Written by Michelle Lovric
$17.99, ages 9-12, 464 pages
When a magical book falls onto Teo's head, the 11-year-old orphan is thrust on a quest to save Venice from a vengeful ghost and his band of mutilated spirits, in this imaginative, brilliant debut.
Teo, who has lived in Naples as long as she can remember, has always yearned to go to Venice and now her adoptive parents have finally invited her to go as they research a troubling presence in the city of canals.
One day, while exploring the city, Teo wanders into an old bookstore and is knocked to the floor when a tome called, "The Key to the Secret City," tumbles off a shelf.
Just before Teo is taken to the hospital, the bookseller slips her the book. When she awakens in her hospital room, she discovers the book is still with her, and there's a menacing wooden statue near her bed.
The statue, put there by some mysterious force haunting the city, is bleeding from its mouth and seems to be coming to life. Suddenly, Teo loses consciousness and disappears.
She awakens in a graveyard with the tome still in her pinafore, and as she tries to find her way back to her parents' hotel room, she discovers she's become invisible, except it seems, to children.
As she walks, the book speaks to her, writing words of warning across the pages, including a strange poem about an undrowned child, and soon, the book leads her to a Gondola boy named Renzo.
Teo and Renzo are told by the book that they are Venice's protectors and are led to The House of Spirits, a refuge for aging nuns and heartbroken ghosts, then under the sea to a colony of mermaids.
The mermaids are nothing like those in children's books; they speak like pirates and act like revolutionaries, running an underground press to warn the city of an impending evil.
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That isn't me running for joy. She's younger, cuter, endowed with glossy hair. But when I saw her yesterday afternoon at Valley Forge National Park where I had gone after a day of peaceful writing, I stopped and memorialized her moment with this picture. I was feeling that way myself. I was leaning toward good, and toward the future.
My Facebook friends heard me tell this story on Friday, but it bears repeating here.
You Are My Only, a little book if ever there was one, a book that nonetheless believed in itself, went back to press last week to boost its presence in bookstores. I'm not going to pretend that the numbers are huge; they aren't. I'm not going to suggest that a second print run gives this writer celebrity status. Celebrity status is a state of mind. No matter what happens, my friends, I will not enter that realm. I like the world in which I'm living.
What mattered to me about the news is this:
You Are My Only would not have been given that boost without my book blogger
friends. These are people busy with their own lives—their jobs, their children, their partners, their dreams, their book projects, their countless other blogger friends—who stopped and started banging on a drum.
Pay attention, they said.
A book is coming. They stopped to read, earlier than they'd planned to. They created contests, at their own expense. They entered my own crazy
You Are My Only Treasure Hunt, a complicated ditty that took, yes, blogger time. They Twittered and Facebooked and emailed and said,
We believe in you, Beth, and in this book. This was a rally based largely on blind trust. There are no thanks great enough. There are names and people I will never forget: Amy Riley, Pam Van Hylckama Vlieg, Danielle Smith, Florinda Lantos Pendley Vasquez, Melissa Sarno, Colleen Mondor, Wendy Robards, Shanyn Day, Serena Agusto-Cox, Melissa Walker, Leila Roy, Mandy Stanley King, Ed Goldberg, Lorie Anne Grover, Little Willow, Caroline Leavitt, Aquafortis, Valerie Burleigh, Vivian Lee Mahoney, The Perpetual Page-Turner, Sarah Laurence, John Jacobs, Lilian Natel, The Story Siren, Susan Taylor Brown, Carol Weiss, Mundie Moms, Medieval Bookworm, Hippies Beauty and Books, Books Thoughts and a Few Adventures, The Reading Zone, Kay's Bookshelf, Bonnie Jacobs, Elizabeth Mosier, Ruth Koepel, Anna Lefler, and Books and Movies, who wrote Saturday evening and touched me so deeply (thank you so much, Carrie) with
these beautiful words. A huge thank you to Darcy Jacobs of Family Circle.
And for all of you who have been there in the past, for other books and other dreams of mine, don't think for a second that I have forgotten you. It has all made an enormous difference. And if I have neglected any name here (and gosh, I have feared that, especially since I do not google my own name), tell me, and after I pick myself up off the floor from shame, I will make amends.
I have been blogging for four years now. I have been privy, throughout this time, to the conversation about whether or not book bloggers can make an actual difference. I want to say here, again, for the indelible record, that of course they do. Book bloggers give writers hope that their work will be read and considered—no small thing. Book bloggers stand at the
Semicolon began the Saturday Review of Books on July 29, 2006 with 16 contributors. As she explained a few days earlier, "Saturdays are slow days around the blog world, but Saturday would be a great day for catching up on book reviews by various bloggers that were posted during the week. So, this Saturday, if you have a review of a book that you posted sometime this week, and you would like to get more attention for that book review, come to Semicolon and add your link."
Three years later, the Saturday Review of Books is going strong. Two weeks ago, on October 3, 103 bloggers left links to their reviews. Basically, "find a review on your blog posted sometime this week of a book you’re reading or a book you’ve read. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can just write your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever. Now post a link here to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. . . . In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book you’re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews they’re most interested in reading."
But it's even better than that. Because Semicolon has all these Saturday Reviews archived, in alphabetical order by the title of the book reviewed. For example, here are the reviews for all books beginning with the letter "F."
And one more thing -- Semicolon began her blog in October 2003. As a matter of fact, October 28th is her six year anniversary. So since this is her anniversary month, why not head over and say "congratulations" and "thank you"! And don't forget to add your review tomorrow!
Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
The November / December 2009 issue of Horn Book Magazine has an article about fanfiction:
In Defense of Fanfiction by Becca Schaffner
As you may remember, Carlie Webber and I wrote an article about Fanfic called When Harry Met Bella for School Library Journal in August. Schaffner references that article: "On the other hand, more well-intentioned efforts like School Library Journal’s August 1, 2009, article on fanfiction cover the mechanical basics of fanfic writing and culture and try to relate them to something more traditional and tangible — that is, the print world whose value we take as a given." Schaffner's piece is more of a personal essay than the SLJ article. Whatever your level of participation in fandom (not at all, "hey so that's what I was writing in High School," or you're a BNF), it's a great article to read.
On a kinda related point: Schaffner makes the point that fandom is about the community.
And I've had a few real life conversations with people about the similarities between fandom and book bloggers. And I've seen others online who see this also. At YA Fabulous, Renay wrote: A big part of the book community is that it’s still a very new fandom, and the fandom I am a part of is definitely not young anymore, so half the time I see the drama llamas flying through the tubes and I’m like, “Oh! How sweet! ALL GROWN UP AND HAVING ITS FIRST WANK!” Or I’ll watch BNFs throw hissy fits or bribe readers with giveaways because they’re not The Center of Attention and Worshiped By The Masses and I think, “Boy, this reminds me of something! Oh right, wait, I’ve seen this before….10,000 times.” It's part of a footnote at a post at YA Fabulous.
Thoughts? Is it like a fandom? Or is it just like any other community, especially a community with no real rules?
Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Are you, like me, sad, bitter, and angry because conferences like BEA (Book Expo America) and BBC (Book Blogger Convention) have been planned during the work week and you have to, you know, work?
Some people do more than whine about it on the Internet!
A number of bloggers have organized Armchair BEA! As posted at Blogher by Florinda, the tentative schedule is:
•Tuesday, May 25: BEA-related topic post
•Wednesday, May 26: Blogger interviews/optional BEA topic post
•Thursday, May 27: Giveaway Day/optional BEA topic post
•Friday, May 28: BBCon-related topic post
Emily's Reading Room has a post up explaining it, with a form to register including some ideas of how those of us not traveling to BEA can participate in Armchair BEA. Other bloggers involved: There's A Book; Michelle's Masterful Musings; The 3 Rs Blog. (If I missed someone, just let me know & I'll edit the post.)
Now, for my informal poll.
If you are going to BEA, is it work related? (Work meaning you are not taking vacation to attend, and possibly work is funding you.) To attend, do you have to take vacation time? Are you funding it yourself? What else is making it possible for you to attend?
If you are not going to BEA, why not? Work obligations? Personal obligations? Travel issues? Cost? What else is making it impossible for you to attend?
Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Why write if it's not to be read?
I’ve been writing for a number of years, almost solely for teens, and so far I’ve had one book published. I’ve written several books, and I have ideas for several more. In my last blog I talked about my need to start on a new book each Autumn. It’s now January and yes, I am deep into my new story and loving the main character, although I’m not sure the main character loves me for what I’m putting her through! Regardless, I’m writing and I know I’ll continue writing until the book is finished when I’ll read it through and edit it, and agonise over it before sending it off to my agent, who will cast her critical eye on it and deliver her judgment, and if it’s a positive one it will get sent off to the publisher who will do the same etc, etc...
But this is just one aspect of being a writer – of intrinsic importance, of course, and you can’t call yourself a writer unless you are prepared to go through all of the above – there are other aspects that might be perilous to ignore.
To be a successful writer these days, several other hats should be donned once the writing has been done. The same is true even to be a moderately successful writer. There was a time when writers did not have to don any other hats – there were people who did that for them. These hats include
upping your profile, trying to get (hopefully rave, but no guarantees!) reviews – online and in the press, making sure everyone, including the right people know about them, doing signings, visiting schools, blogging about your new book, blogging about yourself, being active on twitter and facebook, getting interviewed, networking, courting bloggers and librarians, speaking at conferences, and finding as many platforms for yourself and your book as possible. (Even Margaret Atwood maintains an active Twitter profile)
Creating a bit of a buzz for your book is important. The books that find their way onto all the shortlists and often win prizes haven’t got there all by themselves, unless their authors have been extremely lucky. The writers have been doing all the above and more to ensure their book’s success.
Not as many people read my first novel, The Long Weekend, as I would have liked. There are so many factors that contributed to that. I’m putting my hand up and saying that one of those factors was my naivety as a newly published author. No one knew about my book and as I wasn’t shouting it from the rooftops or even holding it up for people to see, things stayed that way. I didn’t know about all the other hats I needed to wear if I wanted my book to reach its readers, I just assumed that others were donning them for me. Consequently my book was only in a few book shops and found by very few readers.
All week long, My Friend Amy and her most-amazing team have been gathering at their hearth the book bloggers of the world who have, in my humble opinion, rescued books from oblivion. I was a judge for one panel, I was a nominee in a different category, and I was also invited to write an essay about book bloggers, and why they matter. That essay was originally posted here, alongside a whole lot of good stuff from great bloggers. But just in case you haven't yet mosied over, I reprint it below.The question, the theme, is why I appreciate book bloggers. The thoughts in my head are urgent and many. I appreciate book bloggers because they redeem, energize, and fortify an industry that would, I firmly believe, be in an untenable position without them. Few can rally readers to books the way that book bloggers do. Few can herald, in true blogger style, titles yet to come or books that too few of us notice. Few care as much as book bloggers care about covers, issues, themes. Book bloggers are readers, they are teachers, they are bookshop employees, they are librarians, they are parents, they are neighbors, and they love books. They summon and articulate their passions on a regular basis—not for pay, not for honors, but on behalf of stories, authors, and the written word.
I think of the time (and money) that book bloggers pour into their craft—all that reading, posting, commenting, all that mailing and sorting, all those events—and I ask myself: How did this come to be? And, Where would I be without book bloggers?
For truly: Where would I be? I am a writer of literary books—no commercial giant, no Personality, not the glam gal on the limo tour. I care—enormously—about the books that I write. I want them to find their right readerly homes. I know that, without readers, I do not have a writing future. But I have little control over the fate of my books. They are released into the world, and I wait.
It’s the angels with wings who move in after that—angels, by which I mean book bloggers. Those souls whom I have never met, who live in places I have never seen, who take an interest. On the release date of Nothing but Ghosts, this past June, I woke to a virtual book launch party that had been engineered by no other than My Friend Amy and Presenting Lenore. I had not seen it coming. I could not believe my eyes. I told everyone—for weeks afterward—that something extraordinary had happened. “They threw me a party,” I kept telling friends. “They believed in this book, and in me.” They had thrown open the doors to their own community, and invited me in, to stay. I have met extraordinary bloggers in the aftermath of that party. I have found, within myself, a deeper faith in the kinds of books that I try to write—literary books that cross genre borders, that will live or die solely on the recommendations of readers, readers who also happen to be book bloggers.
I am getting teary-eyed writing this. I am thinking about all those book bloggers who have come into my life since I myself started blogging two years ago—the stories they’ve told me about themselves, the books they’ve insisted that I read, the love that they have given, so freely, to me. I would be not be who I am without these souls. That’s a fact, firm and unyielding.
Thanks to the quick thinking of my Tiburon-based agent, Amy Rennert, I have a piece on the Huffington Post Book Page today, a short song sung in praise of book bloggers as well as a question raised, What can we do to help bloggers continue to do their work in light of the coming revised FTC guidelines?
I hope you'll take a look.
The last time I saw Amy we were sitting in a fabulous diner right down the street from this trolley. Hence the image of the day (or, more rightly speaking, the second image of the day).
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You and your book have earned every discovery. I am SO happy for you!
This post made me cry, Beth. Believe that YOUR friendship is also very much treasured. You deserve the accolades!
I believe the thanks go both ways, very much. And I hope your pre-orders go through the roof this week, now that there will be more books printed to fulfill them :-D!
<3
Yes, I agree...with Wendy and Florinda. And I want to say that you're welcome. It was my pleasure and I'm sure the pleasure of the other book bloggers as well.
I was so excited to read this news on FB! And it is not a burden to read and review books as beautifully written as You Are My Only. :)
How wonderful, Beth!
Thank you for sharing such a beautiful post here. I'm happy to be part of the book community.
Best wishes,
Sam