Last night, we had a wonderful chat with YA author Diana Peterfreund. She dished with the chatters until the wee hours of the morning -- even outlasting the moderator, LOL! Thanks to everyone who came out. If you're were not able to make it, check out the transcript below. :-)
Diane Peterfreund Chatting Online Next Thursday, Aug. 19th @ 9pm ET!
Do you think unicorns look like this:
Think again. Author Diana Peterfreund has pulled back the pastel-colored curtains to reveal the true nature of the beast. Forget the streaming white hair and blank, doe-eyed stare, and start thinking vicious teeth, dark eyes and a taste for blood...
Last year, Diana debuted RAMPANT, her story of fierce female unicorn hunters, featuring main heroine, Astrid. The followup, ASCENDANT (HarperTeen), will be released in September.
This month, Diana will be our guest author in The Knight Agency chat room on Thursday, August 19th @ 9pm ET to discuss writing for the YA audience, unicorn mythos, her upcoming projects, and any other questions you could possibly think of! We'll also have lots of shiny new books to give away. ;-)
HOW TO CHAT: Enter a username and password (any combination). Choose "Login." **Your computer must be java-enabled to chat.**
The 411 on ASCENDANT: Astrid Llewelyn is now a fully-trained unicorn hunter, but she’s learning she can’t solve all her problems with just a bow and arrow. Her boyfriend Giovanni has decided to leave Rome, the Cloisters is in dire financial straits, her best friend’s powers seem to be mysteriously disintegrating, and Astrid fears that school, home, and her hopes of becoming a scientist are nothing but impossible dreams.
So when she’s given the opportunity to leave the Cloisters and put her skills to use as part of a scientific quest to discover The Remedy, Astrid leaps at the chance. Finally, she can have exactly what she wants…or can she? At the Gordian Pharmaceuticals headquarters deep in the French countryside, Astrid begins to question everything she thought she believed: her love for Giovanni, her loyalty to the Cloisters, and – most of all – her duty as a hunter. Should Astrid be saving the world from killer unicorns, or saving the unicorns from the world?
Diana Peterfreund, author of RAMPANT, was interviewed by Better, a nationally syndicated lifestyle television show airing in 54 cities. She talked about the real deal on unicorns, who are really NOT the kind creatures Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers would have you believe -- try smart, vicious animals with killer instincts. Click here for the segment!
Warning: What you are about to witness might be disturbing...
A public service announcement produced by researchers at NUCA (National Unicorn Control Agency) is making waves throughout the nation. Be forewarned, several brave souls sacrificed their lives to produce this video. What you will see in this footage is disturbing, but necessary. We must become more educated about these bloodthirsty killers masquerading as sweetness and light on lunchboxes and Trapper Keepers (do they even have Trapper Keepers, anymore?). For more information, visit www.KillerUnicorns.org or you can check out the blog of author/unicorn expert Diana Peterfreund, who recently visited NUCA headquarters.
Diana Peterfreund's RAMPANT Reviewed by Publishers Weekly
Congrats to Diana Peterfreund for fantastic review from Publishers Weekly for her first young adult novel, RAMPANT, which will release August 25th.
REVIEW: "This compelling new adventure, Peterfreund’s (Secret Society Girl) YA debut, introduces an international cast of strong young women, virginal descendants of Alexander the Great, who hunt an unusual breed of monster: unicorns. Sixteen-year-old narrator Astrid Llewelyn never believed her mother’s stories about unicorns—portrayed as bloodthirsty, venomous and near impossible to kill—until one impales the boy she’s seeing. Sent to Rome (unwillingly) to train with other huntresses in response to the “Reemergence” of the supposedly extinct creatures, Astrid makes new friends and enemies, hones her powers and finds time for a little romance, while coming to grips with her new life (“Forgive me if enforced lifelong celibacy and possible death by dismemberment and poisoning don’t exactly get me excited,” she gripes). But she soon suspects (as will readers) that the war against the unicorns isn’t so cut-and-dried. With an atmospheric setting, personable ensemble cast and some reasoned discussions about virginity, this gripping page-turner evokes the same grrl-power spirit as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, packed with action, mystery and a complex and intriguing mythology. Ages 12–up (Aug.)"
Diana Peterfreund recently worked the NYC circuit at a party celebrating the publication of VIOLET IN PRIVATE and GAMER GIRL by authors Melissa Walker and Marianne Mancusi, respectively. Mancusi is known as a promo queen, and the strategic placement of Connect Four, Hungry Hippos and other classic games in honor of GAMER GIRL were a home runwithpartygoers. The event was held at Butter, a restaurant notorious in living rooms nationwide for its appearance in the addictive Gossip Girl television series.In the top image, Diana (3rd from left) is pictured with Scott Westerfield, author of theUGLIES series, Mancusi (2nd from left) and Walker (far right). In the bottom picture, Mina Jacqueline Au, author of SCHOOLED and Anisha Lakhani, play Connect Four. Also, spotted mingling in the crowd were attendees from Vogue, Teen Vogue, ELLE, InStyle, Daily Candy, CNN and Better TV, as well as various publicists, socialites and editors from Dorchester and Penguin. Currently, Diana is gearing up for her new release from Harper Teen, RAMPANT, which will hit shelves in May 2009.
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Forget everything you ever thought you knew about unicorns...The fluffy sparkly friendly “horses” so popular with six year old girls the world over are a travesty of revisionist history.
Real unicorns are man eating beasts with razor sharp fangs and a fatal venom in their lethal horns. And they can only be killed by the virgin descendants of Alexander the Great.
Last night, we had a wonderful chat with YA author Diana Peterfreund. She dished with the chatters until the wee hours of the morning -- even outlasting the moderator, LOL! Thanks to everyone who came out. If you're were not able to make it, check out the transcript below. :-)
