The Writer Games

I ordered some copies of The Boys Next Door to give away, and in examining them I noticed that the book is now in its 7th printing! This morning I'm putting the finishing touches on the revision of the sequel, Endless Summer, and the good news is helping me push through to the end.

On another front, after hanging out in the 2000's for months, Going Too Far has inexplicably jumped to #750 in the rankings on BarnesandNoble.com. Not that I check this obsessively or anything. *blank stare* Did one of you order 20 copies? Y'all are sweet. I am very thankful to have solid sales and loyal readers with big mouths. :)

Have a wonderful holiday! What will you be reading? I'm continuing my trek through the Jennifer Crusie canon with Fast Women...

The Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit is a webring of YA novelists. Check these postings for the latest releases!

BLACK IS FOR BEGINNNINGS

The BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES series that put a spell on more than half a million readers continues – in graphic novel format! Prophetic nightmares. Near-brushes with death. Killers pursuing her and her friends. Stacey Brown knows that being a hereditary witch isn’t all it's cracked up to be.

All she really wants to do is work things out with Jacob and figure out what to do with the rest of her life. But before Stacey and Jacob can have a future, they must face their pasts. BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS reveals the never-before-seen backstory - and what lies ahead - for the young, spellcasting lovers.

BLACK continues the harrowing adventures of Stacey and Jacob in the wake of Jacob's brush with death. Ever since he lost his memory, Jacob hasn't been able to remember Stacey - his own soul mate. He leaves Massachusetts, returning to his childhood home in Colorado, hoping to jog his memory. What he remembers is Kira, his ex-girlfriend. As Jacob works to piece together his past, will there be room for Stacey in his future?

DEADLY LITTLE LIES

Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, a new boy at school who had a very mysterious gift – psychometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry and experiencing strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow been transferred to her.

Ben returns to school, but he remains aloof, and Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Camelia makes the painful decision to let him go and move on. Adam, the hot new guy at Knead, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't. But when Camelia and Adam start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events uncovers secrets from Ben’s past – and Adam's. Someone is lying, and it's up to Camelia to figure out who – before it's too late.

Jenn: In my book The Ex Games, Hayden has to overcome her fear of heights to make it as a professional snowboarder. What are your characters afraid of, and how do they conquer their fears?

Laurie: My characters are afraid of getting too close for fear of hurting the ones they love.

Jenn: What has been your greatest fear as a writer, and how have you dealt with it?

Laurie: I sometimes fear that no one will show up at my signings. To conquer this fear, I almost always have a spread of baked goods and/or candy at my events. This way, even if people aren’t interested in my work, they can grab a snack and check things out. Another way to conquer this fear, team up with another writer to do a signing together.

Jenn: In The Ex Games, Hayden goes head-to-head with her ex-boyfriend in a snowboarding challenge. Are you involved in any sports? How do you think being a woman has affected you as an athlete?

Laurie: I like to play tennis, do dance-aerobics, and do yoga and Pilates. I’ve never been a big athlete, per se--I much prefer non-aggressive sports, so being a female has affected me as far as sports go.

Jenn: For good or ill, I design my own web site. Who designed yours? What’s your favorite part of your web site that you wish more people would visit?

Laurie: Chloe Weil designed my website and now the fabulous and talented Little Willow at Rock the Rock Web Design maintains it. I wish more people would visit Stacey’s page and Camelia's page.

Jenn: What’s your favorite gizmo advertising your book?

Laurie: I love my booktrailers for Blue is for Nightmares, Bleed, Project 17, and Deadly Little Secret

Laurie, thanks so much for spending Friday with us!

Well! I turned in the revision of Forget You. Now I'm working on the revision of Endless Summer, which is lots of fun because my new editor has filled the manuscript with little penciled exclamations of, "Ha ha!" and "Nice job!" I'm going to try to wrap that up this weekend and then think of a New Book of Eye-Hurting Brilliance, which is due to MTV soon.

In the meantime, I have talked with my brother. He said he has not visited this blog since July and he had no idea The Ex-Games was out, or that I have gone all over the internet doing interviews about how Hayden in the book has such a funny and loving relationship with her brother and how that is based in part on my relationship with my own brother. *stony stare at brother* I'm thinking my next MTV book should be about a rich, beautiful, successful novelist and her down-and-out emergency room doctor brother whom she is always having to rescue from his hapless and foolish exploits. That is the power of fiction.

My local writers' group, Southern Magic, has arranged two book signings here in the Birmingham area for some of the members. Christy Reece, Debra Webb, Peggy Webb and I will sign our books on Saturday, December 5 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fultondale Books A Million, and from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Brookwood Village Books A Million. I hope to see you there! And paparazzi, you know you are always welcome.

In other news, book blogger Danielle has posted a kind review of Going Too Far.

As for me, I'm hard at work on the revision of Forget You, which MTV Books will publish on July 20. The revision is due Monday. It's going great and I love this book with all my heart, but I do miss NaNoWriMo! How are you doing?

This sequel to The Boys Next Door is coming out on August 3. Here's the back cover description (or, at least, my back cover description, and if it actually makes it onto the back cover, that will be the first time!):

* * *

Lori should have known better than to date a pirate.

After finally getting together and going out on their first real date, only Lori and Adam could manage to fall asleep—and wake up seven hours past Lori’s curfew. Their parents forbid them to see each other. So Lori takes it upon herself to date boys scarier than Adam until her dad gives in.

But Adam won’t play along. He’s afraid Lori might fall for these scary boys. And when she goes out with the scariest boy of all—Adam’s own brother and her ex-crush—even the threat of being sent away to military school can’t keep Adam from swashbuckling his way back into Lori’s heart.

Can this forbidden love stay afloat, or will it sink in the watery deep?

* * *

In other news, Book Chic and Addicted to Books have kindly posted reviews of The Ex Games. Thank you, book bloggers!

And finally, NaNoFail. I have three deadlines this month, but I really wanted to keep track of how much I wrote on all three, and that would be my NaNo. Unfortunately, I am finding that I am too busy to do the difficult additional labor that NaNo requires, such as counting. This breaks my heart because I LOVED doing NaNo last year. I will be cheering for the rest of you!

Yes, that’s me, speaking to a local high school creative writing class a few weeks ago (thanks to Annalisa the Awesome Librarian for the pic). I was talking about NaNoWriMo, how I won it last year, and how I will proceed to do the same this year. (Hint: Brag to everyone that you’re going to win!) Have you signed up yet? Please friend me--my username is jenniferechols.

For my next trick, I’ll be one of 18 authors in attendance at the super-fun annual Southern Magic Reader’s Luncheon on November 7 at the Homewood Public Library here in Birmingham, with guest speaker Anne Stuart. You can still buy a ticket here.

Lots of other stuff going on. Last week I got covers for both Forget You and Endless Summer, and I can’t wait to share them with you! They’re not quite finalized. La Femme Readers were kind enough to post a review of The Ex Games and an interview with me. Today I’m guest-blogging with Jeri Smith-Ready about the book that got away. Leave a comment on her blog to register to win a copy of The Ex Games.

But the best news of all is that fashionista_35 sold her gorgeous novel set in drum corps, When the Stars Go Blue, to St. Martin’s. Pop over to her LJ page and tell her congrats!

Book blogger Persnickety Snark, who has always been kind to me (not every author is lucky enough to have her books called “the YA version of crack,” you know), has posted a new interview with me about The Ex Games.

Also, book blogger Lurv A La Mode has written perhaps the best review of Going Too Far ever. I knew it was going to be good when Vicki forwarded me the link and her subject line was, “HO MY GOD I HATE YOU.” I’m revising Forget You right now. A review like this makes my work a lot easier.

Thank you, book bloggers!

Yesterday I turned in Endless Summer, the sequel to The Boys Next Door, to Simon Pulse. The Boys Next Door is made of Starbucks coffee and doughnuts. Only after writing it did I find out Starbucks doughnuts have 500 calories each. Of course I haven’t eaten one since...until yesterday morning, when I had one while going over Endless Summer one last time. Any time you read the words “Mmmmm, doughnut” in my books, you know what was happening.

While I was writing furiously, book bloggers were posting such kind reviews of The Ex Games. You can read them at Persnickety Snark, The Book Scout, Teens Read Too, and Trisha's Book Blog.

Next up is the revision of Forget You, my second book for MTV. It’s due in the middle of NaNoWriMo, and the proposal for my third MTV book is due at the end of November, so I’m afraid I’ll be working on both those projects rather than writing one whole novel like last year. However, I’m still committing to 50,000 words of something, and I’d love for you to add me as a writing buddy. My username is jenniferechols.

On the reading front...one of book bloggers’ favorite questions to ask me in an interview is, “What are you reading now?” In every interview I have said I am reading The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore. Lest you think this time in 2015 I will still be reading The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore, my slowness is just a deadline thing. The book is wonderful and I look forward to finishing it this weekend.

As for the boys, my son ate Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4 as if it were a Hershey’s Kiss, pretty much in one mouthful, like every other 8-year-old boy in the country. And my husband, in a bizarre twist, has gotten addicted to Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Or hop over to the MTV Books Blog for the aftermath of finishing writing a book yesterday.

That's the question of the month at the Pulse Ro-Com Blog. Come on over for the tiniest sneak peak at the book I finished writing yesterday! Hint:

Tip for getting along with the marching band: if you are a football player and want to body-surf across them, make sure they are from your own school.

 

 

 

 

 

Hey, remember when I told you that the city of Birmingham was holding a parade for me?



I may have made that up.

However, you and I know that I totally deserve a parade. And now I'm getting the next best thing. The Undercover Book Lover has declared it Jennifer Echols Week, complete with Jennifer Echols Mega Contest in which I will give away one copy of each of my books.

Thanks to my hostess, Reggie, for being such a sweetheart.

My next novel for MTV Books, Forget You, is coming out in July, and things are starting to move. Get an inside look at what it's like to be a Big-Name Author at the MTV Books Blog!

That's what we're discussing this month over at the Pulse Ro-Com blog. Come join us!

rclementmoore very kindly included me in her column about YA releases at Fresh Fiction. You can read the interview here.

Misty at the Bare Ass Cottage also posted an interview with me, and she’s giving away a copy of The Ex Games to a commenter!

But if you live in the Birmingham area and you’re out hunting The Ex Games today...I’ve signed copies at the Books-a-Million stores in Alabaster, Fultondale, Homewood (both Brookwood and Wildwood), Hoover, and Trussville. The Trussville store had almost twice as many copies as the others. The manager said that’s because they’re a high-volume store and YA is their best-selling category. Congratulations on your excellent taste, Trussville! *waving to Carla*

I spent three and a half years as the Contest Coordinator of Excellence for the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for published authors, which benefits Southern Magic, the Birmingham chapter of Romance Writers of America. Now I am only the Contest Co-Coordinator of Excellence, but this contest is still my baby. The judges are librarians, booksellers, and avid romance readers, and we have a Young Adult category--pretty rare among pubbed chapter contests. Past YA winners include Lynda Sandoval, Rachel Hawthorne, and rclementmoore. This year it's for books published in 2009, and the deadline is January 15. You can find the details here.

The deadline for our unpubbed contest, the Linda Howard Award of Excellence, is coming up a lot sooner, on October 11. If you final, you'll get your work in front of some great editors from Grand Central, Tor, Dorchester, Pocket, Ellora's Cave, and Harlequin. The judge for the YA category is from the new Harlequin Teen line! Details here.

I hope you'll enter!

I just read a new article by lawyer-turned-author Courtney Milan who says book giveaways that require a purchase may be illegal in some places. I just want to give away some books IS THAT SO WRONG? *sniffle* Anyhoo, I have tweaked the contest rules a bit: a purchase is not required, and only residents of U.S. states may enter. I’m sorry, Finland.

I have the utmost admiration for an author who does something different every time. Kudos, then, to R. A. Nelson. His July release, Days of Little Texas,



is a 180 from last year's Breathe My Name. In Days, the 15-year-old hero, a tent revival preacher and faith healer traveling the modern South, is an anachronism in the twenty-first century, but his feelings are very real as he first runs away from and then confronts the ghost of a girl whom he couldn't heal. Recommended for readers looking for a novel a couple of steps off the beaten path.

It seems like forever that I've been looking forward to mandywriter's June release, Prada and Prejudice.



She and I have been LiveJournal friends since before either of us had a book out, and it was such fun for me to follow her road to publication and then read the end product. The heroine, an American on a class trip to London, buys Prada shoes to impress her mean girl "friends." Then she trips in said shoes, hits her head, and is transported back to 1815, where the problems of teens are much more serious: arranged marriages, ruination, and a hot 19-year-old Mr. Darcy stand-in. Adorable.

On the adult side, you know how I love Jennifer Crusie. I'm just thankful she's had a long career, so I have a few left to read. Recently I inhaled Manhunting.



Published in 1993, this was her first book, and it's obvious. It's shorter and much less complex than her more recent work. But she says over and over in her letter to readers printed at the front, "I love this book." She lists all its shortcomings now that she knows better, but she still loves it. Me too. Her trademark LOL is there, along with her trademark delicious hero. My verdict: better than Strange Bedpersons, What the Lady Wants; not as good as Tell Me Lies, Bet Me, Welcome to Temptation, Crazy for You, Agnes and the Hitman. Definitely worth your while.

Last but not least, I read these books quite a while back when my critique partner victoria_dahl first wrote them, but I wanted to make sure you’d checked them out. The new romantic comedy came out in July



and the dreamy historical appeared a few weeks ago



and the fun paranormal historical novella is coming out tomorrow.



If you haven’t read these yet, you’re missing a treat. And you need to keep up, because the next romantic comedy, Lead Me On, is coming out in January.



Currently reading (and loving): another YA ghost story set in Alabama, The Splendor Falls by rclementmoore, due out September 8.



What are you reading?

That's what the MTV Books authors are blogging about this month. Find out more about the lake where I grew up and my hometown's strange and sudden romp through the reality show circuit at the MTV Books Blog.

The Ex Games isn’t due out until September 8, but Barnes and Noble.com says it’s ready to ship in 2 to 3 days. You know what that means. Barnes and Noble.com heard a rumor that their shipment is in the stockroom somewhere. So it’s time for us to start looking for the book in stores, too! Either that or there has been some horrible mistake and Barnes and Noble.com will take the “usually ships in 2 to 3 days” phrase off their web site in a few hours! Either one.

Well, whatever. I’m so excited, I’m starting this contest anyway, to get us in the winter spirit. It’s

FREE BOOK TIME!

1. If you are a youngling, first get permission for this from your Responsible Old Person.

2. Find a copy of The Ex Games. Library copies are fine. Take a photo of the book in snow or ice. No, it doesn’t have to be snow on the ground that fell from the sky. That would not be fair to my fellow Alabamians. We will not get snow until March, if then. Be creative. Take a picture of it in your sno-cone machine, or the freezer. Prop it up against your little brother’s Star Wars Ice Planet Hoth play set. I probably won’t know the difference.

OR

Take a photo or draw a picture of a Winter Scene of Teen Love. (No book required.)

3. E-mail me the photo or picture at echolsjenn at yahoo dot com. To make this fair, I won't count any entries I receive before 8 p.m. Central on September 8, and I'll count them in the order I find them in my inbox.

4. The first seven entries before September 30 win a free signed copy of The Boys Next Door, Major Crush, or Going Too Far—your choice! (BTW, if you haven’t read The Boys Next Door, you need to do that before the sequel comes out next June. I’m just sayin.’)

5. Void where prohibited. Only residents of U.S. states may enter.