Author: claudia

One of the most frequently asked questions you get as a writer is: “Do you outline or write as you go?” I always outline, and I usually go on to explain that I don’t consider the outlining process separate from writing; it’s a process that I spend weeks or months on, working my story out in detail, battling the macro issues of plot and characterization before I settle in to work on the prose. Sometimes people ask whether something major has ever changed from my outline to the book, and the answer has generally been “no.” Yes, outlines are — as famed writing instructor Commodore Barbossa would say — not so much rules and guidelines, so there have been subplots that came or went, minor characters who did things they weren’t intended to do, so on and so forth. But no significant plot change ever happened.

UNTIL.

I’m currently on the very final stretch of working on STEADFAST, the second book in the SPELLCASTER trilogy. (The first one, SPELLCASTER itself, comes out next March; STEADFAST will come out in March 2014. How did I turn into someone who has solid plans for 2014? But I digress.) When I began work on this, I first thought I would create my usual outline — but for some reason, I thought, I’m going to do this a little more fluidly. After all, I’m always telling people to experiment with different methods that might work for them; maybe it was time for me to take my own advice.

So instead of creating a text-heavy outline, I instead sat down with a heap of notecards. Already I had in my head most of the storylines and moments that would go into STEADFAST; I just had no idea what the progression would be, or how things linked together. I made one notecard per scene, put them in a rough order, filled in some connective scenes and links, and got to work. To my surprise, it worked really well. However, as I kept writing, I began to feel more and more uneasy about getting to the ending. Too much was happening that needed to be explored, or followed up on. This book was running long. REALLY long. And then I began to freak out a bit, because it was becoming clear that I hadn’t supported my proposed ending enough.

And then, yesterday, I realized, That’s because it’s not the ending. I had indeed been writing toward a meaningful dramatic conclusion — just not the one I originally envisioned. Now I was free to go for that new ending, one that thrills me no end.

Does this mean I’m throwing out my outlines forever? Heck, no. The event that I originally saw as the end of STEADFAST will still occur in the third book (tentative title: SORCERESS); it’s something I know the characters have to go through, a dilemma they absolutely must face. So my original planning ahead didn’t lead me in a wrong direction so much as it showed me a place a little farther down the road than I needed to go. Also, to some extent, I could be freer writing a sequel because by now I know the characters of Nadia, Mateo and Verlaine well enough to trust their reactions; I’m still very glad I had a far more in-depth outline for SPELLCASTER, because that outlining process greatly helped me to know who they are and how they were going to be challenged. And, of course, even if I did have a thorough outline, I still could have deviated from it. But would I have seen the solution this clearly, this soon?

My take-away lesson from this, then, isn’t “To hell with outlines.” It’s “continue to explore who you are as a writer.” I really feel that for most of us who try to write, figuring out who we are as writers — what interests us, what we write well, what methods make us productive — is more than half the battle. The next time I have the itch to try something new, I’m going to trust my instincts again, because I like where it led me this time.

Do you experiment with your writing methods? What worked for you? What didn’t?

You caught part one of the Q&A about SPELLCASTER (coming March 2013), right? Now we’re moving on to part two:

From Daniela: Is there any kind of music or song that you associate with this book and characters?

“Cosmic Love” by Florence + the Machine. “Lullabye for a Stormy Night” by Vienna Teng. “Pearl’s Dream” by Bat for Lashes. “Strange Times” by the Black Keys. “Gabriel” by Lamb. Also — and I cannot explain this, not in a zillion years — the score to the movie “Tron: Legacy.” (Random fact is random.)

From lots of you: Who is your favorite character? Is there one you identify with?

I identify with all of them, in different ways, but I always say my favorite character is the one who’s easiest to write on any given day. But some characters are easier to write than others – and a character named Elizabeth probably fires me up, writing-wise, more than anyone else. You’ll get to know more about her later.

From Viki: Do you love these characters as much as the EVERNIGHT characters?

Yeah, I do! In different ways. Asking a writer to pick her favorite characters – it’s like asking a mom to pick which one of her kids she likes the most. They’re all the BEST EVER until they suddenly balk in a scene or do something bizarre and then someone is cruising for a time out.

From Christine: in the Evernight series we watched Bianca not only change forms, but really grow into herself. What is it about the new characters that will make us fall in love with them and their story as much as we did Bianca, Balthazar, and the others?

Oooh, this answer could take a while. I’ll try to be succinct:

I think anybody who’s had to deal with way too much, way too soon in life, and sometimes feels like the pressure is too much, will relate to Nadia. I think anybody who has felt judged, like they need to break free of what people think about them and just be who they are, will sympathize with Mateo. And I think anybody who’s dealt with enduring loneliness will understand Verlaine.

From Jane: Have you given any of your characters in Spellcaster any defining quirky habits or funny dialogue tics? (like OCD, stuttering, etc.)

Verlaine loves vintage clothing. She pretty much only dresses in vintage clothing – except for shoes, because as she says, she can never find old shoes that fit her boat feet, plus they’re usually heels, which would make her the tallest person in school instead of the third tallest. (And yes, she is counting the varsity basketball team.) So she’s usually in some awesome vintage outfit — and Converse.

From Britney: If you could take one of your characters from SPELLCASTER on vacation with you, who would you take, where, and why?

Oh, gosh. I think I’d have to take Nadia, just because I can’t think of a single travel mishap that magic couldn’t make better. And the girl needs a break!

From Amy: Is this a stand-alone book?

I’m happy to say that SPELLCASTER is actually the first book in a trilogy. (Right now I’m hard at work on the middle book, STEADFAST.)

From Connie: What about this new trilogy has you most excited?

So many things! But the first one that leaped to mind was the villain, who I’m having an absolute blast writing. Maybe I shouldn’t admit that I’m having so much fun with eeeeevil. But I am.

From Lea: Can you quote a random sentence from the book?

Page 59 (of the ARC, anyway) — “So, you don’t look like a witch. Either the haglike, warty, green variety or the mystical pagan sexpot variety.”

From lots of you:What was the hardest scene to write, and why?

Explaining a whole lot about this scene would be way too spoilery, but … hmm. Let’s say there is a Very Big Reveal about one of the characters that took a lot of logistical ironing out. It’s after the lighthouse scene. So you’ll know it when you see it. (The lighthouse scene itself was a blast.)

From Kaitlyn: What was your absolute favorite moment in the production of SPELLCASTER?

Weirdly, it was writing a scene with Mateo’s grandmother. I knew she was a colorful character, but I had no idea how much fun she’d actually be.

A latecomer question from Carolina: I have a question… Is there gonna be a any love triangle?

No. Not even a little bit of a triangle. That said — there are many romantic complications. There are other people our heroes might be attracted to. But an actual triangle? Not happening in this series. (Honestly, it would be out of character for someone as focused as Nadia; even if she liked two guys at once, she’d make a decision and never look back.)

And a question that is not about SPELLCASTER but that I just love, from Stacey: Are you ever going to put in a story about your ancient maths teacher who knew maths but not names?

For those of you who haven’t heard me tell this story, my high school algebra teacher was very elderly and had been teaching for many, many decades in this same small town where I grew up. This meant that she had taught the parents/uncles/aunts of almost all my classmates, and in a couple cases she had taught grandparents. Now, this woman was a wonderful math teacher; she made algebra interesting, which as you know is no mean feat. But she no longer bothered to remember names of students. There had just been too many of us. So she would call on people who hadn’t been in her classroom in thirty or forty years – but if you were related to one of them, you knew that meant you. I was most often called on as my Uncle Jim.

The answer is no – she hasn’t made it into one of my books yet. But maybe she should!

Thanks so much to everyone who sent questions! Hopefully we’ll have some more contests soon, so stay tuned.

First, drum roll please: The winners of the SPELLCASTER ARCs are Kaylynn C., Mandy A. and Carolyn R.! Congrats, guys! Your copies will go in the mail this week.

(I always choose the winners at random now, but it is so tough to stick to the rules, because you guys write the greatest letters! It is always a thrill to hear what you guys are interested in, and I’m so grateful for every single one of you who entered.

Now, to answer your questions about SPELLCASTER — or, at least, half of them! You asked so much that it goes beyond just one blog post. I’ll answer half tonight and show you the questions that will get answered tomorrow … how’s that?

From lots of you: Who are the main characters in SPELLCASTER? Tell us more about them.

The three main characters —

Nadia Caldani is a young witch, one who has been studying clandestinely with her mother, like most witches do; the Craft is a secret, one closely guarded from the outside world, and most particularly from men. But earlier in the year, her mother left the family, which not only has crushed Nadia emotionally and given her a whole new set of responsibilities, but also has deprived her of the only teacher in witchcraft she has. Nadia loves witchcraft and can’t imagine her life without it, but she has no way to complete her training. Right now she has tons of potential and power, but not the knowledge that would allow her to use it well. She’s resigned to never being the witch she might have been. But when she moves with her dad and little brother to the small town of Captive’s Sound, she immediately becomes aware that there’s a dark power there that goes beyond anything she’s ever known – and she might not be the ideal person to stop it, but she also might be the only one even able to try.

Mateo Perez is a lifelong resident of Captive’s Sound, and yet he’s always been an outsider. There have always been whispers about a curse on his family, one that drives them all insane and destroys them. He refuses to believe in it – even though his mother ended her own life in despair years ago. The curse supposedly begins when you begin to see the future, so it must be nothing but a tall tale, right? But then he begins having powerful dreams of approaching danger, even disaster, and one dark-haired girl who’s often in the heart of it. When he sees Nadia’s face for the first time and recognizes her as the one from his dreams, he knows he’s doomed.

Verlaine Laughton knows she’s at the absolute bottom of the social ladder in Captive’s Sound. Even that crazy Mateo Perez doesn’t talk to her. It’s not like people hate her; it’s more like they forget she’s alive. She doesn’t even have any hope of making friends with the new girl, Nadia. However, when an accident reveals Nadia’s powers to her, Verlaine doesn’t care how dangerous any of this might get; something interesting is finally happening, and she’s going to be right in the middle of it. But it turns out there are secrets in her own past that she never imagined before – secrets that witchcraft reveals for the first time.

From Kaylynn, :What’s Nadia’s personality like? Is she outgoing or reserved?

Nadia isn’t an introvert, but I would have to call her reserved. It’s less a matter of her personality and more the way she was raised — always keeping the most important thing in her life secret. She can’t even talk about witchcraft with her dad. So Nadia is someone who is very careful in what she reveals, though a lot of times she wishes she could share more. She’s also definitely someone who takes the weight of the world on her shoulders. That’s true in good ways (Nadia will defend anyone, stick up for anybody) and bad (she won’t let people help her when she needs it, and she can decide she’s doing something for someone’s own good when that’s not what they’d choose for themselves.) She’s very determined and driven, and probably needs a little more fun in her life!

From lots of you: What are your favorite things about your new series/characters?

Coming up with a system of witchcraft has been really fun. And although this is definitely a dramatic series, there’s more humor in SPELLCASTER than in most of what I’ve written so far, which I enjoy.

From Alejandra: Is the story based mainly in one character’s life or a group of people?

I’m glad you asked that, because while Nadia is definitely the main character in SPELLCASTER, it’s Mateo and Verlaine’s story too. This comes much closer to being an ensemble piece than anything else I’ve written to date, and Verlaine will ultimately get a love story of her own that’s just as intense as Nadia and Mateo’s. (Not in the first book, though. Hang on, Verlaine!)

From Pavan: It sounds like Mateo is going to be the sexy, brooding hero. Why did you choose this instead of the tough, cocky guys we often see in books?

I hope you’ll think he’s sexy! You know, a couple times I’ve tried to write the tough, cocky guy, and you know what? I suck at it. When I write those guys, I don’t like them. The sexy doesn’t come through, but the jerkface definitely does. Lucas is probably as close to “tough and cocky” as I’ll ever write. Anyway, that personality wouldn’t work with Mateo’s backstory. He has a lot of strength to have made it through all the ostracism and his mother’s death, but he’s also someone carrying around a burden he thinks nobody can truly help him with. When the visions start coming true, he understands that he’s essentially doomed. That tends to wipe out any chance of being “cocky.” Also tends to make a guy broody.

From lots of you: Will there be romance in these books like there was in EVERNIGHT?

Most definitely! Nadia and Mateo, and Verlaine and … you’ll have to guess.

From a few of you: How does Nadia and Mateo’s romance begin? Is it love/hate, immediate love, or something else?

They’re immediately drawn to one another, though it’s not quite “insta-love.” However, each of them has a really compelling reason to think that it would be a bad idea for them to get involved with anyone – and specific reasons why they might not be able to trust each other. It doesn’t take them a long time to be interested in each other, but it’s a struggle to trust each other – and, of course, dark magic may work against them –

From several of you: What inspired you to write about witchcraft?

Whenever people ask me what paranormal creature I’d want to be, I always say a witch. Why? Because witches have the power. They’re in control. I always thought that would be fascinating to write about.

From Carolyn: Are any of the characters the same as or based on the characters in your story “I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend” in VACATIONS FROM HELL?

Very sharp of you to pick up on that! The answer is … not quite? Basically, that story inspired this series, and there are some links in terms of the personality of the main characters, the setup of her family, the way witchcraft is kept secret, etc. However, it’s not the same system of witchcraft, and the characters are totally different. I would say that “I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend” is my idea of a supernatural comedy; SPELLCASTER is definitely a drama. So the worlds are different in tone as well.

From Sandra: How will this be different from other witchcraft books?

I’m not sure how “sexy” an answer this is, but the first answer that comes to mind is that Nadia has to work for this. Witchcraft is a power, but it’s one you have to learn to control. It requires more than talent; it requires discipline, knowledge and will. I know that’s not necessarily untrue in other witchcraft books, but I feel like it’s more fundamental to the main character’s personality here. Nadia is someone who has earned all the power she possesses.

From Robin: What are your witches’ powers and weaknesses? Can anyone be a witch, or are they born that way?

There are some limits to witchcraft, both in terms of things no spell can do (raise the dead, at least in any way you’d ever want them raised) and in terms of the First Laws, rules no witch can ever break (never swear yourself to the service of the One Beneath). An individual witch’s limits are only a matter of how much she knows, or doesn’t.

Not anyone can be a witch. Only women can do it, and only women with certain bloodlines, and even if you’re born into a family that has the gift, you might not. Still, having the gift for it is only the first step. Witches become more powerful through what they learn, and the life experiences they have.

(An analogy — it’s like being an Olympic gold medal gymnast. Not every person has the potential to do this. You have to be healthy, of a certain physical build, with very strong joints that can take a lot of punishment, with excellent balance and coordination, etc. Most of that is something you’re born with, or at least born with the potential for (or, in my case, not). Gabrielle Douglas was born with all those things. However, that did not make her a gold medalist. Busting her butt pretty much every day of her life since toddlerhood is what made her a gold medalist. Nadia was born with all the gifts to be a witch – and she’s been working hard to be a good one every day.)

From Mara: Will there be a Warlock who befriends the female protagonist, whose powers lie dormant until he embraces her…to then join powers becoming a powerful Spellcaster?

No warlocks in this universe! And Nadia’s already well aware of her powers. If anyone discovers an astonishing inner power through this romance, it’s actually Mateo — but now I’m getting into spoilerville.

**

That’s it for part one! The answers to these questions are coming tomorrow —

From Daniela: Is there any kind of music or song that you associate with this book and characters?

From lots of you: Who is your favorite character? Is there one you identify with?

From Viki: Do you love these characters as much as the EVERNIGHT characters?

From Christine: in the Evernight series we watched Bianca not only change forms, but really grow into herself. What is it about the new characters that will make us fall in love with them and their story as much as we did Bianca, Balthazar, and the others?

From Jane: Have you given any of your characters in Spellcaster any defining quirky habits or funny dialogue tics? (like OCD, stuttering, etc.)

From Britney: If you could take one of your characters from SPELLCASTER on vacation with you, who would you take, where, and why?

From Amy: Is this a stand-alone book?

From Connie: What about this new trilogy has you most excited?

From Lea: Can you quote a random sentence from the book?

From lots of you:What was the hardest scene to write, and why?

From Kaitlyn: What was your absolute favorite moment in the production of SPELLCASTER?

And a question that is not about SPELLCASTER but that I just love, from Stacey: Are you ever going to put in a story about your ancient maths teacher who knew maths but not names?

Hope that was interesting for all of you – and if you have more questions, send them along to evernightclaudia at gmail dot com, and maybe I can add them in. 😀

For those of you who have read/are reading FATEFUL and are members/want to be members of GoodReads, I’m doing a Q&A session with a reading group there tomorrow. Want to take part? Check out the questions board here! Many thanks to the marvelous Angie who has put all this together.

And remember, you still have a few days to enter the contest for an ARC of SPELLCASTER — so get your entries in before Wednesday!

In other news: Writing busily, watching “Prometheus” in my spare time. I’ve never tried my TV’s 3-D capacity before but that might be about to change. ::dons glasses::

So, anybody out there want a copy of SPELLCASTER?

That’s the first book in my new witchcraft trilogy, and it doesn’t hit bookstores until March … but the ARCs are so shiny that I want to share a bit of the love.

How do you enter?

CONTEST RULES

1) Send me any question you might have about SPELLCASTER! Some of you have heard me talk about this before; for others, this might be one of the first times you’ve heard about it. So ask anything, from “how is this different,” to “what do you like about the characters,” to “who the heck are the characters?” — you name it!

2) Send this question to me at evernightclaudia at gmail dot com, with the subject line QUESTIONS ABOUT SPELLCASTER!

3) Also include your name and address, or at any rate an address I can use to ship this to you if you win.

4) Do all this before Wednesday, October 17, when I’ll answer the most frequently asked/interesting questions on the blog — and name the three lucky winners!

(Yes, winners can come from anywhere in the world. And need I say that I am asking you to take good care of these ARCs and not post all the pages online? After all, if I’ve sent you the book, I know where you live, bwah hah hah.)

Good luck, everyone!

And FYI, I hope to have some international tour dates to announce very soon!

Disclaimer the First: I haven’t read “50 Shades of Grey.” So I’m talking about it in the abstract here.

Disclaimer the Second: I am a past, present and future writer and reader of fan fiction, including erotic fan fiction.

And here we go.

Everywhere you look, people are talking about “50 Shades of Grey.” And a lot of those people are making fun of it. Though I haven’t read the book, I’ve read enough excerpts to know that, yes, a lot of the prose is clunky. But there are other clunky books out there that don’t have Gilbert Gottfried and Will Ferrell, et al, doing “dramatic readings” designed to make people giggle. The reason invective gets hurled at “50 Shades” is because it’s erotica, erotica meant to appeal to women.

“That’s not it!” you protest. “We hate it because this thing is selling so many copies! More than Harry Potter! That’s not right!”

First of all, “fair” has zero to do with what sells. Better books than Harry Potter got outsold by Harry Potter, and I say this as someone who loves Harry Potter. “Lolita” is one of the masterworks of 20th century literature; its sales figures (while healthy) will never compare to that of “Valley of the Dolls.”

Second – why is “50 Shades of Grey” selling so many copies? It’s not because it’s awful, though at this point it’s got the momentum where tons of people are buying it just to see what people are talking about. But it got that momentum by turning a whole lot of women on, clunky prose and all.*

(Sometimes I think complaining that the prose in erotica is clumsy is like complaining that the internal workings of a car’s engines aren’t pretty. No, they aren’t. Car parts aren’t about being pretty; they’re just about getting you where you’re going. Not unlike some erotica.)

“But why couldn’t some good erotica be out there getting all this attention?” is the next complaint, and the thing is — the success of “50 Shades of Grey” makes it a whole lot more likely that all erotica is going to be given more attention by the publishing industry from now on. The good erotica only stands to benefit from this – though it, too, will be mocked in turn, this next big erotica hit, no matter how good it is, because our culture doesn’t like it when women get turned on. That which women find sexy will be mocked as silly and trivial, no matter what or who it is.**

And now there are erotica versions of classic literature being published … i.e., the kind of fan fiction that is already out there for free, if you care to look, but that’s almost beside the point. This is NOT the greatest outrage ever perpetrated. This is NOT the end of literature as we know it. If Jane Eyre survived the last couple of centuries, she’ll survive a couple nights of bondage with Mr. Rochester.*** And I find it wholly credible that Heathcliff and Cathy had something kinky going on the side; honestly, wouldn’t that explain a whole lot?

To say that making something erotic automatically cheapens it is to equate the erotic with the cheap. This is not an equation I believe holds true.

Oscar Wilde once said there were no immoral books; books were only well or badly written, and that was all. I wouldn’t go that far, but it seems to me the natural response to disappointment in the quality of “50 Shades of Grey” is not to knock erotica, but to make sure more of it gets out there. More and better! If “50 Shades” is simply not your cup of tea, then IMHO what we need is more flavors of tea.

The main thing I know about “50 Shades of Grey”: The other day, I was getting my car serviced and was reading a book (a Maisie Dobbs mystery, for the record) in the oh-so-exciting waiting area of a Firestone. The woman next to me – a total stranger – whispers, “Have you read 50 Shades?” I said no. “You have to! It’s so good! The guy, he’s so mixed up, but he learns to love.” That was her takeaway. It’s the first time in a long time a total stranger was so excited about a book that she just had to lean over and tell me, another reader, to check it out. She thought it was sexy. She liked the fact that it wasn’t just sex. She didn’t care about the clunky prose. For her, it worked. And to me, making endless fun of “50 Shades” comes perilously close to making fun of that woman for loving a book.

I’ll pass, thanks.

*I’ve seen some people in the BDSM scene – which I’m not, FYI, TMI – argue that “50 Shades” is a very bad representation of that kind of relationship, and that criticism I think is totally valid. That said, once again, the answer is not less erotica but more, and better.

**Leonardo DiCaprio is a talented actor who gets a lot of ridicule – usually from men – because he had the nerve to be dreamy in “Titanic.” The Beatles were considered laughingstocks in pop culture really until the one-two punch of “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” started to convince people all those teenage girls were screaming for a reason. So on, so forth.

***Some people have a problem with derivative works, period, and their objections would apply equally to, say, “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies,” which to the best of my knowledge contains no erotica – I haven’t read that either. But that’s another argument altogether, and one that usually degenerates into me calling anti-fanfic people poopyheads, so let’s just skip it today.

OK, so we’ve all heard of writers getting upset by negative reviews. There is no author in the world so thick of skin that running across a scathing put-down of their work does not lead to a few moments of grumpiness, a strong desire for chocolate, or maybe compulsive whining to significant others and/or house pets. Sometimes, though, it goes further. Some writer might make the mistake of responding to a bad review on Amazon. Another might have the misfortune to run across insulting comments on Twitter late at night, after they have had a vodka martini. So on and so forth.

And then you have THIS INSANITY, which is so far beyond the pale, you can’t even see the pale from here.

I am not blogging about this to say how shocked I am, because I would hope that all but the most pessimistic observers of human behavior would find this shocking. I’m also not blogging to denounce this and say that it’s wrong, because, seriously, this could not be more obviously, incredibly wrong if it came with a huge blinking neon sign that read BAD KARMA HERE.

What I’m saying to any writer who would participate in this, even as a mere satisfied spectator, is that you have got to step back. There is nothing any reviewer could say that would warrant this response unless they posted your home address and a picture of one of your kids with a bullseye on it (which to the best of my knowledge no reviewers have done.) There is no book so precious that its reputation should be defended to the point of threatening people.

Are some reviews hard to read? Yes. Are some negative reviews legitimately shallow or mean spirited? Yes again – being a book reviewer isn’t an automatic ticket to virtue, any more than being an author is. But the answer is definitely not for you to be even more mean-spirited in return. Not only is it hypocritical, not only is it counter-productive, but in this case it may well be criminal.

Personally I have no idea what the general climate is on GoodReads. Know why? I don’t take part in it. Don’t read it, don’t visit it, don’t look up my own books, don’t look up anybody else’s. Why? Because my own personal line for stepping back from this stuff is way, way short of “homicidal rage.” It’s closer to, “I spend enough time on work while I’m actually writing, so in my free time, I would rather look up cute pictures of James McAvoy.” (We all prioritize.)

And the thing is – back before I was writing professionally, I’d have been all over GoodReads. But for now, that’s so mixed up with my work life that it’s not going to be a place where I hang out and have fun. What I’m saying is that, if you’re a writer, and you can’t approach GoodReads as a place where you have fun and find books, then you should not go there. If Amazon reviews fill you with anger, then don’t go to Amazon. (Fanatically checking your sales rank every 20 minutes does not actually improve it. I know. I tried that.) Whatever thing it is online that triggers you, that gets at your temper, that turns you from a professional into a vengeful loony — you must have the self control not to go there and do that. The best way to deal with your crazy is to steer around it altogether.

(This holds true for more than writers dealing with reviews, but I digress.)

Nobody else’s bad behavior vindicates your own. You can’t control what anybody else says on the internet, no matter how many creepy stalkery websites you create. You can only control yourself. I am no master of this art — it’s a lesson I keep trying to learn every day. But if you’ve gotten to the point where you’re calling book reviewers at night and threatening them, it’s a lesson you, too, need to take to heart.

ETA: I should mention that the anonymous site runners insist none of them are authors. I find that hard to believe, simply because, while I get but do not condone the insane overprotectiveness of your own books, I really do NOT get such insanity about other people’s books. If these people think they are defending writers, all I can say is, “Get the hell off my side; you’re making us look bad.”

**

Thanks so much for ALL the wonderful comments to my last post about there being no wrong way to be a girl. I haven’t been able to approve them because — this is embarrassing — I’ve sort of lost the password. Ahem. BUT I WILL FIGURE THIS OUT. When I do, I’ll have a follow-up post with some of the most interesting comments, so stay tuned!

So many of these come from the 1980s. What can I say? That’s when I was YA myself. Also I keep having to remember that this means those movies came out before a lot of my readers were born, and then I laugh, and then I feel ancient and start yelling for people to get off my lawn.

“Mystic Pizza”

THE PLOT: Kat, Daisy and Jojo are as close as three girls can be; Kat and Daisy are sisters, Jojo is their mutual best friend, and they all work together at Mystic Pizza, serving up the best slices in town to tourists and locals alike. But they’re all drawn in different directions over the course of one summer – partly because of their goals in life, and partly because of love.

THE LOVE: Kat’s the overachiever, an aspiring astronomer who’s won a scholarship to Yale but is still working extra jobs to save money and be self-supporting while she’s in college. One of the extra jobs she takes is as a babysitter for a little girl whose mother is in London for the summer – apparently partly because her marriage is breaking down. This means Kat starts spending a lot of time with the father, Tim … who’s very handsome, in his early 30s, devoted to his daughter, and obviously extremely lonely. Kat’s not someone who normally breaks the rules, and she’s conscientious of people’s feelings almost to a fault. So she’s not an obvious candidate for “the other woman.” But Tim might be single again soon. He graduated from Yale himself. And Kat’s drawn to more than Tim himself – she’s also dazzled by the aura of accomplishment and culture around him. That’s the life she wants; is this also the man she wants?

Daisy is … not the overachiever. College isn’t on the horizon for her, as her disappointed mother never stops pointing out. While Kat’s hitting the books, Daisy’s putting on her best dress and sneaking out to party in town. But she longs to escape from home someday, and dreams that love might be the answer. Enter Charles Windsor, a gorgeous blue-blood rich kid she meets when he’s slumming in one of the local bars one night. Daisy beats him at pool and doesn’t put up with any of his crap – and it turns out that he loves having someone that authentic in his life. But Daisy always wonders whether he’s just having some summer fun with the “poor girl” before heading back to his upper-crust life –

Then there’s Jojo. She loves this town … she thinks. She’s very much in love (and lust) with Bill, her fiancé … unless she’s settling. And she’s going to marry him this summer … unless she freaks out. Jojo doesn’t want to pull away from home, but she wants to be her own person, too. Is there any way to stay in her hometown, with Bill, and still establish her own independence? And can Bill come to understand why this is so important to her, or will she wind up pushing him away?

THE BEST PARTS: So many things are awesome about this movie that it’s hard to count them all. First off, the casting director for this movie should get a prize. Daisy was one of Julia Roberts’ first big roles; performers like Lili Taylor (Jojo), Conchata Ferrell (Leona, the proprietor of Mystic Pizza) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Bill) broke out here, and you can even spy wee tiny Matt Damon as rich-kid Charles’s little brother, being bratty at the dinner table. The chemistry between the performers makes the script that much better.

And the script is much more nuanced than it first appears – it seems like a feel-good comedy, but the interpersonal dynamics feel very three-dimensional and real. All those romantic dilemmas I described – you’ve probably seen them before, but you probably haven’t seen them quite like this. Just when you think a scene will be clichéd, it zigs where you thought it would zag, and something very different is revealed about the characters. Probably the single best part is the relationship between sisters Kat and Daisy. Although Daisy is openly jealous of Kat’s ambition and intelligence, she also loves Kat fiercely; some of her advice is so acid-tongued that Kat thinks it’s purely meanness, but in hindsight we realize Daisy’s always meant well. And while Kat is usually the one who does the emotional heavy-lifting – providing cover stories for Daisy’s partying, being the first to apologize, etc. – when she discovers her own selfish side, she has to climb down off her high horse.

Also, this really feels like a small town, like people who have known one another forever. The girls know which bar Bill is probably hanging out in on any given night; everyone is friendly with everyone else’s parents and siblings; Leona is practically a second mom to all of them.

THE WORST PART: Jojo’s story is the least developed of the three. It’s not bad, by any means, but it lacks some of the dimension given to the adventures of Daisy and Kat. Which means that her ending – which is probably meant to feel the most final of the three – feels the least resolved. Then again, this movie feels like a peek into real life, and when does real life ever resolve? Also, the rich guy’s last name is Windsor. Come ON. That is such a fake rich person name. I mean, it’s even fake for the British royal family! (They were Saxe-Coburg and Gotha until WWI, when due to anti-German sentiment they decided to change it, looked around, saw Windsor Castle and thought, right, that’ll do.)

HOW YOU WILL KNOW IT’S THE 1980S: Julia Roberts does not have top billing; she does have her original butt, which is of normal human proportions instead of movie-star cut-to-fit. Matt Damon does not appear to have hit puberty. There are several points in the story where a cellphone would fix things very quickly, but too bad; they won’t be commonly available for a while yet.

How do the romances turn out? Obviously I don’t intend to spoil the whole movie, but I will say this: We get one happy ending, one disastrous ending, and one where we’ll have to wait and see. The whole point, though, is that Daisy, Kat and Jojo see each other through it – even when it means lying for each other, or forcing each other to see the truth, or doing emergency babysitting, or, as it sometimes turns out, dumping hundreds of dead fish into a convertible. It’s a low-key, laid-back, totally enjoyable movie that reveals a little more each time you see it. On Netflix!