Adi Rule and STRANGE SWEET SONG

One of the other participants in my first workshop at Vermont College of Fine Arts – which was also her first workshop – was a young writer, Adi Rule. She brought a piece to workshop that was one of the most stunningly beautiful narratives I’ve ever read. I knew she’d go places, and, yup, she has.

Her debut novel STRANGE SWEET SONG launches today, and I know it will be a gorgeous read. I can’t wait. It’s also a thrill to call her an agency-sister, as she is repped by Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

Adi grew up in New Hampshire among cats, ducks, and writers. When she isn't writing, she may be found winning Triple Yahtzee or losing at Upwords against her grandmother. She sings in the chorus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra/Boston Pops, has an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and probably has more vintage memorabilia from Disney's Robin Hood than you.

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, STRANGE SWEET SONG. And - wow! - what a spectacular cover. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

The story takes place at a remote, prestigious music conservatory where history is entwined with mythology. The main character, Sing Da Navelli, is both thrilled and terrified to learn that her first audition there will be for the opera Angelique, which was written at the conservatory. While the role of Angelique is one Sing has dreamed of singing since she was a child, it is also the role her mother was performing when she died on stage two years ago. As Sing struggles to find her own voice, she is drawn to the dark forest that surrounds the conservatory, where the great beast from the story of Angelique is rumored to roam. 

I think the story started out with its names, actually. The mythical beast that haunts the forest is called the Felix. She's catlike, with celestial origins. Felix is traditionally a cat's name, but it doesn't actually come from the Latin word for "cat," it comes from the word for "happy," and that was the spark of that character -- a being who embodies happiness, what causes her to fall so far from that state, and what restores her. The main character's name, Sing, is a tribute to her distinguished parentage. But, as she says, it's both a name and a command. I wanted to explore what would happen if a character had both a true, innate love of singing, and a name that almost works against her own psyche.

Can you describe your path to the publication of STRANGE SWEET SONG?

  

My path for this book was fairly traditional. I queried Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency about another novel. She liked it, but wanted to see something else, so when I had finished a pretty good draft of what was then called Sing, I sent it along. I was thrilled beyond the moon when she offered to represent me. EMLA is just a warm, fun, fantastic agency to be a part of. (Janet, I know you'll back me up on this! You bet I do!) Joan sold Sing to an enthusiastic editor at St Martin's, and we revised and revised. It's funny, with a big publisher like SMP, I assumed that -- and was okay with -- I would be somewhat lost in all the gears and big machinery. But it hasn't been like that at all; it's been a very friendly place to launch a first book. 

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Well, I'll certainly echo the same advice everyone gives, because it's the best -- read a lot and write a lot! And find your support system -- you're going to need feedback from people who have your work's best interest at heart. Learn to accept the label "writer," and remember that it only means, "someone who writes." It doesn't mean someone with a book on Oprah's Book Club; neither does it mean someone who has a great idea for a novel but never writes any words. But it can mean someone who is learning, someone who writes a lousy first draft, someone who writes a piece that just doesn't work, or someone who hammers out and polishes a story into something truly wonderful. 

Also, learn to love revision. Also also, revision does not equal copyediting.

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

One of these days, I'm going to clean the heck out of my apartment. Sunbeams will bathe the floor, my mother will start visiting again, and all the spiders living in my shower will close their multiple eyes and inhale the light scent of pine. That will be a glorious, glorious day.

Hah! Your mother will be happy, I can vouch for that. Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

Yes! :) I have another book coming out from St Martin's (fingers crossed for 2015) called Redwing. It's a bit industrial revolution and a bit mythological. We're in the editing/revising stage right now.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about STRANGE SWEET SONG?   

I love it when people pop by to say hi on my site or social media! I especially love pictures of cats! Find me here:

Website: http://www.adirule.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/luciferadi

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adi-Rule/426383094079054 

Tumblr: http://www.luciferadi.tumblr.com

Blog: http://threetasselsandatophat.blogspot.com

Big River's Daughter: Historical Fantasy by Bobbi Miller

Today on the blog I'm delighted to welcome Bobbi Miller, talking about her acclaimed historical fantasy, BIG RIVER'S DAUGHTER. I'm a total sucker for historical fantasy, so take a look at this wonderful tale...

Raised by her pirate father on a Mississippi keeler, River is a half-feral river rat and proud of it. When her powerful father disappears in the great earthquake of 1811, she is on the run from buccaneers, including Jean Laffite, who hope to claim her father's territory and his buried treasure. But the ruthless rivals do not count on getting a run for their money from a plucky slip of a girl determined to find her place in the new order.

Hi Bobbi! First, can you tell us about how you came to write this particular tale?

“This here story is all true, as near as I can recollect. It ain’t a prettified story. Life as a river rat is stomping hard, and don’t I know it. It’s life wild and woolly, a real rough and tumble. But like Da said, life on the river is full of possible imaginations. And we river rats, we aim to see it through in our own way. That’s the honest truth of it.”  

So says River Fillian as she begins to tell her story in my book, Big River’s Daughter. River’s story is an historical American fantasy, a blend of the tall tale tradition that captures so much of the American identity, and a unique form of fantasy. I have long been a student of  tall tales, epitomized in the exploits of Annie Christmas and Mike Fink -- two important characters in River’s life. In true rough and tumble fashion, the heroes and heroines of tall tales mocked and defied convention. Even their language was as wild and unabashed as the circumstance and landscape that created these characters. And that describes my character, River.

I’m also an avid student of American history. David McCullough, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote, “We are raising a generation of young Americans who are by and large historically illiterate…We have to know who we were if we’re to know who we are and where we’re headed…If you don’t care about it –if you’ve inherited some great fortune, you don’t even know that it’s a great work of art and you’re not interested in it – you’re going to lose it…”  History is literature, McCullough says. And our history is full of amazing stories.

The setting of my book was an extraordinary time in American history. We were embroiled in the War of 1812. While the War of Independence set us free of British rule, the War of 1812 ultimately defined us as a force in world power. My story is  also grounded in many historical personalities, such as the Pirates Laffites, as well as events. In December 1811, a series of earthquakes shook the Mississippi  River basin. Three of these earthquakes would have measured at magnitude of 8.0 on the modern-day Richter scale. Six others would have measured between 7.0 and 7.5. The quakes were felt as far away as Canada. It shook so hard, it forced the Mississippi River to run backwards, changing the very landscape. It also sets into motion River’s story.

Congratulations on being nominated for the Amelia Bloomer list. FAITHFUL was a nominee as well. Please talk about what that means for you, and for your novel.

What an honor this is! The Amelia Bloomer Project is an annual annotated book list in association with American Library Association, and features “well-written and well-illustrated books that empower girls by providing role models of strong, capable, creative women.”  These personalities and characters were my inspirations when I was a young reader.  Isn’t that the goal of every writer to inspire a young reader to become more than they imagined themselves possible? The characters in these books, both real and imagined, defied the social convention of their day –past and present – to become fully realized, astonishing individuals doing great things.  http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/amelia-bloomer-book-list

Another honor is being listed at the site, A Mighty Girl, with its tag line, “The world's largest collection of books, toys and movies for smart, confident, and courageous girl.” And you can see this at: http://www.amightygirl.com/

I know that you believe that historically accurate language use is especially important to you (as it is to me) so please tell readers how you went about researching and using language.

With my studies in folklore, I have long studied the rhythms and patterns in speech and how they influence the storytelling process.  I also listened to storytellers tell their stories, too,  and the best ones – like Eric Kimmel, Rafe Martin and Ashley Bryan – enrapture the audience.  Theirs is the process of storytelling as old as human communication. We are homo narratus, story animals, suggests Kendall Haven (Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story, 2007). We have told our stories for over 100,000 years. Not every culture has developed codified laws or written language, but every culture in the history of the world has created myths, legends, fables, and folk tales.

To capture the language in River’s story, I also studied many readings, like Davy

Crockett’s Almanacs (1835 – 1856), which included much of the language used by storytellers of that day.  Of course, these were the days before the dictionary and so people spelled words according to how they pronounced the. And deferent pronouncements produced different spellings.  And one cannot write about the Mississippi River without reading Mark Twain. I read most, if not all, of his books, annotating, deciphering, pulling apart words and sentences. Of course, whenever river men, like the western mountain men, gathered, they told their tall tales. They used songs and signals to call to each other. One of my favorites was from Mark Twain, which goes, “Who-op!” It mean’s, “I’m here! Look at me!” 

What are you working on now?

My next book is Girls of Gettysburg, due from Holiday House in Fall 2014.  This book tells of the battle of Gettysburg using three different perspectives: a young woman disguised as a Confederate soldier; the young daughter of a free man and farmer; and the daughter of the town butcher, and the harrowing three days in which Gettysburg explodes and the lives of these three young girls intersect in unexpected ways.  The inspiration came from finding an old newspaper clip dating from that time, in which a union general noted the presence of a fallen Confederate soldier, a girl, at the bottom of his report. His words “one female (private) in rebel uniform” became her epitaph.  Her story remained a mystery. And to get the feel of the landscape, I not only walked the length of the Gettysburg  battle several times over three trips to the area, I visited the reenactors, and made a pest of myself in the bookstores.

But that's what it means to me to write historical fiction: doing everything I can to bring that historical moment alive.

For more information about the historical American Fantasy and tall tale characters in my book, please see my article, Big River’s Daughter, at: http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/blog/radar/?p=827

For more information about why historical fiction is important, and how teachers might use them in their classrooms, see A Conversation of Many: Why is Historical Fiction Important?  http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/blog/radar/?p=856

For a wonderful educator’s guide on how to use Big River’s Daughter in the classroom, see: http://www.holidayhouse.com/docs/Big_Rivers_Daughter.pdf

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k13: Liesl Shurtliff and Her Debut RUMP

I'm back from a fantastic trip to Chicago and delighted to be able to feature Liesl Shurtliff on the blog today! Her debut, RUMP, is a take on the Rumplestiltskin tale - which happened to be one of my favorites as a kid. I am *really* looking forward to reading this one. Here's Liesl:

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

Thanks! RUMP is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, but instead of the villain, he’s an unlikely, yet loveable hero. As for the inspiration, I was actually brainstorming another story idea when I imagined a world where names are much more than just a title, but a person’s destiny. Instantly my mind gravitated toward the Rumpelstiltskin tale, for if there was ever a name of great importance in a story, it’s that one. And yet, for the crucial role he and his name play in the story, we know so little of Rumpelstiltskin in the traditional tale. We know nothing of where he comes from, what his name means, how he learned to spin straw into gold, or why on earth he would want someone’s first born child. I wanted to tell a story from his point-of-view, not only so we would understand Rumpelstiltskin, but also love him. Shortening his name to Rump got me on the right track and everything grew from there.

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

I’ve been writing seriously (with the goal to publish) for nearly ten years now. I wrote a little for newspapers and magazines, which was great experience, and then I turned to novels. I wrote two before I wrote RUMP, and they will both remain shelved for the foreseeable future.

I so agree that newspaper and magazine writing can be invaluable preparation for novel writing. Can you describe your path to the publication of RUMP?

I decided early on that I wanted an agent. It’s not totally necessary; I have friends that get books published with good houses without an agent, but it can certainly speed up the process and a good agent can help in more ways than just selling your work. I researched agents and the querying process while I was working on RUMP. (Querying is a skill in and of itself!) After a month of querying I signed with Michelle Andelman at Regal Literary. We revised together for a month before we went on submission, and then a month after that we had an offer from Katherine Harrison at Knopf. It wasn’t as hellish a process as some stories I’ve heard. Some of that is luck, but some is simply doing your homework, both in your craft and business.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

I would say follow your gut and don’t let anybody push you around too much. One piece of advice might be great for one person but totally wrong for another, so as you’re learning and sifting through all the advice out there, don’t be afraid to toss some of it out the window and figure out what’s right for your situation. There are “rules” in this business, but this is also a business that delights in a rule fantastically broken.

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

I’m a mother of three young children and it’s both a blessing and a challenge when it comes to writing. I’m extremely invested in both writing for children and the raising of my own, so it can be tricky to balance that. Thankfully I have an amazingly supportive husband and we manage it all pretty well.

One day I would really like to live in Europe, or at least go there! Everyone in my family has traveled there except me! (Talk about the black sheep of the family.)

 

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I am currently working on two new projects, one MG and one YA. I’m kind of shy about discussing works-in-progress until I know it’s going to work out. Not everything I write pans out, but I have high hopes for both projects. Fingers crossed as I write and I’ll be sure to shout it off tops at some point, so stay tuned.

Fingers crossed here, too! Do you have a website where readers can learn more about RUMP?  

www.lieslshurtliff.com has all sorts of fun stuff, including a trailer for RUMP. Go check it out!

I did - and added it above - lovely!!

POISON! A Debut Novel by Bridget Zinn

By now you have all heard (I truly hope) about the POISON blog tour for Bridget Zinn's debut novel. If you haven't, just know that Bridget was a young librarian and author who sold her book as she was battling cancer and did not live to see it come to fruition.

But it has, to the great credit of her family, friends and publisher, Hyperion. I never met Bridget. But I did hear about her while she was still alive, and many things about her story touched me in unexpected ways, maybe because I was at that time dealing with loss, maybe because it's tragic to lose anyone. But especially - just my personal opinion - because it's tragic to lose someone with talent, which Bridget clearly had in abundance.

So here's my story to commemorate Bridget's debut  - a story about "firsts".

My first publication happened when I was in third grade. Yes, that's where it began for me, and it made a difference. My teacher, Mrs. Weber, asked us all to write poems, and I wrote one called "October." I still remember loving the writing - just the writing - because fall is such a favorite time and I wanted to bring the coppery colors to life on the page. Well, Mrs. Weber must have liked my poem because she sent it into my town newspaper, and they published it.

I can still remember the smells and colors in the kitchen - all that black and white - when my mother called me in. She had the paper spread open on the counter and she was as surprised as I was.

"Look! You have a poem in the paper!" And she beamed, for once not hiding her gap-toothed smile behind her hand. "I'm so proud of you!"

My mother was a writer, never published. I found her children's stories - lovely stories - in her files after she died suddenly and before she could see my current success.

So this is a post about firsts and about loss and about success and about what it means to create something that lasts beyond. Mrs. Weber doesn't know she "birthed" a writer. My mother doesn't know she encouraged me to grow into an author. Bridget doesn't know what a wide span of love her creative spirit has inspired.

I can't wait to read POISON. For one thing, here's the Kirkus review that wins me over:

Don't let the title or cover fool you! No grimdark teen fantasy or angst-y heroines here; just a frothy confection of a fairy tale featuring poisoners, princesses, perfumers and pigs, none of whom are exactly what they appear (except maybe the pigs)...Good silly fun - a refreshing antidote to a genre overflowing with grit and gloom.

What do you think, my friends? Time we had some true spirited joy? I think so. And Bridget Zinn with POISON delivers us all.

Buy POISON:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Poison-Bridget-Zinn/dp/1423139933/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361422901&sr=1-1&keywords=bridget+zinn

Barnes & Noble  < http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/poison-bridget-zinn/1110606774?ean=9781423139935>

IndieBound <http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781423139935>

iTunes Bookstore <https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/poison/id586771278?mt=11>

Powell's Books <http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9781423139935-0>

Add Poison to your Goodreads pile:
 <http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8113512-poison>

Reviving the Ailing Manuscript: When Is It Time to Let Go?

All writers have them: manuscripts in various stages of completion that may or may not ever see the light of day. I'm not talking about work that we've abandoned because life got in the way; I'm talking about work that just doesn't feel right.

I have a few of these books and I stare at the files and ask myself, what went wrong? And, can it be fixed?

Recently Marion Dane Bauer spoke to this topic in a series of excellent blog posts addressing her own failed picture book manuscript. She rightly states that picture books are such fragile things that it's nigh on impossible to resuscitate a failed picture book. But, she adds, it might be easier to bring a failed or failing novel back to life.

That notion pushed me to examine some of the reasons my own novels have "failed" or are failing, and whether I might be able to give them a second chance. Here are some of my observations in case they are useful to you:

• If the reason for failure is due to weak characterization of protagonist or antagonist:

This may be resolvable. A deeper character analysis might reveal a backstory wound. A change in tone might bring a character's voice to light. A shift in point of view - from, say, third to first person - can often shift the character into gear. Taking the character outside her comfort zone - stressing her, putting her in harm's way - can often reveal the underpinnings of response. Forcing the character into doing something "out of character" can elicit deeper revelations and emotional reactions. 

If this is my problem, and I still love the story, I'll give it a second chance.

• If the reason for failure is due to weaknesses in the plot:

This one is tougher for me and often depends upon where I am in the novel - first draft, second draft, etc. Do I have enough tension? Can I add or subtract scenes to increase the tension or reveal new things about my characters or the situation? Can I spin the plot in a new direction without trashing the story entirely?

But in that last question lies the difficulty. If my premise is weak, I'm in trouble. Or, rather my novel is in trouble. It's hard to shore up a weak premise. Sometimes I can spin the premise, turn it around and look at it from another direction; but sometimes...

And in the case of writing fantasy or science fiction (both of which I'm trying now), the premise is everything, in my view. And if the premise, however good, has been done to death in recent years (vampires, anyone?) then the novel will likely be viewed as derivative at best. Time to abandon. If the premise is unwieldy such that your reader cannot suspend disbelief, time to abandon, or at least set aside.

• If the reason for failure is due to lack of heart:

Fatal. If I have lost the heart of my story - the love for the story above anything else, a belief in the power of that story, a feeling that it reveals my own heart and the underpinnings of the human experience - I'm done.

Here's what Marion had to say, and she's right: the deepest flaw that can inhabit any piece is a lack of genuine heart. I have to love the story to pieces to be able to write it. And I know that an editor, agent, and my readers will feel my lack of heart and respond with a "meh" if I don't give them my emotional all. (This is why I don't write assignment work, unless the assignment speaks to me.) 

We've all read books by authors we love that seem to be weak, or lost altogether; I imagine it's hard for an editor to put aside the work of a successful author. I would rather be my own arbiter of what I want to send out into the world. I have maybe half a dozen completed but flawed novels that will likely never see the light of day, that I've set aside, even when someone has asked for the work. 

But that's fine. I move on and write the next one, and the next and the next. As Marion says, the very act of writing feeds us...Success is only a happy byproduct, not the reason for our effort. 

Exactly.

Jingle Bell Hop! Blog Hop Post

I was tapped by my friend Jan Godown Annino to participate in a blog hop. In case you don’t know Jan’s work, she’s the author of an acclaimed picture book biography, SHE SANG PROMISE, illustrated by Lisa Desimini. It would be a wonderful addition to any library.

I’m answering here the questions that she passed along to me. And I thought I’d talk about one of my WIPs. I usually keep this stuff to myself until the very end, so as not to jinx anything. Fingers crossed!

What is the working title of your book?

THE NETHERWORLD.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I had a dream that I was suspended in a place between life and death, and when I woke up, I knew I had to write about how that felt. This novel is a bit dark and dreamlike.

What genre is your book?

Middle grade fantasy.

What is the synopsis of the novel?

Jake, a boy who is trying to deal with a school bully, causes an accident that renders his sister Eliza unconscious and near death. Jake is told that if he sells his soul he can rescue her from the Netherworld, the place between life and death. He agrees; but his mission is not as simple as it would seem. By entering the Netherworld Jake sets in motion other and bigger events. Jake and Eliza and the Netherworld guardian Mab must find a way to save Eliza, Jake’s soul, and the Netherworld itself.

How long did it take to write the first draft?

I’ve got a very rough first draft that took me about four months to write. But most of that draft will disappear...I started the novel as a workshop piece at Vermont College of Fine Arts and it grew.

What other books are comparable to this book?

Middle grade fantasy is booming and rich at the moment - something that excites me greatly. I’m reading THE PECULIAR by Stefan Bachmann, and just finished GOBLIN SECRETS by William Alexander, and I think they both have things in common with THE NETHERWORLD. And I love Lauren Oliver’s fantasies – especially LIESL AND PO.

I’ve tagged my friends and fabulous authors Bethany Hegedus and Joy Preble, so please check their blogs in the next couple of weeks for their blog hop posts!

Bethany's link: http://www.thewritingbarn.com/category/blog/

Joy's link: http://joysnovelidea.blogspot.com/