Interview with Melissa de la Cruz

Melissa de la Cruz is the author of the bestselling THE VAN ALEN LEGACY, as well as a variety of novels for adults and young adults. She's also written for a variety of magazines, including one of my favorite publications, McSweeney's. She's a bicoastal woman, living in both Los Angeles and New York. She has personal familiarity with the setting of the Blue Bloods series, as well as many of her other works. In addition to the Blue Bloods series, she's currently working on the spin-off, which will begin with WOLF PACT in Spring 2011.

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1. How do you balance writing a large number of series (Blue Bloods, The Ashleys, The Au Pairs)? (Do you have a favorite?)

The Au Pairs and Ashleys have ended already, now I have the Blue Bloods series and am starting two new paranormal series, Wolf Pact, which is a Blue Bloods spinoff and follows Bliss's adventures as she looks for the Hounds of Hell, and The Witches of East End, which is an adult paranormal series, about a family of witches who shake up a fictional town in the Hamptons.

Blue Bloods is definitely close to my heart, since it was my first paranormal series, but I am really excited about Wolf Pact and Witches as well. They're all quite different – Wolf Pact is very action-oriented and grittier than Blue Bloods, while Witches, since it is an adult series, has more adult themes, and is a bit more droll, but also sexier. I take my time and write each book on its own, I can work on all three when they are in the beginning stage but once the book really gets going I need to concentrate and I tend to finish the one whose deadline is nearest during the end stage.



2. How did you come to write "vampire" books? Was there anything specific that led to the creation of the Blue Bloods series?

My editor for Au Pairs asked me if I wanted to try my hand at a horror/fantasy book and I came up with Blue Bloods. I had always, always wanted to write a big epic fantasy but I never thought anyone would give me the chance to write one given my fashion/chick-lit background. So I feel very grateful that Disney took a chance on me. I feel like Blue Bloods is the book I've always meant to write.

3. What kind of books did you read as a kid? What are some books you've read recently and enjoyed?

As a kid I was a voracious reader and I read everything from the classics to Sweet Valley High and Sweet Dreams. My absolute favorites were Stephen King's books especially The Dark Tower Series, and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

Now that I'm an adult I don't reach much fantasy, I like to read the kinds of books that I would never write myself – I read cooking memoirs. Anything by Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain. On the YA side I recently read Elizabeth Scott's Love You Hate You Miss You and Frank Portmann's King Dork and I loved loved loved both.



4. You've also written several books for adults. Do you approach adult literature differently from young adult?

Not really – I think Blue Bloods is really for all ages. And so are my adult books. I think the adult series will be sexier in nature and it deals with some adult themes like politics and that sort of thing, but I just write for myself. And I wanted to write a fantasy book that was like Grey Gardens mixed with Alexander McCall Smith and Julian Fellowes.

5. Your bio says you've also worked as a fashion and beauty editor. (Any tips for the winter?) How have your job experiences influenced your writing?

I feel very lucky that I was able to work in the magazine industry. It helps you develop a thick skin, and sharpens your instincts. As a former beauty editor: moisturize, moisturize, moisturize for the winter! My work covering the glittery scene gave me a lot of material to use when I was starting Blue Bloods. But I feel like the story has taken its own course, and I haven't worked at a magazine for almost a decade now, and I like exploring new worlds and new themes.

Review: Fade Out vs. The Van Alen Legacy

By Rachel Caine
Released Nov 3 by Signet
Review copy provided by publisher
Read my reviews of CARPE CORPUS and LORD OF MISRULE

The Morganville Vampires is not my favorite vampire series, but it's one that holds steady and comes up with something interesting for each book. I expected FADE OUT to be the start of a new arc. Instead, Rachel Caine only teases with what is to come. FADE OUT focuses on a standalone story in addition to snipping a few loose ends. It works very well, as newcomers can pick up FADE OUT from the store without becoming too lost.

Claire's out of sorts because Eve has been cast in A Streetcar Named Desire, and now she's hanging out with her costar Kim. It doesn't help that Kim is clearly into Shane - who admits to Claire that they had a one-night stand. Michael has a shot at fame, but he can never leave Morganville. And Myrnin is more dangerous than ever, which makes me ridiculously excited. (Apparently, I am the kind of person who thinks daffy, mostly friendly characters who ultimately look out for number one and will stab you in the back without blinking are awesome to read about. In real life I avoid people who would betray me.)

The story moves along at a nice clip, which is good since Caine doesn't have many pages to waste. (The short page count always leaves me wanting more, but it does keep the story tight.) Amelie clearly has plans for Claire, and they aren't looking like plans anyone would want to participate in. Caine has always done a good job of keeping the vampires threatening even when they ally with the humans, and she continues in that vein not only with Amelie and Myrnin, but with Michael, who the readers and characters first knew as human.

I liked the breather of a standalone story, but FADE OUT has me ready for the next arc. I hope Caine continues to write books that deliver in and of themselves while contributing to the Morganville Vampire series as a whole.



By Melissa de la Cruz
Released Oct 6 by Disney Hyperion
Review copy provided by publicist

I thought the Blue Bloods series was awesome when I first came out. It was an interesting premise (reincarnation instead of eternal life), played with Christian mythology, and centered around a pun. All bonuses in my book. But while Caine has been dazzling me with her pacing, Melissa de la Cruz is lacking.

Part of the problem is the way she divides the novel between the narrators: Schuyler, Bliss, and Mimi. Each girl gets about five pages before the book zooms off to the next narrator. As soon as I would get into one girl's voice and story, I would be reading a different segment. I got frustrated wanting to know what would happen to someone who I wasn't reading about. Eventually I started reading by skipping and reading one girl's story as a whole, then reading the next. Short chapters are usually a ploy to keep you reading, but it felt like it slowed me down.

What helped even less? I didn't find all three of the stories compelling. Most of the story movement occurs in the last third of the novel. I think the most frustrating part is when everyone goes back to school. Who wants to read about the characters going to school when we could be reading about the battle for the fate of the world?

I'm not saying THE VAN ALEN LEGACY was a complete loss. There were some big developments at the end, and hopefully they'll cause big reactions in MISGUIDED ANGEL. de la Cruz built up some momentum, and now she needs to keep that up. Especially since the series began so promisingly.

Come back tomorrow for a short interview with Melissa de la Cruz.

Merry Christmas!

I'm saying it just a little early. (Also, I took this photo last year, but my part of Texas is having a white Christmas, oddly enough.)

Last Minute Gift Ideas

Everything I said last year stands.

Don't forget, you can always make a gift to charity in someone else's name. Here's some book related options:

Inside Books: Fight recidivism by providing Texas inmates with free books (Spanish textbooks are always in demand.)

Leave a Mark, run by The Page Flipper and Lauren: Buy a unique, marked up book to help First Book, or make a direct donation

Book Angel Michelle: Help a community build its first library (Details on where to send the books here, as well as details on the prizes offered by the awesome bloggers helping Michelle)

Book Wish Foundation: For two dollars, you can help build a library in a refugee camp

Now for book suggestions!
(Note: I haven't read most of these. They're things that I would find fun as a gift, and don't think are common enough that someone would already own a copy.)

HOW TO SEW A BUTTON: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew by Erin Bried



I can sew a button (who can't?), but this book promises the secret to folding a fitted sheet perfectly. I would kill for my fitted sheets to not look like they were folded by a blind amputee.

BEST FOOD WRITING 2008 edited by Holly Hughes



I have a thing for food porn. Don't judge me.

WHO SHOT ROCK AND ROLL: A Photographic History, 1955-Present by Gail Buckland



Photography, music, and sociology. This book looks to be both beautiful and thought-provoking.

TOKYO VICE: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan by Jake Adelstein



Satisfying a love of East Asia and gangster stories in one fell swoop.

SHAKESPEARE AND MODERN CULTURE by Marjorie Garber



Doesn't the title say it all? Pop culture and one of the greats, two irresistable passions. (Like TOKYO VICE!)

MUSE AND REVERIE by Charles de Lint



Tired of formulaic urban fantasy? One of the fathers of the genre, de Lint once more writes stories set in the town of Newford. I'm sure his writing is as gorgeous as always.

OTOMEN by Aya Kanno



I've read this series, but don't own it. I love the way Kanno plays with gender. (Plus the art is cute.)

DEVIL'S KISS by Sarwat Chadda



Horror story with elements of paranormal romance for YA readers? Sounds awesome.

Of course, I'd also pick and choose from anything I reviewed favorably.

Review: Nanny Returns and The Real Real

By Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
NANNY RETURNS available in hardcover from Atria Books
THE REAL REAL available in hardcover and paperback from HarperCollins
Review copies provided by publicist



I adored THE NANNY DIARIES, once I finally read it. (In the interest of full disclosure, for years I thought it was a biography of Fran Drescher. While I loved The Nanny, I didn't particularly have the urge to read about the star.) It's exactly what satire should be: ruthless, yet hilarious. It skewed the rich and the way they treat the help, in a portrait that seemed at once over-the-top and authentic. NANNY RETURNS never quite reaches those heights, though I ultimately enjoyed the novel. The main problem lies in the fact that 95% or so of the book is a major downer. (My mom agrees, in case you care.)

NANNY RETURNS begins twelve years after the events of THE NANNY DIARIES. Nan and her husband Ryan (the Harvard Hottie) have just moved back to New York, buying a run down building they hope to renovate and partially rent out. But soon Ryan has to return abroad for his job and the repairs keep going wrong.

And Grayer X, the boy Nan used to nanny, has tracked her down after finding her goodbye video eviserating his father and pleading with his parents to pay attention to him. His life isn't going so hot either. The Xes are divorcing, leading his mother to retreat into substance abuse. He needs to get his little brother Stilton into boarding school where he'll have supervision and care. Pretty soon, Nan is once more wrapped in the life of the Xes.

And then it gets worse. And worse. And while things end on a positive note . . . Nan's house still isn't habitable. A woman wronged by her employers is never heard from again. Children in trouble don't get the help they need. (Not even Grayer. He may manage to help Stilton out, but kid needs therapy.) Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus manage to keep their writing light and to inject humor into the proceedings, but they can't entirely disguise that they're grim proceedings indeed.

(It occurs to me that THE NANNY DIARIES works in almost the exact opposite way: things keep getting better and better until a hella depressing ending.) I could've easily hated this one if McLaughlin and Kraus's writing weren't so enjoyable, or if they didn't make Nan, Grayer, and several others so worth rooting for. But while fans of THE NANNY DIARIES will want to pick this up, it might not make the best Christmas gift. That is, unless you have someone you want to make cry. (Disclaimer on the crying: Monsters, Inc. made me cry. I'm easy.)



On the other hand, THE REAL REAL is a much frothier confection, much like the drings protagonist Jesse once served at a faux-Starbucks. She's enlisted to star in a reality show, with the rich kid clique and her equally cash-strapped crush. Unfortunately, her best friend is left out. Reality isn't interesting enough for the producers and scripted scenes quickly follow.

The blurb proclaims that Jesse struggles between telling "the difference between real and the real real." That's not quite true. Jesse never forgets that the show is bull. What she struggles with is the way the show affects her real image, and the way it's pressures cause her to act in real life. Participating in The Real Hampton Beach means Jesse can go to college she wants, but it may cost her everything else. To me, the plot McLaughlin and Kraus actually wrote is way more interesting than another nice girl becomes mean girl story. Jesse sometimes makes mean decisions, but she remains a basically decent person.

I breezed through THE REAL REAL. I assumed it would be a guilty pleasure, like the few reality TV shows I watch (The Bachelor(ette), Beauty and the Geek), but it quickly turned into a real pleasure. Unlike NANNY RETURNS, I fully recommened THE REAL REAL as a Christmas gift for a teen girl. At the very least, it may put her off ever wanting to appear on a reality TV show.