Dr. Peter Brown is an intern at Manhattan's worst hospital, with a talent for medicine, a shift from hell, and a past he'd prefer to keep hidden. Whether it's a blocked circumflex artery or a plan to land a massive malpractice suit, he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.
Pietro "Bearclaw" Brnwna is a hitman for the mob, with a genius for violence, a well-earned fear of sharks, and an overly close relationship with the Federal Witness Relocation Program. More likely to leave a trail of dead gangsters than a molecule of evidence, he's the last person you want to see in your hospital room.
Nicholas LoBrutto, aka Eddy Squillante, is Dr. Brown's new patient, with three months to live and a very strange idea: that Peter Brown and Pietro Brnwa might-just might-be the same person ...
Now, with the mob, the government, and death itself descending on the hospital, Peter has to buy time and do whatever it takes to keep his patients, himself, and his last shot at redemption alive. To get through the next eight hours-and somehow beat the reaper.
Spattered in adrenaline-fueled action and bone-saw-sharp dialogue, BEAT THE REAPER is a debut thriller so utterly original you won't be able to guess what happens next, and so shockingly entertaining you won't be able to put it down.
This week's interview is with author Nina LaCour who's first novel, Hold Still, is officially released October 20th!
What's one random tidbit about yourself?
My middle name is Jacqueline (like yours!) and my parents and many of my family members call me Jacqueline more often than they call me Nina.
What were you doing the moment you found out that Hold Stillhad sold?
I was on BART on my way to the Oakland airport. I kept losing reception and dropping my agent's call, and then calling her back and losing her again. It was so embarrassing--not only because my agent was trying to tell me things, but also because the train was packed with people--but I couldn't stand to wait until I got to my stop for all the details.
What's the best book that you've read over the past six months?
This is a hard one! I'll go with The Known World by Edward P. Jones because I'm reading it right now for the fourth time, and each time I read it, I find more in it to admire and love. It's one of the most beautiful, brutal, and heartbreaking books I've ever read.
Was the process of writing and publishing your first novel what you expected it to be?
I really had no idea what to expect! I enjoyed working with an editor much more than I thought I would. I had a fear that the editorial process would be a struggle--that an editor might end up wanting me to change my book to make it more commercial or something--but I lucked out with my editor and it turns out that her feedback was subtle and perceptive and it lead me to make my book so much better than it was before I started working with her.
One thing that I was not expecting was how long it takes for a manuscript to be turned into a book and then to see the bookstore shelves. It's been years, and the waiting has been difficult. I'm not the most patient person.http://www.orbitbooks.net/soulless/
Give us one embarrassing author moment:
Well, since my book hasn't been released yet, I don't have any embarrassing author moments--I guess that will be something to look forward to! For now, I'll share an embarrassing pre-publication moment.
When I was just about halfway through writing Hold Still, I was contacted by an agent who had read a short story I wrote and was interested in representing me. This was a huge deal for me because I was in the middle of grad school and we were all anxious and worried about the process of getting agents, and here one was, calling me on the phone and sending me flattering emails. She was from a well-known agency and had represented some really big authors, and I was sure that she was The One. She read the first half of Hold Still in just a couple of days and told me to send the rest to her as soon as I finished it. I was thrilled.
I finished the book, and sent it to her. She said she couldn't wait to read it. I said, Great! Then I waited. Weeks passed. I wrote to check in. She told me that she was still so excited but hadn't had the time yet. Another month passed. I wrote again. No response. I was checking my email every other minute for months, and every time I checked I was disappointed. Then, in a late night moment of weakness, I wrote an email to her that was . . . let's say . . . a little bit desperate. It was like an awful Can't-you-see-how-much-I-love-you-Why-don't-you-love-me-back? letter to someone who just broke your heart.
Needless to say, it didn't work out with her. And I'm grateful that it didn't because I couldn't be happier with my agent. She is always attentive and supportive and entirely sincere.
What would you most like potential readers to know about you and/or your book?
I would like for them to know that, for me at least, Hold Still is not a "suicide book." Yes, there is a suicide, and the suicide is an integral part of the story, but I hope that readers will give it a chance even though there are many, many great and not-so-great books about suicide out there. For me, Hold Still is about friendship and family and identity and art and grief, but none of those things are as easy to identify or describe as suicide, so they tend to fade into the background of most synopses of the story.
List 3-5 characters from Hold Still and do word associations.
My favorite thing about Hold Still is that I wrote it, and I revised it, and I feel pretty good about it. And that now my contract copies are stacked up in my living room as proof that I accomplished this goal that I've had since I was about five years old.
What projects do you have in the pipeline?
I am working on a second YA novel that will also be published by Dutton, in 2011. It's very different from Hold Still. It's told from the perspective of an 18-year-old boy, and it involves a road trip, a very bad band, cheap motels, and unrequited love. I'm also working on a novel for adults about a multigenerational group of people living in a run-down, cavernous house in Oakland.
Any final comments?
I just got a P.O. Box so that people can send me mail. I LOVE getting mail. Here's the address:
Nina LaCour P.O. Box 3630 Oakland, CA 94609
Thank you for the great questions!
Thanks for stopping by Nina!
Check out the book trailer that Nina and her friends made:
Visit Nina's site for more info about her and her work.
"But I still see her as if I were there in the house that morning. Like it was me instead of her mom who pushed Ingrid's bathroom door open and saw her naked in the bathtub, eyes shut, head heavy, arms floating in that red water. I look up at Mr. Jame's projector, but what I see are the gashes in her arms, along the veins." ~p. 49
Synopsis from Amazon.com:
dear caitlin, there are so many things that i want so badly to tell you but i just can’t.
Devastating, hopeful, hopeless, playful . . . in words and illustrations, Ingrid left behind a painful farewell in her journal for Caitlin. Now Caitlin is left alone, by loss and by choice, struggling to find renewed hope in the wake of her best friend’s suicide. With the help of family and newfound friends, Caitlin will encounter first love, broaden her horizons, and start to realize that true friendship didn’t die with Ingrid. And the journal which once seemed only to chronicle Ingrid’s descent into depression, becomes the tool by which Caitlin once again reaches out to all those who loved Ingrid—and Caitlin herself
Make sure to stop by tomorrow for my interview with the author, Nina LaCour!CONTINUE READING...
This week's interview is with author Gail Carriger who's first published novel, Soulless: The Parasol Protectorate, hits shelves tomorrow!
What's one random tidbit about yourself?
I find endless comedic enjoyment in the ridiculous: the Westminster Dog Show, rubber animals, string cheese, squid, that kind of thing.
What were you doing the moment you found out that Soulless had sold?
I was drinking an excellent latte at my favorite local coffee shop. There might have been sputtering and a certain amount of foam loss as a result of The Call.
What's the best book that you've read over the past six months?
Roman Diary by Richard Platt and David Parkins, a kid's picture book. Fantastic.
Was the process of writing and publishing your first novel what you expected it to be?
Both yes and no. I'd been in and around publishing for a long while so I was prepared for all the things one is warned about: finding an agent, long waits, contract battles, etc. But the editing process was unexpectedly relaxed – my editor has a very light touch. Also, I actually got to have an opinion on my cover art, which I really wasn't expecting and Orbit has been great about helping me promote the book with thing like the paper doll. http://www.orbitbooks.net/soulless/
Give us one embarrassing author moment:
I arrived for my very first in-person meeting with my agent with the back of my dress unzipped. Sigh. The moral of this story? Always travel with a lady's maid. The moral of the moral? Sell enough books to afford a lady's maid.
What would you most like potential readers to know about you and/or your book?
Neither of us are meant to be taken seriously.
List 3-5 characters from Soulless and do word associations.
Alexia Tarabotti: pragmatic Lord Maccon: grumpy Professor Lyall: competent Lord Akeldama: outrageous Ivy Hisselpenny: ugly hats
What's your favorite thing about Soulless?
That I got to put comedy, urban fantasy, and steampunk all into one book. It's like the attack of the sub-genres!
What projects do you have in the pipeline?
I'm mucking about with the copy edit for Changeless, Book the Second in the Parasol Protectorate series, right now. It has a tentative release date of April 2010. Blameless, Book the Third, is due in a few months. I'm sitting on a short story set in the same universe, which I'm thinking may make its way into a contest of some kind (so keep your eyes on my blog around the middle of October). My agent is busy eviscerating a SF YA I completed a few months ago. But, lucky me, I've got nothing new going on just now. That probably won't last long.
Any final comments?
Beware the brass octopus.
Thanks for stopping by Gail!
Visit Gail's site for more info about her and her work.
Soulless synopsis from Amazon:
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?
SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.
From the New York Times bestselling author-the shooting script to his award-winning film, with an original Introduction and vivid stills from the movie.
Jenny is a 16-year-old girl stifled by the tedium of adolescence; she can't wait for her sophisticated adult life to begin. One rainy day her suburban existence is upended by the arrival of David, a much older suitor who introduces her to a glittering new world of concerts, art, smoky bars, urban nightlife, and his glamorous friends, replacing her traditional education with his own version. It could be her awakening-or her undoing. This edition of Hornby's adapted screenplay, which includes stills from the film, is a perfect accompaniment to the highly anticipated movie, which stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, Peter Sarsgaard, Emma Thompson, Dominic Cooper, and Alfred Molina. It is a must-have for fans of Hornby's novels, featuring his signature pitch-perfect dialogue, mordant wit, and the resonant humanity of his writing.
I've only read a couple of screenplays that were converted into novels before. This should be interesting to see how it will compare to the film.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at 
