Lisa and I met through the 2009 Debutantes, a group of writers who had their first YA or MG book coming out in 2009. For me, it was a support group. We are all family, and Lisa is one of our many hearts. When we heard about her diagnosis, we wanted to do something, and Cindy Pon came up with the idea of spreading the love.

Basically, we want to get the word out about Lisa and her books, Morris winner Flash Burnout and her new release The Mermaid’s Mirror. If you help to spread the love about her books, you will be entered to win one of forty sets of her books from the Debs.

So, blog, tweet, review, etc. and then go to this post and explain what you did and you will be entered.

And, as if that weren’t enough, her publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is stepping up to the plate with a giveaway just for libraries. Budgets are tight, library friends: an email can win you two free books!

Graphics from ALA

Last week I blogged about Wesley Scroggins editorial in which he called for the removal of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, “a book called Slaughterhouse Five” (’cause, yanno, you might not have heard of this Kurt Vonnegut guy) and Sarah Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer from the schools and curriculum in his local schools. An editor’s note reported that superintendent of the Republic said that Twenty Boy Summer was under review, while Slaughterhouse Five had been removed from the curriculum.

I explained in my previous post why I think Ockler’s book is so amazing. Scroggins at best grossly misinterpreted it and, at worst, is purposefully misrepresenting it. Either way, we fellow Debs took this attack personally. But, organized by Saundra Mitchell, we are taking the high ground and we’re giving readers a chance to decide for themselves what they think about Sarah’s book. Debs Speak Loudly is a chance for you to win one of 100 copies of Twenty Boy Summer donated by us and Sarah’s publisher, Little Brown. So head over to the post and leave a comment — it’s as easy as that to enter!

Character name: Violet Ambrose
Age: 17
Biography:
Just your typical teenager…except for my unusual talent (listed below).

What is your talent?
I can find murder victims by the echo they leave behind. To make things worse, that specific echo also attaches to the killer responsible for their death. Other than that, I’m perfectly normal!

What will you wear for the evening dress competition?
Something super-hot. I really want Jay to notice me!

Who is your escort?
Jay Heaton, my best friend since the first-grade.

And now for the interview portion . . . What’s the biggest challenge facing today’s youth?
Technology has created a lot of really great venues for kids to connect, to study, to entertain themselves, but it’s also created a generation of impatience. With everything accessible at their fingertips, attention spans seem to be getting shorter. Sometimes it’s nice to slow down and un-plug!

What color best represents you and why?
Probably yellow, because it’s cheery and fun. (Yes, even I know how lame that sounds!) But it’s true, I try to see the humor in situations whenever possible, it’s way harder to be negative than to laugh!

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
More vacation time! For everyone!!! Don’t we all need a good vacation now and then???

Thank you Violet and Kimberly!

I keep hearing great reviews of The Body Finder so you all should go out and read it. It’s available from Amazon. Or support a local independent bookstore. Kim recommends Third Place Books in Seattle. You could also look for it at your local library.

Character name: Fiona Sheehan
Age: 17
Biography: My name is Fiona, and I’m a senior in high school. I’m only here because I lost a bet with my best friend, Marcie. My hobbies include listening to music, cracking jokes, and complaining about how lame my parents are.

What is your talent? I can tie my hair up in a bun without using any hair accessories. Sometimes I use a pencil or a clothespin.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition? Some horrid monstrosity I borrowed from Mar.

Who is your escort? What the hell is an escort? Isn’t that another name for a prostitute? What kind of pageant is this, anyway?

And now for the interview portion . . . What’s the biggest challenge facing today’s youth?
How about: trying to get through high school without an unplanned pregnancy, an STD, or a drug addiction. What? What’d I say wrong? Hey, you asked.

Thanks, Megan!

Thank you Fiona and Kristin! I think you are the last contestant!

A Match Made in High School is available now. Pick it up from an Indie book store. Here’s what Kristin has to say about that: “Besides the great indie bookstore, Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, IL, I’d also like to recommend Read Between the Lynes in Woodstock, IL.

To learn more about Kristen and her work, please visit her website.

A number of Debs have come together to create a prize pack of signed books, to be auctioned off via Leaky Cauldron to help the relief effort in Haiti.

The book list is quite impressive, as are the other items up for auction (especially for Harry Potter fans). Feed your book addiction and help the people of Haiti.

On Friday, I did a workshop about standards for school library media programs that was awesome. It was led by Pam Berger, who was just fantastic. Then I went to the author panel with Eric Van Lustbader, Chuck Hogan, Tracy Chevalier, and Julie Powell. Ostensibly it was about books into movies, but they talked about all sorts of things. As a new author, I found it fascinating and reassuring when they talked about reviews. Except for Lustbader, who insisted he didn’t read his I should have taken notes and written down quotes because they were interesting. Chevalier talked about how the reviews balanced her, since most people who write to her or come to her events like the books. Both she and Hogan mentioned that they wished they could learn something from them, which is one of the fallacies of book reviewing, I think, that the author will read it, incorporate it, and somehow improve their work.

Next I went to the YALSA happy hour in which I met many hip librarians whose fashion I very much want to emulate, and with whom I had great conversations. I met people on various award committees who would not spill at all, even with my clever attempts at tricking them like, “Oh, I so want to know who wins!”

Saturday was exhibits and authors for me. It met up with Deva Fagan and Erin Dionne and they each knew so many people, and it was like every time I turned around I was being introduced to another magnificent author. It was crazy, and I was star-struck. Then I met my lovely agent Sara Crowe who took me to lunch along with Varian Johnson and Mary Atkinson. Can I tell you how amazing it is to have a business-lunch that’s all about literature? It is totally amazing.

So then I was going to crash the Tweet Up, but sometimes I need a little break from interaction, so I found a quiet place and started reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson, one of the many arcs I scored.

Finally I met some librarian friends for dinner at Tapeo, a tapas restaurant right in the neighborhood where I used to work when I lived in Boston. Good food and nostalgia — nothing better than that! Then I took the train back to the exact stop where I used to live, and my husband picked me up, and it was like when we first started dating. Sigh. And we all lived happily ever after. The end.

Oh wait! I forgot an essential part! So I mentioned the committees above, and I finally did get my answer. First off, congratulations to all the winners of the ALA Youth Media awards! I think it is a wonderful collection of books that won the awards and were put on the lists. My dear Deb L.K. Madigan won the Morris for Flash Burnout. Ash by Malinda Lo was one of the finalists. Ash was also one of the top books of the Rainbow List, a list which, I am very proud to say, also included Secrets of Truth & Beauty. Kekla Magoon, who I met at the Bar Harbor Book Festival, earned the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award for The Rock and The River.

There’s some more good news for some of my writing buddies. Saundra Mitchell is nominated for an Edgar for Shadowed Summer. And Carrie Jones, who has my heart and a duct tape rose, is a New York Times Bestseller with Captivate!

So, for the last time, in Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog. Our final contestant comes from Rhonda Stapleton’s Stupid Cupid. Let’s get on with the pageant!

Character name: Felicity
Age: 17
Biography: I am a brand-new matchmaker at Cupid’s Hollow. I love helping my fellow students and making a difference in my school by finding true love for them.

What is your talent? Caring about people. Is that a talent? Well, if it is, that’s mine.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition? I’m still in the process of shopping. I’m kind of broke right now, and my mom (aka, the House Nazi) won’t give me money. Tightwad!

Who is your escort? There’s only one escort I want–but I don’t want to say his name out loud and jinx it! *girly sigh*

And now for the interview portion . . . If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? The one thing I would change is loneliness. No one would be alone–there has to be someone special out there for everyone. Even me, right?

Thanks Rhonda and Felicity!

Stupid Cupid is available now. Get it from Amazon, or at your local bookstore. Rhonda recommends Joseph Beth Bookstores–check them out! To find out more about Rhonda, visit her website.

What are you waiting for? Go enter!

If you are a librarian, don’t forget to enter our contest to win 46 brand new books!

Character name: Blake
Age: 15
Biography: Hi, I’m Blake. I’m in the tenth grade at West Park High. I live with my parents, one shaved-headed jock brother named Garrett, and The Dog Formerly Known as Prince. My best friend is Riley, and my girlfriend is Shannon. She is sweet and funny and hot.

What is your talent?
I am the funniest 15-year-old in Portland, and my wit will be on display tonight!

What will you wear for the evening dress competition?
I know most dudes would go the safe route and wear, you know, slacks and a shirt. But I’m gonna go with a Utili-kilt, which shows off my sexy legs, so I can win this pageant-apalooza!

Who is your escort?
My girl, Shannon.

And now for the interview portion . . . What’s the biggest challenge facing today’s youth?
The biggest challenge facing today’s youth is getting a little private time, you know what I mean? My parents and the horrifying DeWinters (Shannon’s parents) are way too interested in where we’re going, what we’re doing, what time we’re going to be home, etc. Focus on your own lives, olds!

Thank you Blake and L.K.!

If you want to get to know Blake better, get your hands on a copy of Flash Burnout. I recommend indies, and L.K. recommends Annie Bloom’s Books in the other Portland (Oregon, that is). You can, of course, also order it from Amazon. I know you want to know more about L.K. Madigan, so visit her site, too.

And finally, if you want a Utili-kilt like Blake, check out their website. It’s an education.