Lost Boy Corey Haim

I was very sad to hear about the death of Corey Haim. He was a big star when I was a teen. Just last week, I was in Santa Cruz, passing the boardwalk where they filmed The Lost Boys. I was remembering the movie and thinking of him as the skeletal rollercoaster faded behind us in the distance.

Do you remember him and Corey Feldman trying to rid SC of vamps and fending off Mom's creepy vampire boyfriend? That was a great movie in the contemporary vampire canon. Seriously, Keifer Sutherland as a vampire? Gotta love it.

And now, at 38, Corey's passed away.

It’s always sad when someone dies way too young. And it’s sad that Corey, who had been such a big kid star, was never able to maintain his career as an adult. Lost potential and a lost childhood. I feel sad for his mom and family.

Do you remember The Lost Boys or Lucas? What other Corey Haim movies do you like?

Hugs,

Heather

www.heatherdavisbooks.com

Never Cry Werewolf – HarperTeen 2009
The Clearing – HMH April 2010
Wherever You Go – Harcourt Fall 2011

Buzz Girl in the Windy City...and a Winner!

I'm trying something new today...blogging from the front seat of my car as we close the distance towards The Windy City - Chicago! I'm speaking tonight at the Plainfield Public Library in Plainfield, Illinois to their Teen Writing Group. If you're anywhere in the area, I'd love to see you. The talk starts at 5:00 p.m.

A follower of the Buzz Girls asked me to give some tips on author visits and speaking to school groups and libraries. I'll throw in some things that I think work for writers and I'd love for my fellow Buzz Girls to chime in in the comment section:



1. Know your audience. Get as much information going into your talk as you can. Know the ages of the crowd, if there will be teachers or parents there. Try to gear portions of your talk to them, as well.

2. Don't be nervous. Okay...easier said than done, but try to just be yourself. Relax and have fun. Be natural to your audience. Believe it or not, they're just as nervous meeting a "famous" author. LOL!

3. Send books ahead of time. If the school or library isn't familiar with your work, donate a set of books to their library for the kids to read ahead of time. That way you'll get some interesting questions because they're familiar with you.

4. Dress casually. Especially if you're writing for teens, dress down. Jeans, pants, casual Friday look. This actually puts them at ease because they can identify with you more because you have a casual "feel" to your presentation.

5. Get the audience talking. How boring is it for someone to stand in front of you for an hour going on and on and on? Yep...you've been there! Keep your talk to maybe 20 minutes of highlights of whatever you want to talk about...your career, how you started writing, what your favorite books are, whatever specialty you bring with you (for me, it's ghost hunting), and then open it up to questions. This makes the talk much more interactive and the time just flies!

6. Do a book sale/signing. After you talk, the kids will want to read what you're writing, Always try to have a book sale and signing following your speech. Also, have some giveaways they can take away in case they don't have money for books - pens, bookmarks, anything relating to your book (I have temporary ghost tattoos) is great. Use your imagination!

7. Have fun! Take lots of picture, send a thank you not to the librarian or media specialist that sets up your event, and put pics up on your blog.



Hope this helps any writers out there wanting to get out and meet their audience. As I said, I'd love the Buzz Girls to chime in with any additional advice!

And finally....our winner of the FIVE for FIVE GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE contest is.....(drum roll).....

rainesire111 - and friends Julia, Cecily, Tia, and Bryn

Please email me at marley_gibson AT yahoo DOT com with your mailing address and I'll sign the books to all five of you and mail them to you. CONGRATS!!!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Buzz Girl in the Big Apple

Last week I was a baaad Buzz Girl. I totally forgot to post. And you wanna know why? Because I was kicking off my big seven week adventure with a few days in the NYC. Specifically, Tuesday was the day I met with my editor and got taken to lunch at a fabulous restaurant called--wait for it ... Lily's! Yes, just like the main character in FORGIVE MY FINS. (My Lily, by the way, would have approved.)

(Me at HarperCollins)

New York always holds a special place in my heart. As a kid who moved around a lot (A LOT) growing up, the two places that feel most like home are New York and Boulder, both places where I went to school and did a lot of personal development. I lived in New York for nearly four years, and boy do I miss it.

(Me at Sardi's)

Every time I visit, it's like I'm back where I belong. If--no, scratch that ... WHEN I have the money, I'd move back to the city in a heartbeat. Because now, not only does New York feel like home, but it's also the epicenter of my career. That doesn't mean you have to live in New York to be a writer--although history and nostalgia are definitely in that favor--but it does mean there are lots of other writers there, too. And, as any writer can tell you, being able to talk and share and whine and cry and celebrate with other writers is invaluable.

(Times Square at Night)

So don't be surprised, if you see FORGIVE MY FINS flying off the shelves or roaring to life on the big screen, to find I've moved back to my hometown.

Hugs,
TLC

Tower of Power

Something quite odd has happened in my life...in my house...well, in my room. The mile-high pile of books that has kept me company for as long as I can remember has been dwindling...


What's the story here? Well, three things...

1--I have been reading a lot;

2--I have started buying and reading some books electronically on Kindle; and

3--I have worked my way down to the books that don’t immediately appeal to me. These are the ones I’d bought on a whim or to support a particular author, received as a gift, or have been keeping around because I felt I “should” or “someday might want to” read. (Two examples: book 5 in a series in which I long ago lost interest, and Willa Cather’s My Antonia.) So I decided to tackle those books one-at-a-time by reading the first chapter, then deciding whether to continue or move to my donation pile. Which has turned out to be about 50/50...with the ones I’ve chosen to finish turning out to be terrific. So I feel like I’ve been winning by simply trying.

And I’m all jazzed up about reading again, and missing the Tower of Power on my nightstand. What books can you recommend for me to add?

Tina

Tina Ferraro
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
How to Hook a Hottie
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys
www.tinaferraro.com

What's Your Type?

I just finished watching Zombieland for the first time. I've been wanting to watch it for a while, and when Hollywood video called to wish me happy birthday last week and told me I could have a free rental, I decided to go for it.

While I'm more of a vampire and werewolf fan, I have nothing against zombies. I read and loved Zombie Queen of Newbury High by the lovely Amanda Ashby, The Forest of Hands and Teeth by the lovely Carrie Ryan (by the way, The Dead Tossed Waves is due out March 9!) and my TBR pile just acquired Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I've watched some zombie films too, like Shaun of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead (which reportedly was the movie choice for my parents' first date), and a fairly recent one that dealt with zombies and the apocalypse but for the life of me (pun intended) I can't recall its name! Grrr.

Okay, that was quite a birdwalk from what I set out to write about today. What I was going for was a theme about BOYS. And yes, while zombies as subject might be hot, I have yet to see a zombie dude we non-zombie girls drool over.

In Zombieland, Jesse Eisenberg played "Columbus," a non-zombie character reminiscent of the characters Michael Cera usually plays--like in 2 of my favorites, Juno and Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. You know, kinda dorky, awkward, nervous, quirky, charming, sweet, honest, and kinda-sorta cute if you squint just right. At one point in Zombieland, Columbus asks the little sister (played by Abigail Breslin) of the girl he's crushing on (played by Emma Stone) what her big sister's "type" is. The little sister says, "Bad boy," so Columbus drops their popcorn bowl on the floor (trying to be a "bad boy," if you didn't catch that). Yeah. Doesn't quite work. So, I'm not sure if it's the fact that they're in the midst of an apocalypse and the supply of hot non-zombies is severely depleted, Columbus's personality ultimately wins her over, OR she's flat-out tipsy from Bill Murray's 1996 (if I remember correctly) wine, but (please skip to the next paragraph if you haven't seen it yet and don't want a spolier) our sweet little Columbus gets to first base with his crush. Yay!

Now, that's what I wanted to write about today. What's YOUR type? Do you like the type of guy who goes shopping with you and tells you which sandals to buy? Do you like the guy who is "all business" and has his future AND your future mapped out? Do you like guys who are into movies, art, sports, books, theater, camping? Shy or outgoing? Sexy or sweet? Alpha or laid-back? Sweet or smart-alec-y? Boxers or briefs?

And I guess it's not fair for me to ask without sharing my type. Though I've experimented just to be sure I'm not missing something, I've always been drawn to atlethic, protective, smart, handy, and somewhat outgoing guys. And I'm definitely a fan of boxers or boxer-briefs. So, sorry, Michael Cera and Jesse Eisenberg, but you're great for guy-friends, but boyfriends? Nope.

So, tell me! What's your type? And if you can tell me what zombie movie neither I nor my husband (who is 100% my type) can recall on my VERY limited description, bonus points to you!

Spring and News!

Yay! Look at these plum blossoms on a tree in Seattle. Isn't that awesome. Spring is here in the NW!

I think Spring is a great time of year. I love the birds chirping, the sun warming your back when you walk around town. I love the subtle scent of flowers and trees. I love the longer days. Daylight savings is just two weeks away!

So, in addition to the sunlight making me smile, I had some good news that you may have heard already, but I thought I would post in case any Buzz readers hadn't read it yet...

Author of the soon to be released THE CLEARING, Heather Davis’s next YA novel, WHEREVER YOU GO, the heart-breaking story of the ghost of a boy trying to make contact with the girl he left behind, who discovers that the girl’s ailing, Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather alone can hear him and act as his spirit guide, to Julie Tibbott at Harcourt, for hardcover publication in Fall 2011, by Stephen Barbara at Foundry Literary + Media. (NA)

I love my editor over at Harcourt, so this is going to be another great project together. And my great agent, Stephen -- he's so awesome. I'm incredibly lucky to have these great peeps in my life. And, of course readers and the Buzz Girls! Thank all of you for helping make my dream real.

Hugs,


Heather
http://www.heatherdavisbooks.com/
The Clearing -- April 2010 HMH
Wherever You Go -- Fall 2011 Harcourt
Never Cry Werewolf -- HarperTeen Sept 2009

Five for Five!

As I'm working to box up my apartment for my move and clearing things out and consolidating space, I thought it would be a great time to give away some books. We all love book giveaways, right?

So...I have FIVE copies of GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE to give away to our lovely blog readers. All you have to do is leave a comment in the trail, as well as leaving the name of four (4) of your friends -- each of you (five in total) will receive a personally autographed copy of the second GHOST HUNTRESS book. Wait...it gets even better! You may enter as many times as you'd like.



I'll announce the winner next Wednesday!

Until then, happy hunting!

Hugs,
Marley = )