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An Interview with Jennifer Colt,
Author of the McAfee Twin Series
PERSONAL HISTORY:


Where did you grow up, and was reading and writing a part of your life as a child?
Dallas, Texas, and yes, we were a big reading family. Our father read us Rudyard Kipling at bedtime, Grandpa did a mean wolf in The Three Little Pigs, Mom read us fairy tales. I loved Charlotte’s Web and The Wind in the Willows, and strangely, I became fixated on Greek mythology in the second grade. Had this big yellow book on the Olympian gods checked out of the library for an entire year.

I was always writing something—mystery stories (at least I thought they were mysterious), romantic poetry, horror stories about man-eating washing machines, illustrated stories about pretty pigs with bows on their ears and long, black eyelashes. Am I a study in contrasts, or what?

Have you always wanted to be a novelist?
Yes, but there was no precedent for it in our experience, so I didn’t have a lot of encouragement in that direction. I was encouraged to study the piano (as my mother’s surrogate). I was good in the way a trained monkey might be, but I knew I wasn’t really gifted in that area. Music isn’t my language. Eventually I gave it up.

According to your bio, you have had a wide variety of jobs. Which was your favorite? Least favorite? Have you used any of those experiences in your writing?
Favorite job? Even the word causes a gag reflex. I guess I liked going to markets (at first) in Cannes and New York and New Orleans, doing program acquisitions. But there was never a job I liked for itself. Always had some writing project in my bag or on my computer....
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An Interview with Jennifer Colt,
Author of the McAfee Twin Series

The Best of 2006: A Year in Review
2006 was a good year for Wordcandy. We got the blog up and running, publishers and PR groups have been generous with the review copies, and (best of all) you, our beloved readers, have been visiting in ever-increasing numbers! Thank you for your continued interest, and we hope you enjoy our list of the top ten Wordcandy-approved happenings of 2006! (Note: For a glimpse of what we’re most excited about in 2007, check out today’s blog post.)
Wordcandy’s Ten Favorite Book-to-Screen Adaptations
(Yes, they do exist. Sure, it would have been a lot easier to write the Wordcandy’s One-Thousand-and-One Least Favorite Book-to-Screen Adaptations list, but there are a handful of good adaptations that we really, really like.)
Five (Imaginary) Summer Blockbusters We’d Like to See
Forget Superman. Forget Pirates of the Caribbean. Particularly forget Click, on the off chance that you were fool enough to see it. Here are five as-yet-nonexistent summer movies we here at Wordcandy would love to see:
Wordcandy’s List of Unreadable Books
In honor of April Fool’s Day, we would like to take this opportunity to warn you away from the following eight novels. These are books that, over the years, people have encouraged us to read, falsely assuring us that we would enjoy them. Let our suffering prevent yours, and avoid:
2005 Year in Review
Okay, we’re a little late (surprise!), but here are our picks for the best books and book-related experiences of 2005. If you happen to have a tax refund check burning a hole in your pocket, blow some of it on these:
The Wordcandy Guide to the Best Shōjo Manga
I have long been attracted to the shōjo manga section of my local bookstore. Those bright candy colors, the pretty title fonts, the shiny covers… everything about them spoke to my Skittles-eating, Bollywood-movie-watching, essentially frivolous soul. I was dismally certain that as a non-manga-reader I was missing out on something awesome, but (cue the violins!) I was too intimidated by the sheer volume of shōjo manga available to know where to begin. (Also, I didn’t have the money just to pick up a bunch of random manga titles off the shelf. Most manga volumes are about ten dollars, and a manga series can last anywhere from five to thirty-odd volumes. In a word? Ouch.)

This sad state of affairs persisted until approximately two months ago. Now, thanks to about fifty million online recommendations, some incredibly gracious IRC tutoring from a person named Truffle (whose patience with me will undoubtedly shave off several thousand years’ worth of her time in purgatory), and the efforts of various scanlation groups, I am now able to march right up to that shōjo manga section and waste money with confidence.

Note: There are some terms, tips, and technologies you should familiarize yourself with before you embrace the wide world of shōjo manga. If you’re interested- AND YOU SHOULD BE- please check out our handy Wordcandy Manga Glossary and Tips Page!
Wordcandy Non-Fiction Picks
While fiction is obviously our first love, we here at Wordcandy do occasionally gird our loins and venture forth into the brave new world of non-fiction, determined to broaden our minds and deepen our understanding of the world around us. (Or at least learn why Frenchwomen don’t get fat. Whichever.) Anyway, if you’re in the market for a little mind-broadening, here are a few Wordcandy-worthy non-fiction reads. Enjoy!
A Year in Review
The top ten most Wordcandy-worthy moments, books, and assorted literary phenomena of 2004. Got any bookstore gift certificates over the holidays? Blow ‘em on these:
Lisa Clark
Lisa Clark, creator of the awesome website www.pink-world.co.uk, has graciously given us a list of her top-ten favorite Wordcandy-type books. Take note, gentle readers, because this is a woman with some seriously excellent taste.

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