A Shocking Revelation + Christopher Pike on Wattpad!

Ha! I got your attention with that title, didn't I?

What am I about to reveal on this fine day?

.....[SUSPENSE].....

Just that I'm going senile. Because on Oct. 14th, while I was writing this post, Offbeat YA was turning 3 and I didn't even notice O_O.

It's funny, because I did celebrate my first blogoversary, and no one was around to throw confetti or, well, post a comment. And I also celebrated my second (which went a little better, because by that time, I had a few friends or acquaintances in the blogging world), going as far as to do a survey of my first two years...Then, this year, I drew a blank. Maybe a psychoanalyst might explain it to me...

It's even more funny if you think that, in the meantime, I was already compiling my end-of-the-year survey!

Anyway. I have a piece of news for you. Less than three weeks ago, Christopher Pike joined Wattpad. Now, you all know I don't like Facebook, so I was happy to find out that one of my favourite authors had an online presence on a site where I could actually talk to him. So, a few days ago - when I discovered that he was on there - I posted a long comment on Mr. Pike's profile...this one:

Hello Mr. Pike,
I'm really excited to meet you here...since you are on Facebook and I'm not, I thought I'd never had the chance to tell you how much I love your books (though I have to be honest – a small number of them I'm not crazy about, but those that I do like, that is the vast majority, I love with a fierce passion). I am a 49 y.o. Italian woman, and I'm not ashamed to say I blog about YA books, because let's face it - YA has something in it for everyone, even old girls like me :). To be precise, your book Remember Me is to blame for my foray into YA fiction, and consequently, the YA blogging world...I read it in Italian around 20 years ago, because the blurb drew me like a magnet. And I fell in love. More recently, I've begun to purchase all your available books in English (RM included), though there are not as many around as I would like. I hope Simon & Schuster is going to repackage all you catalogue and publish them again, because I do want to read everything you've written.
Like I said, I set up a blog (in English) where I review YA novels old and new, but whose aim is mainly to spotlight the most original and less talked about YA gems out there – hence the name Offbeat YA. Of course, I couldn’t help devoting a whole section of my blog to your catalogue :). And of course, the very first book that I reviewed was Remember Me :). The Thirst series and The Season of Passage are other huge favourites of mine, but Remember Me will be in my heart forever. You were a pioneer, fleshing out your Sita and Shari back when no one was writing about vampires, and especially about dead girls :). I also love the insights into your books that you provide on Facebook (thanks to the admins for having made the page public), and I hope you'll go on posting them. Thank you and Simon & Schuster for giving us the chance to connect!
Best of luck with you new book!
Roberta (Italy)

A couple of days after, I found this reply...

I'd love if you could review Strange Girl.  How do I put you in touch with S&S's marketing people?  Pike

I was at work, doing my 3 PM show on the radio, and for the next fifteen or twenty minutes I'm not sure what I fed to my listeners. I was like "I can't believe this, I CAN'T believe this...". Like I said, my stupor went on for a few minutes, but almost right away I did notice that my beloved author hadn't said a word about me being a fan from Italy (I don't think he has many of those, since only a handful of his books have been translated - or better, Reader's-Digested, since the ones I read were missing chunks!!! - in Italian), or asked to see the page where I reviewed his books...Well, anyway, he had made a HUGE offer, and even if I was sure that Simon & Schuster weren't going to send me anything, it still was big stuff, wasn't it? So, of course, I replied right away, and sent Mr. Pike a private message with my email address, thanking him for his offer. Duh. Naïve me. Since I hadn't mentioned Strange Girl (Pike's upcoming book) in my message, he didn't understand what I was talking about, and asked me to send him his post in order to find out! He excused himself saying he gets a lot of mail...of course, silly old girl, you should have thought of it. So, I copied and pasted his reply to my post in a second message, and I added that I wasn't really expecting S&S to send me his book, but I was thankful for his offer...and a bunch of other things about his old books and the sixth volume of Thirst, that S&S don't seem inclined to reissue/publish in physical form...and what could be done about it...blah blah. He did reply, but only with a "I'll see what I can do..." that could refer to my review copy alone or to all the stuff about his books...I thanked him and he replied again, but briefly as usual. Now, it's not that I am disappointed...not really. But it would have meant a lot to me if he had said something a little more...personal about my posts/messages. Shown a little, you know, warmth. On the other hand, I understand that he has many fans and followers, that he probably wants to avoid attracting potential stalkers, that S&S are on his back (his actual words) about marketing the new book, and that he's not particularly inclined to the whole social interaction thing - unless he's posting his own articles. He's even doing a writing advice series on Wattpad, so it's not like he doesn't care about fans and readers...not every author would do that, I think. Of course, he gets to spotlight his own writing while doing it ;) - but still...

Well, like I said, I'm sure yours truly will never get a copy of Strange Girl (or even a PDF) from Simon&Schuster, for obvious reasons - but at least I got to dream for a few minutes LOL.

That's all for now folks...except of course

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

from OffbeaSt YA ;D

(my Twitter name these latest weeks...).

P.S.: sorry, Sam fans! I had these perfect gifs and they were all featuring Dean. I didn't do it on purpose. I promise Sam gifs next time! ;)