The Arts - Angels Track 1: Drawn to You
By Janel Rodgriguez Ferrer
A Juvenile Fiction release for tweens/teens.
Available now from Brushstroke Books, an imprint of Wyatt - MacKenzie.
Blurb:
Rock Your Destiny!
Gina Santiago is a thirteen-year-old "Nuyorican" with rock star dreams, so when she's accepted into the prestigious New York Academy of Arts and Talents for art instead of music, she's crushed. To make matters worse, the student body at the Upper East Side school is divided into "schollies" (students on scholarship, like her) and "dollies" (rich kids with "dollars"). But Gina discovers that there is one thing that brings schollies and dollies-and dancers, singers, actors, artists, and musicians-together: music! Maybe she can make her dreams come true after all....
Gina Santiago is a thirteen-year-old "Nuyorican" with rock star dreams, so when she's accepted into the prestigious New York Academy of Arts and Talents for art instead of music, she's crushed. To make matters worse, the student body at the Upper East Side school is divided into "schollies" (students on scholarship, like her) and "dollies" (rich kids with "dollars"). But Gina discovers that there is one thing that brings schollies and dollies-and dancers, singers, actors, artists, and musicians-together: music! Maybe she can make her dreams come true after all....
Interview with Sarah:
- Which of your works was the easiest/hardest to write?
I find it more difficult to write nonfiction than fiction.
Nonfiction requires a lot more research and the meticulous citing of references. Although fiction requires research, too, I am free to build a story out of my imagination from that research. Not so with nonfiction! Yes, I can still tell a story with nonfiction (such as with a biography) but it must be true to life, a reporting of what happened.
But in answer to your question, I would have to say that writing DRAWN TO YOU was definitely the easiest to write of the books I have written, as it was the most organic. Any of the works of nonfiction would qualify as harder. Maybe in the future, when there are more books in The Arts-Angels series, this question will have a different answer.
Which of your works is your favourite?
Again, once I’ve written more—or all—of the books in the series, the answer might change, but for now I would have to say DRAWN TO YOU! Not because I prefer fiction to nonfiction, but because even with my nonfiction works (or with my ghost-writing projects), I have always found that my favorite work is whichever one I have written most recently.
-Which of your characters is your favourite?
At this moment, Gina Santiago, because she is the main character and we know the most about her: The story is told through her eyes. She is driven and a dreamer; she is a talented artist and musician with a love of the arts, and she has a low tolerance for phony people and mean girls. I especially like that she is not easily daunted and goes after what she wants!
- Which of your characters is most/least like you, and in what way(s)?
Gina again is the most like me, because we are both “Nuyorican” (New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent) and, at her age I also attended a Manhattan school of the arts as an art major. I don’t have her musical talent, though, and she is much more daring than I’ll ever be!
I am least like Willa Burch, her nemesis, who is a “sad little rich girl” but is blonde and beautiful and popular and cruel. I never got along with those sorts of people in real life (and they DO exist--they populate the movies and TV shows for a reason) and I can’t identify with her lifestyle. (We get to see her home in the next book, coming out this spring. She lives in a huge apartment on Park Avenue.)
- Which of your characters would you most/least like to invite to dinner, and why?
Willa is one I would definitely not like to have dinner with, as people like her are desperate for attention and tend to be insincere. Having to accommodate her would make for a very uncomfortable meal! I wouldn’t enjoy it at all. Mr. Raven, the mean art teacher—who is much like mean art teachers I’ve had—is another I probably would not enjoy a meal with. However, it would be interesting to see how he would behave in the company of other adults and in a setting outside of the school, as we see him only when he is interacting with teenagers in school situations. He might be nicer in the dinner scenario, but . . . I doubt it. I think he would be just as unpleasant there as he is in school.
As for whom I would enjoy having dinner with: Rather than choosing one character, I think I would prefer to have dinner with all five of the Arts-Angels together. They are a band, and it would be fun to watch them interact. The only problem I would anticipate there is that, being young teens, they probably would prefer to hang out with one another rather than with any adult—even if that adult is treating them to dinner!
What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?
Ideally, I believe one should have more than one career. I have been an art teacher in the past, and I enjoyed that, and could see myself still doing that in the future in some form. But I wouldn't want to teach it in the current school system, which I find too confining. I would prefer to create some sort of non-profit afterschool program, or an art course in some home school co-op situation.
I would also like to look into alternative healing practices, as I find the current state of healthcare to be behind the times. There isn't a focus on getting well, becoming whole, or getting balanced. It seems to be very negatively focused on money, fear, and drugs. I have autoimmune issues and have found diet and spirituality to have helped my healing process. They’ve also inspired a fantasy of mine to create a spa—not for the wealthy and glamorous, but for average people who have been through difficult times (say the loss of a loved one, a long illness, or trauma). A place for them to retreat to, restore in, and be cared for, and where they can learn to take kinder care of themselves. A place of calm, positive, healing energy.
I also have an interest in spiritual palliative care--in becoming a “death doula,” if you will. I have a strong belief in life after death and know that this life isn’t all there is.
- If you were to start your career as an author again, what would you do differently, and why?
I feel that all the events in my life seem to have unfolded the way they were meant to. There are things I lived through, experienced (not just attending a high school of the arts, but nannying and tutoring in the private school system in New York City, ghostwriting for an established girls’ book series, writing for hire, making certain friends, meeting certain people, etc.) that I needed to do to get to where I am now. So I would say that I wouldn’t do anything differently.
- Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?
So far I’ve read them, but I don't know if I always will. I can't say that they've influenced my writing at all at this point, either. They've all been positive and seem to have an understanding and appreciation that DRAWN TO YOU is meant to be good, clean, escapist fun, so…it appears I'm doing it right!
- Have you ever been surprised by a controversy among fans or reviewers—for example, you created a character without thinking too much about what people would think of him, and found some readers loved him and some hated him?
It's a bit too early to tell. However, I purposely made the main character, Gina Santiago, attracted to two boys in her band, Adam Wollinsky and Craig Hall, so there's a small triangle developing. Since this series is for tweens, the romance is very light and not the focus of the stories. However, I have already received two fan letters, with one reader stating that she wants Gina to end up with Craig, and the other that she wants Gina to end up with Adam! And both are very resolute about their preferences!
- Have you ever written anything that you thought would be controversial and found it wasn't?
Not yet. In book 2 we will learn some secrets about the other members in the band, including that one of them has a (recovered) alcoholic parent. This is done with a gentle touch, but I know some libraries ban books with even a light mention of these types of things. A colleague of mine wrote a wonderful book for younger children where the main character’s father has a drinking problem, It was presented realistically, and written with a sensitive hand with no ugly details—but the book was still banned in the author's son’s school library! The situation is ridiculous. I bet Judy Blume books are allowed there. At any rate, here is a shout out: THE MARBLE QUEEN by Stephanie Blake is an instant classic! Buy it today!
- Have you ever written anything but decided not to finish it and move on? If yes, what and why?
Sure. I’ve set out to write a story that I eventually didn’t connect with it, or got stuck in, or even bored myself with! So I dropped it. It happens.
- Which question are you most sick of answering in interviews?
“Where do you get your ideas?” mostly because almost everyone asks it (You didn’t! Thank you!), and I find myself scrambling to try to find a different way to answer it. Often the answers to the more typical questions can be found on my website. (However, I understand that not everyone will be looking at my website, which is why I guest on other people’s sites and blogs so that I can get the word out about my book!)
I really like it when a question shows me that a person has actually read the book. And I am happy to report that I know of at least one reader I have in the UK. (My book is available on Amazon.co.uk.) You are my first blog interview in your country! So thank you so much for giving me a venue to reach out to the people across the pond. Because of this, you will also be the first to know that I have plans for the The Arts-Angels to travel to the UK in a future book in the series. (I’ve been to London and to Kent myself, and am more than a bit of an Anglophile.) So thank you, Sarah, for sharing your online space with me today.
- Which of your works was the easiest/hardest to write?
I find it more difficult to write nonfiction than fiction.
Nonfiction requires a lot more research and the meticulous citing of references. Although fiction requires research, too, I am free to build a story out of my imagination from that research. Not so with nonfiction! Yes, I can still tell a story with nonfiction (such as with a biography) but it must be true to life, a reporting of what happened.
But in answer to your question, I would have to say that writing DRAWN TO YOU was definitely the easiest to write of the books I have written, as it was the most organic. Any of the works of nonfiction would qualify as harder. Maybe in the future, when there are more books in The Arts-Angels series, this question will have a different answer.
Which of your works is your favourite?
Again, once I’ve written more—or all—of the books in the series, the answer might change, but for now I would have to say DRAWN TO YOU! Not because I prefer fiction to nonfiction, but because even with my nonfiction works (or with my ghost-writing projects), I have always found that my favorite work is whichever one I have written most recently.
-Which of your characters is your favourite?
At this moment, Gina Santiago, because she is the main character and we know the most about her: The story is told through her eyes. She is driven and a dreamer; she is a talented artist and musician with a love of the arts, and she has a low tolerance for phony people and mean girls. I especially like that she is not easily daunted and goes after what she wants!
- Which of your characters is most/least like you, and in what way(s)?
Gina again is the most like me, because we are both “Nuyorican” (New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent) and, at her age I also attended a Manhattan school of the arts as an art major. I don’t have her musical talent, though, and she is much more daring than I’ll ever be!
I am least like Willa Burch, her nemesis, who is a “sad little rich girl” but is blonde and beautiful and popular and cruel. I never got along with those sorts of people in real life (and they DO exist--they populate the movies and TV shows for a reason) and I can’t identify with her lifestyle. (We get to see her home in the next book, coming out this spring. She lives in a huge apartment on Park Avenue.)
- Which of your characters would you most/least like to invite to dinner, and why?
Willa is one I would definitely not like to have dinner with, as people like her are desperate for attention and tend to be insincere. Having to accommodate her would make for a very uncomfortable meal! I wouldn’t enjoy it at all. Mr. Raven, the mean art teacher—who is much like mean art teachers I’ve had—is another I probably would not enjoy a meal with. However, it would be interesting to see how he would behave in the company of other adults and in a setting outside of the school, as we see him only when he is interacting with teenagers in school situations. He might be nicer in the dinner scenario, but . . . I doubt it. I think he would be just as unpleasant there as he is in school.
As for whom I would enjoy having dinner with: Rather than choosing one character, I think I would prefer to have dinner with all five of the Arts-Angels together. They are a band, and it would be fun to watch them interact. The only problem I would anticipate there is that, being young teens, they probably would prefer to hang out with one another rather than with any adult—even if that adult is treating them to dinner!
What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?
Ideally, I believe one should have more than one career. I have been an art teacher in the past, and I enjoyed that, and could see myself still doing that in the future in some form. But I wouldn't want to teach it in the current school system, which I find too confining. I would prefer to create some sort of non-profit afterschool program, or an art course in some home school co-op situation.
I would also like to look into alternative healing practices, as I find the current state of healthcare to be behind the times. There isn't a focus on getting well, becoming whole, or getting balanced. It seems to be very negatively focused on money, fear, and drugs. I have autoimmune issues and have found diet and spirituality to have helped my healing process. They’ve also inspired a fantasy of mine to create a spa—not for the wealthy and glamorous, but for average people who have been through difficult times (say the loss of a loved one, a long illness, or trauma). A place for them to retreat to, restore in, and be cared for, and where they can learn to take kinder care of themselves. A place of calm, positive, healing energy.
I also have an interest in spiritual palliative care--in becoming a “death doula,” if you will. I have a strong belief in life after death and know that this life isn’t all there is.
- If you were to start your career as an author again, what would you do differently, and why?
I feel that all the events in my life seem to have unfolded the way they were meant to. There are things I lived through, experienced (not just attending a high school of the arts, but nannying and tutoring in the private school system in New York City, ghostwriting for an established girls’ book series, writing for hire, making certain friends, meeting certain people, etc.) that I needed to do to get to where I am now. So I would say that I wouldn’t do anything differently.
- Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?
So far I’ve read them, but I don't know if I always will. I can't say that they've influenced my writing at all at this point, either. They've all been positive and seem to have an understanding and appreciation that DRAWN TO YOU is meant to be good, clean, escapist fun, so…it appears I'm doing it right!
- Have you ever been surprised by a controversy among fans or reviewers—for example, you created a character without thinking too much about what people would think of him, and found some readers loved him and some hated him?
It's a bit too early to tell. However, I purposely made the main character, Gina Santiago, attracted to two boys in her band, Adam Wollinsky and Craig Hall, so there's a small triangle developing. Since this series is for tweens, the romance is very light and not the focus of the stories. However, I have already received two fan letters, with one reader stating that she wants Gina to end up with Craig, and the other that she wants Gina to end up with Adam! And both are very resolute about their preferences!
- Have you ever written anything that you thought would be controversial and found it wasn't?
Not yet. In book 2 we will learn some secrets about the other members in the band, including that one of them has a (recovered) alcoholic parent. This is done with a gentle touch, but I know some libraries ban books with even a light mention of these types of things. A colleague of mine wrote a wonderful book for younger children where the main character’s father has a drinking problem, It was presented realistically, and written with a sensitive hand with no ugly details—but the book was still banned in the author's son’s school library! The situation is ridiculous. I bet Judy Blume books are allowed there. At any rate, here is a shout out: THE MARBLE QUEEN by Stephanie Blake is an instant classic! Buy it today!
- Have you ever written anything but decided not to finish it and move on? If yes, what and why?
Sure. I’ve set out to write a story that I eventually didn’t connect with it, or got stuck in, or even bored myself with! So I dropped it. It happens.
- Which question are you most sick of answering in interviews?
“Where do you get your ideas?” mostly because almost everyone asks it (You didn’t! Thank you!), and I find myself scrambling to try to find a different way to answer it. Often the answers to the more typical questions can be found on my website. (However, I understand that not everyone will be looking at my website, which is why I guest on other people’s sites and blogs so that I can get the word out about my book!)
I really like it when a question shows me that a person has actually read the book. And I am happy to report that I know of at least one reader I have in the UK. (My book is available on Amazon.co.uk.) You are my first blog interview in your country! So thank you so much for giving me a venue to reach out to the people across the pond. Because of this, you will also be the first to know that I have plans for the The Arts-Angels to travel to the UK in a future book in the series. (I’ve been to London and to Kent myself, and am more than a bit of an Anglophile.) So thank you, Sarah, for sharing your online space with me today.
Excerpt:
FROM Chapter 3: You'll Be Sorry 3:48 (224 words):
I began entertaining thoughts of becoming an art school dropout when I remembered Angel Dominguez and felt inspired to explore the halls a bit. Maybe I can find a classroom he actually studied in, I thought, feeling the smile return to my face.
Jogging slightly, I headed for the staircase when I remembered the song about Angel that I had started earlier. Humming it to myself, I began adding more lyrics in my head.
I will find you even though you aren’t really here
I’ll find you standing by my side
Hear you whisper in my ear….
And then, almost as if someone did whisper in my ear, I stopped short at the bulletin board in the lobby. A flyer had caught my eye. It read:
AUDITIONS-AUDITIONS-AUDITIONS
Your favorite rock band,
UNCOUTH YOUTH
is searching for their next great guitarist/vocalist
Could that be YOU?????
Listen to our sound, and then come see for yourself.
Saturday, September 15th.
Please call Nick at 917-555-7654 for more information.
I drew in a deep breath. Then I giggled. Then I laughed out loud. If my mother thought that that she was going to keep me away from music, she sure was wrong. My first day at NYAAT wasn’t even half-over, and I was already had an idea of how to make my dreams—and her nightmares—come true.
FROM Chapter 3: You'll Be Sorry 3:48 (224 words):
I began entertaining thoughts of becoming an art school dropout when I remembered Angel Dominguez and felt inspired to explore the halls a bit. Maybe I can find a classroom he actually studied in, I thought, feeling the smile return to my face.
Jogging slightly, I headed for the staircase when I remembered the song about Angel that I had started earlier. Humming it to myself, I began adding more lyrics in my head.
I will find you even though you aren’t really here
I’ll find you standing by my side
Hear you whisper in my ear….
And then, almost as if someone did whisper in my ear, I stopped short at the bulletin board in the lobby. A flyer had caught my eye. It read:
AUDITIONS-AUDITIONS-AUDITIONS
Your favorite rock band,
UNCOUTH YOUTH
is searching for their next great guitarist/vocalist
Could that be YOU?????
Listen to our sound, and then come see for yourself.
Saturday, September 15th.
Please call Nick at 917-555-7654 for more information.
I drew in a deep breath. Then I giggled. Then I laughed out loud. If my mother thought that that she was going to keep me away from music, she sure was wrong. My first day at NYAAT wasn’t even half-over, and I was already had an idea of how to make my dreams—and her nightmares—come true.
Like her main character, Gina Santiago, Janel is a Nuyorican who attended a Manhattan high school of the arts as an art major.
Unlike Gina, she isn’t very good at guitar and doesn’t have a rock band to call her own.
Truth be told, she never dreamed of becoming a guitarist. Instead, from the time she was a tween she dreamed of becoming a published author of a book series. And since you're reading this, you can see that her dream has come true!
Her first hint of an idea for the Arts-Angels series began way back when she received a pendant of St. Michael the Archangel for her sixteenth birthday.
She lives with her twin sister, Jennifer (who got a pendant of St. Joan of Arc that same birthday but hasn’t written any books about it), in New York City.
Links:
Website: www.theartsangels.com
Blog: http://janelrodriguezferrer.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JanelRodriguezFerrer
E-mail: janelrodriguezferrer (at) theartsangels (dot) com.
Buy Links:
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Arts-Angels-Track-Drawn-You/dp/1936214911/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355357021&sr=1-1&keywords=janel+rodriguez+ferrer
Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Arts-Angels-Track-Drawn-You/dp/1936214911
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-arts-angels-track-1-janel-rodriguez-ferrer/1113051508?ean=9781936214914
Also:
Alibris: http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qwork=23571060
Australia: https://www.betweenreads.com.au/book/the-arts-angels-track-1-drawn-to-you.do
India: http://books.indiangiftsportal.com/book/artsangels-track-1-janel-rodriguez/9781936214914
Giveaway:
Janel is awarding Winner's Choice of a $25 gift card to iTunes (music) or,
Capezio (dance), or Utrecht (art supplies) to a randomly drawn commenter during
the tour.
Follow the tour and comment to improve your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found
here:
Thank you for hosting today.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah, for hosting me and interviewing me. You are the last stop on my tour!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Goddess Fish for arranging this wonderful blog and review tour. I will choose a random winner for the giveaway tomorrow with the help of a bowl, names on strips of paper and an impartial tween reader!
Great excerpt, is there an author tha you admire?
ReplyDeletemoonsurfer123 at gmail dot com
Is there a genre that you'd like to explore in the future?
ReplyDeletegalaschick78 At gmail Dot com
Hi Anas,
ReplyDeleteI admire many, many authors! Both of fiction and non-fiction. And they run the gamut from saints that lived in medieval times to contemporary fiction novelists. They are too many to list, really! I was revisiting an old favorite of mine the other day: Helene Hanff. She wrote mostly non-fiction though (although she did write mysteries for television). Ever read her letters to 84, Charing Cross Road? The book by that title (84, Charing Cross Road) is made up of real correspondence between the author and the manager of a bookstore in London. It was made into a play and a film that starred Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft. Thank you for asking!
And Hi, Gala!
Yes. There are a number of other genres I would like to explore. I would like to write mysteries, a graphic novel (more like a superhero comic, actually) AND a stand-alone fantasy novel. But they'd all still be for the tween/teen market. Thank you for asking, too!