http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61196

While other prognosticators have been writing endlessly about the possible nominees and winners for months, even before most movies were seen, The Oscar Warrior has been sitting back and biding his time to see how things play out (as well as being busy writing about other things). Now that festival season is over and Thanksgiving has been and gone, we should be able to get a much clearer picture of what's going to happen in the coming weeks and months leading up to Oscar night on February 22, 2008. With that in mind, we're finally ready to look at the actual movies and talk briefly about their awards potential, more of a preview of what movies have been released this year with our actual predictions coming out later this month.

http://www.theboyfriendlist.com/e_lockhart_blog/2009/12/me-teaching.html

One more thing. I am teaching at the Vermont College Novel-Writing Retreat this March.  If you write middle-grade or YA fiction you should come!  Here are all the details. 

http://elizabethwrites.com/blog/2009/12/holiday-gift.php

Today, I'm thrilled to say I have a holiday gift for you, lovely blog readers!

If you live in the US and buy a copy of my novel Something, Maybe by December 23rd and send me a picture of your receipt via email or by your phone or whatever to me at elizabethscottcontest@gmail.com I will send you a free, autographed copy of Love You Hate You Miss You.

Yes, that's right!

Buy Something, Maybe by December 23rd, email a picture of the receipt to me at elizabethscottcontest@gmail.com and you'll get a free autographed copy of my other 2009 hardcover release.

Why?

Well, because I think Something, Maybe is a great holiday read--who doesn't like a love story during this time of year? Or any other for that matter, right? (okay, that's the end of the shameless self promotion, but, you know, had to put the plug in!)

The other reason I'm doing this is because I want to thank you for reading my blog and just, in general, being awesome!

Again, to get your free, signed copy of Love You Hate You Miss You, you must live in the US, and you must purchase a copy of Something, Maybe and send a picture of your receipt to me at elizabethscottcontest@gmail.com by December 23, 2009.

Fine print and etc.: Please note that I am only taking receipts. An order confirmation from an on-line bookstore is not a receipt. The receipt is what comes in the box when the book arrives. Also, if you are a member of my mailing list, consider this a bonus to the holiday gift I've already sent you all a message about, which means yes, multiple books for those who qualify...

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61450

Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich have been working hard on the fourth installment of the "Resident Evil" franchise a.k.a. Resident Evil: Afterlife , planned as the first movie in the series filmed using 3D technology. It looks like it's going to take a little more time to make that movie then they had planned, because ShockTillYouDrop.com has learned that Screen Gems has pushed the movie back until January 14, 2011.

I'm extremely happy to report that, in January 2010, E. Lockhart will be hanging out with readergirlz at www.readergirlz.com and readergirlz.blogspot.com to discuss The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks with readers.

This week, E. is having a blog tour, the full schedule of which is available at the end of this post. I'm flattered to be kicking things off here at Bildungsroman. We have two surprises for readers today:

First, a giveaway! The first U.S. resident to leave a comment with an email at the end of this interview will receive a set of E. Lockhart's first three Ruby Oliver books (The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, The Treasure Map of Boys) from Random House. The winner will be contacted via email in order for the publisher to obtain a mailing address. Update: The books have been claimed. Thanks for entering!

Next, a sneak peek. New covers for the Ruby Oliver series will be out along with the publication of the fourth and final Ruby Oliver book, Real Live Boyfriends, coming December 2010. The first four stops on Lockhart's tour will showcase the brand-new covers for the Ruby Oliver books, which is how I am now able to present to you the new cover for The Boyfriend List! Click for the full-sized image:



Without further ado, onto the interview!

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is my favorite of your novels to date. In the book, Frankie becomes the secret leader of a boys-only club - and the boys don't even know it! What inspired this story? An interest in secret societies, or consideration of gender equality? A love for basset hounds and/or boarding schools?

Sometimes, when starting a novel, I collect together ideas that interest me but which I'm not sure are connected. I read up on these ideas and let them gel together. That's what I did with The Disreputable History. It started with the idea of writing about campus pranks. Then I began looking for a reason for the pranks to exist. And I've always loved boarding school stories. I read up about the politics and history of elite boarding schools, and researched urban exploration, which was also interesting to me. And the ideas began to come together.

If you were a member of The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, what would your duties be?

Chronicler of Exploits. I'm actually not the master mind that Frankie is. Figuring out the pranks she gets up to in The Disreputable History took me an incredibly long time.

Ruby Oliver (aka Roo) was first introduced in The Boyfriend List. Then came The Boy Book, then The Treasure Map of Boys. The final Ruby Oliver book, Real Live Boyfriends, will be out in December 2010. I'm sure you don't want to give too much away, but I'll dare to ask if you'll share one cubby note with us in advance. Pretty please with ceramic frogs and pygmy goats on top?

From somewhere near the beginning of The Treasure Map of Boys, this is a note Ruby writes to Robespierre, the pygmy goat/confessor she's befriended at the zoo where she works. Her boyfriend Noel has just visited the family farm area of the zoo.

Dear Robespierre,
That was my real live boyfriend, Noel!
Did you see him? Did you?
Don't be jealous. You are a pygmy goat and I am a human. It could never have progressed beyond ear scratching, you and me. Besides, you have Imelda and Mata Hari, both of whom obviously prefer you to that scraggly little pretender of a goat, Kaczynski.
When you write back, please tell me: Do you think it's all going to come crashing down? Do you think this is real life? Can I really be this happy?

Love, Ruby

Over at Random Buzzers, you have been - I mean, Ruby has been giving people advice and answering their questions. What do you think Roo will be doing in the year 2020?

She'll be 32. I imagine she's making a documentary about polar bears. She's been in the arctic for some time now and is seriously jonesing for some cute vintage dresses and white chocolate cake.

Nice! What about Sadye from Dramarama, or Gretchen from Fly in the Wall?

Sadye's choreographing the revival of Spring Awakening. Gretchen works for Marvel.

You go, girls! Do you think Frankie will be running the country by then?

Either that or she's in a mental institution.

Which of your leading ladies most resembles your teenaged self?

Ruby Oliver. Though I was never a leper or a famous slut. My brain still worked the way hers does.

What's next for you, novel-wise?

Real Live Boyfriends, then [after that] I'm not sure! I haven't started it yet, whatever it is.

You and I share a love for classic films. Would you ever write a book set back in the 30s or 40s?

I have a half-finished novel set primarily in 1930. But I found I wasn't interested in getting all the period details right, or the rhythms of speech, or anything. I wanted to just make it up, with no pretensions to accuracy. Kind of like in Martin Dressler. Only, my book wasn't as good as Martin Dressler. I may go back to it when I think I can do it right.

For what it's worth, I think you can.

Visit E. Lockhart's website and blog.

Read my 2007 interview with E. Lockhart.

Read my 2008 interview with E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Myracle.

Follow E. Lockhart's blog tour all week long!
December 7th: Bildungsroman
December 8th: The Story Siren
December 9th: The Page Flipper
December 10th: Cheryl Rainfield
December 11th: Sharon Loves Books and Cats
December 12th: Park Avenue Princess and Royal Reviews

Characters who are important enough to interact with your main character regularly need to be multi-dimensional, not flat.

What is a flat character?

One that only has one set of attributes, who always has the same kind of emotional response to situation. Check the words you use to attribute a character's speech; if s/he is always sneering or whining or laughing, then you might have a problem. Multi-dimensional characters have different facets to their character. Even the bad guys have good moments, and the good guys can be jerks sometimes. What is interesting are the circumstances that make a person act slightly out of character.

Unreliable teen narrators (like Melinda in SPEAK) make this harder on the author, especially when writing in the 1st person POV. The narrator is still maturing and has a limited scope and understanding of the world. It is helpful to craft a few scenes where the reader can assess more about the situation than the narrator does.

If your character is a chord instead of a single note, your story becomes richer.

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=60743

ComingSoon.net talked exclusively to director Tom Ford, Colin Firth, Matthew Good and Nicholas Hoult about A Single Man , opening in limited theaters on Friday, December 11th before expanding wider on Christmas Day and January 8th.

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61442

Summit Entertainment ("The Twilight Saga) is developing an action-oriented take on Dracula titled Vlad , written by actor Charlie Hunnam.

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61445

According to The Associated Press , Veracruz, Mexico governor Fidel Herrera says Mel Gibson will make a movie at a prison in the Gulf coast state next year.

http://comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=61443

TNT has a new take on "Dallas" and has hired Cynthia Cidre ("Cane," Mambo Kings ) to write the project, says The Hollywood Reporter . Warner Horizon is producing the series.

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61440

Stan Lee confirmed today via his Twitter account that he will have a cameo role in Thor .

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61441

David Permut ( Youth in Revolt ), Dave Gross and Jesse Shapira will produce the romantic teen comedy Pictures of You , written by Joshua Friedlander.

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61444

TMU Pictures is developing the action-adventure film War Birds , says The Hollywood Reporter .

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61439

20th Century Fox has released two new featurettes on James Cameron's anticipated Avatar , coming to 3D theaters and IMAX 3D on December 18th. You can watch the first featurette about the story using the player below, and the rather amazing second one--featuring Sigourney Weaver talking about Pandora--by going here !

I know it's actually Sunday night, and I normally don't post until Monday, but tomorrow, I will have no power. I don't mean in the figurative sense---although I often do feel powerless, in oh so many ways---but literally. We're at the point with our garage construction that the new power lines have been run, and tomorrow there are all these people coming over to inspect and connect and do a new transformer. Which means at some point---probably just as I am writing a blog entry---the power will go out, I'll have no internet, and that will be that. So here I am.

In other exciting news, this weekend I FINALLY got around to watching Twilight. We had some friends over and I had the DVD from Netflix, and the boys agreed to put it on with one codicil: they would be allowed to mock it as much as they wanted. I said sure. I have to say, again, that vampires are not my thing. I am not into sci fi or fantasy or really any stories that couldn't happen here in this world, right now. But I TOTALLY get the appeal of this movie. A lot of it, for me, had to do with Robert Pattinson, who I have been reading about in US Weekly for ages, but never seen on screen. He is not hard on the eyes, I will give you that. When I wrote this on my Twitter, though, I was surprised how many people got SO mad at me for liking him. Apparently, you are either Team Twilight or not, and there's no in between. Can I just say, though, in my defense, that I don't think it's really about vampires? It's the hair.

Exhibit one? Luke Perry, circa 1990 something:


And here's Robert Pattinson:


And don't even get me started on Johnny Depp in his 21 Jump Street Days:


Yeah, I know. It's kind of creepy. I never really THOUGHT of myself as a person who liked the long, moussed-up hair thing. Especially since I married someone who had a shaved head when I met him. But apparently, this is a trend with me. Although I have to say, Robert Pattinson's is kind of above and beyond. It looks like birds could be living in there. But still: cute.

The movie as a whole, well, it wasn't really my cup of tea. I didn't really expect it to be, though, for all the same reasons the book wasn't. I'm just way too literal and I like stories about real people. If they have big hair that looks like it could harbor wildlife, clearly, all the better.

Okay, I'm off to catch up on Top Chef and Hoarders. Got to get my TV on before I'm powerless. So to speak.

Have a great night, everyone!

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/12/what-i-plan-to-do-this-week.html

Write.

Walk the dog. (Seen here being walked by me half an hour ago. I was not wearing special protective warm clothing. It was remarkable.)

Not go onto the internet except occasionally to email people things they are waiting for.

Sleep.

Posted via email from Neil's posterous

http://oinks.squeetus.com/2009/12/2009-great-reads.html

The Nation, by Terry Pratchett
I love Terry Pratchett. He is laugh-out-loud funny, and at the same time thoughtful and fascinating. If you haven't listened to The Wee Free Men on audio book, I highly recommend it. The book itself is worth reading as well, of course, but the audio book is just extra delightful. The Nation isn't as uproarious as some of Pratchatt's fare, but it's wonderful in its own way. Also it makes another fine audio book.

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead
Everyone is talking about this book this year, and with reason. I felt like I lived it. A sweet, quiet story in many ways, it's perfectly crafted. Not strictly realism, not really science fiction, it's just a good old fashioned story.

Keturah and Lord Death, by Martine Leavitt
I was fascinated by this book and how Martine was able to maintain the tone of "tale" all the way through. Not easy to do successfully. While it feels like a traditional tale, it was an untraditional novel, spare and lovely, with a story that keeps you guessing.

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
If you read Hunger Games, I'm sure you've already read Catching Fire, because how could you resist? So really this recommendation is for those who haven't discovered these books yet. Definitely start with Hunger Games. Great for reluctant readers and passionate readers alike. Note that these books are violent, but I don't think they're gratuitous.

Lips Touch, by Laini Taylor
I read this book in ARC so I still haven't seen the illustrations that accompany it, but I understand they add very well to the stories. This book is three novellas, each featuring a kiss as an instrument of power--either of triumph or destruction. Laini is a wordsmith and a story crafter, and her sentences are as compelling as her stories. I was very happy to see this honored as a National Book Award Finalist. Some mature content, but I'd feel comfortable giving this to anyone 13 and up, I think.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
It's made the book club rounds, and with good reason. I was expecting a happy, sweet story, and though there was plenty of happy and sweet, there was also a much darker story underneath. Oh, how I despise war. I though the epistolary format was perfect here, and I left this book feeling as if all the characters were my friends. This will be a wonderful gifting book. Though written for adults, older teens will likely enjoy this as well.

The Way He Lived, by Emily Wing Smith
Emily is one of the Utah writer crew that I've gotten to know, and with pleasure. Her first book takes the voices of six different teenagers, each who knew a boy who died while at scout camp, ostensibly of dehydration. It's a delicious study in voice and character.

The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science, by Natalie Angier
This non-fiction book takes us through the major studies of science in a light-hearted, often humorous, but always informative manner. I struggled through the physics chapter and eventually skipped a large part of it, but came away from the rest all the more fascinated with this amazing world. A great book for those of us who wish we could retake those science classes in high school that just didn't seem relevant at the time.

A Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson

My first Ibbotson, and I enjoyed it. I think these weren't originally written for young adults (maybe I'm wrong?) but they're being repackaged YA. I recall one part being slightly mature, so be warned, but overall very accessible to YA and up.

Next Wave, by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen
The funniest comic I've ever read. This might just be for fans of comics, because so much of the humor comes from turning comics conventions upside down. Meant for adults.

How Do You Wokka Wokka? by Elizabeth Bluemle and Randy Cecil
I love this picture book read aloud. The text and pictures are inventive and fun.

Bye Bye Baby, by Richard Morris and Larry Day
My favorite picture book about a toddler's life disrupted by the birth of a younger sibling. My kids request it often.

Robot Dreams, by Sara Varon
This mostly-wordless graphic novel has been a favorite of both the 2 and 5-year old. It can be read by children much older, and adults will get things out of it that the kids don't. My mother read it and thought it sad. My children think it's funny. My five-year-old says, "I like the Robot Dreams. My favorite part is when they have ice cream."

See my author interviews for more reccs. What were some of your favorite reads this year?

http://www.unshelved.com/blog.aspx?post=1564

Thanks again to our newest sponsor, Perseus Book Group. Here are the books they featured this week:

• Star Crossed by Mary Belogh
• Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life a biography by Bill Minutaglio and W. Michael Smith
• A Matter of Class a historical romance by Mary Balogh

Posted by Bill on 12/6/2009 11:10:00 AM

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61434

In their third weekend facing each other, Warner Bros.' The Blind Side took over the top spot from Summit's The Twilight Saga: New Moon , the former earning an estimated $20.4 million for a total of $129.3 million. The Sandra Bullock-starrer, made for just $29 million, dropped 49% in ticket sales from Thanksgiving weekend.

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61433

Director McG participated in a BD-Live chat for the Terminator Salvation Blu-ray yesterday and said that he is still planning on directing the fifth and sixth "Terminator" movies.

Today we have a guest blogger, our own near and dear Bookavore. She manages a bookstore now, and has had some kind of bookselling job ever since she turned 16. Bookavore reads twice as many books in one year as I do in 10, so I consider her my in-house book expert.

She recently wrote a post about two things she is sick of seeing in books, particularly YA novels: sloppy writing in regards to race and two-dimensional characters. It's called "In which I get frustrated and plead with authors." You need to read it right now. But brace yourself. She doesn't pull any punches.

What do you think about her ideas?

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61431

Actor Josh Brolin and producer Chris Moore are taking the title of their documentary collaboration The People Speak quite literally.

I lost my Direct TV signal during the snow storm. So I went out and threw snowballs at my satellite dish until I knocked off the coating of snow. Signal restored. Just call me Mr. Fixit. (Or Mr. SoreShoulder.)