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1. I posted a review of Fairest by Gail Carson Levine at cleanreads today. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I seem to be on a I-heart-YA-fantasy kick.

2. I'm getting 8 submissions ready to wonder Planet Earth. And I am going to submit something to the WIN contest too. Or a couple somethings. I'm not sure yet.

3. This weekend I'm vacationing! Woohoo! My brother is getting married in California (aww... home...) We are going to go to the beach (I just got a new swimsuit, the buying of which could have been much worse.), the beautiful wedding, and on Monday--Disneyland! I'm so excited. My littlies have never been before.


I hope you have great excitements to look forward to!
-Emily

I'm slowly coming out of the depths of my Stephenie Meyer obsession and am finally ready to share my notes about another brilliant author. Joan Bauer is the author of many award-winning novels, including 2003 Newbery Honor book, HOPE WAS HERE.

Bauer's books are filled with strong, inspiring characters with unusual talents. For example, in Hope Was Here, the main character, Hope, is an extraordinary waitress.

Here are my notes from BYU's Midwinter Books for Young Readers. I'm not sure I've ever seen a more enthusiastic speaker...

-As a young mom, Joan Bauer wrote in the loft in her home. However, it soon became apparent that not having a door was a problem. She used to stall the kids by putting a jar of jelly beans on the stairs, to get a few extra minutes of writing time.

-There was a time when Bauer was very depressed. She was supposed to speak to a group of 400 blind/handicapped children in New York. She wanted to give them her all, but she was beating herself up inside. The day was rainy. A little girl asked her what she would be speaking about before she started. Bauer said vaguely that she'd be telling some stories. The girl continued, "Well, are they good stories?". Bauer wasn't sure they were. She began her speech. She spoke about a terrible accident that almost took everything away from her, including her writing ability. A boy wanted the mic. Bauer wasn't sure it was a good idea, but she let him have it. It took several minutes for the boy, Rodney, to get up and speak. He said, "Every day I need to laugh." She hopes her stories show the pains of life and where laughter fits in.

-One of her books, STAND TALL, begins with Ecclesiastes 3, which says "...a time to weep, a time to laugh..." She wrote this book in the wake of September Eleventh. It's about a time to face war, internal and external.

-Bauer likes to think about all the hands that touch a book. Every person that touches the book, adds their own story and experiences to it.

-She is a strong believer in hope and passion. This is why she gives each character a strong passion/talent. And she hope all her books are infused with hope.

-When she was recovering from her accident, a lawyer made her question, "Who am I to have this big dream anyway?" He said that she could prove she was a writer one day by sending a book to him. She thought, "Yeah right. When I'm a writer, you can go buy my book at the store."

-When asked how she can write for children, she says, "I am every age that I ever was."

-Pain and laughter go together. Think of Moses with his staff. The Lord said to throw it down and it became a serpent. "What do you have in your hands? Throw it down." Find out what power it has.

-Music comes from the soul, not just the instrument.

-She doesn't usually do writing exercises, except in her head. However, she'll sometimes do a 30-page character sketch. She thinks/researches for 2-3 months before beginning a novel.


Stay tuned for the final amazing speaker I heard on Saturday....Rosemary Wells.

On Saturday, I was able to hear Stephenie Meyer speak at the gorgeous Library at Academy Square. Now that I have devoured both of her published books, I have time to type up my notes.

-Stephenie Meyer believes that writers should be disqualified from public speaking because they are crazy, sleep-deprived people who make faces and hear voices.

-Everyone she meets wants to write a book, except her husband.

-Be a writer, not an author. If writing isn't the good part, quit now. Letting people read what goes on in your head is scary. BUT, if you really love your characters, you'll want to share them with the world.

-Get an agent because people in Manhattan don't speak English. She was a mom of 3 who had absolutely never published anything in her life, when she started to query agents. She received a few rejections...just because someone tells you NO, doesn't mean they're right. Sometimes a book doesn't fit neatly into a certain genre. This makes it harder to place, but it also makes the book special, different, unexpected.

-CONTRACTS=LONG TIME, NO PAY.

-EDITING=AGONY/ECSTASY (but mostly agony.) Editing letters made her cry. They started extremely complimentary, but then proceeded to tell her everything she should change. She had to fight hard for her characters. Editors didn't like Bella's mom. They suggested that maybe she should die. They were also convinced that sex sells (and had the stats to prove it), but Stephenie Meyer refused to have any type of sex scenes in her books. That's just who she is. An author must learn when to listen to herself and when to take the advice of editors.

-It's hard to get your way until your a New York Times bestselling author, then suddenly everyone thinks you're brilliant.

-She received a note that said, "It's so great to have a book I can let my mother read."

-Write your book so YOU can't put it down. Don't spoil the writing by worrying about the readers or publishers.

-You must distance yourself from decisions you can't control, like the look of your book cover.

-While growing up, Stephenie Meyer loved to read huge books, the fatter, the better.

-She loves characters like Lois Lane/Bella. How does a normal person look at life when surrounded by superhero supermodels?

-Book Three, Eclipse, will be released in August. She is working on Book Four, which is tentatively called Breaking Dawn.

-She tried to write a chick-lit once, but she got bored with it. "Humans are not enough for me," she said.

-Meyer doesn't like dark, goth, or scary books/movies. She had never read a vampire book or seen a vampire movie. She enjoyed writing action scenes, however. Her books are inspired more by her love of superheroes than monsters.

-Before submitting a story for the first time, make it as good as you possibly can.

-Stephenie Meyer's current favorite books: Enthusiasmby Polly Shulman and The Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld.

-Her books are loosely tied to classics. Twilight=Pride and Prejudice, New Moon=Shakespaere, Eclipse=Wuthering Heights (although she doesn't like WH because it's too sad.)

10. You may be tempted to read while stopped at red lights.

9. You might think driving on straight roads and reading is okay.

8. You may have to reschedule an appointment with a doctor (that you made an hour before) because you'll completely lose track of time.

7. When you decide not to read while driving (after nearly crashing), you will likely stop at a red light for a long period of time, despite the fact that you are turning right-on-red, simply because you are thinking about fictional gorgeous-people.

6. You might sneak into an exclusive book signing by author of obsessively-read book just to ask a question. You may get kicked out of said signing, and then sneak back in, only to be dragged out by author's body guard.

5. You probably won't blog for nearly a week, despite the fact that you haven't gone that long in quite a while, just because the book is too hard to put down. You may try to read blogs of friends WHILE reading your book.

4. You may start calling strangers to tell them about this book you are so obsessed with.

3. When someone asks for book recommendations that are deep and inspirational and informative, you might recommend this book despite the fact that it is anything but deep or inspirational or informative or unridiculous.

2. You may visit the author's website obsessively. That is, after reading all the books that the author has published.

1. Your husband, after accusing you of having an affair with your book, will beg you to remember to feed your children.


Disclaimer: Although some of these may have happened to me personally while reading the following book, others may be representative of things happening to others I know. However, all statements above are partially true occurrences occurring to myself or others while reading the following book.

You're really curious aren't you? All right. Without further ado, this is the book that has caused all the hoopla in my life. And, sigh, I just started the sequel.





TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer

Oh, and just as soon as I finish book two, New Moon, I'll be back to give detailed notes about BYU's Midwinter Books for Young Readers, which included AMAZING speakers: Stephenie Meyer, Joan Bauer, and the one-and-only, Rosemary Wells. See previous entry for links to these authors. I have to get back to my vampire-love-story.