It’s been awhile, but the GCC is finally back in full swing. And I’m thrilled to kick off this new round of tours with Laurie Stolarz who is the author of not one, but TWO, great new young adult novels: Black is for Beginnings, and Deadly Little Lies. One is even full of pictures for those graphic novel enthusiasts out there.
As always, here’s a little bit about her books to get you hooked:
The BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES series that put a spell on more than half a million readers continues – in graphic novel format! Prophetic nightmares. Near-brushes with death. Killers pursuing her and her friends. Stacey Brown knows that being a hereditary witch isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
All she really wants to do is work things out with Jacob and figure out what to do with the rest of her life. But before Stacey and Jacob can have a future, they must face their pasts. BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS reveals the never-before-seen backstory – and what lies ahead – for the young, spellcasting lovers.
BLACK continues the harrowing adventures of Stacey and Jacob in the wake of Jacob’s brush with death. Ever since he lost his memory, Jacob hasn’t been able to remember Stacey – his own soul mate. He leaves Massachusetts, returning to his childhood home in Colorado, hoping to jog his memory. What he remembers is Kira, his ex-girlfriend. As Jacob works to piece together his past, will there be room for Stacey in his future?
DEADLY LITTLE LIES: Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, a new boy at school who had a very mysterious gift – psychometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben’s romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry and experiencing strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben’s abilities have somehow been transferred to her.
Ben returns to school, but he remains aloof, and Camelia can’t get close enough to share her secret with him. Camelia makes the painful decision to let him go and move on. Adam, the hot new guy at Knead, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn’t. But when Camelia and Adam start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events uncovers secrets from Ben’s past – and Adam’s. Someone is lying, and it’s up to Camelia to figure out who – before it’s too late.
For more, watch her awesome book trailer.
Here’s what Laurie had to say:
Q: In AMOR AND SUMMER SECRETS, Mariana discovers a hidden family secret. Are you a good secret keeper?
Laurie: I’m the best secret keeper. Seriously, when you tell me something in confidence, it’s like locking it up in a vault. I feel flattered when people feel they can open up to me by telling me something private. I’d never want to betray that. Even if I stop speaking with the person, I feel it’s not my place to tell their secret or story.
Q: What is the favorite place you ever traveled to, and what was the coolest thing you saw/did there?
Laurie: In college, I studied abroad in Cannes and Paris and had the time of my life. I backpacked across Europe with some friends, staying in hostels and sleeping on trains. It’s hard to choose the coolest thing I saw or did because it was all so amazing.
Q: I often tell the story of how a psychic once predicted that I would go on to write children’s books. Have you ever visited a psychic?
Laurie: No, I never visited a psychic, but once when I was in TJ Maxx, Laurie Cabot, Salem, Massachusetts’ official witch, shoved a crystal cluster rock into my hand and told me the entire plot of my novel (one that had already been written and was sitting in the hands of my thesis advisor). She didn’t “sense” it was a novel, however. She pegged me as the main character and she told me my life was in danger and that I had 4 days to do something about it. She went on to describe the killer and told me not to go anyplace alone for one week. All the while she was talking to me, I just kept thinking: this is my novel. Blue is for Nightmares came out about a year and a half later. There’s no way she could have read the novel beforehand. Only some fellow classmates and my thesis chair and reader had access to it.
My fated visit to the psychic was in Salem! Gotta love it!
Q: My character Mariana spends her summer in Puerto Rico connecting with her father’s heritage. Have you ever researched your family tree?
Laurie: I’d love to go to Ireland and trace my grandfather’s heritage. Unfortunately, I never got there when I was in Europe.
Q: Where were you when you found out that your book was going to be published?
Laurie: I actually got the contract in the mail before I even got a phone call. I thought it was a little odd, so I wasn’t really sure it was real.
Thank you, Laurie! Now, everyone go out and buy books, lots and lots of books!
