If you’ve been reading the Worldweavers series up until now, you know that our heroine, Thea, was long considered to be a magical dunce. In her world, where magical talent is the norm for humans, Thea showed no aptitude for the arts until she was shipped off to Wandless Academy. At that point it became apparent that she’s not only a magician, but a rare powerful one, whose talent lies in the supposedly un-magical area of computers.

In Cybermage, Thea and her friends meet the famous scientist Nikola Tesla at various times in his life, whilst attempting to keep an important magical object out of the hands of a race called the Alphiri.

The book, Alma’s tenth, is awesome, and I heartily recommend the entire series to you. It’s funny, interesting, dramatic and also exceptionally creative.

Without further delay, I bring you Twenty-one Questions with Alma Alexander:

Question One

Me: You write under the name Alma Alexander, but you seem to be pretty free about your given name [Alma Hromic Deckert]. Why do you use a pseudonym?

Alma: Because when The Secrets of Jin-Shei was being published, my agent phoned me up and said they wanted a pseudonym. They wanted a name that was easier to pronounce. It was presented to me as a dealbreaker. My middle name is Alexandra so I went with that, so it felt more like me. [Alma's maiden name, Hromic, is pronounced H-rome-ich.]

Question Two

Alma: What made you create YA New York?

Me: I used to have a column about trashy novels, called Dustbin Diaries, and even after I left the newspaper that published that column, I was gluttonous in my consumption of teen literature. Eventually I realized that I needed to write about it somewhere other than on my LiveJournal.

Question Three

Me: Can you tell me in two sentences where you’re originally from and where you’ve lived in your life?

Alma: I was born in Yugoslavia. I went to Africa when I was ten because my dad got a job that took us there. We went to Zambia first for two and a half years, then Swaziland for five and half and South Africa for thirteen. In between I went to school in England. Then I went to New Zealand and lived there for about six years or so. Then I met somebody on the internet, got married and moved to America. Started out in Florida. It took me less than three years to start screaming at my husband to get me out now, and currently we live in the Pacific Northwest in Washington. The directions are “Aim for Canada. Just before you get there, turn right.”

Question Four

Alma: You said “trashy” is not a diss kind of thing. What makes a successful novel in your eyes, as a reader?

Me: It doesn’t matter what genre I’m reading, or what the subject is at all as long as the author sucks me in, which is a very visceral feeling that I think comes from personal preference. But I do like certain things like texture, or exploration with different formats and perspectives. And for some reason I’ve read a number of books about teenage girls coming back from the dead in one form or another.

Question Five

Me: What is it with Tesla? I mean, you mention Tesla, and you’re actually not the only YA writer who seems interested in him.

Alma: [Laughs] He was nuts. He was a complete mad genius. How do you not put someone in a fantasy who earned the title of The New Wizard of the West in his lifetime? He came to the States with four cents in his pocket and a letter of introduction; that was all he had. And essentially he got screwed by the system because he was an old-world gentleman … And of course, there’s the blessed pigeons. [Tesla was a great friend to the creatures.]

Question Six

Alma: Did you choose to live in New York, or was it circumstance, or would you pick New York as the place you would ever want to live?

Me: I ended up here as a result of circumstance, and I chose to stay. I’ve told this story before, but we moved here when I was thirteen. My dad was a minister, and he had gotten a church here, and when he died when I was sixteen, I literally refused to move. I did go away to college in New Orleans, but I came back, and I think I always will.

Question Seven

Me: Would you ever consider moving to New York?

Alma: I love coming to New York. Living there, I’m not sure. I’m a city girl, I always have been. I was born in the city, I’ve always lived in a city, more or less. But New York isn’t a city, it’s a megalopolis. … For some reason New York scares the living daylights out of me.

Question Eight

Alma: What was the first book you ever remember having loved reading?

Me: I was six. It was a Nancy Drew novel, and I don’t remember the title. It wasn’t one of the original novels — the ones you see with yellow hardcovers. It was pink, and Nancy Drew had red hair on the cover, and I really wish I could remember anything else about it. Then again, did I mention I was six? It was the first book I ever read that wasn’t a picture book, and it made me feel both more grown up, and more in control of imagining what was happening.

Question Nine

Me: What was the first book you remember ever having loved?

Alma: The book I learned to read on, mainly because my mother read it out to me and she did it twice, and when I asked her to again she wouldn’t. And I went into the kitchen and asked if she wanted me to read to her. I opened the book and started reading to her and she dropped the pot. I was four, and the book was Heidi.

Question Ten

Alma: If you could do whatever you wanted to do, what would you do?

Me: Well, I left journalism — supposedly — to work on my own writing, I should say to work on my own fiction. If I could do anything I would be a novelist, which I’m pursuing right now. But if that didn’t work out or wasn’t an option, I suppose I’d want to host a comedy show, although that might require a whole host of skills I don’t have. Yet.

Question Eleven

Me: Well, that makes feel compelled to ask you how you became a writer. How did you become a writer?

Alma: I always wrote. It was just something I did. … One year when I was in New Zealand I saw this little flyer advertising a science fiction convention and this one featured Roger Zelazny. He was sort of a literary god to me. I essentially took one look at the flyer and my eyes went out. He and Vonda McIntire were hosting a writer’s workshop. I sent in a story six months before anyone else was even thinking about it and spent six months biting my nails. “Why did I send that story? Roger Zelazny is going to think I’m nuts!”

It was the first time I’d ever actually really spent any amount of time in the company of anyone who was a pro at this. And they treated us as junior colleagues, not like little kids.

[Alma got a copy of her story handed back with scribbles all over it. She was sitting next to Roger Zelazny. He didn't have a copy of her story with him.]

He looked at me and said, “I have two questions. How long have you been writing?” And I told him what I just told you. He sort of nodded and looked at me and said “Do you write or read a lot of poetry?” And I said I did.

He looked at me and said, “It shows. You have a voice all your own. No one else will ever write like this.”

Every time I get stuck or discouraged or annoyed, those words are just written in gold in the back of my mind.

This happened in April. In June of that year he was dead.

Question Twelve

Alma: How old were you when you started writing?

Me: My mom says I was four or five, but I’m the same as you. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. It’s like having a disease.

Question Thirteen

Me: Let’s face it: Worldweavers, as a series, is kind of geeky. Which is a good thing, by the way, same as being trashy would be, but what I want to know is, what sci fi television shows do you watch or own on DVD?

Alma: Well, Babylon Five, all of it. I can probably quote you large chunks of that show. I just happen to think that was some of the best human drama, bar none, genre or non-genre, ever on TV. I don’t own it on DVD, but of course Star Trek was right up there, and there’s an ongoing discussion between my husband and myself about which incarnation was the best. … My own preference, not because it was fantastic acting or original science but sheer character interaction, is the original series. One of the newer ones which is one of those I suspect I shouldn’t have said I liked because they cancelled it in the middle of a cliffhanger, was Carnivale. The current thing that I’m watching, and all I can tell you is that I hope there’s a rabbit because if there isn’t I’m going to be so mad I spent so much time looking at that hat, is Lost.

Question Fourteen

Alma: What’s your favorite Star Trek movie?

Me: Asking me that is kind of like asking a pro football player what his favorite chick flick is, because I honestly don’t spend that much time thinking about them … which is odd, because I would like be knowledgeable enough to give a good answer. But … which movie does Spock come back to life in?

Question Fifteen

Me: What about you?

Alma: Star Trek IV, the one with the whales. I love the one with the whales. “It’s not the whales, Captain, it’s the water.” Someday I just know I’m going to want back the part of my brain that keeps track of entire movies. I can quote you Star Wars.

Question Sixteen

Alma: Are you a night owl or a morning person?

Me: I’m actually very dangerous in that way — I can stay up all night like a vampire and sleep during the day. But at some point I came to realize that most people do it the other way around. So I actually keep a pretty strict bedtime now, which is kind of lame to admit. But it keeps me healthy.

Question Seventeen

Me: How do you feel about the reception that the Worldweavers trilogy has gotten?

Alma: I’ve had some marvelous comments from readers. I just got an e-mail from a teen reader asking if there were going to be any more. The reviews that I got were calling [the books] unique and at the same time comparing them to all that came before. However, they don’t seem to be as widely available as I’d like them to be. [Here, here. Next time you're at your local bookstore, fans, be sure to mention that they should stock the Worldweavers trilogy!]

Question Eighteen

Alma: I’m going to throw a cat among the pigeons here. How do you feel about movies made out of books? To give you an example, I spent most of Lord of the Rings snarling at the screen.

Me: I do that too, just generally. The book is almost always better than the movie, unless the book was really bad in the first place. In which case, why make the movie? The only exception to that rule for me is Breakfast at Tiffany’s, not because Truman Capote’s novella wasn’t fantastic, but because I grew up with the movie.

Question Nineteen

Me: How many languages do you speak and what are they?

Alma: Two and a half: I speak my mother tongue, obviously which is Serb, and I speak English obviously because I write in it. I had but am rapidly losing French.

Question Nineteen-A

Me: What compels you to write in English?

Alma: I just do. That’s the language I started writing and dreaming and thinking in. I very rarely write in my own language any more unless it’s about things that are very highly emotionally charged memories. It’s very interesting, because now one of my books is finally being translated back into my own language. [That would be Embers of Heaven, for those of you who want to grab the translated version.]

Question Twenty

Alma: Was there a magic moment in your life?

Me: Yes, but I won’t share it because it’s the basis of a novel that I’m writing. So you’ll just have to wait for the fictionalized version.

Question Twenty-one

Me: What else may we see of the Worldweavers universe after this last book?

Alma: There’s a story that turned up in my brain that turned up after I finished writing the last one, and I’m still probably going to write it and see if I can get it published.

This story involves the reason magic exists within the world and how it can create and how it can destroy. There’s a reason Alphiri chase but don’t got: they don’t have the underpinnings of a world that has a basis of magic in this. Their attempts to gain it, because without that nothing can ever have permanence. … Even if they could buy the magic, it’s going to be the impermanent kind that they can’t refresh.

This next book is about how they attempt to set up their own source, in essence, which their world, their society, their culture, they don’t have that.

Thank you, Alma, for an awesome interview and for being so patient with me re: getting it formatted and posted here on YA NY. And readers, seriously. If you haven’t read any of the Worldweavers books yet, go get them now. Don’t wait another second. I’m obviously neither a sci fi geek nor a fantasy nerd (this is a failing of mine, I know), and I can say without reservations that the series is totally accessible even to those who, like me, couldn’t even tell you which Star Trek movie was the one with the whales.

But then the other day I took in a big delivery of some of those “stock” model books. And I just knew: It’s over. It’s over the way Gossip Girl (the books, not the televisions series) is over, the way vampires are over.

That being said, I have enjoyed one of these factory-produced novels, and I think it deserves a callout: Model, Incorporated is a well-written, engaging story (continued from This Year’s Model) about a young woman from New Jersey whose modeling career is either stalling or taking off, whose love life is a mess, and whose parents are doing their best not to be overprotective. I love how the writer and editors wove it all together.

You see how I said writers and editors, there? I’m sure that Carol Alt, the model (once the face of Lancome) and raw diet proponent to whom this book is credited, had some involvement in the book. Indeed, it seems to be based on her own life story, and we even get a little plug for raw foods.

But the copyright goes to … Altron, Inc. My bet is that there’s some writer out there who has just knocked one out of the park and ought to have a try at making a name for herself. Or himself. (You go, ghostwriter!) And if you’re looking for a last beach read of the summer, you should definitely look for this at your local library.

Back to the subject, there are quite a few reviews of this film, which it seems is attracting every red-blooded American teenager.

My favorite critic, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, calls the film “sodden” and “prosaic,” but faults the book upon which it is based more than he does the director or actors.

The Houston Chronicle’s headline? “Twilight goes for beauty over substance.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer says the movie is “better than the book,” but isn’t effervescent in its praise. However, the reviewer does liken the film to “a midnight buffet at the blood bank.”

The Washington Examiner calls the flick “anemic,” as does the Sacramento Bee.

And then there’s the New York Times — not really my first choice for movie reviews, but this one may be worth your time. According to the NYT, Robert Pattinson is a bore, and the movie — apparently like the books — is brimming over with a message of abstinence above all. (Oddly, I didn’t get that impression from book one, but I can see why others would categorize the books that way.)

Our fabulous LA correspondent, the lovely Jami B., will be watching the movie this weekend, and then doing one of the things she does best: she’ll review it for us. (Jami and I were college buds, and I have to say she was always good for a killer film review. The girl knows what she is talking about when it comes to movies, especially teen movies.) I too will be attending, so Jami and I will go head to head this weekend, bringing you as much Twilight news as is fit to print.

As for me? I’m going to watch mainly because I adored Kristen Stewart in Speak, the film version of Laurie Halse Anderson’s impeccable book. The casting — other than Kristen as Bella — has had me a bit riled for some time, but maybe the movie will cure me of that.

By the way, for those of you who read Go Fug Yourself, answer me this: WHY does Robert Pattinson seem to think that “slovenly” and “handsomely rumpled” are the same thing? The guy clearly needs some lessons on personal hygiene. Or at least on how to dress in public. Or maybe just a haircut?

After you watch the movie, feel free to share your own reviews in comments. On this post or on any of the ones that are sure to follow. C’mon, you know you’ve all had your tickets for ages. You wouldn’t miss this for the world — even if you’re loathe to admit it. So tell us what you thought. Only one thing: No spoilers!

Much love,
brina

And this weekend I stumbled upon Rachel Maude’s Poseur. And it’s exactly what I needed. Better yet, her next book in the series is due out in October. Which means you have time to catch up.

Four girls who could not be more unalike end up in the same class at the prestigious Winston Prep in L.A. Worse still, it’s a class they each proposed, but unfortunately it’s nothing like any of their ideas. Melissa wants a class that is all about her, while Charlotte proposes a “sewing circle.” Petra is anti-fashion in a sort of vegan/PETA way, and Janie … well, Janie just wants to design things that are totally rock and roll.

I tend to stay away from series stuff if I can. Not because it isn’t any good, but because it’s hard for everyone to follow and because I have a weird 1980s knee-jerk response to any series. It’s like Sweet Valley High and The Babysitter’s Club scarred me for life. If you don’t know what these books are, that’s good. Stay that way, my friend.

But when it comes to Rachel’s work, it’s hilarious, insightful and evil simultaneously. This is a good thing. Poseur is pretty much pure chick lit gold: Catty high school girls meet Project Runway. Only, I met Rachel once, and she seems like this shy sweet young thing who hasn’t a cruel bone in her body. Then again, Lauren Myracle also seems incredibly sweet, and her newest book — which I’ll tell you all about in a week — is about scary evil nun ghosts. So people can surprise you.

Anyway, Rachel’s next book, The Good, the Fab and the Ugly, is available for pre-order on Amazon now, and hits the shelves on Oct. 1. So get cracking on that first book, yeah?

So I’ve been working non-stop on my own project, and YA New York has fallen into disrepair. I promise I’ll be back amongst the constantly-blogging soon. But today! Today is my 29th birthday, and I am going off to Playland in Rye, New York, where I celebrate my birthday every year.

Anyway, I thought I’d link to some of the best YA blogs around today, so you’d have something to read in my absence:

• Maureen Johnson is always hilarious. I think it’s a rule that she has to be.
• John Green is also worth reading, though even more worth watching, as he and his brother Hank do lovely crazy YouTube videos.
• E. Lockhart, who has gotten a lot of accolades lately for her fabulous book, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, is also a great blogger. As for her book, it is hands down number one on my Best Books of 2008 list. Of course, it’s possible that could change in the next few months. But I doubt it.
• Meg Cabot is not only the High Priestess of YA, she also rivals Maureen Johnson for best YA author blogger. And if you have lots of time on your hands, you should check out her YouTube videos. Awesome!

In just three hours, you, yes, you, could be here:

Books of Wonder
18 W. 18th Street
Reading with:

Melissa Walker
Lisa McMann
Linda Gerber
Claire Mysko
Katie Davis
and
Jenny Davidson

I, however, cannot be there, due to circumstances beyond my control. Alas, no pics from me tonight, but there will be another night with other authors, and though I can’t send pics and gossip from these, I’ll send pics and gossip from those.

Hopefully, you can go tonight. And if you do, and you want to snap your own shots and write something up for us, I’ll send you a box of literary goodies. Let me know if you’re up for it, or for covering any other YA NY events e-mail me!

This ear infection of mine (I haven’t had one since I was sixteen, by the way) has dragged me down way more than I hoped it would. Which means I’ve read a lot of books, done some kind of shoddy reviews lately, and not posted a billion things I want and need to. Here’s a glimpse at what you’ve got in store:

• An interview with Suzanne Supplee, which I have not yet had the time or energy to edit
• A review of the Worldweaver trilogy by Alma Alexander
• An interview with the uber-fabulous Lauren Mechling, which I will be posting just before her new book, Dream Girl comes out on July 22
• A review of The Opposite of Music by Janet Ruth Young
• Some discussion of the similar universes of Melissa Marr and Holly Black — Faeries in contemporary American teen lit, or something along those lines
• Actually, there’s way more than that coming at you, and I can’t even remember what else I’ve got on the back burner. There are all these books I’ve read and meant to review, but things have gotten lost in the construction dust. (Have I mentioned that I hate contractors and hope I never, ever have to deal with them in my apartment again?) But please be patient. I can’t really hear you very well right now. I mean, I can if I listen with my right ear and you speak reasonably loudly. But my left? No dice.

For now, I suggest you satisfy yourself by reading what Libba Bray and Justine Larbalestier are saying about writing a book and how it is a soul-sucking, terrible process that no one should ever suffer. Well, Justine says it’s demonic, and Libba compares it to a nasty love affair. As for me, with my current book, I think I’m still in the throes of passion. Don’t worry; it’ll fade, I’m sure. And then I’ll get back to that place: “Me? Write a book??? HAH! Hah! As if. It could never, ever happen.” But Libba and Justine have both proven it’s possible, even when you reach that place. Anyway, their blogs are very funny and entertaining, so go read them.

Smoooch!
brina