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Cynthia Leitich Smith's "casual" blog.
The blog is quirky, thoughtful, joyous, fangs-friendly musings on gothic fantasy, horror, comedy, mystery, romance, suspense, and all things life and book from an author who finds her heroes in the sunshine and in the shadows.
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Thank you so much for redesigning my official author site! Could you give folks new to it a brief overview, from a web designer's perspective, of the monstrous beast that it is?
Sure! Well, just in terms of literal size, at last count, your site contained nearly 2000 files, including 377 html pages, 978 images, and nearly 8,400 external links. I have to be very consistent in how I place files within the site, and the conventions I use for naming files and such, just to keep things from becoming too chaotic.
And you, in your instructions to me for updates, have evolved a very clear and careful way of indicating where changes and additions are needed. (I now teach all my new clients to indicate what changes they’d like using the format you do.)
If we didn’t work in this methodical way, we’d both have gone nuts by now.
(And, I think if we’d both known, when we first dived in six years ago, just how big the site would become, we might have opted for a more robust content-management system--and that’s something that we may still have to think about in the future--but curating it by hand has let us keep things totally custom and that’s had its advantages.)
Going in, we talked about the dualities of the site--both as an author home base and a children's-YA literature resource, and even under that author umbrella, in representing someone who offers books for both kids and teens. How did you represent the dual (quad?) goals of the site?
Well, first a tad more background: this is our third iteration of the site, and each iteration has had slightly different goals, even though all along the dualities you mention has been a major concern.
For the first iteration that launched in 2005, the major goals of the redesign were to make your large collection of resources easier to discover and navigate, to upgrade the underlying code, and, most of all, to make the site as smart and hip as you are yourself!
In 2008, for the tenth anniversary of the site, we revisited the design again. The graphics were streamlined and we were able to play much more with the site visually because of the way web technologies had advanced. I was able to incorporate more imagery and animation.
Now, in 2010, the site has undergone a more profound visual transformation.
Dancia Lewis is far from popular. And that's not just because of her average grades or her less-than-glamorous wardrobe.
In fact, Dancia's mediocrity is a welcome cover for her secret: whenever she sees a person threatening someone she cares about, things just...happen. Cars skid. Structures collapse. Usually someone gets hurt.
So Dancia does everything possible to avoid getting close to anyone, believing this way she can suppress her powers and keep them hidden.
But when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy show up in her living room to offer her a full scholarship, Dancia's days of living under the radar may be over.
Only, Delcroix is a school for diplomats' kids and child geniuses--not B students with uncontrollable telekinetic tendencies. So why are they treating Dancia like she's special? Even the hottest guy on campus seems to be going out of his way to make Dancia feel welcome.
And then there's her mysterious new friend Jack, who can't stay out of trouble. He suspects something dangerous is going on at the Academy and wants Dancia to help him figure out what. But Dancia isn't convinced. She hopes that maybe the recruiters know more about her "gift" than they're letting on.Maybe they can help her understand how to use it....
But not even Dancia could have imagined what awaits her behind the gates of Delcroix Academy.
What were you like as a young reader, and how did that influence the book that you're debuting this year?
I was, and likely always will be, a devout reader of romance and fantasy. I lived for stories of dashing heroes and heroines; larger than life figures who saved the world, found a love for all time, and lived happily ever after. I wanted big, unrealistic stories that took me away from real life and transported me to a magical place.
Of course, that also meant I didn’t enjoy much of what I read in school. I found “literature” was usually code for stories that were realistic and depressing.
Because of this, I didn’t major in English and Creative Writing. I didn’t think I could be a “real” writer because I didn’t love the books that were considered “good literature.”
Instead, I went to law school where I could indulge my love of writing in settings where brevity and story were valued above all else.
Eventually, though, my love of fiction won out. I wrote my first novel (a romance that will never see the light of day!) in 2005 and have been writing ever since.
Now, all you lovers of literature, don’t despair! I’m not anti-intellectual, and I love the way a good book can raise important issues and make you question your assumptions about the world. In fact, I wanted to do just that in my novel, Delcroix Academy: The Candidates. I simply wanted to do it in the context of romance, fantasy, and a great story.
As a fantasy writer, going in, did you have a sense of how events/themes in your novel might parallel or speak to events/issues in our re
0 Comments on New Voice: Inara Scott on Delcroix Academy: The Candidates as of 1/1/1900
Stephen Messer is the first-time author of Windblowne (Random House, 2010). From the promotional copy:
Every kite Oliver touches flies straight into the ground, making him the laughingstock of Windblowne.
With the kite-flying festival only days away, Oliver tracks down his reclusive great-uncle Gilbert, a former champion. With Gilbert's help, Oliver can picture himself on the crest, launching into the winds to become one of the legendary fliers of Windblowne.
Then his great-uncle vanishes during a battle with mysterious attack kites—kites that seem to fly themselves!
All that remains is his prize possession, a simple crimson kite. At least, the kite seems simple. When Oliver tries to fly it, the kite lifts him high above the trees. When he comes down, the town and all its people have disappeared.
Suddenly, the festival is the last thing on Oliver's mind as he is catapulted into a mystery that will change everything he understands about himself and his world.
Inspired by the work of Diana Wynne Jones, debut author Stephen Messer delivers a fantasy book for boys and girls in which the distance between realities is equal to the breadth of a kite string.
What were you like as a young reader, and how did that influence the book that you're debuting this year?
Like a lot of avid young readers, I read everything I could lay my hands on, without much discernment or filtering.
New Agent Alert: Jason Pinter of Waxman Literary Agency by Chuck Sambuchino from Guide to Literary Agents. Note: Jason is seeking middle grade and YA fiction. Peek: "I'm a sucker for stories about ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations, and normal people who must overcome seemingly insurmountable odds."
Life on the Road: Tips for Authors on Tour by Richelle Mead from Blue Succubus. Peek: "Because most signings are at 6 or 7 p.m., I often get picked up at 5 or 6 p.m., meaning I don't get to eat at dinnertime. Get food when you arrive, or you may not eat at all."
6 1/2 Ways to Impress an Agent by Tina Wexler from Donna Gephart at Wild About Words. Peek: "Demonstrate knowledge of their list. This doesn’t mean you have to read every book they’ve ever sold--I leave that job to my mom--but by showing them you know a bit about who they represent, you’re telling agents you’ve done your research on who to query."
More than thirty years ago, I wrote my first original novel.
In longhand. In pencil. In three hard-cover notebooks.
Approximately 200,000 words of it.
I was fourteen years old.
It was not the first novel I had written, but it was the first one which wasn't a "practice" one, derivative of the authors whom I loved at the time.
It proved to me several things - that I was capable of writing something of this length that was purely my own, that I was capable of keeping a large plot arc in the back of my head while I juggled subplots, that I was capable of writing characters who live and change as the circumstances dictate.
To be sure, looking at the actual writing, after more than three decades of living and ten years as a professional author, it shows, sometimes painfully, how very young I was when I wrote this thing. But the story is still good. The story still stands. The characters still live.
So I launched a new project. I would post this novel online, chapter by raw and terrifying chapter, and then - with the commentary and suggestions of a panel of teen advisors who will weigh in on the original chapter and all of its flaws as they see them - I will edit and rewrite this novel with all the experience of my years as a professional, and see that story re-born in a new and glittering guise.
I have four Teen Advisors, ranging in age from 14 to 19, scattered across the length and breadth of the United States (and one from Australia!), and they and I will lick this thing into shape - and then I will be posting a new and shiny chapter, rewritten and repurposed. We will continue doing this, chapter by chapter, until the novel is done.
My young friends and I think this will be quite an experience. For all of us. And I'm hoping that lots of young writers interested in process and craft will join us for the ride.
The first chapter is now live, and awaiting commentary. We are here.
Spooky Notes
Alma Alexander is the author of 10 books, including the internationally acclaimed The Secrets of Jin-shei (HarperOne, 2004)(published in 14 languages) and the HarperCollins young adult series, Worldweavers.
0 Comments on Guest Post: Alma Alexander on Revising a Novel She Wrote at Age 14 (Now With Teen Advisors' Input) as of 8/21/2010 8:10:00 AM
Ageless Wisdom by Kristi Holl from Writer's First Aid. Peek: "While sorting donated books and magazines for a library book sale, I came across a real treasure: a 1956 Writer’s Digest. Priced at 35 cents, it was a far cry from the large glossy print magazine or colorful web site of today."
Writing Under the Influence by Tabitha Olson from Writer Musings. Peek: "So, now we have a dilemma: read and possibly be influenced by other authors, or don’t read and possibly come across as naïve or uninformed. What’s the solution?"
Copy Cat by Allison Winn Scotch from Writer Unboxed. Peek: "I’m trying to toe this line, to figure out the balance between recreating my work and challenging myself and not, say, offering a work so different that no one recognizes the threads that tie all of my books together." Source: Elizabeth Scott.
YA Fantasy Showdown: "There are 32 characters, all present and accounted for. That means sixteen battles. Half of them will not be making it to the next round (yes, you may shed tears for them. We will). BUT. It is up to you to vote on who moves on."
How to Create a Dystopia by Parker Peevyhouse from The Spectacle. Peek: "Since the point of a dystopian novel is usually to magnify a current flaw in society, it works best to create a world based on one main flaw."
Something—some power—is blooming inside Laurel. She can use flowers to do things. Like bringing back lost memories. Or helping her friends ace tests. Or making people fall in love.
Laurel suspects her newfound ability has something to do with an ancient family secret, one that her mother meant to share with Laurel when the time was right. But then time ran out.
Clues and signs and secret messages seem to be all around Laurel at Avondale School, where her mother had also boarded as a student.
Can Laurel piece everything together quickly enough to control her power, which is growing more potent every day?
Or will she set the stage for the most lovestruck, infamous prom in the history of the school?
What were you like as a young reader, and how did that influence the book that you're debuting this year?
I read everything I could get my hands on and always checked out the maximum number of books from the library! My days were filled with Encyclopedia Brown [by Donald J. Sobel (1963-)], Betsy Byars, Madeleine L'Engle, and even Harlequin romances. I've never felt complete unless I'm in the middle of or looking forward to a book.
Later in high school, I was steered into the classics and fell in love with Dickens, Jane Austen, and some Russian novelists. I like to think of my tastes as eclectic, although definitely preferring fiction.
When I thought about my audience for Forget-Her-Nots, I wrote for the girl that I was: someone with endless curiosity about the world who wanted to come away from the last page of a book with more than she started.
So, I gave my readers something that most of them have never encountered before--the language of flowers. Many of them have already told me that they don't look at flowers in quite the same way anymore. I love books that help me connect with the world in a new and creative way. I hope I've inspired readers to do that with mine.
As a magic realism writer, how did you go about building your world?
0 Comments on New Voice: Amy Brecount White on Forget-Her-Nots as of 1/1/1900
Surf over to Mundie Moms to read the latest interview with me, and enter to win bookplate-signed copies of Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007, 2008) and Eternal (Candlewick, 2009, 2010)!
With Blessed (Candlewick, 2011) coming soon; now is a great time to get caught up on the series, if you haven't already.
Or enter to win a book to give to your local high school or public library.
All you have to do is fill out a short form. Deadline: Sept. 15; U.S. entries only.
In the interview, I talk about my inspirations, Austin and Chicago settings, my writing process, my books, and my upcoming releases.
Peek: "Legend has it that if a cat sits on your manuscript, it will sell. (You can't just plop the kitty down on the paper. He must choose to position himself in that spot)."
Here's Sebastian "Bashi," lounging in my writing chair in the reading room.
0 Comments on Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith; Tantalize and Eternal Giveaways as of 1/1/1900
James Klise, author of Love Drugged (Flux, 2010), writes, "We saw the Polish edition of Eternal in Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, and Torun (famous for two things: Copernicus and gingerbread!). The Polish chain Empik, which is like Borders, is promoting it heavily. Yay!"
Let's take a peek!
Wow, top row, face out and in great company!
Here's the back cover! Can any of y'all read it? (I recognize "bestsellerze Top 5, the New York Times...Zachariasz...Mirandy...wampira..." and that's about it!
Big thanks to James for sending on the report and photos! Much appreciated!
0 Comments on Shelf Sightings: Eternal in Poland as of 1/1/1900
Nancy Werlin: The Anatomy of a Book Cover: a conversation with Elizabeth Bluemle from Shelf Talker. Peek: "Conceptually, though, the 'same but different' mission was tricky for the designer. You couldn’t have the cover of Extraordinary (Dial, 2010) suggest to readers that they’d be getting the continuing adventures of Lucy Scarborough from Impossible (Dial, 2008), only that they are likely to get a similar reading experience." Read a Cynsations interview with Nancy.
Unreliable Narrators by Jennifer R. Hubbard from writerjenn. Peek: "How can we convey this unreliability without shouting it at the reader? How can we walk the tightrope between being too obscure and too obvious?"
Thinking Like a Nine-to-Fiver by Kristi Holl from Writer's First Aid. Peek: "Yes, it’s easier if you work at an office with a boss. None of your friends or family members expect things from you during the day when you work outside the home. So your only option is learning to say 'no.'"
Leah Cypess is the first-time author of Mistwood (Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2010). From the promotional copy:
The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwood. But when she is needed she always comes.
Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.
Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty--because without it, she may be his greatest threat.
Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court...until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.
Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart...and everything she thought she knew.
Are you a plotter or a plunger? Do you outline first, write to explore first, or engage some combination of the two? Then where do you go from there? What about this approach appeals to you? What advice do you have for beginning writers struggling with plot?
I am definitely a plunger. It depends on the book, but I often start with only the vaguest idea of how the plot will come together. With Mistwood, all I had when I first put pen to paper was that first scene – a misty forest in which a supernatural creature was being hunted by men on horseback. I had no clue what would happen in chapter two.
This approach appeals to me because it’s fun. I love that creative rush when the ideas flow from my mind to my pen; I love it when my characters surprise me by taking the story in new directions. I love it when a random line of dialogue turns out to hold an important plot twist – one I didn’t know was coming when I wrote that dialogue.
I have to say that this approach isn’t terribly efficient – I often end up throwing out pages of writing that were leading me down dead ends, and I go through a lot of revision. But when I try to start with an outline, I find that once the outline is done I have no real urge to write the book.
My advice to beginning writers would be to do what works for you. I like my method (using the term “method” criminally loosely), but a lot of other writers are probably shuddering as they read it.
Experiment. Read about how other authors write – I once read in an interview with Diana Gabaldon that she writes parts of her book out of order, and experimenting with that technique really freed up my creativity.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or to "waste" writing on plot threads you’re sure you’ll have to delete. You may surprise yourself. And even if you don’t, what you learn will help you write scenes you don’t have to delete.
As someone who’s the primary caregiver of children, how do you manage to also carve out time to write and build a publishing career? What advice do you have for other writers trying to do the same?
In the satiric and funny sequel to the witty Vampire High, Cody's hopes for a great sophomore year at Vlad Dracul are dashed when his train wreck of a cousin, Turk Stone, moves in and messes with his life.
Turk's a brilliant teen artist and goth with a sky-high ego . Her attitude infuriates the vampire (jenti) students, especially the dark, brooding Gregor. But something changes in Turk when she stumbles on the abandoned nineteenth-century mill in the forgotten district of Crossfield and immediately claims it as her new arts center project.
Though Cody resents his cousin at first, he has his own reasons for helping make Turk's dream come true. But Crossfield has many secrets, and a mysterious vampire army called the Mercians will do anything to make sure they stay hidden. And when he takes on the Mercians, everything Cody has learned about courage and determination his freshman year at Vampire High will be tested.
To enter, email me (scroll and click envelope) and type "Vampire High: Sophomore Year" in the subject line (Facebook, JacketFlap, MySpace, and Twitter readers are welcome to just privately message or comment me with the name in the header/post). I'll write you for contact information, if you win. Deadline: Aug. 31. Sponsored by the author; U.S. entries only.
More News
Prime Real Estate by Mary Kole from Kidlit.com. Peek: "The more descriptive (and scene) space you give something, the more characters think and talk about it, the more important it will become in the reader’s mind." See also Mary on Writing Woes. Read a Cynsations interview with Mary.
Writing Between Diapers: Tips for Writer Moms by Mayra Calvani from The National Writing for Children Center. Opens with this quote: "Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent." –C. G. Jung Source: Kristi Holl from Writer's First Aid.
Dealing with Bad Reviews from Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent. Peek: "It takes an exceedingly thick skin to be an author these days, perhaps moreso than at any time in the past." See also
0 Comments on Spooky News & Vampire High: Sophomore Year Giveaway as of 1/1/1900
"I was only an apprentice. I swear it. By all the angels in Heaven."
Condemned to death by the Holy Office for sorcery, fifteen-year-old Michael de Lorraine is rescued from the flames by Abbot Francis and granted refuge at Sainte Felice, a Benedictine monastery in fifteenth-century France.
Michael learns that this strange and wonderful place, famous for its healing wine, harbors renegade monk-sorcerers, enchanted gargoyles, and a closely guarded secret that could spell violent death for the Abbot.
As the church intensifies its cruel pursuit of Michael, Abbot Francis and the wizard monks find themselves in grave danger.
Michael will do anything to protect his mentor, but are his own magical powers great enough to save the monastery from the merciless, bloodthirsty Inquisition?
Looking back, are you surprised to debut in 2010, or did that seem inevitable? How long was your journey, what were the significant events, and how did you keep the faith?
Mine was a long, long journey – over thirty years. And while my debut didn’t seem inevitable, I have to admit there was a certain "well, it’s about darned time" feel to it.
The first draft of this book was originally completed in 1978. Obviously, it went through many revisions since then. The version that actually sold was completed in 1991. But the idea of the book, the characters, the setting and the basic storyline remained the same from one version to the next.
In the meantime, I completed several other novels in a variety of different genres, from adult fantasy to romance, gradually honing my skills, so when I drafted the final version of this book, I was able to craft a much better story than I did in the original version (I still have it, and I cringe to read it).
None of the other books have sold--yet. I have had some serious nibbles over the years, and once you are published in one genre, it is easier to publish in another. So, there is hope that some of my other stories will appear in print before too long.
Sometimes a story has to wait for the right time for an editor to want to publish it. If you continue to keep improving it and sending it out, eventually, it will find its home.
As for keeping the faith, I never really lost it. When I was a teenager, my mother gave me a book that still sits on my shelf. The title is: A Writer is Someone Who Writes.
I am a writer. I write. I love to write. I can’t go for too many months without writing something, an article, a short story, a novel, anything. I’ve published articles and a short story or two over the years. But even if I hadn’t, I would still write. Because I’m a writer. I can’t not write.
As a historical fiction writer, what drew you first-character, concept, or historical period? How did you go about building your world and integrating it into the story? What were the challenges? Where did you turn for inspiration or support?
I chose my time and place (France, 1480) with considerable care. There were things that I wanted to have happen that couldn’t have happened if the time period were fi
0 Comments on New Voice: Ann Finnin on The Sorcerer of Sainte Felice as of 1/1/1900
Last week, I turned in my notes on both the pass pages of Blessed and the copy edits of Tantalize: Kieren's Story, a graphic novel being illustrated by Ming Doyle (both Candlewick, Feb. 2011). This week, I'm diving back into Eternal: Zachary's Story, likewise to be illustrated by Ming.
On Learning How to Write by Lisa Schroeder from Crowe's Nest. Peek: "I've been writing seriously for almost ten years, and during that time, I've often wished I could pursue a formal education in creative writing. But it's not something I've been able to do for a lot of different reasons. So, I've had to learn the old fashioned way." Read a Cynsations interview with Lisa.
Five Rules for Writing YA by Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary from Chuck Sambuchino from Guide to Literary Agent's Editor's Blog. Peek: "The YA field welcomes innovators. What will your contribution be? Think fresh."
Scholastic Editor Nick Eliopulos: An Exclusive SCBWI Team Blog Pre-Conference Interview by Lee Wind from I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read? Peek: "You can tell a lot in 30 pages. If there’s a quality in the writing that makes me want to engage—even if the writing isn’t quite where it needs to be, but I can envision helping you get it there—then I keep reading."
Cynsational Blogger/Vlogger Tip: If you would like to tape or report on a speech in a way that goes beyond fair use, ask permission first, preferably in advance.
Serious about Series by Rose Cooper from From The Mixed-up Files of Middle Grade Authors. Peek: "So, what makes readers love a book so much they want to read the entire series?"
Over the past thirteen years, I’ve published eighteen books—some fiction, some nonfiction, three ghostwritten, and one picture book. But my latest book, Nocture (Mirrorstone, 2010), is a first for me.
Nocture is a young adult novel, which is new territory for a writer who’s been solidly entrenched in middle grade for most of her writing career. (In school visits, I tell kids that although I look like a forty-something year old woman on the outside, on the inside, I’m still twelve years old—and sometimes I’m a twelve-year-old boy. They think I’m joking. I’m not.)
It’s also the first time I’ve intentionally written a fantasy. Nocture is the story of Flanders Lane, a fifteen-year-old foundling who must use her long-hidden magical gifts to save her uncle and her Wicker Street neighbors when a vampire bent on revenge threatens the city. It’s set in an unnamed fantasy time period and place in the past, which may resemble 19th century London. And it was that very setting which helped me anchor the fantasy elements of the novel into believability.
My middle-grade novel Airball: My Life In Briefs (Roaring Brook, 2005, 2003) began life as a fractured fairy tale—“The Emperor’s New Clothes” retold with a modern middle-school basketball team. It was intended to be a funny realistic story, but because of the fairy tale underpinning, early drafts occasionally tread too close to fantasy to be believable.
I spent so much time hauling Airball back from the fantasy edge that when I began writing Nocturne, I found it hard to infuse the story with those very fantasy elements it needed. My main character, Flan, was born with amazing wizardly powers, but when it came time for her to cast a spell, I pulled back from the magic, afraid it wouldn’t be believable. When she encounters a woman in a decaying alleyway, I found myself reluctant to describe the woman as the creature she truly was—a troll. Again, I was afraid I was going over the top, afraid the troll wasn’t believable.
Ironically, although the problems I had with Airball (reining in the fantasy elements) and Nocturne (allowing the fantasy elements to soar) seemed polar opposites, the solution was the same: setting.
Setting isn’t just the buildings and streets and rivers and hills characters navigate during the course of a story. It’s also the way those physical features affect the characters, the history and circumstances of a place that shape the attitudes and behavior of the people who live there. To make my stories believable, I needed to create specific settings in which these particular stories could take place.
In the case of Airball, I needed to create a small town so firmly rooted in its basketball tradition that basketball players would do anything—including play ball in their underwear—to win.
For Nocture, I needed to create a neighborhood so plagued b
0 Comments on Guest Post: L.D. Harkrader on The Thin Line Between Reality and Fantasy as of 1/1/1900
Check out my recent musings at two terrific blogs in the kidlitosphere:
Guest Dispatches: Cynthia Leitich Smith/Austin, Texas, hosted by Janni Lee Simner from Desert Dispatches. Peek: "Austin is the kind of place that’s almost impossible to leave—a capital city, a college town, high tech, overeducated, joyfully diverse. Crunchy, funky, corporate and entrepreneurial. Hippy, urban cowboy and urban cool. A 24-7 celebration of the arts."
Writers Against Racism: Cynthia Leitich Smith, hosted by Amy Bowllan at Bowllan's Blog from School Library Journal. Peek: "Speculative fiction has long illuminated real-world societal dynamics. For some kids, it’s in this fantastical context that the pain of injustice and importance of cross-cultural respect will finally click."
0 Comments on Guest Posts at Desert Dispatches and Bowllan's Blog as of 1/1/1900
Howdy to librarian Jennifer Beckstead and the YA readers at Natrona County Public Library (Casper, Wyoming) Book Club!
Thank youfor reading Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007, 2008). I hope you enjoy Quincie's story.
Blessed, which will come out next February, picks up at the scene where Tantalize leaves out, and the story incorporates characters from Eternal (Candlewick, 2009, 2010).
On Monday, I emailed my editor final tweaks on what's called "the pass pages." They're formatted like they will be for the final book, but there's still time to make some tweaks.
Tantalize: Kieren's Story, a graphic novel, is also in the works. It's being illustrated by Ming Doyle, and the sketches are amazing. The GN comes at the story from the point of view of Kieren Morales and includes many new scenes. Yesterday, I sent the copy-edited version of the manuscript back to Candlewick.
Sanguini's: A Very Rare Restaurant is a fictional vampire theme restaurant on South Congress featured in Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007, 2008) and the upcoming Blessed (Candlewick, Feb. 2011). But what are my favorite Austin eateries in the real world?
But a lot of things changed after my publisher decided to take a chance on me, including the age of the main character, which completely changed my plan for the second book. And, as a first-timer with a smaller publisher, I had no idea whether or not I was going to be actually asked to write a second or third book.
So, I put it all out of my head and tried to be as patient as possible.
Then the fan letters started coming. E-mails and even snail mail from kids across the country who had definite ideas about what a sequel should contain. And many of those ideas weren’t anything I’d remotely been considering. They also had questions about characters that I’d felt I was pretty done with…but they obviously weren’t.
When my publisher asked me to continue the series, I was really starting from scratch. I really just knew that hey, my main character was now a vampire (and not a sparkly one or one that bites the head off of people who annoy her). I started wondering what would come next for her. What would her challenges be?
I went back to all of the emails and letters I’d been sent and made notes. What did people feel were loose ends from the first book that I ought to wrap up? What made sense to incorporate and answer in a sequel?
Ultimately, the sequel was heavily influenced by my readers. It’s a completely different book than what it would have been if I’d written it immediately following Sucks to Be Me (though the first few paragraphs are exactly the same as what I wrote in my original notes).
That said, the book is also probably vastly different from what it would be if I wrote it right now.
That’s the crazy thing about writing; you’re influenced by so many different things, from how you feel that day to things you’ve recently read to…well, everything.
It’s also the nature of a book. A book is never, ever finished. You simply get to a point where you and your editor are reasonably happy with how it is and you go with that. Left to our own devices, a writer would endlessly fiddle with a book, changing little thing after little thing. Or maybe that’s just me.
I’m sure that, if I get to write a third book in the Sucks to Be Me series, it will also be heavily influenced by my readers.
I joined three fellow Austin writers--Bethany Hegedus, Julie Lake, and Donna Bowman Bratton--last weekend for wonderful writing retreat at Donna's family's lake house in Kingsland, Texas.
It's about an hour and twenty minutes northwest of Austin--a nice, sunny drive.
We settled in Friday night over homemade spaghetti and caught up on each other's news.
Here's the sun room where I spent all day Saturday working on the Eternal graphic novel (Candlewick, forthcoming). I was at the computer early, and we all put in a full day.
It's soothing to be away from the distractions of home--the ringing phone, the pile of laundry, the pressing errands to run. Adios, Internet!
Being at the lake house was extraordinarily productive and yet restful.
I didn't snag a lake-front room, but I did end up in the California King with a private bathroom. And I wouldn't have had it any other way. Lakes are spooky at night. Well, at least if you've just listened to Donna's ghost stories!
Here's Julie on the pier.
Bethany in her bedroom.
and Donna at the dining room table. A warm and gracious hostess, Donna treated us to pancakes, yogurt, blueberries, strawberries, bacon, the ultimate deli sandwich spread....
Spoiled. She absolutely spoiled us.
0 Comments on Lake House Writing Retreat as of 1/1/1900
How to Write When You’re Scared Spitless by Jean Sarauer from writetodone. Peek: "Fear is a shape shifter. Although it’s easy to spot when it’s smacking us around in a full-frontal assault, sometimes it’s masked in behaviors like mindless eating or dawdling in the face of deadlines. These forms of fear may seem harmless, but they undermine our work and health and need to be seen for what they are." Source: YA Highway.
Interview: Little, Brown Editor Jennifer Hunt by Alice Pope from Alice Pope's SCBWI Market Blog. Peek: "Voice is first and foremost, because I feel it’s the most difficult thing to teach or master. And as an editor, if I feel someone’s able to catch my attention with a great voice, it gives me a great deal of confidence that we can conquer any other problem their manuscript might have."
Promotion by Lucienne Diver from Authorial, agently and personal ramblings. Peek: "Prep your pitch, post cards, press releases or whathaveyou to go out a few months early, about the time when the catalogues with your cover are on people's desks and orders are being placed. Follow up with a similar promotional mailing just as your book comes out." Read a Cynsations interview with Lucienne.
On Rejection by Susan Beth Pfeffer from Writer Unboxed. Peek: "I know I’m a different writer today because of those two years of dashed hopes and continuous failures. Maybe not a better writer, but a different one." Source: Elizabeth Scott. See also Thick Skin by Jennifer R. Hubbard from writerjenn.
Shannon Delany is the first-time author of 13 to Life (St. Martin's, 2010). From the promotional copy:
Something strange is stalking the small town of Junction…
When junior Jess Gillmansen gets called out of class by Guidance, she can only presume it’s for one of two reasons. Either they’ve finally figured out who wrote the scathing anti-jock editorial in the school newspaper, or they’re hosting yet another intervention for her about her mom.
She’s relieved to discover Guidance just wants her to show a new student around—but he comes with issues of his own, including a police escort.
The newest member of Junction High, Pietr Rusakova has secrets to hide--secrets that will bring big trouble to the small town of Junction—secrets including dramatic changes he’s undergoing that will surely end his life early.
What is it like, to be a debut author in 2010? What do you love about it? What are the challenges? What came as the biggest surprise? In each case, why?
Being a debut author in 2010 is frightening most days, overwhelming others. But I love that I’m so awake and aware. But being at this point at this moment in history is a challenge.
Starting as a cell-phone novelist, I’m keenly aware of the way technology is changing the publishing industry and communication overall. I feel an intense need to be a part of all of that—to be involved and on the edge of all the changes, but being in the thick of the social media revolution and being an author is a balancing act.
How “present” and “public” should an author really be? How much do we market ourselves versus our books? As necessary as a website and a blog seems to be now, and as great as it is to chat with readers and librarians through Facebook "like" pages and Twitter, I think being too available—too present—is a risk, too. There’s something to be said for the allure of mystery. Perhaps being too accessible will make writers who are savvy in social media seem less valuable.
The biggest surprise has been that there are so many debut authors going through almost the same exact things I’m dealing with. With all the connectivity, no one’s ever really alone on the publishing journey.
As a paranormal writer, how did you go about building your world?
I decided the best way to build Junction and Farthington—the two main towns making up 13 to Life’s world—was by seeing them through my narrator’s eyes.
My narrator, Jessie, has grown up in Junction. She’s lived a rather unremarkable life (at least in her opinion) until her mother dies. And like most people, Jessie views her world with her particular vision while carrying her particular baggage.
Her world doesn’t show her anything paranormal until the first night in the story, in part because she’s never thought her world might include the paranormal. It’s startling when she realizes there’s something odd going on in her town, and she does what many of us would do initially: she dismisses it. As Jessie’s eyes gradually open, so do readers’ eyes.
As I wrote the first novel, the world around Jessi
0 Comments on New Voice: Shannon Delany on 13 to Life as of 1/1/1900
Almost everybody who has grown up in Chicago knows about the Thorne Rooms.
Housed deep within the Art Institute of Chicago, they are a collection of sixty-eight exquisite – almost eerily realistic miniature rooms. Each of the rooms is designed in the style of a different time and place, and every detail is perfect, from the knobs on the doors to the candles in the candlesticks.
Some might even say the rooms are magical.
Imagine... What if, on a field trip, you discovered a key that allowed you to shrink so that you were small enough to sneak inside and explore the rooms’ secrets? What if you discovered that others had done so before you? And that someone had left something important behind?
Ruthie Stewart and Jack Tucker are best friends in sixth grade. Ruthie has the feeling that nothing exciting ever happens in her life, while Jack experiences every day as an adventure.
The Sixty-Eight Rooms is the story of an adventure they have together. It starts with a field trip and ends with…well, Ruthie will never say “nothing exciting ever happens” again!
If you love fantasy and adventure and magic, with a little mystery-solving thrown in, The Sixty-Eight Rooms will be a book you can’t put down.
What is it like to be a debut author in 2010? What do you love about it? What are the challenges? What came as the biggest surprise? In each case, why?
I agree with people who say we are at a sea-change moment in the world; I don't know where we are in the process, and maybe its my age, but it appears the world of my childhood is fading.
Here I sit at my computer, (really, so small!) with constant notifications coming in from gmail, facebook, news sources. I can Skype anywhere in the world. My cell phone can ring, vibrate, bring me a text or an image. This is 2010, and it has arrived with dizzying speed. My book is about none of it, although my characters use cell phones and computers.
Of course, all of these technologies have affected how a book gets published, launched and publicized; this very blog a case in point.
When I sat down to write this - my first - book, I considered nothing about what would happen to it after I wrote it. Perhaps I was naive, or blissfully ignorant. I was teaching art at the time (in a wonderful school for girls), and I simply hoped that some of my students would like the book, maybe it could be published, and some other kids would like it as well. I thought a lot about what sort of books I loved as a child and what books my own three children were attached to.
It didn't occur to me that a whole army of adults, professionals in the field, would have to join in and support my book, that the book would be posted on blogs and websites and links could be sent in a millisecond. I think not knowing all this was liberating. And I think what came as the biggest surprise was discovering just how big a produ
0 Comments on New Voice: Marianne Malone on The Sixty-Eight Rooms as of 7/21/2010 7:59:00 PM
Well, first a tad more background: this is our third iteration of the site, and each iteration has had slightly different goals, even though all along the dualities you mention has been a major concern.
By: Cynthia Leitich Smith,
on 9/4/2010
Inara Scott is the first-time author of Delcroix Academy: The Candidates (Hyperion, 2010). From the promotional copy:
Stephen Messer is the first-time author of Windblowne (Random House, 2010). From the promotional copy:
R.A. Nelson: redesigned site from the author of Teach Me (Razorbill, 2007), Breathe My Name (Razorbill, 2008), Days of Little Texas (Knopf, 2010), and Throat (Knopf, 2011). Read a Cynsations interview with R.A.
Guest Post: Agent Michelle Andelman on Dystopian Fictio
By Alma Alexander
So I launched a new project. I would post this novel online, chapter by raw and terrifying chapter, and then - with the commentary and suggestions of a panel of teen advisors who will weigh in on the original chapter and all of its flaws as they see them - I will edit and rewrite this novel with all the experience of my years as a professional, and see that story re-born in a new and glittering guise.
Ads and E-Books: Money Should Still Flow Toward the Author by Saundra Mitchell from Making Up Stuff for a Living. Peek: "Product placement should be treated as a subright- I propose, on the same percentages as foreign rights subrights. Approximately 25% to the house, 75% to the author." Read a Cynsations interview with Saundra.
How to Create a Dystopia by Parker Peevyhouse from The Spectacle. Peek: "Since the point of a dystopian novel is usually to magnify a current flaw in society, it works best to create a world based on one main flaw."
Amy Brecount White is the first-time author of Forget-Her-Nots (Greenwillow, 2010). From the promotional copy:
I read everything I could get my hands on and always checked out the maximum number of books from the library! My days were filled with Encyclopedia Brown [by Donald J. Sobel (1963-)], Betsy Byars, Madeleine L'Engle, and even Harlequin romances. I've never felt complete unless I'm in the middle of or looking forward to a book.
