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I have, as readers of this blog know, a bad case of avoidance when it comes to reading my own published or nearly-published work through, and I'm especially anxious once galleys arrive. Is my book what I think a book should be? Does it represent a step forward? Is it original and new? I need to know, and I'm afraid to find out. A writer requires distance, and courage.
And so, these past many months—through corporate projects and student papers, through the finishing of another novel and the start of a memoir—the galleys of You Are My Only have been sitting here, awaiting my attention. When you get the time, I kept telling myself. When you are ready.
This morning I made myself ready. I sat, and I did not move. I stayed with Sophie and Joey, with Emmy and Autumn, and I read all the way through.
I emerge at peace.
Thank you, Amy Rennert, Laura Geringer, and Team Egmont USA.
8 Comments on You Are My Only, the galleys read through, last added: 4/22/2011
When St. John's Presbyterian Church invited me to speak for a Valentine's Day luncheon, we all envisioned a group of a dozen or so kind souls, gathered in a circle in the Carriage House. Our dozen has grown to nearly 80, I'm told, and I want to be sure that I deliver. And so, in found pockets of time this past week, I've been returning to my Dangerous Neighbors research files and assembling a 20-image Centennial Philadelphia talk that melds the known with the unknown and in that way reveals my own fiction-making process.
Those of you who have read Dangerous Neighbors (Egmont USA) know that key moments unfold within and outside of Operti's Tropical Garden, which stood on the margins of the Centennial grounds. Contemporary reporters described Operti's as "one of the handsomest places of amusement in Philadelphia. It was light and airy, and was handsomely decorated with frescoes and other paintings. Long lines of colored globes, each containing a gas jet, stretched across the interior beneath the ceiling, and shed a brilliant light upon the scene below. At the back a large waterfall dashed over the painted rocks, forming a beautiful cascade, and giving to the air on the hot nights of the summer a delicious coolness."
More than sixty performers led by a certain Signor Giuseppe Operti filled the place with music each night—the cascade being dimmed long enough for the music to soar, and then "spr(inging) into life again." Years later, working with those lines of description and this image, I was inspired to imagine a bird set free and all the nuanced consequences. From Dangerous Neighbors:
Operti’s is an aromatic cove of high skies and blooms. Gas lanterns float like kites overhead. Potted trees shadow the paths. There are the bright flags of celosia and astilbe, the yellow sleeves of forsythia forced well past their season, begonias the color of dandelions and fire, and in the midst of it all, the orchestra stage. On every wall, frescoes, and in the very back someone has painted a rock cliff of schist and granite, then turned some sort of spigot on, so that water, real water, cascades down. The sound of Operti’s is gush and violins, the squeak of a chair, the leak of gas in a jet above, a stifled sneeze in the vicinity of the gardenias, and above that the silence of every single place that has ever lain in wait for an evening audience. By the time that Katherine has taken it all in, the girl, the mysterious mistress of the bird, has disappeared.
1 Comments on Talking the Centennial, Operti's Tropical Garden, and the Birthing of Fiction in Nonfiction, last added: 2/14/2011
Just after her sixteenth birthday, Princess Nalia is told that she is not the true princess of Thorvaldor, and that her true name is Sinda. She was a stand-in for the real princess, who had been hidden away for protection.
Stripped from all she knows, Sinda is forced to leave her home and her best friend, Keirnan, to live with an aunt. But Sinda finds leading a simple village life isn't what she was meant for -- especially when she discovers magic runs through her veins.
The False Princess takes you on a winding road of twists and turns. It's a quick, casual read, and fans of the magic genre won't want to miss this one.
You know how it is: You write a book because it is furied up inside you—molten and untouchable but ineluctable, too. You are the huntress. You're after something you don't quite understand, and you're going to win; you're going to conquer; in the process, you're going to get burned. You're going to make up words and fury nouns and add commas where you shouldn't. You're going to mix metaphors.
(It's like writing a blog, sort of, without the back-up support.)
Thankfully, then, there are agents like Amy Rennert who calm you down, and editors like Laura Geringer who ask questions, and a team like Egmont USA, which stands behind you, relieves you of you. One of the great gifts, in this process, is the gift of copyediting, which Egmont's Greg Ferguson and Nico Medina handle so well. This time, additionally, Egmont engaged a certain Hannah to read the pages of YOU ARE MY ONLY (due out next fall), and Hannah made sure, among other things, that I didn't have a certain character deciding to take the day off on the day that was already her day off, and that I didn't have the moon wane too quickly.
I've just now finished reading the book through, and can I say (would it be boasting?) how excited I am? I can't wait for this one to be on the shelves. I am so grateful to all of those who are helping it come to pass.
9 Comments on You Are My Only: in the afterglow of the copyedits, last added: 1/15/2011
It sounds like it is going to be the most beautiful of so many beautiful books of yours. I'm excited for you as the author--and excited for us as the readers.
BTW I don't think I got to say here that I love the title: the feel and tone of it. It is attracting--the title alone would make me want to pick it up. So I'm thinking others will feel the same.
Yay for good copyeditors! I just finished one where a woman took a shower, then took a call (on which she made a date for later that night), then was happy she had time to take a bath.
Ugh, I am supposed to receive my copy edits any time. This is all new to me. You've given me a peek into what I can expect. I can only hope for an experience like yours.
The Butler Gets A Break. A Bellweather Tale. Kristin Clark. Venuti. 2010. Egmont USA. 240 pages.
In the village of Eel-Smack-by-the-Bay there stands a lighthouse on a hill, known to the residents as the Lighthouse on the Hill. Inside that structure resides the most chaotic family ever to live. And their butler. And sometimes endangered animals that have the ability to poison, maim, or kill in a gruesome manner. And sometimes hobos. And sometimes famous works of art that have been Anonymously Borrowed. As always, if one is brave enough to get close to the Lighthouse on the Hill, one can look up into the third-story window and see an upright man, at an upright desk, up writing in his diary.
The Butler Gets A Break is the sequel to last year's Leaving the Bellweathers. In my review of the first, I wrote "If ever a book surprised me--completely surprised me--it was this one. Looking at the title, the cover, even the first sentence, nothing whispered the promise of how much fun this book would be, how funny and how right this book would be." I wasn't surprised by the sequel. I expected it to be just as wonderful, just as right as the first. And I was NOT disappointed! It was a delight to read this one.
Tristan Benway, the mostly loyal butler, is still in service to the Bellweathers. But he's about to take an unexpected vacation. When he falls--literally--through the triplets latest art experiment. (Spike, Brick, and Sassy being fascinated with negative space.) His leg is broken bad enough to put him in the hospital. Thus begins this butler's latest countdown. (Cast Removal And Vanquishment Event--CRAVE).
Will Spider, Ninda, and the triplets be able to "survive" without their butler? How will Mr. and Mrs. Bellweather deal with his absence? Will he be missed? Can he be replaced? Will Benway ever relax? Will Benway ever admit that he's become addicted to TV?
I enjoyed this one. It was a great book. Very funny, very enjoyable. I would definitely recommend both books. (Though I think you could read this one all on its own.)
I found myself in Orlando at the ALAN convention; I also found co-Egmont USA authors James Lecesne (Virgin Territory) and Tricia Rayburn (Siren). Egmont USA's Katie Halata, who coordinated our days so spectacularly, is snapping this photo. I didn't know what to expect of ALAN; this was my first time there. But what I found were teachers who—mostly on their own dime, taking their own vacation days—had carved out time to learn about new stories and where they come from. There is a powerful commitment to our young out there; I felt the heat and passion of it through the day and over the course of the dinner that Katie hosted—a dinner that included such guests as Matt Skillen, Susan Groenke, Melanie Hundley, Shannon Collins, Steve Bickmore, and incoming ALAN president, Wendy Glenn.
ALAN is a class act. I was proud and happy to be there.
I was standing right here, on the edge of an old cemetery, watching the sun light up the earth, when Laura Geringer's final notes on YOU ARE MY ONLY buzzed in on my phone. I read them through. I looked back up. The sun had rearranged itself, and yet the day was bright.
I began this book three years ago, inspired by the legends of urban explorers and by the haunting stories I had heard about a Philadelphia asylum known as Byberry. I was encouraged to keep writing by the magnificent Lauren Wein, of Black Cat/Grove, and by my sustaining agent, Amy Rennert. I was helped to think harder by memorable conversations with Marjorie Braman of Holt. And after Laura Geringer (Egmont USA) read the book, I reimagined characters into their younger selves and watched to see what might happen.
What happened, in the end, was light.
4 Comments on A book takes a journey; a book is framed by light, last added: 11/14/2010
Sometimes you write the scene and, a few weeks later, you actually see the sky you'd dreamed into words. This then, from You Are My Only, which is due out from Egmont USA next fall.
A storm is coming. The moon is lying low, out of the way, and the sky is a dirty green-gray bowl. Autumn has pushed me around to the window, which is thick as some old encyclopedia, nailed shut. She lies on her bed with her goggles on, humming some strange little tune.
4 Comments on The sky is a dirty green-gray bowl (a sliver of excerpt), last added: 11/1/2010
E-Book of The Dark Divine Priced at $2.99 for a Limited Time
Egmont USA announced today that the e-book of THE DARK DIVINE by Bree Despain will be available for $2.99, from October 25 through November 22—wherever e-books are sold.
THE DARK DIVINE made headlines last month when it was announced that Ralph Winter ("X-Men") and Terry Botwick acquired the movie rights to THE DARK DIVINE, through their 1019 Entertainment banner.
A modern retelling of the Prodigal Son with a paranormal twist, THE DARK DIVINE sold out of its first three print runs and has garnered terrific reviews. Booklist said: “Atmospheric and compelling, Despain’s first novel will be popular, and a sequel eagerly anticipated.”
After you pick up The Dark Divine, get ready for the sequel, THE LOST SAINT, coming December 28, 2010.
ABOUT BREE DESPAIN
Bree Despain rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and two young sons. This is her first novel. You can visit her online at www.breedespain.com.
ABOUT EGMONT USA
Egmont USA (www.egmontusa.com) was established in 2007 with one mission in mind: to bring stories to life. From picture books to young adult novels, Egmont USA publishes works that engage, entertain, and enlighten children of all ages. Egmont USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Egmont UK and part of the Egmont Group, one of Europe’s largest children’s publishers. The company is headquartered in New York City.
0 Comments on The Dark Divine E-Book on Sale! as of 10/26/2010 9:44:00 AM
I have Egmont USA's Greg Ferguson to thank for inspiriting this afternoon with the good news of a very kind School Library Journal review for Dangerous Neighbors, the final words of which I quote here, and Pamela Sedor and Ann Pagano to thank for the Radnor Memorial Library event poster above.
I honestly don't know what I'd do, on some of these darkish, headed toward winter days without this kind of light.
Thank you.
Ultimately, it is through chance meetings with “dangerous neighbors” and caring strangers that Katherine begins to consider the possibilities of her own life going forward. Her forgiveness of Bennett and herself gives birth to a sense of hope and helps this tenderly crafted story end with a positive spin. Kephart has painted a vivid picture of the Exhibition. Readers can practically smell the roasted peanuts and feel the bruise of crowds shoving by as she creates a lively setting against which a quiet, desperate struggle is played out.–Karen Elliott, Grafton High School, WI(School Library Journal)
5 Comments on Dangerous Neighbors: The School Library Review, last added: 10/9/2010
I am very happy, on this day, to be able to announce that I have sold my thirteenth book and my sixth YA novel to Laura Geringer Books/Egmont USA. I've posted fragments from this book on this blog over the past few years. I've written the story—about the irrevocable ways that an unthinkable kidnapping affects the lives of two young women—until it was alive and right, until it became a story pierced through with light. I am entirely grateful to my agent, Amy Rennert; my editor, Laura Geringer; and Egmont USA's own Elizabeth Law for giving me this opportunity. I cannot wait to share this novel with you.
26 Comments on My little bit of news (a new book deal), last added: 9/30/2010
BETH!! That is so fabulous! I just told my girls and they are so excited to read it. We are really enjoying Dangerous Neighbors and know this will be wonderful as well. Cannot wait! They say congratulations!
Thank you, Melissa Walker, for asking me to tell the cover story of Dangerous Neighbors for your Barnes and Noble blog at Unabashedly Bookish.
Thank you, Holly Cupala, for inviting me to share some of the secrets behind Dangerous Neighbors (and to conduct a book giveaway) for your own wonderful blog.
Thank you, Deborah at Books, Movies, and Chinese Food, for your gorgeous review and for so kindly posting your thoughts on Amazon. What a kindness.
Thank you, Anna Lefler, beloved comedienne and faithful Twitterer.
Thank you, Mandy, for more than I can ever tell or say.
Thank you, Karen Mahoney, for this incredible blog nod (and a fantastic list of other blogs you cannot live without).
Thank you, Elizabeth Mosier, for your party-hat wearing (even if it did unsmooth your enviably smooth hair).
Thank you, Jay Kirk, Sy Montgomery, Katrina Kenison, J.C. Castner, Kate Moses, Hipwritermama, Erin McIntosh, Lorie Ann Grover, Melissa Middleman Firman, Jill Santopolo, Rody Gratton, Paul DiLorenzo, Andra Bell, Ivy Goodman, Nate, Nate, Laura, Kelly, Tirsa, Richard, Liz, Jan, Barbara, Jerry, Rosellen Brown, and Alyson Hagy.
Thank you, all of Egmont USA, and thank you, Amy Rennert, for calling, and thank those of you who encourage champagne and a little private reflection on a day that so much corporate work calls, and thank you any that I have inadvertently missed. I don't mean to miss goodness. Ever.
For so many reasons, this book feels like my first, ever.
I have all of you to thank for that.
16 Comments on A cover story, an interview, a giveaway, and unrecordable emotion, last added: 8/25/2010
YAY!!!! Oh, Beth, I am so thrilled for you ... congratulations on your 12th book ... truly amazing and inspiring! I just finished a post about YOU! :-) I loved "The Heart...", and shared some thoughts about it on my blog post today.
Beth, it is so fun to know the joy you had today. I've been meaning to tell you that your teacher's guide is incredible. I wish I were still homeschooling because I would definitely use it. It's simply perfect. You've found another talent.
I have had a glass and a half of wine, and I am myself, my emotions near the surface. No, my emotions are the surface. They are the unhidden, unbidden me.
Lately my father has been leaving things at my house—old publications featuring stories of mine (Risk and Insurance magazine, let's say, where I was the Benefits columnist, a job I could do in the middle of the night so I could be a mom in the daytime). Sometimes I look into my father's packages right away and sometimes I forget, and only today did I find this photo (I took it myself, 21 years ago) of my mother, my father, and my three-month-old son.
Oh, how the passing of time breaks your heart. Relentlessly.
For this same boy, this night, texted me from a Phillies game, where he'd gone with a friend. "It's such a beautiful night," he wrote. "And we have such great seats." Why does something like that make me cry? Why does a phone call, thirty seconds later, from Elizabeth Law make me cry harder? "Dangerous Neighbors launches tomorrow," she says, after we chat about a million other things. "And I want you to know that we at Egmont are proud of this book."
Something like that, or close to that.
Elizabeth Law, calling me.
Dangerous Neighbors, a book I care about more than I'm willing to admit, launching tomorrow.
My son, texting me from a Phillies game, where a soft rain is falling. I am happy. I am whole.
Look. Life is full of a thousand oddities and more regrets. It is the why not me and the why me and the indignity and the shame. It is also a son and a book and a father, redistributing memories. What does it mean to launch a book about a city you love? What does it mean?
It means your heart is full. It means right now is the right right now.
9 Comments on Forgive me, but, last added: 8/25/2010
Hi Beth, I've read your blog off and on for a long time, have often felt moved to write you and am not sure why I'm doing it today and not some other time. But I am...so congratulations on your book and thanks so much for the lovely and generous inspiration. Anne Cassidy www.walkerinthesuburbs.blogspot.com
Beautiful and true. And though my son is still quite young, I sense that he will break my heart in sad and beautiful ways over and over again in the years to come simply because I cannot forget how the two of us started.
Congratulations on the newest addition to your book family! I'm looking forward to reading it! And thanks for your beautiful posting on treasuring the small moments -- and the fabulous moments.
It comes full circle, at one point—the reading and research one does, the teaching one loves, the books one writes. Dangerous Neighbors may be my twelfth book, but it is the first book for which I've ever created a teacher's guide. The behind-the-scenes history of the Centennial can be found in these pages. So can the irreducible Mrs. Gillespie and perhaps my favorite Philadelphian of all, George Childs. But mostly this teacher's guide offers a range of classroom exercises—from team projects to personal essays to broad discussions about community, innovation, media, even classified ads. I hope that this guide opens doors for both teachers and students who recognize that the past—its lessons, its influences, its legacies—is alive in the right now.
Thanks to Egmont USA's Elizabeth Law, Mary Albi, Katie Halata, Nico Medina, Greg Ferguson, and Rob Guzman, who cheered this guide on, and made it better. Thank you to Stacey Swigart for paying close attention. Thank you to the original William for teaching me a dash of In Design. And thanks to Elizabeth Mosier, for saying, Why don't you....
3 Comments on Dangerous Neighbors: The Teacher's Guide, last added: 8/18/2010
How, oh how did you get this guide completed so fast? I wish I could get things done so quickly.
I think that explains why I only have one book published and you have twelve.
Maybe you could tell us some time your secret to being so disciplined.
Also: I loved the team classroom project you wote in the "Vanishing Cities" section of the guide: Imagine your community 135 years from now—the same interval in time between the present day and the Centennial. What will exist? What will vanish?
Very cool.
That Thomas Keels book you mentioned on lost architecture in Philadelphia is fascinating. I cannot believe so many wonderful buildings were allowed to disappear.
It was here, at Pretty Freaky, a provocative site developed by the writer, teacher, and artist (among other things) Elizabeth Collins that I discovered words that stopped me in my virtual tracks. Collins was writing about Dangerous Neighbors, among other summer reads. More to the point, however, she was writing about what gets published today:
The author is a past finalist for the National Book Award but I actually felt irritated, reading the galley of this novel (sent to me for review), that such beautiful prose would probably not see the light of day if not for this author's past awards and a publisher willing to take a risk, as so few seem to be nowadays (which is sad and horrible for all of us, actually).
I am not sure that Kephart's scintillating words will be properly appreciated or speak to a huge audience of contemporary readers, though I sincerely hope they will, and if there is adequate or skilled marketing/PR, it will happen. But 'Dangerous Neighbors' should be read and hand-sold by booksellers, and sold by word of mouth promotion.
I quote Elizabeth at length because I have a point to make—a point to reiterate, I should say, about the fact that Egmont USA—adequate and then some, skilled beyond measure—is the publisher (urged along by editor Laura Geringer) who took the risk and made Dangerous Neighbors happen, who believes that books like this one still have a right to exist in this world. Don't think that I took or take that for granted. Don't think that I ever lean back on past books or good fortune and say to myself, Well, if you had that, you will also have this. Don't think I see myself as having any edge up, because believe me, I do not. We are all fighting out here—our hearts on our pages, our doubts a thick mist, the unknowns obscuring the knowns—and when we find a house like Egmont USA that takes a risk on a book like Dangerous Neighbors, we count ourselves extremely lucky. When we find a blogger like Elizabeth Collins, who stands up other beauty-seeking books, other beauty-making authors, we know that we are in good company.
3 Comments on In Which Pretty Freaky Argues Toward Beauty, last added: 8/13/2010
...but I actually felt irritated, reading the galley of this novel (sent to me for review), that such beautiful prose would probably not see the light of day if not for this author's past awards and a publisher willing to take a risk, as so few seem to be nowadays (which is sad and horrible for all of us, actually).
Once again, how well I know this feeling, this frustration, when I discover a beautiful book and want to scream "why aren't people paying attention?" You know I have always felt that way about your books.
I'm so hoping that people pay attention to you this time and then go back and pay attention to your past books as well. And then the future ones.
The September issue of The Writer talks about how it is indeed the small presses who are the ones now taking a chance on the beautiful.
So hooray Egmont and Laura Geringer and Elizabeth Collins.
Because I am too happy to patiently sit and transcribe the entire, beautiful starred Publishers Weekly review for Dangerous Neighbors, I am going to share with you Greg Ferguson's favorite line, for he (Greg, of that fabulous Egmont USA team) is the one who let me know that this gift exists, and who, indeed, has let me know about each review in its turn. Thank you, Greg.
"Conjuring sharp, meticulously detailed images of fair exhibitions (The wonders of the world slide past. Parisian corsets cavorting on their pedestals. Vases on lacquered shelves. Folding beds. Walls of cutlery. The sweetest assortment of sugar-colored pills, all set to sail on a yacht"), Kephart evokes a tantalizing portrait of love, remorse, and redemption."
PS. Egmont's also fabulous Alison Weiss just provided me with this link to the whole review.
7 Comments on Dangerous Neighbors: The Starred Publishers Weekly Review, last added: 8/12/2010
I could tell the story of this day, but I won't. I will only say that after a journey up the road and back, and up the road again and back, and then onto the train and into the city and back, I came home to two boxes of books. Those books. My books. My twelfth: Dangerous Neighbors.
You tire, perhaps, of me singing the praises of Egmont USA. Let me do it one more time, at least. Dangerous Neighbors is an unusual historical novel, with crossover possibilities and 1876 Philadelphia at its heart. It is a book—perhaps I should start here—that Laura Geringer and Egmont USA chose to believe in. They chose. Subsequently they delivered unto it (the book) and me (its maker) the most gorgeous cover a writer could ever hope for. They secured a copy editor who cared about Philadelphia and history and who asked me spot-on questions in an attempt to get the story right. They sent me on my way not just to the BEA, but to ALA (treating me like part of their family at each venue), and they have now secured for me a wonderful spot on an upcoming ALAN panel. They sent library copies of the book my way; in twelve books, I've never seen a library copy. People are talking about Dangerous Neighbors because of Egmont USA (and Winsome Media's Amy Riley and Nicole Bonia). Not only that, but Egmont's publicists talk to me: They pick up the phone and they talk to me.
A writer cannot know the next next. A writer dreams; some dreams are answered. The journey that Dangerous Neighbors has taken with Laura Geringer and Egmont USA represents a pressing, percolating dream, answered. No matter what happens from here on out, I am a lucky one.
Thank you, Doug Pocock, Elizabeth Law, Greg Ferguson, Mary Albi, Rob Guzman, Alison Weiss, Nico Medina, Katie Halata, Beth Garcia (by way of Goodman Media), Neil Swaab (cover designer), Kathryn Hinds (freelance copy editor) and, of course Laura Geringer, where this book's published life began. I remain in awe of all you have done. One hears so much about what is wrong with publishing. Egmont USA represents the right.
8 Comments on Dangerous Neighbors (the book) Arrives, last added: 7/30/2010
Congratulations, Beth. It's so wonderful to hear an author so happy with her publishing team. The book looks stunning and from what I heard at our mutual reading it is moving, suspenseful, and beautifully written. I can't wait to read it. Best wishes for your time in the world with this book.
Huge huge congratulations! I'm so glad you love the people you work with...that is truly special. :) Wishing you much more success with Dangerous Neighbors!
A dear friend, who loves the river like I do, shared this image with me. It originally appeared in Harper's Weekly, on February 28, 1880. It depicts, like some of my story, skating on the Schuylkill River.
3 Comments on Dangerous Neighbors, a reading, last added: 7/25/2010
My friend, hipwritermama, just informed me, the un-twitterer (but I might get there, I might still) of this photo floating around, hot off the Elizabeth Law press. So. That's Elizabeth Law (queen of all things, but especially of Egmont USA) behind the camera; Laura Geringer, fantastic-fabulous editor to the left of the frame; Virgin Territory author James Lecesne, holding up his number 33 for the YALSA coffee klatch, and me, with my un-matching jewelry, being held up by James (in all ways).
Wherever Elizabeth goes, we interesting people follow.....
2 Comments on In which Elizabeth Law snaps a photo, last added: 6/30/2010
Every time I post this cover image I sigh, happily. This evening I am sighing doubly happily, for I have read what is in fact the first review of Dangerous Neighbors, a five-star VOYA review, and it touches my heart deeply. For now I share these words, which do such an outstanding job of capturing a story that, in my five years of working on it, I struggled to adequately sum up.
Originally I was just going to tell you exactly what the author, Beth Kephart, tells you about Dangerous Neighbors: “It is 1876, the height of the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Katherine has lost her twin sister, Anna, and though it was an accident, Katherine remains convinced that Anna’s death was her fault. One wickedly hot September day, Katherine sets out for the exhibition grounds to cut short the life she is no longer willing to live. This is the story of what happens.” But that would leave out a lot because Dangerous Neighbors is about more than feeling the loss of a sister. It is about sisters, especially twin sisters, and how they are a part of each other. It is about the inevitable maturing and ultimate growing apart of siblings. It is about the world in 1876 and one parent’s fight for equality. It is about having someone to care for and how that spark of caring can change everything.
Thank you so much, reviewer Ed Goldberg.
12 Comments on Dangerous Neighbors: the first review, last added: 4/27/2010
I am now worried to read this as I am sure it will make me feel terrible about my thesis stories, which are all about twin sisters. But at the same time, I'm still looking forward to it because you are a wonderful writer.
I thought I'd write about some authorly stuff because it seems like this part of my life has been very active this month. (This is a picture of Lifted's page in the summer 2010 Simon & Schuster catalog. Looks great, huh?)
About a week and a half ago, I was invited to participate in an editor's retreat at a professor's home in Orem, Utah. What was different about this gathering was you had to be a nationally published children's book author or illustrator to attend. Ruth Katcher from Egmont USA came from NYC to talk about the children's book publishing industry and after mini-presentations by Utah authors Mette Ivie Harrison, Kristyn Crow, and Carol Lynch Williams, Ruth let us know what she thought about the first few pages of our works in progress. It was really exciting to get a sneak peek at the manuscripts such talented authors were working on, and everybody's feedback--whether from an experienced editor or an experienced writer--on the pages I shared was priceless.
Soon after, I heard back from my literary agent on the 3 book proposal ideas I'd sent her earlier in March. She thought my paranormal romance (YA) was most promising and had some great ideas for it. So, as you can imagine, I'm busy reworking the synopsis and writing those first couple of make it or break it chapters.
I've also been busy presenting lately. My sons' elementary school invited me to present an inspirational and humorous talk I call "Imagine the Possibilities!" Shortly after, I was invited to participate in a Salt Lake City charter school's literacy night, which was especially fun because I bumped into a couple of old friends who now have children who go to that school. Then I was supposed to present "The Path to Publication" at a university's writers' conference, but due to some strange conflicts, they canceled. Oh well, now I have a great presentation just waiting to be delivered elsewhere! Next I had another unexpected phone call. Each year, the sixth graders at Valley Elementary put on a Serve to Save dinner, where they raise an average of $6,000 for local, national, and international charities. Their keynote speaker canceled last minute, so they wondered if I could step in. So I did. On Thursday night, I spoke about the importance of service, and I have no idea how it went, but I was honored to have been asked. Then, yesterday I also had a speaking engagement, this time at the League of Utah Writer's spring conference. I did a workshop on pitches and since people were taking notes and participating, I think it went pretty well.
In addition to going to a retreat, working hard on a proposal, and having various speaking engagements, one of the first interviews for my upcoming YA novel, LIFTED, was just posted by Bee (from India) on her wonderful Dreamcatcher's Lair blog. Check it out here.
5 Comments on Authorly Ramblings, last added: 3/29/2010
This is amazing- and you are busier this summer. I cherish our time together, sharng tea and stories- BUT I never want to take away from your time with all your boys and story time with M. You are amazing. ILY, ur anna
Thanks, Tina! This kind of busy is actually fun. Yes, Anna it's only going to get busier and "hanging" with you is a diversion I always look forward to. Bee, it's such an honor to be featured on your lovely blog, so thank you! And I love that line from the catalogue too.
How can I thank all of you who have stopped by this blog these past few days, turning my own private party into an actual, peopled party? Those of you participating in the House of Dance paperback contest. Those of you who share my joy regarding the designation of The Heart is Not a Size on the Indiebound list. Those of you who were there with me, when Dangerous Neighbors entered this house as ARCs. I have often pictured us together in a room, and that is one of the many, many reasons I'm looking forward to the upcoming Book Blogger Convention. At long last, I'll get to meet so many of you. I'll get to say thank you in person.
Books, too, give us a chance to leave a permanent record of our gratitude. I love the look of the interior pages of Dangerous Neighbors because they are just so classy and era appropriate. But I especially love the dedication page, which is illustrated above. I dedicated Dangerous Neighbors to Laura Geringer, the editor who first invited me to write for the young adult audience. Who talked with me for a year before I had the courage to try. Who read my YA books, in succession, not just once or twice or even three times, but until they were as right as I knew how to make them. And who opened the door for me with Dangerous Neighbors by taking it as her first book to Egmont USA.
For Laura Geringer. Because.
Because I would not be writing young adult novels without her. Because I would not be taking my characters as far as I have without her. Because she has so radically changed my writing life.
Because she has, in all those ways, introduced me to all of you.
8 Comments on Dangerous Neighbors: Some Words of Thanks to You and to Laura Geringer, last added: 2/23/2010
Your books don't even need this extra beauty, yet they call for the kind of class this cover and print give. Perfect fit, Beth. Laura appears to be one wise, skilled editor. Glad you found each other.
I just clicked on the first page to enlarge it -- I cannot even start to explain how much I love the first few lines. (And the rest of the page, of course.)
If you emerged at peace, the book must be good!
I cannot wait to read this.
I am so excited to read this one! (As I am by every new Beth Kephart book.)
I'm so glad you felt good about it. You are so generous with your work.
Congratulations! I glad you read it through and I'm sure Sophie and Joey and Emmy and Autumn were happy to "see" you.
thank you, all of you... :) I still have time before I have to worry about what the critics might think.
I'm so happy that you felt at peace with the galleys. What a relief and what a great feeling.
Ahh, I'm so happy you're happy :)