Today, I am so excited
to have author Jeanne Ryan on the blog
(full confession: she’s also my critique partner). Her YA thriller, NERVE
(Dial), releases tomorrow, 9/13/2012. When I read the first draft of this
high-tech truth-or-dare game gone very, very wrong, I told her this was going
to be her first published book. After getting my very own copy in the mail last
week, I can tell you that the finished book is even scarier. Please check out Jeanne’s new
website and make sure to follow her on Twitter.
I’m also giving a copy
of NERVE to one lucky person. Enter by Tues.
Sept 18th for your chance to win-- either tell us a dare you did (for the brave), or you can enter by less
scary means.
Here is the cover for
NERVE:
Hi Jeanne—thanks so much for joining us today, and huge congrats
on NERVE! As I’ve told you before, I think the concept of a high-tech
truth-or-dare game is awesome! Where did you get the idea for this book?
From watching my teenage
niece and her phone. Seeing how fluidly she moved between her “real” life and
her online life with her friends, with a lot of overlap between the two, got me
to thinking about a story where a lot of the excitement and danger would be
delivered via phones. I wondered how far a game of Truth or Dare could go if
strangers could be brought together to perform and record the dares.
Yeah, this book was a far cry from the dares of my youth, like
ringing someone’s doorbell and running. How long did it take you to go from
writing it to publication?
I started writing it in
May, 2010. It sold in April, 2011 and is being published September, 2012.
So two and a half years from start to finish.
Less than a year between starting the book and selling the book is
pretty darn impressive. Was this your first book?
Nerve was my fifth manuscript. Although I decided to become a writer at age eleven, many other dreams got in the way between then and the time I started writing a manuscript that I’d actually finish. I got serious about writing in 2004, finished my first manuscript in 2006, signed with an agent in 2009 and got my first deal in 2011. That doesn’t count the years beforehand when I wrote many tortured poems, awful short stories and an unfinished novel (also awful).
Nerve was my fifth manuscript. Although I decided to become a writer at age eleven, many other dreams got in the way between then and the time I started writing a manuscript that I’d actually finish. I got serious about writing in 2004, finished my first manuscript in 2006, signed with an agent in 2009 and got my first deal in 2011. That doesn’t count the years beforehand when I wrote many tortured poems, awful short stories and an unfinished novel (also awful).
It goes to show that persistence pays off, and you always need to
be working on the next book. Speaking of which, can you tell us what you’re you
working on now?
Two things. One is
another YA thriller which is scheduled to come out with Dial in early 2014.
It’s called CHARISMA and is about a terribly shy girl who turns to an
experimental therapy that's supposed to make people more sociable. It does, but
comes with some scary side effects.
The other thing I'm
working on between revisions is an MG historical set in 1974 South Korea. It
may never see the light of day in the publishing world but it’s a great way to
cleanse my mental palate after working on the darker stuff.
Yay for another book deal! I love your MG historical, and
definitely hope it sees the light of day…and what I’ve seen of Charisma is fantastic.
Writing several things at once seems
daunting. Do you have a set writing routine or schedule?
During the school year,
I try to get in about four hours a day, Mon-Fri, in the morning. During school
breaks and summer vacation, I grab time whenever I can.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers out there?
Keep working on the
craft. The writers I’ve seen who eventually landed agents and book deals are
the ones who kept producing manuscript after manuscript until they wrote the
story that everyone who reviewed it knew was “the one.” (Sometimes, the author
is the last to know. J) Sure, there are those
lucky few who sell their first attempt, but viewing that as the norm is a good
way to set yourself up for misery. I speak from experience.
That’s great advice. So why don’t you finish by sharing something weird
or random with us. (It doesn't have to be writing related)
Weird or random. Hmmmm.
When I was a little girl living in Honolulu, our house was rumored to have a
ghost, which everyone in the neighborhood called a Kahuna. My parents had a
difficult time finding babysitters, because everyone was scared. (Their
reluctance could also have been due to the fact that the number of kids in my
family was already at six and growing.) Anyway, my parents finally solved the
babysitter problem by hiring two at a time. And they approached the Kahuna
problem the way a lot of things were solved in the hippie days--by throwing a
large party that involved lots of chanting and alcohol. Whatever the grown-ups
did worked, because we never had any weird bumps in the night after that. And
the babysitters were eventually willing to work solo.
That’s a great story. Thanks so much for joining us today and
Happy Release Day (a day early!)
Don’t forget to enter
below for a chance to win NERVE by Jeanne Ryan. The entry form is over at my blog: www.kristihelvig.blogspot.com.
