Through The Wardrobe

Marketing & Publicity for Authors: Part 1

2012-01-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

The time is long past when authors – with the exception ofmegastars – can rely on their publishers to help with marketing and publicity.Most authors I know do a significant amount of marketing; I know I do. For thenext several weeks I’m going to share a few things I’ve learned since thepublication of my first book, and I invite you all to chime in and share yourown experiences.

In particular I’d like to talk about the advantages ofonline tools, including some of the newer venues (like Klout and Tumblr). Fromthe social networking sites to contact media like Skype, it’s easy to feeloverwhelmed by the sheer number of ways you could spend your time. Let’s see ifwe can demystify even a few of the options available today.

For this week: what are the must-have or maybe-have onlinetools for every author?

1. Awebsite. This is truly the only absolute in publishing today. I do believe apersonal website is essential to every author. I’d go so far as to suggest thateven before your first sale, you should secure a domain name and hosting.GoDaddy offers both for reasonable fees. The most versatile platform is acontent management system like the one offered by Wordpress, which allows eventhe most non-web-savvy user to update and edit their content. Note: editors andagents are saying it frequently – they look for an author’s web presence(website) before ever signing a contract. Your website doesn’t have to befancy, but it needs to be easy to find (your name as URL, for example) and easyto read.

my Facebook Author page

2. Facebook.Love it or leave it, Facebook is an important place for you to connect with youraudience and other authors, with publishers and editors. I have created anauthor page that is separate from my personal page, which allows me to separatecontent for those two audiences (anyone can “like” your author page – theydon’t have to be a friend.) I post on my author page maybe three times a week,and on my personal page maybe once a week – but I often find links, learn news,or discover valuable information by scanning Facebook. You can configure yourauthor page to feed directly to Twitter and your personal page, or vice versa.

3. Twitter.Easy-peasy and actually fun, I tweet a couple of times a day and try tore-tweet and/or reply when I find tweets that grab me in some way. I like acombination of personal and professional, though my personal tweets I hopenever stray into the negative, ugly, or icky.

4. Ablog. Really, a blog is nothing more than a platform for you to discuss issuesyou find meaningful or important – and gather an audience along the way. It’snot essential; but it is kind of fun. Here are the important things to note: beregular (I try to blog once a week); be generous (try to host others on yourblog, and comment on/visit fellow author blogs); know your audience (are youblogging to teachers? teen readers? fellow authors? it’s hard to do it all);find your own voice (stay inside your comfort zone.) Blogger is an easyplatform, and Wordpress has the advantage of a combined blog/website platform (caution: Wordpress.org is the website platform; Wordpress.com is the blogging platform.)

Now, some basic tips.

1. SEO.This means “search engine optimization.” Links, keywords, blog titles, METAtags, hyperlinks – all of these lead to search engines finding you, yourwebsite, and your books. And, baby, it’s all about getting readers to find yourbook when they google keywords. As an example, my first novel is set inYellowstone National Park in 1904. My keywords might include Yellowstone,American history, geysers, bears, plus newer keys like Kindle young adult fiction or Nook young adult fiction.

2. Branding.Basically this means...be yourself. Find out who you are and let your readersknow about you. Really, they want to connect with you. By connecting with you,they connect with a “real author”. In addition, you can play off something keyto you – for example, I used my name by creating a fox logo and plastering iteverywhere.

3. Benice. Your mom was right. Once you're out there, people do see you.

Next week - some of the more obscure platforms. Please do chime in and add your own discoveries!

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k12: Megan Bostic

2012-01-23T16:48:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased today to bring you a second interview with a debut author from my sister class of 2k12. Megan Bostic's novel, Never Eighteen, sounds like a really wonderful and important read, and I'm very excited to introduce you to Megan. I know you'll enjoy her thoughtful answers.

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, Never Eighteen. Canyou tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

Never Eighteen is a story about love, loss,and letting go. The protagonist, Austin, is facing an uncertain future. Somany people around him are plagued by abuse, addiction, or loss that they’vequit living life, their one shot at existence. Austin decides that heneeds to go on a crusade to try to fix the things that have broken and makethose people realize that their one chance to live should not be wasted.

While on the journey Austin realizes that his own life isn’t exactly inorder and that maybe he should also tie up his own loose ends before it’s toolate.

As for inspiration, it goes back to November of 2001, when my mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. By the time they found it, it was all overher body. In March of 2002 I closed down my day care and my husband and Itook her into our home to do hospice rather than have her put into a nursinghome. So I was witness, first hand, at how a cancer patient is affectedby chemo, and medications such as morphine, and how fast the disease cantake you when not treated. When my mother-in-law was no longer conscious,the hospice nurse explained how her body was shutting down from the cancer. She was in our home less than three weeks.  

My husband actually came up withthe idea for the book, and I ran with it. I think people take life forgranted, thinking it will always be there until we're old. But what if itisn't? What if you knew you only had a short time left? What wouldyou do? Where would you go? Who would you see? Whose life would youtry and touch before your time was up?   This story is twofold though. Notonly was I a witness to my mother-in-law's cancer, but after she passed, Ididn't go back, to work. I was grieving with loads of time on my handsand needed a distraction. That's when I wrote my first novel.

What a beautiful story, and what a great inspiration. And how terrific that you turned your grief into art. How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you writtenother books or is this your first effort?

I have a total of about seven novels finished, though not edited. My first effort was a series of middle grade novels about a teenage super hero. I finished that first book about four years ago, unfortunately agents andpublishers weren’t as excited about it as I was. I complete three books in that seriesand I have three YA manuscripts finished, one of them being my debut, NeverEighteen.

Can you describe your path to the publication of Never Eighteen?

I wrote Never Eighteen back in 2008. It began life as a NaNoWriMonovel titled Mending Fences. After numerous, extensive revisions (13 tobe exact, but who’s counting, right?) I started querying it out to agents. I’d queried about twenty five, with no luck, so was about to give up, when afriend gave me another agent’s name. I told myself last one, once I’mrejected more revisions. But this agent wanted to see ten pages, thenfifty, then the full manuscript. Then she wanted to sign me. Ithought I was in some cruel nightmare and I was going to wake up at any second. But no, it was real. She sent it out to five publishers and two weeksafter I signed with her, I had a book deal. I know mine is a bit of aCinderella story, things don’t usually happen that fast in this business, but Ididn’t work outside the home at the time so I could edit full time, and myagent obviously knows the editors she works with well.

It's the perfect story! Actually, your persistence is what got you to that place. Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

I would tell beginning writers to never stop trying to improve theircraft and take criticism gracefully. As writers, we will never be perfectand there is always room for improvement. If you surround yourself withother writers, you will probably be able to find people willing to give youfeedback. Also, learn patience. This is a very slow business, in allaspects. Agents take a while to get back to you, same with publishers. Even if you get a deal, things happen at a very slow-almost-to-a-stop pace. Justto give you an idea, I was offered my deal in April, and I wasn't slated todebut until Fall 2011(changed to early 2012). Lastly I would tell beginning writers to never give upon their dreams. Even if it seems impossible, it’s not. I’m livingproof.

Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plansfor the future, goals, etc.?

I have many inspirations. The people that surround me inspire allthe time, my children, my writing friends, my non-writing friends. Andlife inspires me every day. I would say life itself is my muse andI often draw from real life experiences and emotions when I write.

Plans for the future are not as clear cut for me. Here is what Iknow: I want to continue writing, to be a good mother, sister, daughter, andfriend. I want to make good choices, but also mistakes so I can continuelearning and growing as a human being. Mostly I want to live life to itsfull potential so I don’t have too many regrets. You only have one chanceat life, and I want to make the most of it.

That's such a lovely sentiment. Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I ALWAYS have new writing ventures underway, and old ones that need editing,lol. My current favorite projects however, are two YA novels, one titledWithered about issues that arise around eating disorders, and the other iscalled Taking Zoey, which will be a very introspective story from the viewpointof a kidnapping victim. I also have an adult dystopic project I’m veryexcited about.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about Never Eighteen?

Coming to a server near you: www.meganbosticbooks.com

Holly Cupala: Don't Breathe a Word

2012-01-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

My friend Holly Cupala's debut Tell Me a Secret is one of my favorite all-time reads. I'm really excited about her new release, Don't Breathe a Word. So when she asked me to be a part of a video that she put together on the power of words, I was thrilled.

Okay, so I feel a little embarrassed by my own serious take on the subject in the midst of such a clever batch of responses; but nonetheless feel that Holly's message is the important part of her vlog. Words do have power, and we girls need to empower our younger tribe, male and female, to use their words for good.

I'm super-proud to be in the company of these writers: Justina Chen, Melissa Walker, StephanieKuehnert, Sarah Stevenson, Denise Jaden, Lish McBride, Beth Kephart, Lisa Schroeder, Cynthia Jaynes, Tara Kelly,Joelle Anthony, Stasia Ward Kehoe, Tina Ferraro, and Janet LeeCarey.

Guest Post: "What's Wrong With Me? - Reflections of an Indie Pubber"

2012-01-16T16:47:00.000-08:00

This week I'm hosting Daree Allen, who is self-publishing a book for teen girls on issues of self-esteem: What's Wrong With Me?. She's written a wonderful post about her process and the need for books like hers - and how indie publishing is, frankly, helping to fill a big hole in the book world.

There is a girl... she's trying to make sense of her life.

She's ashamed of her looks (why am I so flat-chested?) and compares herself to other girls--especially the popular ones.

She doesn't feel the love at home, doesn't see her value, and gets depressed because girls don't like her.

She wants attention.

She needs direction.

She asks over and over again... What's wrong with me?

That girl was me, and it's millions of kids and teens all over this country who identify with those same issues. My debut memoir/self-help offering, "What's Wrong With Me?," launches on Valentine's Day 2012. But it's been a challenge publishing it myself, and I admit that I made the decision was made with a lot of forethought and reluctancy.

After months of struggling in 2009, I talked to a successful literary agent about my book's concept of self-esteem and self-help from a Christian perspective. She told me that no agent would touch it. She told me it's difficult to convince the houses to publish people with a decent platform and following. They want to have a guarantee of sales.

YA fiction is a big deal, but not non-fiction. And I let my progress stunt in the beginning of my book project by focusing on these kinds of underwhelming responses from literary agents and traditional publishing houses.

Despite the overwhelming response I get from adults of the desperate need for self-esteem and empowerment resources for teens and young adults, I let this information depress me and doubt my ability to produce a book that could be used to not only share my story, but mentor teens through the problems and discouragements they face today. When girls finish reading my book, I want them to understand themselves better, feel more assertive, make better choices, and be on their way to discovering and living in their purposes and destinies. They will realize that they're not alone in the way they feel, that they don't need approval from others to validate their worth, and the importance of a personal relationship God.

It took me a long time to realize that my book sales would not be for publishing houses or large chain bookstores, but for organizations, companies, and my own speaking engagements. I started to build my confidence by thinking about the lives that would be touched, the parents I could help, and the girls for which I could become a source of hope. While still finishing "What's Wrong With Me?" the book, I also created and completed the "What's Wrong With Me? Reflections Journal," which is a hybrid journal/workbook that digs deeper into the reader's personal thoughts about the topics in the book.

I created Kharacter Distinction Books in 2011 and began hiring my staff of editors, graphic designers, web developers, and a project manager. I found some of these contractors through referrals, and hired a few people from Elance. The experience of managing other people's work for my book project was very disheartening and frustrating for me. Self-discipline is one thing, but in dealing with a lack of accountability and responsibility in others is quite another. I've had several quitters (one proofreader, one designer, and one web developer), and a couple of flakes. I'm a self-described goal-getter and somewhat ambitious, but I know my limits. However, many people get in over their head with work tasks and didn't fill me in until it was too late. I've learned a lot about time management, people management, and interpersonal communication, and I'm still learning.

But look--here I am, with not one, but two books ready to go. And I won't stop now.

Daree Allen is an authorpreneur, young adult esteem advocate, speaker, and goal-getter in Atlanta, GA. She has published articles on a variety of topics as a freelance writer and blogger, and is the author of the new teen mentoring book entitled, "What's Wrong With Me?" in which she discusses her own childhood dealing with self-esteem, premarital sex, family and personal relationships. Find out more about her work at www.dareesinsights.wordpress.com and www.DareeAllen.com.

Debut Writers of the Class of 2k12: Caroline Starr Rose

2012-01-08T16:22:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2012!

I'm delighted to be able to introduce readers to authors from my sister Class of 2k12, just as I did for previous 2k classes. I continue to be impressed by how many of our class members have crafted novels that have won awards, garnered fabulous reviews, and won devoted readers to their great books.

That is certainly true of the first of the 2k12 novels, MAY B. Rave reviews have accompanied the launch of this wonderful story. I'm so pleased that Caroline Starr Rose is here today.

Congratulationson the publication of your novel, MAY B. Can you tell us a bit about the storyand what inspired it?

MAY B. isthe story of twelve-year-old May Betterly, who must survive a blizzard -- alone-- on the Kansas frontier.

I’ve alwayshad an interest in the women of the frontier, stemming from my love for TheLittle House on the Prairie collection. As a child, I’d talk about Laura as ifshe were someone I personally knew. I’d devote a lot of time wondering abouther world: how she’d never seen a town until she was five, how she didn’t go toschool until she was seven, how a penny in her Christmas stocking was such abig deal.

Lookingback, it seems inevitable I’d develop my own strong prairie girl.

How longhave you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or isthis your first effort?

I startedwriting in 1998, during summer vacation (I was teaching at the time). By thetime MAY B. sold, I’d written four novels and seven picture books.

Four novels! That just shows the importance of experience. Can youdescribe your path to the publication of MAY B?

I made thecrazy decision to stop teaching at the end of the 2008-2009 school year andwrite full time (crazy because I had no agent, no book offer, and no realprospects). MAY B. had just won first place for a novel excerpt at a localwriting conference, and I decided it was the time to take a chance.

I queriedfrantically and signed with my agent, Michelle Humphrey of ICM, at the end ofSeptember 2009. MAY B. sold at auction in March 2010. Lest this journey soundseasy, here are my stats:

200+ directrejections from editors over 11 years

75+ agentrejections

10 or somore rejections once on submission with my agent

3 bids

1 sale

I love those stats, because they show the value of persistence. Do you haveany advice for beginning writers?

Readbroadly, remember you have something unique to say, be willing to fail.

Can you tellus something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future,goals, etc.?

I’ve just started running again after many injuries in thelast few years. I’m not fast, and I can’t cover more than a few miles, but itfeels so wonderful to be able to come back to something I love. Hopefully Ihave a race or two in my future.

Since Caroline sent me her interview answers, she added this: "I've runthree half marathons since then -- slow and steady, but my gosh, 13.1 miles isnothing to sneeze at." Clearly Caroline knows about persistence.

My family has just moved back to my hometown, Albuquerque,NM, so my husband can start a new Presbyterian Church (PCA). I’d love to seethis beautiful city loved on and bolstered by this future congregation.

Do you haveany new writing ventures underway?

My picturebook, OVER IN THE WETLANDS, focuses on the animals and plants of SouthernLouisiana. If it sells, I’d like to donate a portion of sales to wetlandsrestoration.

I’m in theprocess of researching for an eventual verse novel about a Gitano (SpanishGypsy) girl.

Do you havea website where readers can learn more about MAY B?

Yes!

Please stop by!

www.carolinestarrrose

Thanks, Caroline!

Welcome to Guest Doris Fisher

2012-01-02T15:35:00.000-08:00

To kick off the New Year I invited picture book author and puzzle mistress Doris Fisher to write a guest post, and she has chosen to talk about humor - which we all know is the best way to engage readers, especially beginning readers - most especially when those books attempt to teach concepts, which as you can see is Doris's special gift.

I love humor in picture books for beginning readers.Learning to read is hard work. There are twenty-six letters in the alphabet torecognize. And each one makes a different sound whenpronounced. On top of that there are five vowels that each has a long and shortsound.

Now throw in punctuation marks to know…periods, commas, colons,apostrophes, question marks and exclamation marks! Not to mention the dreaded semi-colonthat stops readers in their tracks, scratching their heads. What the heck doesthat dot and comma mean? Really, it should be outlawed. Just create twosentences.

Humor encourages the new reader and promises a few laughs alongthe way. Like Mary Poppins sang, “Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicinego down.” If I can amuse a child and sneak in a bit of information in the text,I think my writing is worthwhile. In HappyBirthday to Whooo??? the animal birth announcements I created relay all kindsof details about baby animals, each written with a touch of wordplay to attractthe reader.

Likewise I call my other three picture books, math with alaugh. One Odd Day, My Even Day, and My Half Day allintroduce number concepts, but in a way that engrosses the reader. Along withgreat illustrations by Karen Lee, these books contain a “seek and find” elementfor the number concept detailed in each book.

A puzzle creator to the max, my word puzzles, mazes and codes also contain humor,tongue-in cheek references and funny clip art to decorate the pages. I wasfortunate enough to speak about creating work for magazines at the BrazosValley SCBWI Conference in November. I had a great time remembering all mymagazine articles and puzzles to include in a power point presentation.

My website has puzzles on it to print and solve. And Ialways have a monthly book giveaway on my website. So click on over, enter andbecome a winner of one of my books in paperback. And remember, laughter is thebest medicine, so they say.

Doris Fisher

www.abcdoris.com

Happy Holidays!!

2011-12-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

To all my friends, fans, and readers...

From our "house" to yours...the happiest wishes of the season!

Voices You Should Hear: Leda Schubert

2011-12-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

In all fairness, I should say up front that not only is Leda Schubert one of my most favorite people on the planet, but she also was my mentor for my second novel, Forgiven, when she was my last advisor (creative thesis semester) at Vermont College of Fine Arts. So any gushing you may sense from me is warranted. Even more so because Leda is supremely smart, funny, and talented, and hey - she loves dogs. I was thrilled that she agreed to answer questions for me so that I can bring you her answers.

Let’s start with your latest picture book, The Princessof Borscht (Bonnie Christensen, Illus.; Roaring Brook, 2011).Congratulations on all the terrific reviews (and they are terrific!!) I love the idea of food ascure-all (especially borscht) and as a centerpiece for the characterinteractions. Are you a cook? Do you think food holds “magic” properties?Please tell readers something about how this book came together for you.

Thanks, Janet! To answer this question, I have toorder my few remaining brain cells back almost ten years and visit some ancientcomputer files. Most of you know that picture books can take a very long time,but this one took even longer. The short version: I started it in 2003 when myhusband said offhandedly (I think) that someone should write a book aboutborscht. So I did. It went through many, many, many, many drafts. Many. Evensome VCFA faculty had things to say about it (“Start over.” “No one in hisright mind wants to read a book about borscht.” “What the heck is borscht?”Etc.)

Am I a cook? No. I hate to cook. I could live on bread,cheese, and salads, but I somehow suspect that is not an entirely healthfuldiet. So I do cook some things. About four. And I don’t eat anything thathas/had four legs. (Once I thought chicken had four legs so I didn’t eat it foryears. Maybe I am kidding.)

Does food have magic properties? Yes. It does. Somebodyshould bring me some; that’s what I think. Chocolate especially has magicproperties. Especially dark chocolate with hazelnuts.

(Dark chocolate - we share another passion...) You also have an earlier fall 2011 release, Reading toPeanut (Amanda Haley, Illus., Holiday House). I happen to know you havestrong feelings about dogs (which I share). Who are the current dog-members ofyour family? What do they think about Peanut?

How much time do we have? I’ll rein myself in. Thecurrent dog members are Pippa and Pogo. Both are mutts, but they are alsoso-called designer dogs, Goldendoodles. We did not pay goldendoodle prices foreither one, and they’re both Vermont natives. Pogo is the sweetest person onthe planet; he is pure love. Pippa—well, she’s a case. She’s the mostindependent dog I’ve ever had, and I’ve had several. It’s not that she dislikesus; she just has many things to do that don’t involve us.

As for Peanut, they both believe that more dogs are always agood thing. I’m sure they’d love to have another dog (Bob, husband dear, areyou listening?)

You have six published picture books to your credit,including the multi-award winner Ballet of the Elephants (Robert AndrewParker, Illus.; Roaring Brook, 2006.) Have you thought about writing somethinglonger? What draws you to the picture book format? And...will the picture bookformat survive its current turmoil?

I’ve written a novel (actually I’ve written threenovels) that’s set during McCarthyism and is about a girl growing up in aleftist family that’s under suspicion. It’s been roundly rejected, and I’m notsure I want to revise it any more. So it’s lurking around somewhere. So are thetwo earlier novels. Instead, I’m working on a longer piece of nonfiction forkids.

As for the picture book, I’d like to believe it willsurvive, because I love picture books with all my heart and soul. I cannotimagine a world without Horton, Ferdinand, Madeline, Max, --- in fact, maybe one of the reasonspicture books are in crisis is because characters as memorable as those aren’tbeing created as often.

You were a librarian for years and served on awardscommittees. How have these experiences colored your work?

Leda, hiding behind Pogo and snuggling with Pippa

It’s hard to describe the intensity of thoseexperiences. My Caldecott committee was one of the professional highlights ofmy life. The quality of discussion, the brilliance of the committee members,the respect for artists and authors, and the leadership provided by our chair changedmy life. I’m a better person for that experience, I hope. The Globe-Horn Bookaward committee has fewer guidelines and more books to read and I loved workingwith the other two women during that year.

For much longer periods of time I was on two of Vermont’schildren’s choice awards committees: the Red Clover Award and the DorothyCanfield Award. During those years, I read hundreds and hundreds ofchildren’s/YA books every year. What an incredible privilege—and what aneducation. So much of what is published disappoints; so much of what is gooddoesn’t get “buzz” and disappears.

Most of my committee experience was before blogs gained thepower they have now. I believe that blogging is changing the whole world ofchildren’s books in ways that are both good and bad. I worry.

I’m eternally grateful to have had you as one of my advisorswhile I was a student at Vermont College of Fine Arts. What is the best thingabout teaching? Can you share any fun stories about VCFA (trick question)?

The best thing about teaching, Janet, is theopportunity to work with students like you. I think all of us on the facultylearn as much, if not more, from our students as they learn from us. To read isone thing; to read and articulate responses is another; to read and articulateresponses in a way that might push a student to a place she didn’t think shecould go is pretty darned amazing.

Funny or fun stories about VCFA? Everything that happensthere is fun, right? Guessing what’s for lunch, meeting all your friends in thecommunal bathrooms, waiting for the water to heat up, looking forcaffeine---but you probably mean something more. I laugh more during residencythan I do the whole rest of the year. And I suspect the students have even morefun than the faculty. (We have a ton!)

Please tell us about the forthcoming Monsieur Marceau(Gerard DuBois, Illus., Roaring Brook, 2012).

Right after M. Marceau died, my agent, Steven Chudney,suggested I might think about writing a picture book biography. I rarely takesuggestions from someone else (though this long blog post points to two suchinstances, hmmm), but this one resonated, particularly when I became immersedin research and learned about Marceau’s actions during WWII, which I had knownnothing about. The more I learned of Marceau’s life, the more convinced I wasto tell the story. Oddly enough, I studied mime in my senior in college withJan Kessler, and a student of Marceau’s, Rob Mermin, lives close by.

Neal Porter accepted the manuscript in 2008; it will bepublished next fall (2012). I’ve recently seen the proofs, and I was completelyoverwhelmed by the gorgeous art Gerard DuBois has created. He’s French andlives in Montreal. Wait until you see it!

Want to share a favorite borscht recipe?

It’s on the back of THE PRINCESS OF BORSCHT! Simple as couldbe. There are more complex recipes as well. They’re all good. Beets are good.

What’s the best way for readers to find out more about youand your work?

I do have a website which I maintain myself through theAuthors Guild. It’s nothing fancy, but I update it frequently. www.ledaschubert.com

Janet, thanks so much for interviewing me. It’s almost asgood as sitting in Noble Lounge at VCFA and talking with you.

Likewise. Almost. Sigh.

And The Winner Is...

2011-12-19T09:11:00.000-08:00

Drawn from the "random hat generator" the winner of my give-away is (drumroll...)

Kelly!

Congrats to Kelly and THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by. Happy Holidays and keep watching because I will do more drawings in the future. Plus cover reveals, teasers, and excerpts from works in the works.

Hugs! - Janet

Holiday Thank-you and Give-away!

2011-12-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

I want to send a warm thank you to all my readers, fans, and friends. I’ve heard so many lovely comments from you about Faithful and Forgiven, and it means so much to me. I’m in the edit stage with my third historical YA, set in 1925 New York City, and featuring a gangster, a love story, a friendship, and a mystery that may have to do with a ghost (Moll was the tentative title but it may be in for a title change...coming soon. Plus, advance teasers...)

As a way of giving back to my loyal fans I’m running a holiday give-away. The prize will be your choice of one copy of either Faithful or Forgiven. The winner’s name will be drawn from among the entries.

If I receive more than 50 comments to this post, I’ll draw a second winner.

Here are the rules:

Comment on this post: 1 point

Tell me you’ve tweeted this: 1 point

Like my Author Facebook page: 1 point. (If you already have liked it, just let me know.)

Each point puts your name in the hat once.

Here’s a chance for you to win one of my books for yourself or as a holiday gift. The deadline is December 18^th, and I can put signed books in the mail directly to you or your gift recipient for a timely delivery.

Thank you all for your support and kind words, and the best of the season to you!

Voices You Should Hear: John Michael Cummings

2011-11-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

Not long ago I received a collection of short stories under the title Ugly to Start With. Written by my guest today, John Michael Cummings, they feature a young man with a unique voice and clear-eyed view of the adult world, and I'm delighted that John, an accomplished award-winning author, agreed to this interesting and telling interview.

Please give readers a synopsis of your new collection of short stories, Ugly to Start With.

Here’s the synopsis the publisher and I came up with, which is pretty good: Jason Stevens is growing up in picturesque, historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in the 1970s. Back when the roads are smaller, the cars slower, the people more colorful, and Washington, D.C. is way across the mountains—a winding sixty-five miles away.

Jason dreams of going to art school in the city, but he must first survive his teenage years. He witnesses a street artist from Italy charm his mother from the backseat of the family car. He stands up to an abusive husband—and then feels sorry for the jerk. He puts up with his father’s hard-skulled backwoods ways, his grandfather’s showy younger wife, and the fist-throwing schoolmates and eccentric mountain characters that make up Harpers Ferry—all topped off by a basement art project with a girl from the poor side of town.

Your main character, Jason, is an appealing teen with a distinctive voice, and the thread of the stories connects through him. Did you intend to write a collection, or did Jason drive the narrative?

No, I didn’t set out to write a collection. Some writers do, and it’s an admirable project—a unified body of short narratives.

For years I’ve been striving to publish book-length works. As far as I know, that’s how to offer readers something of prosy bulk they can hold on to; a story or poem in a literary journal is easily lost, I’m afraid. A writer could publish seventy-five stories in seventy-five different literary journals and magazines and never be a blip on the literary radar. I’m talking about myself! Before I published my first novel, that was my fate. I’m still largely unknown, but my first novel stands in the cosmos of print as a kind of point of light at least. Call it a nano-star.

So I’ve been striving for years to publish book-length works. Believe it or not, even with 75 stories in print, I could barely scrape together 13 stories (that’s how many are in this collection) that glimmer in any sort of sequence and offer both a variety and a cohesion—so so tricky to achieve.

The best way I can explain this trick is, think of songs on an album: 6 or 8 have the same flavor of voice, with one or two oddballs thrown in to keep it interesting.

So initially I managed to come up a theme of self-image for about 15 stories, and with the help of the team at West Virginia University Press, we reordered and shaped them to make them more continuous, cutting some, adding others. I should back up and say that of my 75 stories in print, the last 30 have been about Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where I grew, and rendered in an open, unfussy youthful voice. Those 30 tales gave me my best chance of finding a taut collection. (The others were largely showy and scant, and a little off-putting with a disdainful hero).

But again, without editors and outside readers for WVU Press—suggesting which stories bounced them out of the theme and where the theme seeking lacking so that others could be added in, the collection would not have been created. I myself just didn’t have the perspective. They did, and they were very good about it. They were also very good in line by line editing.

I should note that even though all the stories have previously appeared in literary journals, some changes were made to them for this collection, for the sake of cohesion. (To toot my horn, “The Scratchboard Project,” a kind of anchor story for the collection and also the longest, first appeared in The Iowa Review. It was both nominated for The Pushcart Prize and an honor mention in The Best American Short Stories 2007.)

So to answer your question, Jason ultimately drives the narrative. His youthful voice has appeared in so many of my short narratives that eventually I came up with 13 jigsaw puzzle pieces to fit together into a collection.

I love the evocative setting. Please talk about what it means to you.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, was my early world. Today it’s still the wallpaper in my brain; I can’t close my eyes at night without seeing the old historic town.

But here’s where it gets dicey. I love the place—I hate the place. I’m gigantic there—I’m tiny there. I’m happy, I’m despicable. I’m ambitious, I’m depressed. I’m healthy, sick. You see, the town splits me in half. Aesthetically, it defined me. Emotionally, it traumatized me.

The short answer is, the town may be the most hauntingly beautiful place ever. The other answer is, it’s a void, a hole of existential despair, a place where creeping emotions finish up in melancholy, where an aching emptiness clings to the mountainside, making faces in the rock as much grotesque as sympathetic. It’s a town where a sensitive sort can go mad with desires repressed and memories imagined, with obsessive, exaggerated reactions to the insidiously sublime world around them.

Do I sound strange? Perhaps yes. But this is my artist’s view of a town famous in history for the abolitionist John Brown’s 1859 raid.

Souls who live there today are unwittingly confused, menaced, and irreversibly changed. The place laughs at time. It’s original name was “The Hole.” Need I say more. The place began and will end with an overriding hopelessness in its air. Yes, life goes on there, quietly importantly, but human existence is without meaning and purpose.

This I swear. You would not want me writing its travel brochure.

I’m sure readers would love to hear something about your “writer’s journey” – your first publication, early experiences, or any start-up stories you wish to share.

Me Write?

In 1989, I was a 26-year-old art student who probably hadn’t read his first novel. Secretly, though, I loved words, just not those written down, but sung. Bruce Springsteen’s songs, in particular, had as much meaning as my ears could hear. No artist put as much heart and soul into ordinary words as he did.

How could so much human meaning be captured on the page without music?

During an elective poetry course at George Mason University, I tried to find out. As an experiment, I typed out lyrics to a few of his songs, put in line breaks to make them look like poems, printed them out, and read them quietly.

They were terrible! I was shocked. Nothing. Flat. Where was all the heartfelt feeling so richly steeped in the music?

Whatever I would write in my poetry class, it would not sound like Bruce.

Around this time, by chance I opened a book by John Updike—and out poured sentences bejeweled with commas and printed in Technicolor:

Now this was writing! The visual artist in me was enchanted. His sentences were endless and ornate, like fancy, curly, golden lines on sensationally green Victorian wallpaper.

As I went on to finish my degree in art, I found myself writing. For years afterward, I referred to Updike’s Trust Me collection for technique and range in narratives. As my stories written in his style began to be published, I grew bigheaded and overly confident. I scowled at the idea of master’s program in writing. And why not? My undergraduate degree wasn’t in English or writing, but still I was getting published. (In fact, not six months after graduating, I even got a job as a newspaper reporter with my art degree by putting together a few mock news stories and pulling off a certain moxie in my interview.)

I was all the more smug. Writers aren’t made in classrooms, I told myself. They’re forged out in the real world or in their hovels, alone.

Over the next decade, leaving both formal education and journalism behind, I moved around, working odd jobs, writing creatively as much as I could: photocopy clerk at night in D.C., office temp in Minneapolis, and innkeeper in Newport, Rhode Island. I had few friends and romanticized my isolation. I was a writer after all, fated to suffer. Yet I remained highly ambitious. When I published ten stories, I had to publish twenty. Then thirty. What little money I earned went, in large part, to stamps for submissions.

Then I undertook a novel—and fell flat on my face. Manuscript after manuscript, revision after revision, was rejected. I was dumbfounded by the comments. What was meant by narrative arc? Didn’t plot exist necessarily? Rotating point of view—huh?

My lack of reading was clearly exposed. The fancy descriptive writing I had modeled after John Updike’s New Yorker stories, when spread out over a hundred pages, left a void where plot and action should have been. My novel didn’t develop. Worse, it repeated itself.

I was left with questions that took me back to the starting point. What makes a writer? What’s in his heart? Does he embody the truth? More important, what’s his mission and what are his limits? Then there were more specific questions. What was my unique style? Should I agonize over every word? Or should I be frank and plainspoken like my father and others where I grew up?

In my correspondence with publishers, I was referred to Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, in the last chapter of which I found the commandment: “Write in a way that comes naturally…”

While I understood the general idea, it gave rise to more questions. What if nothing comes naturally? Or what if what “comes naturally” is bad writing?

I decided I would take my questions to the source. I drove up to Ipswich, Massachusetts, where, nosing around the antique stores, I came across a local lady all too willing to gab about the town’s most famous resident, American author John Updike, including where he lived. Following her directions, I turned at the bridge outside town and took the snaky road through the trees. I was brave and excited until I passed through a high gate and looked up to see a majestic white mansion on the hill overlooking the cold blue Atlantic. My car lost its rev, and the courage in my chest turned to lead. Meanwhile, the driveway was delivering me right up to the gleaming white Doric columns that stood on either side of Mr. Updike’s front door like well-uniformed sentries. It was evening, and I was slipping in during the rose-tinted hour between day and night. In an inglorious moment, I scampered out of my running car and up to his grand door, where I leaned my latest manuscript against the jamb so that the big envelope would plop down on the toes of his oxblood slippers when he emerged. In a no less inglorious moment, I scurried back to my car and zoomed away, my head swirling in disbelief. I had done it. Not very magnificently, but I done it.

Updike, to my surprise, wrote to me: “There are many nice touches in these pages. Try to generate more suspense the reader is curious about. Keep writing. But don’t keep bringing your work to me. I’m a dead-end. You need an editor.”

I’m a dead-end? The man could move publishing empires around with a phone call.

As I held his typewritten note in my hands, I could not believe what I was seeing. His typewriter had flying caps. He had left an “s” off “touches” and added the letter in blue pen. He missed a comma too--though who was I to make this assumption? He might be breaking a rule at his discretion.

I was seeing something else. He was polite. He was brief. He wrote in short, normal sentences. Strange, of all the lengthy, elaborate sentences of his I had read over the years, these few short, plain ones were ones I understood best. He was, for the first time, real.

At the time, I was working at a literary agency in New York, learning all about how big publishing is an unforgiving, money-driven business. I had already been urged by agents to forget Updike’s exquisitely vivid adjectives. Make me care, all the agents were crying. Don’t write tortuous, snakelike sentences, they said. Get in on the Toni Morrison style.

Amid all this New York palaver of writing, I was realizing that my voice came from my West Virginia roots, not from Brooklyn’s parade of writers, not from pugs like Norman Mailer or upstarts like Rick Moody. Keep it true, in other words. All the artfully bundled phrases in the world, all the dense and sweetly rhythmic words, can’t say the sky is blue.

Please tell readers where they can learn more about you and your books.

Here are three great sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Michael_Cummings

http://wvupressonline.com/cummings_ugly_to_start_with_9781935978084

http://www.johnmichaelcummings.com/

Waiting...Extreme Waiting

2011-11-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

Recently I've heard lots of talk about something authors are all too familiar with: waiting.

In the old days (at least this is how I imagine things) an author working in a solitary aerie would pound the keys until completing a masterful tome, and three days after mailing a box of loose pages to Major New York Publisher, the MNYP editor would call with great news: "This is a best seller! It'll be out for the holidays!"

Today, we write for a year, maybe two; we share with our critique partners; we revise; we send to our agent; we wait; we hear from agent and revise again; we wait; we hear that agent has received "no's"; we wait; we hear from an interested editor; we revise for editor; we wait; the book goes to committee; we wait; the book sells; we wait; we revise; the book's launch is bumped; we wait....well, that's the idea. And that's if you're lucky enough to have an agent who eventually sells your book.

Recently Steve Mooser of SCBWI crafted an excellent editorial in the Newsletter asking editors to be mindful that the new policy of "if you don't hear from us in 3 months, we aren't interested" is, well, cruel. That policy is hard on authors who sit on pins and needles, waiting, hoping. What happens after 3 months? How should an author feel? It's disheartening and enervating. I agree with Steve, though I don't know that this policy will go away any time soon.

So I've learned to think of this in a new way. Personally, I don't wait well (part of my anal control-freak nature). So I don't wait. I work.

The minute a manuscript goes out the door, in whatever direction, I begin or dive back into a new project. My own MO is to work on a very different type of project - say, moving from YA to MG or from historical to fantasy. I have to put the other work out of my mind, and in fact I look upon the waiting as a gift. A gift of time to start something new, to be creative, to read things I wouldn't read otherwise, to go back to my pile of craft books for new inspiration, to meet with colleagues, to catch up on publishing trends, to improve my craft.

I propose a new author game. Let's call it Extreme Waiting. Extreme Waiting is energetic and thrilling, rather than tedious. Extreme Waiting is a time of growth, development, renewal.

What do you say? I'll meet you on the keystroke. Let's go for the gold!

Galaxy Games: Greg Fishbone on Books for Boys

2011-10-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Greg Fishbone has written a fun, funny middle grade - Galaxy Games - that will appeal to young teen boys, especially boys who aren't ordinarily drawn to reading. As part of his blog tour I was delighted when he offered to write the following post on "books for boys."

Greg is also running a contest as part of his blog tour and here's today's clue:

Puzzle Piece #25 is here:

http://galaxygam.es/tour/files/comics/2011-10-27-c3123269.jpg

Books for Boys: What Keeps Them Reading?

I was in a classroom recently where reading-time was used as a reward for students who finished their other work. It was easy to tell which students were the readers in the class: boys and girls who raced through their work for a chance to spend a few extra minutes engaged with a book. A solid majority of the class seemed indifferent and probably would not have been reading if computer activities had been an option instead. Then there were those students who lingered over math assignments so they wouldn't have to crack open a novel; who chose the books from the classroom library with the highest ratio of pictures to words; who acted silly instead of reading; who subverted the process by picking the Guinness Book of World Records instead of a book with a narrative and plot.

These were the reluctant readers and in this particular classroom, they were all boys.

What does it take to engage reluctant readers? Thin books with cartoony cover art. Books with interior illustrations, especially graphic novels. Content that seems subversive. Humor. Science fiction. Sports. Books that tie into Star Wars, superheroes, video games, or other media. Books with boys as main characters. Short chapters. These books will get the boys reading, but I believe there is also a strong need for transitional books that are more challenging and literary while retaining the fun and accessible qualities that reluctant readers enjoy. To keep the boys reading, we need to up the ante.

We need books that continue to appeal to reluctant readers as they gain confidence and become less-reluctant readers. We need books that transition formerly-reluctant readers into almost-enthusiastic readers. We need books that will make today's reluctant readers into parents who model pleasure reading for their own children.

Getting reluctant readers into books today is a good start, but turning them into life-long readers should be the overriding goal.

Greg R. Fishbone, Author - gfishbone.com - Twitter @tem2

The Challengers - Book #1 in the Galaxy Games Series

Follow the Galaxy Games Blog Tour, all October long!

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Kiki Hamilton

2011-10-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to be able to bring you another interview with one of the incredibly talented members of the Class of 2k11, Kiki Hamilton. Her debut novel, THE FAERIE RING, is exactly the kind of book I would curl up to read as a girl. Part fantasy, part historical, and (and this is the best part) part of a series! So, go ahead and fall in love!

And when you see some of Kiki's other upcoming work, why, I'm betting we'll be hearing lots about this gal.

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, THE FAERIE RING. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

Thank you so much! I’m so excited for THE FAERIE RING to release on September 8^th, 2011!

I’ve always loved the idea of things not being what they seem. That other dimensions or worlds exist side by side with our own, just beyond our ken; that the scope of our world is more than just the three dimensions that we are able to easily comprehend. At the same time, I’m intrigued by the past, by our history, by what may have occurred that might not have been formally documented for future generations. The untold story, if you will. And I am particularly fascinated with those untold stories that have a thread of documented fact woven through them, which makes the reader question whether they are reading fiction or nonfiction. A story that makes the reader say..”what if?”

The idea for THE FAERIE RING started with Tiki, an orphan, who survives on the streets of Victorian London as a pickpocket. I knew I wanted to write a story about a girl pickpocket because so often, girls / women have been cast as the weaker sex in books and movies and yet in my experience, women are often the brains and backbone behind the scenes. Victorian London is a mysterious and magical time in history. It is an era of great change, great technological advances, yet at the same time, beliefs in the occult remained strong. Additionally, the era offers a startling dichotomy between the classes and the way people lived, providing a great gap of motivations.

So, I had a pickpocket who was clever yet sensitive and a mysterious time in history. After Tiki stole the Queen’s ring, the next question I asked myself was: What if someone else wanted the ring? What if there was something unseen happening in London at the same time? So Tiki told me what happened next.

I wrote the first draft of THE FAERIE RING in thirty days.

How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

I have been writing seriously for about five years. THE FAERIE RING was the second book I wrote. Since, I have written several others – see my answer below.

Can you describe your path to the publication of THE FAERIE RING?

My road to getting published was pretty typical. After writing, revising (and revising) my first book, I queried several agents. While I waited, I wrote another book – THE FAERIE RING. My agent asked for revisions on the first book so when I sent that back I mentioned TFR and she said to send that as well. She signed me for both books but went out with THE FAERIE RING first, which sold to Susan Chang of Tor Teen.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

My advice is to never give up. It takes HARD work to write a book. One of the sayings pasted to my computer is this:

“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”

The same is true of writing. Take classes, read books on craft, read books that you love and think about why you love them. And write and write. Get critiques and don’t be afraid to revise. The work is often in the revision. You can do it. Never give up.

Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

I’d love to do more traveling. I got to go to London for the first time in my life AFTER I’d written THE FAERIE RING. I fell in love with that city! And it was totally surreal to walk in Tiki’s (the main character of TFR) footsteps from Charing Cross to St. James Park to Buckingham Palace. I want to go back there and to Ireland. I have another book that has parts set in Paris, so I’d like to go back there, as well. Also, I have lots of ideas for more books so I’d love to be able to have the time to write them all!

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

As a matter of fact – I have several. I have already written the second book (THE TORN WING) in THE FAERIE RING series and I’m over halfway through the third book (THE TARA STONE). Also, I’ve written a YA contemporary novel with a hint of paranormal entitled PULSE. After I finish THE TARA STONE I’m going finish a YA Steampunk Fantasy called ENIGMA which is set in London in 1895. No rest for the wicked, you know. ;-)

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about THE FAERIE RING?

Yes! Please visit my blog at www.kikihamilton.blogspot.com which also has links to my website along with a map of London 1871. I’d love to hear from you and your readers!

Janet, thanks so much for having me!

Mistress of the Craft: Martha Alderson, "The Plot Whisperer"

2011-10-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

One of the things I've struggled with the most throughout my writing career is plot. How could I create a novel that is both compelling and perfectly paced, without plot holes or draggy moments?

When, years ago, I discovered Martha Alderson, aka "The Plot Whisperer," I found answers. This is especially true since I am what she calls a "seat of the pants" writer. I've purchased her books and DVDs and used them over and over. And check out her blog - she has fantastic tips there, and you can sign up for her newsletter.

I was truly delighted when Martha contacted me to host her on the eve of the launch of her latest book on this confounding subject: THE PLOT WHISPERER: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master (Adams Media, a division of F+W Media; October 18, 2011). Martha agreed to write a guest post on the revision process (another constant struggle, and trust me, I'm going to take the advice she gives below), and I'm thrilled to bring it to you.

Congratulations. You have written the first draft of your story. Before you embark on your first major rewrite, first take time to re-“vision” the overall project.

The first draft of a writing project is the generative phase. Rather than become dismayed when you are faced with a manuscript full of holes and missteps, even confusion and chaos, accept that this is part of the process.

Your first draft is a fragile thread of a dream. You know what you want to convey—well, maybe. Few writers adequately communicate a complete vision in the first draft of a story, especially when writing by the seat of your pants.

Without reading your story from beginning to end, for now simply create a list of scenes or chapters. Then, make a new plot planner by locating and filling in the four energetic markers—the end of the beginning, the halfway point, the crisis, and the climax. This allows you to analyze your story from a plot and structural level without becoming seduced by the actual words themselves.

1. Assign different colored sticky notes for the protagonist and one or two major characters. Give all the other characters the same color. Link the protagonist’s emotional chronology from scene to scene.
2. Sticky notes of one color follow the energetic intensity in the dramatic action in every scene, above or below the line. Place scenes that hold tension above the line. Put scenes with no conflict below the line.
3. Now, stand back from the plot planner and evaluate how many scenes fall above and below the line, and where. Consider how the rising and falling energy influences the pace of the story.
4. Next, compare the beginning and the end of your story. How do they tie together? Do both the dramatic action plot and character emotional development plot coalesce at the end for more punch and impact? Does the beginning foreshadow this clash?
5. Draw a line connecting the scenes that are linked by cause and effect. To determine the coherence of the overall story and the linkage between scenes, use your plot planners as a cause-and effect vision board.

Once you have let your story rest for at least a few days, read your manuscript all the way through one time as a reader. Keep the next draft in the back of your mind. You may find you have completely zoned out about the character’s emotions in your zeal to create lots of zip and zing in the dramatic action, or in your passion to create a binding historical and/or political timeline. Notice when the dramatic action plot is physical and concrete.

Feel when the character emotional plot is emotional, sensuous, and human. Read for the sequence of the dramatic action and where, in the next draft, you’ll want to explore and discover the character’s emotional development in greater depth.

If, when you reread your manuscript, you find that you have neglected the dramatic action plot, create concrete goals in the next draft that incite the protagonist to action.

Investigate how the loss, betrayal, hurt, or abandonment in the protagonist’s backstory affects her as she moves from and reacts to one action scene after another. Watch for references and hints of themes, and when and how thematic elements of the plot are most accessible.

In the next read-through, make notes on the rough draft hard copy of scenes that need to be cleaned up, expanded, and deepened in their treatment of the characters, action, and theme.

You may find the first draft is wobbly and scenes ramble. The complete vision of your story was a bit hazy the first time through. The action was tangled. The protagonist comes off as bewildering. You have glossed over an energetic marker or two. Don’t panic—this is good. As a matter of fact, the worse the first draft, the better. Trying for perfection before you know what you are trying to convey commonly leads to procrastination.

As you did with the first draft, write this new draft as quickly as possible all the way to the end. Work out the really big issues first and forget about the details for now.

When you finish the next draft(s) and you are certain that the core dramatic action plot and character emotional development plot work and the “vision” of your story is clear, use the next rewrite to begin grafting on details.

Martha Alderson has worked with hundreds of writers in sold-out plot workshops, retreats, and plot consultations for more than fifteen years. Her clients include bestselling authors, New York editors, and Hollywood movie directors. She lives in Santa Cruz, CA. Follow her blog, workshops, vlog, or follow her on twitter and facebook.

Voices You Should Hear: Tami Lewis Brown

2011-10-03T15:42:00.000-07:00

Kidlit writers are some of the nicest people on the planet. And one of my favorite people in the kidlit world is Tami Lewis Brown.

Tami is not only sweet and generous, she's also talented. Her middle grade debut novel, The Map of Me, is outstanding - I predict that it will be read and loved and rewarded. Tami has written a wonderful blog post for me, and I'm proud to bring it to you.

Middle grade novels and their protagonists come in every flavor—Nancy Drew to Artemis Fowl to India Opal Buloni. Eight to twelve year olds want to be entertained with fun light reads, but kids who love to read also want to dive into a book that touches their budding emotional lives. They yearn to explore horizons beyond home and school and a serious middle grade novel can chart the way.

Eight to twelve-year-olds are fluent readers and the books written for them are windows into the great big outside world, perhaps offering them a taste before they explore that territory for themselves. Middle grade books offer entertainment—no nine-year-old will sit still for a boring book—but they can also serve up complex emotion and writing every bit as sophisticated as YA or even adult novels.

But even though every adult was once a middle grade reader, grown-ups in our country seems to suffer from some kind of adult onset reading amnesia. Many adults believe middle grade books are simplistic. Easy to read. Even easier to write.

No way.

Try one of these passages on for size:

I come from a family with a lot of dead people . . . (Daddy) say “It’s not how you die that makes the important impression, Comfort; it’s how you live.”

Debbie Wiles’ EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS

When Jamie saw him throw the baby, saw Van throw the little baby, saw Van throw his little sister Nin, when Jamie saw Van throw his baby sister Nin, then they moved.

Carolyn Coman’s WHAT JAMIE SAW

There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road.

Kathi Appelt’s THE UNDERNEATH

The stories these books tell and the writing these writers use to tell it are every bit as sophisticated as any novel for older readers. Actually they’re even better because these writers fully respect their readers, often exposing them to difficult concepts and well-chosen words for the first time. Great middle grade authors put me in the mind of butterfly hunters as they catch elusive ideas with nets spun of prose, trapping tough concepts just long enough for young readers to observe and understand truths.

I wrote about hard ideas in THE MAP OF ME—exploring tough subjects with images and language middle grade readers relate to. One of my favorite bits is when the protagonist Margie pulls on her disapproving father’s jacket, symbolically taking on his feelings.

The jacket smelled of clove aftershave and the bacon-cheddar biscuits Daddy slipped in his pocket mornings he worked opening at the store. A whiff of ink from an old ballpoint that leaked in the pocket, its oily stink left along with the mark. Old Gold Filters he’d borrowed off Al and smoked behind the World of Tires. What Momma didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. Soft and sad had worked into the jacket’s old plaid lining, leftover from a thousand days on Daddy’s back. Time and space were grooved into the corduroy. I pulled the front closed, tighter than the zipper, but I still didn’t feel warm.

But is the story of a girl who thinks she can’t do anything right, who can’t satisfy her father, who worries she’s run her mother off too heavy for middle grade readers? Is this really YA with a too young protagonist? Or even an adult novel in middle-grade disguise?

I don’t think so. Margie’s voice and experience are young. And young doesn’t mean dumb or blind to the world.

Obviously every reader has his or her own taste. No book is for everybody. But many middle grade readers know all about not measuring up. They don’t have to come from a family where a baby was thrown, or a pet cat dumped, or even a family with a whole lot of dead people to understand sadness and loss. And happiness and redemption, too. I’m so glad my job is writing those kinds of hard, true stories for people just learning about life.

The 50/50 Project: Help for Somali Refugees Plus a Critique for You

2011-09-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

East Africa is suffering its worst drought in 60 years, and the people of Somalia – especially women and children – are traveling long distances under grueling and dangerous circumstances to end up in refugee camps. And there they find not refuge but underdeveloped resources.

There is so much suffering in the world right now it’s hard to know how to help. Here’s your chance to help Somali refugees, and give yourself a professional boost as well.

One of my fellow-members of Romance Writers of America, Kathy-Diane Leveille, created a mechanism to aid Somali refugees through CARE International. She asked for writers willing to participate, and I joined this group. Her idea was to form the “50/50 Project” – your writing critiqued by a published author – that is, each of the published writers involved in the project is available to critique 50 pages of your work for only 50 of your dollars. You can choose which writer you would like to submit work to, on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Bidding” opens Saturday, October 1, which is why I’m posting this today. I’d be thrilled to review 50 pages of your work in progress. And if I’m not a match for you, check out the other talented authors who have also volunteered their time and energy.

Please go to the link - writerswhocare - and check out the authors. For a flat $50 donation you can help the destitute and starving of Somalia and come away with a terrific critique as well.

And, many thanks.

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Tess Hilmo

2011-09-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm so pleased to be able to introduce 2k11 author Tess Hilmo, whose middle grade novel With A Name Like Love debuts this week.

Kirkus gave the novel a *starred review* (congrats, Tess!): "A story about the meaning of home, justice and love, beautifully told."

A summary: "When Ollie’s daddy, the Reverend Everlasting Love, pulls their travel trailer into Binder to lead a three-day revival, Ollie knows that this town will be like all the others they visit— it is exactly the kind of nothing Ollie has come to expect. But on their first day in town, Ollie meets Jimmy Koppel, whose mother is in jail for murdering his father. Jimmy insists that his mother is innocent, and Ollie believes him. Still, even if Ollie convinces her daddy to stay in town, how can two kids free a grown woman who has signed a confession? Ollie’s longing for a friend and her daddy’s penchant for searching out lost souls prove to be a formidable force in this tiny town where everyone seems bent on judging and jailing without a trial."

Tess graciously agreed to write a guest post for me, and it's my pleasure to bring it to you.

We Are All Connected

When I began writing With A Name Like Love, I knew three things:

1. I wanted to celebrate the rich, Southern gospel music that I love so much

2. I wanted to write an intriguing murder mystery

3. I wanted to include a strong family unit

When I was little, I remember one of my grade school teachers telling our class about how the old Negro Spirituals are all written in a five key scale called pentatonic scale. Five humble keys that, when arranged, can give us feelings of loss, heartache, redemption and hope. They have the ability to connect us and make us believe we can do great things. Think about songs like Amazing Grace and the emotion it stirs. Or the power within Swing Low Sweet Chariot.

I wondered if it could be the same with a novel. If including basic elements of hope, heartache, redemption and love could bring us all together under the umbrella of story. That was and continues to be my goal with this book. It is a Southern murder mystery that highlights the triumph of the human spirit over difficult and, at times, dark events.

Music and stories bring us together and remind us that we are all connected.

What are your favorite songs and what emotions do they evoke in you?

You can find out more about Tess on her blog http://tesshilmo.blogspot.com/

Ten Thousand Hours

2011-09-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

A short post for a busy week...

Several years ago I listened to Malcolm Gladwell reading from his wonderful book Outliers. He explores what makes someone a true success - an outlier - in their field. Think folks like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and the Beatles.

His hypothesis is that it takes 10,000 hours of intense practice in whatever craft you work in - whether computers, music, or in our case, writing - to achieve the kind of mastery that can make you an outlier. There are other factors that weigh in, of course: native talent is nice, as well as a certain intellectual ability. But by and large, it is practice, and lots of it, that make someone more successful than those around him or her.

If you look carefully at the resumes of our most talented and renowned authors you'll notice that by and large they spent a long time getting to the top of the field; there are very few overnight successes.

Do I write every day? I try to, but there are days... The way I look at it, however long I spend at my desk I'm adding to the 10,000 hours I'll need to achieve anything even approaching mastery of the craft of writing for children.

With a rough calculation, 10,000 hours is the equivalent of a year and a quarter of 24/7/365 days. Which means if you work on writing like most normal people, at say, 5 hours per day (and take weekends off but no vacations) it will take you closer to 8 years of steady practice to achieve this kind of mastery.

Eight years of intense practice - constant, daily, rigorous practice with no vacations, sick days, family reunions, kid crises - to achieve anything approaching mastery. I'm sure that even with my steady effort over the course of ten years of writing for children I haven't even approached 10,000 hours.

I think it's time for me to get back to practicing...

Creating a Smartphone Picture Book App: Lindsey Lane

2011-09-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

I was very excited to learn from my friend and Vermont College of Fine Arts classmate Lindsey Lane that she had acquired the rights to her first picture book, Snuggle Mountain, and then created a smartphone app for the book. Finally, someone who could explain this mysterious process! I've interviewed Lindsey, and am delighted to have her here this week.

Hi Lindsey! How were you able to acquire the rights? Was that a difficult process?

It was not difficult at all. Cynthia Leitich Smith had recommended Aimee Bissonette of Little Buffalo Law to me as someone who would review contracts for authors who don’t have agents. I contacted her in August 2010 and told her that Clarion, the publisher of Snuggle Mountain and imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, had let SM go out of stock about two years ago and that I would like to get the rights reverted to me. She asked me to send her the Rights Reversion clause in my contract. After reading it, she said it was very standard and all I needed to do was send them a letter requesting that the rights revert to me. Basically what’s going on is you have to make the request so that the publisher can decide to put the book back in circulation and, if they don’t do that, the rights revert to you. Because the book had been out of stock for two years, it was pretty clear they weren’t going to reprint it, so the letter was a formality. Still, Aimee was helpful in drafting the letter, subtly letting HMH know that she was representing me and then being available to me if I needed any extra help. Aimee said to give the HMH folks about three months to go through their process and then contact them again. Sure enough, three months later, I wrote them a brief: ‘How is the progress on the Snuggle Mountain rights reversion?’ email and, a week after that, a disk of the book arrived in the mail with a letter telling me that the rights belonged to illustrator Melissa Iwai and me. Ta-Dah!

I was so excited to learn that you have created a smartphone app of the book. Can you tell us (a) how you went about creating the app, (b) how you made it available, (c) how you think it's working?

After Melissa and I got the rights back in December 2010, I emailed her to see what she thought about making Snuggle Mountain into a digital book. She was all for it. She had already been approached by someone who was doing ebooks and apps so we just broadened our search. Fortunately, a group of authors and illustrators had just stared a blog called e is for book. The premise of the blog is that a book is a book regardless of the format and each contributor’s blog post focused on the creation of digital books for kids. Through that site and links to other sites, Melissa and I learned the names of ebook and app developers. We took turns querying and interviewing them. The one that popped out for us was PicPocket Books. They had developed Elizabeth Dulemba’s Lula’s Brew and Elizabeth was very complimentary of their work. We sent Lynette Mattke of PicPocket Books a copy of Snuggle Mountain and she said she would very much like to make it into an app. We had a conference call with her and afterwards, Melissa and I agreed that what we liked about Mattke’s approach was that she really likes to remain true to the integrity of the book. She didn’t want to turn books into games. We signed with her in March. I got busy adding bits of dialogue for Emma. Melissa handled all the reformatting of the artwork for the iPhone and the iPad as well as creating the artwork for specific animations like wagging tails and sniffing noses. In April, Lynette and I skyped and she showed me the app on the desktop of her computer. (That was co cool.) We tweaked a few things (the sheep dog sounded like a Chihuahua) and it was available on iTunes in Mid-May. Because PicPocket Books is an approved Apple app developer, Snuggle Mountain is only available through iTunes and, right now, only folks with iPads and iPhones can purchase the Snuggle Mountain app. But that could change next week. Seriously. The digital world changes that fast.

Did you find the process easy or was the learning curve steep?

PicPocket had about 30 apps under its belt when we came along so that made our process very easy. What was a bit disorienting is the speed of this process. The publishing industry moves at a snail’s pace compared to the app and ebook world. Normally you have time to prepare for publicity (you know make a trailer, do pre-release buzz, make a postcard), but suddenly the app was out and I still feel like I am catching up. But on the other side of the proverbial coin, the app is not a book taking up warehouse space so as long as I’m out promoting it, parents can download the app. Really, it’s pretty sweet to be in an airport, near a wiggly child and ask them if they like books. If they do, I ask the parents if they mind if I read them a book. Next thing you know, I’ve got this little one sliding her finger across the iPhone screen, turning digital pages. Kinda fun.

Would you recommend to authors who have not yet published but who may have a picture book ready that they try creating an app?

Hmm, interesting question. I know that there is a digital fever for books right now. App and ebook developers are cropping up like toadstools after the rain. Melissa and I had an advantage in that Melissa’s gorgeous artwork was already created so it made our project very viable and easy to convert into an app. Certainly, any author or illustrators with out of print picture book should try this route. It’s thrilling to me that Snuggle Mountain can be out there in the hands of the little readers and their parents. For pre-published writers who have written picture book that they would like to turn into an app, it will be a much different journey without already created artwork. But really, anything is possible. I mean, it’s sort like the wild west (at the Toadstool corral) right now with traditional publishing scrambling to catch up to epublishing and app developers opening up to the possibility of picture books.

Anything else about this mysterious world that you'd like to share?

A couple of things.

Melissa and I asked Lynette about making the Snuggle Mountain app available to other smart phones like the Droid. Right now it’s not possible. There is a digital divide between Apple and other smart phones and tablets.

When I started this process, I was a neophyte in the digital world. Really. I had to learn the difference between eBoooks and apps and why a picture book needs to be an app not an eBook. If you have ever seen a picture book an eBook, you would get it immediately. Basically an eReader only shows you one page at a time, so the artwork on a full-page spread gets cut in half. Not very satisfying when illustrators create artwork for a two page spread. With the app format, you can see the entire two page spread on the screen so nothing gets cut in half. It’s quite lovely, really. That said, I just read a post by Elizabeth Dulemba that she has formatted her Lula’s Brew to fit on a Nook. So once again, the digital world is shifting.

Contracts are changing to reflect the digital presence in publishing. Check out the rights reversion clause in your current and future contracts. Pay attention to where your rights will go if the print version of your book goes out of print. Pay attention to your rights period. Be careful they don’t drift off into the ethers of the eWorld.

Finally, in the digital world, there is a new kind of typo. When you first see your book as an app, it is really important to check all the bells and whistles it offers. Remember an app is short for application, which is a kind of software, which means that there can be formatting glitches. Fortunately, in the world of apps, you can send out an update and glitches gets fixed pretty easily but still, these glitches are like typos (and I hate typos) so check ALL the ways your app works before it goes out.

What are you working on now?

On October 8, Austin SCBWI is presenting a symposium called StoryTelling in the Digital Age. I am thrilled to join a stellar faculty and present the picture book app journey to participants. Oh, and I’m excited about taking a writing class with Margo Rabb this fall.

I'm so happy you came by - thank you!

Random Acts of Publicity Week: A Selection of Favorites

2011-09-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

Author Darcy Pattison had a great idea a few years ago: a week authors could devote to promoting other authors. This is the week, and I'm going to start right off with Darcy.

Last fall I had the pleasure of attending one of Darcy's weekend-long novel revision retreats. Let me just say that if you ever have the opportunity to attend one, jump. She walks participants through the techniques outlined in her clever book Novel Metamorphosis, and I had enough new ideas and strategies to see me through any number of novel revisions. Not to mention seeing in bold where my work was flawed and what I could do to shore up sags.

I've said it before, but I'll say again: I could not revise a thing without the help of Donald Maass and his two outstanding books: Writing the Breakout Novel and Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. I learn something new each time I re-read - which I do each time I revise.

I have struggled with plot, but Martha Alderson is a clear light in the dark forest. Her Blockbuster Plots video is a staple of mine, and I never plot now without checking my draft against her brilliant template.

Now, I don't review fiction; but I'd like to introduce readers to two authors whose work I admire greatly. Both are Canadian, and their books don't get lots of publicity in the States, but they deserve an audience.

The first is a man who writes across genres - adult, young adult, middle grade - and he is richly talented. His name is Alan Cumyn.

Alan has written three charming and hilarious middle grade novels that commence with the award-winning The Secret Life of Owen Skye. These novels are the best kind of "boy books" - totally engaging, respectful of their audience, beautifully written. His newest fiction is right at the top of my TBR pile, a young adult novel, Tilt.

The second novelist I'd like to honor is Sarah Ellis. (Sarah writes reviews for The Horn Book, but don't let that left-brained activity fool you. She also writes fiction with heart.) Sarah's award-winning middle grade novel Odd Man Out had me laughing out loud. She, like Alan, is able to voice the mind of a young boy with exceptional clarity.

You may not find Alan's and Sarah's books on your local bookstore shelves but they are worth ordering - for yourself, or a young reader you know, who will truly thank you.

"Advanced Plotting": All You Need to Know and More

2011-08-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

Not long ago fellow kidlit author Chris Eboch invited a bunch of us to submit articles for an ebook she wanted to produce: Advanced Plotting. The book is now available for download, and, what's more, she's given us permission to offer it *for a limited time* for free. (Not to worry...if you read this article too late for the promo, you can buy the ebook for an easy-on-the-pocketbook price of $0.99. See below for the promo.)

Chris is author of the blog Write Like a Pro! and often has valuable tips and topics, so I would urge you to trot on over and have a look.

I've struggled with plot quite a bit - it doesn't come easily to me - and as a result have found myself reading mountains of books that have helped me through the thicket. In my contribution to Advanced Plotting I outlined what I consider to be the crucial plot turning points. Here's some of what I wrote:

Traditional plots contain turning points, or transition points – points in the plot at which your protagonist’s problem-solving action turns in a new direction. Turning points are important because they serve to increase tension and thus reader interest.

Put it this way: turning points are the significant moments of change in your story.

Beginning with Aristotle, who defined three-act structure, a number of writers and critics have identified these points and where they usually occur in the plot and given them names and relative value. There are seven especially important turning points. In order of appearance they are: the inciting incident; plot point one; pinch one; midpoint; crisis; plot point two; climax.

Before I discuss where these turning points occur in the plot, I’d like to explain what I mean by how the protagonist’s action “turns.” Your protagonist has an identifiable goal and must surmount a number of increasingly difficult obstacles. Each time she thinks she’s closing in on her goal, some new obstacle arises and forces her to “turn” to a new method of solving her problem. Until the climax of the story, she is unable to resolve the problem, and with each turn the stakes are raised.

In the article that follows this intro I outline each turning point, noting where it should fall (roughly) in the plot, and giving an example to demonstrate.

Here's how I close:

When I finish my first drafts I use a plot chart to see whether I’ve placed these seven turning points roughly where they should be according to page count. (Let me emphasize the word “roughly”. A plot template should be used to help guide you, not constrain you.) I divide my manuscript into the three acts and then note where the turning points should be by page count. I also note whether their relative values are correct – if plot point two has higher tension and drama than my climax, I’d better revise.

The thing to keep in mind is that all major points in your plot should be characterized by change. Change in your protagonist is what generates tension and thus holds reader interest. And engaging reader interest is your first goal, always.

There are tons of great articles in Chris's book, and until September 3, you can download a copy for free! Go to this url and enter the promotional code PS76M. I hope Advanced Plotting advances your work in every respect.

Shifting Gears: The Pause that Refreshes

2011-08-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

For about eight months solid, I've been working on my next YA novel Moll (out in early 2013.) That's a bunch of drafts, spelled only by various working trips. I finally got it to a place where I thought my editor could look at it, and when we spoke by phone she had exactly the same issues as had been mentioned by my brilliant new critique group.

I feel good, because they are issues I can easily tackle, especially if I give myself a little distance.

So I'm giving the novel a rest. Taking a break. But as anyone who knows me can tell you, that doesn't mean I'm not writing. I'm kind of obsessive that way.

Ann Patchett and friend

I write every day. Maybe not for long, maybe not much that's any good, but I do write every day. If I get two pages done that I'm reasonably happy with, I feel good. Ten pages and I feel like a winner. And for me, I like to shift gears completely, and work on something totally new.

Not long ago I saw a quote from Ann Patchett, who says she only works on one project at a time, not heeding the siren song ("Write me! Write me! I'm going to be so much easier to write than that piece of you-know-what you're working on now!") of a new idea until she's finished her current project...and then thinks the new project through for months, even years. I adore Ann Patchett's work. But that's just not my style, which I think is just fine.

So for the next few weeks, until I get written comments, I'm working on a middle grade fantasy that couldn't be more different than my historical YAs. Think angels and imps, talking animals and monsters. I'm having so much fun, and I know all my work will be better for this shift in my POV.

Maybe you're like Ann Patchett and must be immersed in your current story until it's done. But maybe you're a shift-gears kind of person, too. I think it's fine to discover your best way to work - which also may evolve over time or change with each project.

Give yourself permission to play, to break the mold, to try new approaches.

What Makes a Successful Book Event?

2011-08-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

In the past six months I’ve met lots of wonderful indie bookstore owners (yay, indies!) who have been generous with their time and support of me and my books. A number of these events were well attended by tweens and teens and I had such fun meeting them.

Daughters of the mother/daughter book club event at Booktowne in Manasquan, NJ

But at some of these events the bookstore owner couldn’t get teens to commit their time to come in for a discussion, reading…even free food. In this post I’d like to offer a few ideas that bookstore owners and other writers have shared that have led to successful events, and then invite your comments and suggestions.

Teen readers – please add your thoughts. We’d all love to hear from you. What would you like to see at your local indie bookstore?

Here are some things I’ve heard or tried lately:

1. 1. Try a value-added event. For example: add live music. I thought it might be fun to have a “Band (Banned) Book Week” night, with discussions about “banned” books, “band” books (books featuring music), and with a local live band for entertainment.

2. 2. Create a Q&A flyer for mother/daughter, or father/son, book clubs to get discussions started.

3. 3. Pair your book event with another shop in town. For example, for my historical novels I might contact a local vintage shop and see if they would like to feature period clothing and other items, and maybe offer cross-promotional discounts.

4. 4. Find a local charity and offer to support them with a $1.00 donation for each book sold. Pair your event with a fundraising event for the charity.

Multi-author event at Yellow Book Road, San Diego, CA

5. 5. Talk with the local children’s public librarian. Arrange to read at the library just before your event.

6. 6. Multi-author events are terrific, especially if the books cross genres and age groups. Often readers will “discover” your book when they came to visit one of the other authors.

7. 7. A “reader’s theatre” event combines the multi-author approach with entertainment. (In a reader’s theatre, books are condensed into short play form and read/acted by the authors.)

And authors – support both your local indie and your fellow authors by attending their book signings and events. I’ve had great support at mine – thank you, my friends.

Please share your ideas – what’s worked for you? Teens - what would you like to see?

Elaine Alphin

2011-08-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

In a terrible coincidence, as I was writing the preceding post about my new critique group, one of my partners, Elaine Alphin, suffered a massive stroke that has her in the ICU attended by her loving husband, Art.

Elaine is a prolific author of more than thirty books for children and young adults, including the award-winning novels The Ghost Cadet, An Unspeakable Crime, The Perfect Shot, Ghost Soldier, and Counterfeit Son.

Elaine Marie Alphin, doing what she loves best, July 27, 2011

More importantly, Elaine is generous, warm, loving, intelligent, a superb critiquer, has a childlike heart, and she's my new friend. We are all thinking of her and praying for her and for Art now.

All For One, And One For All: The Beauty of the Critique Group

2011-08-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

I have been blessed with marvelous critique groups. I've had two, one in Texas, and now a new group in my new home in Montana, and both have brought depth to my craft.

Before I introduce you to my partners, I have gathered 10 thoughts about critiquing in general, and should you be thinking about joining or starting a critique group, I hope these comments help.

Me at our recent critique retreat...more about that below.

1. How do you find a critique group? Start with your local SCBWI or other local writer's organization. Go to meetings and conferences. Chat with people. When you find a like-minded person or two, ask if they'd like to partner. (That's how I've found my first group - I met the members at an SCBWI conference and admired their writing.)

2. Don't be afraid to try out the group and decide it's not meshing and won't work. You are all making a great commitment of time and energy, and everyone should be invested equally or it won't fly.

3. Create a regular meeting time/place. Wherever best suits the entire group works. I like to meet at least twice a month for a couple of hours. Less than that and it's hard to make progress with everyone's work.

4. A critique group is an intimate circle, and the relationship is like a marriage. You must be willing to commit your time and energy for the benefit of the group and not just for yourself. Sometimes (as you do with your spouse) you just have to bite your tongue; but most of the time you should be honest, open, and sincere.

5. The best critique groups function symbiotically. No one dominates; no one is allowed to hide. Comments are given free reign to build; often this free-flow conversation generates new ideas and insights for the writer - and the critiquers.

6. Being honest (see #1) does not give you permission to diss another's writing. Ever. If you truly don't like something a partner has written, find a reason for your negative reaction in the context of why it doesn't work - is it the voice, the character, the plot? Or do you just not like the genre (in which case try to divorce yourself from that response and analyze the writing alone.)

7. If you are receiving the critique, other than asking questions, it's best to remain silent. Don't try to defend your work. Trust me, your work is never that perfect.

8. The more you can assess your partners' work in the context of craft, the more you will learn. See the critique you provide as a part of your learning curve. Searching for craft issues or strengths is the best way to see whether you are applying them correctly in your own work.

9. Spend a little time becoming friends. It's okay to stray into conversation about family, life, etc. Just don't let it eat too much into your precious critique time.

Kathy, me, and Shirley

10. Never feel jealous of another's success - there is always more bookshelf space, and your book may be next up. Take pride in the fact that you've helped your partner accomplish her goal.

My two groups? In Texas I was lucky enough to have a group that lasted, if I'm doing the math right, over 8 years. I met Shirley Hoskins and Kathy Whitehead at an SCBWI workshop, and when we shared our work, I was awed by their talent. I sucked in my breath and asked each of them in turn - and they said yes. We met weekly for most of those 8 years, and I'm proud to say that all three of us began as unpublished writers, and now we are all published. I feel that the combination of their wise insights and those weekly deadlines (ten pages each week!) grew me as a writer.

Bailey Jorgensen, Sandra Brug, me, Kiri Jorgensen, Maurene Hinds (Elaine Alphin behind the camera) on our way to our retreat.

When we moved last summer I was at a loss. I almost couldn't function as a writer without my partners. I floundered until last spring, when I was invited to join a group here in Montana. And I couldn't be more thrilled. They are insightful, talented, and motivated. We just came back from a four-day writing retreat (picture: remote mountain cabin with all the amenities; six women spread out in the open spaces; the clicking of keys; coffee brewing; relaxed and delicious meal sharing; laughter; walks; more writing; a couple of hilarious movies. Heaven. Highly recommend.)

Now here's the best part about a critique group that works. When I talked with my editor today about my WIP, my critique partners had already nailed the big issues. I had a handle on what I needed to do to improve my novel, and I had it from their comments.

So, yes, a great critique group is a beautiful thing.

Voices You Should Hear: Alisa Libby

2011-07-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

I met Alisa Libby last winter at a Vermont College of Fine Arts writing retreat, and we formed an immediate connection. Among other things, I, too, love Tudor England; Alisa has been brave enough to tackle this subject in a pair of lovely books. I'm delighted she could join me on the blog.

You and I share a love of historical fiction. Please tell readers about your novels and how you began writing historicals. I also know that you are fascinated by Elizabethan times. What draws you to that period, and have you considered writing about others?

It started with the characters, themselves. I didn't set out to write a historical novel (The Blood Confession), but I had read about this legendary Countess Bathory, who believed that bathing in the blood of virgins would keep her young forever. I was fascinated (and, yes, repulsed) by this, but it made me want to read more about her, to answer the question: “what was she thinking?” History offered no satisfying answer - “she was crazy” was too obvious, too pat. This became the perfect fictional exercise: what would drive a person to do such a thing? The more I researched, the more I saw how the time period, and her status as a woman in that time, could have shaped this character.

The same is true for my second book, The King's Rose. I was drawn to Tudor England after reading about Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. Catherine was condemned for committing adultery against a king who had already beheaded a former wife (Catherine's own cousin, Anne Boleyn) for the same crime. Again: What was she thinking?!?!?!?!! And luckily, I fell completely in love with Tudor England. The history was like a treasure trove: the gowns they wore, the music, the banquets – and behind all of that, the violence of an era in which a word against your king could be punishable by death. It was a fascinating time to inhabit – safely, through fiction.

What are your research methods? And specifically how do you know when to stop researching and when to start writing?

I don't know when to stop. In fact, I continue to research even after I've started writing. I generally go through a number of revisions – trying to get the plot write, the structure, the voice. In between drafts I'm reading more about the character, the culture, the settings – all of this influences the next revision. It may not be the most efficient way of doing things, but I've found it's the way that works for me. I have to allow myself to start writing when I have that urge to get words on paper. Though the details evolve over time, I find that this time to play with the character's voice is critical.

What was your breakthrough into publishing?

My breakthrough came when I found a literary agent. It was pure luck—I sent him some sample pages, and I think he saw some promise in my work. He didn't give me a lot of feedback until I had delivered a full 200-page draft of my first novel. Then he gave me A LOT of feedback! But having an agent gave me the push to keep going, to meet deadlines and focus on one book.

Do have something new in the works?

I certainly hope so! But I'm never quite sure. I suffered writer's block after The King's Rose was finished. I found it difficult to let go of that book, that character, that world. I tried to find another historical character to write about, but nothing sparked. So I've been experimenting – but I hope that one of these experiments will turn into a book, someday.

Do you have advice for aspiring writers?

Just write. Don't listen to what your friends or family says about what you write. Just write. Don't worry if you hate what you've written – that is a part of the creative process. Just keep writing, keep putting down ideas. Don't just talk about writing that story or epic poem or novel – start doing it. It's not easy, but it is worthwhile. You'll learn a lot about writing, and about yourself, along the way.

What’s the best way for readers to learn more about you?

Please visit my blog: www.alisalibby.com/blog. I write about my current work in progress, my writing process, and what I'm reading. There are occasional posts about baking cookies and spending time with my one-eyed basset hound, Roxanne. I love to hear comments from readers and fellow writers!

Thanks, Alisa! My stubborn basset hound Boomer says "hi"!

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Carrie Harris

2011-07-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

Just reading Carrie Harris's answers to my questions made me want to meet her. She's funny and smart, and her debut novel, Bad Taste in Boys, truly sounds like it's going to rock right out of the gate. Here's Carrie!

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, BAD TASTE IN BOYS. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

Thanks so much! BTIB is about a girl named Kate Grable. Kate’s a super smart med geek, and she’s the student trainer for her high school football team. She figures the experience will look good on her college apps, and as an added bonus she gets to be close to her quarterback crush, Aaron. Then something disturbing happens. Kate finds out that the coach has given the team steroids. Except...the vials she finds don’t exactly contain steroids. Whatever’s in them is turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless, flesh-eating...zombies.

Unless she finds an antidote, no one is safe. Not Aaron, not Kate’s brother, not her best friend...not even Kate...

Dum dum DUM.

If you can’t tell, I’m a huge monsterphile. Zombie movies in particular always crack me up, because movie characters never seem to have any problem believing that their neighbors are turning into zombies. Um, hello? Only crazy people think things like that. So I started off thinking I might want to do a book about a completely rational person who discovers a zombie virus. And then I started mashing it together with other ideas that I had floating around in my head, kind of like a math project gone completely whack-a-ding-hoy. So BAD TASTE IN BOYS is really Frankensteinian weird science plus the undead football players from Beetlejuice divided by high school geekery.

If math books were more like that, I might have become a mathematician.

Ha - me, too! How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

This is only my second YA. The first got me an agent, and the second got me a sale! But don’t hate me. I spent a lot of time writing in other genres. I wrote a stage play, and a screenplay, and a bunch of poetry, and about 700 role playing books. Okay, maybe that last bit is an exaggeration, but it sure felt like it!

Can you describe your path to the publication of BAD TASTE IN BOYS?

Well, the road to publication was very long for me. Like *cough* fifteen years. *cough* When The Email finally came, I ran around the house screaming and then left a voice mail for my husband that said: “OhmygodcallmecallmeCALLMERIGHTNOW!” And then I put Thriller on and did the dance, because that’s obviously the best way to celebrate selling a zombie book.

About an hour later, I realized I should probably email my agent back. I went to my computer and found another email from her asking if the shock had killed me and did she need to call an ambulance.

I'm laughing out loud here, Carrie! Back to business...Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

I could go on for days! But I think one of the biggest things is to think hard about what you want from writing. Do you want to be a professional writer, or do you write because you love it and that’s enough? Because writing as a business is a lot different than writing for fun. It’s still my dream job, but it’s a JOB. We write when we’re not in the mood; we write when we’re sick. And a lot of our time is spent on things other than writing—responding to all kinds of emails, marketing, interviews, mailing things, keeping up on what’s happening in the industry and so on. You have to put in a lot of hard work to get to the fun stuff. (Although the fun stuff is admittedly supermegafun!) If you’re not interested in all that work stuff and just want to write stories? THAT’S OKAY. The key is to figure out what you want to accomplish.

And if your motivation is fame and fortune, I suggest trying out for the NBA instead.

Another LOL moment, but really, this is wise advice. Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

I like surrounding myself with interesting people. That way when I start spouting off about zombies and werewolves and things, they don’t look at me funny or try to have me committed. This is why I’m married to a ninja doctor. My son idolizes Billy Idol. My daughters are the only four year olds I know who are well versed in the best ways to kill a zombie. My friends are the kinds of people who think Bacon Parties are completely normal, and when my in laws go on trips, they don’t bring me t-shirts. They bring me monster bracelets.

So whenever I’m feeling a little down or struggling for good ideas, there’s always something fun and strange and marvelous going on around me. Which is quite plainly AWESOME.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

Yes! BAD TASTE IN BOYS will have a sequel which is currently titled BAD HAIR DAY. It’s coming out from Delacorte in 2012-ish. (Specific, aren’t I?) BAD HAIR DAY follows Kate Grable on a new adventure involving werewolves, nanotechnology, blueberry flavored astronauts, shaved bears in lab coats, and a bath mat made out of human hair. I’m super excited about it! And then I’ll have another to-be-determined book coming out in 2013. I’m thinking I might want to explore something new, but I won’t rule out the possibility of seeing Kate again. I like that her adventures each stand completely alone, so I can write as many or as few as people want to read!

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about BAD TASTE IN BOYS?

ABSOLUTELY! Please come visit me at http://carrieharrisbooks.com! I love to hear from readers!

Thanks so much for hosting me, Janet! It’s been a pleasure!

Trust me, the pleasure has been mine. :)

The Heart of Great Stories: Tension

2011-07-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

Tension. It lies at the heart of every great story. As writers, we should strive with every scene and every chapter to increase the tension in our stories, to build the tension moment by moment so that our readers are never tempted to set our book down and head out to the nearest pizza party.

This is increasingly true in modern fiction. Back in the day, when Herman Melville could compose page after page of detailed narrative having to do with the inner workings of a cetacean ear (and readers would put up with it), tension developed slowly in a work of fiction. Melville’s most exciting moments in Moby Dick came in the closing chapters of the novel, and by then readers were either asleep or determined or insane enough to finish.

Today, readers – especially you teens and tweens – wouldn’t put up with that kind of pacing for a minute. Frankly, neither would I. [True confession: I gave up on Moby a bit more than halfway through, and rented the movie to discover the rest. Don’t tell your English teacher.]

We want and expect a high degree of tension in our stories, so the question is, how do we writers handle it?

I’ll answer this over the course of a few posts, but here is one thing I talked about briefly in my plotting workshop at New England SCBWI this past spring: tension means having to make your protagonist suffer.

You and I are good people. We don’t want to hurt anybody. If you are, like I am, a mom (and I imagine even if you are not), that goes double: every child on the planet is your child and you will protect him or her even if it means throwing yourself in front of a moving train. Your characters are your children. So it stands to reason – you’re going to shield your character from every hurt, bump, scrape, bruise, terror. Right?

Not if you are a novelist in search of tension. You must be willing to watch your protagonist suffer every imaginable kind of horror. Look at The Hunger Games. Katniss all but dies, again and again, and every one of her near-death experiences heightens the tension of the books. Suzanne Collins does not protect Katniss from life experiences. As a result we readers are sucked into the story, rooting for Katniss – and Katniss learns every step of the way how to better protect herself and those she loves.

Tension in the form of character suffering, then, sucks readers into your story, but it serves a double purpose: it allows for character growth and change. Which is another aspect of great story-telling.

A Million Thanks

2011-06-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Launching a book is like some combination of giving birth, running a marathon, and taking final exams...except that (in theory) none of the above lasts three or more weeks (and if you've ever had a final exam last that long, please spill. I'll send you a box of chocolates.) I am so grateful to the many people who supported me during the last month with the launch of FORGIVEN. Here are a few folks I wish to acknowledge.

First and foremost, Gabrielle Carolina ran a "Month of Forgiveness" on her gorgeous blog, Mod Podge Bookshelf. This act of kindness came directly from her heart, and gave a place for me to launch my campaign on behalf of exploited children (see end of post for ways to help), a campaign that grew out of a subplot in FORGIVEN.

Then a passel of lovely bloggers hosted me with interviews and guest posts - thank you for your interest, support and very kind words and reviews! They are:
Rebecca's Book Blog
YA Bliss
First Page Panda
The Fourth Musketeer
Mundie Moms
The Book Butterfly
Poisoned Rationality
A Good Addiction
Confessions of a Bookaholic
My Friend Amy
Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf
Books Complete Me
Lost For Words
Compulsive Reader
YA Addict

I also want to thank fellow writers Joy Preble and PJ Hoover, who both hosted giveaways on their blogs.

And booksellers! The Country Bookshelf in Bozeman hosted my launch party (above.) I had wonderful book discussions and signings at Tinman Too in Spokane, and at Yellow Book Road in San Diego (at left.)

And many, many thanks to Barbara Fisch and Sarah Shealy of Blue Slip Media, and Katie Kurtzman at Penguin.

My main character in FORGIVEN, Kula Baker, uncovers a sad fact of life in San Francisco at the turn of the last century: the slavery and exploitation of mostly Chinese children. I was deeply saddened by this fact, but more deeply disturbed that this type of exploitation still exists. As a result I will donate a portion of the proceeds from FORGIVEN to The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. To learn more about what you can do to help agencies that actively fight the exploitation and trafficking of children, visit the following websites:
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Unicef
Stop Child Trafficking

PJ Hoover on SOLSTICE: An Alternate Route to Publishing

2011-06-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

"P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. P. J. is also a member of THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing Kung Fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek.

Her first novel for teens, Solstice, takes place in a Global Warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. Her middle grade fantasy novels, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, and The Necropolis, chronicle the adventures of a boy who discovers he’s part of two feuding worlds hidden beneath the sea."

She doesn't know this, but as I read P.J.'s bio I realized we had several "likes" in common. Mythology and Star Trek are two of those, and until I moved away last year we were both Texans. Now I see P.J. when I go back to Texas occasionally, and I was intrigued to hear about her new project and debut YA, SOLSTICE. P.J. graciously agreed to explain both the novel and its unique inception.

I just downloaded your new YA novel SOLSTICE, and am very excited to read. Before we talk about the publishing angle, please give readers a brief synopsis.

Hi Janet! Thanks for asking! SOLSTICE is set is a future where global warming is destroying the earth. Summer never ends, and governments are trying all sorts of crazy things to survive. Amid this mess, a girl named Piper opens a box on her birthday, and her world shifts. She finds out that, parallel to her global warming earth, there is a world of mythology, and somehow she’s linked to it. So she meets gods, tries to save her best friend from death, and falls into a bizarre love triangle. And, of course, things become complicated beyond all possible reason, and Piper has to find a way to survive.

I know that you've taken an "alternate" route to publishing. How did arrive at this plan? What was the editorial process like?

My agent was the one to suggest the independent publishing route. We talked about the pros and cons, and after thinking on it, I decided to give it a go. My agent was very clear that she would support me whatever decision I made.

As for the editorial process, the word that comes to mind is intense. I’ve revised SOLSTICE more times than I can count, but now I have a story I’m super proud to share with the world.

Your cover is gorgeous - did you have much input?

Thank you! I offered up thoughts on the cover but then didn’t see it until it was complete. My agency picked the stock photo and sent it to a cover designer who did the work. I’m pretty sure no matter what input I might have had, the final result would have blown it away. There was never any thought of asking for any changes.

Do you think this route is less risky for you because you already have a reader following? Would you recommend it to beginning writers?

I absolutely adore SOLSTICE and am thrilled it is already in the hands of readers (as opposed to having to wait a year and a half). For SOLSTICE, it just felt like the right route. And for beginning writers, I think the world of publishing is changing, and anything can be placed on the table for consideration, whether there is a reader following or not. My biggest recommendation no matter what route is taken is to have your book edited.

What about schools and libraries? Do you have a marketing plan for those markets?

SOLSTICE should be coming out in print form at some point, and would then be available to schools and libraries in that form. Also, I think there are some programs in place for ebooks to be lent out at libraries, though each library varies in what is possible. I’m a huge believer in libraries, and as the publishing world shifts, libraries and the models they use will shift along with it.

What is your take on the "e-book/actual book" controversy (or do you think there is a controversy?)

Like e-book vs. print? I don’t think there is a controversy per se. You have some readers who swear they just love the feel of a real book in their hands, and I used to be one. And then I tried a Nook, and seriously, I love it (as does the rest of my family). I kind of view paper books and LPs in a similar fashion. They are nostalgic and awesome, but buying and reading on an e-reader is so easy to do, just like listening to music on iTunes is simple.

Please give readers some way to find out more about you and your books. Thanks, Tricia!

Everything anyone would ever want to know is on my website (www.pjhoover.com), and if it’s not, then there are lots of ways to contact me. I’m on twitter, facebook, and my email is also available. I love answering questions and interacting with readers, so please get in touch!

Why I Write for Teens, or, Life is an Often Overwhelming Challenge

2011-06-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

In Forgiven, Kula arrives in San Francisco in 1906 prepared for challenges but not for this: the enslavement of children. I've written about this before, and will again. Young girls (average age, around 10 - young girls, let's be frank) were either kidnapped or sold into slavery in China and brought to California to service the men of San Francisco.

San Francisco of the time was more or less lawless, with a government happy to take bribes in order to look the other way, and an underground culture extant in both the Barbary Coast and in Chinatown. The city was filled with men fresh from the gold mines or the railroads or the seas, and they were looking for entertainment of the most basic kind. That's what these children (let's be truly frank) provided. Most died before maturity. Many died in childbirth or because they were pregnant and were deliberately starved to death.

Let's be truly, truly frank. This was the most abhorrent kind of child sexual abuse imaginable - the girls were caged (yes, you read that right) in cribs no larger than a dog kennel.

Now, why would I write about such depravity - for young adults, no less?

Because it existed. And it still exists today: as many as 1.2 million (yes, you read that right, again) children are subjected to this kind of trafficking and abuse worldwide - and don't even get me started on the issue of child brides, which is a disgusting form of legal child abuse.

If I seem particularly impassioned it is because of a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, in which the author despairs that YA fiction today features depravity. Really? Well. My reasonably "clean" novel features the kind of depravity imposed only by adults on children.

Should young adults not be exposed to this reality?

Let's not even address here issues of teaching tolerance and awareness. Let's go directly to the heart of it: what teens feel like.

Recently I wrote a blog post for Dear Teen Me about how I felt as a teen. I had a relatively sheltered and happy childhood - no abuse, drugs, or dislocations. Yet I suffered from depression, isolation and bullying. It took a huge toll on me, but I survived. Readers of my post celebrated my bravery for speaking about it.

But I think teens today are the brave ones. They face a world of challenges and painful realities. They face a world of changing climate, of financial instability, of political upheaval. They face profound choices and dilemmas that make what we faced in the past decades seem tame.

They face childhood slavery and exploitation.

And that doesn't begin to address their personal feelings - about being different, outsider, odd, peculiar, shunned, bullied, ignored...you name it, kids feel it. And they need to know they are not alone. They need to know they can rise above. They need to know they can get help.

For pity's sake, they need to know they can help.

YA literature today saves. It saves because it faces those issues head on. It saves because if provides an outlet, or an inspiration, or an example.

YA saves. Yes, it does.

Here's an organization that helps kids suffering from exploitation:

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Release, Or How Authors Cope With Emotional Ups and Downs

2011-06-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

Today is "release day" for my second YA novel, FORGIVEN. I've known it was coming for almost a year; I turned in my last batch of edits over six months ago. Since it's been out of my hands for a while I've had plenty of time to stew, fret, get excited, get crazy, and generally experience all the other emotions that accompany the birth of a book.

Would it surprise you to learn that yesterday I thought I'd be sick? That I was so nauseated I couldn't eat (think of it as the "writer's diet"). That I haven't slept well in days. That I'm too strung out to work on the novel I should be working on. That I can't open my email or check Twitter without a pang of fear.

Some readers will love my work. Some readers will hate it. Most will fall somewhere in the middle. In this age of instant communication, impassioned points of view can be expressed to followers in a heartbeat, and this is what authors everywhere must cope with - the emotional high of having a reader love, love, love your book versus the devastating news that a reader has consigned it to the trash heap of literary history. I've read reviews of my work that make me weep with joy, and, well, I've done the other kind of weeping, too.

What matters most, however, what should matter most is how I feel about my work. Did I make the best possible effort to express what was in my heart? Did I give it every bit of my time and attention and say what I wanted to say? Is my character true? Is my story real? Is it the best I can do with the skills I have at my command right now?

I've heard apocryphal stories about authors who edit their work long after it's been published (yup, I do.) I know that expressing true and deep emotion is all I can aim for, and sometimes, sure, I miss the target. Most of the time as I write I struggle to say what I really mean. As I edit I try to carve through to the emotional heart. Each novel I write may (or, oh fear of fears, may not) take me closer to the bull's eye, but I must keep trying.

What all this adds up to is that I do have to let go of my novel. Release it. Okay, maybe I'll secretly take a red pen to my own dogeared copy, but in truth it's time for me to go on to the next novel. It's time to hush the evil genie of self-doubt and move on. It's time to try to find the heart of that new story, to try, try, try again to craft a story that rings true and fine.

"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." Anna Quindlen

Craft Issue: Gray Space

2011-05-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Recently I gave a couple of presentations at New England SCBWI. One was a discussion of plot, and the other a discussion of the topic of my master’s thesis for Vermont College of Fine Arts, the concept of elision. Over the next few blog posts, I’m going to recap some of the ideas I presented.

Let’s start with elision – and if you’re scratching your head, that’s just what I did when I heard the term for the first time at Vermont. Elision refers to the gaps in writing, to what is not said, to what is left out. I made it the subject of my thesis so that I could get a grasp of what it means and how to use it.

My exploration of the term took me to books like Proust and the Squid, in which author Maryanne Wolf makes a thorough exploration of the relationship between readers and writers and what happens within the reader’s brain during reading. From that study I coined the term “gray space,” by which I meant that place where readers and writers meet that is outside the words on the page. I like to think of it as the writer’s equivalent to the artist’s concept of “white space,” and my own definition of gray space is the shadowy landscape of dreams where writers and readers meet.

Gray space can be created, can be manipulated by writers. It’s something we may not consciously do during first drafting, but certainly can be added/enhanced during revision. Creating gray space is important to increasing tension in writing (adding a layer of mystery and nuance) and is critical in evoking a reader’s emotional response.

In traditional text, gray space is formed by how we use the following rhetorical devices: repetition, word choice, and sentence structure. Dialogue techniques employing gray space include dropped sentences, beats, reversals, and interruptions. In subtext, gray space is created through the use of metaphor, slant telling, and gesture. And writers craft gray space “between the lines” as revealed by the choice of theme, or as Thomas McCormick in The Fiction Editor, the Novel, and the Novelist calls it, the novel’s “master-effect.”

This topic is the subject of an article currently available in the online journal Hunger Mountain, and there I explore it in much greater detail, in case you are curious.

Next time – a bit about plot.

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Amy Fellner Dominy

2011-05-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

What a treat for readers. The Class of 2k11 has churned out so many fabulous books this year - and here's another. Today I'm featuring an interview with Amy Fellner Dominy about her debut novel OyMG.

Congratulations, Amy, on the publication of your novel, OyMG. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

OyMG is about fourteen-year-old Ellie Taylor who goes to a summer speech and performing arts camp determined to win a private scholarship—and discovers she’ll have to hide that she’s Jewish if she wants to win.

You know how people always say, “Write what you know?” Well, I always take that to mean, “Write about the feelings you know.” And growing up as one of the only Jewish kids in my community and school, I knew how it felt to be different. I was proud of my faith, but at times (especially Christmas!) it was just plain hard. I wanted to be like everyone else.

The question is how far will we go to conform and fit in? What part of ourselves are we willing to hide? From that question, Ellie Taylor and OyMG came to life.

I love the premise! How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

If I could have held a pencil in the crib, I’d have been scrawling notes on the wooden bars. I submitted my first short story at the ripe old age of thirteen. It was rejected by American Girl magazine—I still have the form letter. I took a break to have a steady job (and paycheck) but even then I found a job where I could write; I was an advertising copywriter. I got serious about writing for kids again in 2004. In 2006, I started OyMG.

Can you describe your path to the publication of OyMG?

It began with a first page. Literally.

It was November 2006. My local SCBWI chapter was having a conference with agents and editors, and I wanted to submit something for the first page panel. (This is a program where the panel of editors and agents read out loud the first page of a book and then offer comments.)

I submitted a first page and the audience loved it—including Caryn Wiseman, an agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Partly because of that first page, I signed with Caryn less than a month later.

Unfortunately, writing the rest of the book was much trickier. I stopped and started it for over a year. Finally, in January of 2008, I figured out where I’d gone wrong. I deleted about 25,000 words and dove back in. And finally, I had a completed manuscript.

With the same first page. :)

The book finally went out to editors, summer 2008. I had interest from two editors who asked if I’d revise and resubmit. I did, but for various reasons, those situations didn’t pan out.

The book went out again, summer 2009. This time, it landed in the perfect hands: Stacy Cantor Abrams at Walker Books. I got an offer in August 2009. Nearly 3 years from the time I’d written the first page!

What a great story - I love that you started with the first page only! Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Most “overnight successes” are many years in the making. Be patient with yourself and the process. The trick is to keep writing. Get a critique partner and set up monthly deadlines so you’ll write new pages. Or sign up for a conference and commit to submitting pages. Anything to keep you moving forward. The more you write, the more you learn—about craft and voice and what stories you’re meant to tell.

Such perfect advice. Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

I love quotes. I always keep a couple of them stuck to my desk for inspiration. Right now, I have two favorites.

#1 In a world where you can be anything, be yourself. I love this quote because it reminds me that the best, most special thing I can be is myself.

#2 My inner voice hates me. This is my own quote and it’s a reminder not to listen to self-doubts and negativity. I tend to worry and think the worst. This quote helps me to stay positive.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I’m excited to announce the sale of a second novel to Walker Books!

Audition and Subtraction is the story of fourteen-year old Tatum who faces competition in her school band from the new boy who just moved to town. Soon, she’s at risk of losing her spot in District Honor Band—and maybe her best friend—in a story of shifting friendships, divided loyalties and unexpected romance. Audition and Subtraction will hit the shelves Fall 2012.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about OyMG?

Yes! Please visit me at www.amyfellnerdominy.com. There’s more info about myself and the book, including a reader’s guide. You can also watch my book trailer on YouTube.

Thanks for having me Janet!

Thanks for coming, Amy!

Podcast from New England SCBWI and Katie Davis

2011-05-15T18:08:00.001-07:00

Author Katie Davis has been producing podcasts for some time now. I didn't truly appreciate the value of a podcast until I met Katie at this weekend's New England SCBWI conference (which was amazing in every way). Katie invited me and Tami Lewis Brown to join her in her "studio" - an astonishing mobile recording area in her hotel room - for the following Q&A with Katie's listeners:

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Alissa Grosso

2011-05-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

Today on the blog I'm delighted to introduce another of the awesome Class of 2k11, Alissa Grosso, whose debut YA is POPULAR, which sounds like a ton of fun and which sports another of the appealing covers that are hallmarks of this class.

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, POPULAR. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

Thank you. POPULAR tells the story of a high school clique with a dark secret that brings about their downfall. I'm not entirely sure what inspired it. I think there's a lot more to people than what we see on

the surface. I've also been drawn to quirky books and movies, and the classic high school movie HEATHERS is one of my favorites. So, somehow out of that idea that people aren't always who they seem and my love of quirky movies, POPULAR was born.

How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

I never really consciously set out to write for teens. I just wanted to write a book that I would want to read. I do read a lot of YA and children's books, so I guess it only made sense that what I would write would be a YA book. This may not be my first effort, but it's definitely my first publishable effort.

Can you describe your path to the publication of POPULAR?

I wrote POPULAR over a series of several years, while working on other stuff as well. Then, I found myself with a finished manuscript, and didn't know what to do with it. On a whim, I sent it to a publisher, and lo and behold Flux wanted to publish my book. This sort of makes it sound like I had instant success as a writer, but I had been writing and submitting stuff for years, and had built up a very

large collection of rejection letters. So, even though this particular manuscript didn't get a lot of rejections, I was already something of a writing veteran at this point.

Good for you for sticking with it! Do you have any other advice for beginning writers?

Learn how to revise. Writing can be hard work, but writing is the easy part. Join a critique group or find some beta readers whose opinions you value.

Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

I think my goal has always been to spend more time doing what I want to do whether it is writing or just relaxing and enjoying life. I think every day I take another small step in this direction.

That is such a sane approach to life. Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I always have a new writing venture underway. Right now, I am continuing to work on some young adult novels, no sequels, just new stuff.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about POPULAR?

My website is http://www.alissagrosso.com

Thanks, Alissa!

What My Mom Gave Me

2011-05-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

Security. Love. A passion for words. A passion for helping those who are helpless.

My mom was a soft-spoken and generous lady (yes, she really was) whose gentle exterior hid a tenacious and passionate Irish soul. Much of her passion was directed at helping others - her family first, and then those around her. If she were alive today, she'd be on the bandwagon for the cause I write about here. That is why this post isn't the usual hearts and flowers Mother's Day wish: instead it is my wish that all children could experience the kind of childhood I did, in the arms of loving parents, without pain or suffering of any kind.

This picture of my mom and dad and son Kevin was taken a month before my mom died suddenly and unexpectedly.

This is a post I wrote for Mod Podge Bookshelf's Month of Forgiveness. For each comment to this post, I'll donate an additional dollar to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Please help spread the word.

I want to warn you right now: this blog post contains information that is deeply disturbing. But please bear with me.

When I set out to write my second YA novel, FORGIVEN, I began my research knowing a little about San Francisco in the early 1900s. I’d heard about the Barbary Coast; and of course I knew Chinatown. But I didn’t expect to uncover a dark world of child trafficking, and what I learned broke my heart.

From the mid-1800s on, girls as young as six were sold by their impoverished families in China to dealers who then transported them across the Pacific to San Francisco, a wild seaport and hub of the gold rush. Sometimes the girls were deluded into thinking they were bound for marriage, but those notions were dispelled once the children arrived and were sold to slave holders for as little as $100 (for a one-year-old girl) or as much as $2800 for a fourteen-year-old (this transaction took place in 1898). Most of the slaves were confined to “cribs” – tiny kennel-size enclosures just below street level – and then sold for 25 cents a visit. Few lived longer than six years; many were tortured; many were left to die of starvation if they were sick or pregnant.

We’ll never know how many were buried or burned alive in the San Francisco earthquake. They had no voice.

As I write these words, my hands are shaking. They shake because I cannot imagine the horror that these girls must have experienced in their short and miserable lives. They shake because this kind of abuse still exists worldwide.

As many as 1.2 million children are trafficked every year. Mexican agencies report that more than 16,000 children work as prostitutes. In southeast Asia, 35% of prostitutes are children.

What can we do?

There are a number of agencies that actively fight the exploitation and trafficking of children. I urge you to check them out and become involved. Some seek volunteer help; some sponsor awareness campaigns; some need donations.

But please don’t close your eyes.

Here are three agencies I recommend:

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Unicef

Stop Child Trafficking

Thank you, Mom. I wish you were still here.

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Sheila O'Connor

2011-05-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

May is truly blooming with fabulous new books!

I will be posting soon on the Month of Forgiveness being hosted over at The Mod Podge Bookshelf (in the meantime, please visit Gabrielle's site to comment for donations to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.)

But there are so many new books to welcome into the world, and today I'm delighted to have Sheila O'Connor, here to talk about her middle grade debut, SPARROW ROAD.

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, SPARROW ROAD. What a fabulous, inventive cover! Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

Well this is always tough as inspiration comes from so many sources. I guess the short answer would be that the inspiration came from two places—first, a fabulous month I spent at The Anderson Center, an artist colony in Red Wing, Minnesota. One day, looking out my window I thought--What if a child could live in a place like this? What if a child could spend the summer with a group of wonderful artists? How amazing would that be? Then, several years later, I was coming to the end of a very long career of teaching poetry to kids in schools (I teach college too, so I ran out of time to do it all), and wanted to write a book I could leave to the young people as a kind of gift. So that summer, as soon as my teaching ended, I started SPARROW ROAD, the story of a girl who spends one incredible summer in an artist colony beyond my wildest dreams.

How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

I have written two other novels WHERE NO GODS CAME and TOKENS OF GRACE. While both of those novels were for adults readers, they were the stories of young people—kids struggling on the fringe for different reasons. Anyone who has followed my work knows my primary subject as a writer has been young people—their trials and triumphs—the ways they find to navigate the world. SPARROW ROAD is the first book I’ve written that can be read by readers the same age as my central characters and I’m so delighted to have it in the world.

You are an experienced writer, then. Can you describe your path to the publication of SPARROW ROAD?

I spent several years writing and revising SPARROW ROAD and when I believed it was finally ready for outside eyes, I found a fabulous agent, Rosemary Stimola, to represent it. From there, it landed with my wonderful editor at Putnam, Stacey Barney, who has been such an amazing supporter and guide.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

I teach in a MFA program, so I’m always full of advice, some of it my students heed, much of it they disregard, as they should. The most important lessons writers teach themselves. But the thing I say to every writer—regardless of age--is simply: Write what you love. Write work that feels important and true to you, because that’s the only way you’ll be able to stay with it over the long haul.

Excellent advice. Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

Well these days I’m terribly busy. I try to balance writing, teaching, family, friendships and the hours of the day seem to disappear too quickly. I have a fabulous little writer’s room in my backyard where I’m able to work, and I am looking forward to a summer spent there dreaming and putting words on paper.

Oh, I'm so jealous! I want a writer's room in my back yard. Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I’m just in the later revision stage for KEEPING SAFE THE STARS, my second middle grade novel, which is scheduled for fall 2012 with Putnam. When that work ends, I’m back at the blank page wondering what story will ask to enter the world next. I love that mystery, I love watching a book come to life.

Do you have a website or other contact where readers can learn more about you and SPARROW ROAD?

Yes, I love web visitors and welcome e-mail from readers. You can find me at my website www.sheilaoconnor.com or visit my author page on facebook where I post my latest news, what I’m reading, thoughts on writing, etc. Stop by and say hello.

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Christina Mandelski

2011-04-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

I'm so pleased to introduce Christina Mandelski, author of the debut novel THE SWEETEST THING. Chris is one of the sweetest people I know (so, a fitting title!) - and I've followed her progress to this exciting point since she lives in Houston and I used to live in College Station. Her premise is so yummy and timely...

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, THE SWEETEST THING. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

In my house we LOVE to watch all of the cake shows and contests on TV. It's kind of an obsession. One day I wondered what it would be like to be a teenager with that kind of talent, and my main character, Sheridan Wells, was born. She has a passion for creating one-of-a-kind cakes, and she's trying to figure out where the rest of her complicated life fits with that passion.

How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

I've been writing in one way or another for most of my life. I always assumed that I would write stories for adults, but in 2003 a friend suggested that I try writing for kids. I started with picture books (which, let's face it, is MUCH harder than it seems) but then eventually realized that I needed to write novels. I have two and a half manuscripts in my "drawer" that may never see the light of day, but they needed to be written (if for no other reason that they taught me how to write a novel!)

Can you describe your path to the publication of THE SWEETEST THING?

I was very fortunate. After a ton of outright rejections on my first two novels, I wrote THE SWEETEST THING and started to get some positive feedback from agents. In December of 2008 I submitted my first chapter to the (now closed) Firebrand Literary's query holiday. Like many writers, I have a tough time with query letters, and all they wanted was to see the first chapter, so I was ALL over that. In January I received THE email (the one that makes a writer scream and cry and jump up and down like a lunatic) from agent Michael Stearns. He liked what he read and wanted to see more. By late summer, he'd started his own agency (Upstart Crow Literary) and was submitting my novel to publishers. In October of 2009, Egmont US picked it up. There was screaming, crying and jumping that day too.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Yes! Don't quit! I have seen many talented writers throw in the towel because they either couldn't handle the wait, or the rejection, or both. At times it might seem hopeless, at times the wait might seem endless, but if you LOVE it, don't quit. You might have to write ten novels before you sell the eleventh. Prepare for that possibility. Write the novel, submit it, and start the next one. Don't give up and while you're busy not giving up -- enjoy the process!!

And of course, READ. Honestly, I didn't start really writing well until I was reading a book or two a week. I've heard some writers say that they don't read while they're writing -- and that may work for them. But I need the inspiration that other books give me. Plus I adore reading, and any excuse to do it, I'll take.

This is the best advice. Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

After years of trying to get my work published, I can finally (sort of) stop worrying about that and focus on my writing. My immediate plan is to go to my desk everyday and get something on that computer screen. I'm also learning a lot about the business side of publishing and discovering how best to get my book to my readers. I think that's what excites me most about this upcoming year -- connecting with my readers. Plus I have two pre-teen daughters of my own, so when I'm not writing, I'm a taxi service.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I have a few projects in the works that are keeping me busy, one a dystopian young adult novel and the other a contemporary young adult with a paranormal twist.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about THE SWEETEST THING?

Yes! My site is www.christinamandelski.com and I'm also a member of the Class of 2k11 at www.classof2k11.com -- come visit me!

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Amy Holder

2011-04-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

A bit of a delay in posting this week as our beautiful Montana had another 14 inches of snow...but spring is coming and we're hoping to see the grass one of these days. In the meantime, I'm thrilled to present an interview with another of the Class of 2k11's amazing authors, the talented Amy Holder. (Amy is an artist of great talent, as well as crafting a book that sounds like a true delight.)

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, THE LIPSTICK LAWS. Love that cover! Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

Thank you so much, Janet! The Lipstick Laws is a humorous coming-of-age story about popularity gone wrong. I wanted to write a fun take on the ups and downs of high school and the social hierarchies within it. The main character, April, inspired the whole plot to evolve because her quirky voice is the first piece of the story that came to me when I began writing it.

How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

I have been writing since I was a little girl, but I didn't try to pursue it professionally until after college. That's when I began thinking of writing as more than a hobby. I've always loved children's books, but this love was reinforced even more when I took a job at a Montessori school working with young children after college. I fell in love with the books I’d read to them...and this inspired me to write for children. Eventually that evolved to tweens and teens…and here I am today! I've written too many stories to count over the years, but The Lipstick Laws is the first one that's resulted in publication (so far).

Can you describe your path to the publication of THE LIPSTICK LAWS?

Surprisingly, my path to publishing The Lipstick Laws was pretty smooth! After writing and revising the manuscript, I submitted it to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Luckily I was able to avoid the slush pile by networking (never underestimate the importance of networking). About six weeks later, I found out that they wanted to publish it. I was ecstatic!

My complete road to publication has had its share of bumps, though. I submitted some other manuscripts for younger children and tweens/teens to agents and publishers before this, resulting in rejection letters and/or slush pile drowning. These rejections and bumps along the way made me appreciate the quick sale of The Lipstick Laws even more.

Good for you for sticking with it! Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Yes! Practice and perfect your writing craft, study the publishing market, never give up, and network like crazy! Talent, perseverance and knowledge of the industry pay off in the publishing world. Also, networking might help you get out of the dreaded slush pile to let your talent do the talking for you.

Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

My goal is to expand my writing to include many different genres for various age groups. I’m also an artist, so I’d love to illustrate a picture book someday as well. Some people don’t know that my first publication was of my art and writing in the greeting card market. I think this is a good way for a writer or artist to spread her/his creative wings before taking the dive into the world of book publishing.

(I can attest to the fact that Amy has incredible artistic talent. Check out the design for the website of the Class of 2k11.) Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I'm currently working on another contemporary YA novel with a bit of a paranormal twist. I also have some other projects for younger readers in the works.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about THE LIPSTICK LAWS?

I sure do! Please visit my author site at www.amyholder.com. From there you'll be able to read my blog and find out more information about me and my book.

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Carole Estby Dagg

2011-04-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

Carole Estby Dagg's debut novel  The Year We Were Famous; How Clara Estby and Her Mother Walked across America has already received starred reviews and many accolades. And I love the tag line: " Would you walk four thousand miles to save your family's home?" This book is just my cup of tea, and I'm delighted to introduce Carole here this week.

Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

The Year We Were Famous is based on the true story of seventeen-year-old Clara Estby and her mother Helga (my great-aunt and great-grandmother) who walked from Washington State to New York City back in 1896. If they reached New York in time, they would win $10,000 that would pay their debts and save their farm from foreclosure. Since Clara’s mother was a suffragist, they also hoped to prove that the New Woman in America deserved the vote. Between their farm in Mica Creek and New York City, they wore out thirty-two pairs of shoes, resorted to shooting an assailant, went days without food or water, camped out with Indians, and shook the hand of president-elect McKinley.

Because of the way their trip ended, all the notes they took along the trip were burned. Since they never completed the book they intended to write, I used my imagination to fill the gaps between the facts gleaned from newspaper accounts and wrote the book in their honor.

How long have you been writing for teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

This is the first book to make it to print—fifteen years after the first rejection on it. I didn’t inherit Great-grandmother Helga’s physical strength, but I must have inherited her perseverance gene!

And perseverance makes all the difference! And I love the photo of the two ladies here. Can you describe your path to the publication of The Year We Were Famous?

Twenty-nine rejections, including two from Clarion, the house that ultimately accepted the novel. I have to remember to burn the early versions of the manuscript before I die – they were embarrassingly bad. Between rejections I took more classes and workshops, experimented with different points of view, starting points, focus, and voice. I must have re-written the book at least twenty times.

Other than this brilliant piece (revise, revise, revise) do you have any advice for beginning writer?

Start now; the sooner you begin, the more years you have to hone your craft.

Read.

Don’t give up; learn from rejection and keep going.

Attend classes and workshops to improve your skills and expand your circle of writing friends.

Nurture your writing friends: join writing organizations, critique groups, and book discussion groups.

Try to write at least half an hour a day, even when you don’t feel like it. The muse only visits those with pen (or keyboard) at hand.

All excellent bits of wisdom. Can you tell us something about your personal life—inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

My most important goal is to live long enough to write all the books I’ve been researching. Since I got a late start—my first book comes out the year I turn 67—this is no small thing.

I’m married with a husband, two grown children (one is following her mother’s footsteps as a librarian), two grandsons, and a bossy cat. I write in my study in Everett, Washington, and a converted woodshed on San Juan Island.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

Two books are in the messy draft stage and I have boxes of research notes for several other historical novels featuring amazing women.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about The Year We Were Famous?

Yes: carolestbydagg.com

Thank you, Janet!

You are welcome, Carole! You can check out the trailer for The Year We Were Famous here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32EWPJt8i_A

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Angie Smibert

2011-04-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

I can't wait to get my hands on this book by debut author Angie Smibert: MEMENTO NORA. It sounds like a fabulous premise. I'm thrilled to introduce you to her today with this interview.

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, MEMENTO NORA. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

Thanks, Janet! Memento Nora is set in a near-future world where terrorism is so common place that people just pop a pill to forget and go on like nothing ever happened. Nora James, the popular girl and happy consumer, witnesses a horrific bombing on a shopping trip with her mother. When Nora makes her first trip to a Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic, she learns what her mother, a frequent forgetter, has been frequently forgetting. Nora secretly spits out the pill and holds on to her memories. She joins forces with two new friends, each with their own reasons to remember, to put out an underground comic about their memories--and other things they find out about their world. They soon learn they can't get away with remembering.

The novel grew out of a short story (of the same name) that appeared in Odyssey magazine a few years ago. The theme of that issue was memory, something I've always been fascinated with--both on individual and societal level. I based the science of the pill on current research in post traumatic stress disorder.

How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

I started off writing short stories, mostly for adults, but I've always loved YA/MG fiction. So I tried my hand at short stories for the teen/tween audience and stumbled upon my writer's voice in the process. I became a frequent contributor to Odyssey magazine, a science / science fiction magazine for 9-14 year-olds. This book actually started as a short story (of the same name) that appeared in Odyssey a few years ago. Memento Nora is the first book I've written.

Can you describe your path to the publication of MEMENTO NORA?

I've been extraordinarily lucky with Memento Nora. Shortly after completing what I considered a solid draft of the book (which had been workshopped), I attended a regional SCBWI meeting. The great thing about these conferences is that the editors almost always allow you to submit straight to them just because you attended their panel. So I submitted my manuscript to 3 of the 4 editors (the 4th didn't read science fiction), and a few months later Marilyn Mark (now Brigham) from Marshall Cavendish contacted me. They'd be interested in buying it if I made a few changes in the ending. (The word "terribly anticlimactic" were used, I think.) So I furiously revised, and they liked it. Once they made me an offer, I scrambled to find an agent--and got a pretty brilliant one.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Be persistent. Be prepared to wait. A lot. And, when you're ready, attend things like SCBWI conferences. (The one I mentioned above was the best $150 I ever spent.)

Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

I've had some cool jobs in the past, including 10 years at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. All of them involved writing in some form or another, but I really felt like I needed to concentrate on my writing. So I moved back to Virginia (where it's cheaper) and threw myself into writing.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I'm currently working on the sequel to Memento Nora. I have a few other projects planned out, but I haven't started writing them yet.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about MEMENTO NORA?

In addition to my own personal website, I've built a site just for the book: www.mementonora.com. There readers can submit their own underground comic for publication on the site--and possibly win a prize. I also have information on the many inspirations for book as well as possible activities for teachers.

Thanks so much, Angie!

Library-loving Blog Challenge 2011!

2011-03-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is a library-loving blog challenge!

We all know how beset libraries are right now, and I love my new hometown library in Bozeman, Montana. Please help me show the love.

For every commenter on this post between now and April 4 at midnight, I will donate $1.00 to the Bozeman Public Library, up to an amount of $100.00 total.

How easy could it be? You comment, I cough up the money, the libraries get a gift! If you don’t know what to say in your comment, “I love libraries” will do.

My pledge is “per commenter”—so if a single person leaves 50 comments, that still only counts once! But you can do more by spreading the word ... please link to this post, tweet about it, mention it on Facebook, etc. You can raise money for additional local libraries by visiting the blogs of others participating in this blog challenge. Go to this link:

http://writerjenn.livejournal.com/ (And, by the way, Jennifer Hubbard, author of The Secret Year, is the lovely brain behind this endeavor.)

If you’re inspired to start your own challenge or donate a flat amount to your local library also, please leave the amount of your pledge and the name of your library system in the comments.

There is also a Twitter component to this challenge. For every new follower I get at my Twitter account @janetsfox between now and April 4 at midnight, I will donate an additional $1.00.

And last but not least...I have a library-bound edition of FAITHFUL to give away! If you are a librarian or know a librarian, please indicate and include your email and I'll enter you in a drawing for this edition.

On behalf of libraries everywhere - thanks!

Kidlit4Japan Auction Live!

2011-03-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

The Kidlit4Japan auction to benefit children in Japan in the wake of the terrible tragedy there is live, and I want to invite you to bid on any of the wonderful items being offered.

This is a terrific way for the American children's writing community to come together and show our generosity and support.

Devastation in Japan

2011-03-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

With all of you, I share a horror at the tragedy unfolding in Japan. My husband is a geophysicist, and I’ve completed a masters’ degree in geology; nevertheless, the power of nature to inflict havoc and human misery is shocking.

Kula, in my second novel FORGIVEN, experiences the terrible devastation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. While I was researching the novel I came across many, many first-hand accounts, photographs, and videos, and I felt the same kind of shock at what I observed to be the terrible devastation there.

A friend of mine alerted me to a Huffington Post article that described a recently discovered collection of photographs by the photographer Frederick Eugene Ives. Here are a couple of the photographs taken in San Francisco shortly after the earthquake, and a quote from the article:

The six never-published images were snapped by photography innovator Frederick Eugene Ives several months after the April 1906 "Great Quake," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Most were taken from the roof of the hotel where Ives stayed during an October 1906 visit.

They were stowed amid other items donated by Ives' son, Herbert, and discovered in 2009 by National Museum of American History volunteer Anthony Brooks while he was cataloguing the collection.

All photos courtesy of the Photographic History Collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

If you want to help Japan, Greg Fishbone has organized an online auction featuring the kidlit community at http://kidlit4japan.wordpress.com/ , the auction to begin Monday, March 21 at this address. You can donate items to the auction, or you can bid on items there. The proceeds will benefit UNICEF in the hopes of reaching children in Japan in particular.

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k11: Bettina Restrepo

2011-03-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

I first met Bettina Restrepo just after I began writing for children, when she was the volunteer coordinator for an SCBWI Houston conference. She was warm and funny and gracious, and I'm so pleased to host her here, talking about her debut novel, ILLEGAL.

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, ILLEGAL. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

14 yr old Nora waits for her father to come back to Mexico so that her life can begin again. He’s working a construction job in Texas and occasionally calls and sends money back to their withering village in Cedula, Mexico. When the phone call and the money stop, Nora creates a plan to cross the border to find him. It’s a coming of age story crossed with illegal immigration. It’s also a spiritual exploration many issues including right vs wrong, God, prejudice, and the forgotten people of society.

My main character, Nora, was inspired by a girl I saw on the side of the road and by my work with Fiesta Mart I traveled to the stores and saw so many things!

How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

I’ve been writing at some sort of professional level since 2002. I’ve been published in Highlights for Children, Boy’s Life, Nature Friend, and more. My first picture book came out in 2009, Moose and Magpie (Sylvan Dell Publishing.)

Can you describe your path to the publication of ILLEGAL?

It was my first novel I ever wrote, and I didn’t sell it until 2009. It was the novel I re-wrote a million times to teach myself to write better, stronger, deeper. I gave up many times, but I always got back onto the publishing horse. It’s a story that wouldn’t leave me alone.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Read everything. Read what you love more than 3 times. Be patient and then be patient some more - with yourself, with the story, with life.

Also, for all writers, not everything you write will be destined for professional publication. Sometimes a story is best loved with its intended audience. Write because it is art, not to get famous.

Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

I’m a mom to a very special little boy. He has an articulation disorder that makes his speech not understandable – but that doesn’t mean he is broken. My personal goal is to equip him with all the tool he needs to become who he is supposed to be. It’s definitely my hardest job, and one I can’t fail at.

But, I want to continue to write novels. I just finished my next YA, which is about Mercedes, a Colombian exchange student in a Texas high school, who is not exactly what she seems. It’s a soap opera within a book and very funny. I had a ball writing it.

What’s next – perhaps I’ll tackle another serious character. I love my characters.

For life – I want to travel more, spend time with friends and family, and do good for others.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I always have 2-3 projects underway. :)

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about ILLEGAL?

www.bettinarestrepo.com and on Facebook @BettinaRestrepo

A FAITHFUL Moment: Dances With Wolves

2011-03-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

I've been planning for a while to run a series of posts about Montana and the Yellowstone region, in homage to Maggie, the protagonist of Faithful. But I thought I'd start with a personal experience because...it just happened!

We do have wolves here in the mountains around our cabin. I've known this for a while, and we've seen them - usually from the car while driving through the open prairie lands on the way to town - but once I watched them running across the slope across the river from our front porch, and once we saw a wolf while out walking with a group.

Today I crossed paths with a lone wolf, while I was walking alone and was (most likely) the only human in a five mile radius. While he wanted nothing to do with me, I certainly wanted nothing to do with him. But his path took him to a stand of aspen that lies between where I was on the hillside and our cabin.

So my little heart was beating hard for a time, as I skirted the woods and made noise and generally got a move on - without looking like I was moving too fast. I had my eye fixed on the direction in which he went. At one point as I crossed his path (literally) I caught a whiff of him, and boy, did he smell. As an FYI to lovers of novels featuring cute boys who can morph into wolves: don't try this at home.

Not long ago a wolf pack killed a rancher neighbors' dog right outside their house. And I know the ranchers aren't happy with the wolves in general as they can and do predate on sickly calves. I am a big fan of the wolves for many reasons, not the least of which is we need balance in nature and generally speaking wolves want to stay out of our way. But respect is important here. Respect of his space, and my hope that he'll respect mine.

Would Maggie have seen wolves in Yellowstone in 1904? Not likely. Wolves were nearly extinct in this part of the world at that time, having been hunted to the brink. I read nothing about wolves in the journals of the Park Superintendent that year while doing research. I'm glad they're back. But I'm also glad that I'm back in our cabin with no closer encounter than I had.

Women’s History Month: Who Wears the Pants?

2011-03-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

When Faithful was recognized by the ALA as an “Amelia Bloomer List” pick for 2011, I knew I had to write a little something about Amelia. (Of course, I’m truly proud, as this is something that is important to me: the list contains the committee’s pick of books that honor “strong, powerful girls and the books that inspire them”. I love that my Maggie inspired this choice!)

Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894) was an early feminist, a proponent of women’s issues, and the founder of a newspaper, The Lily, devoted to issues like suffrage, temperance, and education. But Amelia is best known for her namesake “bloomers” – the first attempt at getting women out of long cumbersome skirts and into pants.

Bloomers were ugly enough that women didn’t take to them widely, and even feminists eventually abandoned them because they looked ridiculous. (You'll notice that women couldn't entirely abandon their skirts, and that the bloomers couldn't exactly hug the figure...maybe the only advantage was that you could run away more easily from some obnoxious male.)

Amelia was happily married, so much so that she gave up her beloved paper in order to follow when her husband wished to move west. She stated that giving up The Lily was an act of love, not of obedience. Her difficult choice resonates; we all must, from time to time, make choices between head and heart.

Amelia and her followers set in motion the dialogue that continues today regarding the rights and roles of women in society. What do you think - how far have we come?

Here's more about Amelia:
http://www2.kenyon.edu/khistory/frontier/ameliabloomer.htm

Reading Like a Writer: Character in Maggie Stiefvater's LINGER

2011-03-01T13:53:00.000-08:00

Fangirl moment: I attended KidlitCon in Minneapolis this past October, and to my great delight Maggie Stiefvater was the keynote speaker. I’d read Shiver and loved it; I bought Linger at the conference. Maggie is unpretentious and supremely smart, and her keynote was inspiring. I knew she was a good writer. After reading Linger, I’m convinced she’s an exceptional writer.

Linger (aside from being a rollicking good story, with a plot that grabs and won’t let go) is a study in character. The story is told in alternating points of view, each from the first person. Stiefvater labels each change of POV; but her characters are so richly conceived that I really didn’t need labels, I knew just who was speaking. How does she do it? By understanding what makes each character tick. By giving them such unique personalities that their voices resonate through language, recollection, and action.

The story (and I’m not giving anything away here) is the love story of Grace and Sam, and their relationship is central to the action. Grace is gentle and giving. Sam is gentle and lost. Sam is a poet:

Without Grace, I was a nocturnal animal. I stalked ants in the kitchen, waiting by the insufficient light of the recessed bulbs with a glass and a piece of paper so that I could transport them outside.

Grace is the “good” girl captured by love:

Could you outgrow your parents?

But it is Stiefvater’s secondary characters who steal the show. With Isabel, Stiefvater has created a character both sure of herself and vulnerable, yet unwilling to let her vulnerability show. She’s the ultimate cool teen:

I sighed. I didn’t know if I wanted to know. It seemed to me that knowing would be more work than not knowing. But it wasn’t like we could really put the genie back in the lamp now that it was out, could we?

Snide, snarky, quick, Isabel falls for her perfect alter ego Cole, who has been there and done it all:

I looked down at him, and suddenly anger bubbled up through me. It shouldn’t have affected him this badly. It was just a damned bathroom. It was he who was making me this cruel – I hadn’t done anything to him except shown him a damned tub. I wasn’t that person he thought I was.

Oh, but Cole is the way Sam thinks he is - damaged, yes, but not truly cruel, and this is what he must learn - with Isabel's help. And Isabel must learn to trust, and what better teacher than Cole?
Isabel: It seemed like he always sprang honesty on me when I least expected it.
Cole: I felt like I had been a balloon getting larger and larger, waiting to pop, and she had come in and burst herself first.
The story may be Grace’s and Sam’s, a Romeo and Juliet thwarted love story - and, by the way, ever so much more than a werewolf story – but the interplay of these two damaged souls, Isabel and Cole, is what kept me reading. I can’t wait for Stiefvater’s third book, Forever.

Guest Post on Voice + Plot by Jennifer Hubbard

2011-02-21T17:57:00.000-08:00

I've known Jennifer R. Hubbard for several years and one thing about her has always impressed me: she is one of the most level-headed people on the planet. I know I can turn to her for advice on any topic. In addition to this wonderful trait, she is an exceptional writer, as her first novel, The Secret Year (now out in paperback), demonstrates. Jenn and I are cross-posting on the conjoined topics of voice and plot, and I'm delighted to present her post this week.

Janet suggested voice and plot as topics, which is interesting because they are the two elements I must have in place before I can begin a story. Even if I have a good plot, I can’t write it until a narrator starts whispering in my ear. If I have just a voice, I can get a couple of good sentences out, but then the story has nowhere to go.

With my first book, The Secret Year, I think I had the plot first, and it was waiting for Colt’s voice. With my second book, Try Not to Breathe, I seemed to start with a voice. I had a character in a scene, but I didn’t know why he was there or where he was headed next. Then I realized that he was going to tell a story, to live out a plot, that I’d had in mind for a long time: the question of how people come back from the brink of suicide. There are a lot of books out there that deal with the aftermath of suicide, or that end with a character deciding whether to commit suicide—but what happens next? If the character lives, how does he put his life back together?

Of course, a character can’t do much in a vacuum. Another character approached my main character right away. What did she want? I wondered. Where would she take him? The answers to these questions led my characters to a road trip, audiences with psychics, and a complicated relationship of their own.

It probably sounds as if I’m not directing the characters so much as observing them and recording what they do, and my writing often feels that way. I do make conscious choices, I do intentionally divert the stream, but most of the decisions seem to come from some subconscious level. In that sense, much of what I do is not about generating stories as much as it is about listening, remaining open. Hunting for those voices and plots, squirreling them away, and having them come out in surprising ways.

Jennifer R. Hubbard is the author of the young-adult novel, The Secret Year and the forthcoming Try Not to Breathe. She blogs at http://jenniferrhubbard.blogspot.com/ and http://writerjenn.livejournal.com/

And the winner is...

2011-02-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

Liz!

has won a copy of Haunted.

Congrats, and many thanks to all of you for coming by and commenting, tweeting and loving Joy's books! New blog post coming soon.