Bleed

Laurie Stolarz' collection, Blue is for Nightmares, is available as a boxed set and her newest book, BLEED, sounds like it will keep young readers awake at night as well.   

Here's what the reviewers said:

“Stolarz expertly weaves a combination of stories the reader will remember for a long while.”  – Anne Keller, RandomReads

“The reader is swept along in this masterful plotting of characters as their lives intertwine in most unexpected ways. Laurie Faria Stolarz has captured perfectly the angst and folly of the teenage world.” – Teenreads.com

“…a funny, yet poignant book of interconnecting short stories in which the lives of 10 teenagers are seamlessly woven together….The author demonstrates the ability to identify with today’s teen experience…” – School Library Journal

Here's our interview:

1. If I had to offer a bumper sticker explanations for my novel, it would be

“Be careful what you wish for.”  The novel is set in motion by one girl’s decision of whether or not to pursue her best friend’s boyfriend (who she’s been wanting or “wishing for” since forever) while the best friend is away visiting her dad for the summer.  Nicole soon learns that what she wishes for may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

2. Your two favorite movies over the past twelve months and why?

I saw Monster this past year (yeah, yeah, I know, a little late, after everyone else had seen it) and was completely blown away.  I also love fun movies like She’s the Man.  I love foreign films, too.  I just saw Cache and though the ending was anticlimactic for me, I couldn’t stop talking about it for days.

3. What was the one thing you learned in getting your book published that you were really surprised to find out?

That even when a writer calls a book done, it needs to be edited, then edited, then edited again.  Yeah, now I call them drafts.  Back then, I didn’t.

4. If you had to pick one and only one condition (beyond computer or pen and paper) that would allow you to write would it be: a. solitude   b. caffiene   c.  sleep   d. food   e.  sex  or f.   _

C. sleep____.

5. Do you have a favorite genre?  If so, who are your three favorite writers? If not, who are your three favorite writers and how have they influenced your work? 

I love Robert Cormier for his cinematic eye.  I also love Francesca Lia Block for what she can do with language.  And I love Stephen King because he’s just a master of storytelling and suspense.