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- Chat with Author Wendelin Van Draanen!
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Wendelin Van Draanen, author of Flipped and Confessions of a Serial Kisser will be joining the Buzz Boards starting TODAY!Evangeline Logan often thinks about how her perfect kiss will played out. Actually, "often thinks" doesn't really cut it. Evangeline "constantly thinks" about the perfect kiss is more like it. If you've ever thought about how perfect and romantic it would be to have that one special kiss with someone worth sharing it with then you'll love the zany quest that Evangeline goes through to reach this. Go HERE to read an excerpt from the book and see for yourself how Evangeline's quest for the perfect kiss takes some funny turns.
Before you head on over to the Buzz Boards to welcome and chat with Wendelin Van Draanen, she wanted to share a special message with you:
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Hey Random Buzzers!
It’s amazing where life will take you, isn’t it? The girl who got runner-up for “shyest” in her high school class writing a book about serial kissing? Mind-boggling. And don’t say, Yeah, it’s always the shy ones, ‘cause that’s just not so! I have never been a serial kisser!
I also am not known for PINK books! I write books about kick-tush girls (like Sammy Keyes, and Holly from Runaway).
So why did I write a book about a serial kisser, and how in the world did I uh…research it?
Actually, you might have had something to do with why I wrote the book. If you’re one of the gazillions of people who wrote begging me for a sequel to Flipped, then you are directly responsible for my having a PINK book with LIPS. No, Confessions of a Serial Kisser is not a sequel to Flipped, but all that mail got me thinking about writing another romantic comedy, one with the key ingredient that those who wrote me about Flipped were clamoring for: KISSING.
And research? It was the easiest ever—anyone could have done it. Yes, I did pull a little from some of my own awkward experiences (and no, I’m not kissing and telling which ones), but all you have to do is ask any girl about her worst or most embarrassing kiss, and smack-o! There you go. Everyone’s got a story, and no one was shy about sharing.
But you’ll find as you read my hot pink book that the story goes much deeper than it might first appear. It’s the depth of a book that motivates me to write it, not the surface gloss. And in the end you’ll see that in her own way Evangeline is a kick-tush girl—one that learns a lot about herself and what the perfect kiss is really all about.
Looking forward to discussing it with you!
Wendelin Van Draanen - Posted Jul 7, 2008 by HeadBuzzer | 14 Comments | Share It
- Filed under: Confessions of a Serial Kisser Wendelin Van Draanen
© 2008 Random House. All Rights Reserved.
Comments:
By
bookgrobie on July 7, 2008 at 12:58:04 PM
I can't wait to start talking to you! Welcome to Random Buzz!!!!
By
Mistwraith on July 7, 2008 at 01:10:35 PM
Awesome! Welcome! I'm glad you joined! Can't wait to start talking!
By
TheBookworm on July 7, 2008 at 01:18:58 PM
Welcome! I hope you enjoy RandomBuzz and your future discussions here!
By
theafricanbookworm on July 7, 2008 at 02:50:31 PM
Akwaaba(welcome) to Random Buzzers, I'm Abby.
By
Wendelin on July 7, 2008 at 11:19:33 PM
I'm onboard and ready to discuss -- books, writing, serial kissing...let's hear what's on your mind! Looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
Hi Wendelin! It's a pleasure to meet you. I absolutely loved this book! I'll post some questions for you on our buzz boards here!
By
brainlair on July 9, 2008 at 09:44:54 PM
Hi Wendelin,
Our book club will be meeting on Thurs Jul 10 to discuss your book. I'm so excited. There are about 8 girls and two of us teachers. One thing I was wondering: how did you decide on the songs to list?
By
Wendelin on July 9, 2008 at 11:50:40 PM
Hi! Thanks for asking. And the answer is kinda convoluted. Choosing songs to include in a book is tricky because if you use contemporary songs, the band may have broken up by the time the book gets published. Bad news! Sometimes "last year's" songs seem more outdated than "classic" songs (which can also be covered by newer artists). Anyway, I wanted Evangeline to find her own "power" by the end of the book (in part through picking up a guitar and finding a world she thought she knew completely expand for her). And I wanted music to be a bond between her and her father -- something deep in her psyche that she couldn't shake. (Sorta like him.) So I chose (for the most part) classic rock as a bond between her and her father, and then just looked for stong rhythmic or lyrical connections. Music selection was definitely not random!
By
Wendelin on July 10, 2008 at 12:46:01 AM
Thank you! I've responded to the posts...my answers don't nest in beneath the original question, but I hope people can follow them! Thanks for your help!
By
book_junkie on July 10, 2008 at 11:43:21 PM
Hey Wendelin! I just wanted to say that you are one of my favorite authors of all time! I have read all of the Sammy Keyes books. I can't wait to read this book!
By
Wendelin on July 10, 2008 at 11:49:24 PM
Hey, Book Junkie! Thanks for your comment -- I hope you get the chance to read Kisser -- summertime fun! And, in case you haven't heard already, the next Sammy is titled Sammy keyes and the Cold Hard Cash. I just had a bookseller (who has access to ARCs) tell me that it's her new favorite, so that's a good sign! I believe it'll be out in the fall.
By
CourtneyLouWrites on July 11, 2008 at 01:34:02 PM
Hi Wendelin! I'm Courtney Lou. I'm sorry to say I haven't yet read one of your books, but have heard many good things about them. Yet that still doesn't stop me from asking you questions! :) As an aspiring author I'd like to know a couple things. #1 How do you deal with the (could I say frustration?) of getting through the first draft. #2 How do you get started? I've been trying to complete a book, and right when I think I got a winner, (usually seven pages into the book) I decided it's completely and utterly crap. How do you deal with writing a first draft? How many drafts do you end up writing?
Thanks!
By
Wendelin on July 11, 2008 at 07:26:17 PM
Hi, Courtney Lou!
Yes, it takes a lot of inspiration to make it to the end of a novel. It's something that's with you for the better part of a year (or, in some cases, way longer), and in order to see it through, you must care deeply about the subject and characters. I'm wondering if perhaps you have a good idea for a story, but haven't allowed yourself to get to know the characters. Once you develop characters that you can feel, the process of writing is sort of self-propelling because you really want your characters to get out of their situation and to a happy place. Or maybe you have a good idea and you're not developing underlying subplots (that will support the main theme and also serve to show you more about the character). I know you're probably kidding about "page 7", but do give it time to "stew" and develop. Getting to the end of the rough draft is the bullet-sweating part. After that it's a matter of re-re-re-re-rewriting to make it great. Allow yourself a ROUGH first draft. No book is perfect the first pass through, so just hang in there, give yourself a break, and write!
By
Wendelin on July 20, 2008 at 04:14:36 PM
Well, my time here is over! Thanks to those of you who participated! Good luck in your writing, reading, and kissing endeavors!