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I’m in a rush today, but here’s what’s going on this week:

May 27, Tuesday, 6:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble, The Woodlands
3 YA Authors: Joy Preble, Varsha Bajaj, Christina Mandelski

Join three teen authors as they sign and discuss their newest books. Joy Preble, Varsha Bajaj and Christina Mandelski will all be in-store in the seating area. Don’t miss out on this chance to meet three fantastic YA authors!

May 30, Friday, 7:00 p.m.
Blue Willow Bookshop
Jennifer Mathieu, YA Author

Blue Willow Bookshop is thrilled to help Jennifer Mathieu launch THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE, her debut novel for young adults! This stunning debut is told in unique, multiple voices with flawless structure, intense pace, and fabulous writing. Though this story is set in the right-here-and-now, the overall message, and especially the end of the book insights from Alice, will make this a timeless read.

May 30, Friday, 3:00 p.m.
French Cuff Boutique
Quinn Holladay, PB Author

French Cuff Boutique presents MACGYVER—THE BEST BIG BLACK DOG by Quinn Holladay.

May 31, Saturday, 4:00 p.m.
River Oaks Bookstore
Sheri Kiss

Join us for a fun and entertaining puppet show based on Sheri Kiss’s children’s book, DREAM WRITE. An engaging book signing (with puppets!) will follow.



June 1, Sunday, 2:00 p.m.
Katy Budget Books
Two YA Authors: CC Hunter and Joy Preble 

Join three of KBB’s favorite local authors as they sign and discuss their latest releases: CC Hunter with REBORN, and Joy Preble with THE A WORD, plus Sophie Jordan with her NA novel.

If I remember correctly, author appearances in Houston got off to a slow start last January. Not so this year! I hope a lot of you got to attend the Texas YAHous’s Whim2Weird event last weekend.  If, like me, you couldn’t make it, you can see pictures of the event with local authors Sophie Jordan, Christina Mandelski, CC Hunter, Crystal Allen, Joy Preble, and Mary Lindsey, courtesy of Blue Willow Bookshop. We have another huge event coming up this weekend:

Sunday, January 15, 3:00 P.M. Doors open  2:30 P.M.
Johnston Middle School
10410 Manhattan Drive, Houston, TX.
Sponsored by Blue Willow Bookshop and
Inprint’s Cool Brain Series
Christopher Paul Curtis, Author

Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Christopher Paul Curtis comes to Houston to discuss his newest book for children, THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE.

Book:
“We are a family on a journey to a place called wonderful” is the motto of Deza Malone’s family. Deza is the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, singled out by teachers for a special path in life. But the Great Depression hit Gary hard, and there are no jobs for black men. When her beloved father leaves to find work, Deza, Mother, and her older brother Jimmie go in search of him, and end up in a Hooverville outside Flint, Michigan. Jimmie’s beautiful voice inspires him to leave the camp to be a performer, while Deza and Mother find a new home, and cling to the hope that they will find Father. The twists and turns of their story reveal the devastation of the Depression and prove that Deza truly is the Mighty Miss Malone.

Please be sure to check Blue Willow Bookshop’s website for the latest information on this special event.

Enter to win a 2k11/Elevensie bookmark swag pack by leaving a comment below. 


Don't forget about entering to win a signed copy of THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY.  Both contests close Wednesday, 15 June.

The Sweetest Thing - Christina Mandelski

Sheridan's father's reality tv show changes her world, her cake business, and her understanding of love as she comes to terms with the bitter and the sweet things in her life.

OyMG - Amy Fellner Dominy

Debate dynamo Ellie grapples with faith, bigotry, boys, grandparents, the perfect matzo ball soup recipe, and staying true to herself when it counts most.

Never Eighteen - Megan Bostic

In the last stages of terminal cancer, Austin lives for the moment by mending fences in his own life and allowing others to begin the process for themselves in this intense, spare read.

Christina Mandelski Debuts with THE SWEETEST THING

• Class of 2008
• Class of 2009
• MORE 2k11

Revision: A Survivor’s Checklist

Guest post by Christina Mandelski
I’ve had many writers profess to me their love of revision, claiming that they get some sort of weird thrill from the process.

I think they’re lying.

I’m not saying that there’s absolutely no joy in revision. In fact, I love revision – when it’s over. Mostly, though, I think revision is hard.

When I’m pounding out that first draft, I throw caution to the wind – my goal is to get the story out. I do love that part. But revision means I have to sit down, pay attention, focus and make it work. This scares me.

Still, no one can argue that revision isn’t necessary, it IS. And certainly, after all the time, effort and love you’ve put into your story, you owe it to yourself to hone it until it sings.

But where to begin? Over the years I have developed a list of three things that I need to ensure a successful revision. They are:

• A plan.
• Someone/thing to make me accountable.
• Good walking shoes.

#1: A plan of revision.

I can’t go into revision willy-nilly. I make a list of all thoughts, notes, suggestions from other readers. Even if an idea sounds ridiculous, I write it down, just in case. Then I sit down and begin to re-type the manuscript, keeping one eye on my to-do list.

#2: Accountability

This leads to #2. I need something to keep me on task, to keep my butt in the revision chair. For me, that’s usually my critique group, who expect to read work from me every other week. Deadlines also help: before we leave for vacation, in time to submit for a conference critique, before my agent gives birth. In other words, something to keep me opening the document every day.

#3: Walking On

And finally, #3. Whether working on your tenth book or preparing for your very first submission, you need to ask and answer certain difficult questions: “Why is the main character doing such-and-such? What is their motivation? Is this plot twist believable? If not, what can I do to make it believable?”

Answering these questions can feel overwhelming and even impossible, but this step is crucial to the success of your manuscript. This is also the point where you may want to throw your laptop across the room.

That’s when I go to get my walking shoes. Usually, in the course of a thirty minute walk, my mind is able to focus on the problem at hand, and inevitably I come up with a solution. Is it always the right solution? No, but it’s a start – it is forward momentum.

Keep moving forward, this is key. Ask and answer the tough questions, meet real or imaginary deadlines, stick t

Not so very long ago when Christina Mandelski was a kid, she used to go to the library and find the alphabetical space on the shelves where, someday, she imagined her books would be. Now she can go and see them there for real.

Today at Blue Willow Bookshop, Christina launched her debut novel, THE SWEETEST THING, about a young teen juggling first love, a cake-decorating business, her dad’s reality TV show, and a search for her missing mother. Since the story is about a teenage cake artist, Christina often gets mistaken for someone who likes to cook. “People ask me what are my favorite recipes. That cracks me up.”

Nevertheless, Christina did share her favorite recipe—for writing a book.

*1 pinch of an idea

* Mix together sweet and spicy characters

* Add in a love triangle—every good book needs a love triangle

* A cup of setting

* Carefully mix in one large problem

* A hearty helping of heart

* And most important, generous helpings of critique group (hers is Will Write for Cake) and family. (And by the way, Christina’s parents surprised her by flying in from Florida to be at her launch!)

* Once you feel like you have a good product, find and expert taste-tester—an agent. (Hers is Michael Stearns of Upstart Crow.)

*Find a bakery—a publisher (hers is Egmont and her editor was Greg Ferguson)) to get it to the people who want it.

*End up with one sweet product!

After each instruction, Christina talked about the particulars of her book—the idea, and the characters, and the love triangle.

When it was time for questions, the first person asked what her favorite YA book was as a teenager and what her favorite YA book is now. Her answer for her teenage years was To Kill a Mockingbird, and for today, she loves the works of Joan Bauer. Her father added that when Christina was very young, she loved the poems of Christina Rosetti and carried that book with her everywhere and even wrote her own poems.

The second questions was, what are you working on now? Answer: something a little different, older, a modern retelling of Cinderella mixed with Faust.