Author Stalker: Ally Condie, author of the Matched series has a new book!

Ally Condie and Delicious Reads - don't you just love her ocean wave sweater?!
She bought it just for the book launch of Atlantia.

That's right, folks, author Ally Condie visited the Provo Library this last week to launch her new book, Atlantia. As a best selling author of the Matched trilogy, Delicious Reads couldn't wait to hear about the book straight from the author's mouth.

Though it doesn't officially hit the shelves until November 6th, this new dystopian novel was partly inspired by the original 1827 version of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. The first fairy tale of the underwater princess isn't quite like the Disney version, but the part that inspired Ally Condie was the idea of an underground city where people lived. Thus, Atlantia was born:

Atlantia Summary: 

Can you hear Atlantia breathing?

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

Ally gave each person that attended her book launch a lovely sea shell.
I love the turquoise swirls in mine!

Six Fun facts about this new book that Ally Condie shared with us:

1.) Though the book was inspired by The Little Mermaid, it is NOT ABOUT MERMAIDS!

2.) It's a stand alone book - no sequels for this one. (I don't know about anyone else, but it's nice to have just one book to read to finish a story!)

3.) The tagline for the book - Human voices wake us, and we drown - comes from the last line of a haunting T.S. Elliot poem called "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." 

4.) Ally Condie got the initial idea for the book from Utah's winter inversion that makes the air awful to breathe. Atlantia became an underwater refuge built when the earth above became too polluted for humans to survive for long. 

5.) The book was originally titled Rio for the main character — a girl who has been raised in a place where she has never been given the chance to breathe — or speak — fully. Rio is river is Spanish.

6.) The main hottie in Atlantia was inspired by Olympic Swimmer Nathan Adrian (whose picture Ally kept up for most of her presentation . . .sigh):

Source

Doesn't this book already sound like a winner? A cute guy, underground city, a siren voice, and a choice between the land and sea. Count me in! (which is probably why I already bought a copy!)

XoXo,

Robin King

(My book, Remembrandt, is coming November 14th!)

Get the behind-the-scenes look at more of our favorite authors from our Author Stalker series:

Leigh Bardugo: An interview with the author of Ruin and Rising and the rest of the Grisha Trilogy (Warning: Juicy Spoilers!)

Marissa Meyer: What you didn't know about the author of Cinder and the Lunar Chronicles - Fairy tales and science fiction, um, yes!

Kevin Henkes: A children's book author adults and kids love - our kids love him too.

Teri Harman: Check out the Q&A we did with the author herself! Blood Moon is a perfectly creepy Halloween read for book clubs.

Brodi Ashton: What it's like when the author of the Everneath series comes to Book Club Night!

**Find out more info on Atlantia on Ally Condie's Official Website**

Children's Book Author Adults Will Love - Kevin Henkes

Who would have thought that a bunch of cute mice could help a child expecting a new baby brother or teach a child about showing respect? Author and illustrator of 49 books and counting, Kevin Henkes does just that and more.

My first exposure to Kevin Henkes was reading his book Julius, the Baby of the World nearly fifteen years ago. To this day, it is one of my favorite children's books and is a constant request from children at my house. It is the story of Lilly learning to appreciate her younger brother after she has to stand up for him. If you haven't read it, you have to! There are so many clever words and pictures, but my kids love this one:

Kevin Henkes recently visited the beautiful Provo Library as part of the Children's Book Festival 2014. As the "official" Delicious Reads Author Stalker, I attended Henkes keynote address. The ballroom was filled to the brim with fans of Lilly, Chrysanthenum, and Chester. 

"A book well-made can open the mind of a child. Keeping the child in mind is a part of my job—it’s essential," Henkes said. 

Children's literature inspired Henkes even as a child. He poured over books and was intrigued by their authors and illustrators. After his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin in 1979, Henkes decided to take a chance on his own budding talent. He headed to New York and the first publisher he stopped at, Greenwillow Books, snatched him up. 

Since then he has earned many medals and honors, including the Newberry Honor for Olive's Ocean (2004), one of his novels. He also earned the much sought after Caldecott Medal for Kitten's Full Moon (2005). One of his most popular books is Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse where his quirky character learn the consequences of revenge and how to make amends.

Though all of Henkes books are fun to read for adults and children alike, they have themes and give life lessons. Henkes admits that for him "making books and living life are entwined."  He also believes what the author Fay Weldon wrote, “Writing is an odd activity. Other people have occupations, jobs. The writer’s work is the life and there can be no holiday from it. If the pen is not working, the mind is thinking. The unconscious ponders on, even in sleep you are not safe. Dreams pertain to life and life to dreams and both to work.”

"If we expose kids to books and art, nothing but good can come from it," says Henke. I totally agree!

Robin

(Author of Remembrandt, a YA Romantic Suspense)

Author Stalker: What You Might Not Know About Marissa Meyer

We all love books and stories that take us away to new worlds or introduce us to characters that become our friends. These characters and stories often envelop our thoughts long after we finish a novel. Sometimes, even years after reading a book, part of the story will come back to us and we'll smile because once you read a book, it becomes part of your story.

I've always thought that the authors behind these amazing books are superheroes with crazy creativity superpowers. Who are these people? And how do they come us with this stuff? Butterbeer. Clockwork angels. Ingesting metals and using their powers. Wings that look like petals. A game where the winner is the only one that survives. A playing card that give you a message. Death as a narrator. Who knew?

Welcome to our new series, AUTHOR STALKER, where I (Delicious Reads Contributor, Robin) meet our favorite authors face-to-face, learn behind-the-scenes info on how their story came to be, and get to know them beyond their superhero writing skills.

What do you get when you cross fairy tales and science fiction? You get the Lunar Chronicles by  Marissa Meyer.  This amazing author of Cinder, Scarlet, and newly released Cress is one we need to keep an eye on.

Photo Source

Marissa Meyer, with a streak of red in her dark hair (see below), recently came to the Orem, Utah Barnes & Noble and I got to see first hand how she comes up with her stories. Her inspiration for Cinder (picture an android Cinderella racing from the ball and losing her foot instead of her glass slipper) came when she entered a contest that asked her to pick two prompts from a list of ten and write a short story. Marissa chose to write a story that was 1.) set in the future and 2.) had a fairy-tale character. Her story was a sci-fi version of Puss in Boots. Ironically, out of only two entries in the contest (hers and one other), she lost. But soon after, the idea for Cinder was born.

Marissa Meyer (front) at her Book Signing of Cress in Orem 2014 with Robin (Me), Kelly, Kellie, Jennifer, and Julia

Another thing I learned about Marissa is that she doesn't just write stories, she tells them too! I recorded her telling a gruesome version of Little Red Riding Hood.

And flashback to two years ago when Marissa Meyer came to Utah on the Fierce Reads Tour 2012, I still remember hearing the excitement in Marissa's voice as she discussed Cinder, her first book in the Lunar Chronicles series. I may have been bias because I won a copy of the book there, but after hearing all the authors speak, Cinder was the book I wanted to read most.

Delicious Reads Members at Fierce Reads Book Tour 2012 with
Authors Emmy Laybourne, Anna Banks, Libba Bray, Leigh Bardugo, Marissa Meyer (far right)

Marissa's next book in the Lunar Chronicles series will be called Winter. Now that we have met the sci-fi versions of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel, Winter will introduce us to Snow White. Anyone have any guesses on how Marissa will bring her into the story and who the seven dwarfs will be?