Monthly Archives: March 2010

Admirations & Inspirations with Stacey Jay

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Stacey Jay is the author of last year’s zombie comedy You Are So Undead to Me. This year’s she’s back with two more zombie books starting off with Undead Much?, which came out in January. She’s here today to talk about an artist she admires.

There are so many artists I admire, but one I’d love to bring attention to is April McGuire. She designed the t-shirt for “Undead Much?”, which you can see here.

She’s an amazing young artist and I love her work.

I found April on deviant art, which is one of my preferred places to browse when I’m procrastinating. As exciting as museums and society-approved art can be, it’s just as exciting to see what’s going on underground, what up-and-coming artists are up to.

Want more zombies? Go to Stacey’s website! You can even submit your own zombie art.

Pick up Undead Much online, at an independent bookstore (Stacey recommends Square Books Jr. in Oxford Mississippi), or at your local public library.

Other Blogs, Other Posts, Other Thoughts

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I recently blogged about what I see as the importance of LGBTQ books at my agent’s group blog, A Crowe’s Nest.

And over at the YALSA blog, I have a reaction to the New York Times column by Cathleen Schine, “I Was A Teenage Illiterate.” This one’s from a librarian’s perspective, but I think other writers would be interested in the original piece.

Go on over and take a read — I’d love to hear what you think!

Erin Dionne’s Admirations & Influences

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Once you’ve done a panel presentation with someone while wearing a tiara, well, let’s just say it’s a bonding experience. That’s Erin Dionne, Deva Fagan, and me at the Bar Harbor Book Festival last fall. Today I’m catching up with Erin, author of Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies and The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet. I asked her about some influences from the worlds of art and music.

First, here’s a little bit about Total Tragedy: Hamlet Kennedy just wants to be your average, happy, vanilla eighth grader. But with Shakespearean scholar parents who dress in Elizabethan regalia and generally go about in public as if it were the sixteenth century, that’s not terribly easy. It gets worse when they decide that Hamlet’s genius sevenyear- old sister will attend middle school with her– and even worse when the Shakespeare project is announced and her sister is named the new math tutor. By the time an in-class recitation reveals that our heroine is an extraordinary Shakespearean actress, Hamlet can no longer hide from the fact that she–like her family–is anything but average.

So, given that context, Erin, what’s Hamlet’s theme song?

I think “Stuck in the Middle With You”, a song from the 1972 band Stealers Wheel. It captures how Hamlet feels about being part of her family–trapped, but there’s no way she can get away from them.

Oh I love that song! Now I need to go listen to it.

Question two: Who/what is your favorite visual artist or favorite piece of art?

Whooo!! LOVE THIS QUESTION!!
I’m a big Salvador Dali fan. His Surrealist images just blow me away, especially “The Persistence of Memory”.

I love the mood that permeates his pieces, so much so that I used them in TOTAL TRAGEDY. The kids have an art project that revolves around Surrealist paintings, and I asked one of my students to come up with lesson plans for that same project!

Thank you, Erin!

Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet is available now, and you should pick it up from your local independent bookseller. Erin (and I!) recommends the Book Rack in Arlington, MA. You can also look for it in your local library. If they don’t have it, request it!