Marley Gibson talks about RADIATE!

We welcome YA author Marley Gibson back to YA Fresh today to talk about her newest release, RADIATE.  

Hi, Marley!  Tell us about your book in ten words or less.

Marley: RADIATE is a story of how cheerleading saved my life.
  
Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in your novel and why?

Marley: In RADIATE, I really love the relationship between Hayley and her mom, Nan. She’s a very strong woman who just wants to protect her child and she’s struggling because a disease that attacks you randomly isn’t something you can prepare for as a parent. I love the way she stands up to the doctors and is always telling Hayley to look at the bright side. I loved writing her because I’m the age now that my mother was when I went through my cancer...so I’m writing a bit about my mom, but also about how I might handle it at this age now if one of my step-kids had to go through something like this.
  
Tell us something fun about RADIATE. It can be a character detail, something that inspired the story, or a behind the scenes story from the writing process.

Marley: Well, the whole book, RADIATE, was inspired by the cancer that I went through in 1983 as a teenage cheerleader. So many times you read YA books about cancer or other serious diseases and they’re so depressing. I wanted to show that even though Hayley had this tumor and had to go through hospitalization, surgery, chemo, and radiation, she was still herself. She still had her number one goal of putting on her cheerleading uniform and getting on that football field to cheer. There’s a scene in RADIATE where all of the football players shave their heads at the pep rally because they think it’s going to make them tough for the season. That actually happened at my school--although not at a pep rally. Just one day, all the football players came to school with boot camp haircuts. Funny thing is...when my hair fell out, most of the competing schools just thought that I had that much school spirit and shaved my head too. LOL! I hope that these scenes in the book are very vivid and emotional, putting the readers right there into the action of what it was like for Hayley to make the varsity cheerleading squad and keep her spot.  

What is a favorite comment you've ever received from a fan?

Marley: Wow…I’ve had so much amazing fan mail...it really humbles me and blows me away. I think any time a fan writes to say that reading one of my books inspired them to write, I’m like, "Wow, that’s pretty cool." I did have one fan, an older man in his 50's, write to tell me that he knew he wasn’t my target audience, but he read RADIATE. When he was in college, he dated a girl who came down with cancer and they lost touch. He said that reading my book helped him reconnect in his mind with what she might have been going through and how her life changed overnight with her diagnosis. It helped him reconnect with her eventually, which was really cool.  

That's terrific. What are you working on now?

Marley: I’m working on a bunch of stuff! Aren’t all writers? LOL! I’m working on a proposal right now that also incorporates cheerleading and a new take on it. I’ve also got another contemporary romance coming out soon called CAN’T FIGHT THIS. And, hopefully this summer, the sixth GHOST HUNTRESS book will hit Kindles and Nooks everywhere. Thanks so much for having me!! = )

Wonderful, Marley, and thank YOU for spending some time with us and telling us about RADIATE. The book sounds amazing and inspiring, and one I'm not going to be able to put down!

RADIATE Releases Today!

I have been anxiously awaiting Marley Gibson's newest release, RADIATE, which is a fictionalized recounting of her real-life teen battle with cancer.

"This is a story," Marley tells us, "of how cheerleading saved my life."

Check out Marley's website for an online pep rally, with prizes and giveaways, from NOW until Friday, April 6th!

Chatting with Marley Gibson

Two weeks ago we talked about the book launch of Ghost Huntress: The Counseling by Marley Gibson, and how it is the fourth installment in the acclaimed Ghost Huntress series.

Today, Marley has graciously agreed to chat with us, to tell us about that book and other things going on in her busy life...

Hey, Marley! Thanks for being with us. Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?

I've been writing as long as I can remember. Don't all writers use that as their answer? LOL! It's seriously true, though. I remember writing short stories in crayon as a little kid and then "auctioning" them off to my family. Recently, my sister said to me, "I never understood why we had to pay you for your stories." I guess I was preparing myself for the world of publishing. I wrote all through high school, even penned a teenage romance then, and wrote all through college. In 2001, I decided to finally quit TALKING about writing a book and just do it. I had a really bad agent (sorry) for two and a half years and then I found my really awesome agent who totally understood me, my characters, my voice, etc. Within six months of signing with her, I had my first deal which was starting off the SORORITY 101 series. The publisher came to my agent asking if they had a writer with sorority experience and my agent knew my background and abilities well enough that she pitched me. I did the first two books in the series under the name Kate Harmon. A year later, she sold my GHOST HUNTRESS series.

Great! Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

I'll admit that I don't write every day. However, I *think* about writing every day. I'm constantly plotting and planning and creating characters and dialogue in my head. I really have to let a story stew for a while -- sorry, it's the foodie in me making the analogy -- to make sure all of the ingredients are there before I can start putting words to paper. When I am writing, or what I call "the blood fever," then I will sit with the headphones on cranking out House/Trance/Dance music and totally escape into my world I'm creating. I type wicked fast (like 100 wpm) so I can get out about 1,500 words in an hour. I just try to dump everything out the best I can and then I go back and re-read and polish, add things, strengthen, tighten, etc. I've gotten to the point where I'm a first draft writer -- but that was after years of practice and many completed manuscripts that went through several adaptations before completion. Everyone's different, but this is what works for me.

I’m a crazy-fast typist, too, although the days of me hitting 100 wpm are probably behind me! Anyway, please tell us now about your novel, GHOST HUNTRESS: THE COUNSELING, and what we can expect from your characters.

Well, GHOST HUNTRESS: THE COUNSELING picks up after book three, THE REASON, where Kendall finds out who her spirit guide, Emily, really is. In an attempt to help Kendall find herself and her identity, her parents send her to an Enlightened Youth Retreat in the Sierras in California. There she meets a new cast of characters who are "gifted" just like she is. There, they work with counselors to discuss their feelings, senses, abilities, etc., and realize that they're not alone in this awakening world. Of course, Kendall meets an adorable, yet troubled guy, Patrick Lynn, who is struggling with not only his own awakening, but his connection with Kendall. Together, they team up to help the trapped spirit of a young woman who was murdered. All of the teens join together to solve this cold case...just as Kendall is accepting who she really is.

What's up next? Do you have another project in the works?

Well....I do have stuff in the works. My agent has a few proposals out there and I'm just waiting to hear. I love writing, creating characters and situations, and I love entertaining people. My fans have been great and really get into the GHOST HUNTRESS books. I hope people will keep writing and letting me know what they think. I love that this is my "full-time" job and that I'm doing what I've always wanted to do. And that's write!

Thanks! Would you like to close with a writing tip?

The best writing tip I can give....is if you want to be a writer then just DO IT. So many people ask me how to get published and what did I do and what can they do and all I can really say is...write. Write. Write. Oh yeah, and write. You can't get published if you haven't written anything. Having a great idea for a book is awesome, but if you don't flesh it out into a tangible product, then it doesn't matter. Write it. Even if it's horrible. Write it. Get it out of you and onto the computer. Just. Do. It.

Yep, I couldn’t agree more! Thanks for visiting with us, Marley!

Thanks for having me!! = )

Ghost Huntress: The Counseling

The fourth installment of Marley Gibson's popular GHOST HUNTRESS series,
THE COUNSELING, has hit bookstores! It finds heroine, Kendall Moorehead at a crossroads. Kendall has just discovered who her spirit guide really is, lost her boyfriend, and nearly died doing the thing she loves most–ghost hunting. It’s time to take a break and try to reconcile all the changes she’s going through. So Kendall heads to the Sierra Mountains, where there’s a camp especially for young people with gifts such as hers. It’s a time for reflection and self-discovery. But when she gets to California, she once again finds restless spirits–and the boy in her last vision. It may be the end of one chapter of her life and the beginning of a new one...

A lifelong paranormal enthusiast, Marley has investigated haunts throughout the USA, including Rolling Hills Sanitarium, Waverly Hills Sanatorium, The Sprague Mansion, The Houghton Mansion, The Stanley Hotel, and the Queen Mary, alongside well-known paranormal celebrities like Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Patrick Burns, Chris Fleming, John Zaffis, Shannon Sylvia, Chip Coffey, Stacey Jones, Mark and Debby Constantino, Tiffany Johnson.

Her publishing credits include “Ghost Huntress: The Awakening,” “Ghost Huntress: The Guidance,” and “Ghost Huntress: The Reason.” The next titles in the series “Ghost Huntress: The Counseling” and “Ghost Huntress: The Discovery” will be released in September of 2010 and May 2011 respectively. She has also co-authored a teen ghost hunting how-to guide entitled “The Other Side: A Teen’s Guide to Ghost Hunting and the Paranormal” with Patrick Burns and Dave Schrader, and is also the co-author of the wildly successful “Christmas Miracles,” written with Cecil Murphey, from St. Martin’s Press.

And all that said, Marley is a super-fun person to spend time with. And if you need cooking advice (as I often do), she's your go-to gal! Congrats to Marley on this new release, and we hope to have her visit for an interview soon!

What's Fresh with Marley Gibson aka Kate Harmon



A fresh new series-the Sorority 101 novels will make every teen girl want to join!

High school is already a distant memory for incoming Lattimer University freshmen Jenna, Roni, and Lora- Leigh. Jenna can't wait to meet cute college boys, Roni can't wait to get away from home, and Lora- Leigh . . . well, Lora-Leigh couldn't care less. She's going to LU and participating in sorority recruitment only to appease her mom. Sorority girls are pretty, rich, and snotty, and Lora-Leigh doesn't want to be one of those girls. So she's shocked to find herself actually connecting with the sisters of Zeta Zeta Tau. And her new friend Jenna can relate. She came to recruitment only because her roommate begged her to, but now she can't decide which sorority to join; she likes them all! Roni, on the other hand, knows which sorority she should join, but she came to LU to reinvent herself. As recruitment progresses and the girls prepare to make big decisions, they'll need to heed the best advice there is: follow your heart. Now where will it lead?

Hi Marley, it's great to chat with you! Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?

Marley: I started writing stories when I was a little kid. I used to write and illustrate them and then “sell” them to my family at an auction where they would bid like a quarter or something. Hmm...sort of prepared me for the publishing industry, eh? Then, in high school, I wrote teen romance stories about my friends and their boyfriends. I wrote throughout college and in my professional career where I’ve been a marketing and events coordinator for (gasp!) twenty years. A lot of press releases, letters, contracts, ad campaigns, newsletters and website copy. I started seriously writing for publication in January 2001.

My first sale came in March of 2006. Because of my agent’s fantastic reputation and track record for YA sales, she received a call from Puffin Books saying they really wanted to do a sorority series and did she have a writer who could come up with a proposal. I worked hard for three straight weeks writing character sketches, plotting an outline and writing the first three chapters of the first book. Well, I took a shot at it and two months later, we had a deal. I wrote the first two books of the series, entitled, SORORITY 101: ZETA OR OMEGA? and SORORITY 101: THE NEW SISTERS, under the pen name, Kate Harmon. Other writers will be taking over from here since I’ll be working now on my own series, GHOST HUNTRESS, under my name that comes out in May 2009.

Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

Marley: When I’m in the blood fever (i.e. writing on deadline or getting revisions done), I work steadily 1-2 hours per week day. I try to take the weekends off, if I can do it. I work a full time 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. job (with two hours total of commuting), so I write during my lunch hour and when I get home at night. I have an Alphasmart Neo that I use when I’m writing and I have a writing room set up at home where I work, as well. I like to play Dance, House or Trance music (as loud as I can stand it) when I’m writing. Because I type about 100 words per minute, I can churn out a good 1,200 words or more in an hour of writing time. The way I write is I see my book in my head like a movie, so then I just belch it out (for lack of a better word) onto the page and then the real writing is in the re-writing or revisions where I go back and straighten and tighten and smooth things out. The biggest part of the routine is I don’t make excuses and never have...I just write.

Please tell us about your latest series and what we can expect from your characters.

Ooo...thanks for asking! I’m so excited about my new series! In November 2007, my fabulous agent sold my GHOST HUNTRESS series in a three-book deal to Houghton Mifflin’s Graphia line. The books are THE AWAKENING (May 2009), THE GUIDANCE (October 2009), and THE REASON (May 2010). They are about sixteen year old Kendall Moorehead who never imagined in a million years that she’d become a ghost huntress. But after moving from Chicago to an historic southern town, she finds herself awakening to her latent psychic powers...and discovering there’s a ghost in her bedroom! With the guidance of a local medium and the help of her new friends and ghost hunting team (including a massively cute skeptic who makes her heart do flip-flops), Kendall must quickly develop her newfound intuitive abilities to talk to the other side and discover why a belligerent spirit is trying to harm her father.

Sounds awesome! What's up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Marley: I’m really focused on the writing the GHOST HUNTRESS books and getting reading for a lot of promotion with them. I do have other irons in the fire, but nothing I can talk about right now. Just enjoying my writing time and my creativity and trying to keep notes on the ideas as they come to me. You know how crazy we writers are with the voices in our heads. LOL!

Thanks again for sharing with us, Marley! I wish you the best with both of your cool series! Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Marley: I’ve been getting asked a lot lately “how do you find time for your writing with a full-time job?” The answer is, I don’t. I make time for my writing because it’s something I have to do. I have characters and stories and dialogue and ideas in my head that want to come out and be heard. I don’t just talk about writing, I back it up with words on the page. It’s not an easy choice to put yourself out there for rejection, possible ridicule, judgment, and critique, but when you have the finished project in your hand and can say “I did that,” well, there’s no better feeling in the world...to me. Just. Do. It. (Thanks, Nike!)

Marley Gibson made her young adult debut in May 2008 with SORORITY 101: ZETA OR OMEGA? and SORORITY 101: THE NEW SISTERS from Puffin Books, writing as Kate Harmon. She holds a BA in Communication from The University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) and has been involved in marketing and events for over twenty years. She works full-time in the financial industry as an event planner. An avid reader, travel enthusiast, and closet gourmet chef, Marley is a member of the New England Romance Writers of America, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and is the Creator and Founder of Chick Lit Writers RWA. Her GHOST HUNTRESS series, under her own name, will debut from Houghton Mifflin in May 2009. She lives in the Boston area with her best friend, personal webmaster, and hubby, Mike. She can be found online at www.marleygibson.com, at her blog www.booksboysbuzz.com, or on MySpace at www.myspace.com/mhgibson.