Don’t forget you can use children’s magazines as a way to make some money, get you name out there, and have your writing noticed.
Laurie Wallmark, who is the ARA for the New Jersey SCBWI has done just that with her many magazine articles in children’s magazines. Her lastest an article, Lost in a Corn Maze, in this month’s issue of Spider Magazine for children.
Don’t forget to send photos. Laurie says she got more for the photos than she did for the article.
Congratulations, Laurie!
You may remember Ellen Jensen Abbott from the conference in June. She taught a class on Characterization. At the bookfair, I purchased Ellen Jensen Abbott’s fantasy novel titled, WATERSMEET.
When I e-mailed Ellen to tell her how much I enjoyed the book and how I thought it was very well-written, she got back to me to tell me that the second book titled, THE CENTAUR’S DAUGHTER, (the second book to the trilogy) just hit the bookshelves.
I know everyone wishes Ellen much success with her new book.
Then today, I received an e-mail from Kitty Griffin Lagorio. She came to the June conference and it really paid off, because she ended up getting Natalie Fischer from the Bradford Agency to represent her.
Congratulations, Kitty.
Please make sure you let us know when you sign your first contract.
Yvonne Ventresca won the Writers’ Retreat Prompt Contest at this weekends Writer’s Retreat. Her prize, a free year’s membership to the SCBWI. Everyone else who participated received a signed book.
Here is Yvonne’s first page winning entry:
I had never thought about good-bye sounding like a river, the rush, rush of the water as it flowed away. And I’d never realized my sister could keep a secret even from me, the one she trusted most.
But I see these things now, as clearly as the clues she left behind. Would it have changed anything if I’d paid closer attention? Like the day of storm, while we were hurrying to finish our chores in the chicken coop.
“I won’t marry that man. They can’t make me.” Sis picked up another egg and nearly threw it in her basket. “Are you listening? James?”
I nodded as I swept, but my mind was on our cow. Abigail had been pacing around the pasture. I worried about her out there, having a calf alone in bad weather. Maybe I could lead her to the barn before the thunder started.
“Pa doesn’t remember love,” Sis said. “All he thinks about is corn. What should I do?”
Her pause meant she expected an answer. “Um, Tom doesn’t seem that bad.”
She stomped her boot, and the chickens fluttered to the corners of the hen house. “Tom Kelly’s too old and ornery. I could never love him.”
I laid the broom down gently and tried to soothe the frightened birds.
“I don’t feel anything for him. Not like—”
“Daniel,” I said. We often finished each other’s sentences. Ma used to call it a twin thing.
“Yes, like Daniel.” She wiped at her eyes, smearing dirt on her nose. “To spend the rest of my days keeping Tom’s
house and raising his babies! Ugh.”
Sis’s face got re
Don’t miss Mary and the girls on June 3rd.
You can spend the afternoon honing your writing skills by focusing in on your characters during this indepth workshop intensive.
Three talented authors and one top New York agent:
Mary Kole, Associate Agent, Andrea Brown Literary Agency www.andreabrownlit.com and www.kidlit.com
Bio:Mary came to children’s literature from a writer’s perspective and started reading at Andrea Brown Literary Agency to see what it was like “on the other side of the desk.” She quickly found her passion there and, after a year of working behind the scenes, officially joined the agency in August 2009. In her quest to learn all sides of publishing, she has also worked in the children’s editorial department at Chronicle Books and earned herMFA in creative writing at theUniversity of San Francisco. At this time,Mary is only considering young adult and middle grade fiction and truly exceptional picture books from authors, illustrators, and author/illustrators. She prefers upmarket premises with literary spark and commercial appeal. Her favorite genres are character-driven fantasy, paranormal, dystopian, thriller, horror, humor, contemporary, romance and mystery. She operates the Andrea Brown East office fromBrooklyn,NY.
Author of Popluar, Keri Mikulski young adult author of Head Games (Razorbill/Penguin, January 2011), Stealing Bases (Razorbill/Penguin, May 2011), Pretty Tough Books 5 and 6, Screwball (Blitz, 2008), and its sequel Change Up (Blitz, 2009). www.kerimikulski.com
Alissa Grosso’s first YA novel, Popular, coming out in May 2011 by Flux. At various points in her working life she has been a tavern wench, a term paper writer, a newspaper editor and a children’s librarian.
She has published short stories in ‘zines, Central PA Magazine, and an anthology. She works as a sales consultant for a book distributor
www.alissagrosso.com
Ellen Jensen Abbott is the author of a YA fantasy, Watersmeet (Marshall Cavendish, 2009). The sequel to Watersmeet is due in Fall 2011.
Ellen Jensen Abbott grew up in the foothills of New Hampshire’s White Mountains—often disappearing for a whole day to build forts, pretend, and read in the fields and forests around her house. She has degrees in English and education from Brown and Harvard Universities. When she is not dreaming up stories about Seldara, she teaches English at a boarding school in Westtown, PA. Ellen, her husband, and two children like to spend time outdoors: camping and hiking in the summer; skiing and snowboarding in the winter. She and her family live in West Chester, PA with their dog and small flock of chickens.
Last week, I featured historical fiction author, Clara Gillow Clark, on my blog on Tuesday and Wednesday. We had a great discussion about historical fiction, and we both appreciate all your comments. This week, I am featuring YA fantasy writer, Ellen Jensen Abbott, and her book, Watersmeet. Please leave a comment below about the book or a question for Ellen for your chance to win a copy. You can also follow me on Twitter for an extra entry and/or subscribe to my RSS Feed. Just make sure to leave it in a comment that you did one of those things! The contest runs until Thursday, January 28, 8:00 p.m. CST. Now on to the book. . .
*Young adult fantasy novel
*14-year-old girl as main character
*Rating: Abisina, the main character, catches your heart from page one, and you can’t stop cheering her through her journey even after you read the last page!
Short, short summary: Abisina is an outcast in her village of Vranille because of the way she looks–no light skin, blue eyes, or blonde hair. She has dark skin and dark hair and no father around. She is only tolerated because her mother is the only healer in Vranille. She is made to feel worthless on a daily basis. Unbelievably, things get worse for Abisina when a powerful, mythic leader (Charach) comes to her village, disguised. However, Abisina can see him for whom he truly is. The villagers cannot, and they become violent against the outcasts. Abisina runs for her life, barely escaping. This starts her on a great journey to find her father and the one place where she might be accepted–Watersmeet. Along the way, she comes into contact with some fantastical creatures such as dwarves and centaurs. Her opinions of these creatures are biased because of her childhood in Vranille where these creatures are thought of as not worthy and even vile. On her adventure to find her father and who she truly is she must face her prejudices and learn to accept others as she wants to be accepted.
So, what do I do with this book?
This section is going to look a little different today because Ellen Jensen Abbott has already come up with some great activities with her teachers’ guide, and so I would love for you guys to check out her guide. Here are a few highlights from her guide:
*Questions to go with each part of the book about Vranille and prejudice, Abisina and her parents, etc.
*Reading skills practice such as comparing and contrasting Vranille and Watersmeet, making personal connections with the plot/characters, and character studies like how Abisinia is or is not heroic.
*Projects and activities like reenacting the council meeting, building a model or drawing a map of a place in the novel, or writing a scene from Watersmeet in another character’s point of view.
Click here for the complete teacher’s study guide.
Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a young adult fantasy novel that explores the themes of family, racism, adventure, friendship, and trust; and tune in tomorrow for an interview with the author. She’ll tell us where she got the idea, challenges of writing fantasy, and about a sequel in the works!
Having finished my term paper (…the first one, that is), I recovered by spending all weekend reading. Beginning with an ARC [advanced reader copy: not-quite-final promotional copy] of WATERSMEET by Ellen Jensen Abbott.
I was quite absorbed by this fantasy, whose protagonist is an outcast in a harsh human world at war with other creatures and its own internal ‘demons.’ I definitely felt this book was a good use of my Saturday, although my enjoyment of it wasn’t quite evenly paced: I loved the first half, then it kind of dragged for a while, then near the very end I got interested again. Whatever, I had a good time reading it.
And yet. A couple things about it kind of bugged me. Like, the whole point of the book is that the different creatures have to overcome their antipathy toward one another, people from all species have done terrible things in their mutual wars but they’ll be stronger and happier if they unite, etc. But then there’s these other creatures to which this doesn’t apply.
Okay, so some of those other creatures are notably less sentient; I’ll buy that as a relevant difference. But some of them totally aren’t. And I find it kind of odd to be reading this whole story about species who assume each other have no humanity having to learn to question that assumption, and yet the book never questions it about these other guys. It’s not like I wouldn’t accept even some pretty tenuous principle here; it’s just that I didn’t see any principle at all.
Like, what was with Clem? is what I'm saying.
I had this problem with the latter seasons of BUFFY and ANGEL, actually. My favorite “how season 7 could have not sucked” suggestion from someone on one of the Television Without Pity boards was that the show should have embraced the corner it had backed itself into by letting some soulless demons have apparent personhood, and let the “slayer death wish” come because slayers grow ambivalent about their role as they realize some of what they’re killing could be redeemed. …And now I am mindful that Emily’s principle that “MY SO-CALLED LIFE is inherently on-topic” does not apply to BUFFY. Anyway.
My biggest problem with WATERSMEET is that I respected the main character less and less as it went on. And the main reason for this is that she made various mistakes, terrible decisions, selfish actions, etc, all of which were potentially forgivable… except not one of them had any real consequences for her. That, to me, was unforgivable.
I actually kind of fall in love with characters who make huge mistakes, as long as they also pay huge prices for them. Here, our protagonist pretty much endangers an entire community — one could even say the world — through her desire to avoid an unpleasant discussion, and when this comes to light? No one is angry; worse, the monster who wants them all dead hasn’t gained any appreciable advantage from the added time when his enemies were unawares. This violates a Fundamental Principle of Cause and Effect in Fiction, I’m pretty sure.
It’s not that our hero doesn’t suffer; actually, she suffers a huge amount in this book. But all of it is because of things beyond her control — which is compelling, up to a point, but not when I kept feeling like she should be suffering more for what she was actually doing. Unfortunately, the ending in particular did not fill me with hope for the sequel that is obviously planned. Just remember, Abbott: Personal Responsibility — bad principle for U.S. politics; great principle for fictional protagonists.
Posted in Abbott, Ellen Jensen, Flawed does not preclude Interesting, I learned it from Joss Whedon, Watersmeet
Wow! Congrats to EVERYone! And what a compelling first page, Yvonne! I REALLY enjoyed and wanted more
ALways a great sign to a well-written first page 
Donna
Thanks, Donna.
Kathy and Laurie really put together an amazing retreat. I would highly recommend it to writers for next year. There is lots of time spent talking about our work, mixed with socializing, learning, and fun. The 45 minute conference with an editor gives you time to go in depth about the story and really explore what is working or not. This was one of the best events I’ve been to.