Authorial Intrusion - Cynthea Liu
I’m delighted to re-introduce my fellow debut author, Cynthea Liu, today on Authorial Intrusion. She is a double debut-er this year!
About Paris Pan Takes the Dare:
Twelve-year-old Paris Pan's life is a mess. She's just moved to a tiny town in Nowheresville, Oklahoma; her family life is a comical disaster; her new friends are more like frenemies; and the boy she has a crush on is a dork. Things couldn't possibly get worse, until she discovers that a girl mysteriously died years ago while taking a seventh-grade rite of passage -the Dare - right near Paris's new house. So when Paris starts hearing strange noises coming from the creepy run-down shed in her backyard, she thinks they could be a message from the ghost of a girl. But while she has no plans to make contact with the great beyond, her two new friends have other thoughts. Everyone who's anyone takes the Dare, and now it's Paris's turn.
Cynthea spent her formative years in Oklahoma and Texas where she was a Whiz Quiz member, an Academic Decathloner, and a spelling bee champion. (Yes, she was very popular.) After attending college on the East coast, she worked at a corporate job where she mastered PowerPoint and racked up thousands of frequent flyer miles. Eventually, she traded in her suit for sweats to do the fun stuff - writing for children. In addition to PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE and THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA, Cynthea's nonfiction book WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS: A CRASH COURSE (how to write, revise, and publish your kid's or teen book with children's book publishers) is available in paperback.
Spring or fall?
Spring in Chicago is the best week of the year!
Pick three words to go on your tombstone.
She gave hope.
Five things you would do with $100,000.
Donate a big chunk of it to kids in need. Take a cruise around the world.
Tell us something weird about you.
In my jr. high yearbooks, the most frequently used words to describe me were 1) smart 2)funny and 3)weird.
WEIRD! :)
Early bird or night owl?
Night owl who wants to be an early bird.
Rain or sun?
Sun. But that really means I won't get any writing done that day.
Tattoos?
Look good on other people, but would be so strange on me.
Where would you like to travel that you haven’t yet?
Africa - dreaming of a safari.
Write a spam subject line for us.
I get this one all the time.. Goes something like. HOT ASIAN BABES ... I blank out on the rest.
Is there anything you want to tell us that you wish I’d asked?
Dare-Taker or Dare-Maker?
Dare-Maker. I'm a big fraidy-cat in real life.
Thanks for indulging our curiosity, Cynthea!
About Paris Pan Takes the Dare:
Twelve-year-old Paris Pan's life is a mess. She's just moved to a tiny town in Nowheresville, Oklahoma; her family life is a comical disaster; her new friends are more like frenemies; and the boy she has a crush on is a dork. Things couldn't possibly get worse, until she discovers that a girl mysteriously died years ago while taking a seventh-grade rite of passage -the Dare - right near Paris's new house. So when Paris starts hearing strange noises coming from the creepy run-down shed in her backyard, she thinks they could be a message from the ghost of a girl. But while she has no plans to make contact with the great beyond, her two new friends have other thoughts. Everyone who's anyone takes the Dare, and now it's Paris's turn.
Cynthea spent her formative years in Oklahoma and Texas where she was a Whiz Quiz member, an Academic Decathloner, and a spelling bee champion. (Yes, she was very popular.) After attending college on the East coast, she worked at a corporate job where she mastered PowerPoint and racked up thousands of frequent flyer miles. Eventually, she traded in her suit for sweats to do the fun stuff - writing for children. In addition to PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE and THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA, Cynthea's nonfiction book WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS: A CRASH COURSE (how to write, revise, and publish your kid's or teen book with children's book publishers) is available in paperback.
Spring or fall?
Spring in Chicago is the best week of the year!
Pick three words to go on your tombstone.
She gave hope.
Five things you would do with $100,000.
Donate a big chunk of it to kids in need. Take a cruise around the world.
Tell us something weird about you.
In my jr. high yearbooks, the most frequently used words to describe me were 1) smart 2)funny and 3)weird.
WEIRD! :)
Early bird or night owl?
Night owl who wants to be an early bird.
Rain or sun?
Sun. But that really means I won't get any writing done that day.
Tattoos?
Look good on other people, but would be so strange on me.
Where would you like to travel that you haven’t yet?
Africa - dreaming of a safari.
Write a spam subject line for us.
I get this one all the time.. Goes something like. HOT ASIAN BABES ... I blank out on the rest.
Is there anything you want to tell us that you wish I’d asked?
Dare-Taker or Dare-Maker?
Dare-Maker. I'm a big fraidy-cat in real life.
Thanks for indulging our curiosity, Cynthea!