The time it was about visions

I've been a huge fan of Lisa McMann for a while.  I devoured her Wake trilogy, as well as her other books. When Crash [the first book in the Visions trilogy] came out, I read it right away and when I got my hands on an arc of Bang, I was ecstatic. [I also got Lisa to agree to give me Sawyer, so back off.]

A while back, Lisa did a sneak attack at a [sort of] local Barnes & Noble and signed some stock.  After I saw her tweet about it, I drove to that specific store to pick up a signed copy of Crash. And I did leave some of my books at Changing Hands in AZ to get them signed but, I still haven't had a chance to meet her. However, I was able to catch her in between touring  and she agreed to do an interview with me. 

Before we get to her answers, let's check out the book!

Jules should be happy. She saved a lot of people’s lives and she’s finally with Sawyer, pretty much the guy of her dreams. But the nightmare’s not over, because she somehow managed to pass the psycho vision stuff to Sawyer. Excellent.

Feeling responsible for what he’s going through and knowing that people’s lives are at stake, Jules is determined to help him figure it all out. But Sawyer’s vision is so awful he can barely describe it, much less make sense of it. All he can tell her is there’s a gun, and eleven ear-splitting shots. Bang.

Jules and Sawyer have to work out the details fast, because the visions are getting worse and that means only one thing: time is running out. But every clue they see takes them down the wrong path. If they can’t prevent the vision from happening, lives will be lost. And they may be among the casualties…

Sounds good, right? [Yes, it's amazing!]

1. Where did the idea for the Visions series come from?

This is the only book/series I've written that I can't remember the exact inspiration for, mostly because it had a long and complicated journey to publication. I do remember that while researching for the Wake trilogy, I ran across something about narcolepsy, and then I dug deeper and found that some narcoleptics have vision-like dreams, and that was probably where it started. I wrote an entire manuscript about a guy with narcolepsy who sees a vision of a truck hitting a building and a big explosion, and that concept actually stayed with the story throughout. But I trashed that manuscript because the narcolepsy angle was too similar to the dream angle in Wake, and the various other pieces of the guy's backstory weren't coming together very smoothly. But I couldn't forget the vision/truck/explosion thing, and eventually I started a new manuscript from scratch with Jules, a girl who sees that vision. This time all the pieces fell together with her family, her father's depression and hoarding, and of course, the meatball food truck.

2. What do you love most about Jules and Sawyer and why should we root for them?

I love their innocence in their relationship, and their brave and sometimes reckless naïveté. It's very endearing. It also stresses me out.

3. The family dynamic for both Jules and Sawyer is a prominent aspect of their lives. Tell me how the family life developed for each of them.

Everyone in Sawyer's family is basically horrible, though his cousin Kate is awesome and his mother has potential. There's a lot of depth to the dysfunction in Sawyer's family, and not all of that will be revealed because we only see what he shows us or tells us. Jules's family is slightly less messed up--her dad has hoarding and depression illnesses, and her mom is the glue that strains to hold everyone together, though she's growing more fragile.

It's Jules's relationship with her brother Trey and her sister Rowan that saves everything, and their dynamic is probably one of my favorite aspects of the series. I've always wanted to write a family where the siblings not only get along, but they have each other's backs, and they aren't awkward or always fighting. When they're together, that's when the real heart of each Demarco sibling shines through. I love so much that they are friends as well as siblings. And they are so funny together.

4. What was your favorite part of writing the series?

I mentioned Jules's sibling relationship which carries on throughout the trilogy (and readers will see more of Rowan and Trey in Bang and in the final book, Gasp), but there are some fantastic new people and scenes coming in Gasp that were an absolute thrill and joy to write. I guess we'll have to wait until next summer (2014) to find out what those are, though!

5. Describe Bang in 5 words.

Sexy. Frustrating. Dangerous. Suspenseful. Kittens.

Speed [ish] round:

1. What three things would you take to a desert island?

Boat, airplane and someone who knows how to operate them?

2. What are you reading right now?

I just finished reading Jennifer Nielsen's book in the Infinity Ring series, which was awesome, and Reality Boy by A.S. King -- another winner for her. Recently read and loved Aaron Hartzler's Rapture Practice, and managed to nab an arc of Five Six Seven Nate! by Tim Federle -- it's a sequel to his awesome and hilarious MG/YA Better Nate Than Ever. Loved it! If you haven't read the first one, go get it.

3. Who are your favorite swoony boys?

The funny ones always get my vote.

4. Are there any authors that you fangirl over?

I was a little fangirl-y over Veronica Roth at the National Book Festival a few weeks ago. I hadn't met her before and she has super cute hair and she's a rock star and well, you know. Turns out she's extremely lovely, too. I'm so glad I had a chance to say hello. Giada De Laurentiis was at that festival too with her new book for kids, but I was too scared to go up to her because I knew I'd say something ridiculously stupid. :D

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Huge thanks to Lisa for being awesome and taking the time. Make sure you check out her website, blog, Twitter and Facebook.  And don't forget to add all of her books to your GoodReads TBR shelf.

Now.  Can't wait to get your hands on Bang? I've got a copy for you. It is US only. For some reason, Book Depository isn't releasing it until November and INT shipping costs more than the book does. :(

Additional rules are under "terms & conditions" on the Rafflecopter widget.

**Good Luck!!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The time we drove to Arizona

Hubs is a big fan of Dee Snider. I'll admit, I did love his reality show Growing Up Twisted. The family dynamic is something I wasn't expecting and it was hilarious.

When I saw that Dee had written a book and was touring, I checked to see if he was coming to LA. I figured Book Soup was sure thing. However, Arizona was the closest he was scheduled get to us. I called Changing Hands bookstore and ordered books, putting us in the "A" group.

The day of the signing we left around 10am. Our plans were always to drive back home after the signing [something that sounds a lot better when planning a trip than actually doing it]. I tweeted that we were leaving and then tweeted to Lisa McMann to tell her that I was bringing all of her books with me, just in case she was a huge Twisted Sister fan and decided to show up at Changing Hands. She answered me by saying I had a 50/50 chance, that she did have to pick up some books.

We got to Arizona without any serious mishaps. Other than the temperature increasing with every mile, it was a horribly boring drive.

Lucy said it was 101 when got into Tempe.

We got to the bookstore around 4 and went in to pick up our books. There was a local radio station set up in the parking lot, across from the front doors and people were already congregating.

After grabbing some food, we headed back to the bookstore. Lisa had tweeted me and said that she wouldn't be able to make it, that life was just too crazy due to her son graduating from high school next week. She was more than willing to sign the books if I left them at Changing Hands as she was going to be at the store for an event on 5/25.

Enter Brandi.

Brandi went above and beyond in helping me. There were forms to fill out, shipping to pay for and I needed to buy an additional book, but it was all worth it. Brandi even said that she had my books on her desk and she would give them to Lisa herself at the event. [Cue internal fangirling and squeeing].

For Dee, we were told that the line would start at 6. Hubs and I just happened to be at the back of the store when they started lining people up. Since we were in the A group, one of the guys said that I could just sit down and be the front of the line.

After a few minutes, people started filing in. There were radio contest winners who got in line in front of us. We were told that Dee would sign memorabilia with a book purchase. Hubs was excited about that because we brought the lobby card for Dee's movie Strangeland just in case.


Dee got there just after 7pm.  The huge line moved super fast.  They had someone to take photos for you [and she was awesome, she didn't just take one, there were multiple pictures]. 

When I got up to Dee, he commented on my tattoo, saying that he really liked it and it's "wicked colors".  When I thanked him for going on tour, he thanked me in return for coming out.  I then mentioned that we drove from San Diego to see him and said he really appreciated it. 

When Hubs got up to Dee, Dee thanked him for traveling to come to the event.  And when Hubs asked if Dee would use my silver sharpee on the lobby card, Dee told Hubs that I was a keeper.  :D

A proven point that the rock star attitude is all for show, Dee Snider is a gentleman.  He is polite, super friendly and absolutely grateful for every fan that he has. And that shows in the way he acts.

The time Mysterious Galaxy had a sale

At some point in the last couple of weeks, I went into Mysterious Galaxy and got an invitation to the big New Years Day sale... I stopped myself from buying anything until after we went to the sale.  Armed with a list, I was at the Starbucks next door at 9:15 am.  By 10, there was a bit of a crowd. 

The details of the sale was 1-2 books, 20% off.  3-4 books, 25% off.  5 or more, 30% off.  They also had all sorts of "picture books" on sale, but I wasn't concerned with those.  Straight to YA I went.

I had my phone in hand, checking their online inventory while scouring the shelves. Unfortunately, they didn't have a lot of the things I wanted. I had my heart set on getting all sorts of signed things, but I'm starting to realize that I need to be more proactive with paying attention to new books and when they come out.

Needless to say, I didn't walk out empty handed.  I did get White Cat by Holly Black, Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake in addition to two autographed books.

I read the Wake series by Lisa McMann in 3 consecutive nights.  I'd always known she wrote this book, but for some reason, I never got around to buying it.  Now I have a signed copy.

I was interested in Drink Slay Love by Sarah Beth Durst just from the cover.  It's been on my TBR list for a while. 

Now I'm off to make a list of books released in 2012.