I recently got in a discussion at Science Fiction and Fantasy Novelists about happy endings–are they cheesy? Unrealistic? Do you like them or find them trite?

I won’t delve into that argument here. Maybe I’ll save it for a later post. But it did give me an idea for Up and Writing’s very first ever contest.Ooooh.

I want to hear your very best real-life happy ending. When did you fight the proverbial dragon and win? When did you find true love? When did everything look dark, only to end in a “eucatastrophe” (a term coined by Tolkien, meaning the opposite of catastrophe)?

The winner will receive a free YA fantasy/sci fi book. You can leave your stories as comments here, or e-mail them to me at [email protected]. If you leave them as comments, please leave your e-mail so I can contact you if you win.

This contest runs for exactly one week–until Tuesday, Sept. 15 at the end of the day. On Wednesday morning, I’ll reveal the answers and e-mail the winner.

Can’t wait to hear your stories!

RHDavis

Welcome to the second official meeting of the Up and Writing Book Club. As per my earlier announcements, we’re discussing part one and part two of MELTING STONES by Tamora Pierce today. Thus, today’s list of discussion topics is shorter than usual to accommodate the inclusion of last week’s topics.

I see two main points of interest in chapters seven through eleven. The first being Pierce’s envisioning of the magical/spiritual side of volcano activity, and the second being the exploration of Evvy’s views on humanity.

I like Pierce’s decision to personify the volcano, and I think she made a good choice in portraying its spirits as impulsive, childlike, and energetic. It would be difficult to buy into volcano spirits who were slow and thoughtful like Luvo, since real volcanoes don’t seem all that sedate. Flare and Carnelian’s childlike nature also makes sense because they have no experience in the world yet, having spent the whole of their existence in the confines of the pool.

These chapters also reveal a lot about Evvy. The book has already established her cynicism about human nature, but the volcano crisis brings it out even stronger. She pretty much feels that life is every man for himself, and if she’s done her part in warning the people, she’s no longer obligated to help them or care about their survival.

Particularly revealing is the line in which she defends her attitude by saying “It’s not like they’re people we care about” (i.e. their friends back at Winding Circle). I find this so interesting because it seems to mirror a very common attitude in our culture. People are more likely to care about injustice or tragedy if it happens to someone they know, but they’re not as quick to offer sympathy or help to strangers.

This part of the story also introduces Rosethorn’s concept of the choice to be a builder or a destroyer, a theme which will continue to run throughout the book. It made me take a critical look at my own life and ask the same question. I wonder how each of us could choose building over destroying in our everyday lives?

All right. Including last week’s topics, we have more than enough to think about already, so I’ll stop here. Thoughts?

RHDavis

There’s an interesting conversation over at blog Fantasy Debut about bonding with characters in the novels you read. Most people who read find at least one or two characters in literature who feel real to them–characters you’d want to meet and hang out with. Characters you admire.

It got me thinking about a related topic; which literary characters have I felt were the most like me? Which ones did I share things in common with? Which ones did I want to be?

I’d like to hear your answer to this question. Here’s the list I came up with of my own personal favorites:

Nancy Drew–I wanted to be a detective from ages eleven to thirteen. Nancy Drew seemed just like what I wanted to be when I grew up! Intelligent, good-hearted, brave in the face of danger, pretty, and most importantly, she solves mysteries.

Karana–In ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS, Karana is a lonely native girl stranded on a desert island with only a tame wolf for company. I myself was an only child, with only a tame “wolf” (border collie) and “tiger” (grouchy cat) for companionship. I was of an age where I liked being alone, and Karana’s solitary life seemed both exciting and peaceful.  On the brink of her teen years, Karana’s figuring out what it means to be a woman. I was eleven or twelve when I first read that story, and the question was pertinent to me as well.

Frodo Baggins–I’ve never had a ring of power. Sorry, this comparison isn’t quite that exciting. But when I was seventeen and struggling with significant anxiety problems, I felt weighed down by a problem much too big for me. Then I picked up Lord of the Rings, the story of an unassuming hobbit who’s asked to take carry a burden well beyond the scope of his limited experience. Frodo and I journeyed together with our burdens for a couple of months as I read. I so wanted him to overcome the ring and have a happy ending–it would prove that I could overcome and have a happy ending, too. I remember reading the chapter where the ring gets destroyed, and putting the book down to find that my hands were shaking.

That’s my top three. What about you?

RHDavis

Don’t forget, tomorrow is the next meeting of the Up and Writing Book Club for Tamora Pierce’s MELTING STONES. We’ll discuss the first and second sections of the book, up to the end of chapter 11. If you haven’t read that far, don’t worry; the discussion will mostly center on the fist five or six chapters.

RHDavis

Everyone thinks of summer as the time to lie back with a good book. We see advertisements for “great summer reads” each May. But what about fall? No one advertises “great autumn reads.”

Granted, students start back to school in the fall and thus have less time for free reading. But that shouldn’t stop them! Free reading is still important, and there are plenty of shorter YA books out there that don’t take as much time to get through.

With that in mind, I’ve drawn up a short list of good autumn reads that any student can fit into their schedule between papers and textbooks.

A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO by Richard Peck. Siblings Joey and Mary Alice live in Chicago during the depression, but spend their summers on Grandma Dowdel’s small-town farm. Far from being bored, they experience the most outrageous adventures as Grandma lives life on her own terms.

GO ASK ALICE by Anonymous. Questions about the diary’s authenticity aside, this book will keep you spellbound from the first page. It’s short diary-style entries make the reading go fast, and once you follow Alice into her shocking world of drugs and danger, you won’t be able to put it down. (Parental guidance suggested for younger teens)

ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS by Scott O’Dell. A young native girl prepares to evacuate her island home with the rest of the tribe, but gets left behind. With no one but a tamed wolf for company, she must survive the elements, make shelter, bring in food–and discover what it means to grow into a young woman.

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA by C.S. Lewis–Each of these seven books makes a quick read for fall. If, by some chance, you’ve never read any of the Narnia stories, I suggest starting with THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE–follow the Pevensie children through a magic wardrobe and into C.S. Lewis’s beloved land of fantasy.

RHDavis

I subscribe to Daniel Scocco’s Daily Blog Tips site, which provides a wealth of information on everything bloggish. He recently published an e-book called MAKE MONEY BLOGGING which I downloaded free for being a subscribing member. As I’m not trying to make a living blogging, I didn’t expect the book to be geared towards me; I assumed it would focus mostly on advertising and strategies. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

This book is a good resource for anyone who wants to drive more traffic to their blog, whether to make a living off the profits or not. It discusses much more than advertising–things like networking strategies, writing good content, staying organized, and using online tools like social network sites and social bookmark sites.

Scocco’s attention to the quality of blog posts encourages bloggers to take pride in their work. He advocates putting time and effort into both writing posts and becoming an expert in your niche. His idea-generating strategies are helpful. Overall, he makes superb blog writing seem attainable, if not easy.

He identifies the biggest mistakes novice bloggers make (happily I didn’t fall into too many of them). He also encourages bloggers to build genuine relationships with others online. How refreshing to have a book about money-making remind you to treat others with courtesy, refrain from selfishly using them, and go out of your way to build up and endorse their sites and products.

This book introduced me to many strategies I will use with Up and Writing, as well as many web tools I didn’t know were available (for instance, did you know there’s a Google tool which allows you to find out how people typically word their searches for particular subjects, thus allowing you to tailor blog post titles accordingly?). I opened the book intending to skim through, but ended up making detailed notes which I shall go back to again and again over time.

RHDavis

Hey, it’s Sunday! Head over to www.smblooding.blogspot.com for today’s guest post by Rachel Heston Davis!

RHDavis

Yes, you heard it here first, folks. I got a rejection letter (er, e-mail) that actually wasn’t painful. Here’s why.

One year ago this summer, I sent a proposal of my then-unfinished novel FLYNN to a publishing house. I had connections through a writer’s conference, and expected to hear back promptly.

Nothing happened for months. Over time, I came to assume that they didn’t want the thing, so I counted it a loss and went about finishing and revising the novel. Over time, I came to see that FLYNN actually needed a lot more work and time to be the best it could be.

A couple of days ago, I got an e-mail from that publisher. A year later! They apologized profusely for not getting back to me sooner. Apparently the proposal was changing hands from one editor to another and somehow got lost. It was unearthed a few days ago, at which point they sent me the e-mail.

In the time between last year and this year, they closed their doors on new YA fantasy. So FLYNN was officially rejected because of an accident and a change in policy, not because they didn’t like it. That has got to be the most painless rejection of all time. Not to mention the most fortuitous–if I’d had to rush finishing and editing it, it wouldn’t be nearly as good as it is today. Thank you, happy accidents!

RHDavis

Some updates:

First, I’ve already announced that the next meeting of the Up and Writing Book Club will take place Friday, Sept. 4. Discussion will include the first and second sections MELTING STONES by Tamora Pierce (first section: to the end of chapter 6. second section: to the end of chapter 11.) Come and enjoy the discussion! The post will be up starting in the wee hours of the morning, so drop by any time and check back throughout the day for replies to your comments.

Second, I have a new review published at Friends of Lulu! ROBOT DREAMS by Sara Varon–When best friends Dog and Robot are separated by a tragic accident at the beach, their subsequent search to replace the friendship reveals a lot about modern humanity’s isolation. (This one isn’t a YA fantasy, it’s a graphic novel, my other great love in life).

RHDavis

A recent flurry of blogging on the subject  “Books vs. movies: which is better?” got me thinking about the whole book-t0-movie phenomenon. I even got in on the debate in a guest-blog over at Cinema Three (movie connaisseur Silver Autumn’s witty blog about films and pop-culture).

My thoughts on this subject are many. On the one hand, books and movies are such different media that I feel odd comparing them. Apples to oranges. On the other hand, I believe any director who makes a movie from a preexisting story is obligated to respect both the original plotline and the original characters. This doesn’t mean they can’t make changes; it means any changes made should respect the integrity and message of the original work.

With that in mind, here are my Top Five best book-to-movie renditions of all time.

1. Lord of the Rings Trilogy–Peter Jackson took a sweeping epic, set in a world which took one man’s entire life to create, and condensed it into three movies. He included all of the major conflicts, did not change any major elements of the ending, stayed about 95% true to the characters, and made the world feel as authentic as it did in the book. My one complaint is the sadly misconstrued portrayal of Frodo as a bumbling fool in parts of the second and third movies, but other than that, this trilogy is golden.

2. To Kill A Mockingbird–Though huge chunks of the original story had to be cut out for time constraints (think Aunt Alexandra and, oh yeah, wasn’t there a whole other year in the middle of the novel?), this movie still ranks #2 on my list. The characters are spot on, even in appearance. The accents are real. The all-important courtroom scenes pack tons of verbatim dialogue. The message of the book remains intact in all its real-life complexity. No wonder this is considered a classic movie.

3.  The Ruby In the Smoke–First in the Sally Lockhart series by Phillip Pullman (books recommended, but with a caution about sexual content), The Ruby in the Smoke was made into a Masterpiece Theater episode in Britain starring the ever-lovely Billie Piper (Billie, why did you leave Dr. Who? WHY??!!) It follows the plot of the book in every detail. No deviation whatsoever. The only reason it didn’t make my #1 is because it feels kind of flat. I don’t get an emotional reaction from watching it.

4. Harry Potter Series–Okay, okay, I know many of you catch plot changes in every single HP movie. But let’s think about this; the world Rowling created gets transferred pretty well onscreen in all its originality and awesomeness. They cast superb actors for each character (though I do miss the old Dumbledore, may he rest in peace). And we must give those movie-makers some credit, even when they leave things out. Rowling’s books have many details and plot twists. How could they all fit into each movie?

5. The Butcher Boy–I’ll bet you didn’t know they made a movie of this book, did you? The story of BUTCHER BOY strays a bit darker than what I usually read, but read it I did, and then saw the movie in a college class. Eamonn Owens plays a spectacular Francie Brady, an eccentric boy who descends into mental illness. The feel of the film fits the feel of the book, complete with even the most bizarre and disturbing of the book’s plot highlights. And something about the kids digging up the bodies while looking for Flash Bars sent me into hysterics, right there in Professor Hart’s senior year English seminar. (I promise I’m not usually so black in my humor. It was funny,dangit!)

This list represents only those book-to-movies that I have seen. Have you seen other greats that I have not? Are there some movies that you would love to enjoy, but can’t because of glaring flaws from the original story? Please share.

RHDavis

We novel writers feel the temptation to put all our publishing eggs in one basket. Because novels are so time-consuming to produce, we spend most of our writing time on that and little (if any) on short stories or articles. Trouble is, short stories and articles have a greater chance of getting published, thus creating that valuable list of publishing credits that agents and editors like to see for first-time novelists.

This phenomenon has been praying on my mind recently. Yesterday, I decided to seriously pursue publication of my novella GRACE. (A working title. I’ve also considered SILENCE AND GRACE or DISTURBING THE SILENCE). I’ve checked out a contest which looks promising on Glimmer Train and checked to see that Grace’s word count fits the requirements. GRACE is 18,000 words, which is 70 pages, but the Glimmer Train max word count is up to 20,000 and they still count that as a short story. I’ll hopefully submit GRACE in September or December.

I’ve toyed around with some sci-fi short story ideas, but they’re all complex enough to turn into novels. That’s the problem with being a novelist. You have trouble scaling back.

Anyway, we’ll see what happens with Glimmer Train. This is yet another item to add to my ever-growing To Do list.

RHDavis

So, I’m getting the feeling that most of you didn’t have time to get and/or read MELTING STONES before this week. LOL. Holly Pants gets the prize for the first book club comment, though.

Here’s what I think we’ll do. Next time, I was going to post discussion starters for the next quarter of the book. Since we didn’t really discuss the first quarter this week, we’ll leave the first quarter and the second quarter both up for discussion next week. And I think we’ll have the book club on Fridays instead of Mondays. I don’t think Mondays are a good day for anyone. (I know they aren’t for me). So next Friday. Not this Friday. Next.

I was in Nashville this weekend, staying with my Aunt Sandi and Uncle Eric. We spent the weekend eating way too much, visiting the Parthenon (yes there’s a Parthenon in Nashville) and an old plantation (with an un-funny tour guide who didn’t tell any of the cool stories) and, of course, being run around to within an inch of our lives by my cousin’s six-year-old son. He was by far the most fun thing about the weekend!!

So! That’s my life so far. Hope to see you all at the book club next Friday. I’ll post more details as the week progresses.

RHDavis

Up and Writing Book Club

MELTING STONES, Week 1: Chapters 1-6 (p 1-85)

Welcome to Up and Writing’s first book club meeting. Let’s jump right in, shall we? I’ll start the conversation off with a few thoughts:

First, I’d just like to say I really enjoyed this book. The first six chapters are enough to let the reader know that this won’t be a run-of-the-mill YA fantasy. We’ve got a teen girl heroine with the cynicism of Greg House, a boy character who isn’t a love interest, a talking rock, and some pretty intriguing magery.

Let’s start with Evvy. What do you think of her? I’m not particularly drawn to cynical people, but I like Evvy because her cynicism is believable. It’s based on cruel life experience. Yet through her hard exterior we catch glimpses of an altruistic side–her concern for Rosethorn, the hints that she protected her friends during the war at great personal risk. Did any of you get that feeling about her? Also, where do you stand on the cynicism spectrum? Do you think Evvy’s right in thinking that people generally feel entitled and take advantage of others?

Despite Evvy’s growlings about the evil of human nature, she’s surrounded by noble people on this island. Oswin spends his life taking care of everyone else’s problems. Jayatin seems like the kind of guy any mother would be happy for her daughter to bring home (though, in an unusual twist for a YA novel, the subject of romance with Jayatin does not come up in Evvy’s mind. Did you like that, or were you disappointed?)

I found Evvy’s mage power quite interesting. We’ve all seen similar concepts in fantasy before–the mage who has a connection to plants, the mage who can control water, etc.–but Evvy’s power with the rocks is unique. Each rock has a different feel, she communicates with them, draws power and information. They entertain her much as one might be entertained by a book.

At first I had a hard time wrapping my head around Luvo. Is Tamora Pierce really asking me to accept a talking rock that walks around like a little animal? Ironically, every character has this same initial reaction, but we all come to accept Luvo as part of the story. Did you have that reaction at first? Did Luvo grow on you, or did you find the concept of a talking object too cartoonish to fit with the story?

Finally, how do you like the progression of the story? Is it too obvious what’s going on at this island with the mountain and the dying plants? Have the characters and story pulled you in? They did me. The only thing that pulled me out of the book was the constant discord between Evvy and the other two mages for all of chapters five and six. I got tired of hearing about it, quite honestly.

Favorite line for this week: “Then heaviness clamped around me: a suit of hot, thick meat” (p. 15). Yuck. What a great nasty description.

Now it’s your turn. Thoughts? Opinions? Answers to my questions?

RHDavis

It’s Sunday! Visit www.smblooding.blogspot.com to see my guest post for today.

RHDavis

Working to become an author is no easy challenge, and discouragement looms ever on the horizon. There’s so much to remember and do. You pour your heart, soul and energy into the book until you think there’s nothing left to give. Then you discover the world of querying, just as complex and trial/error as the writing process. You know that the actual publication and marketing will probably kick your butt, too.

I got hit with a wave of discouragement about that today. But it occurs to me that most people feel this way about something–be it their career, parenting, schooling, etc. Knowing that other people go through discouragement kind of takes the fangs right out of the experience, doesn’t it?

When you feel discouraged–when the list of things to do seems ten miles long and impossible–the most important thing is to prioritize. Pick out whichever tasks are most important (according to your own intuition and the advice of others) and worry about those first. Set up a schedule to accomplish them.

Put real effort into those tasks, but don’t ask your mind and body for more than they can give. You can’t do this all at once. The sad truth is, slow and steady usually does win the race, and big things just have to take their sweet time to come to fruition. If you keep the steady pace and take the advice of others in your field, something will happen. At least, that’s what this aspiring author is banking on.

RHDavis

I’ve noticed a trend in young adult literature that I don’t remember being the case when I was a teen. While browsing popular YA fiction web sites, I keep running across books about the darker “hot topics” of today’s culture–teen molestation by older men, self-mutilation, suicide, etc.

Is it just me, or were YA books a bit less grim ten years ago? (And yes, it has been ten years since I was in my mid-teens. I’m old. So sue me.) I remember a lot of books about prejudice, teen sex, murder mysteries, etc. Not so much molestation and binge-drinking and cutting. Maybe that stuff was out there and I just didn’t read it?

I’m not complaining that books like this exist, mind you. The issues presented in them are real problems, and we’d be foolish to pretend otherwise. But I worry about the sheer percentage of teen literature that’s turning this direction. The threshold of darkness or shock value needed to keep teens interested climbs ever higher. I have to wonder: do all of these books really deal with the issues in a positive way, or do some authors simply cash in on teen voyerism?

Call me naive, but I think a steady diet of shock value books makes teens world-weary before their time. It’s one thing to know about the issues and be cautious of them, quite another to focus on them day in and day out.

For example, I’ve dealt with anxiety and depression before, and it’s always refreshing to find a book that acknowledges that struggle. But I don’t read about it all the time. I need other types of books to remind me that not all of life is that dark. Otherwise, I’m wallowing in it instead of learning from it.

What are your thoughts? Am I totally off base, or do I make a shred of sense? Have you noticed this trend, or am I blowing it out of proportion?

RHDAvis

This is too weird. I just read EON: DRAGONEYE REBORN by Alison Goodman about a girl posing as a boy to win a competition. Then today I stumbled on this Yahoo story.

In Goodman’s story, Eon and her master believe she can excel in the Dragoneye competition. But it’s closed to girls, so they pass her off as a young boy. As they suspected, she wins the competition. 

Throughout the book, others around her have clues that she’s female–her soft voice and face, small build, insistence on privacy to change clothes, etc. But she explains them away by saying she’s a eunuch, so no one questions too much.

Who knows what that runner’s test results will be. Perhaps it’s all a mistake. Still. Life imitating art.

RHDavis

Last night and today I worked on the script for my graphic novel ON CAMPUS. I’d forgotten how much I love writing and drawing graphic stories. Every time I work on it, it’s like a little piece of my soul comes out of hibernation, and I feel complete.

I gave up cartooning in college because I was so busy.  As a post-grad aspiring to be an author, I worked mostly on my novel, since traditional novels appeal to a broader market and are a more “practical” use of creative talent.

But I can’t deny my true love any longer. Graphic work holds at least as big a place in my heart as traditional writing.  From now on, I’m going to make it more of a priority in my work time. I hope to start ON CAMPUS as an online series in fall 2010.

What about you? Do you have a hobby or passion that has long lain dormant, which needs to be re-awakened? No time like the present!

RHDavis

I just finished BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS by Shannon Hale and it was simply inspiring! Not since THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL have I read through something so fast, just because I needed to find out what happens next. Great storytelling, fast-paced plot, likable characters, and a love story that doesn’t writhe with stereotypes and sugar. This will certainly be the book club’s next book after MELTING STONES.

Speaking of the book club, don’t forget our first meeting is a week from today. That’s a Monday. We’re reading to page 85.

In FLYNN news, I’m preparing query materials. By the end of the week, I hope to have queried two new agents. I’ll keep you posted.

And finally, in blog news, some of my html messed up in a post two days ago, rendering my link to the book club useless. No matter how many times I fix it and try to save the edit, the blog continues to show it as a bunch of html gobbledygook instead of a link. I may have to give up the ghost on this one. My apologies to anyone who’s been confused by it.

RHDavis

Tonight I’m starting the curriculum for the Up and Writing Book Club. I’m a little sleepy, so much of this may not get done, but it’ll at least be a start.

I already have a book lined up for next month (I think–haven’t read it yet, so it could turn out to be lame) but I want the month after next to be a YA fantasy geared more towards males, with a male protagonist. There’s a shortage of those in the market right now, and I’d like to find one. Anyone have suggestions?

In other news, my husband interrupts every few seconds with pleas for me to look at YouTube videos he’s found of the voice actors for Dragonball Z. Any of you watch Dragonball Z? It’s a scream–one of my guilty pleasures. We watched Chris Sabat do the Vegeta Rap….not sure how I feel about that….

Apparently Chris Sabat gets asked to say “It’s over nine thousand!” a lot–one of Vegeta’s more famous lines. I dunno, if I ran into Chris, I wouldn’t want him to do a Vegeta line. I’d find it much more hilarious to have a brand new conversation with The Vegeta Voice and see what it would say to me.

All right. Away from guilty pleasure anime and onto real work.

RHDavis

by Rachel Heston Davis

Krycek Rat
Krycek the Rat, two-and-a-half, of Edwardsville, IL, died Friday, Aug. 14, 2009 at Hawthorne Animal Hospital after a courageous battle with neurological problems, encroaching senility, and an ornery cagemate.

Born in early 2007, Krycek spent the first part of his life in Petco of Rockford, IL before being purchased by the Davis family and taken to Oregon, IL.

Krycek held many job titles in his day, first as a wannabe-feral rat, during which he ran from and pooped on his owners a lot and refused to be tamed. After that, he settled down and distinguished himself as dominant rat in his family, a position which included pushing other rats onto their backs and aggressively grooming them.

Other hobbies included escaping his cage, exploring the floor of his owners’ office, eating Yogies, jumping from the chair to the couch, launching expeditions to burrow under things he wasn’t supposed to, and grooming bald spots on his cagemate’s head.

Krycek is survived by his cagemate Ziggy; a mamma rat Rachel; a dadda rat Jaron; four grandparent rats; aunt rats Holly and Christy; many friends; his favorite plastic igloo; and a bucket of Yogies.

Services will be held Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009 at The Pasture cemetary, Heston Residence, IL, with a short burial to follow.  The family has requested that all memorials be made in the form of spreading the word about the evils of feeding live rodents to snake.

The <a href=”http://rachelhestondavis.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/young-adult-book-club-online/”>Up and Writing Book Club</a> has a few announcements:

The date of our first book discussion has been postponed to Monday, Aug. 24. It was going to be next Wednesday, but as I’ve just now announced the club, I thought I’d give you all an extra week or so to track down the book and start reading. After that, we’ll try to have meetings on a less awful day. Mondays are awful.

For the first discussion, let’s read to the end of Chapter Six. I think it’s page 85–about one fourth of the way through.

Also, while this club will continue under the umbrella title of Up and Writing Book Club, our first “round” of readings will be the “Fall Fantasy Round.” We’ll do mostly fantasy books this autumn and see how everyone likes it.

Again, so you don’t have to go chasing down the information in another post, the book is MELTING STONES by Tamora Pierce.

In other news, I chose a picture for my web site today, after much deliberation. The end.

RHDavis

Got a round of pictures taken today for my web site. I needed a head shot to use for my site and as my profile pictures on Facebook, Twitter and other things. Hopefully the site and the picture will be up soon!

I never knew taking pictures outdoors could be so complicated. We had trouble from sun, shadows, tombstones, wind, and a twig that wanted to poke my eyes out.

For those who weren’t here yesterday, I’m starting a YA book club this month, and our first book is MELTING STONES by Tamora Pierce. Visit yesterday’s post for more details, and spread the word to anyone who might be interested. I’m really excited about this one, guys!

RHDavis

So I’m going to try something new with this blog. I’ve been wanting to talk about the YA books Idiscovered this summer, but instead of inundating you with reviews for books you haven’t read–I’m starting the Up and Writing online book club.

Unlike regular book clubs which meet once a month, we’re going to read each book in four segments and have weekly discussions right here at Up and Writing. I’ll moderate and provide starter questions, but I hope you participants will provide your own analysis, questions and thoughts on the books in the comments section. (Once I get my web site up, I hope to move all this business over there and perhaps set up a forum, which would be better suited to this sort of thing than a blog is! But for now, here we are at WordPress).

Our first book is MELTING STONES by Tamora Pierce. Fourteen-year-old Evvy is a stone mage who channels magic through rocks of every kind. When Evvy’s teacher drags her to a remote island on a routine mission to investigate dying plants, they soon learn that Evvy’s way with stones may be crucial to saving the island’s inhabitants from total destruction.

Normally I’ll hold club discussions on Fridays, but next week I will be out of town on Friday. So our first discussion will be Wednesday, Aug. 19.

Please take a moment to comment on this post if you plan to participate. Also, since this is a group primarily focused on YA books, spread the word to any teens you think would enjoy participating.

RHDavis

As my week-long artist retreat in Missouri comes to an end, here’s Part II of my list on how to get the most from your retreat.

1. Take a variety of things to do. You may burn out on one project after several hours but still have the rest of the day to work. Take things to renew your mind such as books, and do those for a couple hours to get the creative juices back on track.
2. How much internet time will you have?Like most authors, I use the internet a lot, especially at the stage of researching agents. If you won’t have internet for awhile, take only projects that don’t require it.
3. Eat well and sleep well. This may be a vacation, but you’re here to do work. If you eat poorly and wear yourself down, how will you get anything done?

And my final piece of advice:

         4.   Don’t get sick with the flu the day before you’re scheduled to leave.

RHDavis