Melissa De La Cruz & Michael Johnston Event Recap

     Last weekend I went to go see Melissa De La Cruz and Michael Johnston at The Grove. I originally was not going to see them, but my friend wanted to go so off we went. We got there super early, thank goodness not a lot of traffic especially considering it's L.A. We browsed the books and grabbed some Starbucks while we waited for the event to start. They promptly began at 2pm introducing themselves. They are a married couple that co-write each other's books. Frozen is the first series where they officially have both their names on the cover. Frozen is like Lord of the Rings but backwards. They combined all their thoughts together to make the book. Frozen is a combination of fantasy meets science fiction. They wanted the book to have a global freezing rather than a global warming. They even did research that shows a freezing could happen instead of a warming. Melissa then read two pages from the book and it opened up to Q&A.

First Question: Where did you get the idea from to write Frozen?
     Melissa said two reasons and it came out of no where. The first reason is that her cousins are black jack dealers in Atlanta, Georgia. They thought why not have black jack dealers in a YA book, that hasn't happened yet. The second idea they got the book started is because a friend of theirs lives in South Korea. He was telling them that at night when he's out it's lively. But when he looks at North Korea not too far from him, it is pitch black. They decided to combine those ideas to make a dystopian novel with all the worst case scenarios, including the pacific ocean full of littered trash.

Second Question: Do you have any part in the TV show Witches of East End?
     Absolutely not! Melissa learned a long time ago to let things be the way they are. A few years ago, she was optioned to do a pilot for her Blue Bloods novels into a tv show. For six months she wrote a manuscript, and everyone was thinking they got this in the bag. A little bit of her ego got to her, so when the producers called her that it was canceled she was crushed! They told her it was overruled by a certain show called The Vampire Diaries. She was mad of course so when they called her a year later, asking her to option Blue Bloods again, she said NO! She was proud for thinking she was sticking it back to them. Later, Melissa realized that although she said no, even if she said yes there would still be no guarantee the show would be picked up. Another couple years passed, and this time they wanted the options for Witches of East End. She went along with it and everything has been smooth going. The only critique she gave the producers was to make the show darker and serious because the original plot had more humor. She likes watching it play out while not having to do anything. She came to the realization that producing is boring lol. When everyone goes through scene after scene, all she is thinking is, "What's for lunch?"

Third Question: Do you and your husband have a set schedule to work?
     The answer is no. Michael said when one writes part of the book they let them do it. Later, when it's their turn to work on it, if they don't like a scene they just delete it. That's their system and that's why they are still married.

Fourth Question: Is one organized and the other sloppy?
     No they are both super organized so they know where everything is at.

Fifth Question: How many books in the series?
     Three or four books, they are not sure yet. Melissa is also writing an adult spin-off series of the Blue Bloods series. The new book is called The Ring and The Crown, set to come out April 2014. She said it is very sexy compared to her YA books.

The event ended and it was time for the signing. I did not talk to them much but they were very friendly. This turned out to be a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

 Look at this woman's tattoos!!! They are awesome! On the front of her leg she also had the Vampire Academy logo too. The picture on the right of the little girl is Melissa and Michael's daughter. She is so cute! That's me on the bottom. Yes I know I'm short :oP