[Out and About] Marie Lu in PH

So... before anything else... can we please talk about how amazing Marie looks in the official promotional banners? Seriously. Everything about her outfit screams 'A+'! (Now where can I find a similar blazer...)

Anyway, before I blab about outfits and the like, let me get on with this post. (Sometimes I can't help but blab, guys. So sorry.) The day of the 23rd, I went home tired, but ridiculously happy. Marie is awesome, and is undoubtedly one of the coolest authors I ever had the privilege of meeting!

Here are some of what we discussed during the Q&A:

• Marie pitched Legend to her agent as science fiction, and it was her agent who said that it would fit into the young adult category. She hadn't heard of Young Adult until that moment, but looking back, she's not surprised that her writing suited YA very well. This was because when she was young, she mostly read science fiction and fantasy novels with teenagers as protagonists.
• Marie reads almost exclusively YA now.
• Marie would love to do a picture book someday. Before being an author, she was an artist in the gaming industry, and she would love to do something that would involve video games again.
• Day's street name was inspired by his personality - Marie wanted to find a name that would signify his optimistic view of life. His personality is inspired by characters Marie has always loved - the thief with the heart of gold, Han Solo, and Robin Hood among others.
• June was name after the month of June, because her personality fit that of a Gemini's. For those who don't know (*raises own hand*), Geminis are very intelligent, ambitious, and logical. June's personality was inspired by Sherlock Holmes, and Marie comments on how different she and June are from each other, most especially since June is very left-brained.
• The plot of Legend was inspired by the social climate of USA in 2009. That was when Obama was elected, and the hatred of the two political parties towards each other was a bit pronounced. The world of Legend is inspired by real-life dystopias.
• Marie cannot start writing a story unless she has the drawn characters by hand. She finds that she has trouble connecting with her characters if she doesn't know what she looks like.
• Marie's not sure if she can ever move out of writing science fiction and fantasy since she loves those two genres too much.
• Marie likes bittersweet endings, and she has a tendency to put that in her work. She doesn't see any other ending for the Legend trilogy - that was how she has always wanted to end the series.
• Marie has to listen to music while she's writing, because she can't write without noise. Meanwhile, her favorite place to write in is a train.
• If you ask Marie which character she is more like, at the beginning of the series, she would say Day, and the end, she would say June.
• The first draft of The Young Elites featured a kind-hearted, bland character ala Clark Kent as a protagonist. Marie's agent didn't like this character because he/she didn't find him to be interesting, but he/she did like the character of Adelina. Marie's agent then suggested that Marie focus on exploring Adelina. In turn, Marie found it interesting to write the point of view of a villain - why do they think the way they do; why do they think that what they do is justified, etc.
• Marie has a good feeling about what will happen to Day and June post-ending. (!!!)

Thank you so much to National Bookstore - another successful signing in the books! You guys are in a roll!

[Cover Reveal] The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Title: The Summer After You and Me
Author: Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: March 2015
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Sunbathing, surfing, eating funnel cake on the boardwalk—Lucy loves living on the Jersey Shore. For her, it's not just the perfect summer escape, it is home. And as a local girl, she knows not to get attached to the tourists. They breeze in over Memorial Day weekend, crowding the shore and stealing moonlit kisses, only to pack up their beach umbrellas and empty promises on Labor Day. Lucy wants more from love than a fleeting romance, even if that means keeping her distance from her summertime neighbor and crush, Connor.

Then Superstorm Sandy tears apart her barrier island, briefly bringing together a local girl like herself and a vacationer like Connor. Except nothing is the same in the wake of the storm. And day after day, week after week, Lucy is left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and broken home. Now with Memorial Day approaching and Connor returning, will it be a summer of fresh starts or second chances?

[Release Day Launch: Excerpt + Giveaway] All Broke Down by Cora Carmack

Title: All Broke Down (Rusk University #2)
Author: Cora Carmack
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Release Date: October 28, 2014
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Dylan fights for lost causes. Probably because she used to be one.

Environmental issues, civil rights, corrupt corporations, and politicians you name it, she's probably been involved in a protest. When her latest cause lands her in jail overnight, she meets Silas Moore. He's in for a different kind of fighting. And though he's arrogant and infuriating, she can't help being fascinated with him. Yet another lost cause.

Football and trouble are the only things that have ever come naturally to Silas. And it's trouble that lands him in a cell next to do-gooder Dylan. He's met girls like her before fixers, he calls them, desperate to heal the damage and make him into their ideal boyfriend. But he doesn't think he's broken, and he definitely doesn't need a girlfriend trying to change him. Until, that is, his anger issues and rash decisions threaten the only thing he really cares about: his spot on the Rusk University football team. Dylan might just be the perfect girl to help.

Because Silas Moore needs some fixing after all

EXCERPT:

I think I get it then. That decision I saw in her eyes back in the kitchen. That’s what this, what I’m about for her, too. I’m just another part of whatever rebellion she started earlier today. About doing what she wants, not what’s expected of her.

“We’re not talking about me, though,” she says. “So you went to meet your friend, and then what happened?”

She keeps her eyes down as she picks up the gauze and begins winding it snugly around the knuckles of one hand, and then the other.

“He said the wrong thing.”

“Which was?”

“Dylan.” Now it’s her that’s pushing too hard. I didn’t want to talk about things with my friends, and I won’t talk about them with her, either, no matter how gorgeous she is.

“I’ll guess. You were mad about what he did, and he wasn’t sorry.”

“This isn’t middle school, Pickle. He didn’t hurt my feelings. He said some shit he had no business saying, and it pissed me off. The end.”

“But you don’t think some of that anger stems from what you feel is a betrayal of your friendship?”

She finishes taping down the last of the gauze, but doesn’t let go of my hand.

“I think you’re analyzing me again. Making things more complicated than they are.”

“And I think you’re just a guy who doesn’t like to admit he has feelings.” She drags out the word, teasing me with some goofy smile on her face. I turn my hand over so I can clutch her wrist. I curlmy other bandaged hand around her waist and pull her closer.

“I feel plenty of things.”

The teasing stops. She swallows.

“I wasn’t talking about that kind of feeling.”

With her standing and me sitting, I’m eye level with her chest. I see the sharp rise and fall as she sucks in a breath. I want her in my lap again, straddling me this time.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t talk about that kind of feeling. Or experiment with it.”

“Is that Stella girl an ex?”

I cough, surprised. My throat twists uncomfortably, and it takes me a couple of solid breaths to get a hold on myself.

“Ah, no. Stella and I have never dated.”

“Have you—”

“Do you ever run out of questions?”

“Not ever.” She turns playful again, and I’m done doing this the careful way. If she wants a rebellion, I’ll be the one to give it to her. I want her against me, and I’m tired of waiting.

I pull her forward, insinuating my knees between hers, and her body naturally follows, settling across my thighs. Her lips part, but she catches herself before she gasps this time. I keep her steady with my hands at her waist and say, “I’ll make you a deal. A question for a kiss.”

Tentatively, she lays her palms against my shoulders. They rest there, her grip light and casual. She ponders my offer for a moment, and it drives me mad that she can do that while our hips are inches away from alignment.

“Okay then. Are you—”

I cut her off. “Not so fast, Dylan Brenner. I’ve already answered one question. We’ve got to settle up first.”

I wrap her braid around my hand like I’ve been waiting to do all night, and I use it to pull her head back just enough that I can crush my mouth against hers.

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