24-hour greasy spoons, Alphonse Mucha, antique stores, art nouveau, ballrooms, Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs, bubble tea, burlesque, caffeine, carnivale, corsets, costuming, cupcakes, dance, dark chocolate, dessert, Disneyland, Dita Von Teese, Eddie Izzard, ephemera, fantasy, Hollywood of yesteryear, icewine, kilts, knee socks, lambic (framboise et pêche) making jam, Mary Janes, ocean liners, phantasmagoria, photography, pinup girls, pirates, pocketwatch innards, publishing, redheads, Retrofuturistic NeoVictorian, Shakespeare, slipstream, steampunk, swing dancing, tattoos, theatre, Titanic, travel by Tardis, Victoriana, vintage, writing
Music
Anything on 78 rpm vinyl, plus quite a lot that's not
Movies
Anne of Green Gables, Amélie, Auntie Mame, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chicago, Chocolat, Dangerous Beauty, Enchanted, Finding Neverland, Howl's Moving Castle, The Illusionist, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Memoirs of a Geisha, Moulin Rouge, My Fair Lady, My Neighbor Totoro, Mr and Mrs Smith, Nightmare Before Christmas, Once, Pan's Labyrinth, The Prestige, Pirates of the Caribbean, Princess Bride, Serenity, Stardust, Topsy-Turvy... anything with lavish sets and gorgeous costuming
Television
Doctor Who, Hustle, Firefly, Slings and Arrows, Top Gear, The Tudors
A smattering of reality TV (Project Runway, Top Chef, So You Think You Can Dance.) I miss the Animaniacs!
Books
anything by: Neil Gaiman, Gregory Macguire, Patricia McKillip, Charles de Lint, Diana Wynne Jones, L.M. Montgomery, Sharon Shinn, Anne Bishop, Tanith Lee, Noel Streatfeild, L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, JK Rowling, Jasper Fforde, Christopher Moore, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Holly Black, Eoin Colfer, Gail Carson Levine, Lemony Snicket, Tamora Pierce, Cornelia Funke, Shakespeare
The Aria Series, illustrated by Jay Anacleto
Lisa Mantchev's Details
Status:
Married
Here for:
Networking, Friends
Zodiac Sign:
Capricorn
Lisa Mantchev's Schools
University Of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA
Graduated: 1997
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Major: Theater
Clubs: Campuswide Honors Program
1993 to 1997
Ukiah High
Ukiah, CA
Graduated: 1993
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater. She's not an orphan, but she has no parents. She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own. Until now.
Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book--an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family--and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.
"Mantchev seamlessly blends the richly wrought, claustrophobic world of the tradition-bound theater and its age-old dramatic productions with a decidedly modern sensibility. The result is electric. The delicious descriptions of the theater’s strange powers are fascinating, the characters vivid, the dialogue smart and sassy and Bertie’s fiercely loyal fairy cohorts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream bawdy and hilarious. Clever mini-scripts, usually flashbacks, materialize throughout the novel like songs in a musical. The palpable sense of urgency is also fueled by some well-staged romance, as well as by Bertie’s quest to discover who she is and what she’s made of. Brava! Encore!"—Kirkus, Starred Review
"Bertie’s determined efforts to become invaluable form the basic plot in this wildly imagined adventure...Mantchev clearly knows theater from all angles, and she uses inventive play-within-play formats to create a tumble of multiple, even metaphysical narratives filled with delicious banter and familiar characters from the dramatic canon. Many teens, particularly those with some theatrical background, will look forward to the sequel suggested at the end of this bravely flamboyant and wholly original romp."—Booklist
"All the world's truly a stage in Lisa Mantchev's innovative tale, EYES LIKE STARS. Magical stagecraft, unmanageable fairies, and a humorous cast of classical characters form the backdrop for this imaginative coming-of-age."—Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games
"With an iron-willed girl hero whose magic is with words, and a universe that is also the ultimate theater, EYES LIKE STARS is the most unusual fantasy I've read this year! I recommend it to anyone who loves drama, strong girls, and rowdy faery folk!"—Tamora Pierce, author of the Lioness Quartet
Stories forthcoming in Japanese Dreams and Freedomhowler, Finchley & Co., the second volume in the Medicine Show/Liquid Laughter Project.
Chaucer: I'm a writer. Wat: A what? Chaucer: A wha- a what? A writer. I write, with parchment, and ink. Geoffrey Chaucer's the name, writing's the game. You've read my book? The Book of the Duchess? No? Well, it was allegorical. Roland: Well, we won't hold that against you, that's for every man to decide for himself.
(A Knight's Tale)
Who I'd like to meet: People of all artistic persuasions.
My friending rule is that if your profile is set to private, please drop me a note along with the add request.
Just wanted to say that I loved the book. I read alot and I thought it was one of the most innovative plotlines that I've encountered in awhile. Your prose is beautiful and I was hooked from the second page. I wanted to cry when it was over becasuse I was both moved and sad that it was over. Great job and I hope for many more great stories from you in the future.
Hey, just stopping by to let you know that I finally got around to reading Eyes Like Stars. Well, I have like 4 more chapters to read before I am done with it. The book is good and it had me laughing at some parts. Is there going to be any more books after this one in a series?
Hey! i was in Boarders today and i saw your book 'Eyes Like Stars' it was the last one and i got it today because i read a little of it and it caught my attention and im going to start reading it tonight love the first chapter btw good book!-KeCi
Hey ! I love your book so much its really one of my favorites it has everything i love in a book in it. (:
ANYWAY. i was looking through your favorite movies and i noticed howls moving castle was one of them and i have to say that i am addicted to that movie i adore it, my second favorite is castle in the sky (:
I bought your book and read it in about five hours. I love it! ive been doing theatre for so long and Bernies world is such a wonderful fantasy land. This is me as Ariel in Theatre Artist Olympia's The Tempest.
I bought your book today. I don't know when i will be able to read it because I still have some reading to do before school starts. When I do get a chance to read it I will tell you what I thought of it. I hope I get to read it soon!
I was soo looking forward to getting my hands on your book, but it seemed that life had another idea regarding my finances. Along with my aunt's book, yours is on the list of must haves when I'm able. I'm just happy to know that it's out now and that I don't have to wait any longer.