BLOGOVERSARY: Lindsay Ribar with The Art of Wishing


Welcome to another feature for my Blogoversary! 

If you've missed any of the other Blogoversary posts, you can find the schedule with links to each one here.

Today I'm excited to have Lindsay Ribar stopping by!!! Her debut, The Art of Wishing, was released last year and I thoroughly enjoyed it (you can see my review here)! She's giving away a signed copy or a signed ARC of the second book in the series, The Fourth Wish.

The Art of Wishing (The Art of Wishing, #1)The Art of Wishing
(The Art of Wishing #1)
by Lindsay Ribar
YA Contemporary
March 21st 2013 by Dial Books For Young Readers
 

Summary

He can grant her wishes, but only she can save his life.

Margo McKenna has a plan for just about everything, from landing the lead in her high school play to getting into a good college. So when she finds herself in possession of a genie's ring and the chance to make three wishes, she doesn't know what to do. Why should she put her life into someone else's hands?

But Oliver is more than just a genie -- he's also a sophomore at Margo's high school, and he's on the run from a murderer. As he and Margo grow closer, she discovers that it will take more than three wishes to save him.

A whole lot more.
  

The Fourth Wish (The Art of Wishing, #2)The Fourth Wish
(The Art of Wishing #2)
by Lindsay Ribar
YA Contemporary
July 31st 2014 by Kathy Dawson Books
 

Summary

Here’s what Margo McKenna knows about genies:

(Spoilers from the first book are included in the summary, highlight to read.)

She’s seen Aladdin more times than she can count; she’s made three wishes on a magic ring; she’s even fallen head over heels in love with Oliver, the cute genie whose life she saved by fighting off his archenemy. But none of this prepared her for the shock of becoming a genie herself.

At a time when she's trying to figure out who she wants to be, Margo is forced to become whomever her master wants. Everything she's taken for granted—graduating from high school, going to college, performing in the school musical, even being a girl—is called into question. But she’s also coming into a power she never imagined she'd have.

How will Margo reconcile who she is with what she’s becoming? And where will she and Oliver stand when she's done?
  

Interview
with Lindsay Ribar

I’m really excited to have you stop by today to answer some of my need-to-know (at least to me) questions! :)

The Art of Wishing was your debut novel. I know you’re an agent, so I’m sure you had some grasp on the whole writing/publishing process before you went through it, but was the process like you thought it would be?

It was in some ways, but in others it was very different. I went in knowing plenty about how contracts worked, for example – but nothing can really prepare you for the mental shift of writing professionally: of working with an editor who won’t settle for anything less than the best version of your story, or of drafting a sequel when you’re writing under deadline for the first time ever. It’s been a really incredible process, but I’ve really, really been enjoying it.

I have only read one book about genies: Aladdin from The Arabian Nights. It is definitely a story that hasn’t been told very much. What inspired you to write Margo and Oliver’s story? 

The power dynamic, mostly. I read a lot of paranormal romance, mostly of the human-girl-falls-for-supernatural-guy variety, and while I really love it, I’ve noticed that a good percentage of it involves the guy being Super Duper Alpha Male, and the girl being kind of submissive. That’s not necessarily a bad thing (as long as it’s well-written), but I wanted to write something that turned that dynamic on its head a little bit. With Margo and Oliver in The Art of Wishing, he’s still the one with all the magical powers… but since she’s his master, he can’t do anything with his magic unless she tells him to. That kind of relationship comes with its own set of problems, and I had a lot of fun exploring them.

I have to say that Oliver is definitely swoon worthy. I loved his character! Are any of your characters inspired by real-life people?

I’m so glad you loved Oliver! I certainly loved writing him…

Nobody was really “based on” anyone real (as in, I didn’t copy-and-paste anyone from my life into the book), but “inspired by”? Oh, definitely. George the Music Ninja, for instance – particularly his outfits, his tattoos, and his phrasing – was inspired by this rock-star-singer-songwriter that I really admire, but have never met in person. Miss Delisio’s name was stolen (with permission) from a friend of mine. And Simon Lee… well, I didn’t consciously use anyone as a template for Simon as I was writing him, but after a few revisions I realized that I’d been modeling him a little bit after someone I did musicals with in high school!

I definitely didn’t see the ending coming. My first thought was that there had better be a second book! I was so glad to find out that there was going to be one. Can you give us a teaser about The Fourth Wish?

Sure! Here are three things that happen in The Fourth Wish
1. Margo and Oliver have a huge fight… on top of the Great Wall of China.
2. An online role-playing game gets used as blackmail material.
3. Margo invents a brand-new universe, but only for one night.

I noticed that the cover has been revamped and fits with the second book’s cover. How large of a role did you have to play in that and what are your thoughts on the switch?

The Art of Wishing (The Art of Wishing, #1)  The Art of Wishing
Old Cover                                       New Cover

I didn’t play that large of a role, but I was definitely on board, from the beginning, with the idea of redesigning the series. They did it for the right reasons, and I’m really happy with the result! Especially with the paperback cover for the first book. I’m kinda madly in love with all that blue.

What are three of your favorite books right now?

Only three? Eesh. Okay…
Fangirl
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Not only is this pretty damn close to the story of my life (minus Levi; I wish I’d had a Levi in college!), but Rowell’s prose is just astounding. Seriously. I want to make out with her sentences.

Every Day
Every Day by David Levithan. One of the most heartbreaking stories I’ve ever read, swimming in questions about what actually constitutes a person’s identity.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling. I know this is kind of a cheat, but a group of friends and I just did a complete Harry Potter series reread a few months back, and my love for this third book in particular is just epic. Not only is it beautifully plotted, but… Remus. Sirius. Come on.

What do you enjoy doing the most when you have free time?

Concerts! Concerts concerts concerts. Seriously… concerts.

Also, fanfiction.

Thanks, Lindsay, for stopping by and for giving away a copy of your book! I’m really looking forward to reading The Fourth Wish and seeing what you write next!

Thanks for having me! I hope you dig The Fourth Wish when it comes out!



Lindsay RibarAbout the Author

Lindsay Ribar grew up in New Jersey, where the only logical thing to do after high school was to move to New York. She majored in drama and English literature at NYU, and now works in book publishing, where she reads other people’s novels by day and writes her own by night. She owns approximately twelve bazillion CD’s, attends far too many concerts, and mainlines nerdy television shows like it’s going out of style. She is fond of wine, Ireland, musicals, long walks around Manhattan, and the color blue.




The first giveaway is for US Continental entrants ONLY and this is what you can win:
- A copy of Bound by Prophecy and Shifting Fate by Melissa Wright + Prize Pack
- ARC of The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
- Copy of Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
- Copy of Meant to be Mine (releasing in May and will be delivered then) by Becky Wade
- Copy of After Hello + Swag
- Copy of Pivot Point or Split Second by Kasie West (winner's choice)
- Signed paperback of Echo in Time by C.J. Hill
- ARC of Friends and Traitors by C.J. Hill
- Signed copy of The Art of Wishing or Signed ARC of The Fourth Wish by Lindsay Ribar (winner's choice)

The second giveaway is for International entrants ONLY.
- One book by a participating Blogoversary author (authors listed on the schedule above) of $15 USD or less from the Book Depository (winner's choice). Book Depository must ship to you for free to be eligible.
- ebook (Kindle or Nook) of Dear Mr. Knightley
- ebook (Kindle or Nook) of Slayers by C.J. Hill

All my usual requirements apply.
Ends February 28th.

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