Author Interview- Diana Peterfreund

1) What made you decide to retell classic novels, and how did you choose the ones you did?

I love retellings -- Clueless (Emma), West Side Story (Romeo & Juliet) and even Forbidden Planet (The Tempest). I have had "write a retelling of Persuasion" in my idea file for years... just waiting for the right world to make it work, and that was For Darkness Shows the Stars. Years ago, I'd played around with a gender-switched Scarlet Pimpernel set in space which didn't work out. When, many months after finishing For Darkness Shows the Stars, I realized that the world could hold a Pimpernel, that the "revolution" many of the characters speak of in For Darkness could come to pass in a slightly different environment -- well, I was off and running. My favorite piece of the puzzle came when I realized that the beheadings of the original could stand in for the damage of the Reduction. After writing the rustic, post-apocalyptic dark ages in For Darkness, I was so excited to fill Star-Swept with tons of lush details, gorgeous clothes and cool technology.


2) What are you working on now? Can you tell us anything about it?

The first book in the OMEGA CITY trilogy, a middle grade series about a group of kids who stumble upon a vast, underground Cold War bunker city, and the adventure they have there. Think Goonies with nuclear bunkers and rocket ships. It'll be out in 2015. I also just finished the first two books under my new romance pen name, Viv Daniels. ONE & ONLY is a swoony, angsty new adult romance that will be out in November. The other is for a holiday anthology called ONE ENCHANTED SEASON that I'm doing with a bunch of my romance writer friends. It's been a VERY busy summer!


3) In my previous interview with you, I asked about your volunteering at the National Zoo. Do you still do that? Are you working with the tamarins still?

Alas, they closed down the free-range tamarin program to make more room for the elephants. But now that I've got my very human monkey at home (she'll be three this year), I don't have as much time as I used to, anyway. I'm still a member of the zoo, though, and I try to visit as much as I can.


4) You now have several YA novels under your belt. What's your favorite and least favorite aspect of writing YA?

Yes, four YAs on top of my five adult books! How time does fly! My favorite part of the YA community is definitely the readership. Ain't no fan like a YA fan. They are so passionate and engaged and open and voracious. My least favorite aspect is how many clueless adults underestimate that readership, and the books they love.


5) I've already asked your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor, so what's your favorite snack to have while writing, or as a reward for writing?

I always need my morning tea. I have quite the tea collection, and that doesn't even include my cast-iron, cherry blossom-embossed teapot (go, DC!) or my antique teacups. It's a whole ritual at this point, really.


6) What book(s) are you reading now, or are about to start?

I just glommed the entirety of (the available books in) Courtney Milan's Brothers Sinister series: The Governess Affair, The Duchess War, The Heiress Effect, and A Kiss For Midwinter. Such good historical romance! I also finished SCATTER, ADAPT AND REMEMBER, which is a non-fiction book about surviving extinction-level disasters. (Research, baby!). And I was lucky to read an advanced copy of Mari Mancusi's dragon apocalypse book, SCORCHED. It's been a busy summer for me -- two books and a novella to write--which left me way too little time for reading.

Right of Way by Lauren Barnholdt

Right of Way by Lauren Barnholdt
"Here are Peyton and Jace, meeting on vacation. Click! It’s awesome, it’s easy, it’s romantic. This is the real deal.

Unless it isn’t. Because when you’re in love, you don’t just stop calling one day. And you don’t keep secrets. Or lie. And when your life starts falling apart, you’re supposed to have the other person to lean on.

Here are Peyton and Jace again, broken up but thrown together on a road trip. One of them is lying about the destination. One of them is pretending not to be leaving something behind. And neither of them is prepared for what’s coming on the road ahead…"- summary from Amazon

I've not read the companion book this was based off of- Two-Way Street- though I've owned the book since it was originally released, but that doesn't really matter. Readers are re-introduced to the characters from Two-Way Street, and I'm sure it'll be great for those who have read the book to see them pop up again as side characters and see what they've been up to. But the main focus is on Jace and Peyton, who share narrator duties, and who have a very love-hate relationship (emphasis on the hate in the beginning).

It's an interesting story and definitely works best being told in the dual perspective, getting a good look into each of their mindsets. There were plenty of times though where I was a bit annoyed at both of them for holding back their feelings sometimes. I mean, I know that otherwise there'd basically be no story if there wasn't that tension and stuff but still. And there was another part about no secrets/being honest in a situation where I felt it was warranted that the secret was not told until the person was good and ready to tell it to the other. That kinda made me a bit angry with the character who was demanding that.

Overall, it is a good book though, infused with humor, sexiness, a random dog and a wild road trip. And now I really need to go back and catch up on all the Barnholdt I've missed over the years!

FTC: Received e-galley from Edelweiss. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna

The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna
"Sophie Sophia is obsessed with music from the late eighties. She also has an eccentric physicist father who sometimes vanishes for days and sees things other people don’t see. But when he disappears for good and Sophie’s mom moves them from Brooklyn, New York, to Havencrest, Illinois, for a fresh start, things take a turn for the weird. Sophie starts seeing things, like marching band pandas, just like her dad.

Guided by Walt, her shaman panda, and her new (human) friend named Finny, Sophie is determined to find her father and figure out her visions, once and for all. So she travels back to where it began—New York City and NYU’s physics department. As she discovers more about her dad’s research on M-theory and her father himself, Sophie opens her eyes to the world’s infinite possibilities—and her heart to love."- summary from Amazon

This was a really interesting book. I may not have understood most of the physics stuff, but I don't think that matters anyway. It's a very compelling story with some memorable characters and an interesting "illness" (not really sure what else to call it). Sophie is a great main character and Luna makes it easy to relate to her and empathize with what she's going through. I absolutely love the character of Finny (much of it has to do with the fact that he's gay, so sue me) and he's a great friend and confidante for Sophie.

Of course, I can't leave out Walt, the shaman panda, because he's pretty darn awesome, insightful and witty. Her conversations with Walt and interactions with these other worlds really made me curious as to how it plays out in the real world. Occasionally Walt is given food from the real world and eats it; how do you explain the missing food? It's an interesting question and not one I think the book really addresses. Not that it matters that much.

It's a wonderful journey the reader goes on with Sophie, and luckily, it's not really hampered by a romance. There is a crush and some romance-y elements, but the reader doesn't really get to know the love interest too well (I can't even remember his name) but it's left on a hopeful note at the end of the book, which is nice.

Overall, a fascinating, smart debut and I'm excited to see what Luna has in store for us next!

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
"For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now . . . not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.

And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them . . ."- summary from Amazon

Myracle is one of my favorite authors, and this book proves why. It's a fantastic love story full of ups and downs, some sexy bits, and a wonderful connection between the two main characters. It really helps too having the story told in the dual perspective because the reader can really get a feel for these two characters and understand their thoughts and where they're coming from when approaching this relationship. I did have a problem with Wren's chapters in the beginning just because she was so innocent and clueless about herself; it got on my nerves, though I know that it's part of her emotional arc throughout the book- learning to become her own person with her own opinions.

What I also love about this book is that it takes teen love very seriously. Wren is very inexperienced, and Charlie is more experienced in the physical way but certainly not emotionally, so there's a lot of growing and a lot of firsts for these two as they navigate this new relationship. I mentioned earlier that there are sexy bits in this book- Myracle writes a sex scene that is just done so perfectly; it is sexy, but it's also filled with so much love so it's not tawdry or meaningless. I also think this is the first time I've ever seen the C word in reference to the male anatomy written in a YA book. What I also enjoyed was Wren being very much in charge of how things will go down for their first time. The guy isn't pressuring at all, and it's her that makes a very big decision regarding their first time (well, two really) that makes sense for those two (and for other teenagers in a similar position). I'm sure Myracle will get much flack for it (it's almost unheard of, even in the gay stories I read), but it works and they're both being smart about it.

Overall, it's just a fantastically written contemporary book and I highly recommend it. I'm so glad she came out with a new YA and I'm excited to see what she does next.

FTC: Received signed ARC from my friend Susan (thanks!). Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot

The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot
"Heather Wells is used to having her cake and eating it too, but this time her cake just might be cooked. Her wedding cake, that is.

With her upcoming nuptials to PI Cooper Cartwright only weeks away, Heather's already stressed. And when a pretty junior turns up dead, Heather's sure things can't get worse—until every student in the dorm where she works is a possible suspect, and Heather's long-lost mother shows up.

Heather has no time for a tearful mother and bride reunion. She has a wedding to pull off and a murder to solve. Instead of wedding bells, she might be hearing wedding bullets, but she's determined to bring the bad guys to justice if it's the last thing she does . . . and this time, it just might be."- summary from Amazon

Let's just be honest, this review doesn't really mean much. I mean, it's a new Meg Cabot book- you know you're gonna get it. But the publisher wants a review, so here it is.

This was a fantastic book. I've been a huge fan of the Heather Wells series and was very excited when it was announced that two more book would be written (this and last year's Ready to Rock) after the supposed ending of Big Boned. Cabot's written a perfect series-closer, though I've heard from a BookTalk Nation video chat she did in September that there might be one more book on the way. While I would welcome many many more Heather Wells books, this would've been a great way to leave the series. It's handled so beautifully, and with a cameo from one of Meg's other leading ladies that may have made me squeal with joy.

Reading this book made me really want to re-read the previous four. While I read the fourth last year when it was released, it's been several years since I read the first three (they were released 2005-2007 and I read them at that time). I love spending time with these characters and all the little call-backs and plot refreshers made me nostalgic. I have actually started the re-reading process and it's so much fun. Since it's been so long, it's almost like having a few new Heather Wells books to read!

Cabot really does an amazing job building up all the secondary characters so they feel real and the reader really gets to know them over each novel. It helps so much to infuse life into the world of the series and provides a wonderful familiarity. I particularly love Gavin- he always provides such wonderful humor and is so over-the-top that it's a joy to read scenes he's in.

Like with the last book though, I felt like the murder and the motive weren't as up to par with the ones in the first three books. It just didn't feel very realistic to me. That's honestly my only complaint though, but with so much other stuff going on throughout the book (Heather's mom coming back, her wedding planning, other surprises), it wasn't that big of a deal.

Overall, another great book from Cabot. While there isn't anything announced yet, I look forward to whatever Cabot has in store for us next!


FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.