Winner + Teen Day Reminder!

Last Monday we chatted about “what comes next after high school?” and as promised, I am announcing the winner of a signed copy of my book, HOW TO HOOK A HOTTIE, which deals which such issues. The winner is:

GIRLS COOKING GAMES

So Girls Cooking Games, please e-mail me at admin@tinaferraro.com with your contact information so I can get it in the mail to you.


And a reminder to all of our readers that Tera Lynn Childs, Heather Davis, Marley Gibson, Dona Sarkar-Mishra and I will be among the teen authors appearing at Teen Day at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention next Saturday in Los Angeles. The day starts with a huge book fair where readers can meet with scores of romance authors. The teen authors will have their own rows, all together, for easy access. Then all of the YA gang will move into various activities like meets-and-greets, interesting talks, author readings, one-on-one "speed dates," and then all followed by a teen party. We hope to see lots of you there!

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

After High School: What Comes Next? (giveaway)

In my book, How to Hook a Hottie, 17 year-old Kate DelVecchio has very different plans for her post-high-school future than her parents...and part of the story deals with how she’s going to get around them to make her life happen her way.


That storyline came to me partly because two of my kids were nearing the end of high school at the time, and I was watching them and their friends weighing options. Because clearly, it’s a stressful time, with many factors needing to be weighed carefully, especially if you’re not entirely certain what your life’s plan is.

Four year college...community college...straight to work...trade/tech school...military...”gap year”...and more!

So as we near April 1st of this year (the date by which most four year colleges will reply), my youngest son and his friends will be addressing these questions AND answers, deciding who is going where and who is doing what and how.

Exciting times. Kind of nerve-racking, too.

How about you? Are you or anyone in your life in post-high-school flux? Or do you remember this time in your life and the choices you did or did not make?

Please share with us. And next Monday, I’ll give away a signed copy of HOW TO HOOK A HOTTIE to one commenter!

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

More Winners!

Two Mondays ago I announced a contest to root me on in the writing of my work-in-progress.

Well, I ended up writing myself into a corner and had to reconsider and rewrite some pages before moving forward again. (No surprise--that’s often it goes for me.) So I postponed the announcement of the winner for a second week--and it therefore only seems fair to announce two winners.

First, for guessing the correct page count of:


MG(WLS).

And then, chosen by my handy-dandy random number generator, is:

Mariah.

If both of you would please contact me with mailing information at admin@tinaferraro.com, I’ll get signed copies of How to Hook a Hottie out to you!

Thanks to all who entered and cheered me on!

Tina

Tina Ferraro
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, 2010 Rita® Finalist
How to Hook a Hottie, 2009 Rita® Finalist
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
www.tinaferraro.com

Big Thanks and the Winner(s)!

Thanks to all of you who jumped in to help me “Choose My Hottie” last week. I needed to find a celeb who my 15 year-old book heroine could be crushing on--who was unmarried, had a great smile, and thriving career. I got some wonderful comments and suggestions, and carefully considered them all, especially the advice to put my heroine’s personality first in the decision.

I decided to go with Chase Crawford.

(Nothing against the others--especially Twilight’s Robert Pattison, you understand, just that Chase seemed like the best fit.)

And now for the winner of a signed copy of How to Hook a Hottie chosen by my handy-dandy random number generator):

ELNICE!

Elnice, please e-mail me at admin@tinaferraro.com with your contact information.

And thanks again to all of you for your help and support!

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

The "Help Me Hook a Hottie" Giveaway

Okay, to be more precise, let's call this the "Help Me CHOOSE a Hottie Giveaway." Here's what's going on...

For my work-in-progress, I need to choose a hot celeb for my 15 year-old heroine to be crazy about. He should be:

--popular with today's teen girls
--someone who seems to be establishing a career (so when readers pick up the book down the road, there is instant name recognition).

And it would be great if:

--he was unmarried
--he had a great smile

Here are three candidates:

Robert Pattison



Michael Phelps



Chase Crawford


What do you think? Weigh in on these hotties and/or name others. And next Monday--to thank those who entered--I will randomly choose and then name a winner to get a signed copy of my book, How to Hook a Hottie.

Thanks in advance!

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 in a Name?

I can tell that school year's almost over. Not just because of the calendar or the weather, but from the conversations I’m having with teen readers, both on-line and in person. They’re asking me technical questions about the craft of writing, telling me about their works-in-progress, and looking forward to getting their hands on the keyboards and around ball point pens.

More than one budding writer lately has asked about naming the main characters, how I go about it and how I know it’s right. So I thought that would be a fun thing to talk about today.

Here’s how the naming of heroine Kate DelVecchio from How to Hook a Hottie went down...

#1: I'd known I wanted a big, strong, Italian last name. My own--Ferraro--translates to "iron worker," and DelVecchio, from what pigeon Italian I speak, I knew DelVecchio meant "of old." I liked that. Old souls. Done.

#2: Now I thought about her persona, her traits…who she was. A serious girl, an honor student, budding entrepreneur. No matter what name appeared on her birth certificate, she would never allow herself to be called by a fun little nickname with a heart over the i, okay? (FYI: Tina looks very silly with a heart over the i. Take my word for it.)

#3: I got into the heads of the parents, specifically the mother, who I knew “wore the pants in the family.” I knew Mrs. DelVecchio had had big dreams of being a dynamo in the business world, and felt set-back by the birth of our heroine so early in her life. From this, I concluded she would name her daughter after some Grand Dame in society. Which I decided would be Katharine Hepburn.

#4: So, jump back to #1. I could go with the full name Katharine. Kat. Kate. Kitty. Kathy. Hmmm…

#5: By that time, I already had the hero’s name. Jason Dalrymple, but everyone called him Dal. It had come to me in a dream, and I simply loved it. The thing was…Dal was definitely unusual. (How many Dals do YOU know?) So I didn’t want the heroine’s name to be too different, either, too. I didn’t want readers struggling to remember both their names.

#6: So…in summary: Birth name Katharine, no cute nickname, looking for easy recognition for the reader. Kate! It was strong, pretty, very well-known…just right.

That’s how I do it. I’d love to hear from other writers about their processes, as well as from readers who have thoughts or questions (or just want to say hi)!

Tina

How to Hook a Hottie, 2009 Rita Finalist
The ABC's of Kissing Boys
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
www.tinaferraro.com

Color Me Happy!

Many of you know that I got some fantastic news last week, that my book, How to Hook a Hottie, got a nomination for the 2008 Romance Writer’s of America Best Young Adult Novel.

And that means buying a some serious dress-up wear! Not unlike, well, a prom dress. Which, as it happens, was the topic of my blogs here the past two Mondays.

So while it feels too early to actual shopping for my dress (and I’d like to think I’m going to be ten pounds slimmer come July), it’s never too early to plan.

And first up is thinking colors. I’m definitely bold. No beige for me. I love the red family: red, orange, pink, purple. But lately I’ve taken to wearing green, too. And black is always a winner. Oh, and I LOVE dark brown. And I could be talked into certain shades of blue...

As you see, I’m pretty undecided. So I’m throwing this out to our readers. Help! Look at my hair, my eyes, my complexion. What do you think is “my color?"


And warm congratulations to fellow Buzz Girl, Tera Lynn Childs on her nomination for Oh.My.Gods and Rosemary Clement-Moore for Hell Week! I am so honored and excited to be in their company!

Tina

How to Hook a Hottie, 2009 Rita Finalist
The ABC's of Kissing Boys
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
www.tinaferraro.com