Friday, June 4, 2010

My Darklyng hacks Presenting Lenore

Hello book (blog) lover!

Lauren Mechling, author of the Dream Girl books, here. I have hijacked Lenore's blog in order to convey some Very Important Information.

You might not know it by looks alone (no pink hair, no metal bar through my septum), but I've become a total hacker worthy of her own "Dragon Tattoo" installment. And I'm not just talking about how I've cracked the code and broken onto Presenting Lenore. My new book MY DARKLYNG, which I co-wrote with Laura Moser (my hilarious co-author on the "10th Grade Social Climber" books), is a YA thriller chockablock with multimedia awesomeness that will be appearing in serialized form on the awesome website Slate.com. The first installment runs today, and there will be more excitement every Friday for the rest of the summer. Also: it's free!

Slate is calling MY DARKLYNG its "juicy summer read for vampire lovers (and haters!)." It's about a normal 10th grade girl named Natalie Pollock whose own fiction addiction gets her into major trouble. She's been reading Fiona St. Claire's yummy "Dark Shadows" book series since middle school and when she sees a post on Fiona's blog about an open casting call for the model for the next book's cover, well, she can't resist. What she had thought was just a random field trip turns into a dark and terrible new-best-friendship, scarier and more thrilling than any of Fiona St. Claire's vampire novels.


MY DARKLYNG is different from anything you've ever read before--it's a first-of-its-kind story told in simultaneous platforms. Huh? you ask. Okay, so here's the deal: While you are perfectly free to follow the MY DARKLYNG chapters on Slate and leave it at that, we have been milking the magic world of the Internet for all its worth. Why limit a story to mere words? What about pictures and videos and weird Tweets and scary Facebook wall posts that bring texture to the story and bring the characters to life? With that in mind, we found real (and really awesome) teenagers to play our characters. Here's a picture:


Pretty, right? Expect to get to know these faces really well over the course of this book.


Without further ado, this is the Slate page that will host the chapters.

Here is Natalie's Facebook page--well worth "liking" so you can follow when weird things start happening on it.

Natalie's Twitter page is here.
Fiona's (the vampire writer) Twitter page is here.
Natalie's best friend Jenna tweets here.
James (the vampire model) tweets here.
And Fiona's loving sister Tilly uses this Twitter page.

Natalie and Jenna post Youtube videos here. Here's a sample video that shows them getting ready for the audition that will change their lives.


Now YOU can help make our great experiment in Internet fiction even more amazing. There is an upcoming scene that has a missing detail. We need to come up with a cliche that's all-too-often present in vampire novels. Again, we are desperately seeking A CLICHE THAT YOU HAVE SEEN A ZILLION TIMES BEFORE IN CHEESY VAMPIRE NOVELS. Please write in your suggestions in the comments section. The winner will be chosen in a week and featured in MY DARKLYNG--if your answer is selected, it'll be like the story is actually winking at you from the screen.


I know this is all a bit much to wrap your head around. Sorry for any confusion--just read the first installment and take it from there. Please please post comments or send us emails telling us how you're finding the series. We can be reached by my website.


And if you find yourself feeling afraid, don't say I didn't warn you!

your humble hacker,
Lauren Mechling

7 comments:

William said...

Obvs you have the scary vamp saying "I want to suck your blood". That's a classic!

Liviania said...

The cliche of the aristocratic vampire - all wandering around the modern world dressed in Regency clothes. That's not noticeable at all.

Shelley said...

Too scary!!!

:)

rbooth43 said...

I am reading a book written by my cousin, Lilly Gayle. This is her first book, OUT OF DARKNESS.
These reviews are included in her book.
Praise for Lilly Gayle
“If you’re looking for an edge-of-your-seat paranormal, OUT OF DARKNESS is an enthralling story that combines the best of suspense with a sexy vampire romance. The unexpected plot turns will leave you breathless and aching with sympathy for Vincent’s tragic and utterly real desire to be human, made even more desperate by the unbidden love growing for Megan. OUT OF DARKNESS is a compelling and satisfying read in one of my favorite genres.”
~Amy Corwin, author of I Bid One American ans Outrageous Behavior
~”Lilly Gayle is an exciting new voice in the world of paranormal romance. ~Jenna Black
I am so proud of my cousin. Her website is http://www.lillygayle.com

Zibilee said...

This is a really cool idea that I will be following and mentioning to my daughter as well!

Lauren said...

This is so cool! It'll be fascinating the see what the net medium does.


Vampire cliche? How about the female human protagonist falling head over heels, -blindly- in love with the sexy ancient vampire?

Jodie said...

Sounds interesting, I might try a chapter. As for vampire cliche well my suggestion is the double take mirror scene. 'Oh look he has no reflection tralala, wait a minute...'