Interview with author Lisa M. Basso

MONTH9BOOKS ANNOUNCES A SHIMMER OF ANGELS: THE PERFECT MIX OF REAL LIFE, PSYCHIATRY and FANTASY in a YA NOVEL

Psychiatry, fantasy and real life come together in A Shimmer of Angels, as a young girl struggles with identity, secrets, and confronting her greatest fears. A Shimmer of Angels is for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, or perhaps has felt like giving up entirely. It touches on themes of suicide, ostracism and emotional pain. The author, personally exposed to suicide through the death of a beloved family member, will donate a percentage of sales of this novel to a suicide prevention and outreach program in San Francisco, California.

ALR: Lisa, thank you so much for being here! I imagine you were anticipating 2013 and the release of your debut novel! Did you make a New Year's resolution?

LMB: I'm usually not one for New Year's resolutions, so I didn't make one this year, but I did make a promise to myself this year. Work harder. Last year I spent a lot of time working, taking my writing to the next level, but I also spent a lot of time trying to find a balance between work and personal. This year I had a new challenge. Get as much done as I can. So far this year, I've worked on two blog tours, lived through the release of my first book, A SHIMMER OF ANGELS, and turned the second book in the Angel Sight trilogy in to my editor for revisions. So now I'm working on plotting the third and final book in the series. Not bad since it's only February.


ALR: Busy lady! A lot of people, myself included, were anticipating this release. Can you tell us a bit about the book?

LMB: A SHIMMER OF ANGELS is about sixteen-year-old Rayna who has been plagued with seeing men with wings, lost in a non-stop rotating door of therapists and mental hospitals, for several years, until her family moves to San Francisco and the sightings stop. Three months later, when Ray is just getting comfortable in her new life, she sees a set of wings on a new boy in her class on the same day one of her classmates turns up dead. Now Ray has to decide if she's willing to risk her sanity and her normal life to find out more about this boy and if he had anything to do with the death at her school.

ALR: I'm crazy about  stories that deal a bit with psychosis (pun completely intended). I don't want you to give away too many details, but when readers flip to the final page of your novel, what do you want them to feel?

LMB: After that last page, I'm hoping the readers feel the weight of what's happened to Rayna and everyone in her life. I don't want the readers to be sad by any means, but I do hope they are curious and wary and optimistic for what may happen in book two, because I sure have more up my sleeve. Cue evil laugh.


ALR: Ahem, I just have to say here...

So... are you Team Cam or Team Kade?

LMB: Aah! That's such a tough question. I'll wuss out and say I'm Team Rayna :)


ALR: A SLITHER OF HOPE, Book 2 in the ANGEL SIGHT series, will be available from Month9Books in February 2014! So, you are reliving the publication process all over again. What was your favorite part the first time around?

LMB: So far, I've enjoyed every part of the publication process. Yes, even the many rounds of revisions and rewrites. Maybe seeing the finalized cover for the first time. Since the cover is just as important as the back cover copy, it was a really big deal to me and my publisher that we get it right. And let me tell you, they got it so right. Ten minutes after I saw it, every computer in my house had the cover for A SHIMMER OF ANGELS up on the desktop. 


ALR: Writing a novel is an arduous process. Who or what inspires you?

LMB: My mom is a huge inspiration to me. She's always been the dedicated, hard-working type. While staying focused on her job and family, she also makes time for her friends and co-workers. She has the biggest heart and is the smartest, strongest woman I know.

Okay! Time for some random quick-pick responses:

 

ALR: What would you do if you won the lottery?

LMB: This would be fan-flippin'-tastic! I would quit my day job, but never writing, and travel, setting novels in all the places I've been.

ALR: If your life was a song, which one would it be?

LMB: Be Yourself by Audioslave. It isn't my favorite song in the world, but I love the message. As a teenager it took me a long time to find myself and be comfortable being who I really am. I use this song to remind me to be true to myself always.

ALR: If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?

LMB: Teleportation. I hate flying with a capital H. But I love to travel. Thus, teleportation would be wonderful. Anyone offering it up as a possibility? No...well, not yet at least. Who knows, the future could be filled with anything.

ALR: If you could go back in time, where/when would you go?

LMB: I'd go back about twenty years and spend more time with my brother. He passed away when I was young and even another minute with him would last a lifetime in my mind.



ABOUT THE BOOK:

Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?

Goodreads A SHIMMER OF ANGELS: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13572197-a-shimmer-of-angels


Author of THE IRON WITCH, Karen Mahoney, says, “A SHIMMER OF ANGELS has a courageous heroine who finds herself in the middle of two gorgeous angels, a fascinating world, and a story that builds to an exciting climax - I'll be looking forward to more from Lisa M. Basso!"

ABOUT LISA M. BASSO

Lisa M. Basso was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She is a lover of books, video games, animals, and baking (not baking with animals though). As a child she would crawl into worlds of her own creation and get lost for hours. Her love for YA fiction started with a simple school reading assignment: S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. When not reading or writing she can usually be found at home with The Best Boyfriend that Ever Lived ™ and her two darling (and sometimes evil) cats, Kitties A and B. Lisa M. Basso is available for quotes, signings, video or podcast appearances, and all opportunities relative to A SHIMMER OF ANGELS.

Visit Lisa online at:


Goodreads Lisa M. Basso: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3201662.Lisa_M_Basso
Lisa M. Basso Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Lisa-M-Basso/340213186037936?fref=ts
Lisa M. Basso Twitter: http://twitter.com/LisaMBasso
Lisa M. Basso Website: http://lisa-basso.blogspot.com/

 

 
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ABOUT MONTH9BOOKS:

Month 9 Books is a publisher of speculative fiction for teens and tweens… where nothing is as it seems. Month9Books will donate proceeds from each of its annual charity anthologies to a deserving charity. Individually, authors may donate his or her advances and royalties to a charitable organization. Month9Books will also release 10-12 non-charitable titles annually. A SHIMMER OF ANGELS is Month9Books’s first Young Adult release. Month9Books is distributed by Small Press United, a division of IPG. You may visit www.month9books.com for more information.
 

VISIT MONTH9BOOKS ONLINE:

Goodreads Month9Books: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/67761-month9books
Month9Books Blogger Central: http://month9booksblog.com/?page_id=477
Month9Books Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/month9books
Month9Books Twitter: http://twitter.com/Month9Books
Month9Books Publishing Website: http://www.Month9Books.com

Cover Reveal!

Of Breakable Things.

The title was originally Ashes to Ashes with respect to the phrase from the Anglican burial service. Furthermore, the main character's surname is Ash in association with the Ash tree, known sometimes as the "World Tree", which spans between this world and the next. I figured the symbolism was fitting in a story about the afterlife, so much so that I wanted the title to reflect it. But my publisher was right (as they tend to be). The title itself didn't have enough character.

Upon renaming the manuscript, I instantly envisioned a cover littered with glass shards and a flicker of an eye or a face in the reflection. In my wildest dreams, however, I couldn't have imagined an image so completely perfect for this story.






Here it is!

 

 

 

 

Please, also head over to the Goodreads page to check it out there:

 

 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16050312-of-breakable-things

 



Of Breakable Things and EDS

When people ask about Of Breakable Things, and I tell them that most of my characters are dead, their reactions are priceless. It wasn't my intention for this to happen, but as the story played out in my head the main character was ill and would die young. This made her who she was, and there were no miracles to save her.

What is Ehlers-Danlos syndrome? I had no clue until I started researching. Of Breakable Things is about the fragility of life and love and perception. But Alex is the epitome of something breakable, and it wasn't until I stumbled upon this disorder that I knew I'd found something as symbolic as her.

It's difficult to describe in layman's terms, so I requested approval from the powers that be, and (rubbing hands together) here is a small clip from Of Breakable Things! We'll see if the scene makes the cut because I've altered the point of view since my edits arrived. This one is written from the perspective of Alex's best friend, Chase, as an eight year old:

He couldn’t fathom the idea that his best friend was sick. She had too much energy. When he stood next to her he could feel it like the static electricity he learned about in science class. So then how could she somehow have less life than he did?

He knew it was called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and he’d heard Alex’s doctor say things like type IV  and vascular and dangerous. He knew Alex’s mother had been sick with it, too. And her mother was dead.

                “They don’t look any different to me,” Chase whispered to his mother. That morning they had driven into the city so Alex could attend some sort of meeting. There was a huge banner outside the Baltimore Convention Center that read Learning Conference: Living with EDS. His brother, Jonas, had snorted and told Alex she was going to a freak show. Chase had punched him in the belly, and to his shock and amazement, his mother turned her head without scolding him. And now sitting outside the convention center, the people walking inside didn’t look strange at all.

                 “There are different kinds of EDS,” his mom explained, ruffling his hair. “Some are worse than others.”

                “Worse than Alex’s?”

                She shifted on the bench. “No. Alex has the worst kind.”

                Chase frowned. “She doesn’t look sick.”

                “That’s because most of it is inside her body.” She pointed to his arm. “You have tissues in there.”

                He made a face.

                “Not the kind you use to blow your nose. Your tissues hold your body together. Alex’s tissues don’t work quite as well as yours.”

                No kidding. One time he pulled on her arm to get her attention and her shoulder fell out of its socket. He cried the entire way to the hospital because he’d hurt her.

                “In our tissues we have something called collagen. And if collagen is like the glue of body, the normal person has liquid cement and Alex has cheap Elmer’s glue.”

                “Is that why Jonas says that Alex was assembled at Kmart?”

                His mother rolled her eyes. “Probably, but Jonas really shouldn’t say that. Remind me to speak to him about that.”

                Chase fiddled with the Velcro on the pocket of his shorts. “I still don’t get it.”

                “What?”

                “Why is it such a big a deal?”

                “Tissues support your skin which is why Alex bruises easily. And they hold your bones together which is why hers are more likely to break.”

                “But broken bones don’t kill you,” he argued. “Why did her mom die?”

                His mother’s face crumbled, and he felt that pang in his chest when he knew he’d said something wrong.

                “I’m sorry.”

                “No, don’t be sorry. I just miss her.” After a few moments, she cleared her throat. “Um, well, tissues also support your organs. Like your heart, that’s an organ. The things inside you that keep you alive, if they aren’t supported properly, you could bleed inside your body. That’s what happened to Alex’s mommy when Alex was born. They couldn’t stop the bleeding.”

                “Is that why her dad hates her?”

                “He doesn’t hate her."

                Chase looked at his mom doubtfully, but quickly shifted his attention as several people exited the convention center. His heart fluttered in hope, but his friend wasn’t among them. He couldn’t believe his mother made him stay out here instead of going in with Alex. This was all Miss Petra’s fault. Their teacher was the one to suggest that Alex’s friendship with the Lasalles might be detrimental to her health. She was always trying to put them in separate groups during class or encouraging Alex to hang out with the other girls during recess. Thankfully, Alex didn’t like being told what to do, and she ignored the suggestions. But within the past few months, Alex had broken three different bones during their adventures with his brothers. So her dumb doctor recommended she meet other kids who were “limited” like her.

                A selfish part of him wanted Alex to come screaming out of that door. Usually they joked about her illness. They would look at the bruises on her arms and laugh about what they saw… like lying in the grass and finding images in the clouds, only these clouds were stormy. She was going to be sick no matter what, so what good would it do to sit around and talk about it? Alex wouldn’t enjoy this experience. Or at least that’s what he hoped. After all, he needed her as much as she needed him.

 She just never understood that.

 ~~~~~~~~~

It's one thing to write about it, but things become completely real when the photo of a gorgeous little girl is staring back at you with a caption about her illness. A friend of mine sent me a link to a Facebook page entitled Prayers for Baylee because she recognized the name of the disorder from my description of Alex Ash. Baylee was diagnosed with isolated NK cell deficiency and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. The site is meant to generate thoughts and prayers for this little girl and her family, but apparently many people are sending gifts and cards as well.

               

When I showed Baylee's picture to my son while we made a card, he exclaimed, "She looks like Kara!" And yes, she does resemble a friend from his preschool class, and that makes the situation even harder to swallow. I've never met this girl; I don't know her family. But to look at her photo, my heart clenches. Please take a moment to 'like' her page or to just say a prayer. Wristbands are available for purchase on their site to help with her medical expenses, but apparently cards are welcome, and prayers are the purpose.

               

May God bless this little angel.

Prayers for Baylee:

www.Facebook.com/prayersforBaylee

Twitter: @prayersforBayle

To learn more about Ehlers-Danlos syndrome:

http://www.ednf.org/

Music and Writing = Emotion and Productivity

After speaking to a few groups of teenagers during the past few weeks, I found it interesting that the most common questions in regards to writing were about music. Do I listen to music while I write? Do I listen for inspiration? What is my favorite kind of music?

I can’t choose a favorite when it comes to taste. I like everything from country to pop, alternative to classical. There were a few songs in particular that inspired my writing while working on Of Breakable Things and that list continues to grow as I toy with the sequel. See below.

I can’t, however, listen to music with words while I’m writing. It’s too distracting. Unless of course I’m working at Barnes and Noble or Starbucks, and usually then I bring a set of headphones. I have a classical playlist I compiled to either help me zone out or zone in. Sometimes I don’t even hear the music, but often if I’m trying to convey a particular mood I can switch over to a piece with similar emotions.

Even if you don’t typically listen to this sort of music, some of these pieces are so moving I recommend just sampling a listen even if only for a few seconds.

My favorites in the genre: New Age.

                Michele McLaughlin. The Eternal City-  Dedication.

For me, this piece epitomizes Alex and Chase. I hear it and I think of them. The emotions, the sadness, the loss, and then the new beginning… it’s all there.

                  Brian Crain- Song for Sienna

There are several flashbacks during Alex’s story. She is who she is because of her experiences with the Lasalle brothers. This one reminds me of her as a child... sick, broken, and scarred but still beautiful and fighting to be “normal” despite her disease and its hindrances.

                  Paul Cardall- Life and Death- New life.

Aptly named, the tone is how I felt while writing the beginning of the novel. After reading the blurb for Of Breakable Things, most people assume the story is about death, and although the grief and pain associated with death play a pivotal role when Alex makes her choice during first few pages, the story is about the life of the mind. Once the body is out of the picture, the mind has free reign. A person can see more, hear more, sense more, and most importantly desire and willpower go very, very long way. It’s a world without boundaries.

When it comes to more popular songs, the following were a few I would sing (badly) in the car before needing to pull over because a new idea popped into my head.

                Ron Pope- A Drop in the Ocean
(The Vampire Diaries fans, you might recognize this one…)

This is Chase and all his angst in regards to his relationship with Alex.

                Greg Laswell- This Woman’s Work

 “I know you have a little life in you yet…” So fitting.

                Josh Radin- What if You

This is Jonas’ song (My editor’s favorite character- here you go, Rachel Bateman!) The lyrics are completely Jonas- his longing for Alex even though he knows that she doesn't want him. But he is willing to play second fiddle.

                Thompson Square- Glass

                The Band Perry- If I Die Young

                Death Cab for Cutie- I Will Follow You into the Dark
(This one was actually suggested by Rachael Dugas, my agent, during the process of renaming the novel.)

And when it comes to the Lasalles, and how much they love life and turn everything into a game, anything by O.A.R. is fitting.

Emotion is so important in Of Breakable Things because the boundary of the body is cracked, and the mind has so much more influence over what is possible. An emotion can cause the lights to flicker or an object to move because the world is what a mind makes of it. I will use anything I can find to evoke emotion.

If any songs come to mind, please comment! I’m always looking for new additions to the various playlists!

               

               

Fright Festival!

Happy Halloween week! For those of you anticipating Hurricane Sandy (like myself,) hopefully your power is restored in time for Authors Fright Festival! I figured I'd better post this before I'm devoid of the internet and crying hopelessly while my children force me to entertain them without the help of Sprout or Disney Junior...

For you book lovers, WinterHaven Books is hosting an online event this upcoming Wednesday! There will be giveaways, book reviews, and some spooktacular authors including some of my favs: A.G. Howard, Bethany Crandell, Kelly Hashway, A. Lynden Rolland (whoever that is...)

A special thanks to some of my goatly mentors for introducing me to WinterHaven Books and thank you to Crystal, Tina, Arlene, and Amber for creating such an amazing site!



Check it out at www.WinterHavenBooks.blogspot.com!

Splintered by A.G. Howard

It takes a certain amount of guts to tinker with a familiar tale. Alice in Wonderland has been a part of my life since I was old enough to tell my mother to ditch the Dr. Seuss before bedtime. Rabbit holes, Mad Hatters and Cheshire Cats fill me with a pleasant nostalgia comparable to my favorite memories as a child… running through the trails of my best friend’s farm or riding bikes at sunset. Wonderland is beloved to me, and so I will admit that although I was anxious to get my greedy hands on an advanced copy of this much anticipated novel, I was a bit unnerved to read a story that continues the tale several generations later. But somehow A. G. Howard was able to use Wonderland as her canvas to paint an incredible story, one that has caused me to lean in closer to flower arrangements and study moths more carefully.

Splintered is as whimsical and magical as the story on which it is based, but Howard chips away at the playful pastel exterior to reveal a much darker, a much more sinister Wonderland. And she does so beautifully, somehow adding depth to a story with already so many layers including a delicious love triangle involving one of my favorite Wonderland characters. Some people are artists, and much like a dancer’s choreography is nothing without technique, a story is nothing without the gift of wording. To that degree, Splintered is completely spellbinding, and so I thought I’d tease you with some of my favorite quotes:

 “Alice has left ripples in our world that only you can smooth.”
 

“Our gazes touch in a way we can’t…”
 

“I look up into her face, eyes sky-bright blue and lips the lavender of November dusk.”
 

“But it’s too late. I’ve squeezed the tear, and the liquid drizzles down my wrist, warm with the  scent of brine and longing.”
 

“Sometimes a flame must level a forest to ash before new growth can begin.”

 

… I know… amazing.

Splintered will be released by Amulet in January of 2013. More gushing to come then…

 

Check out A.G. Howard at www.aghoward.com at www.goodreads.com/aghoward or visit her on Twitter @aghowardwrites!

Inspiration

I doubt I’m the only one who finds inspiration in the oddest of places. A withered flower with the imprint of a shoe in the dirt surrounding it. An old man sitting alone, hunched over a bowl of soup in a diner. A muddy, toy truck abandoned in the middle of a graveyard. Inspiration is about as predictable as Maryland weather, but the moment it strikes is usually well worth the wait.

Inspiration provides a reason to watch award-worthy films and to read thought-provoking novels. Isn’t it the reason we love music? To be moved. To revel in a memory. To be motivated to dance, to exercise, or to take a photo. There are few feelings greater than the spark ignited by a muse. Sparks are easiest to see in the darkest of places; maybe that’s why I’m inspired by darker things.

I had a conversation with a media specialist yesterday, and she posed a question I’ve considered often during the past few months. Where did I find my inspiration for Of Breakable Things? It should be a simple question, but it’s difficult to pinpoint one single source. She assumed a novel about dead children would have been inspired by my own personal loss. I am thankful to say it was not. I blame it on my wild imagination.

However, there is a tree outside of my son’s room, and when the room was a nursery instead of a shrine to super heroes, a rocking chair was positioned next to the window. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: the kid hates sleeping, so as a baby I had to rock him incessantly to save my sanity. Sitting in that chair, staring out the window, there were two branches which had somehow intertwined. They twisted like a braid and seemed to have no choice but to continue to grow together. Or die together.

And so the questions stewed in my head: if two lives were so closely intertwined, how would that affect their choices? What if the lives belonged to two children? What if they loved one another? What if one was dying? What would happen to them? Where would they end up? Would they find each other?

Alex Ash and Chase Lasalle were born.

It’s funny. I have no idea what happened to those branches because when spring arrived that year, they were hidden by large, teardrop-shaped leaves. Oddly enough, the following winter when the tree became bare once again, I searched and searched without success. I could not find the “star-crossed” branches (or so I’d named them.)

Maybe they gave up. Maybe they were chopped down by our persnickety community association. Maybe I was simply that sleep deprived, and they never existed at all.

The purpose here is that the most seemingly insignificant of things can provide the most wonderful sources of inspiration. Four hundred pages worth of inspiration.

Where do you find yours?