Today we have author Lisa Amowitz on Reading
The Author: Lisa Amowitz
My background is in art and graphic design, which I teach at a community college in New York City
Writing
Here's the truth--after reading the first three Harry Potter books OUT LOUD to my daughter with a very poor British accent (yes, that's right--in their entirety)--the damage was done. I was hooked on urban fantasy. Then I decided I must illustrate a children’s' book, so I set about writing one without the foggiest notion of what genre I was writing. I became an undercover writer, too embarrassed to admit how obsessive I'd become. As luck would have it, I eventually joined an online critique group that basically taught me how to write. Members of this original group, (it will be eight years this February joined that group) are still members of my current critique group, the Cudas, which will be celebrating its seventh year next August.
The Book- Breaking Glass
The inspiration for Breaking Glass came in bits and pieces. Though it is set in the fictitious town of Riverton , it is based on the actual town of Croton-on-Hudson , a semi-rural suburb of New York City
Blurb
On the night seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her from beyond the grave, hes not sure whether they’re real or if he’s losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unravelling the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the next victim himself
I'm very excited, but at the same time I'm a little nervous about publicity and such. Plus it's such a crazy year--my daughter is graduating from high school, my son from college and then my book comes out. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
Can you describe your main protagonist Jeremy in less than 140 characters?
Haunted by his inner demons, high school track star Jeremy Glass tries to summon his crush from beyond the grave to solve her murder.
Alot of YA books I know use females as the main protagonist, especially YA paranormal books. Why did you choose to go with a male protagonist?
I like male protagonists because what they are thinking and what they actually say are two different things. Jeremy almost never admits how he truly feels, which is what made him so much fun to write.
If you could encourage readers to pick up your book in July when it is released, what would you say?
It's creepy, dark and a really good mystery. It's also a little bit funny at times. (I'm pretty bad at this!)
Bookie Questions:
Favourite genre and why?
YA dystopic or paranormal
Favourite YA author and why?
At this moment, I'd have to say that Maggie Stiefvater is the epitome of what I aspire to--her writing is literary and lyrical--just what I love. Do I have to pick just one? I have so many--Suzanne Collins, John Green, Cassie Clare, Patrick Ness.
Debut author/ upcoming author we should check out
Well obviously everyone from Spencer Hill Press--but also my very good friend Michelle McLean who has a bazillion books coming out next year with Entangled Publishing.
Favourite 2012 read and why?
Maggie Stiefvater--the Raven Boys. Ahhhh--Maggie is a poet. Her writing is so vivid I can taste it. Her characters are painstakingly real and heartbreaking. Her romance makes my heart stutter and her mysteries keep me turning the page. I can actually smell the fragrance in the air when she describes it.
A book series you love and why?
Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking series. After The Hunger Games, it is the best YA dystopic ever written. It's wildly original and filled with action, romance and total weirdness.
Stalk the author:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLisaAmowitz
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/lisa_amowitz
Blog http://lisa-amowitzya.blogspot.com/
