Hey  there WNRers, today we have S.R. Johannes, the author of the recently released Untraceable as our Five in Five victim…er…I mean guest!

Welcome Shelli!  I was only teasing about the victim thing, we’re actually quite friendly.  So, are you ready to get started?

 1.  Whatcha Reading Now?

I am reading A Million Suns by Beth Revis and Open Minds by Susan Quinn

2.  Awesome!  I loved Across the Universe.  Your first book, Untraceable,  is about a nature girl who is a total kick-butt survivalist, right?  So, if you had the choice between a month in a tent with no plumbing or a month at the Ritz with a very luxurious spa-like tub, which would it be? 

Um is there a trick in there because I’m thinking who would not choose the Ritz? I love the Ritz – used to stay there all the time when I was a consultant because our company had a contract. I know it’s a tough life right? But hey when you are on road every week – you NEED the Ritz J

3.      Okay, that last question was just silly, but this one is completely serious *grins*.  If you were stuck in a tent for a month with no plumbing – what famous hunky guy would you pick to rough it with?

Hugh Jackman. Brad Pitt. Oh wait can I only take one?

4.      Favorite camping food – granola, trail mix or beef jerky?

I think you assume I camp. My husband is the camper. I just listen to his stories. I might go to a cabin or spend the day hiking or watching him fish. But my favorite camping food is s’mores with dark chocolate.

5.      S’mores = Yum!  And here’s the totally random question, so you can finally talk about something other than wilderness.  You just have to tell us one (or more if you want) cool thing about yourself.

Oh gosh. I am so not cool. I guess I used to sing in a band. I wanted to be a singer for a long time – all through high school and college. Once I had kids I stopped singing and started writing. Go figure.

That’s okay, because I’m not cool either.  You know what would be really awesome?  If you’d answer our bonus question, which is:  If you could tag an author for a future Five in Five, who would it be and what question would you ask them?  

Megan Miranda – because she swears she is not good at interviews so it’s funny to watch her stress over them yeah that’s the kind of friend I am.

Thanks so much for stopping by Shelli and WRNers, to find out more about  her and her book, Untraceable, click here!      

Dolphin Girl, A.K.A. Jane, is totally relatable. Feeling trapped by the cliques (A.K.A. pods) at school and her mother’s rules at home, Jane longs for freedom. So, when hottie Sam Rojas who, despite being in the trophy case crowd, takes an interest in Jane, a member of the water fountain clan, she starts thinking maybe things can change. And that royally peeves ex-BFF/now trophy caser/I-want-Sam-all-to-myself Alana.

The daisy (he loves me, he loves me not) romance of Sam and Jane had my heart all aflutter. You gotta read this book!

In the meantime, let’s check in with Shel and see what floats her boat.

1. Of course we wanna know, whatcha’ reading now?   Geez!  This is such a pressure filled question!  I never realized it when we were asking everyone else.  It’s like I’d like to sound half-way intelligent and that is never easy for me to do.

                Okay, here goes.  War and Peace by Tolstoy. 

                Not really. 

Actually, for fiction I’m reading Trash by Andy Mulligan.  It’s a story about a boy named Raphael and his friends who live at a dump and stumble upon something special and mysterious.  Their decision to keep it sets everything in motion.  It’s pretty tense and I think it’s a bit disturbing that I can’t tell if the novel is set in a future dystopian society or present day in a Third World country.   

For non-fiction, I’m reading Blogging for Dummies.  

2. If you could go back to college and choose one other author to be roomies with, who would ya pick?  How funny!  Okay, if I can’t pick you, then it would have to be Louise Rennison, author of the Georgia Nicholson series.  Here’s why:  she’s hysterical, she comes up with wacked out things to do, and you would always know exactly where you stood with her. 

Aww, shucks. You’re so sweet. And while we’d make great roomies, I think Louise Rennison is waaaaay funnier than I could ever dream of being.

3. Would you rather be left on a ski-lift overnight in a snowstorm or be trapped on a rollercoaster continuously looping for twenty-four hours?  Ha!  Can I say neither?  No?  Okay, ski-lift it is, as long as I have a blanket (and maybe a companion?).

4. Across the Universe (movie not the book) or the Ms. Universe Pageant?  Easy peasy.  I love everything about The Beatles and this movie was a phenomenal artistic interpretation of their music.  So, it’s not even a contest.  Sorry Miss Universe or Ms. Universe or Mrs. Universe, whoever and wherever you are. 

And I’d like to add, if I may, that the book beats the pageant by miles, too.  

Haha, agreed.

5.  Now it’s your turn. Tell us one MORE random thing about yourself. Anything ya want!  Once upon a time, I bought a pet alligator for a boy I was in love with.  Yeah, I know.  Nothing says “I love you” quite like a reptile.  I mean, it’s way more memorable than a Hallmark card, don’t’cha think?

What’s that? You think memorable could mean it’s a bad memory.

Nah, no way.  Besides, it’s what he asked me to bring him.    

Ack, gators are my biggest (and only irrational) fear in life. Even the baby ones. Sheesh, you’re crazy.

** Bonus time. Because who doesn’t love a bonus?  If you could tag a future author for our Five in Five Friday who would it be and what’s one burning question you’d have for them?

I’m a huge fan of A.S. King, so if we could get her to participate that would be incredible and I’d love to know:  Does she think in flow charts?    

See why we’re so excited. She’s awesome. *wiping a tear from eye* There are oodles of ways to check Shel and her book out. Here are some links. And, if you wanna win a paperback copy of Dolphin Girl, leave a comment. It can be about Shel, about our Five in Five (maybe a future author you want to see), about your cliques from HS or whatever. Pretty easy, peeps.

Site

Amazon

Whatcha’ Reading Now web site

Twitter

Facebook page

Goodreads

1. Whatcha Reading Now?

 I was just on tour for Fancy Nancy, which means a lot of climbing on and off planes- every day a different town. So I chose the type of reading that I can pick up and put down easily. Humor collections work best for this sort of reading pattern, so I grabbed, I Shudder, by Paul Rudnick this time. His mom worked at my ballet company when I was there in the 1980’s, so I’ve enjoyed following his career. I also love anything David Sedaris writes- that sort of thing.

2.  If you could trade your life in for any fictional character’s life, who would you pick and why?

Mary Poppins. I’d love to be as magical as her, be able to enter pictures drawn on a pavement, fly, and also be as beautiful and ageless as Julie Andrews!

3.  Do you believe in soul mates?

I do now that I met and married mine. I like that he knows what I’m thinking, knows when I’m trying to cover up something or lie to make myself feel better. He sees my baloney flying a mile a way and just cracks up. He also has my back and is a net under my feet. It’s a nice secure feeling being married to him.

4. What skill would you rather have, the ability to fly or the ability to read people’s minds?

One of the mysteries of life is not knowing what others are thinking of you- I’m too insecure to want to actually know the truth. (Definitely flying- see question #2)

5. Tell us one MORE random thing about yourself.

I may look, on the outside like a 55 year old lady, but inside, I’m sometimes 6, sometimes, around 10, but never more than about 18, which is confusing since I have a 20 year old daughter- who is sometimes more mature than I am!

Awesome answers, Robin. Thanks so much for your time, and for the beautiful art that you provide us, through every book you illustrate. And to our readers, if you’re interested in seeing more of Robin’s art, check out her website at www.robinpreissglasser.com

– by Jill MacKenzie

Heya, WRN?’ers. We’re psyched to have Arthur Slade with us today. He’s the mega-author of over 15 novels. From middle-grade graphic novels, creepy short stories, sci-fi and more, he’s got it covered. Ever heard of The Hunchback Assignments series? Yup,that’s Arthur’s. They are Steampunk novels at their best. You gotta check him out. You can do that right here.

Ready, Art?

1. First, we wanna know…Whatcha’ Reading Now?

Frankenstein! By Mary Shelley. I’m doing a bit o’ research for the 4th Hunchback Assignments book. I find her version of Frankenstein’s monster the scariest because he’s ultra-intelligent. And he’s a vegetarian. He just eats berries and nuts! Err, not that vegetarians scare me. But 6 foot 10 vegetarians that have a murderous side do frighten me. I often cower when I see them coming.

2.  What’s the first book you remember really loving and how old were you at the time?

Oh, that has to be The Hobbit. I was nine years old and I adored that book. My teacher read the book to the class and I was so entranced. Those hobbits were cool, even if they did have hairy feet. Actually, the fact they had such hairy feet was kind of cool, too. They didn’t need shoes. Think how much money that would save.

3. If you could be a superhero, what would you want your kick-butt power to be?

Ultra-thesaurus-brain. That’s right, instead of picking a power that would save the world, I want one that would automatically allow me to choose the perfect word for the perfect situation. Someone would shout, “What’s another word for spittoon?” and I’d shout “cuspidor.” And then everyone would get grossed out because they’d think about all the chewing tobacco that ends up being spit into a spittoon. Okay, maybe it’s not a great kick butt power.

4. If you could be a food, what food would you want to be?

Edamame. I mean what is that stuff? It’s green. It’s a bean. It’s full of protein. And yet it’s so small. Small and powerful. And somehow perfectly shaped. You can tell I spend a lot of time thinking about edamame. Actually, I don’t even know how to pronounce it.

5.  Your turn. Tell us one cool, random thing about yourself.

I live in a city named after a small berry (I seem to be stuck on food): Saskatoon. It’s a purple berry that we use to make pies. I mean it doesn’t even sound real, does it? Saskatoon, Saskatchewan? That’s like a made up place. And then when I tell people that I was actually born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan…that just blows their minds. I think it’s good for your imagination to live in an imaginary-sounding place.

**Oh, and a bonus question. We all love a good bonus. If you could tag one author for an upcoming issue of our Five in Five who would it be and what burning question should we ask them?

Kenneth Oppel. Hey Ken, what would you rather ride on…a giant bat or a giant airship?

There ya have it. Everything you’ve always wanted to know about our good friend. Thanks a bunch for stopping by Art. And, peeps, you can find his books just about anywhere, so whatcha’ waiting for? Go buy them.

Interviewed by Kerry O’Malley Cerra

Ready for some fun, Linda? 

1. Whatcha’ Reading Now?

Linda: Right now – I am re-reading The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins, for my book club – quite a memorable story and the writing absolutely sings! And I just finished two horse books: Risky Chance, Horse Diaries #7, by Alison Hart, a great chapter book about a race horse, and The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse that Inspired a Nation, by Elizabeth Letts. Loved them both!

 2.  What is your favorite smell in the whole wide world?

 Linda: Chocolate Chip Cookies baking in the oven.

 Kerry: Ohhh, yummmmm!

3. If you could talk with any animal, which animal would you pick and what would you talk about?

 Linda: Oh, I’d love to talk with the famous race mare Zenyatta, 2010 Horse of the Year and winner of 19 races in a row (who is now retired and pregnant with her first foal.) I’d ask her if she misses the glamour and excitement of the race track, or if she’s much happier now hanging out in the pasture with her girlfriends and living the life of leisure.

 Kerry: OMG, this is the coolest answer ever! I can see why you’re a writer. I can so picture Zenyatta and her girlies hanging in the pasture. <3 <3 <3 

4. What’s one word you’d use to describe yourself?

 Linda: Honest 

Kerry:

5. Okay, now you pick. Tell us one random thing about yourself.

 Linda: I haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books or the Twilight series.

 Kerry: Yeah, I’m gonna say I’m pretty shocked by at least one of those. LOL

 Okay, but wait. We have a bonus question. If you could tag a future author for our Five in Five who would it be and what’s one burning question you’d have for them?

 Linda: Have you done Kimberly Newton Fusco yet? (author of The Wonder of Charlie Anne) Have you read this book? OMG it’s good – voice, voice, voice, I LOVED it. I would ask her if she has another book coming out soon and how did the character of Charlie Anne come to her – all at once, or little by little?

Kerry: No, we haven’t. That book sounds amazing and I’ll be sure to add it to my TBR pile. Thanks for stopping by, Linda. Congrats on your newest release.

WRN?’ers, you can find out more about Linda and her books below.

Linda’s website

Linda’s Blog

Faceboook page for The Girl Who Remembered  Horses

Linda’s publisher

Interviewed by : Kerry O’Malley Cerra

It’s time for Five in Five and you know what that means?  You should take a five-minute break from whatever you were doing and get to know five crucial things about Shana Norris, author of Something to Blog About, Troy High, The Boyfriend Thief, and the very-soon-to-be-released-like-in-four-days paranormal  Surfacing, which is about a teen girl who goes to live with her estranged father on a tiny island off the coast of North Carolina and finds that the people there aren’t all what they seem to be.

Okay, Shana ? Here we go!

1.       Whatcha’ Reading Now? 

I’m finishing up the audiobook of Goliath by Scott Westerfeld. I know, that’s actually listening instead of reading, but it’s SO good and so I had to mention it. I’m reading Dark Magick by Cate Tiernan, part of the Sweep series. It’s a perfect fall read!

2.       If you weren’t an author, what would be the second coolest job to have? (We know being an author is the coolest!)

An astronaut, definitely. I’ve always been a bit of a space geek and would love to go up into the stars and explore other places.

3.       With Thanksgiving right around the corner, which will you eat more of: turkey or pumpkin pie?

Turkey. I actually don’t like pumpkin pie (I know, I’m weird!). But I’ll eat plenty of my grandpa’s banana pudding for dessert after the turkey.

4.       What’s your dream destination for an adventure vacation?

In addition to being a space geek, I’m also a history geek, so I want to visit ancient civilizations. The Colosseum, Pompeii, the Acropolis, the Egyptian pyramids, Mayan ruins. I think I need an “Around the World Ruins Tour.”

Okay, here you’ve gotta tell us one more random thing about you.

As a kid, I would stand in front of the mirror for hours to teach myself to raise just one eyebrow. Why? Because Fred Savage did it all the time as Kevin on The Wonder Years.

And just when you thought you were done, we decided to haul out the bonus question.

If you could tag a future author for our Five in Five who would it be and what’s one burning question you’d have for them?
Marlene Perez, author of the Dead Is… series. And the question is: What would be the coolest supernatural power to have?

Thank you for the interview Shana!  Hey, WRNers!  You should stop by and visit Shana at her site where she’s got totally cool stuff like playlists and behind the scenes notes and trivia.  http://www.shananorris.com

But also hook up with her on Twitter and Facebook because that way you can stay up-to-date on all the stuff about her new book, Surfacing!

Thanks for stopping by, Shana!

Interviewed by Shel Delisle 

In this entertaining dysfunctional romp, the authors cut the pathos with humor and vivid characterizations. Rory is an indelible portrait of a high-functioning autistic kid who’s both off-putting and magnetic; veering between wild tantrums, plangent sweetness and locked-down obliviousness, he’s a mystery to himself as to others. KIRKUS REVIEWS

So, let’s get movin’ with our questions and find out all about Joanne.

1.  Whatcha Reading Now?  

“Our Town” by Thornton Wilder

2. If you could have lunch with one writer (alive or deceased) to really pick their brain and find out what makes them tick, who would you pick and why? 

Harper Lee because I am fascinated with her since she wrote one amazing novel. To Kill A Mockingbird won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the greatest novels ever written. It transcends time. I would like to ask her about this. Did fear keep her from writing another novel? Or, did she only have one novel in her?

3. If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you wish for?

I’d wish for a cure for cancer, to have the talent as a writer equivalent to Michelangelo’s skill as a sculptor, and to speak to my grandmothers. 

4. If you had to define yourself in a single word, what word would you pick?

Gracious

5. Tell us one MORE random thing about yourself.

I am obsessed with the Italian Renaissance.

Thanks for joining us, Joanne.

WRN?er’s, you can find out more about Joanne and her work by clicking here.

Interviewed by: Jill Mackenzie

Starred Review “In this chilling debut, Mullin seamlessly weaves meticulous details about science, geography, agriculture and slaughter into his prose, creating a fully immersive and internally consistent world scarily close to reality.”
 

Sounds awesome, right? Let’s check in with Mike and find out all about him.

Heya, Mike. Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks for inviting me.

1. Of course we wanna know…Whatcha’ Reading Now?

I finished Saundra Mitchell’s new novel The Springsweet (Harcourt, April 2012) last night. It’s excellent—a cross between its companion novel, The Vespertine, and the middle grade classic, Sarah, Plain and Tall. I’ve got to return it to Kids Ink Children’s Bookstore this afternoon—I stole their advance reading copy.

Over lunch and at the doctor’s office today I’ve read about half of Jeff Hirsch’s debut, The Eleventh Plague. It reminds me of Shipbreaker—a realistic and scarily plausible post-apocalyptic adventure.

2. As a kid, what did you think you’d be when you grew up?

I started out wanting to be a firefighter (natch). Later I wanted to be a pro football wide receiver like Lynn Swann. That guy was indestructible! Then I went through a ballet dancer phase. (I had a crush on a ballerina, what can I say?) In high school I thought I’d be a newspaper editor. I even tried it out for a while, publishing and editing an underground newspaper titled The Middle Finger. I thought I might like to be a politician (puke!) until I served as a Congressional Page in the sausage factory that is Washington D.C. In college I decided I’d be a marketing executive. I actually did that one—it’s as soul-sucking as it sounds. I’m really enjoying writing full time. I can do it thanks to my extraordinarily patient and well-employed wife. (Thanks, honey!) Maybe one or two of you would buy ASHFALL so I can keep writing? I love this career!

3. What is your most quirky trait?

I keep a pet alligator in the guest room bathtub. It LOVES my wife’s three cats. Also, I lie in interviews a lot.

4. If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

I would leap at the chance to do this—one of the weaknesses in my writing is female voices, so I’d have to become a woman.  I’d probably become a minority, too. I feel less than competent writing from minority perspectives, so I tend to include too few in my work. Maybe Celie from The Color Purple or Precious from Push, although I doubt I’m tough enough to survive either of their lives.

5. Your turn. Tell us one random thing about yourself that our readers would be surprised to know.

I fractured my wrist in fourth grade while breaking into my own house. I told my classmates it was broken during a fight with a grizzly bear. I was really interested in backcountry survival then—I embellished my tale with so many convincing details that more than half the class believed me and not my teacher, who swore there were no grizzlies in Indiana.

*Okay, and a bonus question, because who doesn’t love a bonus? 

If you could tag a future author for our Five in Five who would it be and what’s one burning question you’d have for them?

Ask Saundra Mitchell what she reads to train herself to write such pitch-perfect Victorian voices without bogging her work down in a ponderous Victorian style. Or ask Sarah Ockler this: If you could force Mr. Scroggins to read one book, which one would you choose and why? (Scroggins instigated a ban of her outstanding novel, Twenty Boy Summer.)

Mike, it’s fantastic to have you with us. WRN?er’s,for more info about Mike or his book, go here  And don’t forget, Ashfall is available now.

Thanks for inviting me!

Interviewed by Kerry O’Malley Cerra

Mandy

Cyn

Hey WRNers, this week we have CynBalog  AND Mandy Hubbard, real-life friends who collaborated on the e-book Getting Caught, a novel about two ex-bestfriends caught in an snowballing prank war.  As the tricks escalate, both girls must avoid detection.  Neither one wants to get caught.

Because the story is told from two points of view, it should be a lot of fun to see how both authors answer the burning questions we all have during this edition of Five in Five.

Okay, so numero uno is…

Whatcha’ Reading Now?

Cyn:  All the Things I’ve Done, by Gabrielle Zevin. I am kind of on a dystopian kick because I just finished writing one.

Mandy: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Okay, thanks!  I love new ideas for my tbr pile.  Now, ah, we thought long and hard about what to ask.  What we think everyone should know is:

Flip flops or heels?

Mandy: Flip Flops. I’m 5’10 so I like prefer flats. Sometimes I buy the cutest heels in the world and then I wear them like twenty minutes and remember why I never wear heels.

Cyn:   Heels. I don’t like showing off my toes,  because I think toes are weird. If you had said Bunny Slippers or Heels, I would have gone for the bunny slippers, though, since I really am all about vegging out.

Your biggest celebrity crush?

Cyn:  Timothy Olyphant.

Mandy: Josh Duhamel. Soooooooo hot.

What magical ability or power would you like to have?

Mandy: To never be tired. I can’t stop yawning this morning. I wish I could magically replenish my energy or something.

Cyn:  The power to go into other people’s dreams. Just because it would be fun to mess with people.

And now, we need for you to tell us one more random thing about yourself.

Cyn:  I don’t like toes. Wait, did I say that already? Okay, hmmm….  Other things I don’t like: football, cockroaches the size of my hand, metrosexuals, vodka, chocolate-mint anything, and people who say “close proximity.”

Mandy:  You can tell we’re really good at directions, because Cyn totally said more than one thing. Random facts about me: My first kiss occurred when I was on a horse. I broke my foot on a school playground during recess. I got married in the church where my parents were married. I started writing at 20 but it wasn’t until 23 that I wanted to BE a writer. I have a thing about walking on lines/stripes or curbs. I once served as the County Dairy Princess. My four year old daughter sometimes wears the crown to school. I really like boy bands.

Hurray for some incredibly serious randomness!  Awesome!

So, WRNers you should definitely check out GETTING CAUGHT.  It has a promo price of 99 cents—yeah, I know under a dollar!—for the month of October.  That’s eleven more days.

And if you’d like to know more about these authors:

Mandy Hubbard is the author of RIPPLE and BUT I LOVE HIM (written under the psuedonym Amanda Grace). She is also a literary agent for D4EO Literary, where she represents authors of middle grade and teen fiction. She is currently living happily ever after with her husband and young daughter in Tacoma, Washington.  You can find out more about Mandy and her other books at www.mandyhubbard.com

Cyn Balog is the author of the newly young adult paranormal novel STARSTRUCK, in addition to her earlier books FAIRY TALE and SLEEPLESS. She lives outside Allentown, Pennsylvania with her husband and daughters. Visit her online at www.cynbalog.com

Here with us for our “Five in Five” interview this week is rock star writer of Shrinking Violet, Indigo Blues, and now the brand-spanking new novel, Pure Red, Danielle Joseph! Applause everyone!

So Danielle, it’s pretty obvious you’ve got a color obsession going on, right?  So let’s skip that question and move over to the quintessential…

1.       Whatcha Reading Now? I have just finished reading Christina Gonzalez’s next novel, A Thunderous Whisper. Get ready, it’s a heartfelt tear jerker!

2.       If you were going away to live in some new civilization and could only take three personal items with you, none of them being clothes, what would you take? Assuming my family was coming with me, I’d take my iPhone, my notebook and a collection of short stories.

3.       What’s your biggest “what if?” My biggest what if is…what if the world ran out of chocolate. There would be so many cranky writers roaming the earth!

4.       What’s your guilty pleasure? What lengths would you go to to get it back if someone took it away from you forever?  My guilty pleasure whenever I ride on an airplane is People Magazine. I have to buy a copy of it to read on my trip. I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager. If my husband or another travel companion stole the magazine from me, I’d have to to press the call button and get the flight attendant to eject them from the plane:).

5.       Tell us one MORE random thing about yourself. I love pickles and just made my first batch last month. Not too bad! 

There you have it, folks! Nothing hum-drum about this author, (I mean, anyone that’s that into chocolate, is okay in our books!) that’s for sure! If you want to learn more about Danielle and what she’s got going on next, visit her website at www.daniellejoseph.com. Also, visit her “grog” (group blog) site right here