Excerpt

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Parker Peevyhouseis the first-time author of Where Futures End(Penguin/Kathy Dawson Books, 2016). From the promotional copy:

Five teens.

Five futures.

Two worlds.

One ending.

One year from now, Dylan develops a sixth sense that allows him to glimpse another world.

Ten years from now, Brixney must get more hits on her social media feed or risk being stuck in a debtors' colony.

Thirty years from now, Epony scrubs her entire online profile from the web and goes “High Concept.”

Sixty years from now, Reef struggles to survive in a city turned virtual gameboard.

And more than a hundred years from now, Quinn uncovers the alarming secret that links them all.

Five people, divided by time, will determine the fate of us all. These are stories of a world bent on destroying itself, and of the alternate world that might be its savior--unless it's too late.

Could you describe both your pre-and-post contract revision process? What did you learn along the way? How did you feel at each stage? What advice do you have for other writers on the subject of revision?

Parker Peevyhouse

I set myself up for a tricky revision process when I wrote Where Futures End as a series of interconnected stories. I had to make sure that the stories connected well to each other, even though each is mostly self-contained.

My agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette, also pointed out that the first story in the book had to be really gripping. Of course, every novel has to have an opening that grabs the reader, but that had to be especially true of Where Futures End, since the reader would only continue to the second story if s/he loved the first.

I worked really hard to revise the opening story before we sent out the manuscript on submission. But the feedback we got was that the first story still wasn’t working. The tone was too sad and dark, since the story dealt with a boy (Dylan) wrestling with the death of his brother; and Dylan was confusing, since he kept going back and forth on whether he had the ability to visit another world. I was pretty bummed about this feedback because I loved Dylan and his story, but I could see that the manuscript wouldn’t sell as-is.

I scrapped that first story and started over. I brought the dead brother back to life and made the plot focus on sibling rivalry. I created a more linear progression for Dylan’s investigation into whether he had the ability to visit another world, and I had the brother play a larger part in this mystery. To my surprise, this new version of the story felt even closer to what I had originally want to achieve. And it got a lot more interest from editors.

The editor who bought the novel, Kathy Dawson (who has her own imprint at Penguin), wanted me to make even deeper cuts. In the original version of the manuscript, Dylan is obsessed with a series of fantasy novels about the Lookingland, a magical realm Dylan thinks he can visit. Throughout the novel, other characters also try to access the Lookingland, so it became an element that tied together the separate stories that make up Where Futures End. Kathy suggested I cut out the Lookingland entirely; she thought it was too confusing, one more thing for the reader to keep track of in an already intricate novel. But how in the world would I then tie all of Where Futures End together?

Parker's assistant, Arya

We figured out that Dylan, instead of reading novels about the magical land he longed to escape to, should write stories about that land himself. This set up a new way to connect the stories that comprise Where Futures End.

In the second part of Where Futures End, Dylan’s stories come to the public’s attention. In the third part, we see that books and movies have been made from Dylan’s stories. In the fourth part, a main character makes his living playing a video game based on Dylan’s stories. And in the fifth part, the stories take on a life of their own…

It was painful to make all of those deep cuts. I wasn’t always sure I should make such huge changes to my original vision! But I took the advice of my agent and did my revisions in a separate document so that I always had the option of reverting to the original manuscript.

That helped me make bold changes, and in the end, I felt the new versions of the manuscript were better than the old versions.

It helps to have an agent and an editor who are so insightful with their revision suggestions, but I also recommend taking chances with revisions, knowing you can always go back to what you originally wrote if those revisions don’t work for you.

As a science fiction writer, what first attracted you to that literary tradition? Have you been a long-time sci-fi reader?

Does anyone else remember “poot” from My Teacher Fried My Brains by Bruce Coville (Aladdin, 1991)? I loved that crazy-weird stretchable pet when I was in grade school. And I was fascinated by the tesseracts in A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1963).

When I was a kid, if there was a book in my library about something strange, I took it home.

Those books inspired me to write my own weird stories about kids visiting alternate realities and wielding supernatural powers.

Reading and writing science fiction was the only thing that could feed my ever-hungry imagination.

What drew me to science fiction as a kid were the strange ideas, the mind-benders, like Meg Murray talking about how time is the fourth dimension.

Where Futures End makes use of the tropes I’ve loved reading about from a young age: alternate universes, time distortion, psychic abilities. But I’ve also grown to love how science fiction explores personal interactions and cultural changes. I wanted Where Futures End to explore culture in the same way Feed by M. T. Anderson (Candlewick, 2002) does, and to explore relationships in the same way that How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (Penguin, 2004) does.

Science fiction, more than any other genre, lends enough distance to gain new perspectives, and that’s the main reason I still love the genre.

Add a Comment

You might not be aware that when this blog was created, the original group of posters agreed to keep it going for 843 days exactly. We had done some pretty complicated calculations on the shelf-life of a blog about speculative fiction for teens and pre-teens, with some assistance from several persons (and a robot) who arrived from the future to warn us about impending utopian conditions.

So here we are at Day 843, feeling compelled to say goodbye so that we can enjoy the sudden utopia we have been informed is about to be created on Earth. (We’ve been told there will be free iced coffee and several Harry Potter sequels for everyone.) We’d like to thank you, blog readers, for following us for so long (two and a half years! over 500 posts!). We’ve appreciated your comments and silent visits alike. We feel this has been a great opportunity to explore our thoughts on various topics important to us science fiction- and fantasy-lovers, and to chat with people we otherwise would never had known existed.

We hope that you will continue to visit us on other places on the web so that we can chat about books and hear your recommendations for what we should be reading and share thoughts about writing and publishing. You can find links to our websites here. Thanks, lovely blog readers, and Happy Reading!

Filed under: Chris Eboch, Greg Fishbone, Joni Sensel, K. A. Holt, Linda Joy Singleton, Nick James, P. J. Hoover, Parker Peevyhouse

Display Comments Add a Comment

We hope some of you had a chance to read CHIME since we announced our Book Talk about a month ago. CHIME has received six starred reviews and has garnered a lot of praise around the web. The story follows Briony, a young woman living at the start of the twentieth century in Swampsea, where the swamp is being drained to make way for train tracks–and the monsters who lurk in the mud are angry about losing their home. In order to save her twin sister from a curse brought down by the Boggy Mun, Briony must stop the swamp from being drained, all while balancing her self-hatred and her new-found love for a boy who has just come to town.

Today, Joni Sensel and Parker Peevyhouse chat about the book. We hope you’ll comment with your own opinions on some of these topics. We’d love to hear what you thought of CHIME.

Joni Sensel: So, let’s talk about CHIME! I haven’t read it yet, but I’m intrigued by the swamp setting. Is it used well?

Parker Peevyhouse: Yeah, the swamp was COOL. The setting was fab. I loved the swamp, and all the creatures were varied and wondrous.

Joni: What’s the main character like?

Parker: Briony. She was really into hating herself — she took it to a new level. Okay, well, not Black Swan level. But high up there. When she was young, she used her “witchy” powers to knock her twin sister, Rose, off a swing. Rose hit her head and suffered some kind of brain damage. She’s since been rather off–but Rose is a wonderful character. I loved her. She has a great way of talking, very blunt, and always, “I don’t prefer to do this or that.”

Joni: That’s an interesting twin contrast — like one “good” personality and one bad in two bodies?

Parker: Well, Rose isn’t exactly “good.” She’s rather rude and always runs off. They’re both pretty mischievous. But it was hard for me to love Briony or connect with her, although I found her sense of humor sharp and creative.

Joni: How important do you think that kind of connection is for enjoying a book?

Parker: For me, it’s key. I liked the setting of CHIME, I liked a lot of the characters, and I liked the magic, but Briony wouldn’t let me get close. She has this STRANGE way of talking, of narrating. At one point she’s looking for Rose, is desperate to find her in the swamp and wants Rose to call out to her. She says, “Jab your scream into my ear squish.” I honestly don’t understand why Briony talked the way she did.

I thought maybe Briony is just so crazy with self-hatred that she can’t quite keep a hold on her sanity, but it’s hard to say. Briony is just an unusual girl, I suppose, and I like unusual, but there’s a fine line between unusual and un-relatable. I love to read an unusual book, I really do, but it’s got to have an anchor in that main character. This isn’t to say that Briony is categorically unlovable. I think her relatability will vary from reader to reader.

Joni: Was that kind of language something that took you out of the story?

Parker: I didn’t like most of the language, to be honest. There were some lovely bits swimming around in all these strange bits, some really beautiful descriptions. Briony kept saying that Eldric’s eyes we

Display Comments Add a Comment

P. J. Hoover answers more of my questions about her new YA e-book, SOLSTICE, which she e-published with the help of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Read Part 1 of this interview.) SOLSTICE blends teen romance with dystopian elements with Greek mythology.

Parker Peevyhouse: What about marketing–is that all up to you or will the agency help with that? We friended your book on Facebook, by the way.

P. J. Hoover: Thanks. I think they will do what they can to help market the book as far as advertising on their Facebook page, and Laura Rennert will be talking about it at a panel at BEA.

Parker:  I would guess it’ll get press just from the angle of “ABLA takes psuedo-publishing role.”

PJ: I hope so.

Parker: What specifically will you do to market SOLSTICE? You’ve got the book trailer, your blog, this interview…

PJ: I plan to really focus on the online. There is no book party at a store to plan, no postcards to mail. So I am going to focus on blog tours, twitter… I’m going to Dallas Comic Con. I made trading cards to hand out with secret content–each card has a special QR code.

Parker: Those weird boxes that you take pictures of with your phone?

PJ: Yes, with a barcode scanner app. It takes you to a hidden website link with maybe a secret vlog or a deleted scene or a chapter from another character’s POV. That sort of thing.

Parker: So I will get one of these cards, when?

PJ: I’ll mail you some! Teens are totally savvy about these things. I handed out cards last Saturday at an event and had hits on my hidden links before I got home.

Parker: Wow. So your marketing will target teens, not gatekeepers like booksellers, librarians and teachers.

PJ: Librarians are definitely in the mix because you can loan out e-books.

Parker: How will sales of your e-book affect future sales of other projects to publishers?

PJ: I think with as much as the market is changing, my options are wide open. I also think, for my career, marketing is very important. I don’t think it’s enough for an author to e-publish a book and put it on Amazon and expect it to just take off. I really think author marketing is huge. HUGE.

Parker: Did author marketing work well for your EMERALD TABLET books [which were published by a small press, CBAY Books]? Is there a difference here?

PJ: There are a few differences. First, those books were middle grade. MG readers are not online, so online marketing is very hard. So much depends on librarians and bookstores. Also, the CBAY books are hardcover and priced at $16.95. Some parents are reluctant to spend that on a book for their kid. SOLSTICE is priced at $2.99. So now I have a book aimed at teen readers who are online and moms who are online. And it is less expensive than a cup of coffee.

Parker: Are you going to aim any marketing specific

Add a Comment

With the explosion of chatter online about authors who make their careers by self-publishing e-books, I was eager to talk with former Spectacle contributor P. J. Hoover about her new YA novel SOLSTICE, which has just been e-published with the help of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. This is a new model for literary agencies who are interested in finding a place in the e-publishing process, and P. J. explains here how that partnership worked in her case.

SOLSTICE is set in a future plauged by a Global Heating Crisis and is about a young woman who becomes entangled in a love triangle of Greek mythic proportions. It’s available now on Amazon and Smashwords, and will be available soon on Barnes&Noble.com.

Parker Peevyhouse:  It’s been a while since we’ve seen you here! Looks like a lot has been happening since then. Let’s hear about why you chose to self-publish. Why this book?

P. J. Hoover: This book is really timely for right now. It’s a mythology-based dystopian novel, and right now both of those elements are hot. I think the tipping point was really looking at the market and seeing the books that were coming out and knowing that even if we did sell to a traditional press it could take over a year to come out. Like even into 2013.

Parker: Which means you might miss the trend for dystopian or mythology-based novels.

PJ: And also, given how exciting all the e-book news is these days, it seemed like a really fun thing to do.

Parker: Had you previously submitted the manuscript to publishers?

PJ: My agent [Laura Rennert] and I had subbed a very different version earlier (about a year ago) with minimal dystopian elements. We got close to selling but never found the right fit.

Parker: How did you talk to your agent about self-pubbing?

PJ: I didn’t. I had a phone call scheduled with her to talk about what our submission strategy would be. We talked about that a bit and then she said, “Well, there is another option.” And she suggested the self-publishing route.

Parker: Was this before or after Amanda Hocking’s success with self-publishing?

PJ: This was two months ago–so after her news went viral.

Parker: Had the agency ever suggested self-publishing to their other authors or was this a new view they were taking?

PJ: I’m not sure if they had suggested this to any of their other clients or not. But once I decided I wanted to go the indie pub route, they took the ball and ran with it. We did another round of edits. And then a copy edit, and two proofreading edits.

Parker: Is that more editing than an e-book usually gets? I guess it probably varies.

PJ: We did many rounds back and forth. My agent and her reader are some of the most gifted people I can imagine when it comes to editing.

Parker: Were you always cool with the suggestions?

PJ: There are definitely some things I stood against changing. For example, the

Display Comments Add a Comment

I present to you the second half of a diary chronicling my experiences with the Kindle 2 wi-fi. Read Part 1 of my Kindle diary here. (You can also read Parts 1 and 2 of my Nook diary.)

Week 12

Hurrah! Amazon has announced a new lending feature for the Kindle, which means I can share titles with other Kindle users for 14 days at a time. The Nook’s LendMe feature was one of the main things that drew me to that device, so I’m excited to find that the Kindle now supports sharing e-books.

There’s just one tiny problem. None of the e-books I own appears to be lendable. Turns out the publisher gets to decide whether to make a title available for the lending feature, and not too many publishers seem to be as excited by this feature as I am. This is really too bad. A 14-day lending period is completely reasonable. Sharing books builds hype and gets readers hooked on a new author or series. Plus, it keeps Kindle-users happy so that they aren’t tempted to illegally download books for free. My 2 cents.

Week 13

I’m having a hard time trying to decide which books to download to my device, which to get from the library, and which to buy from a bookstore. Most of my books come from the library, because I read far more books in a month than I can afford to buy. But if a book is popular I have to wait weeks or months to get it from the library. If I buy a book from a local store, I’m supporting my local economy and I can pass the book on to a friend who might like it. But downloading it to my Kindle is easiest–it’s fast, and I don’t have to pay for gas to get to the store or shipping to order it online.

So here’s my system for determining whether to download a book (10 points=pay for the download):

• 10 points if I think I will love the book and want to keep it for a long time
• 7 points if I have giftcard that will cover all or most of the purchase (not 10, because who wants to waste a giftcard on a book that you won’t actually like?)
• 7 points if the book is self-pubbed and therefore only available as an e-book (but I need another reason to justify buying a book at all)
• 7 points if the e-book is really, really cheap (even though I’m probably less likely to enjoy a cheaper book)
• 5 points if I really want to read the book but all copies are checked out of the library
• 5 points if the book will be difficult to read and I’m going to want to hang onto it for a long time to finish it
• 3 points if I really need something to read but am feeling too lazy to go out and buy/borrow a book
• -5 points if my son hasn’t gotten to go to the bookstore in a while
• -5 points if I think a friend or family member will want to borrow the book when I’m finished

Week 14

I’ll admit that one of the reasons I wanted an e-reader rather than an iPad or smartphone is that a device like the Kindle keeps me free from distractions. Yes, it has a web browser on it, but it’s so difficult to use that I mostly ignore it. I

Display Comments Add a Comment

It’s time for another round of Stump the Bookseller, in which you show off your sleuthing skills to help find a particular novel of speculative fiction for young readers. You don’t have to be a bookseller to play, but the winner will be bestowed with the title

Super Bookseller Sleuth

Here are your clues:

• This YA novel is based on a lesser known french fairy tale
• Its sequel was just released and another will follow
• Each book in the series has a color in its title, as does the author’s name

Leave your guess in their comments section. Good luck!

Filed under: Parker Peevyhouse

Display Comments Add a Comment

Since Chris started posting about YA and MG novels based on fairy tales and folktales, I’ve been wondering–What is it about modern day twists on fairy tales that I like? I’ve been thinking about some of my favorites examples of this perpetual source for stories. Here’s what I came up with:

It’s fun to “spot the story.”

I loved Francesca Lia Block’s The Rose and The Beast: Fairy Tales Retold; I liked trying to figure out which fairy tale each modern day story represented, and figuring out how each element from the original story had been translated into something new. The Ice Queen who kidnaps a boy and takes him away to her palace? She’s now a heartless girl looking for her next boy toy. Sleeping Beauty’s spinning wheel? Now a heroin needle.

Another book that makes “spotting the story” an incredibly satisfying feat is The Witch’s Boy by Michael Gruber. The main character, an orphan named Lump, meets several fairy tale characters throughout the course of the novel, some easier to spot than others. The fairy tale character Lump himself parallels? The answer is the story’s best surprise.

Familiarity is inviting.

Every fairy tale has its iconic elements: Cinderella has her shoe, Snow White has her dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel have their candy. Stories that create modern-day correlations borrow from what we’re already familiar with. What’s great about that? It’s clever, for one thing, and fun. But we also start off knowing the heart of the story: a new take on Cinderella will still be a rags to riches romance, a new Sleeping Beauty will involve a girl under a curse. We know what to expect and that makes it easier to enter the story.

When a flying carpet and a genie come into the possession of the main character of Diana Wynne Jones’ hilarious Castle in the Air, we know things are bound to get a lot more complicated before they’re going to get better. The story is a twisty-mishmash of The Arabian Nights but with a familiar warning of “be careful what you wish for.”

Modern takes can play on expectations.

We think we know what to expect from a story based on a fairytale. We know that Snow White ends with a kiss. We know witches are evil, princesses are good, step-parents are suspect. But sometimes writers take advantage of that to surprise us. That’s a risky thing to do, because changing a major element of a traditional tale can take a story too far from its source. But surprises can also be fun.

Parker Peevyhouse wishes someone would do a modern twist on Clue.

Filed under: Parker Peevyhouse 2 Comments on Modern Twists on Fairy Tales, last added: 4/6/2011