April 3rd, 2013  I’m on tour! An article about my upcoming Diary of a Mall Girl events, with dates, is now at the Reading Agency.
“Libraries around the UK will be totally on trend during April and May 2013, forging exciting links with local hair, make-up and clothes stylists and suppliers, photographers and other partners. Together they’ll create a series of enticing library events for girls of all ages centred around The Diary of a Mall Girl – the new novel from author Luisa Plaja.”
 Lipstick Library – April and May 2013
**Update – the tour is now over! Thank you so much to all the readers, librarians, teachers, students, publishing people and everyone else who made the tour such a pleasure from start to finish!**
Here’s a summary of where I went and what I did…
√ Wednesday 17 April: Swindon – Thanks a lot to Swindon Libraries for arranging a brilliant school event and for this lovely writeup!
√ Thursday 18 April: Bristol: Central Library, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TL. Time: 1900. We had a brilliant night at Bristol Central Library, with great hair and beauty demonstrations, and we took home fab goody bags with makeup, perfume and beauty samples. Huge thanks to Bristol Libraries, Alan Bendrey & Co Hairdressers, Durdham Down Bookshop and Curious Fox Publishing.
 √ Monday 22 April: Edinburgh: Sighthill Library, Edinburgh, EH14 2ST. Time: 1800. An amazingly large group of brilliant girls joined me for a fun night of Lush bathbomb-making, delicious cupcakes and fun. Thank you, Lush and Edinburgh Libraries! Read a write-up of the night – with pics – by Edinburgh Libraries.
√ Thursday 25 April: Barnstaple: Barnstaple Library, Tuly Street, Barnstaple EX31 1ELY. Time: 1830. Wow, what a night – there was so much going on. Hair and beauty sessions, a nail bar, massage, a free smoothie bar, a raffle… and more. I took my daughter to this one and we both had a wonderful time! Thank you, Devon Libraries, Petroc, Waterstones Barnstaple and everyone else who made this such a great event.
 √ Tuesday 30 April: Wirral: Bromborough Library Wirral Council, Room F04, Municipal Building, Cleveland Street, Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 6BU. Time: 1800. I met so many fantastic people at Bromborough Library! There were lots of fun competitions and makeovers going on, plus wonderful mocktails and nibbles. Thank you for having me, Wirral Libraries! Read more about it at Cheshire Today.
√ Wednesday 1 May: Chester: Chester Library, Northgate Street, Chester CH1 2EF. Time: 1800. A brilliant night out in gorgeous Chester – even the sun made an appearance! There were pink drinks, cupcakes and lots of beauty advice from the Body Shop. I loved meeting everyone who came to this event!
√ Wednesday 15 May: Stockton-on-Tees: Stockton Central Library, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees TS18 1TU. Time: 1830. What an amazing night I had at Stockton Central Library! More than 60 teenagers joined in with a night full of Wii Dancing, henna tattooing, nail decoration, felt bird-making, beauty tips from The Body Shop, refreshments and loads more! So much fun. Thank you, everyone!
√ Thursday 16 May: Newcastle: Newcastle Libraries, Adult and Culture Services, Charles Avison Building, 33 New Bridge Street West, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8AX. Time: 1800. Click for details. I absolutely loved the hair demonstration at this event – I learnt loads, including the fact that fishtail plaits are hard to do. It was also great to meet representatives of The Body Shop and Top Shop and to chat to everyone who attended. A brilliant night out in sunny Newcastle!
For more overall information about the Lipstick Library tour, please contact Juliana Oliver at The Reading Agency.
**STOP PRESS*** Watch out for me at The Hay Festival, where I’ll be part of an event called “It’s a Girl Thing”, together with authors Sophia Bennett and Sarah Webb. The event is on Tuesday 28th May at 1pm. Find out more at The Hay Festival.
Read Sophia Bennett’s post about it here!
March 28th, 2013 
Please join us at Waterstones Newton Abbot on 3rd April at 3.30pm. We’ll be discussing When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, and much more…
March 16th, 2013
Curious Fox have posted about the Diary of a Mall Girl promotions, and here a couple of highlights from the future plans:
“…we’re partnering up with Foyles bookshop and Westfield London to offer three lucky winners found via Bliss magazine a special Mall Girl Pamper Day including a book party in-store at Foyles with Luisa Plaja at the end of June…”
“The Lipstick Library tour starts mid April, running for two months, and includes events in Newcastle, Stockton, Liverpool, Chester, Swindon, Bristol, Barnstaple and Edinburgh.”
Read the full post at Curious Fox.
The ebook version of Diary of a Mall Girl is out now, priced at just over one pound (or just under two dollars). You can buy the UK Kindle version here, the US Kindle version here, and the ePub version at Waterstones.
(And don’t forget to enter the competition at Sugarscape!)
March 14th, 2013 
Hurray hurray, it’s publication day for Diary of a Mall Girl!
Join Molly and her friends (or are they?), crushes and troublesome family, and find out what it’s really like to live in a shopping centre.
Check out the Curious Fox website for more details.
At last, I can announce a few of the exciting things that are about to happen…
- I’ll be touring the country, visiting libraries and schools to talk about Diary of a Mall Girl and much more. Please watch out for me!
- There are some fab Diary of a Mall Girl competitions taking place. Here is one that’s already live…
- Win £150 of vouchers to spend at ASOS on Sugarscape. Diary of a Mall Girl is Sugarscape’s ‘new hot read’. Wow! Read all about it here!
There’s more! I’ll be back…
Thank you very, very much again to all the fabulous readers and publishing professionals who made this possible!
(Buy Diary of a Mall Girl from Curious Fox or at WHSmith, Amazon, The Book Depository, Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwells, Hive…)
Here is a copy spotted in the wild at my local WHSmith…
STOP PRESS: Some fantastic reviews are up already. Thank you very, very much to the reviewers!
Check out Diary of a Mall Girl reviews at: Luna’s Little Library, I Want To Read That, Juniper’s Jungle, Bookster Reviews
Also read this wonderful post on the Curious Fox blog.
March 6th, 2013 Diary of a Mall Girl is out next week and already shipping online!
Read my post about Interactive Writing at Girls Heart Books.
My next few months are full of exciting visits all over the country. I’ll try to post details here as soon as I can!
In the meantime, here are a couple of the things I’ve been getting up to…
- Launch of a new book club at Waterstones
In our first meeting, we discussed Wonder by R J Palacio. We also made clay figures and had fun describing their personalities. Thank you for coming along, lovely readers. I’m really looking forward to our next meeting!
- Writing Workshop at KEVICC
Thanks very much to King Edward VI Community College in Totnes for inviting me along. Read all about it here.
See pictures below.
Gifted and Talented Students – Visit from Author Luisa Plaja from KEVICC on Vimeo.
- World Book Day visit to Newton Abbot College – Thursday 7th March 2013.
I can’t wait. Happy World Book Day, everyone!
January 2nd, 2013  Aaah, new year, fresh start, new books…
Diary of a Mall Girl will be out in a couple of months, and there should be some exciting events coming up to celebrate this. Watch out for news!
In the meantime, huge thanks to What Should I Read Next? for being the first person in the universe to review the Curious Fox version of my book! Diary of a Mall Girl review.
Happy New Year, everyone!
December 8th, 2012 On Wednesday 12th December 2012, I’ll be signing books at Waterstones in Newton Abbot in the evening, during the late-night opening and Christmas Fayre. If you’re in the area, please pop in and say hello!
P.S. Here’s my recent interview at the great book blog “What Should I Read Next?”
October 24th, 2012 Thank you very much to Keris Stainton for tagging me in this Q&A about next novels and works in progress. This is a Wednesday thing, I’ve discovered, so watch out for posts from other authors today and every coming Wednesday!
Read Keris’s post here, and mine below…
What is the working title of your next book?
Diary of a Mall Girl will be out next spring, and that’s its official title. There’s another book I’m working on, but that’s another story…
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I once visited an amazing mall in Chicago (Water Tower Place) and it had an adjacent apartment block. You could go from the living space to the shopping space without going outside. Of course, I immediately imagined myself living there… as a teenager. With all my schoolfriends hanging out there and/or working there.
What genre does your book fall under?
Teen romantic comedy.
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
I can never answer this question, but I’m always open to suggestions from readers! (Casting directors are also welcome.  )
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
The mall is the heart of Molly’s town and all her friends hang out there, but Molly actually lives there, at the centre of the gossip – with all the trouble, heartache and joy that brings.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
It was originally published in instalments by Fiction Express, and readers voted on what would happen next. It’s coming out as an ebook and paperback in March 2013, published by a brand new imprint called Curious Fox. Here’s a cover image:
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Exactly eleven weeks – the duration of the Fiction Express YA project. High-pressure, fun writing.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Other diary books featuring teenage girls, maybe? And other books by me!
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Everyone who read it and voted on what would happen next – and effectively decided who Molly would fall for and how, before throwing a huge spanner in the works. (Thanks a lot, readers! No, seriously, thanks a lot, readers!)
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
There’s kissing. And a glass lift. And perhaps a combination of the two.
Tag other authors…
I’d like to tag the fabulous Amanda Ashby as I’m dying to know what I can read by her next.
October 21st, 2012 I’ve been busy on the blogs, and not just Chicklish…
Here I am at UKYA, a website dedicated to showcasing authors based in Britain, writing about some of my favourite teen reads from the last century. (A while ago, UKYA asked readers to vote for their favourite UK teen books, and I’m thrilled that Kiss Date Love Hate made it to the Top 100 list. Thank you very much to the readers who voted for it!)
I’ve been recommending teen fiction series at YA Contemporary, a post you can also find at Bookbag.
Over at Girls Heart Books, I’ve been posting away. Here’s a roundup of my Girls Heart Books posts.
And – newsflash – I have a non-fiction book out this week! It’s about blogging, and here’s a cover image:
Find out more at Hachette, the publisher.
Lastly, I’d like to thank Dawlish Community College for inviting me in to run a fun writing workshop with Year 8 English students a couple of weeks ago.
|
.
.
|
√ Tuesday 30 April: Wirral: Bromborough Library Wirral Council, Room F04, Municipal Building, Cleveland Street, Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 6BU. Time: 1800. I met so many fantastic people at Bromborough Library! There were lots of fun competitions and makeovers going on, plus wonderful mocktails and nibbles. Thank you for having me, Wirral Libraries! Read more about it at Cheshire Today.
