Are You There San Francisco? It's Me, Tera

As you read this I may already be jetting my way to San Fran (aka the City) for the annual Romance Writers of America conference.


If you live in the Bay Area and are dying to see me (or any of 200 or so other authors) then here's your chance.

Who: Me and a billion other authors.
What: Book signings galore (with all proceeds going to charity).
When: Wednesday, July 30, 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Where: San Francisco Marriott, 55 4th Street, San Francisco, CA

Blogging will be sporadic (at best) for the next few days. Just keep in mind that Big Things happen here starting 08.08.08. (Hint.) Mark your calendars.

Hugs,
TLC

A Really Big Announcement

I just posted a really big announcement (I mean REALLY BIG) over on the BuzzBlog.

Hugs,
TLC

Literary Social Strata (or Why Are People So Snooty?)

There has been much chatter of late about the stigma of writing YA. This was all news to me because, coming to teen fiction from the world of romance--aka the unclean genre--I had no idea that YA authors were equally looked-down-upon, if not by the general public, then at least by the literary world itself.

So, for those of you living in a blissfully unaware state where books are either good or eligible for use as a table-leveling device, here's a breakdown of the relative social prestige of various genres.

1. Literary
2. Commercial fiction which is not romance
3. Young adult/children's
4. Romance

And, because that list annoys me, here's a breakdown of my personal preferences for reading those same genres.

1. Young adult/children's
2. Romance
3. Commercial fiction which is not romance
4. Literary

(Don't panic. I wouldn't actually read anything literary, even as a last resort. I prefer my endings happy and my literary devices--similes, metaphors, and the like--comprehensible. It is only included for purposes of symmetry.)

This prejudice of perception breaks down even further within the publishing world. Hardcover is supposedly better than paperback. Trade size paperback is better than mass market. Single title romance is better than category romance is better than e-published romance.

I would like to say this apparent need to belittle others is restricted to the field of literature, but coming from a theatrical family I know this is a widespread problem. Legitimate theatre is more respectable than musical theatre. Off-Broadway is better than Broadway. Off-off-Broadway is better than both. Budgetless, cutting edge, avant garde theatre that either puts people to sleep or assures they never want to attend the theatre again is the best of all.

Just who decided that popular necessarily equals devoid of value?

(For example, I was once told that Hair, one of the most revolutionary and culturally important productions of all time, had no artistic value or integrity because--gasp--it played on Broadway. That's just dumb. That's like saying Romeo and Juliet has no artistic value or integrity because Leo and Clare played the star-crossed lovers on the big screen. Or that Disney is killing theatre--when, in actuality, Disney is saving theatre by creating a new generation of theatregoers.)

After surviving the "shame" of being an aspiring romance author (there, I've admitted it in public) I've learned to let the belittling comments slide right off my YA back. It helps to keep in mind that:

a) Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Jane Austen were all writers of "popular" fiction, which means today's most popular authors (hello, JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, and Meg Cabot) are writing the classics of the future, and

b) readers (teens, even) actually want to read my books, which means I'm helping forge a new generation of readers who will grow up with a love of the written word (and hopefully the ability to differentiate between utter crap and greatness).

If that doesn't work, I just cash my advance check, answer my fan mail, and wait patiently for those snobby types to thank me (and the rest of the YA world) for cultivating their future readers.

Here endeth the treatise on literary snobbery.

Sorry for the rant. This was supposed to be a short, funny post (just my two lists at the top) but I was so inspired by Bennett Madison's brilliant thoughts on the topic that I couldn't contain my opinions. Blame him. And then buy his fabulous books.

Hugs,
TLC

Casting Call: The Winners!

I am so incredibly amazed that the Casting Call contest was not only so much fun, but ended up with a total of 117 entries! Thanks to everyone who nominated and participated and voted and otherwise commented. And now, what you've all been waiting for, the contest winners.

After listing and numbering every entry in an spreadsheet, I plug the numbers into randomizer.org to choose the winners (so blame the randomizer for the results, not me).

The three winners of a signed copy of OH. MY. GODS. are ...

Aimee
the story siren
Carol

The two winners of a signed copy of OH. MY. GODS. and a fun Academy prize pack that includes a journal, t-shirt, and tote bag are ...

jennifer
Little Willow

Yay! Contact me (tlc at teralynnchilds dot com) with mailing info (or I will have to hunt you down and that won't be pretty). Again thanks and wow and you guys rock.

Remember the next big contest event begins 08.08.08!

Hugs,
TLC

Casting Call: Your Cast

Olympic Productions
in association with
The Academy
presents

OH. MY. GODS.

(not coming anytime soon to a theatre near you)

Starring...

Ashley Tisdaleas Stella Petrolas

Max Thieriotas Troy Travatas

Ellen Pageas Nicole Matios

Penn Badgleyas Griffin Blake

and

Amanda Bynesas Phoebe Castro

Thank you so much to everyone who nominated an actor and/or voted this week. This has been so much fun, yes? Anyway, you have one last chance to get another entry in the fabulous contest by commenting on our final cast. (I'll share my thoughts: I would cry with happiness if someone made a movie of OH. MY. GODS. with this stellar cast!)

Tomorrow I will post the winners.

Then, sadly, back to normal everyday blogging. (Until 08/08/08, that is. Expect big things.)

Hugs,
TLC

Casting Call: Choose Your Phoebe

This is the most important voting day of all, because today we are casting the lead role in our movie, Phoebe. She's a cross-country-running California girl who has her two best buds and dreams of a college scholarship when her mom uproots halfway around the world. If anyone can handle being dropped into the world of descendants of the gods, it's Phoebe. She has to be strong, athletic, sympathetic, and the kind of girl you (or your "inner chick") want to be.

The nominees for the role of PHOEBE CASTRO are ...

1. Amanda Bynes
2. Blake Lively
3. Mika Boorem
4. Alexis Bledel
5. Taylor Momsen
6. Amanda Seyfried
7. AnnaSophia Robb
8. Willa Holland

Last day to vote, so leave your choice in comments below to get another entry in the fabulous contest. There's still time to go back and vote for your favorite Stella, Griffin, Nicole and Troy. And check back tomorrow for the unveiling of our final cast!

Hugs,
TLC

Casting Call: Choose Your Griffin

And now for our favorite bad boy (okay, not Steph Hale's favorite bad boy...). Griffin is the hottie hunk that our heroine falls for head over sneakers. While he might come across as abrasive and, well, kinda mean, he's got some hidden depths (and a hidden heritage) that might make him a perfect hero.

The nominees for the role of GRIFFIN BLAKE are ...

1. Gaspard Ulliel
2. Shia Labeouf
3. Rodrigo Santoro
4. Paul Wesley
5. Ben Barnes
6. Chad Michael Murray
7. Teddy Geiger
8. Penn Badgley

Leave your vote in comments below to get another entry in the fabulous contest. There's still time to go back and vote for your favorite Stella, Nicole and Troy. And check back tomorrow for our final day of voting!

Hugs,
TLC

Casting Call: Choose Your Nicole and Troy

Because I extended the nominations for a day, today is a two-for-one. Check out all the awesome nominations for the roles of Nicole and Troy. Vote for one of each in comments to get two entries in the fabulous contest.

The nominees for the role of NICOLE MATIOS are ...

1. Nikki Reed
2. Kelly Vitz
3. Mae Whitman
4. Ellen Page
5. Emma Roberts
6. Hayden Panettiere
7. Kristen Bell
8. Vanessa Anne Hudgens

The nominees for the role of TROY TRAVATAS are ...

1. Zac Efron
2. Chace Crawford
3. Joe Jonas
4. Max Thieriot
5. The Sprouse Twins
6. Brad Pitt
7. Michael Rady
8. Michael Welch

Leave your votes in comments below. After today our cast will be over halfway complete! If you haven't already, don't forget to go back and vote for your favorite Stella. And check back tomorrow to choose your Griffin!

Update: Oopsy! Just realized I didn't include any deets about these characters to help you decide. Nicole is the spunky, kick-butt, stay outta my way, don't cross my friends or else sidekick. And Troy is the really nice, really cute, good friend, not really dreamy-crush-boyfriend-material friend. Hope that helps!

Hugs,
TLC

Casting Call: Choose Your Stella

Thanks to everyone who submitted casting nominations for OH. MY. GODS. Now we get to the fun part ... choosing our cast! I'm starting off with Stella today because, really, I'd never hear the end of it if she didn't get to go first. You guys came up with some really awesome actresses--some I would never have thought of for the role of the stepsister from Hades, but I think they work! Good luck choosing just one.

The nominees for the role of STELLA PETROLAS are ...

1. Ashley Tisdale2. Daveigh Chase3. Leighton Meester4. Miley Cyrus5. Brittany Snow6. Kristen Bell7. Megan Fox8. Rachel McAdams

Leave your vote in comments below. Remember, every time you vote (once per character) you get another entry in the contest with the fabulous prizes.

And check back on Saturday to see the final cast list.

Hugs,
TLC

Contest Update

Okay, because we only got a handful of nominations (thanks to everyone who submitted their casting suggestions!) I'm going to extend this first part of the contest for another day. You can post your actor/actress nominations until midnight PT tonight (Monday).

(Read previous blog entry for contest details.)

Update: Oopsy! Just realized I didn't include any deets about these characters to help you decide. Nicole is the spunky, kick-butt, stay outta my way, don't cross my friends or else sidekick. And Troy is the really nice, good friend, not really dreamy-crush-boyfriend-material friend. Hope that helps!

Hugs,
TLC

Casting Call: Nominations Please

This is the first post in (what I hope will be) a fun new series on the blog.

I want you to imagine, for a moment, that OH. MY. GODS. is being made into a movie. (No, there’s nothing in the works yet, but a girl can dream.) Some big production company has gotten an amazing director attached to the project and now they’re scrambling to cast the film. The most important roles to cast, of course, are Phoebe, Griffin, Nicole, Troy, and Stella. (I’m not going to worry about the grown ups at the moment because, really, they’re secondary here.)

Here’s my question to you: Who would you cast?


Now, I had certain actors in mind when I wrote OH. MY. GODS. (and you can check out my original cast list on the BuzzBlog) but maybe you pictured someone else as you were reading. Maybe you know exactly who would make a perfect Griffin (yum) or you totally disagree with my choice for Nicole.

This is where the contest part of the week comes in.

First, in comments below, I want you to nominate the actors and actresses you would cast in the roles of Phoebe, Griffin, Nicole, Troy, and Stella. If, like some people, you haven't read the book yet, there's a description of each character here.

Then, over the next five days, we'll have the voting. Each day you will vote among the most nominated actors or actresses for each role to determine who would play that character in our production.

Finally, on Saturday, I'll post our final cast list.

For every comment you leave throughout the week (limit one per post) you will get an entry into the Casting Call Contest. If you comment on every post, you'll get seven entries. At midnight PT on Saturday I'll draw the winners.

Bet you're wondering about the prizes, huh?

Five (5) lucky winners will receive autographed copies of OH. MY. GODS.

Two (2) of those winners will also receive a fun Academy gift pack which includes:

• a blank Academy journal (handy size for sketching or writing on the go)
  
• an Academy t-shirt (men's XL)
• an Academy tote bag (perfect for shopping, school, or trips to the beach)
  

Them's the rules. You have until midnight PT tonight (Sunday) to submit your nominations for any or all of the roles up for casting. Voting will begin tomorrow with our first character.

Hugs,
TLC