Malinda Lo

It’s September 7, 2010, which means a few exciting things. First, it’s been a year since Ash came out! I can’t believe it’s been a year! It will be coming out in paperback next month, and I have some fun things planned for that. But for now, all I can say is: What. A. Year. Perhaps at some point I’ll sit down and reflect on what my life has been like and how it has changed since the publication of my first novel. Today, though, I have some announcements.

Happy birthday to The DUFF!

First, today is the day that Kody Keplinger‘s first novel The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) comes out! *throws confetti for Kody* Kody and I share an editor, so I’m not entirely unbiased when it comes to her book. However, I never recommend a book unless I totally loved it, and I totally loved Kody’s novel. Here’s the premise:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “Duffy,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Despite the fact that I currently write young adult fiction, I’m not usually all that eager to read books set in high school. Frankly, I hated high school, and I don’t want to relive it — even in fiction! Also, I admit I find a lot of YA novels set in high schools to be frustratingly bland when it comes to teen girls, sexuality, and attitude. The DUFF is the opposite of this! It is saucy, smart, and spirited. I highly recommend it.

News!

• Earlier this year, I contributed an essay to Hunger Mountain, the online journal of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and now it’s online: What My Last Book Taught Me: A Subconscious Gift. Check out the entire September issue, which focuses on LGBT authors and books.
• On Oct. 17, I’ll be joining authors Cheryl Renee Herbsman and Heidi R. Kling at Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA, where we’ll be teaching a daylong Teen Writing Conference. We’ll be presenting workshops on voice, setting, plot, and dialogue. We anticipate a small group, so teen writers are likely to be able to get one-on-one advice on their writing. Please share the news! Go here to pre-register or for more information.
• I’ve updated my Events page with a few more appearances this fall, including the YALSA Literature Symposium and a book signing in Albuquerque, NM, this November.

And …

Can you believe it’s September already? This summer just flew by. I’ve done a lot of writing lately, and I’m hoping to write a bunch more this month before I begin two months of lots of travel in October. I’m working on a secret project which I’ve decided to code-name Blue Book, and I’m in the drafting stage, which means I must write 1500 words per day before I can do anything else. So far, so good.

That’s it for now. More soon.