5 Things You Didn't Know About ... Laura Lam

5 Things You Didn't Know About... is a weekly Pen to Paper original feature, where each week, a different author will tell us five things we didn't previously know about them (and sometimes about their characters too!).
You can find previous 5 Things You Didn't Know About... posts by clicking HERE.

Introducing ... Laura Lam

Laura Lam was raised near San Francisco, California, by two former Haight-Ashbury hippies. Both of them encouraged her to finger-paint to her heart’s desire, colour outside of the lines, and consider the library a second home.

This led to an overabundance of daydreams.

She relocated to Scotland to be with her husband, whom she met on the internet when he insulted her taste in books. She almost blocked him but is glad she didn’t. At times she misses the sunshine.

Pantomime was released February 2013 through Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books and is a Top Ten Title for the 2014 American Library Association Rainbow List, is on the American Library Association 2014 Popular Paperbacks List in the GLBTQ category, and was a finalist for both the Cybils and the North East Teen Book Award. The sequel, Shadowplay, followed in January 2014. This summer, she will self-publish stories set in Micah Grey’s world called Vestigial Tales.

She can be found on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Tumblr, and Pinterest (not that she uses social media as a procrastination tool, or anything…).

My first teddy bear’s name was Bo Jangles. He was a wee thing I had for years, and grew very tatty at the end. He had a little rattle inside. I was pretty devastated when I lost him in one of my many moves as a kid. I wanted to keep him forever. I have a feeling my mom tossed him out because he started growing mold.

I’m 25 but I’ve lived in 13 houses. 10 in California and 3 in Scotland. Now I actually have a mortgage it’s really weird to be in one place for 3 whole years. But, oddly, I still have restless feet and want to move somewhere else, even though I HATE moving. Packing up books takes forever. I’m debating teaching English in South Korea for a year.

I’m double jointed so it’s easy to look like I’ve dislocated my elbow. I used to delight way too much in freaking out my classmates at school with this.

Lately I’ve had the chorus by “Whacha Say” by Jason Derulo stuck in my head. Like, for weeks. I keep singing it loudly and off-key to my husband. I think he’s at his wit’s end. Ooh whatcha saaaay, oooh that you only meant well…

I have decided to train for my first 10k this year. I am already slightly regretting this decision.

Pantomime

Series: Pantomime #1
Pages: 416
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release date: 23rd January 2013
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Waterstones

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Goodreads synopsis:

R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimeras is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

Introducing ... Micah and Gene

From Jim (@yayeahyeah): Where’d he most like to take someone on a date?
Probably where he took Aenea on a date in Pantomime: the Mechanical Museum of Antiquities, full of strange artefacts from the Alder. Otherwise, he’d like to go somewhere quiet, like a rooftop to watch the sun rise or set. Picnics. He’d definitely be a fan of picnics.

From Lisa (@effingrainbow): How does Micah take his tea?
He takes his coffee with loads of sugar and milk to cut the bitterness, but he drinks his tea black or with a small splash of milk.

From Anna (@annascottjots): What’s Micah’s earliest memory?
His earliest memory is of playing cat’s cradle with his brother, his brother explaining how it worked. Micah kept getting his fingers stuck in the strings.

Gene didn’t have a favourite stuffed animal growing up. She ended up hiding them all under her bed. Her mother always bought her ones that weren’t comfortable to snuggle with.

Micah’s going to grow up and do something other than be in a circus/magic show. That would be in the adult series for him that hopefully one day will be out in the world. He’ll be pretty badass, but that’s all I’ll say for now.

Other books in the series ...

So what did you think of Laura's response to 5 Things You Didn't Know About? Have you read the books? Did you enjoy Micah and Gene's answers?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below :)