Interview: Author Sherry Garland

Years ago, when I was starting out, I met several authors who were beyond kind to me. They offered advice and support and never made me feel anything but accepted. One was Kelly Bennett, whom I featured recently, and another was today's guest, Sherry Garland.

Sherry moved to College Station, Texas, from Houston just about the time I was getting started with my writing. She was a real role model - highly successful, having written beautiful books that I continue to admire. And her career continues, through thick and thin, with gorgeous books of all stripes. I'm really pleased to welcome her to my blog. Here's Sherry:

You’ve been a successful author for many years now. Can you tell us a bit about how you began – your early sales, and the books you’ve published?

October, 2012 marks my thirtieth year of being a published author. I have thirty published books, so it averages out to one a year, but in fact there were many “dry” years with no books and some bountiful years of two or more books.

I give credit to my high school English teacher as the person who started me on the long journey to becoming an author. She encouraged me to read great works of literature and to write. She made our senior honors class enter a state-wide essay contest.  I won first place, was in the newspaper, on TV, honored at a banquet and received $100 (that was big bucks back then). She made me feel that I had a talent for writing. I also took journalism and wrote some items for the high school newspaper.

However, it was fifteen years later before I considered writing as a career and joined a writer’s group in Houston. I read tons of how-to-write books and attended conferences. At one conference I met an editor and submitted a proposal to her for a romance novel.  She bought two manuscripts from me (I used a pen name). I didn’t like writing love scenes and the editor was discouraging, so I quit writing altogether and figured my career was over. About five years later, I saw an ad in a writer’s magazine placed by an educational publisher wanting someone to write a children’s NF book about Vietnam. I had never written for children, but I knew a lot about Vietnam because of my friendships with the Vietnamese community in Houston.  That NF book launched my career in the children’s publishing industry. Because of that research, I sold seven books about Vietnam (2 YA, 4 PBs, and 1 NF) plus two magazine stories. Suddenly I was a children’s author!

Please share with us your most recent publications. Can you talk especially about your “Voices of...” collection – how that came into being and what’s planned for the future?

Even though the books are only 40 pages long, they have to be 100% historically accurate. It takes me about one year to do the research then write the book and back matter that includes a 1500 word historical note, glossary of terms and bibliography. Every time I write one, I feel like I have done the equivalent of a master’s thesis! It does make me good at playing Trivial Pursuit.

It started when my editor at Scholastic asked me to write a picture book about The Alamo. I was getting nowhere fast then one day, while sitting in the courtyard of The Alamo, I had a “Eureka” moment: I would tell the story from the perspective of sixteen first person narrative, some real historical figures, some fictitious people. The editor loved it and hired Ronald Himler to do the wonderful illustrations. That book sold very well, in fact this book is used in nearly every elementary school in Texas; it is even sold at the Alamo gift shop. When the Alamo book went out of print, Pelican Publishing, a regional publisher who specializes in southern and southwestern books, reissued it. 

One day the president of Pelican Publishing asked me if I would write a Voices of Gettysburg book using the same 40 page format. It was a topic that worked well with 16 narratives, alternating the POV between Union and Confederate soldiers and citizens. It was illustrated by Judith Hierstein and released in 2010.

Then, I saw a TV documentary about the Dust Bowl and knew it was a topic I had to write about. Being a native Texan, I have many older relatives who lived through the Dust Bowl period. Voices of the Dust Bowl, also illustrated by Judith Hierstein, was released in 2012.

Pelican also asked me to write about the attack on Pearl Harbor. I felt out of my element because I did not know much about WWII.  It was difficult to alternate the POV between Japanese and American narrators, plus get in all the historical data that needed to be presented, but I am happy with the results. The talented Houston artist, Layne Johnson, agreed to do the illustrations. Release date for Voices of Pearl Harbor is spring, 2013. 

Do you prefer to write picture books or novels?

A very tough question.  After 14 novels, I used to consider myself a novelist first and foremost.  I would happily say that it was easier for me to write an entire novel than one picture book. But after 14 picture books, I have become quite fond of the PB genre, too.  Nearly all of mine are historical in nature (except for the folk tales), so it takes a long time for the research. As I get older, I am finding it harder to sit still long enough to write an entire novel. One novel took me three years to research and write, so I want to make sure the novel is something I truly care about before I invest that much time in it.

You clearly love to do research as most of your books have some historical or cultural details. Please talk about how you choose your subjects and how you conduct your research.

Yes, I’m not a sci-fi, fantasy sort of gal.  I write realistic fiction, both historical and contemporary. Of course, all of my historical works, such as the two Dear America books, are inspired by actual historical events Even my contemporary novels have real events as their basis. For Shadow of the Dragon, I was inspired by the news about the beating death of a Vietnamese teenager by a gang of skinheads. For Letters from the Mountain, the idea came from a TV documentary about teens who “huffed” dangerous inhalants. I wrote The Silent Storm after experiencing a hurricane in Houston in 1983.

interior spread from Voices of Pearl Harbor

Because I want the novels to feel “real,” I have to research every aspect of the time period or culture – clothing, housing, language, means of transportation, lifestyles, customs, philosophies, religion – the list goes on and on.

I have two criteria when I choose a subject: 1) I have to love the topic myself and 2) it has to be something that will interest young readers and/or teachers. 

I know you’re something of a “school visit expert.” Do you have any tips or strategies that you can share with readers?

I consider doing school visits much like going into battle. Hope for the best but expect the worst. Be flexible. Don’t lose your cool when things go wrong.  Something will always go wrong – AV mechanical problems, schedule mess-ups, doors locking you out in the rain, fire-drills, kids throwing up on your shoes, and on and on. Always have a written contract that explains what materials are needed, length of presentation, size and age of audience, number of presentations, travel arrangements and fees.  Don’t trust the organizer to remember everything.  Get a schedule ahead of time. Get both school and home phone numbers of the organizer.  I have more information on my website.

What are you working on now?

Two YA novels set in the 1960s; two contemporary middle grade novels; a YA mystery; and a weird YA novella that I am afraid to send out to anyone because it is more edgy than my other works. And lots of picture books.

How can readers learn more about you and your books?

My website is:  www.sherrygarland.com

My blog is called “Into the Woods We Go”: sherrygarlandblog@wordpress.com

Thanks, Sherry! 

Here's one of Sherry's book trailers, this one for The Buffalo Soldier:

Thank You!!!

This week I want to give a shout-out to some fabulous bloggers who are hosting give-aways and teaser reveals for my newest release SIRENS. You are all my heroes: we authors are forever grateful for the way you help to spread the word about new books.

So, thank you, thank you, a million times thank you! to:

My Friend Amy

Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf

The Compulsive Reader

Emily's Reading Room

The Mod Podge Bookshelf

In Bed With Books

The Story Siren

Poisoned Rationality

Check out the links - some of the contests are still open! I'll have more thank-you's very soon.

And don't miss the Crossroads Blog Tour on now. A bunch of fabulous authors, spearheaded by my friend Judith Graves, are on board that train, including me. Look for lots of paranormals. The grand prize for coming by this tour is a Kindle, preloaded with our books - wow!

We'll all be together for a Twitter chat, hosted by the awesome Mundie Moms, on Monday, October 29 - check it out.

And since this second baby is now out in the world, here's teaser number 2 for SIRENS, with a shout-out to my talented son, Kevin Fox, who makes all my trailers:

Sheila O'Connor and KEEPING SAFE THE STARS

There are books...and there are books that you want to read and re-read and tell everyone you know that they must read. Sheila O'Connor's KEEPING SAFE THE STARS is an extraordinary middle grade novel that in my opinion everyone must read. Beautifully crafted with believable characters and a heartbreaking rich premise, STARS is a winner.

Sheila is also the author of the highly acclaimed SPARROW ROAD - another must read. I'm so lucky to have Sheila here today to talk about STARS - now, go find this book! Just hang onto your heart.

Congratulations on a terrific second novel! Please give readers a quick synopsis.

Keeping Safe the Stars is the story of three siblings: Pride, Nightingale and Baby Star, who must fend for themselves when their grandfather, Old Finn falls ill.  Raised to be self-reliant, the Stars are determined to survive independently until Old Finn returns.  For the Stars this means selling pony rides and popcorn, a diet of SpaghettiOs and cake, and lots of pluck and courage and adventure.  It’s a book that celebrates the strength and ingenuity of children—how brave they are, how much they can accomplish on their own.  Set in 1974 during the week of Nixon’s resignation, it’s also a story about truth, and family loyalty, and what Publisher’s Weekly so aptly called “the murky territory of morality.” 

I loved the parallels you chose between Pride's tendency to lie and the Nixon resignation. Which came first, your character or the time period?

The characters absolutely came first.  And it wasn’t until Pride went into the local café and heard the grown-ups talking about impeachment, that I realized the book was set in that time period.  When I start a book, I start with discovery, and I like to let the story find its own way in the early drafts.  Also, I’m always interested in the ways the conflicts in the larger culture press in on young people’s lives—and how aware young people are of the mistakes that grown-ups make.  I remember being young and trying to make sense of all the drama swirling around Richard Nixon and Watergate. 

Your names and nicknames are fabulous (Woody Guthrie, for instance.) They tell volumes. Is that something that comes to you easily?

I think so—but again, it happens in the early stages, the dream stage of writing, when I’m just trying to be open to the story that’s been given to me, so I’m never consciously aware of significance.   I didn’t know these children, or their pets when the book began, but when I met them, all the names seemed exactly right.  Old Finn named his dog and horses, and I learned about Old Finn through those names.  The children’s nicknames all came from their mother—and it helped me understand the ways in which she loved them, and how much of her they still carry into the world. 

Character is clearly a strength of yours. Is that where you start when you begin a project? And are you a pantser or a plotter?

Ha!  I’ve never heard that term in a long lifetime of writing.  A pantser—someone who writes by the seat of their pants—yes, that’s absolutely me, at least in the early stages of a draft.  I don’t begin a book with plot, I begin with a world, and I enter that world deeply to discover the story.  Here are some people, they must have a problem, what is it?  Of course, as the book progresses, the trouble builds, it has to, and trouble is plot.  I do many many drafts of my books, and plot is important to me, dear to my heart actually, but it does come later.   

How was it writing the second book? Easier? Harder?

I think every book is hard.  This is actually my fourth published novel, my second for readers of all ages, and in between, I’ve written my share of books for both kids and adults that I’ve ultimately shelved.  They’ve all thrilled and exhausted me.  There’s so much unknown in the novel process—I can be 300 pages into a book and still wondering if I have a book. 

But I have a strange story about this particular book.  It was finished, written and rewritten and rewritten, about to be sent to my editor, when suddenly during breakfast with a writing pal, I discovered privately (I didn’t mention it to my companion) that the novel that I’d finished wasn’t what I wanted.  Not at all.  So two days later, I dumped that book into the garbage and started over—started this book that became Keeping Safe the Stars.  You would not recognized the other one. 

Wow. I'm impressed and amazed that you could do that, but the result speaks for itself. How about promotion? How do you manage it?

I try to do the best I can—conferences, school visits, bookstores.  I love to connect with readers and writers of all ages.   Teaching writing to kids and adults, both poetry and fiction, that’s been my life’s work, so I’m always eager to talk to people about writing, literature, the power of story and imagination.   Sparrow Road is just now out in paperback, so it’s making its way into schools and the larger world, and I love to go along with it.   And now I will go out with the Stars.  But I’m also a full-time professor and a writer, so some days it’s a challenge to do it all. 

Please tell readers what is up next for you.

I’m in the process of writing another middle grade novel for Penguin—which is mostly in its secret-even-to-me phase until I’m sure I have it right.  I’m a writer who likes to work alone, with plenty of confusion, until the book is clear in my imagination. 

How can readers find out more about you and your books?

Readers can visit me at www.sheilaoconnor.com.  I love to hear from readers, so drop a note. 

  

Thanks so much, Sheila!

The Gut Shot: Hitting Readers Where it Counts

Okay, disclaimer time: Kelly Bennett is one of my favorite people. She was one of the first published writers who treated me like a equal (when I was a naive newbie). And she's enormously talented, having written acclaimed, fun and charming books like Your Mommy Was Just Like You, Not Norman, Dance Y'all Dance...and many more, including her most recent release One Day I Went Rambling. Plus, she's a Vermont College grad! 

Check out her website at http://www.kellybennett.com/ and all her fabulous books.

So when Kelly agreed to write me a guest post I told her to have at it, and she suggested writing about...FOOD. 

Who doesn't like food? (Silly question.) But, how can food be used in story? Here's what Kelly has to say:

Children know food. Eating is something they’ve been doing all their lives. By middle childhood most have accumulated a trove of textural, olfactory, visual, and aural food memories: the crunch of celery, the stinky sock stench of ripe cheese, the sticky spicy-cool sweetness of candy cane, the rasp of dry toast against the roof of a mouth, the slurp of spaghetti, to name a few. They’ve formed opinions about foods and, through the media and stories, have knowledge of foods they’ve never experienced personally. Additionally, they’ve amassed food memories, some with strong emotions attached (think mother’s milk, birthday cake, “clear your plate” and “no dessert until you…”). Why not draw on what readers already know—food—to connect them with your characters and spice up your stories? In other words: Aim for the gut!

Here are some examples to get you Thinking Food:

Plot: Each of us spends “more than fifteen full days a year doing nothing but eating” (Food Rules by Bill Haduch), so at its most basic food plays a central role in reader’s lives. Use it in character’s lives, too. Food issues, the quest for food, preparation of food, lack, need, or abundance of food, can serve as a plot points.

•       Perfect by Natasha Friend, teens with eating disorders.
•       James Cross Giblin’s The Boy Who Saved Cleveland, a survival story all about corn.
•       Joan Bauer’s Close to Famous and Sprinkles and Secrets by Lisa Schroeder both center on cupcakes. 

Characterization: Consider the immortal words of J. Wellington Wimpy “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Thoughts, attitudes, and opinions about food add flesh to our character’s bones.

• In Ruby Lu, Brave and True by Lenore Look, this description of the new girl says it all: “When the ice-cream truck came down the street, Christina was always the first in line.”
• Tracing the Stars by Erin Moulton, stars Indie Lee Chicory who loves chowder almost as much as she does her golden cola drinking lobster.
• The Chocolate Touch, John Midas is a nice boy with “one bad fault: he was a pig about candy.”

Mealtimes:  Back-story and motivation are revealed, stories unravel, and secrets are shared.

• Who’s coming to dinner? Meals are an excuse to bring all manner of characters together.
• What’s for dinner? Mealtime fare reveals economic situations and informs readers about other times, places & cultures.
• Where’s dinner? The place and table establish setting

Descriptions: Food is often used to describe color, especially skin color: white as cream, honey golden, mocha, Joe’s face “pale as an onion” (How to Eat Fried Worms, Thomas Rockwell). At best, food references create multi-sensory descriptions.

• Sid Fleischman describes the prince’s face as “lobster-red from running” in The Whipping Boy. Readers unfamiliar with lobsters will visualize a reddish face and read on. Those familiar with lobsters will round out the image by picturing the prince’s face as hard and crusty like a lobster shell, and a whiff of sea salt.
• Richard Best calls a classmate’s legs “Slim Jim pretzels” (The Candy Corn Contest by Patricia Reilly Giff) –long, thin, pretzel salt, bumpy, too.
• Ruby Lu’s ink “as lumpy as tempura batter” (Ruby Lu, Brave and True by Lenore Look)—Look is a master of food imagery. Here’s more:
• “At night the rain was a lullaby of a billion grains of rice falling on the roof”
• Ruby likens her father’s fast knitting to “a starving man’s chopsticks at a feast
• Her brother was “wrapped up like a burrito”

Food names serve double duty as they conjure a multi-sensory image while giving name to a person, place or thing:

• The island of “Tangerina” and port of “Cranberry” (My Father’s Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett)
• Dogs “Fudge-Fudge” and “Marshmallow” (The New Animal by Emily Jenkins)

One of Kelly's inventive Halloween costumes...

Emotion: To quote Pillsbury:  “Nothing says loving like something from the oven.”

• When disappointed in her brother, Ruby “felt all her love for him drying up like spilled soda on a hot sidewalk.”
• When Ruby’s mad she feels “hotter than microwave popcorn.”
• Lowji, Candace Fleming’s Indian character in Lowji Discovers America gets mad, too, he turns “hot, hotter than Bape’s curry sauce.”

Final Words on Food:

If it speaks; it eats. Therefore, as plot, character, description, or emotion, there’s room for food in every story. Bon appetite!

Warning: Food references are like wine and chocolate: as much as we’d like to think otherwise, for best results they should be used in moderation.

Lisa M. Stasse Talks About Her Debut Novel THE FORSAKEN

Today I'm delighted to introduce Lisa M. Stasse, whose debut novel THE FORSAKEN launched in August. Lisa is a digital librarian at UCLA, and as you'll see she has more novels in store, which is a lucky thing for the fans of her face-paced, exciting stories. Here's Lisa:

Congratulations on the publication of your novel THE FORSAKEN. It’s quite an exciting ride! Please give readers a quick synopsis.

THE FORSAKEN is about a girl named Alenna Shawcross living in a dystopian future, in which the United States, Mexico and Canada have merged. A government test is administered to all 16 year olds, and it claims to diagnose hidden violent and subversive tendencies. Even though Alenna has done nothing wrong, she fails the test and is sent to a terrifying prison island called "The Wheel" in which various tribes of kids battle with each other. She has to learn how to forge alliances, make friends, fight the government machines that control the island, and try to find a way to escape. Along the way she learns some surprising things about her government, her new friends, and her own identity as well.

Your concept is intriguing. What was your inspiration?

The general concept actually came from a nightmare I had, in which men in robes were chasing me with knives on a prison island. When I woke up, I instantly realized it was a good scene for a book or a movie. At the same time, a friend's sister was worried about taking the SATs. So the idea of a violent island and the SATs merged in my mind for some reason. I started to imagine what it would be like if there were a standardized government test that if you failed, you got banished from society and sent to an island to fight other kids. I suppose it's a bit like Lord of the Flies or Lost or The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner, but with a few new twists. Those were definitely the kinds of books that influenced my writing.

You have a clear set-up for a sequel. Is one (or more) in the works? Can you give us a hint about it if so?

I actually finished the sequel, titled THE UPRISING, right as THE FORSAKEN was released! It's coming out next summer, but there should be plenty of ARCs available before then. I'm already working on Book 3. It doesn't have a title yet, so I need to think of something good pretty fast!

There are many double-crosses and character surprises here but it all makes sense in retrospect. Was that tough to pull off? Do you have any tricks you use while developing/plotting?

I plotted THE FORSAKEN fairly well in advance, on pieces of paper that I taped to the wall. I was really excited about the biggest twist (the "unmasking" scene near the end) so I wanted to make sure I had everything planned out. I love mysteries and thrillers, and it's really fun trying to come up with ways to surprise and entertain readers. At the same time, I didn't plan out everything, because I wanted to give myself some freedom and room to breathe while I was writing. I feel like a good balance is important. THE UPRISING has even more twists and turns, and some shocking betrayals as well.

On a different note, what was it like for you shifting from your role as a librarian to your role as author?

It's been a lot of fun so far! I love being a librarian and I love writing. Maybe I'm just addicted to being around books! :) Right now I'm doing both, and it's a blast. I suppose I've always been writing. Having a book published was a goal of mine since I was in high school. I started writing a few things before THE FORSAKEN (books and screenplays), but never finished them.

Can you tell us about your road to publication?

I managed to find a fantastic agent, Mollie Glick at Foundry Literary + Media, who really took me under her wing. She was one of the first agents I contacted, and luckily, she really loved the book. She gave me some great notes and advice, and had me do a few revisions, and then Simon & Schuster purchased the trilogy in a preemptive deal. It's been a very exciting journey, and I feel incredibly lucky to get the opportunity to write books. I just hope they sell well enough that I can keep writing. I already have a concept plotted out for my next trilogy, if it ever happens!

Where can readers learn more about you and your books?

Here are all my links! I'm usually on twitter the most, so readers can find me there anytime. Thank you so much for having me on your blog!

Official Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtIwks26SZU

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12987192-the-forsaken

Twitter: www.twitter.com/lisamstasse

Website: www.lisamstasse.com

Forsaken Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Forsaken/214975938584901?ref=hl

And the Winner is...

The winner of an arc copy of SIRENS plus my cool swag is...

M Malavec!

But don't be disappointed if you didn't win this time - I'll be running more contests here plus a Goodreads contest for a published copy, beginning on October 10, plus you can always pre-order now (pre-order from my local indie bookseller, Country Bookshelf, and I will personalize your copy before sending.) Thank you all for coming by!!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Sirens

by Janet Fox

Giveaway ends November 10, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

SIRENS Cover Reveal, Teaser Release, and Give-Away!

As many of you know by now, my next YA novel, SIRENS, will be out from Speak/Penguin on November 8! It’s available for preorder now. I’m excited to be able to reveal the gorgeous cover:

And here’s the synopsis:

SIRENS is a noire romance set in 1925. Josephine Winter, seventeen, is sent to live with relatives in New York City after her bootlegging father receives a threat, but bookish Jo harbors her own secrets. She finds friendship with lively Louise O’Keefe and romance with sweet jazz musician Charlie.

But haunted by the spirit of her missing brother, Jo uncovers a nest of family lies that threaten everyone she loves, and Lou, in the thrall of the dangerous, seductive gangster Daniel Connor, is both Jo’s best friend and potential enemy. As Jo unlocks dark mysteries and Lou’s eyes are opened, the girls’ treacherous paths intertwine.

Jo and Lou together will have to stand up to Connor in order to find their hearts and hang onto their souls in the “decade of decadence.”

This novel was so much fun to write, as I discovered much I didn’t know about the Roaring Twenties (see my earlier blog post on this – and there’s more to come.)

My son has made a series of video teasers and a trailer for the novel, and here’s the first of those:

Now on the really fun stuff! I’m hosting a giveaway of a long necklace strand of 20’s-style “pearls”, plus a feathery, flappery headband. 

Just leave me a comment (with an email contact, please, so I can let you know you’ve won). You get extra entries for (1) tweeting this post with the hashtag #SIRENS, (2) following my author page on Facebook or letting me know you already follow or posting it on your FB page, and/or (3) adding it to your Goodreads shelf.

Halloween is coming – here are your first flapper costume accessories!

And...take a photo of yourself in costume and I'll feature it here!

PLUS - I'll throw in an arc of SIRENS as soon as I have one in hand!!

Contest ends on midnight, September 30.

Guest Post by Debut Author of TOUCHING THE SURFACE Kim Sabatini

As I read this guest post by Kimberly Sabatini, author of TOUCHING THE SURFACE, I was nodding my head in agreement. Starting a new story is not only difficult for me but, like Kim, I have to have a touchstone to keep in mind as I go. I hope you enjoy her essay - and let us know where you like to start.

"Starting is the Pits"

It took me until I was about a quarter of the way through the first draft of my second book (THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY) before I realized that starting a new story is the pits.  The reason for this is that starting something new can be hard.  There are essentially two extreme approaches to story writing with varying degrees of middle ground to chose from.  In its most extreme, you can start by blazing a trail with your hair and pants on fire or you can begin slowly, with a tiny nugget of something that you’re hoping to build on.  I like to call this nugget of potential—the pit. 

Blazing a trail sounds like an exciting and delightfully quick way to write a story, but sadly, it’s not my way.  My pit starts like a tiny grain of sand that irritates the oyster--the aggravation usually being in the form of a question.  My stories start with some grain of truth that I need to explore in order to become a happier person.   Once I have the pit, I roll it around in my head, over and over again, until it bumps into another idea that it’s compatible with.  I keep rolling and bumping—each collected thought attracting even more interesting thoughts along the way.  It’s sort of like a snowball picking up speed and mass as it travels down hill.  I bump my pit against the people, places and things in my own life until there is enough cohesion for my story to begin to tell itself.  This is what I think of as the tipping point in the story and for me it doesn’t usually come until about a quarter of the way through the first draft.  And I won’t lie—waiting for the tipping point is stressful.  I can’t help but wonder if, instead of a great book, I’ll end up with a worn out pit with lots of random stuff attached to it.  The thought of it gives me the shivers.  The one thing that I try to remember, as I muck my way through this crazy process, is that I can only write books that mean something to me.  I can’t control how other people will react to them and I know that trying will make me crazy.  All I can do is take my own journey and be happy with the result—grateful to have my own questions answered.  Hopefully, at the end (crosses fingers) I also have a book to share.

So, I bet you’re wondering about the pit for my debut novel TOUCHING THE SURFACE.  About two years before I began writing it, my father passed away.  Because my dad was a great guy, but suffered from depression, I needed to know what happens to a person who is good at heart but dies before they figure out everything they need to know about themselves.  I built the Obmil for my dad and I find it oddly reassuring to know he has a place to go until he doesn’t need it any more. 

It truly doesn’t matter whether you are a trailblazer or a pit bumper or something in between.  What matters most is that the path you navigate to write your book is your journey.  I’m pretty sure it’s the pits to write a story that doesn’t result in a book, but I have to believe it would be a bigger crime to write a book that doesn’t have a journey.

You can find out more about Kim and her books at www.kimberlysabatini.com 

Interview with Michele Corriel, Mid-Grade Author

One of my 2k10 classmates has not one but two books out or coming in the next few months! 

Michele Corriel has been a friend for years. We first met when we were both unpublished and Regional Advisors for SCBWI and attending the annual New York conference. She lives in Montana, and at the time my hubby and I were dreaming of living here year round, so naturally we were drawn together. I'm delighted to be here now and have a chance to see her often, and even more thrilled by her success. I invited Michele to talk about her most recent novel, the middle grade TRUE LIES.

Hi Michele! Congrats on the publication of your second middle grade novel, TRUE LIES. Can you give us a synopsis?

Thomas [from the first book in the series] is back with his newspaper crew trying to get the scoop on news at Fairview Middle School. This time they get involved in a jewel heist! There’s also a new character, who I find exquisitely funny and charming. :)

This is the second book in your series beginning with FAIRVIEW FELINES. Do you envision more to come?

The publisher, Ambush Books, asked me to write a short story that will help readers get to know the Newspaper Mystery series. So that’s the first order of business. After that, we’ll see. But I do have an idea for a third book!

What do you like best about series work?

I think the format is very versatile. Newspapers are great vehicles for solving mysteries. And Thomas is so much fun to write, he really jumps off the page.

You’ve had a topsy-turvy road to publishing these stories. Would you share your journey?

Of course. After my first middle-grade came out in 2010 with Blooming Tree Press, I thought I was on the road to success! Then Blooming Tree Press closed its doors in 2011. They’d already asked for a second book and I’d sent it to them. What was I going to do with a second book of a series that had met an untimely demise?

I read about an ebook company looking for out of print YA and MG books. I thought, hey, that’s me! 

So I sent them a letter and a query. They were very interested and even asked if I had a second book in the series. Which, of course, I did. :) Both of these came out together in July. Needless to say, I’m thrilled that Thomas and his pals get another chance!

I love your new covers! How did they come about?

I’m afraid I had nothing to do with them! The publisher had it all done by their in-house design team. But I do love them. They’re very modern and sleek but still get the idea across. I love the cut up words scrambled across the tops and bottoms. Makes me think of kidnapping!

What’s up next for you?

My book Weird Rocks will be out in January from Mountain Press. This is a non-fiction picture book about … well, rocks! I can’t wait.

How can readers find out more about you and where can they find your books?

Everyone is welcome to visit my website at www.michelecorriel.com and the ebooks are available at amazon.com as well as bn.com. There’s a link on my website, too.

Thanks, Michele!

Erin Frankel on Bullying & Her New Book Series

My guest today is Erin Frankel, author of Free Spirit Publishing's new series, THE WEIRD SERIES. I'm so delighted to have Erin here, not only because the subject of her books - bullying - is important and of deep interest to me personally, but also because I'm so pleased to host a fellow Free Spirit author. I'm very proud of my place in the Free Spirit family: this is a publisher that truly cares about kids and their development. 

Erin's books are a superb new addition to the roster, as you'll see in the interview. I love the fact that she includes the points of view of the bully and the bystander in her series, because this sheds more light on a complex issue.

Hi Erin. I'm so happy to have you here! How did you come to write the Weird Series books? Were the stories inspired by something you experienced or were they based on the experiences of someone you care about?

It was really a combination of both. As a mother and teacher, I was very much aware of the pain and struggles that children face when it comes to bullying. I could empathize, given my own childhood experiences with bullying, and hoped to make a difference by sharing what I had learned. I’ve always wanted to write for children and couldn’t think of a better way to get kids thinking and talking about bullying from an early age than a picture book. I wanted to write stories that would help children feel prepared to stand up for what is right and stay true to who they are. 

Your illustrator, Paula Heaphy, is a lifelong friend. Did you propose the series together? Did you struggle to find a publisher?

Paula and I have worked as a team from the very beginning. We shared the same dream of making a difference when it came to bullying and we both had our own personal experiences with bullying to draw from. In fact, collaborating on books that will help bring healing has been a very healing process for both of us. Given the subject matter, we both felt a tremendous responsibility to get the right message out through story and art. We didn’t submit Weird! until we felt confident that we had something special in our hands. My words inspired her art, and her art inspired my words, and it was just a wonderful collaboration throughout. When we had a polished dummy, we started sending it out to our publisher wish list. We had our share of rejections, but most came with a touch of positive feedback. Still, I think we both pinched ourselves when Free Spirit reached out to us. They were the ones with a little star next to their name on our wish list. I guess you could say it was our ‘dream home’ for the story.

Did you write all three books before submitting, or did you put together a proposal?

We only submitted the first book, Weird!. The idea for a series came up later in our discussions with Free Spirit. We proposed a series to help children look at bullying from all three perspectives: the target, the bystander, and the child doing the bullying. I knew when we were working on Weird! that Luisa’s story had many layers to it. I wanted to know what motivated the other characters to act the way they did and help readers reflect on the changes that had to happen in order for all three main characters to get back to being themselves. That is how the other two books in the series, Dare! and Tough!, were born.

Are you working on something new in either fiction or nonfiction?

Yes! Paula and I are in talks with Free Spirit about creating more books in their Bully Free Kids line featuring boys as the main characters. I am also trying to find a home for a coming-of-age middle grade novel, which is very dear to my heart. And last but not least, I am polishing up a patriotic picture book written in verse. Poetry is my secret passion. Oops…guess it’s not a secret anymore!

Please tell us how we can learn more about you and the series.

You can go to our book series website: www.theweirdseries.com. The website has information about each book, author and illustrator bios, useful bullying resources, and a direct link to Free Spirit’s website where you can read more about the books. If you like what you read, orders can be placed through Free Spirit, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon. The books are out in bookstores on September 1st. We love to get feedback and hope readers will reach out to us through our website as well.

 

Thanks so much, Janet. I’ve really enjoyed this and appreciate the chance to share what has been a very special and meaningful project with you and your readers.