Update on WWRW and GCC Presents Laurie Faria Stolarz

It won't officially be Wednesday in Chicago for another half hour, but close enough. I need to spend all day tomorrow focused on the chapter I couldn't nail today. Sigh. Yeah, I'm in that place right now with the revisions. There were crying jags today and a two hour bath with a glass of wine to figure things out. This book is going to take all of my energy for the next couple weeks so Women Who Rock Wednesday will officially be going on hiatus until after BALLADS is handed in. I will be returning on January 14th with one of my favorite female authors and partner in crime for Rock N Read, Alexa Young, who will be talking about her new book, Faketastic. So you'll want to be here on Jan 14th!

But I still have a winner to announce from last week. The winner of Leslie Hamer's awesome Spindle print is.... Annika from blogger! Yay! Send me your address Annika! Also since I never heard from Paula Yoo's winner, I'm picking a new one and that is Kay from blogger. Send me your address Kay! Both you ladies can send addresses to me at stephanie at stephaniekuehnert dot come

Now, I didn't want to leave you high and dry and interview-less on too many Wednesdays in a row, so I decided to post an interview with one of my Girlfriends Cyber Circuit buddies today. Laurie Faria Stolarz definitely rocks and she is running a really cool contest, which she'll talk about in my interview with her, so you have a chance to enter that and win something! But first, let me tell you all about Laurie's amazing new book, Deadly Little Secret:

Some secrets shouldn't be kept...

Until three months ago, everything about sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at an art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes far from ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe he's trouble, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. Instead she's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help – but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something...but he's not the only one with a secret.

Laurie Faria Stolarz is the bestselling author of the BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES series, which has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. The series comprises Blue is for Nightmares, White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, Red is for Remembrance, and the forthcoming Black is for Beginnings. Stolarz's titles have been part of the Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers list, the Top Ten Teen Pick list, and YALSA's Popular Paperback list, all through the American Library Association. Also the author of Bleed and Project 17, her most current work, Deadly Little Secret, the first book in the TOUCH series, is due out in December 2008. Born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, Stolarz attended Merrimack College and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston. For more information, visit Laurie’s website at www.lauriestolarz.com

Now for my interview with Laurie!

Q: Please list five songs that would be on the soundtrack to your book and explain how they relate to your story or characters.

Laurie: Actually, I need to refrain from answering this question because I have a contest going on right now where readers need to come up with a soundtrack for DEADLY LITTLE SECRET. The winner gets a character in DEADLY LITTLE LIES, the second book in the TOUCH SERIES named after him or her. Check out the contest details here: http://www.lauriestolarz.com/news.html

Q: Name some of your main character's favorite musicians or bands.

Laurie: I can seem them definitely liking what’s current and popular: Chris Brown, Rihanna, Britney, Katy Perry, Fall Out Boy, etc., etc.

Q: Who are some of your favorite musicians or bands?

Laurie: Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, James Blunt, Black Eyed Peas.

Q: Even though music plays in so heavily into my storytelling, I rarely can actually listen to it while I'm writing. Can you? How does music fit into your writing process?

Laurie: I don’t normally listen to it while I’m working, because I find it too distracting. But, when I’m trying to get in a certain mood to write a particular scene, I rely on music to help me.

Q: While music is my muse, I know other writers find their muse in theater, sports, art, the great outdoors, etc. What is your main muse?

Laurie: I love to be active – yoga, dance/aerobics, and power-walking. I also love movies, spending time with family and friends, and cooking.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm seriously intrigued by Deadly Little Secrets and will be picking it up at Borders with the gift card my boss gave me last night. And I love Laurie's contest, I hope you'll all go to her site and enter!

Happy Holidays, blog readers! I'll return when I can in the next couple weeks. To vent or cheer or cry. But I'll definitely be back on the 7th to let you know if I was able to hand Ballads in.... I will be. I must be....