Welcome to the 2009 Winter Blog Blast Tour! (You may ask yourself, "What's a WBBT?" Click here for the answer.) I'm happy to help kick off this year's events with this interview, in which Courtney Sheinmel considers character names, middle school memories, and cheese, as well as more serious matters, such as AIDS awareness and the effect of divorce on children.
I started things off by talking about her newest book, the positively wonderful novel Positively, which I highly recommend.
Your second novel, Positively, is about a young girl who is HIV-positive, having acquired it from her mother during the pregnancy. The story was inspired, in part, by your involvement with The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which we talked about in our previous interview. When writing Positively, you were no doubt drawing on past experiences and people you've known, some of whom have lost their battles... It must have been a difficult story to write.
Oh yes, writing POSITIVELY was extremely difficult. The narrator, Emmy, has to face life as an HIV-positive teen, and as a motherless daughter. I had some very emotional conversations with kids I know, who have experienced both of those things.
But more than that, sometimes I felt like I didn't have a right to tell the story. After all, my mom is alive and well; I can see her and speak to her whenever I want. And I'm HIV-negative, and don't have to take pills several times a day. I wanted to do right by Emmy, and I didn't want to offend anyone who was living with HIV. One night I had dinner with Elizabeth Glaser's son, Jake. He has been HIV-positive since birth, and when he was ten years old, he lost his mom to AIDS. I told him that I was really scared and that I felt like a fraud. He encouraged me to keep going. He said he believed in me, and believed I could tell the right story. I will always be grateful to him for that.
How did you select the name for your lead character, Emerson, better known as Emmy?
Sometimes I name characters after people I know, but in real life, I don't know anyone named Emerson. It was important to me to give her a name that wasn't attached to any of my friends or family members. I love androgynous names for girls, so I was thinking about Dylan or Blake. My agent suggested I give her a more feminine name, and I was quite pleased with myself when I thought of Emerson, because of the nickname "Emmy." I gave her the middle name Louise, so her dad could call her "Emmy Lou."
I wish I had a meaningful, poetic answer to why her name is Emerson – like it was inspired by a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote. The truth is that I just really love the name, and I think it suits her: it is beautiful, complicated, and unique, and to me Emerson is all of those things.
I like the sound of that. Both of your novels to date have modern, blended families: Emmy's parents were divorced, and her dad has remarried and is about to have another child; in My So-Called Family, Leah's mom went to the reproductive clinic in order to have Leah, then later married and had another child. Why do write about complex character relationships and family dynamics?
Relationships with stepparents and stepsiblings are very important to me; and really, they seem like a natural part of life. My parents divorced when I was nine years old, and for years I lived with my mom and my sister in New York, and my dad lived across the country in California. I am extremely close with both of my parents. We now have a sort of blended family. My mom ended up meeting a wonderful man, whom I call my "faux
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Posted on 11/15/2009
Blog: Little Willow - Bildungsroman (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: Day By Day Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Got another two chapters done today. Goal achieved! Tomorrow, chapter 23 and 24.
Also, thanks fo Layne and Jennie who posted story starters for the community story I’ll be starting in the new year. There’s still time to post one. I still haven’t even done one myself. Click here and post in the comments. After the holidays, we’ll vote on the best one and start our community story.
Finally, here’s part 2 of the Day By Day Writer interview with Ellen Booraem, author of The Unnameables. I posted part one yesterday. Thanks again to Ellen for giving us all this great info.
How did you find your agent, Kate Schafer Testerman, and could you tell us about the partnership you have with her and had with your Unnameables editor?
My query letter never did work. Fortunately, I live in a part of Maine that sees a lot of creative people from New York in the summer. After I’d written the new version of Medford and the Goatman, I showed it to Bill Henderson, founding publisher of the Pushcart Press, and his wife, novelist Genie Chipps Henderson. Bill and Genie sent the manuscript to Kate, who at that time was working alongside Bill’s agent at Janklow & Nesbitt.. And, fortunately, she liked it!
I love working with Kate and with Kathy Dawson, who’s my editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. They’re patient with my ignorance and utterly committed to making my books as good as they possibly can be. Neither has ever suggested a change “because that’s what the market wants.”
Since I’m up in the boonies of Maine, Kathy’s in New York, and Kate now has started her own agency in Colorado, both relationships are heavy on email. I’ve met Kathy, but have never been in the same room with Kate—I think I’ve heard her voice on the phone about three times in as many years. And yet we feel we know each other pretty well.
You’re a member of Class 2k8. Please tell us about this group and how you got involved with it.
The Class of 2k8 is a group of 27 debut authors of middle-grade and young-adult fiction. We banded together as a group marketing effort, which has included a group web site and blog, an email publicity push, a brochure mailing to libraries and bookstores, and a few group appearances in various parts of the country. I found out about the concept from YA author Carrie Jones, who lives here in Maine. Her first book, Tips on Having a Gay (Ex) Boyfriend, came out in 2007 and she was in the Class of 2k7, which inaugurated the group marketing idea for newbie kidlit writers. Now the Class of 2k9 is about to start its year, and a Class of 2k10 is forming.
2k8 has been a fantastic experience. We have a Yahoo email loop, which was set up for group planning and notices. But half the time we use it just to crow or commiserate, and to share experiences and expertise. I would have been lost this year without my 2k8 classmates.
What did you do to promote The Unnameables and did you find anything that surprised you in that process? What were the easiest and most difficult parts?
I joined the Class of 2k8 because I knew publishers weren’t able to give books as much promotion as they used to. Frankly, the surprise to me was the amount of promotion I did get from Harcourt. I worked with publicists Sarah Shealy and Barbara Fisch (who, sadly, were victims of the early December “Black Wednesday” layoffs that swept the publishing industry). They were an endless font of wisdom, and got my book “out there” far more than I expected.
My own efforts consist of a web site and a blog. I contacted some bookstores and newspapers in Maine, did some local signings and talks, and joined fellow 2k8ers on a panel discussion in several Barnes & Noble stores in Massachusetts. Also I visited Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota to talk about writing and related stuff. The blog continues to be difficult for me, because I’ve never kept a journal, don’t enjoy writing personal essays, and can’t persuade myself that anyone out there wants to know what my life is like.
I’ve read that you’re now revising your second novel. Could you tell us anything about it?
My editor has the first revision, and is about to send me her comments. I’m sure I have at least one more revision in my future. The working title is The Filioli. It’s about a relentlessly practical 13-year-old whose family inherits an inn that becomes infested by fairies. The fairies are addicted to luxurious illusions and are debating a change of magic that will eliminate such illusions. The family gets swept into the politics.
That sounds so much fun. I look forward to reading it. Is there something you’ve learned that you wish someone had told you when you started writing?
Get to know your characters as well as you possibly can before you get too far into the plot.
Any other tips you’d like to tell aspiring writers?
Develop as many contacts as you can, and use them at every stage of your process. Whether you use a real-life or on-line critique group while writing and revising will depend on your personality. But once you’re shopping and marketing the book you need every contact you’ve got.
Thanks so much for your time. Good luck for the continued success for The Unnameables and your future books. We look forward to reading them.
Write On!
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 12/8/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, Barrie Summy, I So Don't Do Mysteries, Add a tag
Yes, peeps, it's true. We're launching our very last classmate this week.
Please lift your glasses in an enthusiastic clink for Barrie Summy and her humorous tween mystery I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES.
Ya gotta admit this cover's a beaut!
And here's the hot-off-the-press scoop!
A girl. A guy. A ghost. A heist. Yikes!
Sherry (short for Sherlock) Holmes Baldwin wants more mall time, less homework and a certain cute guy. Instead she's recruited by her mother's ghost to prevent a rhino heist at San Diego's Wild Animal Park.
Meet reluctant sleuth Sherry Holmes Baldwin!
And, believe us, you'll totally fall for this hilarious, sassy, resistant, cell-phone-toting heroine as she juggles a tricky mystery, a ghost-mother, a doubting BFF and, of course, Josh Morton, the coolest, cutest guy in the Southwest .
I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES (the first in the series) goes on sale tomorrow, Tuesday, December 9. Head down to your local Barnes & Nobles or your neighborhood indie or order online here.
Ya know what's really got Barrie excited? She's finally caught up with the rest of the class. And the next time we do a group signing, she'll have her very own book to sign too.
Congratulations, Barrie, you're a Real Published Author now!
Enjoy your launch week on our blog!
Come on, people, show her some love.
See you all tomorrow when we unveil the fantastic book trailer for I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES!
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 11/14/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, stacy nyikos, launch week, dragon wishes, Add a tag
2k8: Writing is hard. Publishing is harder. On this last day of Stacy A. Nyikos' launch week, let's find out what she struggled with.
Stacy: The hardest part about writing and publishing DRAGON WISHES was the emotion that went into it. I revealed on Tuesday that the story emerged after a near fatal sledding accident my daughters were in. They healed, but I didn’t. I went through all of the stages of grief – which, on a good day, I thought was just plain wrong. They were still alive. I didn’t want to think about what would have happened if they had died. But think about it I did. It haunted me.
Writing out the emotions was the only way I could work through them. That proved rather difficult since I’d sworn off writing, and I’m not much for journaling. At some point, nearing the edge of my sanity, I forced myself to sit back down and take the overwhelming emotion of loss and turn it on its head. What would it be like for a child to go through this? I’m an adult. I’m supposed to be trained by life itself to deal with loss. But a child? What would a child do?
That idea loosened my silent pen. I would turn my loss and fear around. I’d write a story, one that could be a beacon to kids going through the overwhelming craziness of loss that I’d gone through.
2k8: So, then did the story come quickly or slowly?
Stacy: The ideas for the story came pretty quickly, and the writing part went relatively smoothly. It was the revising that was a battle. My critique group pushed me to do better, like all critique groups do. I am indebted to them. Alone, I don’t think I could have done it because they forced me to take on the most difficult scenes – when Alex has to let somebody love her again or drown in her own feelings of loss – and write them until they ached with my main character’s struggles. It made the story so much stronger, but I was a real bear to live with when I was revising certain scenes. I could have thought of a million places I would have rather have been – childbirth, a lecture on international political economics, watching paint dry – than in those emotions, trying to shape them into something positive.
At times, I wondered if I hadn’t actually jumped off the deep end. Who in their right mind tries to shape the emotions of loss? Aren’t we just supposed to figure out how to survive them?
2k8: Now DRAGON WISHES is a real book sitting on the shelf. The writing and revising are behind you. How do you feel?
Stacy: In the end, the story became one I’m really proud of. My characters emotions are real. They are at times raw. The rawness gives them an unmistakable authenticity that I very much hope helps kids dealing with loss find their own path through the darkness. 
2k8: Stacy, it's been a great launch week. We've all enjoyed getting to know you better. Thank you so much for sharing. We wish you the very very best in your writing career. We know it's going to soar.
To read an excerpt of DRAGON WISHES, click here.
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 11/1/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, debbie reed fischer, stacy nyikos, Marissa Doyle, Nancy Viau, n.a. nelson, kristen tubb, shameless saturday jennifer bradbury, p.j. hoover, Add a tag
It's November on the Class of 2k8's blog. And we're starting the month off with a Shameless Saturday.
So, take a deep breath and jump in. Lots of good news blew in this week.
A couple of 2k8ers have signed new book contracts. Wow!
Jennifer Bradbury, author of Shift, recently sold two more books to Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Wrapped features seventeen year old Agnes Wilkins on the eve of her debut in 1815 London. The young adult adventure/mystery features mummies, espionage, and plenty of Jane Austen references. Wrapped will come out in Summer 2010, and its sequel will be available the following year.
From Publishers Weekly: Marissa Doyle's Waterloo Plot, the third book set in the same world as Bewitching Season, in which a young witch must overcome physical and emotional scars while investigating who is attempting to assassinate members of the British War Cabinet, including her father, in 1814-1815, to Kate Farrell at Holt, by Emily Sylvan Kim at Prospect Agency (NA).
The Sierra Magazine took notice of three 2k8 classmates:
"Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different (Delacorte Books for Young Readers), by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, introduces a headstrong girl who discovers, among other things, an ingenious method of thwarting a stinky flock of geese from eating the family garden. Luka, the 13-year-old hero of Bringing the Boy Home (HarperCollins), by N.A. Nelson,longs to return to the Amazon's Takunami tribe in a journey of self-discovery and courage. Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head (Abrams), by Nancy Viau, is a tale of a fourth-grader with a white-hot temper and a love of rocks and science."
Kudos from Confessions of a Bibliovore for Swimming with Sharks by Debbie Reid Fischer:
Fischer walks a delicate line in Peyton, managing to keep her sympathetic while making it clear that she is in it as much as the rest of the cheer squad. At the same time, she is victim of a far more subtle bullying pattern than Ellika. Her redemption toward the end feels like our own. Pick this book up for a thoughtful and all-too-probable story about how anybody can bully, or be bullied.
And The Book Muncher said this about Stacy Nyikos' Dragon Wishes:
I was very impressed with Nyikos’ debut middle grade novel and hope she plans to write more in the future. Dragon Wishes can be enjoyed by both younger and older readers, particularly fans of books with Chinese culture or novels with dragons.
For those of you participating in NaNoWriMo, (National Novel Writing Month), we wish you the very best of luck. Not to mention incredibly fleet fingers!
Be sure to check back Monday as we begin our week-long launch for P.J. Hoover's The Emerald Tablet.
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/30/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, terri clark, Marissa Doyle, liz gallagher, now and later, Add a tag
New Year's is always a time of reflection and it's coming quick. As we head toward the holidays we're taking a look at what we've accomplished this year and thinking forward to where we'd like to be in ten years.
MARISSA DOYLE
In 2008, my greatest accomplishments were:
1. Seeing Bewitching Season on shelves and not fainting or doing something else embarrassing.
2. Selling a third book to Henry Holt (erm, well, my agent did but you get the idea)
3. Beginning to learn how to speak in public without too much angst and stumbling over my words. It's a work in progress, though.
4. Learning to navigate in NYC and not be intimidated by its sheer size.
5. This isn't an accomplishment...it's more a source of gratitude...but being co-president of the Class of 2k8!
By 2018 I hope to have:
1. Ten more books out (hey, isn't one a year reasonable?)
2. Learned how to write MG as well as YA because MG readers are soooo cool and just learning how to be truly passionate about books
3. Gotten this public speaking thing down well
4. Three kids successfully through college
5. A smaller dress size
LIZ GALLAGHER
In 2008, my greatest accomplishments were:
1. Publishing The Opposite of Invisible!
2. Realizing that I'm not afraid of public speaking.
3. Balancing a day job and the writing life.
4. Starting my training in kung fu (yes, I spar!).
5. Watching friends publish awesome books!
By 2018 I hope to have:
1. Co-authored a YA novel.
2. Published a few more solo YA books.
3. Stopped needing a day job!
4. Become a blue belt or higher in kung fu!
5. Watched friends publish BUNDLES more books!
TERRI CLARK
In 2008, my greatest accomplishments were:
1. Publishing SLEEPLESS and BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO
2. Booking author events and speaking engagements.
3. Making a strong online presence for myself.
4. Strengthening the teen programming and attendance I do at my day job.
5. Keeping my kids from killing each other.
By 2018 I hope to:
1. have built a strong, enduring, successful career as an author
2. be more financially stable.
3. stop needing a day job!
4. see my kids happy, healthy and well-adjusted in their lives (they’ll be out of the house then!)
5. have been to Hawaii and taken other great trips with my husband.
Have you met your New Year's Resolutions yet?
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/29/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, stacy nyikos, Regina Scott, laurel snyder, now and later, Add a tag
You've really got to work Now and Later candies hard before you can enjoy the sweet reward. They're a perfect metaphor for our class, which has worked really hard this year and reaped in lots of sweet rewards. Just imagine the things we'll accomplish over the next decade!
REGINA LUNDGREN
In 2008, my greatest writing-related accomplishments were:
1. Made my dream research trip to England
2. Saw my first YA novel La Petite Four published
3. Submitted proposals on request to an adult romance line and a new YA line
4. Met many of my 2k8 sisters in person
5. Actually learned how to blog, do MySpace, and generally have an online presence
By 2018, across my life goals, I hope to have:
1. Landed long-term contracts with two publishers, both of whom love and respect my work and my writing voice
2. Seen both my sons graduate from high school and go on to education and work in fields they love
3. Published many books in both adult and YA, earning a devoted readership that clamors for my unique characters, exciting plots, and dash of humor
4. Not let writing take over my life, so that I enjoyed time with my husband, family, and friends
5. Continued to grow closer to Jesus my Savior.
LAUREL SNYDER
2008 accomplishments:
1. Published Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains
2. Published Inside the Slidy Diner
3. Actually made more money from my writing than I spent in babysitting!
4. Potty trained successfully! (my son, not me. I've been potty trained for at least a year or two))
5. Wrote my next novel, Any Which Wall!
Hopeful 2018 accomplishments:
1. Manged to avoid a desk job (and/or dress clothes) for a full decade
2. Took an actual vacation to someplace where I don't have family.
3. Healthy! Healthy! Everyone healthy!
4. Actually working out and eating well for the first time ever!5. Spent a month at a writing colony.
STACY NYIKOS
2008 accomplishments:
1. First middle grade novel launches
2. Finished my first ya novel
3. Slept
4. Remembered to eat...occasionally
5. Hung with the Classof2k8!!!!!!!!!
Hopeful 2018 accomplishments:
1. I'm still alive
2. I've been to Asia
3. I've written a few more and better books
4. My husband and I survive our children's teenage years
5. My children - who will then be in college - think I'm not half bad
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/28/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: lisa schroeder, Nancy Viau, Ellen Booraem, now and later, class of 2k8, Add a tag
Today is day two of our now and later series when classmates share what their greatest accomplishments were from 2008 and what they hope to achieve by 2018.
LISA SCHROEDER1. Writing and finishing a mid-grade novel that is fun and marketable. I've always wanted to sell a MG - my agent thinks we're getting close!
2. Selling my second YA novel, FAR FROM YOU, to Simon Pulse. It comes out in just a couple of months.
3. Presenting at the Oregon conference in May, and at three different conferences this fall with members of the class of 2k8/2k9! So much fun!!
4. Watching I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME go into its fifth printing in eight months time.
5. Being a part of the amazing and successful class of 2k8!
1. more time to write as well as do fun things like travel
2. more money to do fun things like travel
3. more books on the shelf with my name on it
4. sold lots of those books with my name on it
5. a 10-year reunion somewhere fun with the class of 2k8
NANCY VIAU2. at least one picture book under contract
3. several chapters of a memoir completed4. gone to the high school or college graduation of each one of my kids, and I hope I'm thoroughly enjoying being an empty-nester
5. enough long term memory loss to forget how long (and hard) it was to get where I am today; enough long term memory to remember how fun it was
ELLEN BOOREAM3. 2k8!
By 2018 I hope to have:
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/27/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: nina nelson, Barrie Summy, ten year reunion, class of 2k8, Add a tag
It's nearly November and we're quickly realizing just how soon our debut year will be done. No doubt it's been an exciting time for us. We'd like to take this opportunity to review our greatest accomplishments for 2008 and outline our goals for 2018, when we hope to have one heckuva ten year reunion!
BARRIE SUMMY
In 2008, my goals were (some of these are from my list of New Year's Resolutions):
1. floss daily
2. finish Book #2
3. exercise 3x a week
4. watch more TV
5. buy cute clothes
6. survive the launch of I So Don't Do Mysteries
What I accomplished from this list:
1. I've been incredibly good about daily flossing, especially now that I've found a brand of floss that I actually like. Visit to the dentist planned for November where I will no doubt be awarded stickers for a cavity-free appointment. Which I so deserve.
2. Book #2, currently titled I So Don't Do Spooky, is done and revised and revised and copyedited. Amazingly, I still like it.
3. I'm pretty good with the exercising, although I did take off a month this summer to go to Toronto and eat some of my favorite foods like ketchup potato chips, butter tarts, Nanaimo bars, Swiss Chalet chicken.
4. I'm watching a little more TV now that I've figured out how to download (is it upload?) shows to my ipod. I watch the shows while treadmilling it at the gym. Currently, I watch The Office and sometimes Grey's Anatomy. Please feel free to give suggestions!!
5. I have failed miserably at this. Except when my friend, L, came with me to buy an outfit for my author's photo.
6. Ask me Dec. 21 (the day after my launch)
By 2018 I hope to:
1. still have my own teeth
2. have written 10 or 20 books
3. still be exercising. I'd like to try a personal trainer (if I find a really nice one who doesn't push too hard).
4. watch a reasonable amount of TV so I know what everyone's talking about
5. enjoy book signings6. have a fashion sense or have convinced L to shop with me on a regular basis
NINA NELSON
In 2008, my greatest accomplishments were:
1. Having fun launch parties in CT and MO
2. Speaking at schools, libraries, and bookstores
3. Being able to maintain balance in my life
4. Completing the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk
5. Having fun working on my second novel
By 2018 I hope to have:
1. Lived in Europe
2. Finished a triathlon
3. Continued to have written books I'm proud of
4. Continued to have balance in my life
5. Climbed another big mountain
What's your now and later?
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/26/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: terri clark, pj hoover, Courtney Sheinmel, liz gallagher, Nancy Viau, class of 2k8, Add a tag
We've got lots to celebrate here at 2k8 with contests and rave reviews. Please give us a woot!
SLEEPLESS author, Terri Clark, is giving away an authentic Navajo dream catcher on her blog. For your chance at sweet dreams and for a sneak peek of her paranormal thriller, click here.
Also, Terri is pleased to announce that her essay in FLIRTING WITH THE MONSTER, an anthology about Ellen Hopkins and her work, will be published by BenBella books in May of '09.
PJ Hoover celebrated the launch of her middle grade science-fiction novel THE EMERALD TABLET! THE EMERALD TABLET received a great review from Brianna over at Balanced Steps. Brianna compares THE EMERALD TABLET to Harry Potter and says this: "Anyone who enjoyed discovering the world of magic with Harry Potter will enjoy diving into a different magical world with Benjamin Holt and his friends...for you Potter fans, the experience is TOTALLY different from Harry's." Thanks, Brianna!
Tasha at And Another Book Read gave THE EMERALD TABLET a fantastic review! She had this to say: "I loved every minute that I was reading it, and I feel like I want to reread the book over and over again. ... While reading the book I kept thinking that in a way it was almost like a myth that was being told and how cool it would be if it was actually true... Fans of Rick Riordanʼs PERCY JACKSON series will particularly enjoy this book."
Thanks, Tasha!
And Book Chic also gave THE EMERALD TABLET an awesome review including this tasty morsel: "This is a wonderful beginning to a fantasy middle-grade trilogy. Hoover's writing is extremely compelling and makes the book hard to put down." Thanks, Book Chic!
And speaking of Book Chic, this has been one busy reviewer. He's also written a great review for THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE by Liz Gallagher and plans to feature Courtney Sheinmel as November's Fresh New Voice in YA and Barrie Summy as December's Fresh New Voice in YA!
Cynthea Liu posted a fun interview with Nancy Viau, author of SAMANTHA HANSEN HAS ROCKS IN HER HEAD.
Publisher's Weekly gave Courtney Sheinmel's MY SO-CALLED FAMILY a starred review and called it "smart, original and full of vitality."
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/24/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, Courtney Sheinmel, My So Called Family, Add a tag
You absolutely CAN and SHOULD have your cake and eat it too!
On October 21, 2007 – exactly a year before My So-Called Family was set to be published, my mother invited me and a couple friends of my over for dinner. After we finished our burgers, my mom brought out a cake that said “Happy Book” across the top in bright red letters. As my fellow Class of 2k8 member, Sarah Prineas, observed, the book was -1 years old. It seemed like an important milestone to me; and really, who am I to turn down an excuse for chocolate cake?
My second book, Positively, comes out on September 8, 2009, and on September 8th of this year (the -1st birthday of Positively), I was in Lancaster, PA visiting family. Not to be outdone by my mother, my stepsister bought a cake that said “Positively Successful” in bright orange icing. She even stuck candles in it, and took pictures as her kids and I leaned forward to blow them out. The cake was delicious, and the kids were extremely generous, letting me eat most of the flowers ma
de out of orange icing.
My book party for the official release of My So-Called Family is coming up fast – actually, by the time this blog is posted, it will already have happened. I have been planning this for so long, celebrating negative book birthdays, and not quite believing that this thing I wrote is going to be a real-live book. Almost all of the people closest to me are coming to my party – my family, my friends, my favorite teacher from college, the kids I used to babysit (and their parents too), my dentist, and even a couple members of the Class of 2k8 who live in the New York area. It’s going to be at the art gallery of a family friend; there won’t be cake, because I’m afraid of getting icing on the paintings. But there will be wine and cheese and tons of pictures.
We wish we could all be there! Thank you for spending the week with us, Courtney. Best of luck to you and MY SO-CALLED FAMILY. We look forward to reading your upcoming titles, POSITIVELY and SINCERELY, SOPHIE/SINCERELY! And now, we'd like to unveil the trailer for MY SO-CALLED FAMILY.
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/23/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: My So Called Family, class of 2k8, Courtney Sheinmel, Add a tag
Courtney feels blessed to have a lot of support, but her BFFs have been her greatest strength.
The acknowledgments section at the front of my book is pretty long – two pages packed full of people who supported me all through the years, and not just when I was writing. But there are four people in particular who mattered a lot during the writing of My So-Called Family: my friends Lindsay, Amy, Jackie and Llen.
Lindsay, Amy and I met during law school; Jackie and I met when we were studying for the bar; and I have known Llen for so long that I barely remember life without her. (Actually, Llen and I overcame incredible odds to become friends; I didn’t invite her to my Halloween party in the fourth grade, but she showed up anyway. The rest is history.)
I had been tossing the idea for My So-Called Family around in my head – I didn’t really know anything about it, other than who the narrator would be. I decided her name would be Leah, and I sat down and wrote a first chapter. Then, not really knowing what to do with it, I forwarded it to four of my friends. I told them they didn’t really have to read it, but in case they were bored and looking for something to do, there it was.
Within a couple of hours, I had heard back from all of them – Lindsay, Amy, Jackie and Llen said they loved it and wanted to see more. To this day, I’m not sure I would have really continued with the story if I didn’t have them rooting me on. They read the whole book, chapter by chapter, as I wrote it. If I took too long between chapters, I would get emails asking for more, pushing me forward.
My So-Called Family is dedicated to my parents – and I think they deserve the honor. But I gratefully acknowledge my wonderful friends for their love, support, and incredible cheer.
Tomorrow is our last day with Courtney, but before she goes buh-bye she shares some celebratory milestones and screens her book trailer.
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/22/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: carly simon, class of 2k8, Courtney Sheinmel, MG, My So Called Family, Add a tag
Yay! We've got another exciting sale story for everyone. Give a listen to Courtney's "call."
My palms have been sweating all day today, literally. I listened to Carly Simon music on my commute to work this morning, hoping that she would send luck my way and somewhere some cosmic force would make the connection between my adoration of Carly Simon and my hopefulness about publication by Simon & Schuster -- her father's company.
I'm so impatient. It is one o'clock now. I'm impressed for making it to the other side of morning. How many more hours could it be? What if I don't find out today at all? What if it is bad news? What if I never get published?
It seems so silly to reread it now. I mean, I still love Carly Simon – but I can’t believe I actually thought listening to her music would determine whether I was published . . . or maybe it did. A few hours after I sent myself that email, I received THE CALL from my agent – the second big call. I was sitting in my office right off of Wall Street in New York City, where I should have been reading legal briefs, or something like that. But instead I was listening to my agent, saying Simon & Schuster was in fact offering representation.
The next month, November of 2005, my sister and I went to Carly Simon’s concert at Lincoln Center. It was absolutely incredible – the perfect way to celebrate everything that had happened.
Now that's a story! And we know you're going to listen to Carly now. ;) Tomorrow Courtney talks about her dedication of MY SO-CALLED FAMILY.
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/15/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: the call, class of 2k8, kristin o'donnell tubb, Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different, Add a tag
The scene: Early February, 2007. My editor, Wendy Loggia, calls my cell phone. I am nine months pregnant. I am AT THE OB/GYN.
Wendy: "Hello, Kristin? It's Wendy Loggia from Random House."
Me: "Oh my gosh! It's so good to hear from you! I'm at my gynocologist's office right now."
Wendy: silence
Me: "Oh, um - I should say, I'm not in the office right now - I mean, I am, but I'm checking out. I'm done." Shut up Kristin. "I mean - I'm scheduling my induction for my new baby. I was newly pregnant when we met, remember?" Shut UP, Kristin. "Everything's great! Healthy baby! I'm scheduling his arrival right now. That's why I'm at...my...OB's office..."
Wendy: laughing "I think this is a first for me."
Me: unbelievably mortified "Uh, me too?"
Wendy: "So I wanted to talk to you more about this wonderful story you sent me..."
And that was that! There, in my OB/GYN's office, I was offered my first book deal. Two weeks later, my son was born. It was one heckuva month.
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/9/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, Ellen Booraem, the unnameables, Add a tag
The acknowledgements page in The Unnameables lists at least 25 people, mostly because I distributed the first draft far and wide to get critiques before I even thought about approaching an agent.
But the list also includes an entire town, which is another 900 people or so. Maybe this is a record for Most Populated Acknowledgments. I’ll have to check.
The town is Brooklin, Maine, where I’ve lived for 24 years as of October 11. Rob and I moved there from Providence, Rhode Island, looking for a place where we could afford to work part-time while he painted and I wrote. He’s the one who actually ended up doing what we intended. I got fascinated by the local weekly newspapers and ended up working more than full time as a reporter and editor—until the day came when I dropped everything to write this novel.
The Friend Memorial Library, heartbeat of Brooklin. It was revolutionized decades ago by New Yorker editor Katherine Sargent White (wife of E.B. White) and has remained true to her standards ever since.It’s gorgeous in coastal Maine, but that’s not the reason we’re still in Brooklin. In part, it’s the sense of being looked-out-for. No smoke coming from your chimney on a frigid day will win you a knock on the door to make sure you’re OK. (And, when you say you’re fine, the person goes away and leaves you to get on with it, unless you invite him in for coffee.)
When a bunch of teenagers committed vandalism a decade or so ago, the result was not the threat of joovie but a new town-sponsored summer program called The Brooklin Youth Corps. Voters fund it every year without a peep, even though the town already pays through the nose for its tiny elementary school. And for each of the 60 kids in that school, there’s at least one townsperson volunteering there.
We have our disagreements and moments of grumpiness, of course. The fight we had about town governance two or three years ago got regional, if not national, press coverage. But then it all settles down.
When I told people I’d quit a perfectly good job to write a children’s novel, with no evidence that any publisher would ever want it, nobody said, “Are you nuts?” Instead, they said, “Huh. Great idea. Can’t wait to read it.”
Who could leave a town like this?
Who, indeed! Come back tomorrow for Ellen's interview with her characters.
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/7/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, Ellen Booraem, the unnameables, Add a tag
We're back today to better get to know Ellen. Please pull up a chair and join us for a little chat.
2k8: Welcome, Ellen. Please tell us where you do most of your writing? 
Ellen: I have a room of my own! It’s tiny, and when we first built our house it doubled as a guest room. But that was OK because my main office was at whatever newspaper employed me at the time. Then we built an addition for my elderly mother, and after she was gone the addition became the guest room. So when I quit my job and started writing The Unnameables I took over the whole office for myself, along with hundreds of books.
Unlike most of the house, this room isn’t actually finished—it has no window trim or molding, and the floor is painted plywood. It’s always a mess, partly because I try to cram so much stuff into so little space. But it has a door that closes, and that’s the important thing.
2k8: That is important. Can you please tell us how the book came about? What got you started writing it?
Ellen: In 1984, I sat down to write a picture book for my partner, Rob, to illustrate. The two main characters were Rob’s alter-ego, Medford Runyuin, and his sidekick, the Goatman, both of whom Rob had been putting in recreational paintings since art school.
office mates
The story got away from me, and before I knew it I was writing a novel for older kids. I wrote a terrible first draft, then stuck it in a drawer and plunged into community journalism in the coastal Maine county to which we’d just moved. I thought I’d forgotten all about it, but some part of my brain kept working on it.
Fifteen years later, I started writing it again from scratch. Medford, who had been an adult, turned into a young teenager. The Goatman acquired hooves (he’d worn sandals in the first version) and the power to summon the wind, although not to control it. The setting changed from an isolated town to an isolated island.
There isn’t an illustration to be found, other than a couple of maps done by a stranger. Secretly, Rob is very relieved.
2k8: Wow! What an evolution. How did it find a publisher? Give us the scoop.
Ellen: The area where I live is rife with creative types, especially in the summer. Our town’s literary heritage includes Charlotte’s Web by longtime resident E.B.White. (Charlotte’s settings are based on our county fair and White’s own farm.)
The summer after I finished the new version of my book, I showed it to Bill Henderson, the founding editor and publisher of the Pushcart Prize and Pushcart Press. He lives in a neighboring town during the summer, and runs what he claims is the world’s smallest bookstore.
Bill and his wife, writer Genie Chipps Henderson, liked the book and sent it to Kate Schafer, then a colleague of Bill’s agent at Janklow & Nesbit. She took it on and submitted it to six publishers, all of whom rejected it. They gave me really good critiques, though, so I revised the manuscript before Kate showed it to Kathy Dawson at Harcourt Children’s Books (now part of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Kathy bought it about a year after Kate and I had started working together.
Kate now has moved to Colorado and started her own agency, k.t. literary. I stayed with her, of course, because she’s amazing. Matching the book up with Kathy Dawson was a stroke of genius— Kathy immediately understood the characters and the point of the book, but also diagnosed its problems in a way no one else had done before. And now we’re working together on my next book, temporarily called The Filioli.
2k8: That's an incredible story. So, did anything surprise you or catch you off guard when you were writing The Unnameables?
I had tried twice before to quit my job and write fiction, and both times I lost interest after two or three months and sought gainful employment. Part of the problem was that I stopped having fun and didn’t have the wherewithal to force my way through the shady bits and back into the light on the other side.
This time, I was determined to stick with it. But when I hit my first “writer’s block” about a month in, I thought, “Uh-oh. Here we go.” I considered various folk charms and shamanistic rites. But then, to my great joy, I discovered that I could write my way out of the problem by choosing a character and brainstorming a journal entry or two in that character’s voice. Sometimes what I wrote never made it into the book, but the process always got the juices flowing again.
So far, the method is foolproof. (Knock on wood.)
2k8: That's a great technique. Thanks for sharing it. Now imagine you have an offer from your dream press to publish your dream book, no matter how insane or unmarketable it might be (though of course it might not be). What story would you want to write and why?
Ellen: This is that book, and Harcourt is that publisher. On its surface, The Unnameables is not a supremely marketable book. It doesn’t really fit a genre, and there isn’t a swash or a buckle to be found anywhere, nor a magic wand. I still can’t believe anyone was willing to take it on. And it’s ten times the book it was when Kathy Dawson got her hands on it.
2k8: Incredible! Won't you please tell us what question most people won't know to ask you? And what's your answer?
Ellen: Probably no one would ever think to ask me if I am fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
The answer is no, I’m not.
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/6/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: fantasy, class of 2k8, MG, debut author, kirkus reviews, Ellen Booraem, the unnameables, Add a tag
This month we're thrilled to have three debut authors. Our first celebration is for Ellen Booraem and her MG fantasy, The Unnameables.
“The Unnameables” is a whimsical fantasy set on an island where everyone is named for what he or she does. The hero is a 13-year-old foundling boy named Medford Runyuin, whose meaningless name underscores his status as an outsider in a rigid, orderly society. Medford has a dangerous secret that just keeps getting worse as he gets older. A smelly, chaotic goatman shows up to expose the secret, kicking off a chain of events that changes Medford’s life—and his island—forever.
Ellen quit a job she loved—arts and special sections editor for the county newspaper—to take her third stab at writing a novel. This time, it worked! Before taking the plunge, she had been writing and editing for rural weeklies for nearly twenty years. Before that, she wrote and edited employee newsletters for corporations and college publications.
Ellen and her partner, artist Rob Shillady, moved to coastal Maine from southern New England in 1984. In the early 90s, they bought land in their tiny town (population: 800) and built a house with their own hands (mostly Rob’s, since one of his day jobs had been carpentry). They live there now with a dog named Calamity Jane and a cat named McGonagall, after the Harry Potter professor who can turn herself into a cat.
Ellen is a founding director of the Brooklin Youth Corps, a summertime work and self-esteem program for teens. She is a mentor and writing coach at the local school, and freelances for the newspaper where she used to work.
Here’s what Kirkus Reviews had to say about The Unnameables:
(Starred Review) On Island, “thou art thy name.” At age 14, residents receive their names and their vocations from the Council. A cook becomes Cook, a tanner becomes Tanner and everyone follows the rules set forth in Capability C. Craft’s Frugall Compendium of Home Arts and Farme Chores (1680). Thirteen-year-old foundling Medford Runyuin hopes to be designated Carver, like his foster father. He also hopes no one will discover the Unnameable objects he’s created and hidden under his bed: They could cause his exile to Mainland forever. The Council puts off naming him, however, and he must continue to work hard for acceptance. When someone nameless and possibly Unnameable enters his life, all his plans—and the islanders’ way of life—could be in for drastic changes…but after 300 years, is that necessarily a bad thing? Booraem’s debut is an ever-surprising, genre-defying page-turner. Realistic characters deal with philosophical problems in vivid, flowing prose that is evocative and often funny. A sort of combination of witch-trial-era Salem and The Giver, this book offers a treat with nearly every page turn.
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/6/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: maine, class of 2k8, Ellen Booraem, the unnameables, brookli, Add a tag
Every author has an acknowledgement page where they give thanks to people who've helped them along their journey to publication, but few give kudos to an entire town....
The acknowledgements page in The Unnameables lists at least 25 people, mostly because I distributed the first draft far and wide to get critiques before I even thought about approaching an agent.
But the list also includes an entire town, which is another 900 people or so. Maybe this is a record for Most Populated Acknowledgments. I’ll have to check.
The town is Brooklin, Maine, where I’ve lived for 24 years as of October 11. Rob and I moved there from Providence, Rhode Island, looking for a place where we could afford to work part-time while he painted and I wrote. He’s the one who actually ended up doing what we intended. I got fascinated by the local weekly newspapers and ended up working more than full time as a reporter and editor—until the day came when I dropped everything to write this novel.
It’s gorgeous in coastal Maine, but that’s not the reason we’re still in Brooklin. In part, it’s the sense of being looked-out-for. No smoke coming from your chimney on a frigid day will win you a knock on the door to make sure you’re OK. (And, when you say you’re fine, the person goes away and leaves you to get on with it, unless you invite him in for coffee.)
When a bunch of teenagers committed vandalism a decade or so ago, the result was not the threat of joovie but a new town-sponsored summer program called The Brooklin Youth Corps. Voters fund it every year without a peep, even though the town already pays through the nose for its tiny elementary school. And for each of the 60 kids in that school, there’s at least one townsperson volunteering there.
Brooklin residents line up for a ballot vote at the annual town meeting, held in the school gym the first weekend in April.
This fall, the selectmen and other community groups have formed a fundraising task force to buy heat for those who need it this winter. An appeal letter’s gone out, and last Friday hundreds upon hundreds turned out for a fundraising supper.
We have our disagreements and moments of grumpiness, of course. The fight we had about town governance two or three years ago got regional, if not national, press coverage. But then it all settles down.
When I told people I’d quit a perfectly good job to write a children’s novel, with no evidence that any publisher would ever want it, nobody said, “Are you nuts?” Instead, they said, “Huh. Great idea. Can’t wait to read it.”
Who could leave a town like this?
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/2/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: free books, contests, librarians, class of 2k8, Add a tag
We interrupt our Banned Book Week blog posts for this special announcement:
School librarians rock, and we know it! Help us spread the word about the Class of 2k8's new fall contest, just for some of our favorite people on Earth. It's easy to enter and fun!
School librarians can enter by sending us an anecdote about books, reading, or life in the school library, or a snappy quote about books and writing. We'll be posting our favorites on our Class blog during November, but winners will be chosen randomly from among all entries. In addition, if you pass this on to other school librarians and they mention the referral, you and your school will be entered in the drawing twice--double the chance to win!
First Prize: Your choice of a full set of Class of 2k8 books OR a free author visit from a Class of 2k8 author in your region (if available)!
Two Second Prizes: A $50 gift certificate from Indie Bound (formerly BookSense) plus three books from the Class of 2k8 to add to your school library.
Three Third Prizes: Three books from the Class of 2k8 to add to your school library.
Anecdotes and quotes must be e-mailed to us at [email protected]. Pleas bee sure to include your name and contact information at your school with your entry. Entries will be accepted from October 1- November 10, and the winners will be announced November 24.
We're looking forward to hearing from you!
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 10/1/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, zu vincent, banned books week, kristen tubb, Add a tag
That's one of the theme's of this year's Banned Book Week, a week when we celebrate our freedom to choose what we read.
When books are banned choice is taken away and what may offend someone may move another. Just ask Zu Vincent and Kristen Tubb.
Zu: "When The Catcher in the Rye was assigned to us in high school, I was already a voracious reader so far past the mere size of Salinger’s book that its slimness looked subversive. Not to mention the vaguely controversial English teacher who introduced it.
I thought I’d fall for Holden Caulfield, and I was surprised when I didn’t.
In fact, as a kid used to holding down jobs I found Caulfield annoying the way he slouched around whining about existence while others took care of him.
Who I fell in love with was J.D. Salinger. Here was a writer willing to tell the truth. He didn’t care if he pleased you or not. He just opened up his gut and sang.
The Catcher in the Rye taught me that truth is not so far off you can’t get it on the page. Like Caulfield himself tells us,
“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.”
Kristen: "I had a blessed childhood. The only death I knew belonged to far-away grandparents. Even my cat 'ran away.' Yes, I was sheltered. But no less curious about death. When I stumbled across Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, it was my first 'real' experience with death. Those characters – Jess and Leslie – were so real to me, I mourned Leslie’s death like I would the death of a dear friend. This book showed me not only how powerful books could be, but also how powerful my own emotions could be. To that point, I’d never felt anything as sorrowful as the loss of Leslie.
When I read that this book is often challenged by parents who believe that death is not a suitable topic for a children’s book, I am amazed at how parents could deny their children those same feelings. Because while I was profoundly sad at losing Leslie, I learned from Jess that love continues even after death. I learned that honoring those we’ve lost with happy memories helps us heal. I learned there is hope – if Jess could recover, so could I.
To this day, no other book has affected me as profoundly as Bridge to Terabithia."
The ten most challenged books of 2007 were:
1. “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
2. “The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence
3. “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language
4. “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman
Reasons: Religious Viewpoint
5. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
Reasons: Racism
6. “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,
7. “TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
8. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou
Reasons: Sexually Explicit
9. “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris
Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit
10. “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
Have you read a banned book today?
Blog: Confessions of a Desperate Young Adult Author: Terri Clark (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: meg cabot, class of 2k8, terri clark, brooke taylor, undone, mediator, sleepless, breaking up is hard to do, compulsive reader, andanotherbookread, Add a tag
Not only did Tirzah at the Compulsive Reader put SLEEPLESS in the same sentence as Meg Cabot's MEDIATOR series (OMG!), she made me blush with pleasure when she said, "Clark handles her plot like a pro, and her fun and modern voice, along with many well placed pop culture references, entice and encourage readers into the story. The characters are those that readers can't get enough of—amusing, intelligent, savvy, but yet a bit fallible as well." Please check her blog out here.
Now for my rave...I finished reading Brooke Taylor's UNDONE and it's incredible. I seriously could not get enough of Serena and Kori's story. I loved Brooke's characterizations, the visceral way she wrote about pain and loss, her theme of secrets, the philosophical Doc, who'd I'd love to spend hours talking with and the raw beauty of edgy, imperfect people who want nothing more than to be accepted and loved for who they are, despite what they have or haven't done. You've gotta get this book! To further hook your interest I'm posting her book trailer:
Blog: Confessions of a Desperate Young Adult Author: Terri Clark (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, book trailer, terri clark, sleepless, breaking up is hard to do, Add a tag
Today is my last day as the launch author over at the class of 2k8. If you haven't had a chance to stop by, please do. In addition to an interview with me, I've discussed dream interpretation, listed my Top Ten Teen Books and today I interviewed my heroine, Trinity Michaels, and unveiled my killer trailer for Sleepless. Check it out!
NOTE: There is a small error in the video that will be corrected. It's far better for Rafe to exact his revenge rather than extract it. ;)
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 8/22/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: class of 2k8, terri clark, sleepless, breaking up is hard to do, Add a tag
We hope you've enjoyed meeting Terri Clark and learning more about her YA thriller, SLEEPLESS. Remember, the official release date is September 2, so if you don't see it on store shelves yet you will soon. Closing out her week, Terri interviews press shy teen Trinity Michaels.
Terri: Hi Trinity. I understand you don’t like to give interviews so I appreciate your willingness to speak with me.
Trinity: Yeah, well, ever since that newsreporter outed me as a psychic I’ve been hounded by every Tom, Dick and Nutcase. I hate the freakin’ nazi-razzi.
Terri: Yes, well, I’m certainly not a paparazzo, but I would like to ask you a little bit about your ability. You’ve been dubbed--
Trinity: Dream girl. How lame is that? If they’re going to give me a super hero moniker couldn’t they come up with something cooler?
Terri: Like what?
Trinity: Nevermind. I’m no super hero anyway. All this dream drama is too much.
Terri: Drama? That seems a bit of an understatement. Isn’t the killer, Rafe Stevens, after you?
Trinity: When I wake and when I sleep. Too bad I can’t purge this stupid “power.”
Terri: Why would you want to do that? Do you know how many people would love to peek into another person’s mind? 
Trinity: A crapload, I’m sure. But they’d change their mind pretty dang quick if they saw the same twisted things I see. I don’t have normal dreams. People come to me in my sleep and confess their deepest, darkest secrets. I see the worst of humanity and I don’t want to take on the responsibility of other people’s problems.
Terri: Like your childhood friend, Timmy—
Trinity: How the heck do you know about him? Interview done!
Terri: Wait, wait, wait. I’m sorry. Touchy topic. Let me ask you one more thing.
Trinity: (silence)
Terri: You know that old wives tale? The one that says if you die in your dreams, you’ll die for real? Do you believe that?
Trinity: I didn’t use to, but why else would I be SLEEPLESS?
We're betting you might be interested in losing some sleep yourself now. To further entice you we're thrilled to debut Terri's book trailer of SLEEPLESS.
By: The Class of 2k8,
on 8/21/2008
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: gail giles, scott westerfeld, lynda sandoval, sleepless, laura weiss, gabrielle zevin, kelley armstrong, neal schusterman, meg cabot, john green, class of 2k8, terri clark, Add a tag
Ask a teen librarian to name her top ten teen books and there's apt to be a long pause while she flips through her mental reading record, but eventually Terri gave us an answer. In no particular order, Terri's Top Ten....
1. Laura Wiess's SUCH A PRETTY GIRL left me breathless and shaken. With her dad in jail Meredith finally feels safe, then he gets out early and he wants to get "close" to her like he was before. You'll never forget this book. 
3. Not only is John Green's LOOKING FOR ALASKA one of the best coming of age novels EVER, it's partly responsible for getting me my job as a teen librarian. 
4. This is, without question, my favorite book to booktalk. I always get a great reaction from kids. I'll just give you the short and sweet: Teens between the ages of 13-17 can be retroactively aborted. Dubbed unwinds, they supposedly "live on" by having every last part of their body medically donated. Some of them aren't willing to accept that fate and go on the run, this is their story. UNWIND by Neal Schusterman is a must read for EVERYONE.
5. Gail Giles is one of my all time favorite authors. She writes raw, real and gritty stories. There's no happily-ever-afters, but her characterizations are incredible. SHATTERING GLASS is my favorite of her books. Check out this opening paragraph. "Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him." 'Nuff said.
6. I loved Gabrielle Zevin's ELSEWHERE because it was so unique. When Liz dies she finds herself on a ship to Elsewhere where she lives her life in reverse until she's reborn as a baby. 
7. I adore Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Think Harry Potter, but faster paced with more humor. Percy Jackson is the half-blood son of a Greek God and all along he just thought he was a troublemaker with ADD. Get hooked with book 1: THE LIGHTNING THIEF.
8. I LOVE Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Underworld series so when I learned she was crossing over to YA I was giddy. Her debut, THE SUMMONING, was not a disappointment--necromancers, wizards, werewolves and evil psychologists, oh my!
9. Meg Cabot's MEDIATOR and 1-800-WHERE-R-U paranormal series, originally written under the name Jenny Carroll, is the series that made me fall in love with YAs and got me started writing. 
Blog: Confessions of a Desperate Young Adult Author: Terri Clark (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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This is starting off as a good week. I just received a 5 star review from TeensReadToo that I'm really excited about.
"SLEEPLESS is not your everyday piece of fluff. Those picking up SLEEPLESS thinking it’s a typical teen summer romance will be quite surprised. I know I was! SLEEPLESS may just keep you up all night trying to avoid your dreams!"
And that's just the opening paragraph! It's not even the really good part. You can read the whole review here.
Even cooler, this is my launch week over at the class of 2k8. I hope you'll check it out and say "hi!"
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Just wanted to say thanks to Ellen as well, it’s always nice to hear how people get their start, it was a very interesting read
Great interview!
Beth Fehlbaum, author
Courage in Patience, a story of hope for those who have endured abuse
http://courageinpatience.blogspot.com
Ch. 1 is online!
**Visit my site for info on how to win a free copy of my book! Deadline is Sat. 12/20!
Thanks, Jamie and Beth. Glad you enjoyed it.