Johnny B. Goode

One of my most frequently asked questions is: “Will there be a movie made of Hourglass Door?” I’ve always said, “Maybe someday,” but I know how slow the gears of Hollywood churn and I haven’t been holding my breath. I’ve just been enjoying what had once been the impossible dream of seeing my name on the cover of the book. And while my answer is still “maybe someday,” after some recent events, I feel less and less compelled to qualify that answer with “maybe.”

BEA was held in New York the last week of May, and while my publisher was there, a copy of my book found its way into the hands of an agent from the APA Talent and Literary Agency in California. She read the book on the flight home, loved it, and before I knew it, the papers were signed, sealed, and delivered. My book is now out in the big world of Hollywood movers and shakers, looking for a home.

When I heard the news that I had an actual, honest-to-goodness film agent shopping the rights around to my book, I just about flipped. And while a studio hasn’t optioned the rights or announced a release date or anything like that, I feel like I’m at the party. I feel like I’m standing by the punch bowl, dance card in hand, waiting to see who’ll ask me to dance.

(When I told my brother that analogy, he said, “No, no, no. You are not at the punch bowl. You are Marty McFly, playing ‘Johnny B. Goode’ on stage at the Enchantment under the Sea dance while Marvin Berry calls his cousin Chuck to say, ‘You know that new sound you’re looking for? Well, listen to this.’” That’s just one reason why I love my brother: he knows a pop culture reference for every situation. *grin*)

So, yes, I have my own Marvin Berry out there, telling people “You know that new story you’re looking for? Well, read this!” Will anyone bite? Will Hourglass Door become a movie? It’s entirely possible. I’m certainly at the party, and trust me, I’m not leaving until I have a chance to dance.

With Friends Like These…

Writing can be a solitary pursuit—no one but you can take the story out of your head and commit it to paper—but being an author can be surprisingly social. During the Writers and Illustrators for Young Readers writing conference last week, I was invited to the evening party at the King’s English. Aside from loving that awesome bookstore, it was a wonderful evening to visit with some authors I hadn’t seen in a while and meet some new ones. Sometimes, during events like that, I take a moment to step back, look around, and marvel that somehow I managed to write a book and end up included in such an awesome group of people. And to the person who brought the chocolate chip cookies—they were delicious. *grin*

And then on Saturday I had lunch with my good friend and fellow author, Ally Condie. She is an amazing writer and I love it when we can get together and talk shop. It’s great to have someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to be in your cheering section, someone to celebrate your successes. And it’s even better when you can be that person for someone else. (BTW, I can’t wait for Ally’s new book, Matched, to come out this November; it’s brilliant!)

“I Love It When a Story Comes Together”

I love seeing the shape of the story. I love it when I’m watching a movie or reading a book and I can see clearly how the story is connected, how a line of dialogue is filled with subtext, how a character arc travels from point A to point B.

            And it doesn’t hurt when that story also has some explosions to go with it.

            Such was the case with The A-Team.

            I grew up watching The A-Team on TV (Murdock was always my favorite, for some reason), and when I learned they were making a movie, I thought it would be like all the other movies based on my fond childhood memories—somewhat painful and a little unnecessary. I had low to non-existent hopes for the movie. At best, I thought it would be like G.I. Joe, which was wildly stupid and yet still a lot of fun.

            To my surprise, I found it to be a smart movie with an interesting story and a lot of humor. I thought they did a great job bringing established characters to life with some originality. And while, yes, the story did require some occasional suspension of disbelief, I left the movie theater ready and willing to turn around and buy another ticket.

            One of my favorite parts of the movie was actually the opening introduction of Hannibal. We see him cuffed and being beaten by some thugs. After they leave him to die at the teeth of some guard dogs, we see him slip a firing pin out of his sleeve, pick the cuffs open, and then disappear into the shadows, the dogs right behind him. I thought we’d hear a tussle and then the gunshots of him shooting the dogs, but instead, there is a tussle, a yelp or two, and then the dogs run out into the light—handcuffed together by the collar. Hannibal strolls out, tucks his gun into his waistband, and lights up his cigar. In just a few moments, we know everything we need to know about him as a character. And what’s more—we’re totally on his side. (It reminded me of the introduction of Jack Sparrow in the beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean, which is still one of the best character moments I’ve ever seen.)

            People often ask me about my inspiration for Hourglass Door, and I always say it’s Dante’s Divine Comedy, which is true. But I’ll be honest—when I came up with the idea for why Dante would be sent through the time machine, I thought to myself, Maybe he was sent through for a crime he didn’t commit. And right then, I heard the theme music of The A-Team in my head. So, yes, it’s true. I found my inspiration from Shakespeare, Virgil, Auden, and Dante as well as from Hannibal, Murdock, Face, and B.A. “I love it when a story comes together.”

Good Things Are Happening . . .

June 7, 2010

So I know I’ve missed a couple of Monday morning blog posts. I’m really trying to get into the groove of blogging, but it’s been surprisingly difficult. But some good things have happened lately, so here goes.

Good Thing #1: My books found a home on what a friend dubbed “the awesome author” shelf at Walmart. The retailer chose to shelve the paperback of Hourglass Door and the hardback of Golden Spiral on the featured bestseller display in approximately 3,000 stores across the country. It’s been an exciting few weeks as friends and family have written to tell me that they saw my book or picked up a copy at a Walmart in Georgia or Iowa or Texas. They’ve sent me pictures where my book is between the new Vampire Academy novel and Oprah’s biography. Me. My little book is rubbing shoulders with the big-time books. I still can’t quite believe it. The promotional period runs until June 14th, so if you haven’t picked up your copy, there is still time to grab one from Walmart and tell them thanks for believing in my books.

Good Thing #2: Hourglass Door was honored with the YA Book of the Year award from Foreword Magazine. Wa-hoo! This came as a complete surprise to me. The finalists had been announced weeks ago, and in all honestly, I had forgotten I was even in the running. On Monday, May 24, I had a fleeting thought, “Hey, whatever happened to that Book of the Year award? Oh, well, I guess I didn’t win because otherwise I probably would have heard about it by now.” But then just two days later, on Wednesday, I received an e-mail from my publisher who was back in New York for BEA. The e-mail simply said: “Lisa! You won GOLD! Call me!” I was in shock. I immediately called and learned the exciting news: I was officially an award-winner, taking home the gold medal as the YA Book of the Year. Shadow Mountain had only won the honor three times before in various other categories, and never for YA until Hourglass took home the prize.
I don’t know that the repercussions have sunk in all the way yet. I do know that I can’t stop smiling whenever I see that shiny gold sticker on the front of my book.
And then, because of my win, KSL-TV called to interview me for their nightly news broadcast. Last Thursday, I met reporter Carole Mikita at the Flagship Deseret Book store in downtown Salt Lake City and held a mini-book signing and was interviewed for the news. A couple of my superfans (and friends) came down to support me and to be interviewed: Amy Cyr, Lizzy Hughes, and Rachel Bird. (Thanks again, guys! You were awesome!) The story ran twice that night on KSL news; if you missed it, you can catch it here.

Good Thing #3: I was able to attend the Teen Writer’s Conference on June 6 at Weber State University as a presenter and a panelist. I love going to writer’s conferences and visiting with other book-obsessed people, but there is something special about a conference just for teen writers. It was so much fun to visit with old friends and get to know new friends. I presented a class on how to write dialogue, and the kids were wild and energetic as we built plots and characters around just a few lines of dialogue. I know it got my creative juices flowing about my own plots and characters.
I also got to visit a bit with fellow authors Julie Wright, Dan Wells, Nancy Allen, Janette Rallison, and Josi Kilpack—to name only a few who were there. Seriously, if you are between the ages of 13 and 19 and you like to write, this is one conference you don’t want to miss!

Good Thing #4: I just found out today that both Hourglass Door (paperback) AND Golden Spiral (hardback) are going back for second printings! Yay!