~ Post by Adrienne & Miriam of the BookPeople Teen Press Corps, who are both very excited for the Come On, Feel the Noise Panel at #TTBF14!
__________________________________________________
Len Vlahos
Len Vlahos, author of The Scar Boys, is coming to Austin! I remember when I first read the book. I was shocked at how fluid, gripping, and touching his writing style was. The Scar Boys is the tale of a boy who, in eighth grade, got tied to a tree in a lightning storm, and got badly burned. Ever since, he found that music was his door to a better world, and so he played and played and played. What I especially find interesting about this book is that Len Vlahos got the musical part of the book from his own experience playing the guitar in an ’80s punk pop band called Woofing Cookies. I can’t wait to see him at the Texas Teen Book Festival this October!
Fun Facts About Len Vlahos:
1. He does virtually all of his writing on the commuter train between Connecticut and New York City five days a week.
2. He dropped out of NYU film school to play guitar and sing backing vocals in Woofing Cookies.
3. He was the overnight voice of WFPG radio (AM and FM) in Atlantic City in 1987.
4. He was the co-founder and longtime editor of www.publichandicapper.com, the largest online horse race handicapping contest (think fantasy baseball for horse racing fans). He sold his interest to his partner about eight years ago.
__________________________________________________
Kevin Emerson
Not only is his book, Exile, good, but I found a recording of Kevin Emerson and his band singing songs from the book! I found his book to be the perfect mix between romance, music, and humor, so now I have to read his series, The Atlanteans. Kevin seems like an amazing person to get to meet Maybe he’ll play some of the songs he sang with his band? He’s definitely on my list to see at the Texas Teen Book Festival in October!
__________________________________________________
Frank Portman
Frank Portman- YAY! We absolutely loved King Dork and we are so excited to see him at the festival this year! Frank Portman has an amazing style of writing that makes you laugh out loud and really makes you feel like you’re part of the book. His character building is fantastic and, as it turns out, just like Tom Henderson in King Dork, Mr. Portman also plays guitar in his real life band. We can’t wait to see and meet the guy behind the books we love so much! He will be at the Texas Teen Book Festival speaking and signing his second installment of the series titled: King Dork Approximately!
__________________________________________________
Gayle Forman
Gayle Forman is definitely on my list of authors to see. Best known for If I Stay, Gayle Forman has a great writing style that blew me away. I can’t wait to meet her and find out more about her, her inspiration, and the techniques she uses for writing. She will be speaking about her books and the If I Stay movie, which recently hit theaters on August 22, 2014!!
Fun Facts About Gayle Foreman:
1. When she was little, she wanted to grow up to be the sun. She was devastated to find out this was not a career option.
2. She has no writing rituals, except for coffee. She cannot write without coffee.
3. She tosses aside about one completed book for every book she actually publishes.
4. She doesn’t play any musical instruments. People seem to think she does, which always pleases her greatly, because it means SHE FOOLED YOU!
5. She only recently discovered queso here in Austin. She’s kind of obsessed now. Just saying. Not hinting or anything.
______________________________________________________
The BookPeople Teen Press Corps is a group of teens who read, review and blog about books for BookPeople, the official bookseller for and co-founder of the Texas Teen Book Festival. Catch all of their regular blogging over at bookpeopleteens.wordpress.com.