Book Review: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I think it's appropriate to post a review of a superb debut novel with a science/naturalist theme on Earth Day!

A masterpiece of historical fiction, THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE is rewarding at every level. The protagonist, 11-year old Calpurnia, is the only daughter of seven children living at the turn of the last century in a sleepy Texas town. Calpurnia, who has a keen eye and a native curiosity, wishes to become a naturalist; her mother wishes to turn her into a respectable young lady. Calpurnia’s ally is her grandfather, and the lessons he imparts regarding the world at both large and small scales during the summer and fall of 1899 launch Calpurnia towards a promising life. The voice is winning; the setting is a rich tapestry of authentic period detail; the plot has charm yet moves with a lively pace. Altogether one of the best books I’ve read.


View all my reviews.

Book Review: The Dragon of Trelian

The Dragon of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This enticing middle grade debut fantasy from Michelle Knudsen is told in alternating points of view (girl and boy), making for a page-turning read for teens of either sex. I don’t wish to spoil the multiple surprises within, but Knudsen has created a unique world and an action-packed adventure. Wonderful descriptive language and strong and engaging characters complete the package.


View all my reviews.

Book Launch: Breathing

This post I'm so pleased to introduce a wonderful debut novel, BREATHING, and Cheryl Renee Herbsman.

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

BREATHING is the story of fifteen-year-old Savannah Brown. She’s growing up on the Carolina Coast with her mom and brother. When she meets a cute guy named Jackson on the beach, she becomes convinced that he’s not only her one true love and soul mate, but also the cure for her life-threatening asthma. When Jackson is called away to tend to family responsibilities and is uncertain of returning, Savannah has to learn to breathe all on her own. All this while pursuing a lifelong dream that might come true just when she’s no longer sure she wants it.

I met my husband when I was a teenager. He was older than me (like Jackson is older than Savannah) and we endured a long-distance relationship (like they do at times). I’ve always been a dreamer and a hopeful romantic. So there’s definitely some of me in Savannah.

Your character deals with asthma. Is this something you're familiar with? Was it a difficult subject for you to tackle?

My husband and my daughter both suffer from mild asthma. I also worked with hospitalized kids and teens during college, some of whom suffered from asthma. And my husband is a pediatrician who has done some special work on treating kids with asthma. So I had some good resources. But since the asthma my family has suffered from has been quite mild, it was not a terribly difficult topic for me to tackle.

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

Before writing BREATHING, I wrote a YA fantasy which has not been published.

Can you describe your path to the publication of BREATHING?

While I was trying to sell my YA fantasy, I started writing BREATHING. I went to a conference in NY to try to sell the fantasy, but everyone there was much more excited by the first few pages of Breathing. So I went home and spent the next couple of months finishing the manuscript. I sent it to three agents, one of whom was very interested and made some suggestions for a revision. After the revision, that agency ended up rejecting it, which was terribly upsetting. But three days later, I sent it out to five more agents and one of them took it right away. Three weeks later, I had a book deal!

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Just write, a lot, whatever you feel most driven to write about. Try not to worry about the form it takes or how long or short it is, just write, and slowly but surely, the form will begin to take shape. No writing is wasted. It’s all part of the process.

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

I’m a stay-at-home mom with two kids – a girl and a boy. I feel so fortunate to have had the freedom to be home with them. I write while they’re at school and that makes me feel really lucky, too. My husband and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary soon. Our relationship is still an inspiration to the romantic stories I write.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I just sent a new manuscript off to my agent. I’ll keep you posted!

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

Yes, you can find me at http://www.cherylreneeherbsman.com or my blog at http://blog.cherylreneeherbsman.com

Today: Operation Teen Book Drop!

Today's the day for Operation TBD! Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Teen patients in pediatric hospitals across the United States will receive 8,000 young-adult novels, audiobooks, and graphic novels next week as readergirlz, Guys Lit Wire, and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) celebrate the third annual Support Teen Lit Day on April 16.

In its second year, “Operation TBD” (short for Teen Book Drop), puts free books donated by 18 book publishers into the hands of many teens most in need of escape, inspiration and a sense of personal accomplishment. Books with exceptional characters and fabulous stories can provide just that for teens and their families dealing with difficult, long-term hospital stays.

If you are a YA author and have a book you'd like to share, head to the nearest hospital and leave a copy for the pediatrics ward. Let's join readergirlz, Guys Lit Wire and YALSA and Rock the Drop!

Book Launch: The Dragon of Trelian

I'm delighted to post this interview with friend Michelle Knudsen, also a student at VCFA. Her fast-paced, fun novel THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN debuts on April 14. If you are in New York City on April 14, you're invited to join Mikki at her launch party at Books of Wonder,18 W. 18th Street, from 5-7PM. She'll be giving a brief reading from the novel around 6pm. There will be refreshments, and of course she'll be signing books!

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?
I've always wanted to write fantasy novels. When I first started reading "grown-up" books as a young reader, authors like Piers Anthony and Robert Asprin completely captivated me. I knew I wanted to write about other worlds like that, filled with magic and adventure. THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN has a lot of my favorite fantasy elements in it -- castles, spells, secrets, danger, true friends, powerful enemies, and of course, dragons. So it was definitely inspired by my own love of fantasy literature. The story is about a mage's apprentice named Calen and a princess named Meg who, among other things, discover a secret plot against the kingdom which threatens everything they care about. They're each struggling with their own problems too, which include Calen's magical training and Meg's unsettling connection to a young dragon she found and is secretly trying to take care of.

How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?
I've been writing for children for about 12 years. I started out as a children's book editor, and wrote my first books as part of my former job at Random House. All of my earlier books are for younger readers -- board books, picture books, beginning readers, etc. My best known book is the picture book Library Lion (Candlewick Press, 2006), which won several awards and spent more then 30 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. If you count everything, including the Star Wars and Godzilla movie tie-in coloring and activity books, THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN is my 40th book. But it's my first novel.

Can you describe your path to the publication of THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN?
I started writing this book in 2001. Looking back at my files, it looks like I wrote the first chapter in July, and the second in October. In November 2001 I started keeping a log of my progress, recording the date and the number of words and pages, and what chapter I was up to. There were weeks when I wrote almost every day, and months where I didn't write at all. In early February 2005, I sent the first 18 chapters to my agent, Jodi Reamer at Writers House, so she could tell me if it was terrible and whether I should just stop working on it. But she said she loved it, and made me finish. It took me until November 2005 to write the last few chapters, some of which I did while riding the subway back and forth to work. I revised the manuscript a bit for Jodi and then she sent it to my editor, Sarah Ketchersid, at Candlewick. I did a few more rounds of revision with Sarah, and continued to make smaller changes all the way up to seeing the paged-out galleys in November and December of 2008 (the first galleys are what the ARCs were made from, so the final book has some small differences from the ARC). So that's...seven and a half years from start to finish. A pretty long path! I think one reason it took me such a long time, especially in the beginning, is that I was terrified of actually finally trying to write a novel. I kept expecting someone to come and stop me. And I often put it aside to work on other projects, or to figure out backstory, or various other things. It seemed important not to push too hard, to let myself take as much time as I needed and figure out how to write something so much longer and more complex than anything else I'd ever attempted. The whole thing was a huge learning experience. Hopefully everything I learned will help make writing the next novel a little easier!

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?
Read a lot, especially the kinds of books that you want to write. That seems obvious, but I'm amazed at how many people who want to write picture books, for example, don't spend time reading lots and lots of picture books. Look at the books you like and try to figure out why you like them, how the author held your interest here or made you feel something there, etc. Look at the books you don't like, too, and try to figure out why you don't like them. And write, write, write! Don't be afraid to try things, don't be afraid to write awful first drafts. Give yourself permission to write terrible, terrible things -- that will help free you up to get your ideas on the page. You can always fix them up later; just focus on getting them down in that first draft. Writing workshops can be really helpful, if you can find a good one. Join SCBWI. Go to conferences, talk to other writers, listen to editors and agents speak about what they look for in a good book. Read lots of books on writing. Try to learn as much as you can, but reject any advice that doesn't feel right to you -- there are lots of different ways to write a book, and not every approach works for every person. Listen to everything, then use what works for you. And always write what you love. Don't try to write what you think will sell best, or what you heard a certain agent is looking for. Your own best work is going to come from what matters most to you, what's closest to your heart, and what you honestly want to spend hours, months, and years of your life working on.

Can you tell us something about your writing life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?
I want to keep working on different kinds of books -- definitely more picture books and novels, but I also love writing beginning readers, and I have a chapter book I've been playing with on and off for years. Right now I'm also working toward my MFA in writing for children and young adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and doing a LOT of reading and both creative and critical writing as part of that program. I'd love to do more school visits and get to spend more time interacting with kids, talking with them about their own stories and helping to get them excited about books and writing. And I would like to teach children's book writing at some point down the road.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?
I have a middle-grade short story coming out in a Candlewick anthology next year, and my next picture book, ARGUS, is scheduled for Spring 2011. Right now I'm working on the sequel to THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN, along with some more picture book manuscripts and the beginning of another fantasy novel, which might end up being YA.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN?
Yes! It's www.michelleknudsen.com. I also have a blog at http://michelleknudsen.blogspot.com/.

Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I listened to this novel as an unabridged audio book. That may explain my response. While the premise is riveting and the ending heartbreaking, there were times when I was ready to abandon the novel because of the whiny voices of both protagonists. Often the issues that cause greatest heartbreak seem so trivial. I acknowledge that that may be the point, and that teens often exaggerate their miseries, yet as I listened I couldn’t help feeling annoyed. And the other teens – the bullies, mean girls, and users – are so awful they border on cartoons. Teen suicide is such an important topic and so rarely addressed that any reasonable attempt to present teens with a perspective on the issue is welcomed, which is why I feel this novel should be on YA lists, despite its flaws.


View all my reviews.

Craft Issue # 4: Creating the Plot Summary

I'm starting a new thread on this blog - Craft Issues. I've posted on a few in recent weeks, and want to make it a habit. Please chime in with thoughts, suggestions, and issues you'd like to see discussed.

I've been coping with plot lately, since I'm in the early stages of a novel that really hasn't been hanging together. What to do? For one thing, turn to others for advice. In this case, I turned to Syd Field and his DVD Screenwriting Workshop.

Field's suggestions are clear and precise, and although they're meant for screenwriters, I've applied his techniques to many of my issues. Today, in dealing with my plotting problem, I watched the segment from the early portion of the DVD in which he describes how to kick-start your plot thinking. You have to write a synopsis of your book comprising four terrible pages. Yes, terrible - this helps you shut down that nasty little internal editor that is telling you you can't write this book.

And what to write: First, 1/2 page of the opening scene or sequence in dramatic narrative. Second, in 1/2 page summarize the action of Act 1. Third, in 1/2 page, write down the plot point that occurs at the end of Act 1. Fourth, take an entire page and summarize in a paragraph each the four obstacles the character confronts during Act 2. Fifth, in 1/2 page write down the plot point that occurs at the end of Act 2. Sixth, summarize in 1/2 page the action of Act 3. And finally, in 1/2 page write the closing scene or sequence that occurs at the end of Act 3.

Now if this is a little fuzzy, I encourage you to find Field's DVD or book and check out his full discussion. The important points here are that you can visualize your story in discrete chunks; you can get rid of the ugly editor by letting these summary pages be terrible; you know the beginning and ending of your story; and that you know the plot points - which will be the subject of my next Craft Issue.

For me, knowing the ending of my story (Act 3 and the closing scene) seems to have been the linch-pin. And seeing the story structured in such a fashion makes sense. It's not a strict outline - more like a guide. Which I like because I like to write organically, at least when I'm beginning a new project.

Questions? Fire away!

Book Launch: Watersmeet

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, WATERSMEET. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?
First of all, I should say that it is a fantasy, complete with dwarves, centaurs, fauns, and shape-shifters. It's about a girl, Abisina, who has been rejected all of her life because of the way she looks. Her mother, the village healer, has been able to protect her because her skill is needed by the village. But a new leader arrives in the village and turns the people against the outcasts. Abisina is forced to flee, alone, and search for her father—someone she has never met—in a legendary place called Watersmeet. Accompanied by a dwarf, Haret, she journeys north and faces mythic creatures, benevolent spirits, her own prejudices, and dreams that look like nightmares.

I have always been a fantasy reader so when Abisina came to me, she existed in a fantasy setting. The setting was a big part of the inspiration. The land Abisina lives in is called Seldara, and I started writing about Seldara at a point several hundred years after Abisina's story takes place. At that time, it was a land divided. I got to wondering what had caused this division and as I explored Seldara's legends and history, I found the true beginning of my story: Abisina's discovery that she knows only half of her land, the southern—and that the other half, where Watersmeet is, offers something very different.

It's such an interesting title. Where does it come from?
My husband's great aunt lived near where we live now in Pennsylvania. She died before I joined the family, but my husband always talked about visiting her as a boy. She was a doctor, way before many women were doctors, and had a country practice in her house. Her house was called Watersmeet; I assume there were streams that met there or something, though I realize now that I never asked. The name was part of our family lore and as I was creating this legendary community that Abisina seeks, I realized that it existed at the meeting of three rivers. The name popped into my mind. It first was the name only of the place Abisina is seeking, but my editor, Robin Benjamin, suggested it as the title for the novel, replacing a pretty lame working title I had been using.

How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?
I have been writing for about ten years. I am not one of these writers who "always knew" I wanted to be a writer. I did enjoy academic writing and I remember someone asking me once if I wanted to be a writer. I answered: "I don't have anything to say!" I had to grow up and gain confidence in order to feel like the stories I wanted to tell were worthwhile to share with the world.

WATERSMEET is my second book. The first was called A Child of Seldara and it is actually a sequel to WATERSMEET! I don't know why, but the book that came to me first is now slated to be the concluding book in a four book series. When I submitted it for publication, Margery Cuyler, the publisher at Marshall Cavendish, thought there were good things going on in it, but that it felt like a sequel. She was right! So I wrote the first book and that sold.

Can you describe your path to the publication of WATERSMEET?
Like lots of authors, once I admitted to myself that I wanted to write, I started attending conferences to learn about the industry. The conference that played the biggest role for me was the One on One conference, hosted by the Rutgers University Council on Children's Literature. At the One on One, each new writer is paired up with an experienced writer, editor or agent. I was accepted to the conference three times and was blessed with excellent mentors who worked with me beyond the day of the conference: Gail Carson Levine, Clara Gillow Clark and Sue Campbell Bartoletti. At this same conference I also met Margery Cuyler, who, as I mentioned above, bought my book, and my agent Ginger Knowlton! The connections I made here and at SCBWI conferences were invaluable.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?
Just do it. It's the "butt in the chair" approach to writing. If you don't show up, it's not going to happen. I have trained myself to write in short bursts because that is all I have. (I teach full time and have two kids.) I can't wait for inspiration. It is almost always hard getting started and it almost always pays off if you push through and get some words out. Aside from that, read all the time. There are amazing books out there—read them and learn from them. Finally, educate yourself about this business: read "how to" books, join on-line communities, and participate in the conference circuit. But hold on to yourself. The first "how to" book I read said: Don't start with a novel, don't write fantasy. At that point, I was 50+ pages into my fantasy novel!

Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?
Personal goals: ski the Rockies! Now I ski in Pennsylvania. I can't even imagine the Rockies!

Plans for the future: I want to cut back a bit on teaching and spend more time on writing. I can't imagine giving up teaching all together. I love being in the classroom and working with students. I have so much fun! But this year has been hard with a book coming out, another book that I am supposed to be writing, and a family that I love spending time with. Like so many of us, I'm in search of that elusive balance.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?
I am working on the sequel to WATERSMEET. It's been neat to hang out with some of my characters again, and also to invent some new ones. WATERSMEET ends with the creation of a new land: Seldara. The two halves of the country are poised to find a way to become unified. But the hurdles are enormous and Abisina is going to need to be part of the resolution.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about WATERSMEET?
Yes. My blog is at www.ellenjensenabbott.com . I blog there about the writing process, what I'm writing, what I'm reading, and other topics.

Just for Fun Letter Slam!

Julie Larios, the poetess extraordinaire at Vermont College of Fine Arts, has started a favorite things list on her blog, The Drift Record. She graciously assigned me the letter S - and I'm to come up with 10 things I love that start with S...sssso, here goes! (Oh, and check out my friend Mikki on the letter C!)
Want to play? Post a comment and I'll post you a letter!

1. My Son and my Spouse. The lights of my life. My son is also the reason I write for children.

2. Star Trek. Yes, I'm a trekkie from way, way back. And now I share this affection with my son. It's nice to have anything non- controversial to share. He would here add Starbuck (the pilot, not the coffee).


3. September in the north. Cool nights, blue-sky days, fall colors, fires in the fireplace, school (okay - I was a nerd).

4. Seeds. When I have the time, I'm a gardener. And I love to grow things from scratch, so to speak (golly, all these S's!)

5. The Seine. Paris. Need I say more?


6. Shakespeare. Am I cheating with this one? Too easy? Too obvious? Oh, but wait - hasn't he become a hunk lately?

7. Stars. I like night. When I was a kid, I was terrified of the dark. Now I love it. We live outside of town, and the main reason is to be away from all those lights at night, so we can see the stars. And watch for Vulcans.



8. The supernatural. Anything unexplained. I adore mysteries.

9. Strawberries. A fruit shaped like a heart.



10. Stories!

Runners-up: Sleep, snow, sparklers, silk, spring...

Book Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins



rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn’t want to like this novel. A dystopian society that controls its population by pitting children against one another in life and death public combat is not my idea of a fun place to spend time. But – I was hooked from the first, and once in, I could not put The Hunger Games down. Collins’s pacing is tight, stemming from her straighforward sentence structure and sparse but effective description. Her world is believable, and she sprinkles masterful touches throughout (“tracker jackers” are killer wasps; “muttations” or “mutts” are dog-like mutants; details – names, images – evoke ancient Rome.) I’m itching to get my hands on the sequel.


View all my reviews.