Welcome Joanne Levy

Today I'm excited to host debut middle grade author, Joanne Levy, whose very funny (and cleverly titled) SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE just hit the shelves.

ABOUT JOANNE LEVY

 

Joanne Levy’s love of books began at a very early age.  Being the youngest and the only female among four children, she was often left to her own devices and could frequently be found sitting in a quiet corner with her nose in a book.  After much teenage misadventure, Joanne eventually graduated from university and now spends her weekdays as an executive assistant at one of Canada’s big banks planning meetings and thwarting coffee emergencies.  When Joanne isn’t working, she can usually be found at her computer, channeling her younger self into books. 

Joanne still lives in Ontario with her husband and kids of the furred and feathered variety.  You can follow Joanne on Twitter or find her on Facebook. 

ABOUT SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE 

After she’s hit by lightning at a wedding, twelve-year-old Lilah Bloom develops a new talent: she can hear dead people. Among them, there’s her overopinionated Bubby Dora; a prissy fashion designer; and an approval-seeking clown who livens up a séance. With Bubby Dora leading the way, these and other sweetly imperfect ghosts haunt Lilah through seventh grade, and help her face her one big fear: talking to—and possibly going to the seventh-grade dance with—her crush, Andrew Finkel.

“In a fresh, frank and funny first-person voice, Lilah tells of her ghostly encounters from the perspective of a normal Jewish girl coping with abnormal powers.” -Kirkus

 

GET TO KNOW JOANNE LEVY

 

MAUREEN: Where do you most like to read and how often? 

JOANNE: I read in bed every night—I can’t get the mental gears to stop turning without some reading time, no matter how tired I am. I usually get in at least a half-hour, but it could be  more, if I’m reading something really compelling.

MAUREEN: Where in the world would you most like to visit? 

JOANNE: I’ve always wanted to see the pyramids, and they’re definitely on my bucket list. Someday, I will get there, although if I’m going to sit on a plane for a long time, Tahiti definitely sounds appealing, too!

MAUREEN: Would you rather sky dive or scuba dive? 

JOANNE: Scuba Dive for sure. When I was a kid, I would lay in the bathtub, pretending I was a mermaid. I’ve always loved water and swimming and feel very at home in the water. I’ve done a lot of snorkeling, but have tried Scuba once and am eager to do it more. Not to mention, sky diving sounds really dangerous and downright terrifying.

MAUREEN: Both are fun. :) What’s your favorite kind of cheese? 

JOANNE: Brie. Creamy and smooth with a great mouth-feel. Also excellent melted. But please cut the rind off. Blech.

MAUREEN: What’s the most romantic thing anyone ever did for you? 

JOANNE: Married me and said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me (and my crazy). If that’s not romance, I don’t know what is.

MAUREEN: What’s your favorite dessert? 

JOANNE: Yes. Ha! Actually, I would have to say my mother’s signature chocolate cheesecake. I could eat that stuff every day and never tire of it.

MAUREEN: What do you like on your burger? (and do you take your burger veggie or beefy?). 

JOANNE: I’m an equal-opportunity burger-lover. I enjoy beef, turkey, bison or veggie – just depends on the mood and what’s available. As for toppings, ketchup is a given, but also cheese—goat cheese, cheddar or brie (depends on the burger). Something crunchy, too, like lettuce, sprouts or cucumber.

(Based on all these food questions, you might think I really like to eat. You’d be right.)

MAUREEN: Do you remember your grade one teacher’s name?   

JOANNE: Yes! Mrs. Campbell – she was really nice.

MAUREEN: Did you belong to a clique in high school? Which one of the standard high school stereotypes did you best fit in to? 

JOANNE: If you can call ‘smoker who hung outside the West doors’ a clique, then yes. I didn’t really fit into any specific group or stereotype, but I knew a lot of people from the different ones and got along well with most. I had a few close friends, but don’t think we had any particular clique association. But now that I think about it, perhaps we did get labelled, but no one told me what that label was. Huh.

MAUREEN: Salsa or guacamole? 

JOANNE: Guacamole, hands down (there we go with the food again).

GOTTA ASK -- GOTTA ANSWER  ☺

MAUREEN: Do you believe in ghosts? 

JOANNE: I do. Maybe not the same way as they’re portrayed in my book, as fully conversational spirits who are out for mischief, but yes, I believe there are some entities out there. I believe in the stories about our loved ones staying around and sending us signals through dreams and maybe turning electrical devices on and off. I also believe there is something to the more ominous stories about people who do a little haunting. Not to say I believe all the stories out there, but I do think there is something to the concept of spirits not dying with the body. And hey, they sure are fun to read and write about!

JOANNE ASKS READERS

I’d love to know if you all believe in ghosts—and to what degree? Do you think spirits surround us?

STAY IN TOUCH WITH JOANNE HERE:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11354687-small-medium-at-large

Web: http://joannelevy.com

Barrie Summy

I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS

Today I'm excited to be hosting my good friend, Barrie Summy, who's fourth book, I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS, the final book in her Sherry Holmes Baldwin mysteries series releases today.

In true free-spirit form, Barrie decided to only answer one of the many questions I asked her. (A true woman of mystery.) But at least it was the "Gotta Answer!" question. :) And she did an uber-fabulous job of answering, too.

Please welcome, Barrie Summy:



Barrie Summy grew up in Canada on a steady diet of books and tobogganing. She worked as a lifeguard, a cashier and a speech therapist before figuring out she really did want to be a writer. Now, she lives in San Diego with her husband, their four children, a poodle named Dorothy, two veiled chameleons and an incubator full of chameleon eggs.

GOTTA ASK -- GOTTA ANSWER


MAUREEN:  Sherry is such a fabulous amateur sleuth. Did you always plan to write mysteries for kids? What was your inspiration for this series?

BARRIE:

Well, it all goes back to my childhood! Seriously.

I grew up in a very nice family consisting of a mother, a father and three daughters.

However, it must be said that my very nice parents had some very odd rules. One of the oddest rules was the meat-&-potates-and-dessert-book rule. It went like this: You could read as many meat-&-potatoes books in a row as you wanted, but to read a dessert book, you had to first read at least one meat-&-potatoes book. Oh dear. The first daughter (that was me) was hugely addicted to Nancy Drew mysteries. And Nancy Drew mysteries were dessert books, which meant I never got to read two Nancy Drews in a row. I vowed to one of my sisters that I would grow up and write a Nancy Drew mystery, probably two. In a row.

Many, many, many years later, I wrote NANCY DREW AND THE MYSTERY AT THE WILD ANIMAL PARK. Luckily, this book was rejected. I re-wrote it as I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES with a brand-new detective: 13 year old Sherry (short for Sherlock) Holmes Baldwin who wants more mall time, less homework and a certain eighth-grade boy.

Sherry's fourth mystery, I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS, comes out on May 10! This book was uberfun to write because I went to Hollywood THREE TIMES for research. And I used a bunch of real places in the book. And I used a bunch of real names of friends, my kids' friends, my nephews and nieces.



In I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS, Sherry wins a trip to Hollywood with her BFF Junie, and her dad. While there, Sherry gets involved in a new case. And she ends up going undercover to find out who's breaking into celebrity homes.

Here I am, working uberhard in Hollywood, matching my handprint against Marilyn Monroe's.


Sherry, her dad and Junie stay at the Hollywood Roosevelt. In real life, this hotel owns a mirror that is visited by the ghost of Marilyn Monroe!

Sherry and Junie hang out at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Sherry and her dad lunch at the famous Pink's Hot Dogs.

Sherry and Junie check out the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

MAUREEN:  Wow! That was some answer, and some inspiration for the series. No wonder they are so fabulous. :)

BARRIE ASKS:

I got a Kindle for Mother's Day! And I'd love to download a slew of books. What do you recommend?

GIVEAWAY!!

Barrie will give away two prizes, one each for each of two lucky commenters: a signed hardback of I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS and I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS t-shirt. **

** Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH BARRIE HERE:

my blog/website: www.barriesummy.com
the book trailer on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak_PealXuCo
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Barrie.Cox.Summy

Claudia Osmond

GET LOST IN A FABULOUS STORY FOR KIDS!

Claudia Osmond is an only child, wife, and mother who loves caramel apples, hates snakes, stands for social justice, sits at the feet of her Muse, accepts the fact that she’s getting older, denies the idea that her best years are behind her, reads voraciously, writes passionately, sings only when no one’s listening, and admits that she wrote her very first novel in a closet ~ both literally and figuratively speaking.

SMUDGE'S MARK

“With a shaky hand, I laid the brass key on the paper flat side down, and slid it over top of the sketch. It fit the shape exactly. Then the line circling the key uncurled and reformed itself into two words: FIND IT.”

Simon is a fourteen-year-old Orphan with No Options: an O.W.N.O. And “Oh no” pretty much sums up his life. He’s stuck in Grimstown with his prank-pulling grampa and a housekeeper-slash-nanny from you-know-where. Worse, Simon can’t remember a thing about his childhood. Then one night a bizarre dream unlocks some of those forgotten memories, leaving Simon with half of a key in his pajama pocket and a growing awareness that he’s in the middle of a dangerous plot that threatens to destroy Emogen, a hidden realm connected to Earth. In order to save Emogen – and his best friend – from a deadly curse, Simon needs to find out who he really is. But can he discover his true identity before it’s too late?

GET TO KNOW THE AUTHOR

Maureen: What’s your favorite movie of all time?

Claudia: Fried Green Tomatoes. I was even inspired to make them once. Key word: once.

Maureen: Ha! Love that movie, too, but have never tried the delicacy. Where do you most like to read and how often?

Claudia: In bed, every night before I go to sleep. And if I happen to have a free Saturday or Sunday I love to read all day long on the couch in the living room.

Maureen: What’s the first book you remember reading?

Claudia: Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? by Dr. Seuss. I loved that book so much I read it over and over. I even tape-recorded myself reading it so I could hear it being read back to me.

Maureen: Oh, I love that you recorded yourself reading. ☺ What’s your favorite fairy tale?

Claudia: The Bremen Town Musicians by the Brothers Grimm. When I was little, there was a show about it that was cast with puppets, I think – it wasn’t animated. It scared the bejeebies out of me, but I watched it every chance I got. I’ve loved it ever since.

Maureen: I remember that show! So, onto more important things: Hiking boots or high heels?

Claudia: Hiking boots. Definitely hiking boots.

Maureen: What was your first boyfriend’s name? Would you want to meet him again?

Claudia: Herbie Hunter. Uh, no. No offense, Herbie.

Maureen: I'm sure Herbie is crushed. If you could interview one person (and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?

Claudia: Not so much of an interview as a conversation: I’d love to talk to both of my grandfathers. I didn’t grow up around my grandparents, and I’d love to hear their stories. I’ve heard bits and pieces about both of them and it sounds like they were very interesting characters. So much so that Smudge’s grampa in my book SMUDGE’S MARK is based on one of them. Well, from the image I’ve conjured up of him, anyway.

Maureen: What do you like on your burger? (and do you take your burger veggie or beefy?)

Claudia: Veggie burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers, mustard, ketchup, mayo. Mmmmmm … my mouth is watering!

Maureen: Mine is now, too. **Note to self: Do not post interviews when hungry. ** Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Claudia: I do read reviews, and always tell myself not to: Especially after reading a bad one. And, yes, bad reviews affect me and get me down and sometimes even make me question my ability. Even reading a good review doesn’t completely erase the bad feelings caused by bad reviews, especially if the last bad review I read was particularly nasty. But I figure if I quit reading reviews in order to avoid the bad ones, then I’ll miss the good stuff people have to say, too. You can’t seem to win either way.

Maureen: I'm just starting to get some early reviews and totally relate to this, already. What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

Claudia: Funny thing about quirks is you don’t know you have them! I had to ask my husband to answer for me. His response: I leave glasses half-full of water all over the house.

Maureen: Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most?

Claudia: Least: In the stereotypical future. I imagine lacquered gold and silver head-to-toe body-suits, a la Black Eyed Peas, would be a literal pain in the derrière (and everywhere else).

Most: Today. I love my jeans, t-shirts, and moccasins.

Maureen: *snort on the clothes-in-the-future image* What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

Claudia: This might sound obvious, but my biggest dream was that kids would love SMUDGE'S MARK - especially kids who read reluctantly, those who wouldn't normally choose to pick up a book on their own. And I'm thrilled to say that dream has been realized as I've been told that Smudge is being used in tutoring sessions where the boys in the group don't want to do their school work, they just want to read. They just want to read! I've also been told that Smudge has been the first book some kids have read all the way through; that Smudge was the book that sparked an interest in reluctant readers to read more; that Smudge has made kids laugh, get up early to read before school, even read under the covers with a flashlight! I've also been told that a single, dog-chewed copy of SMUDGE'S MARK is currently being passed around from child to child in a small village in Malawi, Africa. What more could I ever ask for when I hear these kinds of things?

Maureen: That's so amazing!!

GOTTA ASK -- GOTTA ANSWER ☺

Maureen: What’s your favorite kid joke?

Claudia: I can never seem to remember jokes, but for some odd reason I can retain a fair number of Chuck Norris jokes. :/ This is a good one I heard recently:

Superman and Chuck Norris were in fight. The loser had to wear his underwear over top of his pants.

Maureen: Oh! Why do I find that so funny???? Do you have a question you'd like to ask your fans?

CLAUDIA ASKS:

What's more important to you, as a reader: good writing or a good story? Can you overlook one for the sake of the other?

GIVEAWAY!!

Claudia would like to offer a signed copy of SMUDGE'S MARK to a lucky random commenter!

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH CLAUDIA's LATEST NEWS HERE:

http://www.smudgesmark.com/

http://www.claudiaosmond.wordpress.com/

Twitter: ClaudiaOsmond

Facebook Claudia Osmond Writer of Words


Make sure you come back tomorrow when Heather hosts Katy Madison!