A Bad Boy To Start Your Weekend
Hello, Blog-ites! I'm here to tell you about Tanya Lee Stone's new, edgy YA novel called A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl. This book sounds positively groundbreaking!
Josie, Nicolette, and Aviva are three very different girls who all meet the same bad boy with an irresistible knack for getting into their blood and under their skin.
Will the choices they make and the paths they take lead them where they want to go?
Meet the Girls
Josie "I'm not stuck up. I'm confident. There's a big difference."
Nicolette "Why should I sit around and wait for some guy to call me? It's all about the power. Who's got it and who doesn't."
Aviva "I'm what you call a Criss-Crosser. I've got friends in pretty much all the cliques. I think it's because I'm pretty, but not cheerleader pretty, and smart, but not brainiac smart, and artsy but not freak-show artsy."
Like many writers, Tanya Lee Stone has been making up stories since she was a kid. But her first series, Henry the Happy House, was never sold. She even drew the pictures. It's a mystery why nobody wanted to publish it!
Her writing improved as she studied English at Oberlin College (and Music at Oberlin Conservatory. She might even sing if you offer her chocolate.). After graduation she moved to New York to be an editor.
Tanya was as an editor of children's books for 13 years. During some of those years, she also earned a Masters Degree in Education. But when she got her chance to write her first book, she got hooked on stories all over again. She has published nearly 80 books. A BAD BOY CAN BE GOOD FOR A GIRL is her first novel for teens.
You want to know more? Okay, it's a little-known fact that:
* Tanya has a passion for Wild Berry Skittles.
* And chocolate-covered pretzels.
* Francis Crick once slept in her bed (she was not in it at the time).
* Mandy Patinkin once showed her his Inigo Montoya sword (keep it clean, people!)
* She hates the word "tasty." Don't say it, especially when out to dinner with her. Appetite-gone.
* Like Aviva in BAD BOY, Tanya was a Criss-Crosser in high school. She likes to think it's because she was irresistibly popular, but really it was because she spent half the time at MHS and half the time at performing arts high school--so nobody had time to get sick of her!
* One of her favorite sounds is an orchestra warming up before a show.
* She likes winter because she gets to wear her favorite purple (faux) leopard coat. Well, duh! Who ever heard of a purple leopard!
This is not a book that will sit quietly on any shelf; it will be passed from girl to girl to girl."
- School Library Journal
"This amazing first novel is one of the most honest treatments of teenage sexuality to be found in YA fiction...This will be much talked about, and every reader who has been swept away in a love affair will recognize its truth."
- Kliatt
"...the kind of tell-it-like-it-is wisdom that comes from your best girlfriends. It's irresistible."
- Libba Bray, New York Times best-selling author
"Sure to be the new Forever."
- Award-Winning Author Cynthia Leitich Smith
"candid free-verse novel...electrically charged."
- Horn Book
"Stone's novel packs a steamy, emotional wallop,...The lessons learned here are important."
- Booklist
"every high-school age girl in the world needs to read this book, before they meet the proverbial bad boy."
- Teens Read Too!
"3 smart girls + 1 slick senior boy = 1 sharply observed novel about sex, sisterhood, and self-respect."
- Reading Rants!
Elle Girl magazine's Dare to Read book club picked Bad Boy!
TS: The title hit me first and I was off and running, full steam ahead. Once I started writing in the voice of Josie, I had a lot to say. I added each girl one at a time, and with each of them I was propelled forward by their voice.
MO'C: Do either Josie, Nicollete, or Aviva remind you of yourself? How and why?
TS: I'm a little like Josie in that I had a strong sense of self from a young age, but I liked to test the boundaries (who didn't?), and a little like Aviva because I had interests like music and theater that kept me a little on the fringe, but I was able to have friends in all the different groups in my high school.
MO'C: Your book's been called the new "Forever." How do you feel about that comparison?
TS: Are you kidding? I LOVE it! That book was a major part of my life at 13.
MO'C: It's clear to me that YA fiction is becoming edgier and more daring. How does your novel fit into that zeitgeist?
TS: I certainly think the climate helped me be able to publish what I wanted to write. I think part of our culture is becoming edgier and more daring and YA fiction has good reason to address that. The feedback I'm getting from teenage readers tells me they appreciate it; they thank me for being honest.
MO'C: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
TS: It's cliche, but true. Read, read, read. Write, write, write. And don't be afraid to experiment.
MO'C: What's your writing day like? Any tips or tricks for getting organized?
TS:I wish someone would give me tricks for being organized! I write or do writing-related things from about 10-2, and then often again either late at night or early in the morning.
MO'C: What's been the most exciting thing about publishing? The most frustrating?
TS: I'm about to go on a 2-week tour for this book, so other than getting it published, I'd say that's the most exciting! The most frustrating has been fielding criticisms that come from people who think they know what's in my book, but haven't actually read it. I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion, but you have to read a book first, then discuss it.
MO'C: Do you think you might write a sequel to this novel? If not, what else is in the works?
TS:I don't know. I've tossed around a few ideas. In the meantime, I'm working on another novel, a creative nonfiction project, and two biographies.
Thank you so much for joining us, Tanya! Tanya's book is available at your local Independent Bookseller (BEST CHOICE), Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.
THE BOOK
Josie, Nicolette, and Aviva are three very different girls who all meet the same bad boy with an irresistible knack for getting into their blood and under their skin.
Will the choices they make and the paths they take lead them where they want to go?
Meet the Girls
Josie "I'm not stuck up. I'm confident. There's a big difference."
Nicolette "Why should I sit around and wait for some guy to call me? It's all about the power. Who's got it and who doesn't."
Aviva "I'm what you call a Criss-Crosser. I've got friends in pretty much all the cliques. I think it's because I'm pretty, but not cheerleader pretty, and smart, but not brainiac smart, and artsy but not freak-show artsy."
THE AUTHOR
Like many writers, Tanya Lee Stone has been making up stories since she was a kid. But her first series, Henry the Happy House, was never sold. She even drew the pictures. It's a mystery why nobody wanted to publish it!
Her writing improved as she studied English at Oberlin College (and Music at Oberlin Conservatory. She might even sing if you offer her chocolate.). After graduation she moved to New York to be an editor.
Tanya was as an editor of children's books for 13 years. During some of those years, she also earned a Masters Degree in Education. But when she got her chance to write her first book, she got hooked on stories all over again. She has published nearly 80 books. A BAD BOY CAN BE GOOD FOR A GIRL is her first novel for teens.
You want to know more? Okay, it's a little-known fact that:
* Tanya has a passion for Wild Berry Skittles.
* And chocolate-covered pretzels.
* Francis Crick once slept in her bed (she was not in it at the time).
* Mandy Patinkin once showed her his Inigo Montoya sword (keep it clean, people!)
* She hates the word "tasty." Don't say it, especially when out to dinner with her. Appetite-gone.
* Like Aviva in BAD BOY, Tanya was a Criss-Crosser in high school. She likes to think it's because she was irresistibly popular, but really it was because she spent half the time at MHS and half the time at performing arts high school--so nobody had time to get sick of her!
* One of her favorite sounds is an orchestra warming up before a show.
* She likes winter because she gets to wear her favorite purple (faux) leopard coat. Well, duh! Who ever heard of a purple leopard!
THE BLURBS
This is not a book that will sit quietly on any shelf; it will be passed from girl to girl to girl."
- School Library Journal
"This amazing first novel is one of the most honest treatments of teenage sexuality to be found in YA fiction...This will be much talked about, and every reader who has been swept away in a love affair will recognize its truth."
- Kliatt
"...the kind of tell-it-like-it-is wisdom that comes from your best girlfriends. It's irresistible."
- Libba Bray, New York Times best-selling author
"Sure to be the new Forever."
- Award-Winning Author Cynthia Leitich Smith
"candid free-verse novel...electrically charged."
- Horn Book
"Stone's novel packs a steamy, emotional wallop,...The lessons learned here are important."
- Booklist
"every high-school age girl in the world needs to read this book, before they meet the proverbial bad boy."
- Teens Read Too!
"3 smart girls + 1 slick senior boy = 1 sharply observed novel about sex, sisterhood, and self-respect."
- Reading Rants!
Elle Girl magazine's Dare to Read book club picked Bad Boy!
THE INTERVIEW
MO'C: How did you get this idea for this book? Please describe how the book grew from a glimmer of an idea into a whole novel.TS: The title hit me first and I was off and running, full steam ahead. Once I started writing in the voice of Josie, I had a lot to say. I added each girl one at a time, and with each of them I was propelled forward by their voice.
MO'C: Do either Josie, Nicollete, or Aviva remind you of yourself? How and why?
TS: I'm a little like Josie in that I had a strong sense of self from a young age, but I liked to test the boundaries (who didn't?), and a little like Aviva because I had interests like music and theater that kept me a little on the fringe, but I was able to have friends in all the different groups in my high school.
MO'C: Your book's been called the new "Forever." How do you feel about that comparison?
TS: Are you kidding? I LOVE it! That book was a major part of my life at 13.
MO'C: It's clear to me that YA fiction is becoming edgier and more daring. How does your novel fit into that zeitgeist?
TS: I certainly think the climate helped me be able to publish what I wanted to write. I think part of our culture is becoming edgier and more daring and YA fiction has good reason to address that. The feedback I'm getting from teenage readers tells me they appreciate it; they thank me for being honest.
MO'C: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
TS: It's cliche, but true. Read, read, read. Write, write, write. And don't be afraid to experiment.
MO'C: What's your writing day like? Any tips or tricks for getting organized?
TS:I wish someone would give me tricks for being organized! I write or do writing-related things from about 10-2, and then often again either late at night or early in the morning.
MO'C: What's been the most exciting thing about publishing? The most frustrating?
TS: I'm about to go on a 2-week tour for this book, so other than getting it published, I'd say that's the most exciting! The most frustrating has been fielding criticisms that come from people who think they know what's in my book, but haven't actually read it. I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion, but you have to read a book first, then discuss it.
MO'C: Do you think you might write a sequel to this novel? If not, what else is in the works?
TS:I don't know. I've tossed around a few ideas. In the meantime, I'm working on another novel, a creative nonfiction project, and two biographies.
Thank you so much for joining us, Tanya! Tanya's book is available at your local Independent Bookseller (BEST CHOICE), Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.
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