“First and foremost, the book is a great read and a fun handsell…It’s a perfect choice for Teen Book Clubs, Mother/Daughter Book Clubs, or for avid readers who love to write as well,” said Holton. “And if you look in the back of the book, you’ll find the work of Lisa Strumm — a 17-year-old girl whose writing on the website was chosen for the first book.” (For her piece, Strumm, who lives in Plano, Texas, received an honorarium of a $100 gift certificate to her local indie bookstore, Legacy Books.)
To booksellers, Holton said, “Encourage your customers to write on the site, and perhaps they will be chosen for book two!”
YPulse Interviews FSM About The Amanda Project + Invisible I
YPulse Managing Editor Meredith Sires virtually sat down with a bunch of us at Fourth Story – Lisa Holton, JillEllyn Riley, Ariel Aberg-Riger, and Melissa Kantor (author of Invisible I) – to discuss The Amanda Project.
YP: Melissa, what was it like shaping a story that would be left open to interpretation by the readers? Do you have any favorite mystery stories or other sources that served as inspiration?
TAP: I was a HUGE Nancy Drew fan as a kid, then moved on to other great mysteries (Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) and more popular/contemporary writers (Mary Higgins Clark). TV has definitely played a role in inspiring me (Veronica Mars, anyone?). In terms of the reader/writer relationship that The Amanda Project has created, I find the whole reader-input idea really exciting; as a writer, I normally have to wait to hear what my readers think until after the fact, when the book’s published, and I’ve moved on to another set of characters. So to have the opportunity to be in a dialogue (of sorts) with people who are excited about the characters I’m spending so much time with is a real thrill. I love that the identity a reader invented is included in “Invisible I.” What a cool moment for her AND for me! (MK)
Read the whole interview here, and be sure to leave a comment about your favorite mystery over at YPulse for a chance to win a free copy of Invisible I!
The first book in this series, Invisible I, is fantastic and gets you engrossed in the mystery right from the start. The website is well designed and packed with fun and engaging features. With eight books planned, one can only assume that more will be added to the site as well (such a dynamic website couldn’t stay the same for that long). There is so much potential in this project and the idea that readers get to actually help create the mystery as it is written is really innovative and exciting. It’s a perfect interactive project for a teen audience! The ability to actually be a part of the story is fantastic and if HarperCollins starts to incorporate more multi-media content to the website as well it would be a sure winner. There’s so much fun content both in the engaging book and the interactive website that The Amanda Project is really something to check out and keep an eye on as it continues to unfold!
Invisible I, the first book in The Amanda Project series is now in stores! Written by Melissa Kantor (under the series pen name Stella Lennon), Invisible I tells Amanda’s story from Callie’s point of view.
Callie Leary has exactly one thing, and one thing only, in common with Nia Rivera and Hal Bennett: They were each chosen by Amanda to be her guide. When Amanda arrived at Endeavor High, she told Callie she moves around a lot and always picks one person to help her navigate the choppy waters of a new school. Why did Amanda lie?
Following a course that they suspect Amanda deliberately plotted, Callie, Nia, and Hal piece together some cryptic clues. But they find more questions than answers and quickly realize that before they can figure out what happened to Amanda—the girl who changed their lives—they’ll need to solve the most important mystery of all: Who is Amanda Valentino?
Browse inside, and read the first 8 chapters here!
Publishers Weekly Gives a Starred Review to Invisible I !
Calling Invisible I a “carefully crafted whodunit…which will compel readers to pick up the subsequent books,” Publishers Weekly gives the first book in The Amanda Project series a starred review:
invisible iStella Lennon. HarperTeen, $16.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-06-174212-5
There are far too many scintillating, hand-clenching facets to this carefully crafted whodunit to count. Doors are purposefully left open and clues expertly planted (in the book’s text, artwork—even the endpapers—and on a dedicated Web site readers can explore), all of which will compel readers to pick up the subsequent books in the interactive Amanda Project series. (The books, all appearing under the name Stella Lennon, will be written by various authors, with Melissa Kantor [Girlfriend Material] kicking things off.) In the opener, three unlikely allies—narrator Callie, a member of the exclusive “I-Girls” clique; Nia, the “biggest freak in the ninth grade”–cum–hidden beauty; and Hal, an “uber-cool” artist—are brought together as they attempt to find 15-year-old Amanda, who has disappeared. The story unfolds at just the right pace to build curiosity, but not overwhelm with unanswered questions (Why did Amanda tell Callie, Nia and Hal three separate stories about her past? What’s up with the animal totems she gives them?). If there’s too much high school social politics at points, the catty backstabbing is unlikely to distract most readers from the mind-bending mystery shrouding Amanda’s whereabouts. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)
Do you ever wish you could write yourself into a mystery? Now you can transform yourself from reader to character in The Amanda Project, the first ever interactive book series and Web site!
Get to know Amanda, a mysterious girl who’s…gone missing! On the site, you can become a character, create a profile, uncover clues about her disappearace and comment on weekly stories, all with the chance to be included in the published book series! The things you contribute to the site will shape the outcome of what goes into the books, and there are tons of ways to interact, like sharing art, music, and writing.
The first book of eight, Invisible I by Stella Lennon and Melissa Kantor, will come out September 22nd…
They posted the video as well. Check out the full post here!
Today is a big day for Fourth Story – The Amanda Project is officially live!
The site has been in closed beta testing since April with a 150 fantastic teen girls who have helped us shape the site into what it is today.
Numerous people have been involved in developing the site, but we’d like to give a special shout out to our incredible developers at Happy Cog and Easy Designs. Amanda wouldn’t be here without you!
My Milk Toof: A story about the adventures of a small tooth named Ickle, and his buddy Lardee told through daily pictures (see photo)
Purefold: Ridley Scott’s new project that will scan social networking sites for online conversations across social media to be “used by brands as the basis for storylines that are fleshed out and rewritten by professional scriptwriters.”
Guillermo Del Toro’s quote about the Story Engine: “In the next 10 years, we’re going to see all the forms of entertainment – film, television, video, games, and print – melding into a single-platform ’story-engine.’”
Do you love reading, writing, and telling stories? Are you interested in helping launch the first interactive, collaborative mystery for teen girls? Well, come work for us! We’re saving a seat for you.
Fourth Story Media is now accepting applications for our Summer Internship Program (July 1st – August 31st). Internships are part time (approximately 10-15 hrs/wk), with flexible schedules and the ability to work remotely.
There are three types of FSM internships – Editorial, Marketing, and Online Community Management/Tech. For more information on what each entails, as well as details about how to apply visit our Internship page.
Bookselling This Week talked to FSM CEO Lisa Holton about the launch of the first book in The Amanda Project- Invisible I.
