GUEST – Marilee Brothers

BOOK COVERS & GRAND GIRLS

When Deb Dixon emailed me the proposed book cover for Moon Spun, I thought, “Hmm, that girl looks familiar,” and immediately filed it away in a dusty part of my brain labeled, “Things to think about when I have more time.” Now you know why it’s dusty.

We recently had a visit from our daughter-in-law and two granddaughters, Madelyn and Arianna. Since Maddie and Ari make their debut as hedge row pixies in Moon Spun, they were anxious to see the cover. I led them to the computer and opened the file. My daughter-in-law exclaimed, “I don’t believe it! She looks like Madelyn!” The aforementioned thought woke up and shook off the dust. Bingo! We had our very own cover girl.

I’m sure you can guess what happened next. We simply had no choice. We had to re-create the Moon Spun cover with eight-year-old Madelyn as our model. I grabbed my digital camera which I despise. It’s teensy, weensy buttons have caused me moments of utter frustration, immediately followed by colorful cursing. I silently promised to control myself. After all, I was in the presence of children.

We chose an outdoor setting next to our flowering plum tree. Daughter-in-law, Trini, arranged Madelyn’s hair and positioned her in the correct pose. It was then we discovered it was practically impossible for the child to not smile. She’s a naturally happy little girl and comes from a long line of beautiful, photogenic Latino women with sparkling smiles, shiny dark hair and expressive brown eyes. Madelyn was born to smile. It’s in her DNA. Little sister? Not so much. She may have inherited a recessive gene from Grandma Marilee. The one that goes, “Give me three good reasons I should do what you say.”

The photo shoot was complicated by Arianna demanding we take a picture of her hanging from a tree limb and Mauli, our Labrador retriever, who kept wandering into the scene. Finally, Trini snapped, “Madelyn, close your mouth and look sad,” and we got the shot we wanted. I fumbled around trying to press the right button to review the pictures and the display went black. Trini said, “Oops, I think Grandma deleted the picture.” Well, damn! Who has fingers that tiny?

More fumbling ensued as my evil camera chuckled to itself, thwarting every effort to locate the picture I just knew had to be perfect. Muttering to myself, I persevered and finally found it lurking in a dark alley along with a dozen other photos I’d given up hope of ever recovering. Yes! Grandma didn’t delete the picture after all.

I have the book cover and the picture of Madelyn pinned up on the wall next to my computer where I can see them every day. They bring me great joy. Do you believe in magic? I do. How else can one explain the serendipity of the girl on my book cover and granddaughter looking so much alike? As for that danged camera . . . its days are numbered!

GUEST - MARILEE BROTHERS

Help me welcome Marilee Brothers, a fabulous writer in both adult and YA fiction! How do I know? (You mean besides publishing her first YA novel?) Take a look at what the major trades are saying about her newest book THE ROCK AND ROLL QUEEN OF BEDLAM...

From Publishers Weekly: "Readers will want to see more of this dynamic teacher/teen crime-solving duo."

From Booklist: "At turns funny, suspenseful, and touching, this novel of romantic suspense will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers."

One lucky commentor is going to get a copy of the book.

Welcome, Marilee!

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My schizoid life as a writer in two genres would likely make a normal person crazy. Sixteen-year-old Allie Emerson is the main character in the young adult series (Moonstone, Moon Rise) I write for Bell Bridge Books. Allegra Thome is the teacher protagonist in The Rock and Roll Queen of Bedlam, an adult mystery to be published by Medallion Press in October. True, I’ve been on both sides of the desk, most recently as a teacher. But, it seems like only yesterday I was on the other side, gazing at the teacher with what I hoped was a look of rapt attention, while busily checking out the cute guy two rows over. Consequently, I find it easy, even beneficial, to head hop back and forth between the two.

To further complicate matters, you may have noticed both my ladies have names that start with “A.” What was I thinking? Is my brain not already suffering from information overload, not to mention swirling madly with half-baked ideas for new books and plot twists yet to be written? Did I set out to complicate my life even more? Um, no. Apparently I just love the letter “A” because it was completely unplanned, like many things in my life including three children. Yikes, that sounded bad. Rest assured, I’m not sorry I had them! My theory, though slightly flawed, was - if you wait until the right time to have babies, you never will.

Oh yes, there’s a third leg on my stool. I started out as a writer of medieval romance. You gotta love hunky guys with big swords! Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to castles, knights and feisty maidens with magic crystals when I became committed to writing my other books. There is a limit to how much my brain can handle. And, no, my heroine’s name did not start with an “A.”

I have developed a method that makes writing two different genres a tad simpler. Both Allie and Allegra live in the same imaginary region of Central Washington state which happens to be my stompin’ grounds. Yakima Valley became Vista Valley. Parker and Parker Heights became Peacock Flats and Peacock Heights, an area I drove by each day when I commuted to my job as a counselor for behavior-disordered teens. Therefore, I’m able to use the same fake names in both books along with some real ones like: Cascade Mountains, Columbia River, Space Needle, Snoqualmie Pass and Lake Keechelus. Will Allie ever meet Allegra? Who knows, it could happen.

What about you? Have you figured out ways to deal with the complexities in your life? Does it involve a bottle of wine? A chick flick? A long soak in the tub? If you care to comment, there could be a book in your future, one starring a hunky knight with a big sword and a feisty maiden with a magic crystal whose name does not start with an “A.”

Debra Dixon - Big prizes ! But you have to vote.

Yep. I'm using you as a focus group today. We're working on the cover for our first YA contemporary fantasy novel coming out from Bell Bridge Books (08/08), and we have not one, but two covers we like.

What to do? Which to use? I have a favorite and I'm hoping you folks will support my cover.

Marilee Brothers, author of Moonstone, has a fabulous YA voice. Wry, compelling, heart-warming and just plain fun. Allie Emerson is living in a twenty-four foot trailer with a mother who has decided to Retire From Life. Not exactly the sort of environment you'd think would produce a girl destined to save the world. Allie's barely managing to survive high school. She hasn't got time to believe in prophecies and evil. Until evil makes it personal.

(Please do not blame our marketing department for this blurb. They'll do a much better job when the time comes for the real blurb. And now you know why I don't write the blurbs. I leave that to others except in blogging emergencies.)

Which cover floats your boat? Which one do you reach for?

Regardless of how you vote one "reader" and one "writer" will get some goodies.

Our writer will be offered a 25 page critique from me. Seems oxymoronic to consider the "picking apart of a manuscript" as a prize, but we writers are an odd determined lot. And nope. You don't have to have a synopsis. I don't care what genre.

Our reader will receive any four (4) titles from either the BelleBooks or Bell Bridge Books catalogues. (http://www.bellebooks.com/) The Bell Bridge site is still building but the offer of 4 books is good through the fall as the rest of the Bell Bridge Books hit their pub dates. The Southern titles from Bell Bridge will be cross-listed for sale at both BB and BBB websites.

We have some great Southern fiction lined up for July and the fall:

Booth's Sister is a beautifully written novel of Asia Booth, who endured the wrath of a nation when her brother killed Lincoln. Jane Singer, noted Civil War scholar, has masterfully imagined the family dynamic and intimate dilemmas that led to one of America's most fateful crimes and left a sister's life in shambles. (Did I mention beautifully written?)

Egret Cove by travel writer Margaret Nava is a fun romp with a mature woman as she makes a new life in Florida just when she thought life was through handing out exciting surprises.

We also have Jacquelyn Cook coming out this fall with The Gates of Trevelyan, another of her richly detailed Southern historicals.

Fear not. Eventually, we will get the next MOSSY CREEK novel out the door. I've been a little busy, and the editor insists I have to finish a story for the book. And the corporation insists that I negotiate the foreign, domestic and audio distribution contracts and all that other boring business stuff.
(Yes, our titles will be coming out in audio as well.)

And as a final plug we have a dark, scrumptious, "Anne Rice meets Laurell K. Hamilton" epic vampire series that will launch in September. Rich. Textured. Epic. We first meet the clan centuries ago. We posted on every blog in the world that Bell Bridge wanted contemporary urban fantasy, but when this came in the door, we all decided there was room for a voice and a story this big. A great lush read. With more to come.

There you have it! Lots of yummy goodness for readers who aren't afraid to step up and vote for their favorite Moonstone cover. Tell me why you like it. And let me know what you think about any of the upcoming titles. TELL ME IF YOU'RE AFTER the WRITER prize OR READER prize.