City of Ember - aka my fangirl interviewing of Tim Robbins and Bill Murray!
On Thursday I went to see the press screening of the upcoming CITY OF EMBER film at the Fox headquarters. I thought it was a really fun movie and one many of you will likely enjoy. It's based on a series of YA Books, by the way!
The premise is great - especially for post-apocalyptic fans like myself. The world is dying. A group of men have built a single city underground, a sort of Noah's Ark for the human race. The citizens of Ember will live for 200 years underground and then emerge to the surface once again, once it's again habitable. Unfortunately, over the years, the instructions for surfacing have been lost. Now the City of Ember is dying - the generators which provide life are failing, and the corrupt government is covering it all up. It's now up to two determine children to save the day.
The set is practically a character in and of itself - really elaborate and totally steampunk. All the technology is based on mechnical things like wheels and gears. There's even a brief scene with goggles - which, of course, are a steampunk mainstay.
On Friday I headed to the Waldorf Astoria to attend the press junket of City of Ember and interview its stars. First up, Tim Robbins and Saoirse Ronan. Tim Robbins has been a hero of mine for quite some time. Ever since I saw him in Robert Altman's "The Player", I think. I also admire him and wife Susan Sarandon's convictions and outspokeness about issues they care about. Saoirse Ronan is only fourteen, but has already been nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Atonement. The two of them were a fun interview - joking back and forth and teasing one another. Tim has a great voice in real life. And he's looking really good, too! His sister called just before they started rolling and he had to pause to answer his phone. Stars' siblings - they're just like us!
I asked him about the parallels between the film - where politicians are ignoring the crash and burn of their city - to our real life situation in America. You'll have to wait until my segment airs on Better TV to see his answer.
Next up, Bill Murray, who plays the mayor of Ember. I had no idea what to expect with him - some people had warned he might be a jerk. But that couldn't be further from the truth! He was charasmatic and funny and attentive and really engaging. I told him how Liz and I had gone to the New York Bar in Tokyo where Lost in Translation was filmed. He asked if we stayed up all night and I told him we couldn't because the trains stop running and we'd have gotten stuck. He said he loved Tokyo. He also said he liked my sweater! :) I know, I know, it's the little things.
And of course I had to ask him - even as they were cutting me off and telling me the next journalist was waiting - about Ghostbusters 3! But again, you'll have to wait for my report to hear his answer! :)
All in all, an incredible day of interviewing legends I've loved most of my life. It was truly awesome to meet them and know that they not only live up to their reputations, but are also just cool, normal everyday people.
For those of you who live in Massachusetts or Southern New Hampshire, please come by the Haverhill Public Library in Haverhill, MA on October 11th at 3pm. I'm going to be giving a talk and answering questions about The Blood Coven series as part of Teen Read Week and also my new book Gamer Girl.
There will be book giveaways and I can autograph any books you want to bring.
I can't wait to meet some of you in person!! Please come and bring friends.
Did you notice the display photo change? That's to celebrate the fact that my new YA book - GAMER GIRL - is going to hit store shelves in exactly one month! I can't wait to see what you guys think of it!
It's my first hardcover book - gah! So it's super important to me (and the future of my writing career!) that it does well. So once again I need your help. You guys have proven amazing in the past at spreading the word on The Blood Coven books -- getting libraries and bookstores to stock them and your friends to read them. In fact, because of your efforts, things are looking REALLY GOOD for Book 4. (I wish I could tell you more...soon, soon!)
But in the meantime, I hope you'll support GAMER GIRL by spreading the word and posting the book cover on your blogs and MySpace. I hope you'll talk it up to librarians and bookstore workers and friends and family. And most importantly, I hope you'll read it and love it! :)
Anyway, I owe you guys tons and am eternally grateful for your continued support. It makes the tough days much more bearable to know you are out there!
This weekend I got to attend DragonCon in Atlanta, GA. Just thought you guys might be interested in my adventures...
DragonCon was certainly an experience! I've never seen anything like it. Forty-thousand people – mostly dressed in outrageous and creative costumes – wandering around a nest of hotels in Atlanta. There were tracks and panels for everything – from Joss Whedon to Star Trek. From gaming to gothing. We were so overwhelmed by it all, we didn't go to as many panels as I would have liked, but it was still really cool. I did attend one with James Marsters (aka Spike from Buffy!) and the guy who played Lex Luther from Smallville. They were really funny together.
I also attended a panel on steampunk – which was REALLY popular this year at the con – and learned how to make steampunk costumes. Pretty cool. I was inspired. This girl below is my favorite. She talked about how she made each part of her costume. She's pretty hardcore. Oh and the hair of hers? It's real!
At night we went to various parties and gawked at all the costumes. They were really amazing. And yes, I costumed, too, though I was practically invisible with my amateur dress-up compared to everyone else. Next year if I go, I need to step it up about ten notches. I made my best effor though, as you can see below:
Day 1
Day 2
We didn't really meet any celebrities. My boyfriend Jacob really wanted to meet Adam West (the original 60s tv show Batman), but he didn't show up to his panel. So lame! And we had just left a group of our friends to get dinner when who should show up but the cast of Firefly! I would have loved to have chatted with Nathan Fillion.
In all, it was fun, though overwhelming. I wished we had registered early – to get a hotel room on site of the convention. Ours was over a mile away which made it difficult to rest in between activities. Next year I'll be booking that hotel as soon as they open it up.
I took a gazillion pics – both of me and my friends costuming and some of the random cool costumes I found. I've included a some below.
Shomi flyers!
Me and my new friend Cherie!
Me and my new friend R2D2!
Chris came costumeless, so Cherie had to improvise.
World of Warcraft Quest Giver
Of course no con would be complete without a Klingon. We even attended a Klingon beauty pageant!
Make like a tree and...oh, never mind.
A stormtrooper with some girth.
Hurley from Lost!!
I really wondered how some people got all this armor and weapons on the airplane...
These two had the awesome wings I featured on this blog a few weeks ago! They were even cooler in real life - and had mechanical controls with which to expand.
Not all costumes were fantasy related. Here's Sgt. Pepper!
Blues Brothers flanking Darth Vadar.
Michael Jackson Thriller.
Zombie Dorothy
Me distracting Jacob while he tries to look at the menu. He looks very vampirish here.
Attacked by zombies? Or just passed out from too much to drink?
Cherie as a demented Cinderella whose mice attacked her dress after she didn't pay her tailoring bill. (She's so creative!)
Cookie Monster! (He was giving out fortune cookies.)
Okay guys, my agent went to the publishing house today and presented all the reasons there should be another Blood Coven book. My editor, Kate, replied that she personally would be THRILLED to have another book in the series - so that's good news. But, of course, she needs to look at the money cause that's how things work in this world.
So...next step, she's going to take a look at the sales numbers of all the books in the series (which is why I've been encouraging everyone to spread the word and get those books bought!!) to see if it's worthwhile (money wise) for the publisher to put out another book.
Sooo...it all comes down to this. My agent and I are pushing as HARD AS POSSIBLE to get them to agree. Now I need you guys to send good vibes my way as we wait for the decision.
Here's what someone once told me to do when I wanted something really really badly. Imagine the thing like it already exists. So, in this case, picture the next Blood Coven book in your mind. Visualize it on a bookshelf. Imagine yourself picking it up and scanning through it. Feel the weight of the book in your hands even. What does it look like? Does it make you laugh? Are you reading from the beginning or skipping to the end?
I know it may sound a little silly, but there's power in positive thinking! I will be doing the same right along with you!! I want this as much as you guys do.
And just for fun - comment below and tell me what you imagine the cover to look like during your visualization! :) Use your imagination - the sky's the limit. Just remember these things:
* The book is in Sunny's Point of View
* The book takes place in Vegas. (The twins will be staying with their dad)
* The book has to do with Magnus's new bloodmate-to-be...Jane.
Okay, have at it! And start thinking those positive thoughts! Through force of will alone we can make this happen! :)
To help promote my upcoming book GAMER GIRL, I am taking a survey of girls who play videogames. I would greatly appreciate it if you could take a few minutes and answer the questions below. Out of all the answers I receive, I will do a drawing to win an autographed advanced copy of the book - so you'll get to read it before anyone else! (Or if you prefer, an autographed copy of Girls that Growl.)
Thanks all! Here are the questions! You can either respond to this blog entry to message me privately:
FIRST NAME:
AGE:
HOMETOWN:
1) What are some of your favorite videogames?
2) Do you prefer to play videogames on the computer on a console? (like the wii, xbox, etc.)
3) Have you ever played an online videogame? If so, which one?
4) What do you think when people say videogames are just for boys? Should these games be for girls, too? Why?
Currently
reading
:
Gamer Girl
By
Mari Mancusi
Release date: 2008-11-13
Just so you know, book 2 - called "Stake That!" in the US and "Einmal gebissen, total hingerissen"in German (Translated to: Once Bitten, Totally Smitten) is now available for purchase! You can get it at your local bookstore or at the German Amazon here:
Just wanted to keep you guys updated on the state of the Blood Coven series. My agent and I have decided to go back to the publisher again and ask if they would be interested in publishing the fourth book of the series. Beg if we need to! We aren't going to give up on this! I even told my agent to say I'd accept a very small advance if they agreed to publish it, since it's not about the money at this point - it's about finishing out the series as it should and give you guys the book you deserve!!!
We've had a lot of good news lately - the books are selling steadily (especially Girls that Growl and Boys that Bite - for some reason Stake That is the least popular, which is weird to me cause it's my personal favorite!) And Boys that Bite has been selected as a Teen Reads Week "Books that Bite" selection by the Young Adult American Library Association. (YALSA) so it should be making a big splash at libraries come October. (Make sure you talk to your librarian about having enough copies available!!) And Japan and Germany have both purchased rights to translate all three existing books in the series - meaning they're doing well overseas.
And lastly, my new book Gamer Girl (coming out in November) is getting good response from sales. If that book does well, then it may boost the Coven series sales as well.
So that's the deal so far. Keep your fingers crossed that the editors say yes. And continue to keep up the good work on spreading the word to your friends. We need to convince this publisher that it's worth their while to release this book!!
