Straight, No Chaser - Stacy DeKeyser

Is anyone else in awe that it's the end of October?!

This was the fastest October on record for me. I'm not even sure what I've done with my month, I mean besides fall behind on my GCC touring.

Next up is a suspense novel, Jump The Cracks, which I find to be an intriguing title. It's about a young girl who steps in when she suspects child neglect. This is especially interesting to me in light of a case, locally, where a mother abused one of her adopted children and killed two others she was fostering. If that's not a case of slipping through the cracks of our system, nothing is. So Stacey's book touched a nerve with me about our nation's flawed child protective system.

Whew, I know, so heavy on a Friday. So let me lighten it up... Stacy, let's talk pop culture!

Which cliché best describes you as an author?

SD: How about the Strunk-and-White A-student? Honestly, The Elements of Style is one of my bibles. My writing style is very straightforward, which has caused some people to comment that it's "nothing special." As if I just dashed off a 200-page book in a few hours. I wish!! In fact, I work hard to make my prose kind of disappear so that the story and characters come to the forefront. Other readers have called my books very "readable," which I take as high praise.

Stereotypes

SD: I'm a total Mom. From my "Good morning, sweetie pie!" to insisting on kisses even if my kids' friends are looking, I could write the book on being a Mom.


Using either television, film or literary references, give us the one or two sentence pitch you'd give film agents:

SD: Jump the Cracks is a great suspense thriller -- The Fugitive for teens!

If you did an informercial for your book, who would be the perfect celeb to serve as the pitch guy or gal? And why?

SD: I'd find a two-year-old boy who could jump up and down and yell "READ! BOOK! NOW!"


Stalkerazzi

SD: It's a good thing I'm not a stalker or else Sarah Jessica Parker would be in trouble because I'd constantly bug her about how she gets her hair to look so good every day (I have curly hair too!)


A lot of times, authors start a book with one concept in mind (especially us pantsters) and end up with a totally different story. For your most current book tell us where you story started and ultimately ended.


SD: My current book (which has no title) started out about a modern-day girl who has visions of the Virgin Mary. It ended up being about family secrets and first love and learning that things are not always as they seem.

You're on a desert island with a cell phone. Miraculously it has two bars and enough battery life to make one three minute call. Who do you call?

SD: I'd call my husband xoxox!

If someone were deserted on an island and came across your book washed ashore, what's the one thing they'd take from it and want to share with the world once they got back to civilization?

SD: They might think about how doing the "right" thing isn't always the easiest thing, or even the most sensible thing. They'd put themselves in Victoria's shoes and wonder what they'd do if they were thrust into her situation.

Which celebrity would you like to see put on a bus and dropped in the desert? And why?

SD: Michael Vick. Those poor dogs. (Actually, anyone who abuses children or animals should be dumped in the desert.)

Sit on your duffs and read!

I've never been ashamed to admit that I watch quite a bit of trashy TV. I'm unapologetic because my mind is a maelstrom of things to do, books to write, people to see, books to promote, elections to follow etc... I don't want to think about a damned thing when I sit to watch television. And thanks to the amount of mindless stuff out there, mission accomplished!

I've always wondered when us book people would get our day in the sun on the web or television. I mean where are the shows where people form alliances to get a book deal? Huh? Where are those?

Sorry. Anyway, our time has arrived.

Dave Farrow is supporting literacy in our schools by living in a store front on Fifth Ave. throughout October and reading. Yes, reading!

The catch is - he's reading from a Sony Reader. For every page turn, Sony will provide an ebook library of 100 ebook Classics to a school or educational institution.

Sweet!

Check out the Reading Revolution Youtube page and see how you can join the cause and get an ebook library donated to your school of choice.

Warning: The video never loaded for me from the Sony page. But you can see Dave's video blogs at the Youtube page.

Hmmmm....

Is it evil that this song makes me smile?

We Still Got It!

Back in the day, middle school years, me and my girl Nick started this rap group, Luscious Ladies.

It was the 80's people. Everybody was in a rap group or a crew break dancing.

She was Luscious D and I was Lively P. Her cousin Tiff was in it and another chick...but I forget their rap names.

We were serious, even battled this other group of chicks at a school dance. I don't remember who won. I think I blacked out!

There comes a time when you've gotta hang up your mic, though. So I left the rap game behind after that infamous battle. Then about nine months ago, the hubster decides he wants to remix his Suck My Toe single.

The song only has one line. But I'm like - A remix? Okay, let me get a piece of that.

So I sit down and write two bars of a lyric and we go at it. When I finished he looked at me like - Damn, did you just write that?

Hey, baby, I'm a writer. This is what I do!

So he asked for a few minutes so he could step up his game. And of course, the camera phone comes out to record it for posterity.

I thought Princess A had long deleted the thing from her phone. But you know kids, digital is their life. She keeps digital clutter like my mom still has stories I wrote in the first grade.

So here you go, one night only, P and Ready Teddy, The Suck My Toe Remix.

Def Jam, don't bother calling with a deal. Writing YA is where my heart is.

Haters...don't hate 'cause I still got it.