Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann has been the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. Her most recent novel, Rogue--a spring/summer Junior Library Guild selection for middle school--is out in May.
We're honored to have Lyn here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Today, she discusses Poison by Bridget Zinn (Disney-Hyperion), a debut author gone too soon:
"As a Rgz Salon blogger, I specialize in books that focus on diversity—authors and characters of color, characters with disabilities, and characters who live in poverty (such as the protagonist of
My Book of Life by Angel, the book I reviewed last month). Still, I have decided to take part in the blogging effort on behalf of Bridget Zinn’s YA fantasy
Poison as one of several Readergirlz bloggers who are doing so.
"Even before selling her first novel, Bridget was an active participant in the community of librarians, teachers, book bloggers, and writers. She gave much to the community through her blog, which highlighted new books and gave advice and encouragement to other struggling writers. She realized her life’s dream when her
Poisonsold to Disney Hyperion late in 2009, with a tentative publication date of summer 2012. By that time, though, she had been diagnosed with cancer, and in 2011, at the age of 33, she lost her battle. She never had the chance to see her novel in print.
"Poison was eventually published on March 12, 2013, and Bridget’s family and friends put together a
blog tour to make sure her work would be remembered and appreciated. Because authors these days have to handle so much of the marketing themselves, and Bridget is no longer here to do the work she would have done so well and with so much enthusiasm, many friends and admirers have volunteered to do it for her.
"I never knew Bridget personally, though I did read her blog sometimes. My decision to join the blog tour for
Poison comes out of my own experience of having a disability and needing help to do things that would be difficult or impossible for me to do myself. Like the protagonist of my forthcoming novel
Rogue, I have been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism, and have struggled all my life with social interactions and social cues. Without the efforts that other people have made for me, and the accommodation that I have received, I would not have been able to receive my MFA degree, find an appreciative audience for my small-press-published YA novel
Gringolandia, or have the opportunity to publish a second novel based on my own experiences of growing up on the autism spectrum. Having been the recipient of so much kindness and generosity, I feel it is important to pay it forward in whatever way I can.” -
Lyn Miller-Lachmann
In 2009 I had just finished this little verse novel of mine and was finding my way around the children's literature community on-line. I came across a post about a new author named Bridget Zinn. In the course of one week, she'd signed with agent Michael Stearns, gotten married, and been diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.
In 2010, I learned Bridget was also an Apocalypsie, a debut author whose book was slated to come out in 2012. And in May 2011 I read these words from Michel Stearns.
Last month, I learned her novel POISON, was finally ready to release. I'm happy to join in the celebration, honoring a person who, though I never met personally, has been a light in my writing life these last four years.
Here's to you, Bridget! So glad this day has come.
Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she's the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom's future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.
But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart…misses.
Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king's army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she's not alone. She's armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can't stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?
Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she's certainly no damsel-in-distress—she's the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.
Interested in ordering a copy? Start here!
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
add to
Goodreads
The beautiful Bridget Zinn finally has a book out. Ive been waiting for this book for over 2 years.
Bridget grew up in Wisconsin. She went to the county fair where she met the love of her life, Barrett Dowell. They got married right before she went in for exploratory surgery which revealed she had colon cancer. They christened that summer the "summer of love" and the two celebrated with several more weddings. Bridget continued to read and write until the day she died. Her last tweet was "Sunshine and a brand new book. Perfect.
Bridget wanted to make people laugh and hoped readers would enjoy spending time with the characters she created. As a librarian/writer she loved books with strong young women with aspirations. She also felt teens needed more humorous reads. She really wanted to write a book with pockets of warmth and happiness and hoped that her readers' copies would show the watermarks of many bath time reads.
So we are celebrating Bridget's life by talking about her book.Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she's the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom's future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.
But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart…misses.
Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king's army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she's not alone. She's armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can't stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?
Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she's certainly no damsel-in-distress—she's the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.
If you didn't know bridget - here is your glimpse into a beautiful spirit,
Links about Bridget
Everything you need to know about helping spread the word (with lots of info and links)
A remembrance of Bridget written by her agent (with a video of Bridget that shows how vibrant and funny she was)
A post in which Bridget shares her Sneaky Tips for writing (which also has an audio file of her reading this post)
Find out what the other Bookanistas are recommending today!
Meet my friend Bridget Zinn.
This week marks the release date of Bridget's first book. She died from colon cancer in 2011, when she was just 33. She not only wrote about magic, but she looked pretty magical herself. She had beautiful red hair and that creamy skin you only see on redheads. The inside matched the outside. She had a sense of mischief, and a sense of joy. If I had to use one word to describe Bridget, it would be vibrant.
When she was first hospitalized but before they knew exactly what was wrong, she and her boyfriend Barrett got married right there in her hospital room. They kept getting married in what they called The Summer of Love. Everything was the occasion for a party, like the “Fatten Bridget up for Chemo Party” with all kinds of decadent treats. And Bridget kept her sense of humor, even when she was in the emergency room with some frightening complications and another woman tried to claim that SHE was actually Bridget Zinn. As they fought the cancer, Barrett and Bridget spent long hours in various waiting rooms and hospital rooms, and I’m proud to have suggested many quality online time killers, like
CakeWrecks.com and
DamnYouAuto Correct.com.
About the book
Horn Book says: "Sixteen-year-old Kyra is a girl with more than her share of secrets. Living in the world of witches, dwarves, potion masters, shape shifters, and the like, she is reluctant to trust anyone, even her best friend and the future queen, Ariana. Readers learn early on that Kyra has attempted to murder Ariana, and we spend the rest of the book trying to figure out why Kyra shot a deadly potion at her…and why, when she has never missed a target, she missed that one. Twists and turns, including dramatic cliffhanger chapter endings, quick getaways, disguises, tricked-out witches, a princess-seeking pig, and one especially clever and handsome boy make this a fine rollicking adventure from start to finish. The author's use of thoroughly modern language in a magical setting adds to the charm. The characters are complicated and act in flawed human ways, making mistakes in judgment that make the plot twists all the more realistic. Kyra and Ariana are strong girls in the Vesper Holly tradition—not giving in to sexist social requirements and, thank goodness, never fighting over Fred, the love interest. Zinn has crafted a marvelous tale, more Harry Potter than Twilight. Readers will be sad that, due to her untimely death, Zinn's more-than-promising debut novel will be her last."— Robin L. Smith, The Horn Book
A taste of Poison
Here’s part of my favorite section of Poison:
Kyra stripped off her black thieves clothing, feeling like she was taking off a layer of armor between herself and the world. Her clothes had been treated with potions to repel water, but it was better not to get them wet at all—she hated the feeling when pockets of water got trapped between the fabric and her skin. She’d end up taking them off to get dry anyway.
Maybe it would have been worth a little discomfort. She was completely exposed standing on the riverbank in her undergarments, the grass prickly beneath her bare feet.
Why did she have to be wearing these underthings?
A breeze caught at her shift and set the ribbons trembling. She briskly rubbed her hands over her arms to warm them up and bent down to her clothes.
Not only were they the most ridiculous, feminine, beribboned bit of foolishness that ever existed, but they’d been a gift from Princess Ariana.
Ariana had specially commissioned them for Kyra’s fifteenth birthday the fall before, and she’d embroidered them herself. In none-too-neat stitching the word kitty— Ariana’s nickname for Kyra—was stitched across the left bosom of the waist-length shift. On the right bosom was a horribly stitched cat. It appeared to be winking. Or suffering some sort of nervous facial tic. A ribbon wrapped around the torso and tied into a fat bow beneath the breasts, and below that was a whole panel of see-through lace that ended just beneath her belly button. And the lower half was almost worse—cut off high on the thigh and festooned with ruffles all across the bottom.
And of course you can guess that someone sees Kyra in this ridiculous and revealing outfit. Someone male.
Bridget's last Facebook post read: "Sunshine and a brand new book. Perfect."
So that’s what I’m bringing you today: A little bit of metaphorical sunshine from talking bout Bridget and Bridget’s brand new book!
Celebrate the book
There's an online Shindig party tomorrow night (kind of like Skype but for an audience from all over). It's Tuesday, March 12, 8:30-9:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time :
http://shindig.com/event/bridgetzinnIf you live in Portland, there's a great event at
A Children's Place Bookstore on Saturday, March 16, featuring: Carolyn Conahan, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Ruth Feldman, Susan Fletcher, April Henry, Victoria Jamieson, Rosanne Parry, Sara Ryan, Lisa Schroeder, Inara Scott, Laini Taylor, Jen Violi, Emily Whitman and Johanna Wright. Purchase a book that is signed by all!
You can win the book
The butler did it, didn't he? He has a tray of poison and a suspicious looking drink in one hand and a bloody dagger in the other ... is he just cleaning up?
Another in the Murder Mystery series of characters. More will be appearing eventually ...
Check out The Butler card and range of products at zazzle.com
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Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann has been the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. Her most recent novel, Rogue--a spring/summer Junior Library Guild selection for middle school--is out in May.
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Great post and tribute!
It's lovely what you and the other bloggers are doing to honor Bridget and her book.