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YA Cafe HostMar: Hi, Naomi! Naomi Nash: Hi there, Mar! Naomi Nash: I'm early! YA Cafe HostMar: Yay! Me, too. for a change. I usually make it by the skin of my teeth Naomi Nash: I know Katie's on the way. We were both just obsessively playing our favorite online game. Naomi Nash: There she is. YA Cafe HostMar: Hi, Katie. Now I have to know what game you obsessively play Katie Maxwell: Oh, sure, just tell everyone about our obsession. Maxwell: *coughs* KatieKatie Maxwell: I don't know what you're talking about. Obsessed? Not me. No sir. Naomi Nash: Yohoho Puzzle Pirates. It's like drugs. Katie Maxwell: I don't suppose anyone is buying that? Katie Maxwell: It is like drugs. Only better. Katie Maxwell: You can flirt. :) YA Cafe HostMar: puzzle pirates? Hey, anything with a pirate
and I'm there. I even Katie Maxwell: Oh, yeah, me too. Naomi Nash: You'd love it then, Mar. Naomi Nash: AND you get to pick out outfits. YA Cafe HostMar: very cool. I have to check it out. YA Cafe HostMar: I'll warn you that this chat software has hiccups occasionally. It'll sit there for a couple of minutes and then post three times in a row. Naomi Nash: Fun! Katie Maxwell: All chat software hiccups. Naomi Nash: It's very clean looking, though. YA Cafe HostMar: we usually run a little late. If everyone is like me, it's right after the day job. But if we start much later, it's too late for the East Coast. YA Cafe HostMar: Hi, anneheathen Naomi Nash: We eastern time people are kind of demanding, that way. anneheathen: hello! Naomi Nash: Hi, anneheathen! anneheathen: greetings! YA Cafe HostMar: While we're waiting to begin, anyone have any "must reads" to suggest. Besides, of course, Chloe, Queen of Denial and Eyeliner of the Gods. YA Cafe HostMar: Hi, Jonathan, Hi Susan. jonathan: Hello. I'm cleaning house so I'm going to be in and out of this discussion. My new rave book is NO LAUGHTER HERE. Anybody read it? Naomi Nash: You know, I know it's not new, but I just started Laurie Halse Anderson's 'Fever 1793'. Naomi Nash: Hi jonathan and Susan. Susan: could it be the johnathan of the jhunt awards? jonathan: Yep. That's me! :-) YA Cafe HostMar: Jonathan, I haven't read No Laughter Here, but I put it on my list. Susan: lol--I am a fellow adbookian Katie Maxwell: Mercy, people! jonathan: Susan Smith? Susan Erhardt? Susan: Susan Smith Susan: from Texas Susan: anyway, my library doesn't have NLH yet, so I am waiting to read it YA Cafe HostMar: Susan, I'm on adbooks too, but I'm a major lurker. Hi, RoseMary. jonathan: I'm going on vacation and have LIZZIE BRIGHT and FAST AND BRUTAL WING in the mail to me. Hope they get here before I leave. Susan: last YA book I read was The Earth, My Butt, etc. by Mackler Susan: I want to read Lizzie Bright RoseMary: hi... I read No Laughter Here, jonathan jonathan: I've wanted to read LB forever, but my library doesn't have it. :-( RoseMary: I'm on adbooks, but I can't keep up with all the posts Susan: in the spirit of tonight's topic, I just Finished Can You Keep a Secret by Kinsella--a breezy chic lit/romance that I think has YA appeal RoseMary: I liked The Garden Susan: I am addicted to listservs :) YA Cafe HostMar: Hi, Shirley! We're going to start in just a few minutes. jonathan: I liked THE GARDEN too. I'm also addicted to listservs. :-) RoseMary: also you Can't Get There From Here.... Shooter... forget what else anneheathen: I recently really enjoyed Reinventing Jake and Be More Chill jonathan: SHOOTER has gotten good reviews but nobody really likes it much. YA Cafe HostMar: First of all, I'd like to welcome authors Katie Maxwell and Naomi Nash, who are our guest speakers tonight. I'll be asking the panel a few starter questions and then I'll open it up for questions. If you have a question, type ? and then I'll let you know when it's your turn. RoseMary: I thought it was a lot like Give a Boy a Gun in concept YA Cafe HostMar: Naomi is the author of You Are So Cursed!
and Chloe, Queen of Denial. YA Cafe HostMar: Thanks so much for joining us tonight. Let's talk about humor in ya romance. I haven't read your new releases yet, but I'm guessing they are both humorous romantic yas. Is it hard to blend humor and romance in a ya novel? Katie Maxwell: Well, all I write is humor, so I don't find it particularly difficult. Besides, there's so much to teen life that lends itself to humor... Katie Maxwell: ...at least, there was in *MY* teen life. :) Naomi Nash: Mar, I find it difficult not to blend romance and humor when I'm writing for teens. Young adults are at a point in their lives when their own apprehensions about romance are sometimes so grandiose that even they have to laugh at themselves. Naomi Nash: Knowing that others are going through--and have been through--the same tribulations and come out with smiles on their faces often helps them cope with a sometimes scary topic. YA Cafe HostMar: What, besides, humor, makes for a good teen romance? I know Loo attracted me at first because of the setting. And You are So Cursed! has a witch, right? Katie Maxwell: All my romances, adult and teen, focus on that wonderful feeling of being loved by someone. So that's one thing I include in the teen books. As for other elements...hmmm. I really am writing to entertain teens, not preach to them, so my books are geared solely to provide the reader with a little escape. Naomi Nash: You Are SO Cursed! is the story of a girl who pretends to be a witch in order to protect herself and her circle of outcast friends. I'm particularly attracted to themes in which my characters wear masks to disguise who they really are. The romantic element helps them open up and become not only true to themselves, but to their romantic interest and to everyone else as well. YA Cafe HostMar: Can you tell us a little bit about Chloe, Queen of Denial and Eyeliner of the Gods? From the covers, they seem to be sister books. How did that come about? Naomi Nash: I agree with Katie--preaching can turn an audience right off! Katie Maxwell: Our YA editor, Kate Seaver, knew we were friends and critique partners, and asked us if we'd like to write a couple of books that shared a setting. Naomi Nash: Katie and I have been friends and critique partners for nearly five years; our editor asked us last year if we'd collaborate on a pair of companion novels together, since we worked so well as a team. The topic was completely up to us. Naomi Nash: We chose an archaeological dig as the setting, settled on some shared characters, collaborated on a calendar, and then separated and wrote our novels and didn't share them until we'd finished our first drafts. Then we worked together to make sure the stories of our two heroines integrated well! Naomi Nash: The covers fit together to make a complete Egyptian frieze, reflecting that although the two novels are indeed separate, together they cooperate to create a larger story seen through the eyes of two characters. YA Cafe HostMar: Okay, this is my last question and then I'll open it up to everyone. Do you think there are any taboos in ya romance? Katie Maxwell: I think that the taboo barrier has dropped quite a bit in the last few years. I hope it continues to be eradicated. Naomi Nash: Apparently the A word that is the synonym of 'donkey' is taboo to me. My editor keeps nervously calling me and asking me not to use it. In the three novels I've written, I've tackled transgendered and gay issues, witchcraft (albeit false), interracial romance, and a lot of other issues that once would have been forbidden . . . but which I write about as commonplaces. Katie Maxwell: :) Poor Naomi does have a problem with that one word. Or rather, our editor does. Naomi Nash: Yet she didn't mind the word 'slut-bomb.' YA Cafe HostMar: HA! I have a couple of favorites too. It's
not that I use them, just that I use Naomi Nash: Maybe my near-use of the A-word shocked him into silence. Katie Maxwell: You're so wild, Naomi. There's no holding you back. YA Cafe HostMar: Ah, Brent's not easily shocked into silence ;). Debby G. GA DebbyG: Do you think the market for "chick lit" is on the rise, decline, or holding steady? (And I use the A word a lot in my book, btw) Katie Maxwell: I personally think the chick lit market has been flooded, and is on the downswing, but I'm not a chick lit author, so my take on it could be extremely wrong. Katie Maxwell: Naomi is a better person to ask. Naomi Nash: There's a lot of demand, I feel, for books that are funny, romantic, and that resonate with their intended audience. I think chick lit's an unfortunate title that covers way too much territory, but a lot of the books that chicks and non-chicks alike enjoy reading seem to fall under its umbrella. Brent Hartinger: First, I have to say that I love the "teen
romance" genre, because let's face it--first romances are
the best romances in life! (Okay, that's not always true, but
still) Anyway, my question is this. Does "romance"
(knowing full well this is a board term) require a "happy
ending"? Can a story with a bittersweet ending still be
a "romance"? I know it's a semantic question, but I'm
curious to know what conventions the genre typically includes. Katie Maxwell: In the traditional (read: adult) romance market, a happily ever after ending is a requirement. There is much more freedom in the teen market. In my Emily series, the heroine takes four books to end up with the guy every reader knows she's meant to be with. Naomi Nash: Brent, I think that traditional romances do require happy endings. I feel guilty about making the endings of my novels happy-ever-afters, because when you're a young adult, there's a lot of years of 'after' to get through. I like to stick to 'happy for nows'. Brent Hartinger: Yes, that's what I think--I wouldn't want a teen to decide "forever" as a teen! I like that "happy for now..." Naomi Nash: Look at a novel like Dodie Smith's 'I Capture the Castle,' though--over sixty years old and still a great romantic novel (and nowadays found in the young adult section). Beautiful bittersweet ending on it, too. YA Cafe HostMar: I Capture the Castle is one of my favorites! Great suggestion. I haven't read it in a long time, but I think Seventeeth Summer is bittersweet too. Debby G GA DebbyG: You are both prolific writers. Does it get easier the more novels you write? Or has it always been relatively easy? Naomi Nash: Oh, Katie's far more prolific than I! Katie Maxwell: I'm just starting my 23rd novel. At least for me, it has been much easier. Naomi Nash: And I'm just starting my sixth. It gets easier, but it's never -easy-. Naomi Nash: There's a rumor going around (that I started) that Katie puts a legal pad under her pillow and night and when she wakes up, it's filled with pages of loverly manuscript. YA Cafe HostMar: this is where the "you must want it more than sleep" comes in. But sometimes, I just want sleep more than anything. Katie Maxwell: Nothing quite so easy. But writing gets easier the more you do it, or at least so I believe. Naomi Nash: I believe that if you get into a disciplined writing regimen, as it's necessary to do when you have a lot of deadlines, it flows. Brent Hartinger: Is teen romance ever told from the POV of the guy? Examples? Katie Maxwell: I'm sure there are some, but I haven't read any. DebbyG: Teen romance from the POV of the guy with a bittersweet ending: Geography club by B. Hartinger Naomi Nash: Didn't Geography Club have a romantically yearning male protagonist, Brent? YA Cafe HostMar: Oh, I can think of one other. Kyra and Jason, I think it's called. Or maybe Jason and Kyra. Brent Hartinger: Yes, I don't htink of it as classical "romance" but it's definitely there! Naomi Nash: I think there's room for a lot more of the male perspective, Brent. DebbyG: Do you ever feel like you're not getting as much respect as authors who write about more serious issues? Katie Maxwell: A lot of books have romantic elements, but aren't marketed as romances. Brent Hartinger: you've definitely got me thinking! :-) DebbyG: I mean "serious issues" in quotes. Katie Maxwell: That's never been an issue for me, Debby. I write to entertain audiences. My books have been very well received, and I get daily e-mails from girls (and a few boys) who tell me how much they enjoy the books. Nothing else is important to me but entertaining my audience. Naomi Nash: If I said 'Respect, perschmect,' would I sound callous? I don't mean to be. I don't really write for respect, so much as to tell the stories that I'm itching to tell, and to have my audience enjoy them. LindaJoy: When I was in RWA we had a YA Network of those of us mostly writing sweet romances (Sweet Dreams) and we teased about being the stepkids of RWA, less respect, especially considering adult romances had their own challenges Naomi Nash: Good writing's it's own reward, I think, and gets respect no matter what the genre. To worry about it overmuch distracts from the work at hand. Katie Maxwell: Considering the size of the market romances have, I think most publishers do respect it. Katie Maxwell: The literary folk may not, but eh. We're not writing for them. YA Cafe HostMar: what are you working on now? Katie Maxwell: Right now I'm working on an adult book called Buckling Swashes (title courtesy of Naomi, and a character name courtesy of Bran, who just joined us). After that I have to write the second in my YA vampire series. Naomi Nash: Mar, I've just sent off the galleys for a December book called 'Beaner O'Brian's Absolutely Ginormous Guidebook to Guys,' the story of a girl trying to fix her sister's wedding jitters, and am working on a new novel called 'Senses Working Overtime' about a high school girl caught in Manhattan on the day of a multi-state blackout. Naomi Nash: I'm still trying to work out the trauma of having to go 24 hours last summer without air conditioning, obviously. YA Cafe HostMar: okay, we have time for a few more questions before Naomi and Katie have to leave. LindaJoy GA LindaJoy: Naomi, are your books all with the same publisher? Is the blackout book a romance? It sounds really intriguing. Naomi Nash: Linda, my YA novels are all under Dorchester's Smooch imprint. The blackout book will be a romantic adventure--more serious in tone than the other books. LindaJoy: How much of your blackout book will be in the dark? When I wrote a a Sweet Dreams about spelunking, I had fun with two chapters completely romantically in the dark Naomi Nash: Oooo, Linda, that does sound like fun. In the abstract, I'm-glad-I'm-not-a-spelunker way. Since the blackout's during the daytime, much of the action takes place in lighted areas, but there will be some interior scenes involving darkness and, you know, kissing 'n' stuff. Naomi Nash: Yes, I know. 'N' stuff! LindaJoy: With Sweet Dreams we weren't allowed much kissing stuff (I can't believe I wrote those 10 years ago!) Katie Maxwell: I'm shocked beyond human ken. Naomi Nash: Katie ribs me because her adult romances have characters doing the naughty everywhere. YA Cafe HostMar: I'm always interested in the n stuff. I'm interested in knowing if you do "research" to find your teen voice or it just happens. Mine pretty much happens, but I do eavesdrop a lot. Naomi Nash: I do a lot of eavesdropping as well, Mar, and have been known to whip out a little pad of paper and ask kids to spell out their slang and tell me what it means. Katie Maxwell: I do a bit of watching at the mall, and a lot of hanging around teen chat rooms. :) Naomi Nash: Slang dates so quickly, though; I think it's wise to listen to the voices behind the slang and draw up on those. Naomi Nash: The Emily books are very chat-room influenced, aren't they, Katie? Katie Maxwell: The first one was. After that, I tend to make up slang. Naomi Nash: Yes, I'm really fond of your invented 'omicrod'! I know your readers use it too. YA Cafe HostMar: slang is difficult to do well. exactly about slang dating. I think selective use is key. Katie, I love made-up slang. We made up our own slang when we were teens, so I think it's perfect that you do that in your books LindaJoy: How do you find kid chatrooms that you can comfortably eavesdrop on? Ooh--and I like "omicrod," too Katie Maxwell: Well, I make up words, too, so it seems only fair that I should extend that license to slang, as well. :) Naomi Nash: Mar, when I use slang, it tends to be in the mouths of adults who are trying to be 'cool'. And failing miserably! Katie Maxwell: OMICROD came from a typo on a friend's galley. Katie Maxwell: Someone replaced the word "god" with crod. I snagged it for use, shameless but true. YA Cafe HostMar: Naomi, too funny! Katie Maxwell: Chat roooms...just do a google search for them.
I hung around in UK teen Naomi Nash: Didn't you hang out in UK-based chat rooms when you were researching...yes, I thought so. LindaJoy: But how did you present yourself? As an adult or kid? Katie Maxwell: I didn' t say anything. Naomi Nash: Yes, if I were doing that, I'd just sit there and lurk and watch. Naomi Nash: Kind of like Marlon Perkins in the teen wilds. YA Cafe HostMar: Okay, some of us may have to leave, but the rest of you are welcome to stay and chat. The cafe is on vacation next week, but please join us on July 27 for the Outcasts and Alienation chat, with Cathy Atkins and David Lubar and hosted by Brent Hartinger, author of GEOGRAPHY CLUB & LAST CHANCE TEXACO Naomi Nash: Thanks for all the great questions! It was a pleasure! YA Cafe HostMar: Naomi and Katie, thank you so much for spending time with us tonight. I really enjoyed hearing about your work. Katie Maxwell: Thanks for having us! YA Cafe HostMar: Linda Joy, do you ever get the urge to get back into writing romance? Katie Maxwell: I'm off, folks. Must kill a dog who won't stop barking at the deck guys. Katie Maxwell: Bye! YA Cafe HostMar: Also, there's a link to their websites at the YA AUTHORS cafe website YA Cafe HostMar: Judy G, are you still here? Judy G: ya, I am. Judy G: ow you doing mar? YA Cafe HostMar: good. behind on deadlines, as usual. I need to take a few lessons from Katie. Judy G: anyone here? Judy G: ah, deadlines. Your book will be out so soon!! YA Cafe HostMar: yep. I'm still weirded out when people e-mail me to say they're reading it. Weird in a good way, of course. I'm trying to fit some reading in this summer. Judy G: yeah, it is weird. Judy G: that cover is going to make that book sell like hotcakes. YA Cafe HostMar: I'd like to find a funny ya. Debby G's book isn't out until next year and I haven't seen many humorous books lately Judy G: I don't know of any, myself. Judy G: I'm still reading adult mostly. YA Cafe HostMar: Debby's book is STORKY: HOW i LOST MY NICKNAME AND WON THE GIRL and mine is UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT YA Cafe HostMar: I love getting book recommendations. My list of "to read" is huge, but thank goodness for the library. Susan: I am a librarian and I read all the time Susan: tell me the last good book you read YA Cafe HostMar: hmm. I really liked Confessions of a Not-It Girl. What about you? Susan: I really did like The Earth, My Butt, etc. by Mackler Susan: it was humourous in a self-deprecating ironic kind of way Susan: I don't read as much YA as I used to YA Cafe HostMar: I liked that one too. Great voice and humor!
I'm dying to get my hands on Susan: I was just thinking about the Grand Tour--I have a librarian friend who will probably buy it and then lend me her copy YA Cafe HostMar: I also liked this adult book called War of the Flowers. Although it was a little hefty at 800 plus pages. Susan: OOhh--an adult book, but very good--and a romance too--Cooking
for Mr. Latte by Susan: I'll put war of flowers on my list-- YA Cafe HostMar: I've heard of that book. adding it to my list. Bye susan! YA Cafe HostMar: good-night to all! I'll be back later to
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