Daisy Whitney

As part of the Girlfriend’s Cyber Circuit, I am pleased to host Kristina Springer today. Her novel “My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours” released this week. Let’s get to know Kristina and the book! Here’s a description of the story.

Seventh grade was supposed to be fun, but Tori is having major drama with her BFF, Sienna. Sienna changed a lot over the summer—on the first day of school she’s tan, confident, and full of stories about her new dreamy boyfriend. Toriknows that she’s totally making this guy up. So Tori invents her own fake boyfriend, who is better than Sienna’s in every way. Things are going great—unless you count the whole lying-to-your-best-friend thing—until everyone insists Tori and Sienna bring their boyfriends to the back-to-school dance.

Daisy: If you met your 16 year old self, what piece of advice would you give her?
Kristina: You’ll never need math! Just kidding! Um, I’d tell myself not to miss great opportunities (like trips abroad, proms etc.) because friends or boyfriends ask you to—because later those friends and boyfriends will likely be gone and you can’t go back and do it again!

Daisy: I have created magnificent ass dents in two couches from all the writing time I log. I also have a pair of white fuzzy boot slippers that look like something a yeti might wear if yetis wore boots. What piece of clothing or item in your home would provide the necessary evidence to prove to the authorities that you are a writer if questioned?
Kristina: I have a laptop graveyard in the office. Really, I’ve just killed my fourth one. Sigh.

Daisy: When you’re not reading or writing, where can you most likely be found?
Kristina: With my four super cuties—ages 2, 4, 5, and 7.

Daisy: In my first novel The Mockingbirds, a group of boarding school students form an underground justice system to right the wrongs of their peers. Looking back on your high school experience, what type of secret society did your school need the most?
Kristina: One to fight bad hair. Armed with smoothing serums and flat irons they could save me and many others from the six-inch high hairsprayed bangs that we thought were oh so cool.

Daisy: I’m going to tweet this blog post. So tell me in 140 characters or less, why people should buy your book.
Kristina: “My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours is about two 7th grade BFFs who get in a crazy and funny competition of the fake boyfriends.”

Thanks, Kristina!

Have you ever met a yeti crossed with a yak?

Well, I haven’t either. In fact, I still don’t really know what a yeti is. But no matter.

Today’s post is to celebrate the release of my friend Kiersten White’s awesome debut novel PARANORMALCY by giving away a hardcover of the book! Her book tells the story of a 16-year-old who is tasked with tracking down all the world’s paranormal creatures from vamps to hags to werewolves. So in a celebration of her book, whoever comes up with the most clever mash-up of a supernatural, paranormal, other worldly creature will receive a copy of her book!

Leave your entry in the comments below and I will pick a winner by Friday September 3.

Disclaimer: This contest is open to contestants in the United States only. The book will not be signed by Kiersten. I will simply be making the purchase of the book and sending it to you – the winner!

William Faulkner has famously said “Kill your darlings” when it comes to writing. This means, of course, to be ruthless with the delete key. Writers can sometimes fall in love with words, scenes, characters, turns of phrase. But if they don’t serve the story, you must slaughter them.

To wit – I am about to delete 11,380 words from my current manuscript as I embark on the Great Revision of September 2010. This will be the first act of literary murder I commit while working with my current Little, Brown editor on the sequel to THE MOCKINGBIRDS. So here goes….

Deleted!

As some of you may know, I just “directed” and shot a Web video series that’ll run as a “complement” to my novel THE MOCKINGBIRDS, which hits bookstores on November 2. The Web video series is 12 episodes and will feature material NOT in the book. More details to come on release plans, where it’ll run, etc. But here’s a photo from the shoot with my actress!

Wig or dye job?

Is it my real hair color?