Maryrose's Blog, All Year 'Round (now illustrated)

I'm interviewed at the Oasis for YA. Leave a comment to win signed POISON DIARIES.

The Oasis for YA is a great blog for readers and writers of YA books. Today they've interviewed me! We talk about THE POISON DIARIES, the difference between middle grade and teen fiction, my most comical moment as an author, writing tips and more.

Read the interview and leave a comment (there, not here) to win a signed copy of THE POISON DIARIES, too.

Imperial Beach Teens ask, and I answer!

So many libraries are creating cool websites & blogs for their teen patrons to hang out, visit with authors, talk about books, leave comments, and just generally bond with other book-loving teens. Check the great teen site at Imperial Beach Library, cleverly called IB Teen Blog. They asked to me answer some really smart interview questions, and they're even giving away some free books!

My favorite question in the the interview: "What is the strangest thing you've ever gotten inspiration from?" I think my answer will surprise you!

xoxo
m

Teen Book Review reaches the final frontier...

Check out one of the most fun interviews I've done in a long time — it's with Jocelyn Pearce at her great Teen Book Review site.

Many secrets are revealed! And there's a new book announcement too, which will be of special interest to WHY I LET MY HAIR GROW OUT fans.

I promise, you will discover things about me that boldly go where no interview has gone before....

xoxo
m

Drowning in clutter, but still giving interviews....

Oh, such a busy time it's been! But the first draft of my next book, A BEAUTIFUL NOTHING, has more or less been nudged into completion, and now it's time to take a breath and enjoy the spring....wait, did I say that? No, I meant it's time to dig out my office from beneath the LAYERS of clutter that magically accumulate when you're slogging through the end of a draft and stop paying attention to the material world.

O, ye gods of Pendaflex folders and little stackable plastic storage bins! Look kindly on me, as I figure out where to put all this junk!

In the meantime: two nice interviews with me are now appearing on a website near you. Please visit Shooting Stars Magazine, where we talk about six-word memoirs, Broadway musicals and more, and Book Chic, for news about upcoming projects and some advice for the writing-inclined.

xoxo
m

Little Willow Interviews Me!

How much do I love Little Willow? She is a tireless booster of kidlit, has read everything, and is just so cool and smart and nice. Her booklists are a national treasure.

I had much fun doing this interview with her, so please check it out. We talked about MY LIFE: THE MUSICAL, Broadway adventures, why kid's books need more "sex" in their titles, faery-fun, and tons more.

xoxo
m

Yakkety yakkety kayak yak!

A very happy yakfest was had 'twixt me and the brainiac writerbabes at Sharing The Brain, a fun new blog dedicated to all things YA. Their interview got me talking about all kinds of things, like books and advice about writing and promoting and what is coming up next for me, publication-wise —

— but surely the most unexpected treat is a heretofore unpublished photograph of me, at sea!

Okay, not exactly at sea. At lagoon, to be precise. But I am paddling my little heart out and fully flotational. Click here to read the interview and see what kind of nautical fun I'm' talking about.

(Molte grazie to überpaddler Bill Menke for the photo.)

xoxo
m

p.s. - if you are in the mood for the audible kind of yakking, don't forget that you can hear me interviewed on Book Bites for Kids.

We chat about books on “Book Bites for Kids” - listen to the podcast!

I had a great time chatting with Suzanne Lieurance on the "Book Bites for Kids" radio show.

To listen to the podcast, go to BlogTalkRadio and click play!

xoxo
m

I didn't know fireflies even ate mangoes...

YA book maven Mango-Firefly (aka Melissa) invited me to drop by her blog for a lovely and thoughtful interview about Why I Let My Hair Grow Out.

It's a fun interview with some great questions from Melissa! Thanks to Melissa, too, for her nice review of the book. She says:

"Why I Let My Hair Grow Out is humorous romp that intertwines modern American teen-hood with the rich tradition of Irish mythology, in a refreshing and totally original way."

This blog is full of reviews, interviews, and lots of interesting YA book-related stuff. Recent featured titles include Ironside (Holly Black's sequel to Tithe that we've all been waiting for!) and the yummy Tantalize (including a great interview with author Cynthia Leitich Smith). Visit; I know you will have a good time. If you bring a jar to actually catch the fireflies, please remember to punch little air holes in the top...

xoxo
m

The Dramarama Interview gets a standing ovation! But who's the vampire, dude?

Sing out, Louise! E. Lockhart (The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, Fly on the Wall and now the highly theatrical Dramarama) has nabbed me for the Dramarama Musical Theater Interview, now up on her site. Comical-tragical-pastoral-historical interviews have also been conducted with tapdance-worshipping Justine Larbalestier and can-can-crazed Lauren Myracle.

In my interview you'll learn the sordid details of my high school acting career, which Broadway show tune makes me laugh, and the caffeine-laden nature of my ultimate showbiz fantasy. And, for the first time anywhere, you'll find the lyrics to a catchy little ditty called "The Ballad of Morgan (also known as the Semi-Goddess Morganne)." Yup, clever E. requested that I write a wee song about Why I Let My Hair Grow Out. Fun!

You will also learn the identity of this man. Hummunah hummunah, is all I have to say.

Read the interview and check out Dramarama — I loved this book; it's like going to summer theater camp, only better!

xoxo
m

Some biting revelations at YA Fresh

How fresh? We're talking newly-washed, sweet-smelling and still damp from the dryer! It's YA Fresh, a great new site full of author interviews and links to all kinds of teen-lit related people, places and goodies.

A fun new interview with me just went up today, so please check it out! Never-before revealed tidbits include the answer to this unseemly question: exactly what would it take for me to renounce my decades-long vegetarianism and consume a bite of human flesh?

Congrats to Kelly Parra, author of Graffiti Girl (MTV Books, May 2007) and Tina Ferraro, author of Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress (Delacorte, March 2007) for launching this great site, and especially for their awesome-sounding new books!

xoxo
m

Bookslut interview reveals: the worst brand of baby food ever!

For your amusement: I'm interviewed by the charming Chris Zammarelli in the March issue of Bookslut. We discuss book bannings, the writing process, Charleton Heston, Broadway musicals, and the worst brand of baby food ever. Enjoy!

xoxo
m

I'm interviewed on FantasyIsLove.com

There's a very fun interview with me up on the brand-new FantasyIsLove website. If you love faeries, Buffy, magic, Harry Potter, and other fabulous fantasy-type stories that are just too big to cram into the real world, this site is a must-visit.

The interview includes some great questions about my writing process, upcoming projects, and offers a never-before-revealed teaser about what happens in the sequel to WHY I LET MY HAIR GROW OUT. Enjoy!

xoxo
m

The Blogosphere has spoken! KITTENS is a “Top Pick of 2006”

They’re unstoppable, unflappable, and boy do they know their books! The awesome child-lit bloggers have put their virtual heads together and compiled a really great “Top Picks of 2006 (So Far)” list, available for your perusal on the MotherReader blog. I’m truly delighted to see Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love listed as a “Top Picks of '06” middle school book.

There are 150 books in all, from picture books through high school and a non-fiction list too. Thanks to all the participating bloggers who took the time to submit recommendations!

xoxo
m

Article in The Villager finally reveals: where is that smell of cannolis coming from?

A charming article appears in this week’s issue of The Villager, about me & SEX KITTENS AND HORN DAWGS FALL IN LOVE.

Many thanks to journalist Rachel Fershleiser for writing a great story. It was fun chatting with her and reminiscing about my first visits to Greenwich Village:

“When I was a teenager, I’d come with my friends and walk around Greenwich Village, staring at it like we had arrived in Disneyland,” (author Maryrose Wood) says. “We would go into restaurants that aren’t there anymore, like Mr. William Shakespeare’s, and we would go to used record stores, and sit in Washington Square Park. I think a lot of the sense of wonder that I felt as a teenager about the Village is informing the magic Manhattan that I create in ‘Sex Kittens.’ ”

If you read to the end you'll be rewarded with some interesting tidbits of info, like the title of the, ahem, Broadway musical that I was in when I was a teen, and why my East Village apartment always smelled like cannolis. And, finally revealed! The hardest New York City neighborhood to love! But we love it anyway.

xoxo
m

Teens Read Too Interviews Moi

If you haven't checked out the Teens Read Too site yet, now there's no excuse to put it off any longer -- webgoddess Jennifer Wardrip has just posted an interview with me on her awesome site. You'll find out how SEX KITTENS AND HORN DAWGS FALL IN LOVE got published, the inside scoop on how I started writing novels to begin with, plus a sneak preview of projects to come and much more. Enjoy!

xoxo
m

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A happy and very X-full Valentine’s Day to all you Kittens and Dawgs!

In honor of the day, SEX KITTENS AND HORN DAWGS FALL IN LOVE is featured in a roundup of “seven of the newest books on love and longing — some funny, others thoughtfully serious — for kids ages 10 to 18” in the New York Post. Check out the article. Also mentioned is David Levithan’s awesome-sounding MARLY’S GHOST, which is way high on my to-read list.

chocolate kisses to all,
xoxo
m

AS IF! Stands for Something — Decode the Acronym Here!

Hey, click here to find out about AS IF! (Authors Supporting Intellectual Freedom). A group of us teen author types got this organization together when we heard about a school in Austin, Texas, that turned down a $3 million grant because the donor wanted them to take a particular book off the optional reading list for 12th-graders (it had a story in it about two gay men). In an awesome display of coolness, the school said no thanks, we think our students should be able to choose their own books!

We authors issued a statement in support of the school, signed copies of our books and mailed them off — and now the school librarian is starting a "Freedom Library" of all the donated books.

Has anything like this ever happened at your school? Or, have you ever gotten together with your friends to make a statement about something you believe in, or to try to change something you thought was wrong? Write & tell me about it! I'll post your stories here.

(Attention Comrades! If you need an opportunity to practice reading Cyrillic, you can also read the AS IF! press release here. Seriously, this freedom of speech thing is serious bizness, as our friends in the former Soviet Socialist Whatsit know all too well. IMHO, there is nothing more true-blue patriotic and in the spirit of all that's best about the US of A than accepting that people swing all kinds of different ways: politically, religiously, culturally, romantically, favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor-wise and every other which way, and that it's ALL cool and we can be neighbors and co-citizens and work it all out using this nifty system of elected government we have here. Go, diversity & democracy! Two great d-words that go great together.)