Best Selling Laurie Faria Stolarz Author Interview & Young Adult Hop ~ JeanBookNerd

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Laurie Faria Stolarz is the author of Deadly Little Secret, Deadly Little Lies, Deadly Little Games, Deadly Little Voices, Project 17, and Bleed, as well as the bestselling Blue is for Nightmares series. Born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, Stolarz attended Merrimack College and received an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston. For more information, please visit her Web site at www.lauriestolarz.com.

Laurie’s Guilty Pleasures

Favorite snack: Popcorn with soy butter and lemon/pepper seasoning.
Touristy Trip: Paris.
Fashion addiction (at the moment): artfully torn jeans, tall boots, pretty scarves, and Michael Stars tees.

Dessert: Dark chocolate in almost any form - the darker the better.
Fast food: French fries at least once every few months (with lots of ketchup).
Beauty Binge: Aveda haircare products, which includes indulging in high-and/or-low-lights every eight weeks. Also, Caudalie skincare, Ineke perfume (Field Notes from Paris), Revitalash mascara, and Buxom Lips from Bare Escentuals.
Late-Night TV: Real Housewives of (wherever), Mad Fashion, Fashion Hunters.
Chick Flick: Never Been Kissed, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Juno, Green Card, Once, The Devil Wears Prada, Bridget Jones Diary, Thelma & Louise, Mean Girls, Moonstruck, Clueless, Under the Tuscan Sun, and anything with John Cusack.
Nightlife: Pilates in front of the TV (a regular occurrence), answering e-mail (also regular), and dinner and/or a movie out with friends (happens far too rarely).
Cheap Thrill: Window-shopping, tabloid magazines, buying a new lip gloss, a tall cup of coffee from Peet's or Starbucks.
Ultimate Splurge: G2O Day Spa for a massage.

Other Random Info

Favorite Quote: Perseverance is key.
Favorite cuisine: Indian food – onion chutney, curried vegetables, and kashmir bread. I also love cheeseless pizza from Bertucci's.
Interests: Vegetarian cooking, holistic nutrition, aromatherapy.
Favorite Music: Adele, Fergie, James Blunt, Gavin Rossdale, Tori Amos, Sting, Sarah MacLachlin, Gwen Stefani, Black-eyed Peas.
Hobbies: Walking, napping, cooking, shopping, interior decorating.

Social Media

Website

How would you describe yourself in three words?

Perceptive, observant, thoughtful.

Tell us your latest news.

Deadly Little Voices, the fourth book in the Touch series, was recently released this past December. In keeping with Touch series tradition, in celebration of the release, I’m launching my annual “winner-gets-to-have-a-minor-character-named-after-him/her” contest! The grand prize winner will get to have a minor character in DEADLY LITTLE LESSONS, the fifth and final book in the TOUCH series named after him or her. Other prizes include autographed book copies and the opportunity to have original work appear on my web site, Facebook, and Twitter pages. OFFICIAL RULES and GUIDELINES for this contest are on my website, under NEWS. ALL ENTRANTS MUST SIGN A RELEASE FORM, DOWNLOADABLE FROM WWW.LAURIESTOLARZ.COM/NEWS.html.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since forever. As a child, before I could even put pen to paper, I was making up stories and telling them to whomever would listen. Then, when I finally could write, I’d draft scripts and have my dolls recite the lines and act out the performances.

How many books have you written?

I currently have twelve books out and another coming out next fall (DEADLY LITTLE LESSONS).

What was your inspiration for the Touch Series?

I wanted to write a story where the main character has to struggle with the idea of falling in love with someone who could potentially be dangerous. I tinkered with this concept in the first three books of my Blue is for Nightmares Series [(Blue is for Nightmares (Llewellyn 2003), White is for Magic (Llewellyn 2004), and Silver is for Secrets (Llewellyn 2005), as well as in Bleed (Hyperion 2006)]. In Bleed, in particular, there’s a young male character who was convicted for the murder of his girlfriend. His next relationship consists of pen pal letters he exchanges with a young girl while he’s in prison. Without giving too much away, the relationship is briefly pursued once he is released, but I wanted to bring this concept to another level. Additionally, I wanted to continue experimenting with the supernatural (which I also use in my Blue is for Nightmares Series as well as in Project 17), showing how we all have our own inner senses and intuition, and how with work we can tap into those senses and make them stronger. I started researching different types of supernatural powers and discovered the power of psychometry (the ability to sense things through touch). The concept fascinated me, and so I wanted to bring it out in a character, showing how sometimes even the most extraordinary powers can also be a curse. Lastly, I wanted to apply these concepts to be part of a series. I love the idea of growing main character over the course of several books.

What’s one thing that readers would be surprised to find out about Camelia?

She actually enjoys some of her mom’s gluten-free, sugar-free, raw vegan cuisine.

What chapter was the most memorable to write and why?

There were several chapters where I had to show Camelia on the brink of insanity, teetering at the edge, not sure which way she was going to land. It was challenging to try to get inside her head and convey those emotions – that fear, confusion, and loss of control – in a believable way.

What is the single worst distraction that kept you from writing this book?

E-mail.

What question are you never asked in interviews but wish you were?

Do you have any youtube videos of your books? Why yes, I do. Check them out here:

DEADLY LITTLE SECRET:

DEADLY LITTLE LIES:

DEADLY LITTLE GAMES:

Which author would you love to co-author a book with?

I think it would be fun to write a cookbook with vegan chef Tal Ronnen. He could do the cooking and I could do the eating.

What is your favorite Quote?

Perseverance is key.

What are 4 things you never leave home without?

Tissues, lip gloss, cell phone, wallet.

What is a movie or TV show that you watched recently and really enjoyed?

I just saw Paris After Midnight and loved it. I also just read Undiscovered Gyrl by Allison Burnett – a great book.

Where can your readers stalk you?

www.lauriestolarz.com
https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=597050025
https://twitter.com/#!/lauriestolarz

High school junior Camelia thought her powers of psychometry only gave her the ability to sense the future through touch. But now she’s started to hear voices. Mean voices. Berating her, telling her how ugly she is, and that she’d be better off dead. It’s a troubling development that has Camelia terrified for her mental stability, especially since her deranged aunt with a suicidal history has just moved into the family house. More torturing, ex-boyfriend Ben, who has similar psychometric abilities, has been spending more time with their classmate Alejandra.

With the line between right and wrong fraying, Camelia turns to pottery to get a grasp on her emotions. She begins sculpting a beautiful figure skater, only to receive frightening premonitions that someone’s in danger. But who is the victim? And how can Camelia help them when she is on the brink of losing her own sanity?

Deadly Little Voices is the fourth book in The Touch Series by Laurie Stollarz and for the fourth time, I was pleasingly delighted. Just like its three counterparts, it has everything that a paranormal book offers: mystery, creepiness, and basically everything that is not in accordance with scientific laws. This was the kind of book I could really enjoy and before even finishing it; I knew that it would be a pleasurable read.

Camelia has grown up more, in the sense of getting more in tune with her gifted powers. The choices she makes in Deadly Little Voices were sound decisions as opposed to the ones she made previously. Camelia’s visions of torment are very vivid, thanks to Stollarz’s amazing depictions that it was very frightening to read. The answer(s) to her visions are so mysterious that it will have the readers thinking one thing and in the next chapter, it’ll end up being something completely different. That was one of the aspects I love about the book.

Deadly Little Voices introduces more mystery and new characters. We get more details about Camelia’s powers and Stollarz has turned up the creepiness notch higher in this one. I always enjoy a read full of creepy situations and paranormal visions that at times feels so real (shudders).

You can purchase Deadly Little Voices at these retailers:

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Book Depository

You can purchase The Touch Series >>>HERE<<<

How to bring your psychometric senses to fruition

By Camelia Hammond, main character, TOUCH series by Laurie Faria Stolarz

1. Make yourself comfortable in a place that feels “sacred” to you. For some it’s outside, surrounded by nature; for others it’s a favorite chair or surrounded by candles; for me, it’s wherever I’m doing pottery.
2. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breath, letting go of any stray or nervous thoughts.
3. Now, take an object in your hand. A good idea is to have someone give you something they’ve owned for a long time, i.e. a favorite bracelet or a set of keys.
4. Close your eyes again and concentrate on this object. Be aware of any thoughts or feelings that come about as a result of holding this object. Talk those ideas through, even if they seem silly or insignificant, but never make information up.

Remember, this takes practice and a bit of experimenting. The goal is to begin tuning in to your own inner awareness and your ability of perception. What often works for me is asking a question aloud, and then sculpting out the answer, using my power of touch in a creative and organic way.

Praise for the TOUCH series:

Texas Tayshas List, 2010 (DLS)
Children’s Book Council’s 2010 & 2011 Teen Choice Book of the Year Nominee
Reluctant Reader Quick Pick Nominees, 2010 & 2011, American Library Association
Teens@Random, Favorite Book of 2009 (DLS)
Gold Star Award, TeensReadToo.com, 2009 (DLL)

"...lively first-person narrative.... CW-worthy dialogue, quirky secondary characters, romance and suspense: a winning combination" - Kirkus Reviews

"An engaging, eerie tale about the darker side of relationships - when it becomes a matter of life and death to know who your friends are." - KLIATT

“The book was full of shocking surprises and revelations, earning the book five stars. This is a must-read for fans of romance, suspense, and mystery because it won't disappoint.” – Teens Read Too (DLL)

"Laurie Faria Stolarz is a master creator of suspense and romance. Her words cause the heart to pound, the palms to sweat, the spine to shiver, and the stomach to flutter. The trepidation born from the anonymous threats will make the pages fly, and the palpable tension between Camelia and Ben as they attempt to ignore their hearts causes the fire to burn hotter." - TeenReads.com

And now, The Giveaway.

Thank you Laurie for making this giveaway possible.