Fabulous New Fiction: 2k10 Debut Author Alexandra Diaz

In the first of my interview posts with debut authors of the Class of 2k10, I'm delighted to introduce Alexandra Diaz, author of OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS. Alexandra has spent time in places that span the globe, most recently England (hence the reference to "tosser"; English slang for someone who's a jerk.) She's now back in the U.S. and we're happy she's here!

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS! Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?
I started the book as part of my MA in Writing for Young People and the line "Brent Staple is such a banjo" just popped into my head. Then I had to think why he's such a banjo (which loosely means "tosser") and what are the results of his behavior; the story quickly unfolded and developed from there! The book still starts with a disturbing rumor about Brent, who is one of the protagonists' boyfriends, but the book is more about the friendship between three girls and what happens to the friendship when a new girl comes to town.


How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?
LOL, I've had many efforts, but yes this is my first publication. I've been writing stories for as long as I can remember, mostly for my own entertainment. I still prefer reading children's books over "grown-up" books, maybe because I've never properly "grown up", so it's natural for me to write for the genre I like.

Can you describe your path to the publication of OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS?
I have a great literary agent, Sarah [Davies] from Greenhouse, who really helped me whip my novel into shape. It's thanks to her that there was interest in the novel as soon as she sent it out. But before I had an agent, it was a lot of impersonal "Dear Submitter" and "Sorry, but unfortunately..."

Ah, yes. Those painful rejection letters. In that vein, do you have any advice for beginning writers?
If it's what you enjoy doing, then keep at it. People will always try to convince you otherwise, but they're usually the ones who probably gave up what they love. You're a different person and you have to be true to your own goals.

Excellent advice. Speaking of goals, can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?
My personal life/future is a bit hazy at the moment with the potential of having to move back to the States after living in England for three years and not knowing what will happen next. On a broader scope, I will keep writing and keep traveling. One of my goals is to visit all seven continents by the time I'm 50. Should happen since I'm pretty determined!

And in your writing life, do you have any new writing ventures underway?
I always have something underway--sometimes too many somethings! I'm working on a fish out of water story about Bex Sloane who, only knowing how to communicate with fists, locks horns with the local community.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS?
Sure, it's www.alexandra-diaz.com.

Final Contest Week for 2k9 Books

Announcing the final week of the contest over at the Class of 2k10 blog - and our final tribute to the class of 2k9 and their fabulous books!

Head over here: http://community.livejournal.com/classof2k10/2516.html and post a comment and you may win a book. And even if you don't win, these excellent reads.

In a couple of days I'll be posting my first interview with a 2k10 author, Alexandra Diaz.

More Terrific Craft Books, Holiday Edition

For those of you wondering what to ask Santa to bring, a second round of favorite craft books…

Joan Aiken, The Way to Write for Children. This little book is no longer out of print, I'm delighted to report. After I read it on loan from a friend, one of my advisors at Vermont College of Fine Arts found it on EBAY and made a gift of it to me (thank you, Sarah!). But you can now find it here. Simple, easy to read, and still fresh in outlook, this text is a fabulous introduction to children’s book writing.

Eve Heidi Bine-Stock, How to Write a Children’s Picture Book. If you want to write picture books, you really must read this craft book. Bine-Stock analyzes the story-arc structure of a large number of well-known picture books (which you also must read) and she makes it look almost easy. Which it is not. Which Joan Aiken (above) will clearly spell out.

Darcy Pattison, Novel Metamorphosis. I’ve raved about this one before. If you are revising a novel, pick up this book, available on order or on line. Walk through her exercises. You’ll learn a lot. Better yet, find out where she’s holding a workshop and take this book along with your manuscript – you’ll have a far better novel in the end.

Thomas McCormack, The Fiction Editor, the Novel, and the Novelist. Odd title, terrific book. This text takes a very different approach – McCormack comes from the editorial side and is speaking to editors. But as a writer, I learned what this talented man was searching for in a great literary work, and his idea of the “master-effect” (what you might call theme, although that’s a crass way of putting it) is nothing short of brilliant.

Francine Prose, Reading Like a Writer. If you want to be a writer, you must also be a reader. Prose tackles every aspect of writing but from the outside in. This is a dense and meaty book that took me a couple of weeks to read. I need to read it again. And I want to read each of her examples as I go.

Now you have a few things to put on your holiday wish list!!

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k10

I am so proud to be among the debut authors of the Class of 2k10! And today we officially launch our website and blog, with a grad party for our sister class of 2k9.

Please visit our blog http://community.livejournal.com/classof2k10/ and our website http://www.classof2k10.com/ . We have a 3-week contest running on the blog - you can win a copy of a 2k9 book - so do check in through the month of December and post a comment.

And visit both the website and the blog to check out the terrific selection of books we'll be debuting throughout 2010.

My Favorite Craft Books, Part 1

Since it’s Thanksgiving, I thought I’d give thanks to some of those wonderful writers who generously share their knowledge of the craft of writing with the world. I clutch at craft books like they are lifeboats, running for them at the first sign that my manuscript is in danger of sinking. Here are a few of my picks of the best craft books available – the ones that you want on your bookshelf:


Christopher Vogler, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Vogler is a screenwriter, but he understands Joseph Campbell and the structure of the hero’s journey and he delivers it in a clear and succinct style. Truly one of my all-time favorite books for understanding the holistic concept of story and story archetypes.


Robert McKee, Story. This is an expensive book, but a true classic. McKee also comes from the world of film, but structure is his business, and he dissects what works and provides excellent examples. I particularly like his analysis of scene and sequel – a principle I didn’t fully understand before I read this book.


Janet Burroway, Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. Also an expensive book, but one that is used as a text by many writing programs. Burroway dissects it all, from character to voice to point of view, and includes exercises for both individuals and groups, and examples (short stories and excerpts) of every craft element. I go to this book first whenever I’m stuck.


John Gardner, The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers. This book is dense. Meaty. Yet I have sticky notes on so many pages, my copy looks like it could fly. Gardner’s book is one that every serious writer must read. And re-read. He includes exercises that are among my favorites for understanding an aspect of craft.


Ursula Le Guin, Steering The Craft. A good basic book discussing foundation, with exercises, Le Guin writes with clear, often visual expression. This is a terrific book for beginners in particular, but even seasoned writers will learn something new.

I have many, many more books to recommend, and I’ll continue this discussion later.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Craft Issue #9: Desire

Desire. I can’t hear that word now without hearing the way Louise Hawes, author of BLACK PEARLS and THE VANISHING POINT said it during my first residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Drag the word out, now, breathy and low: d-e-s-i-r-e. There you go.

Louise was talking about protagonist’s desire – what motivates, energizes, and drives both the main character and the story. Lately I’ve been thinking about desire; specifically, how to express my character’s desire on the first page of a text. And how to express it throughout the work. This sounds like an obvious thing to aim for and achieve, but for me at least is not as easy as it sounds.


Donald Mass, in WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL WORKBOOK, has an exercise in which he suggests that the writer find the main character’s two yearnings, desires, or goals that are “in direct opposition to each other.”

Why? Because humans are conflicted by nature. We want freedom, yet security (THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX.) We want love, yet we fall in love with someone dangerous (NEED.)
We want to live fully, but our lives are held in a trap – maybe we are dead (THE LOVELY BONES) or maybe we’re vampires (ETERNAL.)


I have a tendency to protect my protagonist. I place convenient characters and situations between her and her problems, I erect huge road signs and arrows – This Way Out! – when in fact I should be discovering ways to let her suffer the slings and arrows because not only will that intensify her desire but it will also bring her into internal conflict. Finding my protagonist’s desire and threading that desire line through the work really means finding both her true inner desire, and its opposite.

Because isn’t fiction all about conflict – about longing and dreams unfulfilled? We march through life trying to protect ourselves, so what we want in our fictional counterparts is daring. We want our protagonists to live as we cannot. To take risks, even to risk it all. It is the tug away from the brink, the wish for something safe, that keeps most of us from tipping into danger. Our fictional characters must make the leap from the cliff. As a writer, I want to thrust out my hand at the last second, but I have to learn to pull back because as a reader I want to experience catharsis.

So I’ve been on a desire hunt. I’m trying not only to find out what my characters want, even when that desire is not safe (in fact, I’d like it to be at least as impossible and unsafe as Katniss’s desire is in THE HUNGER GAMES), but also trying to make my protagonist take risks to fulfill that desire.

Author Interview: Anna Levine

After an intense week of work on the copyedits for FAITHFUL, I'm thrilled to be back posting a new author interview, and especially delighted to feature author Anna Levine. Her most recent two books, FREEFALL and JODIE'S HANUKKAH DIG, both published in 2008, are receiving much acclaim.

Congratulations on the publication of your award-winning books FREEFALL and JODIE'S HANUKKAH DIG! Can you tell us a bit about each of these books?

All my books are set in Israel. I like writing stories with strong female characters. JODIE'S HANUKKAH DIG (Karben Publishers) is about a young girl who dreams of being an archaeologist. Everyone tells her she’s too little—of course she proves them wrong. Being the smallest person on the dig, she is put into a bucket and lowered into a cave where she discovers an ancient treasure.



FREEFALL (Greenwillow/HarperCollins) is about an eighteen-year-old girl before her draft into the Israeli army. It’s a novel about being eighteen and living in Israel with everything that entails from conflicts with family, changing friendships, the challenges of the military and falling in love for the very first time.

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

I started writing about twelve years ago. My first book, RUNNING ON EGGS (Front Street/Cricket Books) is about the friendship that develops between two girls on a track team. One of the girls is Israeli, the other Palestinian. I’ve written a number of award winning short stories and poems for Cicada, Cricket, Spider and Highlights magazines. Many of my poems and short stories are available on my website.

Can you describe your path to publication?

SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) was very helpful in getting my writing career started. My path began with a lot of rejections. I think most writers experience this. But I can be very determined, and like Jodie and Aggie (from FREEFALL) when I’m told I can’t do something—I’ll prove them wrong. I work and rework my manuscripts until I get them right.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Persistence! And determination. I think for a lot of us writers who have family responsibilities and/or day jobs it’s also a matter of giving ourselves the time it takes to dream, think and create.

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

I live in Israel. My books are set here because I find this country, the mix of cultures and the people fascinating. I am always learning something new. I’m working on a new Jodie book that explores an ancient water tunnel underneath the City of David in Jerusalem. Just a few weeks ago, I slogged through the tunnel with the water up to my knees. It was dark, wet, terrifying and so much fun!

I’m also working on another young adult novel set in Jerusalem. This novel, CURTAIN CALL, is about a religious girl and the conflicts she faces as she steps out of her religious home and community to mix with secular society.



What are your other writing inspirations?

I guess for me writing is a reflection of my personal life. I have two boys in the army. My husband is a professor at the Hebrew University. My experiences, my life and my family all find their way into my books.

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about your work? I know you have a book trailer, too - please share!

My website about my other works www.annalevine.org
The website for FREEFALL www.freefallthenovel.com
My book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGTjlFWKRmc&fmt=18

My FAITHFUL Cover and Video Trailer!

I'm so excited - I can introduce the cover for FAITHFUL, my debut novel! It will be out in mid-May; right now it's in copy-edits. My fabulous editor, Jen Bonnell, is amazing. I can't thank her enough.

And my son: I'm so proud of the trailer he's produced for FAITHFUL, which I can now premiere, thanks to his friend Gabriel Carrasco, who wrote the background music.

Here's the link to the trailer:
Faithful Trailer

Book Launch: Nothing Like You

I'm happy to be able to introduce Lauren Strasnick and her debut novel NOTHING LIKE YOU.

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, NOTHING LIKE YOU. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

Thanks, Janet! NOTHING LIKE YOU is about high school senior, Holly Hirsh. Holly’s mom dies and Holly gets involved with the wrong guy. He’s got a girlfriend. She and Holly develop a friendship. Badness ensues!
A few things inspired the story. I wanted to write about a girl who is flawed, yet still really relatable and sympathetic. I was interested in exploring teen infidelity. When I started the book, I was obsessed with the Billy Joel song “Vienna.” Its lyrics helped shape the character of Holly.

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

I wrote one other book before this one. It was my MFA thesis project. But prior to that I’d written a ton of short fiction, all with teen protags.

Can you describe your path to the publication of NOTHING LIKE YOU?

I spent the year after grad school sending that first book out to agents. After a ton of rejection (some upbeat and encouraging, but still), I set that book aside and started NOTHING LIKE YOU. I had a draft in six weeks, spent three months revising, then started the querying process all over again. After about a month I signed with Michelle Andelman, then of ABLA, and together we started the revision process. Two months of rewrites, and she was subbing the book. Two weeks after that, it sold to Anica Rissi at Simon Pulse.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

The best bit of writing advice I ever got? Be fearless.

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

This, writing books, is my absolute dream – so I hope to continue doing it.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

Yes! Right now I’m working on a second book for Simon Pulse. Twins! Thwarted love! Rural Connecticut!

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about NOTHING LIKE YOU?

I do, yes! Readers can reach me at www.laurenstrasnick.com

Book Launch: Haven

I'm so pleased to introduce Beverly Patt and her debut novel HAVEN.

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

Thank you :) Sure, here's the basic plot:
Rural Illinois teen Rudy Morris meets Chicagoan Latonya Dennison on Christmas day, when Latonya ends up being the annual "orphan' at the Morris household. But Latonya doesn't disappear the day after Christmas like the other visiting orphans have. She pulls Rudy and his best friend, Stark, into a scheme to fix up and use a rusty ATV to help her run away from her group home, The Haven. Rudy reluctantly agrees but as the day draws near, his own feelings for her get in the way. What’s a getaway driver to do?

The inspiration came from a time when my husband and I wanted to take in a foster child but were continually denied because we were white and the child was not. Like Latonya, the child ended up going from group home to group home instead of getting a stable family. Fortunately, the laws have changed. But in the 80's and 90's, foster children in Illinois could only to a foster family of their same race, which ended up with a LOT of children in group homes.

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

I started writing for children in the 90's. I wrote mostly magazine articles and stories for several years. HAVEN was actually my second effort at a novel. Before that, I wrote what I thought was a picture book but it slowly grew until it became my upcoming April release, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER: A WWII SCRAPBOOK (Marshall Cavendish) -
not a novel but not a picture book either!

Can you describe your path to the publication of HAVEN?

It's all very long and boring, I'm afraid! I wrote the whole story probably in 8 months but then went through years of revisions, thanks to my trusty writer's group. It was sold to Blooming Tree Press in August 2006. They asked for a total rewrite which I turned in Nov 2007. In November of 2008, the publisher decided she liked the original version better! I'm not really sure what to attribute that to - there had been some changes in personnel, it's still a new company getting it's sea legs, I guess. So now, in a few days, it will finally be out. Phew!

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Be patient. Be persistent. Be forgiving. Don't compare yourself to others. Never stop learning. Never give up.

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

Well, I have a wonderful husband and four wonderful kids who inspire me and make me laugh every day. I could not do what I do without them. Plans for the future include more of the same! More writing, more books (published, hopefully!) and more laughter.

I struggle with guilt sometimes when I'm not writing. I have to remind myself that non-writing is good too. Not only does it pull you out of your hole and make you more sociable, it gives you new experiences to include in your writing. Traveling, even if it's just to a museum in your own town, can light new fires within. Plays, movies, walks, tours, your kid's soccer games - all can provide little nuggets of inspiration. Then repetitive activities like (dare I say it?) housework or gardening or knitting can help those ideas to percolate.

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

Always;)

I've got a finished novel I'm tweaking, 3 chapters of a new novel and a handful of humorous picture books.
When I get time, I'm going to query some agents as well.

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

Absolutely! www.beverlypatt.com
And we'll be doing a giveaway on our class website, www.classof2k9.com
There will be a teacher's guide to HAVEN on the Class of 2k9 website very shortly as well.
I hope to see you all there!