.



2k8: How in the world did you ever come up with this fantastic idea for a book?

M.P. Barker: I was cataloguing some documents in the archives and came across a 275-year-old bill that an indentured servant’s master had sent to the boy’s mother, charging her for the cost of finding and bringing back her runaway son. That got me thinking: Why did the boy run away? What would happen if his mother couldn’t pay the bill? What kind of crummy cheapskate was that master?

photo credit: Connecticut Valley Historical Museum, from their archives

2k8: And how did the bill become your novel?

M.P. Barker: Well, the document was still on my mind when I went to my weekly writing group. So I began doing a few character sketches. Since I didn’t know as much about the 1770s as I ought to, I transferred the time to the 1830s, which I did know about from working at Sturbridge Village. Once the characters started growing, they began to take on their own lives, as characters have a way of doing, and I sort of lost control. My first draft was 700 pages! Luckily for readers, the published version is now just shy of 300 pages with two discontented indentured servants (one of them Irish), one cruel master with a closet full of skeletons, one son of said cruel master with a deep, dark secret of his own, one dairymaid with a serious crush on the master’s son, and one mysterious peddler who wanders in and out inadvertently stirring up trouble.

2k8: Those characters sound fascinating!

M.P. Barker: Thanks! Turning that material into historical fiction was an adventure and a challenge. I wanted to create characters that readers could identify with, while allowing them to see that those characters aren’t merely modern people wearing funny clothes and living without indoor plumbing. Daniel’s and Ethan’s thoughts and beliefs are very different from ours, yet they grapple with familiar problems: prejudice, abuse, poverty, grief, and loneliness. And they cherish the same things that matter to kids and adults today: loyalty, kindness, trust and most of all, friendship.

2k8: Congratulations, M.P. You are a published author now! And, hey, don't forget you're featured on our blog this entire week. So, make sure you time-travel your little self back here for Tuesday's interview.

Get your game face on!

Somebody has spray-painted our books! The titles are hidden! Our names are missing! But we bet you can still figure out a few things. C'mon, play along!

Here's how this works: Above each cover is a clue and three possible answers. If you're still not sure of the right answer, and want to guess some more, just wait a little bit, and check the comments section below. Class members may add more clues as the day goes on. But if it's instant gratification you're after, hop over to our site to find all the info you need.

When you do come up with the answers, shhhhhh. Don't spoil the fun by posting them. We'll show you the right ones, and the cleaned-up covers, the next day.

Ready?

#1 This Florida author had less than model behavior during her high school math classes.
a. Marissa Doyle b. Nancy Viau c. Debbie Reed Fischer








#2 This is not a middle-grade novel.
a. Sleepless b. The Possibilities of Sainthood c. Undone

#3 This author has been on a nationally televised game show.
a. Jennifer Bradbury b. Jenny Meyerhoff c. Zu Vincent