Well, I actually wrote this book in 2005 before Twilight came out in October of that year. The first draft obviously didn’t mention Stephenie Meyer back then, since it was before anyone had even heard of Edward and Bella and the Cullens and Jacob. The reference at that point was actually to Anne Rice. But by the time I sold the book and was working on the revisions with my editor, Twilight was huge and my editor brought up the good point that Anne Rice was really more of an adult author and would most teens have heard of her nowadays? So we decided to change the reference to Stephenie Meyer instead. I hope she doesn’t mind (not even sure if she knows, honestly), since it was definitely meant as a mark of respect regarding her place in pop culture.

Now, as for why I decided to write a book about vampires…in a way, I really didn’t. I was even working on another book at the time. But I’d recently read this YA vampire book (that I won’t name) that had all these references to Dracula (which I’ve studied like a bazillion times) and it got so much stuff wrong. I was annoyed. And late one night the first line of STBM came in my head and I got up and wrote it down. And then wrote up the first couple of paragraphs. And then I went to bed.

I figured that was it, but when I got up the next day, I had more of Mina in my head and (in the immortal words of John Lee Hooker) it had to come out. I still haven’t finished the other fantasy I was working on, but maybe I’ll work on it after the sequel to STBM is done. So that’s the long and short of it, more or less.

UPDATE: Carrie chose a signed copy of Sucks to Be Me

And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to enter the Grand Prize Contest! Keep the names comin’!

In other news, I picked up some fun vampire stuff today to make up some little “vampire goodie bags” to give away at the Teen Read Week event I’m doing in October. Kinda lucky that it’s getting close to Halloween. You can find all kinds of cool stuff now. And in even more “other news” I’ve gotten a bit of writing in on the sequel. Not as much as I would like, but getting there. Friday was actually a pretty good day — I got in about 1,300 words.

Here are the winners of Days 11, 12 and 13:

• Winner of Anyone But You by Lara Zeises: Olivia (paradoxrevealed)
• Winner of A School for Sorcery by E. Rose Sabin: Tami (blackroze)
• Winner of Supernatural Rubber Chicken: Poultry in Motion by Debra Garfinkle: Elizabeth Mays (doot65)

I thought you guys might also like to see what the Grand Prize looks like (only 4 more days!!!) :-) And there’s no time like the present to enter the Grand Prize Contest!

Ze Grand Prize Pack

It’s kinda hard to see what the tote bag looks like under all that stuff, but it’s cool, I promise you. And isn’t the t-shirt cute?? If you click on the picture to get the larger view, you can see it even better. (leave me a comment and tell me whatcha think of it…I’m thinking of having some more made up and maybe giving prizes every now and then or using them at school events as special prizes…whaddaya think?) Good luck to everyone in the contest!

Update: Grrrr, probably would make sense to include a link again to the main contest post so’s you could enter in any of the remaining daily contests, eh? Seeing as how each entry gets you an entry into the Grand Prize Contest too…

You can learn more about Cecil at her official website:  www.misscecil.com

All About Boy Proof
Meet Egg. Her real name is Victoria Jurgen, but she’s renamed herself after the kick-ass heroine of her favorite sci-fi movie, TERMINAL EARTH. Like her namesake, Egg dresses all in white, colors her eyebrows, and shaves her head. She always knows the right answers, she’s always in control, and she’s far too busy — taking photos for the school paper, meeting with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Club, and hanging out at the “creature shop” with her dad, the special-effects makeup wizard — to be bothered with friends, much less members of the opposite sex. As far as Egg is concerned, she’s boy proof, and she likes it that way. But then Egg meets a boy named Max, a boy who’s smart and funny and creative and cool . . . and happens to like Egg. Could this be the end of the world — at least as Egg knows it?

What happens when an antisocial cinephile meets up with the worldly new guy at school — a quick-witted artist who’s savvy enough to see through her sci-fi disguise?

The Q&A
Here’s my question for Cecil…

What movie do you wish you’d been involved in the production of (from any era)? Why?

And her answer…

Normally I would say Star Wars.  That would be my default answer.  But I think that it might have been really fun to work with Mabel Normand, Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle,  Clara Bow and the other greats from the silent era.  Imagine, if you will, the excitement of being involved the creation of a new art form.  People were running around Hollywood and making movies and it seems as though it was very exciting.  So I’m going to say, while I would love to have been involved in Star Wars or any other number of other movies from a more modern era, I think that it would have been amazing to be involved in the Silent Era.

And Cecil’s question for me…

What is your absolutely favorite vampire a) movie b) TV show and c) book?

And my answer…

Hmmmmmmm. Yeesh, it’s so hard when people ask me my favorite anything. I have a hard time narrowing things down because it kind of depends upon what mood I’m in. So, let’s see…today I’d say…for movie…perhaps the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Kristy Swanson or Once Bitten, Twice Shy with Lauren Hutten. Can you tell I’m going for the funny here?

For TV Show…er, well…I can’t say that I’ve ever actually watched any vampire TV shows. I’ve never seen Buffy or Angel or whatever the name of the new one is with the guy with curly hair. I don’t think I’ve ever watched any vampire TV. I’ll keep thinking, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t. Wait – would The Addams Family or The Munsters count?

As for books…I like Cynthia’s Tantalize a lot. And I liked Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire when I was younger, though it has been so long since I read it that I can’t hardly remember what was in it. Other than that, it’s hard to say since I stopped reading vampire stuff once the publisher bought my book.

Geez, it’s a wonder I wrote a book featuring vampires, huh?

The Giveaway

Ready to meet Egg? All you’ve got to do to win a copy of Boy Proof is visit Cecil’s website and then email me at kim @ kimberlypauley.com with the subject line “Rock On, Miss Cecil!” and tell me…what is one of the names of her bands (any one of ‘em will do — one of the bands she’s been in)? Be sure to enter by September 9th!

And don’t forget to check out all the other posts about the other awesome authors I’m featuring during the Sucks to Be Me Book Launch Party!! And heck, tell your teacher or librarian about how I’m giving away an Author Visit (I’d love to meet you in person!)

You can learn more about Alyson at her official website.

The Latest
Cruel Summer is the story of Colby Cavendish, who is looking forward to a long hot season of parties, beach BBQ’s, and hopefully, more hook-ups with Levi Bonham, the hottest guy in school. But her world comes crashing down when her parents send her away to spend the summer in Greece with her “crazy” aunt Tally. Stranded on a boring island with no malls, no cell phone reception, and an aunt who talks to her plants, Colby finds herself worrying that her new friends have forgotten all about her. But when she meets Yannis, a cute Greek local, everything changes. She experiences something deeper and more intense than a summer fling, and it forces her to see herself, and the life she left behind, in a whole new way…

The Q&A
Here’s my question for Alyson…

You’ve lived in a lot of different places…but where would you live if you could live anywhere (family included, of course)?

And her answer…

Well, it’s actually a toss up between a tiny garret apartment in the left bank of Paris, or a palatial seaside estate right here in Laguna Beach, CA. Either one would be fine.

And Alyson’s question for me…

If you could live inside any book, which would it be?

And my answer…

Wow, that’s a tough question. There are so many books that it would be interesting to experience from the “inside.” There are the magical worlds in Harry Potter and the Narnia Chronicles. And Clive Barker’s very inventive Hours in Abarat. And what about Piers Anthony’s Xanth novels? Oh, to be able to try some of that Boot Rear and argue with Grundy! And what about Anne McCaffrey’s Pern novels? To be able to see (and possibly ride on) dragons? Oh, and geez, what about Terry Pratchett’s Discworld?? That might have to be my final answer. And I’ll have to stop thinking about it or else I’ll just keep going on and on with possible answers (oh, hm, what about Douglas Adams’ books? Or…okay, seriously, am going to stop myself now or I’ll be here all night.)

The Giveaway

Okay, so I just know you wanna read Cruel Summer, right? How about the chance to win a signed copy of it? So, all you gotta do is visit Alyson’s website and then send me an email at kim @ kimberlypauley.com with the subject line “Oh Alyson, Don’t Be Cruel!” (which is, of course, an Elvis reference…and bears no relation whatsoever to Alyson’s potential cruelness because she’s not cruel…eh, you know what I mean) and tell me…what book has she read at least 15 times?  (hint: check out the About Alyson page) And get your entries in for this one by September 8th!!

And just a reminder if you’re popping in directly to this post…be sure to check out all the details about the Sucks to Be Me Book Launch Party ’cause there’s lots more stuff to win (and learn! Didn’t I tell you these were some awesome cool people??)

My guest today is Lauren Mechling, the ultra-fab co-author of the Social Climber series and the author of the brand new, super-awesome-fabutastic (seriously) Dream Girl. Lauren is a New York City kind of girl, which means she’d be way too cool to hang out with me if she weren’t so nice (I’m only kinda kidding about that…I am such a geek, even if I was born in California in the San Francisco area). She’s written for everything from New York Magazine to Jane (again, the ultra-coolness factor) and from the New York Sun to Marie-Claire.

You can learn more about Lauren at her official website: www.laurenmechling.com

The Latest: Dream Girl
Dream Girl is the first book in a series about Claire Voyante. She has been having strange visions ever since she can remember. But the similarity between her name and her talents is purely coincidental. The name is French, and unlike the psychics on TV, she can’t solve crimes or talk to the dead. Whenever Claire follows her hunches, she comes up empty – or ends up in pretty awkward situations. But that all changes on Claire’s 15th birthday, when her grandmother, Kiki-former socialite, fashion icon, and permanent fixture at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel – gives her something a little more extraordinary than one of her old cocktail dresses: a strange black-and-white onyx cameo on a gold chain. It’s not long before Claire’s world becomes a whole lot clearer. And a whole lot more dangerous.

The Q&A

Here’s my question for Lauren…

If you were a girl (or lady, if you want to be grown up about it) detective, what famous detective would you be most like (girl or guy detective is okay…after all, there haven’t been too many famous girl ones)?

And her answer…

First, thank you so much for that sweet introduction. I’m delighted to hear you liked Dream Girl and I can’t wait to sink my teeth (har har) into your new book.

Now, down to serious business. There are a lot of detectives who are near and dear to me. I love Tess Monaghan, the plucky heroine of Laura Lippman’s Baltimore series, and I think Hercule Poirot is a total hoot. But . . . my favorite is Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison of the magnificent BBC “Prime Suspect” series.

They made the first “Prime Suspect” in 1991 so I’ve watched Detective evolve from a young-ish hopeful thing into a steely pro who, after seventeen years of disappointment and injustice (why must her less talented male colleagues always be promoted over her?), remains unrelentingly good at what she does.

And Lauren’s question for me…

Help! Rumor has it there are some vampires on the loose in my neighborhood. I’ve stocked up on garlic but I’m still very afraid. In the event of a vampire bite, what would you advise?

And my answer…

Well, that depends. Do you wanna “live” forever? Join the ranks of the undead? Or do you want to stay…normal?

And it also depends upon which version of vampire-hood we’re talking about. :-) In “my” world (i.e. Mina’s), the garlic wouldn’t do you much good. And most conversions are done by ingesting vampire blood, which you probably didn’t do. While you *could* get converted by being bitten (it’s what happened to Mina’s dad), chances are you were just a snack and you’ll just have a sore neck and a heckuva story to tell your grandkids.

In some vampire myths, you have to be bitten three times before you get turned, so if you just lay low and don’t let your guard down, you’ll be just fine.

The Giveaway

Dream Girl sound as cool to you as it does to me? Well you’ve got a chance to win a copy right here! All you have to do is visit Lauren’s blog and check out what she was doing on the release date for her new book (hint: it was July 22nd) and then email me with the subject line “I’m Dreaming of Lauren!” at kim @ kimberlypauley.com and tell me what she was drinking. And then you should check out the rest of her blog; it’s a lot of fun. Get your entries in by September 6th!

And don’t forget to check out all the other stuff you can win during the Sucks to Be Me Book Launch Par-tay!

You can learn more about Tanya at her official website.

About A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl
Josie, Nicolette, and Aviva are three very different girls who all meet the same bad boy with an irresistible knack for getting into their blood and under their skin. Will the choices they make and the paths they take lead them where they want to go?

It’s been compared to both Judy Blume’s Forever (which features in the book) and to the Vagina Monologues. Sound intriguing? It is.

The Q&A
Here’s my question for Tanya…

I’m dying to ask about Mandy Patinkin, but I’ll be good and ask a book-related question instead. I read your post about the best thing that can happen to a non-fiction writer over at I.N.K. (which was SO awesome, by the way) – so, as someone who also writes fiction, what would be the best thing that could happen to you related to that?

And her answer…

Well, there are two best things—and they’ve happened! The first, hands-down, are the readers who write to me. There’s no feeling in the world that compares to knowing that someone connected with something you wrote for them. And the trust that the teens show me who write in can’t be beat. Those emails make me tear up.

The second thing was meeting one of my heroes—Judy Blume. You could have mopped the floor with me when I found out we were going to meet for lunch. And the best part was—she was as absolutely cool as I had imagined she would be.

And Tanya’s question for me…

Okay, Kimberly—your turn! I have two questions for you. Where, oh where, did you get that fabuloso hat you’re sporting in your author pic? And, when oh when, do you find time to sleep? With all you do, you’re like the energizer bunny! Give the woman a Standing Ovation! (hands clapping wildly in cyber-space)

And my answer…

LOL, well, the hat I actually got at an art show. I wish I could remember the name of the lady I got it from; she made AWESOME hats. It was my Kentucky Derby hat (we lived in Louisville briefly). Isn’t it a cool hat? People should wear hats more. I’ve actually collected hats (mostly old) since I was a teenager. I don’t wear them too often though. Not enough opportunities.

As for sleep…lately, it’s catch as catch can! I’m behind on EVERYTHING since the baby was born (he’s 5 1/2 months old now and the cutest little peanut you can imagine). I can tell you, I sure don’t feel like the Energizer Bunny!

The Giveaway

So, If you haven’t read A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl yet, now you’ve got the perfect chance. To win a copy, all you have to do is go visit Tanya’s site and then email me at kim @ kimberlypauley.com with the subject line “Go Tanya! Go Girls!” and tell me…why did Tanya don thigh-high rubber boots? (Hint: look on the Biography page). Remember to enter by September 5th!!

And don’t forget to check out the main Book Launch Contest Info post for all the details and links! Seriously. You want that monster prize pack. Trust me.

You can learn more about Lauren at her official website:  laurenmyracle.com

The Latest: Bliss
Bliss is something really different. Some people describe it as a horror novel (though Lauren doesn’t and I don’t know that I would either). It does have some scary moments, but it is more of a story of the loss of innocence. Bliss grew up on a commune and now she has been thrust into the elite Crestview Academy. She really is an innocent and wants to make friends, but her friendship with a troubled girl puts Bliss (and anyone she is kind to) in serious danger.

Here’s Lauren’s favorite quote (to date) about Bliss, from the lovely Bookshelves of Doom review site:  “I started this book without knowing that to start Bliss is to immediately create the need to finish it. I was hooked from page one, sentence one…  A creepy, tense, thrilling, hair-raising, goosebump-inducing, yicky and sometimes downright twisted ghost story.”  Go, Bliss!

The Q&A
Here’s my question for Lauren…

You wrote How to Be Bad along with two other awesome authors: E. Lockhart and Sarah Mlynowski. What was it like to work on a group project, especially with those two?

And her answer…

Fabulous, wonderful, and more FUN than any other writing project I’ve ever embarked on.  Oh, and also more work.  Three brains writing together = not a third of the work apiece; three brains writing together = three times the work.  I hated group projects in college.  HATED them, probably because:
a) I was incredibly socially awkward;
b) the peeps I was assigned to work with never seemed very…smart (soooooooo obnoxious to say, I know);
c) it just seemed like a big ol’ waste of time.
But working with Emily and Sarah (on purpose, mind you!  we CHOSE to do this!) was exhilarating.  Like, I’d write my chaps knowing that Sarah and Emily would read them almost immediately, which meant almost immediate feedback.  So awesome!  And not only that, but feedback from authors I admire so much.  I learned all sorts of things about writing from them.  We had to be on our best game with each other, if that makes sense…if nothing else because we wanted to wow each other and make each other laugh.

The VERY best thing about writing HOW TO BE BAD with Emily and Sarah, however, was…Emily and Sarah.  We wrote a book; we grew a friendship.  I love them both dearly and feel so lucky to have my life entertwined with theirs.

And Lauren’s question for me…

Kimberly.  Babe.  *Loved* Sucks to Be Me.  Seeing as how you’re a vampire gal, what in the world do you make of the insanity surrounding the release of BREAKING DAWN?  And I must know:  would Mina be friends with Bella????

And my answer…

I have to admit that I haven’t read past the second book, mostly because I stopped reading vampire novels after I found out my book was going to be published (I actually wrote Sucks to Be Me in 2005 before Twilight came out that October). So I wasn’t standing in line for Breaking Dawn or anything… However, I think it’s really cool, all the craziness. Any time people (of any age) get that excited about reading is a good thing as far as I’m concerned. I’ve read lots about the controversy over the book (people hated it, people loved it, etc. etc.) and all I can say is – hey, whether you liked it or not, it excited you and enraptured you and emotionally impacted you. That’s a good thing. Go reading!

And would Mina be friends with Bella? Hmmmmmmm. I don’t know. Somehow I don’t think they’d really run in the same circle and they definitely don’t have the same sense of humor. I think they’d probably nod to each other in the hallways, but they wouldn’t be buddy-buddy.

The Giveaway
Intrigued by the description of Bliss above? Well, you’re in luck. I’ve got an ARC copy to give away of this awesome, very intense book. And all you gotta do is visit Lauren’s website and then email me at kim @ kimberlypauley.com with the subject line “Lauren Rocks!” by September 4th and answer this question…what is Lauren’s favorite guilty breakfast (Hint: look on the Q&A page of Lauren’s website)?

If you popped in here directly, be sure to check out the main contest info post for all the nitty-gritty, including how to win a hugely awesome grand prize pack of books and stuff!

You can learn more about Cynthia at her official website and her blog: Cynsations.

About Tantalize…
Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her hybrid-werewolf first love threatens to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. And just as she and her uncle are about to debut Austin’s red hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef.

Can Quincie transform the new hire into a culinary dark lord before opening night? Will Henry Johnson be able to wow the crowd in fake fangs, a cheap cape, and red contact lenses? Or is there more to this earnest fresh face than meets the eye?

As human and preternatural forces clash, a deadly love triangle forms and the line between predator and prey begins to blur. Who’s playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along before she loses everything?

The Q&A
Here’s my question for Cynthia…

Tantalize is primarily a vampire book, but I love how you envisioned the were-people. Can you tell me a bit about how you came up with that?

And her answer…

As I was researching folk-tale and literary vampires, I kept an ongoing list of powers typically associated with them.

The ability to turn into a wolf was one of those powers, and from there, I thought it might be interesting to write a murder mystery in which the central question was whether a vampire in wolf form or a werewolf was the killer.

The glitch was that I’m a huge fan of real-life wolves. Really, I have both a photo of a wolf and a painting of a wolf (by Cherokee artist Donald Vaughn) hanging in my office. And I felt that, as a competing predator to humans, the wolf had already received enough bad PR without my piling more on.

But then I realized that my werewolves could be natural beings rather than demonic ones. I decided that they would be part of a competing line of humanity, one that could both trace its heritage to the Ice Age and interbreed with us. As natural beings, each would have the free will to choose the kind of “person” he or she wanted to be.

As long as there were Wolves, it only made sense that there would be other types of shapeshifters, especially because there are different shifter myths from all over the world (the werecat in Japan, for example).

So there’s some diversity—not only werwolves and Cats but also werearmadillos, wereoppossums, and were-turkey vultures, a selection largely inspired by the Central Texas setting and my affection for comedic relief. My next novel, Eternal (Candlewick, March 2009) also will feature two new kinds of shifters.

It’s been great fun researching the various animal forms—in books, videos, even visiting the Austin Nature Center—to craft the various types as resonant characters, grounded in both sides of their nature.

And Cynthia’s question for me…

In modern literary and film interpretations, the vampire arguably reigns as the sexiest of Gothic creatures. But if you had to pick a first runner-up between the other popular monsters—werewolves, ghosts, zombies, ghouls, faeries, etc.—which would you choose and why?

Oh geez, I think I’d have to say faeries. I’m a huge fan of faerie tales and myths and even studied it some in college. I’ve got a huge collection of books about them (including some really old and obscure ones) and can tell you all kinds of random things about the origins of the Cinderella myth (did you know there were Cinder-Lads?) and other stories. Besides, there are so many different kinds of faeries – there’s truly something for everyone whether you like the puckish little imps or the impossibly beautiful Faerie Queen (and talk about deadly – what’s scarier than the UnSeelie Court?).

I actually have a middle grade book that’s half finished that features faeries, but I stopped work on it when it seemed like a ton of new faery-related books were out (I was already discouraged from agents telling me that vampires were so over…of course, they turned out wrong, but hey). It’s kind of a Mistress Masham’s Repose & Coraline kind of thing (not that I dare compare myself to either T.H. White or Neil Gaiman!). I hope to get back to it someday since you could say those kinds of stories are some of my favorite.

Honestly…if someone had told me that my first book would be about vampires, I’d have probably laughed at them! Goes to show you never can tell.

And here’s an extra little tidbit that’s kind of related…in the first draft of Sucks to Be Me, the author lady that Uncle Mortie takes Mina to visit was originally a werewolf. But I ultimately decided that I didn’t want to get into a whole other set of myths for such a bit part so she just became a regular, non-furry weirdo instead.

The Giveaway
Not only can you win a copy of Tantalize, but you can also win an official Sanguini’s t-shirt! Woot! All you have to do is visit Cynthia’s website (which is awesome) and then email me at kim @ kimberlypauley.com with the subject line “Cyn is a Sensation!” and tell me…which of the Tantalize discussion questions in the Reader’s Guide do you find more discussion provoking? Please respond by September 3rd, 2008.

(If you just popped in here, don’t forget to check out all the book launch party details, including what’s up with the monster prize pack at the end!)