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A big huzzah to our very own Heather Davis, whose amazingly romantic YA novel,
The Clearing, is a contender for the prestigious and coveted 2011 RITA award. As you might have already heard, Heather is giving away a fabulous prize package and all you have to do is comment on this or any (or all) of our posts this week to be entered to win. To read more about the prize, click
HERE.
When Heather suggested we write about an elder who has in some way influenced or inspired us, I admit I had a hard time coming up with just one. I finally decided on my maternal grandmother, Mama Billie. The reason is two fold.
One, she helps me put things in perspective. For example, one day I was really upset because my brand-new dishwasher wasn't working. (I don't know about you, but doesn't it seem odd that the dishwasher and washing machine your grandma bought twenty years ago still work just fine and these new ones last fewer than three years!?!) I was seriously about to cry, and all it took was her saying in this angelic voice, "Isn't it wonderful that we live in a time where we have dishwashers?" She didn't launch into a "when I was a girl we had to walk 20 miles to school in a blizzard, uphill both ways" monologue. No, it was just a simple sentence that brought me out of my tirade and into peaceful, even thankful, waters.
The other thing I find so inspiring about Mama Billie is she loves people uncon
ditionally. Now, to put this in perspective, a) She's a Southern lady, who as you might know, usually have very strong opinions about ... well, everything (haha!) and b) My family is WEIRD. Sorry, there's no other way of saying it. As a whole, we are about as imperfect as they come. I'm talking the stuff of Reality TV. And yet she loves each and every one of us as if we are perfect. So when I'm frustrated with people, I remember Mama Billie and it helps me forgive them their imperfections and love them.
Now it's YOUR turn! Who in your life has a knack for getting you off the ledge and putting things into perspective? Comment because I know you want to win Heather's fabulous prize package, the winner of which will be announced on Sunday.
So, you may have heard that my book
The Clearing is nominated for the RITA award for Best YA Romance this year. I couldn't be happier to see this little book get recognition from an organization I've been a part of for nearly a decade. The ceremony will be in NYC on July 1st, and I'm already getting a little nervous.
This week on BooksBoysBuzz, we're celebrating the nomination with stories about special elder people in our lives. In
The Clearing, Amy has moved in with her Aunt Mae in the country. Aunt Mae's home is anything but glamorous -- it's a double-wide trailer. The special part of Amy living there is the kindness that Aunt Mae shows her. She tells Amy that she doesn't need a boy to tell her how special she is, that she should know that she is special already. And then, of course, Amy meets Henry Briggs, the one boy who realizes how beautiful and amazing Amy really is. The only problem is, of course, that he's living in the endless summer of 1944.
How did the character of Aunt Mae come to life? I've always been close to the older people in my family. From my grandmas to my great aunts, there were always elders who offered my father advice on raising us kids and shared their perspectives on life with us. To date, all of my books have an older secondary character in them. There's no way that's a coincidence!
For those of you who haven't seen the field that inspired The Clearing, here it is in this photo from my old hometown in the North Cascades. That's Rinker Ridge in the background, and the red barn belongs to my old neighbors, The Dellingers. When the bad weather would come in, the barn would disappear in a curtain of mist. One day I began to wonder if it was still there, if it really still existed when I couldn't see it, and what might be in its place if it didn't. Pretty deep thoughts for me, right? I imagined a family, trapped in the 1940's living behind that curtain of mist -- and Henry Briggs was born.
The Clearing ended up being the book of my heart. It's so gratifying to get letters from readers who connected with Amy and her journey and wished for a Henry Briggs of their own.
So, how about the giveaway?
Comment each day to be entered to win The Clearing Farmhouse Prize Pack:
Signed Copy of The Clearing
Assorted Fine Teas
Briggs Family Biscuit Recipe
Biscuit Cutters
Cool Fortune-Tellers Tea Cup
We'll draw a winner on Sunday, June 19th from all the daily comments. US and Canada winners only. No purchase necessary to win, of course!
Today's question:
Who has been the most influential older person in your life so far?
Good luck!
Heather
By:
Marley Gibson,
on 3/30/2011
Blog:
Books, Boys, Buzz
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First off, let me join in on the buzz and congrats for Bee Heather on her fabulous Rita Award nomination for her book, THE CLEARING. I adored this book from the second I started reading it and knew it was something special. So proud of Heather and wish her luck at the awards ceremony!
Secondly, I've entered a little contest of my own. My fiance, Patrick Burns, and I have done a video application to be Purina's first Cat Chow Correspondents. Check it out and leave a comment for us, if you will.
Thirdly, I'm getting ready to join everyone out in Los Angeles for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention where they're featuring teen reads. There's going to be a huge Teen day with book signings and speed reading "dates" with teen authors, as well as panels, discussions, giveaways, and more. My awesome publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has donated a ton of not only my GHOST HUNTRESS series, but also Heather's Rita nominated THE CLEARING. So exciting! And, I'm doing a ghost hunting basket giveaway including my series, my how-to book, some basic ghost hunting equipment and more fun stuff.
To celebrate all the good things going on, I'm going to give away an advanced copy of my upcoming May release, GHOST HUNTRESS: THE DISCOVERY.
Just leave a comment here in the trail or on my YouTube video, to be entered to win. I'll announce the winner next Wednesday.
Hugs,
Marley = )
www.marleygibson.com
www.ghosthuntress.com
Ghosts don't hang up their sheets after Halloween!
GHOST HUNTRESS series - The Awakening, The Guidance,
The Reason, The Counseling - available now!
You might have already heard but if not, it's my great pleasure to announce that our own Buzz Girl Heather Davis's The Clearing has been nominated for the prestigious RITA award which is given by the Romance Writers of America at their national conference each summer. (Read Donna's post below for more info.) This is an epic accomplishment and we'll be celebrating all week long right here.
Since The Clearing is a YA romance (and if you haven't read it yet, you're in for a treat once you do) I thought I'd talk about what we all love about YA romances, whether realistic or paranoramal or sci fi or whatever you like to read.
Here's what my agent, Christina Hogrebe, has to say about what makes YA romance so fun to read: "[It captures the] intense feelings of awkwardness that surround all of the firsts. ... It's messy and embarrassing and scary and irrisistible."
I couldn't have said it better myself. I adore a story where awkwardness reigns, and where there's an exciting mystique to the beautiful ordeal of falling in love. Where the ending of the emotional trip isn't necessarily a wedding or even a desire to get married (as it oftentimes is in "adult" romances), but a new level of understanding and self-acceptance--a golden piece of the puzzle of life.
Here are some quotes I found that nicely portray teen love:
"Once in a while, right in the middle of ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale." ~ Author unknown
"There is a time for risky love. There is a time for extravagant gestures. There is a time to pour out your affections on one you love. And when the time comes, seize it, don't miss it." ~ Max Lucado
What do YOU like most about YA romances in general and the romance in The Clearing in particular?
The ever-lovely Stephanie Hale “outed” me on Friday as having good news to share today. I teased her a little in her comments about not knowing what she was talking about...but the truth is, yeah, I do have some news.
Last Thursday, the Romance Writers of America Rita® award finalists were announced, and I was lucky enough to get a call.
Here’s the list of 2010 Finalists for Best Young Adult Romance:
Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog
Don’t Judge a Girl by her Cover by Ally Carter
Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro
Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick
I am thrilled to be included with such talented authors! And must of course give a special shout-out to Simone Elkeles who was one of the first Buzz Girls, and will always remain one at heart!
The ceremony is being held at the national conference on July 31 in Nashville, TN...and I do believe all Buzz Girls will be in attendance. So I’m thinking pictures, pictures and more pictures. And lots of fun!
I hope we see some our readers there, too!
Tina
Tina Ferraro
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, 2010 Rita® Finalist
How to Hook a Hottie, 2009 Rita® Finalist
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
www.tinaferraro.com
As you might have guessed from my oh-so-long absence, it's been a wild summer. I've spent most of it in travel, hitting America from coast-to-coast. (Literally. I've been from New York to California and most places in between.)
But I'm back. Well, my brain might not be entirely back, but I'm working on it. As part of my re-entry program, I want to share with you some photo highlights from my trip. Enjoy!
First, my parents and I drove cross-country from Oklahoma City to Las Vegas in a mini caravan...
...then I flew home to Houston to do a few book signings for the release of Goddess Boot Camp.
Next, I flew back to Las Vegas...
...and took in some shows.
After a brief stopover at home, I flew to Washington, DC, for the RWA national conference, where I won the RITA award for Best First Book. (Omigod, squeeeee!!!)
With RITA by my side, I took the train to New York, where I did not go to the Met, because it's summer, people, and there are like billions of tourists in the city. (I walked down Fifth Avenue to the Frick instead. Much better.)
After that I flew back to Vegas for the last week of my parents' summer program (the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas), which was about stage makeup.
Then, after many more grueling hours of driving (in which I listened to the Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey--amazing) I finally made it back home to house, where my apartment complex was a different color than when I left.
So that's it. My summer life in pictures. Hopefully by next week my brain will have returned in full and I'll be able to write a real post.
Hugs,
TLC
OH. MY. GODS. (now in paperback!)
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (out now!)
Get your goddess on. Join the Ning!
Steph did a fantastic job of sharing the RITA news on Sunday, but I thought I'd give a couple more behind-the-scenes glimpses.
Here are Rosemary, Tera and me at the Golden Heart/Rita Reception, after Golden Heart finalist (and our friend) Vanessa Barnevelt told us to yell out "Rita!"
And here, another picture taken by her, in the last row of the Rita seating, just moments before the program began.
Next year's conference is in Nashville--hometown of country music. What else do we know about Nashville? Shout it out and let's get the BUZZ started for 2010!
I wanted to send my love, hugs, best wishes, and cheers to fellow Buzz Girls, Tera and Tina for the Rita Awards this week in Washington, DC. Even though I can't be there, I'm with you gals in spirit and I hope there's a tie and they have to give you each a pretty golden trophy.
I have some awesome news to share! My wonderful editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has signed me on to do TWO more titles in the GHOST HUNTRESS series, bringing the total number of books to five! I couldn't be happier!!! I'm hard at work finishing up Book 3 - GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON and can't wait to come up with ideas for books #4 and #5!
I've been on the go since June 17th, traveling around, doing conferences, selling books, doing signings, seeing friends and family. It's been exhausting, but exhilarating at the same time. I've been able to spend some down time at the beach and I got to parasail (wow!) and go waverunning with dolphins (double wow!) and snorkel and just enjoy the summer sun. But there's work to be done. As I said, I have to turn in Book 3, start promoting Book 2 and also start promoting my non-fiction book THE OTHER SIDE: A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GHOST HUNTING AND THE PARANORMAL, as well as my other non-fiction book CHRISTMAS MIRACLES. I'm headed to Baton Rouge, LA this weekend for the BabelCon Conference and then will be headed back to Boston to regroup.
To anyone going to the RWA National Conference in DC, have a great time!!
Hugs,
Marley = )
Okay, maybe the title of this post should be "Some of My Favorite Authors are RITA Winners" but whatever. Semantics.
As Steph and Tina have pointed out, Tina, Rosemary Clement-Moore and I have been nominated in the Best Young Adult of RWA's RITA contest. (And I've been nominated for Best First Book, too, but that's not really relevant at the moment.) Just look at the wonderful company Tina, Rosemary and I are keeping with some of the past RITA winners who also happen to be some of my favorite writers.
- Karen Marie Moning (2001 Best Paranormal Romance for The Highlander's Touch)
- Rachel Gibson (2002 Best Contemporary Single Title for True Confessions)
- Jennifer Crusie (2005 Best Contemporary Single Title for Bet Me)
- Alesia Holliday (2006 Best Romantic Novella for "The Naked Truth About Guys")
- Kresley Cole (2007 Best Paranormal Romance for A Hunger Like No Other)
- Julia Quinn (2007 Best Long Historical Romance for On the Way To the Wedding and 2008 Best Regency Historical Romance for The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever)
- Caridad Ferrar (2007 Best Contemporary Single Title for Adios To My Old Life)
- Melissa Marr (2008 Best Young Adult for Wicked Lovely)
- J.R. Ward (2008 Best Paranormal Romance for Lover Revealed)
I'll be happy no matter who wins, because no matter what another one of my favorite writers is going to be added to that list. =) Yay us, girlfriends!
Your assignment, Buzzers, is to tell me your favorite author/book and what award you would give them if somebody let you totally make up awards. Like I would give E. Lockhart's
Fly on the Wall the
Best Book That Actually Made Me Want To Read Kafka award. Okay, your turn.
Hugs,
TLC
OH. MY. GODS. (available now!)
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (coming June 2009)
teralynnchilds.com
Today I awoke feeling wistful and when I feel wistful I always think of the Garcia Lorca poem Romance Sonambula. It's so evocative and the sense of longing is so strong that it just pulls at me. I find myself thinking the words, "Verde te quiero verde" often throughout my days.
The poem haunts me with it's sadness and longing. It makes me think of a man I used to know who exuded longing and sadness.
Federico Garcia Lorca was murdered by Frankist soldiers during the Civil War in Spain and his booked were banned and burned in the Plaza del Carmen in Granada. To this day, no one knows where his body is.
I'm adding his haunting poem here in the original Spanish with the translation below it. The Poetry Friday roundup is here.
Romance Sonambulo
by Federico Garcia Lorca
Verde que te quiero verde.
Verde viento. Verdes ramas.
El barco sobre la mar
y el caballo en la montaña.
Con la sombra en la cintura
ella sueña en su baranda,
verde carne, pelo verde,
con ojos de fría plata.
Verde que te quiero verde.
Bajo la luna gitana,
las cosas la están mirando
y ella no puede mirarlas.
Verde que te quiero verde.
Grandes estrellas de escarcha
vienen con el pez de sombra
que abre el camino del alba.
La higuera frota su viento
con la lija de sus ramas,
y el monte, gato garduño,
eriza sus pitas agrias.
¿Pero quién vendra? ¿Y por dónde...?
Ella sigue en su baranda,
Verde came, pelo verde,
soñando en la mar amarga.
--Compadre, quiero cambiar
mi caballo por su casa,
mi montura por su espejo,
mi cuchillo per su manta.
Compadre, vengo sangrando,
desde los puertos de Cabra.
--Si yo pudiera, mocito,
este trato se cerraba.
Pero yo ya no soy yo,
ni mi casa es ya mi casa.
--Compadre, quiero morir
decentemente en mi cama.
De acero, si puede ser,
con las sábanas de holanda.
¿No ves la herida que tengo
desde el pecho a la garganta?
--Trescientas rosas morenas
lleva tu pechera blanca.
Tu sangre rezuma y huele
alrededor de tu faja.
Pero yo ya no soy yo,
ni mi casa es ya mi casa.
--Dejadme subir al menos
hasta las altas barandas;
¡dejadme subir!, dejadme,
hasta las verdes barandas.
Barandales de la luna
por donde retumba el agua.
Ya suben los dos compadres
hacia las altas barandas.
Dejando un rastro de sangre.
Dejando un rastro de lágrimas.
Temblaban en los tejados
farolillos de hojalata.
Mil panderos de cristal
herían la madrugada.
Verde que te quiero verde,
verde viento, verdes ramas.
Los dos compadres subieron.
El largo viento dejaba
en la boca un raro gusto
de hiel, de menta y de albahaca.
¡Compadre! ¿Donde está, díme?
¿Donde está tu niña amarga?
¡Cuántas veces te esperó!
¡Cuántas veces te esperara,
cara fresca, negro pelo,
en esta verde baranda!
Sobre el rostro del aljibe
se mecía la gitana.
Verde carne, pelo verde,
con ojos de fría plata.
Un carámbano de luna
la sostiene sobre el agua.
La noche se puso íntima
como una pequeña plaza.
Guardias civiles borrachos
en la puerta golpeaban.
Verde que te qinero verde.
Verde viento. Verdes ramas.
El barco sobre la mar.
Y el caballo en la montaña.
Romance Sonambulo
by Federico García Lorca
Translated by William Logan
Green, how I want you green.
Green wind. Green branches.
The ship out on the sea
and the horse on the mountain.
With the shade around her waist
she dreams on her balcony,
green flesh, her hair green,
with eyes of cold silver.
Green, how I want you green.
Under the gypsy moon,
all things are watching her
and she cannot see them.
Green, how I want you green.
Big hoarfrost stars
come with the fish of shadow
that opens the road of dawn.
The fig tree rubs its wind
with the sandpaper of its branches,
and the forest, cunning cat,
bristles its brittle fibers.
But who will come? And from where?
She is still on her balcony
green flesh, her hair green,
dreaming in the bitter sea.
--My friend, I want to trade
my horse for her house,
my saddle for her mirror,
my knife for her blanket.
My friend, I come bleeding
from the gates of Cabra.
--If it were possible, my boy,
I'd help you fix that trade.
But now I am not I,
nor is my house now my house.
--My friend, I want to die
decently in my bed.
Of iron, if that's possible,
with blankets of fine chambray.
Don't you see the wound I have
from my chest up to my throat?
--Your white shirt has grown
thirsty dark brown roses.
Your blood oozes and flees a
round the corners of your sash.
But now I am not I,
nor is my house now my house.
--Let me climb up, at least,
up to the high balconies;
Let me climb up! Let me,
up to the green balconies.
Railings of the moon
through which the water rumbles.
Now the two friends climb up,
up to the high balconies.
Leaving a trail of blood.
Leaving a trail of teardrops.
Tin bell vines
were trembling on the roofs.
A thousand crystal tambourines
struck at the dawn light.
Green, how I want you green,
green wind, green branches.
The two friends climbed up.
The stiff wind left
in their mouths, a strange taste
of bile, of mint, and of basil
My friend, where is she--tell me--
where is your bitter girl?
How many times she waited for you!
How many times would she wait for you,
cool face, black hair,
on this green balcony!
Over the mouth of the cistern
the gypsy girl was swinging,
green flesh, her hair green,
with eyes of cold silver.
An icicle of moon
holds her up above the water.
The night became intimate
like a little plaza.
Drunken "Guardias Civiles"
were pounding on the door.
Green, how I want you green.
Green wind. Green branches.
The ship out on the sea.
And the horse on the mountain.
From The Selected Poems of Federico García Lorca, translated by William Logan. Published by New Directions, 1955. Used with permission.
The round up is here.
ditionally. Now, to put this in perspective, a) She's a Southern lady, who as you might know, usually have very strong opinions about ... well, everything (haha!) and b) My family is WEIRD. Sorry, there's no other way of saying it. As a whole, we are about as imperfect as they come. I'm talking the stuff of Reality TV. And yet she loves each and every one of us as if we are perfect. So when I'm frustrated with people, I remember Mama Billie and it helps me forgive them their imperfections and love them.
I loved hearing about your grandmother!
I think for me it's my husband who helps me put things in perspective. He is so smart and calm. While I am flapping and squawking like a bird, he zeroes in on the heart of the matter and soon enough, I'm back on the ground and ready to fix whatever is bothering me!
I've got a friend with a lot of common-sense, and I think she does this for me. I can be stressing over something for an extended time, but she can really jump to the core of the problem and defuse it, sometimes, even just by saying something like "what can you do? People are crazy" or something...
I liked the blog a lot today!
Although I already talked about my mother in one of the comments earlier this week, I know my answer to this is also my mother. I tend to get a little OCD about a lot of things and I freak out over the little things, but she keeps my head on straight for sure. She can be the same way sometimes, so I do the same for her. I guess we put things in perspective for each other often. :)
What a great profile, Wendy! I love that Grandma Billie so easily helps put things in perspective.
Isn't it cool that we all (at least those of us who've commented today) have someone near and dear to us who can help us when we're not being ourselves? Great stories, thanks for sharing!
Great post! For mé the answer would be my mom. I have learned so much from her and I wouldn't be where I am today without my parents guidence.
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