Thanks to the enormous and wonderful readership that has graced my site TwilightGuy.com, I was asked to write an article about Stephenie Meyer for a large movie website called TheMovie-Fanatic.com. I tried to bring as much focus onto the actual words of Steph’s fans, since they are really the ones who can describe her best.

If you’d like to read my article, head on over to this page on tMF and check it out!

Also, there were so many positive responses from people wanting to help for the article (over 400!) that I couldn’t possibly get all of the best ones into the article. Thus, I posted my 25 favorites over here.

I find it very interesting to take a look at this, especially since I will be a very new author sometime late next year. There is something very different about Stephenie that sets her apart from everyone else, and I find myself watching Youtubes of her book signings as if they were videos in a class on How To Be An Author. Granted, I think I’ve already watched all the Lemony Snicket, JK Rowling and Rick Riordan videos as well– but unlike theirs, where the fans are simply fans, I find that Stephenie’s readers are something deeper.

It is a learning experience for me to see this, since for the years that I wrote my book, my mind was told in offhanded ways that authors must be reclusive, refuse fan mail, never appear without their publicist (and when they do, appear unkempt, drunk, and disorderly) and above all things: never, ever, ever have something like a Myspace page. I discovered Stephenie Meyer and all my old stereotypes for writers were gone: the same stereotypes I was dreading having to conform to. Here she was, knocking Harry Potter off the charts, and still being able to do fun things like music playlists for her books, a dream movie cast, a mega Myspace page and actually answer fan mail.

It was freeing, in a way, to learn that the best type of author was the real one: that before I went off and made myself a recluse because that’s what I thought authors were ‘supposed’ to do, the thing people really would rather is for me to be myself. For any writer out there, it is worth searching on Youtube ‘Stephenie Meyer Book Signing’ and really watching how it’s done like a professional (and the screaming crowds do loads to get you writing again ).

Also, my agent posted probably my favorite story from him ever. I originally read it in one of his books, but if you’re a writer and you want to know the secret lives of those great beings we call Literary Agents, as well as some of the many odd things agents do for their clients, you absolutely must read this article.

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Posted in Twilight, Writing
Tags: harry potter, JK Rowling, lemony snicket, rick riordan, Stephenie Meyer

I realized this morning that I never posted anything about the Texas Book Festival weeks ago. I went there to meet with authors and mingle with other book-minded people. There were plenty about, an entire schedule of big names including Rick Riordan, the big kids author of the moment who is writing the Percy Jackson series.

There was secret service everywhere, because Jenna Bush and Lynn Cheney were coming. I almost ran into all these guys with suits, little diamond collar pins and curly headphone wires. They were serious. I went to the end where Jenna was going to come in, without knowing where I was, and they were all looking at me, a whole group of them and police. I realized she would be coming from that street because it was filled with black SUV’s. I spun about and started right off in the opposite direction.

I went there hoping to see Rick Riordan, Kimberly Willis Holt (I won an autographed book from her 2 weeks ago), Jenna Bush and meet with April Lurie, who I have met over email. I ended up seeing none of those, but I did get to see Rick Yancey, Sherman Alexie, Neal Shusterman and this oddball:

One of those things you only get to see in places where authors congregate.

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Posted in Authors
Tags: april lurie, Authors, Books, jenna bush, kimberly willis holt, rick riordan, sherman alexie, texas book festival

Congratulations to Sherman Alexie for winning the YA section of the National Book Awards! While missing Rick Riordan at the Texas Book Festival a few weeks ago, I unknowingly stopped by Sherman’s panel. It was held in a packed Methodist church — and for a Young Adult book, I couldn’t spot a single Young Adult in the crowd! I didn’t even know who he was. Now I’m so glad I stopped by.

He was hilarious, and even though I planned to leave early, he kept me standing in the back all the way to the end with his stories of growing up on a reservation and all the unusual and funny happenings in his life. So congratulations to Sherman.

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Posted in Authors
Tags: national book awards, rick riordan, sherman alexie, texas book festival, ya, young adult