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A shout out to our beloved Cynthia Leitich Smith! Eternal, Zachary's Story, the paperback graphic novel illustrated by Ming Doyle, will be available February 12th, along with Feral Nights. The later develops characters from Tantalize in their own series. Both books pack a supernatural punch, so watch for them. Congrats, Cynthia!

Jill and I recently got the chance to interview the tantalizing Cynthia Leitich Smith. Check out her answers to our questions below!

   

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling author of ETERNAL, TANTALIZE, and BLESSED (Candlewick). She also writes short stories and acclaimed books for younger children.

Cynthia is a member of faculty at the Vermont College M.F.A. program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Her website at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com was named one of the top 10 Writer Sites on the Internet by Writer's Digest and an ALA Great Website for Kids. Her Cynsations blog at cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ was listed as among the top two read by the children's/YA publishing community in the SCBWI "To Market" column.

First of all I have to say that I have not yet read the first 2 books in this series, Tantalize and Eternal. That being said right off the bat I was a bit confused, but quickly caught on. The book was very easy to follow without having read the previous two. That is sometimes hard to do, but Mrs. Smith pulls it off! Second, I love Quincie! She is such a strong female character! She is running her parents restaurant, dealing with becoming a vampire and fighting her emotions over her best friend and true love, Kieren. To read more of my review, click here.

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times best-selling author of Eternal and its companions Tantalize and the forthcoming Blessed (all from Candlewick). She’s also the author of Jingle Dancer, Indian Shoes, and Rain Is Not My Indian Name (all Harper Collins) as well as the forthcoming Holler Loudly (Dutton).

Briefly describe the impact racism had on you as a young person.

Growing up, I didn’t talk much about race. Of course, with my peers at school, I didn’t talk much—period. I was shy, bookish, and geeky, before being a geek was cool. Not that most people knew that about me. I was an honor-roll student, heavily involved in school activities, big on blending.

My memories come in flashes. Or a lack thereof.

Other than a third-grade report I did on Sacagawea, I don’t remember a single reference to Native people in the classroom. We simply didn’t exist beyond Thanksgiving decorations.

What’s more, though I was an avid reader, I studiously avoided books with American Indian characters and themes. I’m not sure if that was instinctive or if I’d had an early negative experience. But even as an adult, I can be self-protective that way.

Years later, I would write a short story about the Hollywood-style Indian “war calls” shouted out the windows as the team bus passed Haskell Indian Junior College (now Haskell Indian Nations University). But I didn’t dare say anything at the time.

So, there were problems. I could cite other examples—more personal and painful examples—but I prefer not to call up those ghosts.

No doubt individual experiences varied greatly. But for the most part, racism came from grown-ups, not other kids. My personal social group—AKA the center of my adolescent universe—dismissed such attitudes as hateful and on their way out.

Has your personal experience of racism impacted your professional work as a writer?

I’m familiar with internalized racism. Certainly, with the Indian boarding schools, that was a primary goal. But my feeling has always been that racism is rooted in someone else’s problem. It’s about them making—at least over-generalized, at most hateful—snap judgments, and then acting in a sneering/discriminatory/abusive/violent way to assert their purported superiority.

The socio-historical-political contexts are different, but similar dynamics largely apply to sexism, classicism, homophobia, discrimination based on religion or on national or regional origin, and so forth.

That said, I may be more comfortable and optimistic talking about race relations than some folks. I also tend to both deflect and illuminate with humor.

My stories are just that—stories. Character and setting are my springboards to plot. Theme emerges over time, occasionally as a surprise. But all art has a moral center, a sensibility that comes from the artist’s heart.

I write with an inclusive world view, offering stories with protagonists of color and/or diverse casts. It never occurred to me not to. If art reflects reality, my reality is certainly multi-colorful and multicultural (not my favorite term of art, but you know what I mean).

I have addressed racism in my writing—especially the gray areas—in Rain Is Not My Indian Name, though that’s not the focus of the book. In my short stories, I’ve also taken on prejudice within the Native community a

I am happy to report that Cyn (who owns the award-winning author site Cynsations) agreed to let me interview her to go along with the posting of her new book, ETERNAL, on my site under “Good Books to Share.”

I enjoyed reading ETERNAL. The pace is swift, and the set-up interesting from the get-go. Miranda, the teenage heroine, has a guardian angel. He messes up and she is turned into a vampire. Now her angel has to make amends. But is he committing the ultimate no-no for guardian angels? Is he falling in love with her? ETERNAL kept me turning the pages through a single sitting. For anyone who likes a good love story, as well as for fans of vampire tales.

Cynthia Leitich Smith

How old were you when you first started seriously writing?

I guess it depends on what you call “serious.” By fourth grade, I was writing poems in my bedroom more evenings than not. I even “bound” them in a homemade book with the help of my mom. By junior high, I was editor of the school paper-a position I had again in high school. By my sophomore year of college, I was spending my summers working in newsrooms. By my third year of law school, I was teaching legal writing. At 28, I quit my “day job” to write fiction for young people.

How many rejections did you get before you got your first acceptance?

I honestly don’t know, but with regard to writing for young readers, my apprenticeship was about two-and-a-half years before my first sale.

How do you make up names for your characters?

With JINGLE DANCER (Morrow, 2000), most of the names are family names. The one exception is “Jenna,” which I simply thought sounded musical with Jenna. Quincie P. Morris in TANTALIZE (Candlewick, 2007) is named after Quincey P. Morris in Abraham Stoker’s classic novel Dracula (1897). But beyond that, I often look for variety in terms of syllables, vowel and consonant sounds, first letters, etc. or meanings. The name “Miranda” from ETERNAL (Candlewick, 2009) means “miracle.”

When you write do you like quiet, music, or lots of activity around you?

Increasingly, I prefer sort of neutral music-no lyrics, which I generally tune out. It works like “white noise.”

What’s the earliest childhood memory you can think back to? Does it appear in any of your writing?

I remember burning the silver plate off a gold spoon with a candle flame. I think everyone else was eating pie in the kitchen. And no, not so far.

What age child do you have in your head? Is there more than one child there?

It’s very crowded-I have a four, ten, fourteen, seventeen, and a nineteen-year-old.

Do you have any regrets about writing for young readers?

Nope.

What do you have hidden in a dresser drawer? (We won’t tell, will we, everyone?)

Nothing too interesting, I’m afraid. My iPod and the key to my treadmill.

What do your favorite pair of socks look like?

They feature tiny Texas flags.

Given that you won’t sunburn, and you have lots of water . . . would you rather walk through Death Valley or Mall of America? Why?

Death Valley-scenery and peacefulness.

If you woke up in the morning and found someone’s shoes in your refrigerator, what would you think?

That the cats were growing more sophisticated by the hour.

Have you ever been abducted by aliens? If so, did they wear socks? What did they have hidden in their zormorpholater? And did they tell you the titles of any of their favorite books?

No aliens, faeries perhaps.

Will you name a character in your next book after me?

Maybe, but I can’t promise he/she will be a good guy.

Finally, let’s end up looking toward the future. What’s up next for you? Anything you want to tell us about?

I just finished (I hope) text revisions on the graphic novel adaptation of TANTALIZE, which will be told from the point of view of Kieren, the werewolf hero. I’m also jazzed about the short stories I have coming out this year. “The Wrath of Dawn,” co-authored by Greg Leitich Smith will appear in GEEKTASTIC: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci (Little, Brown, 2009) and “Cat Calls” will appear in SIDESHOW: Ten Original Tales of Freaks, Illusionists, and Other Matters Odd and Magic, edited by Deborah Noyes (Candlewick, 2009).

Thanks, Cyn! 

Now to all of you . . . go forth, and read!

Ciao!

Shutta

Marvelous Marketer: Cynthia Leitich Smith

(Author of Eternal and Tantalize)


Hi Cynthia. Thank you for joining us today. Before we get into marketing, tell me a little about yourself.


I’m the author of three contemporary Native American children’s books— Jingle Dancer (Morrow, 2000), Rain Is Not My Indian Name (HarperCollins, 2001), and Indian Shoes (HarperCollins, 2002)—as well as two humorous picture books - Santa Knows (Dutton, 2006) and Holler Loudly (Dutton, TBA) and numerous short stories.

However, I’m best known for my young adult Gothic fantasies — Tantalize
(Candlewick, 2007), Eternal which hits stores next week (Candlewick, 2009), and Blessed (Candlewick, TBA). I also have a graphic novel adaptation of Tantalize under contract.

Beyond that, I’m agented by the brilliant and gracious Ginger Knowlton at Curtis Brown in New York, and I’m a member of the distinguished faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

More personally, I count myself lucky to be part of sunny Austin, Texas’s booming youth writing community. I live near downtown with my husband and sometimes co-author Greg and our four dedicated writer cats.


Tell me a little more about Eternal. I know it is releasing next week! Congratulations!

In alternating points of view, Miranda and Zachary navigate a cut-throat eternal aristocracy as they play out a dangerous and darkly hilarious love story for the ages.
With diabolical wit, the author of Tantalize revisits a deliciously dark world where vampires vie with angels — and girls just want to have fangs. Eternal is set in the same universe as Tantalize , so you can look forward to a more direct re-entry into the Dracul tradition--and more global insights into its vampyric society. To find out more, you can check out the reader's guide on my web site .or read an interview posted at Not Your Mother's Book Club.


Can't wait. Now let's get into Marketing. Do you have a website/blog? When did you start it and who manages it?


I have a main web site features links to my Cynsations and Spookycyn blogs (which I started in November 2004). My site launched in 1998. Last year, it attracted more than 2 million unique visitors. Its focus is not only my own work, but also children’s-YA adult literature as a whole, including resources for writers and related to publishing.


In your opinion, how important is social networking? Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, GoodReads)

For outreach to teen readers, it’s a great idea because the Internet is so much a part of their lives. My one caution is to keep in mind that you’re joining a community of thoughtful readers, not simply advertising at them. Think of it more as a way to make a meaningful contribution to the conversation of books and to encourage reading.


Did you think about marketing before your book was published? Did you start prior to getting an agent or selling your book? If so, when and what did you do?

I have undergraduate degrees in news/editorial and public relations, so my academic and young professional background had already prepared me to dive in.

But no, I didn’t worry about that aspect of the book until the manuscript was under contract and the book in production.

My first sale was Jingle Dancer, a children’s picture book. At the time, it was unusual to find a contemporary Native girl and community featured in youth literature. My publisher, HarperCollins, handled the big stuff—the catalog, major reviewers, teacher/librarian conferences, etc. So I focused on niche marketing, getting the word out to the Native community and our friends. I sent copies to Native media and museum gift stores and those with an interest in Native and/or girl-powered stories. I also wrote a few articles about contemporary Native themes that appeared in institutional market magazines, and before long, that led to speaking opportunities.

My approach has also been big picture. I care about my books, and I make every effort to champion them. But kids need to read a lot of books. Since Jingle Dancer was published, I’ve made an ongoing effort to raise awareness of multicultural children’s literature.

More recently, with my YA Gothic fantasies, I’ve made an extra effort to feature author interviews with folks whose work will appeal to my own YA readers. If time allows, I also book talk related new releases when I speak to, say, public library groups. I hand out bibliographies and keep a Web page celebrating such books regularly updated.


Do you feel it is beneficial for authors to team up and promote books as a group? Why?

It depends on the group. On one hand, cross-promotional efforts can create a sense of community between the authors and allow for a trade off of skills that’s beneficial to all. Multiple voices may be able to attract more attention than one. On the other, it’s important that everyone be on the same page in terms of expectations—the most important of which being public behavior. If you brand yourself together, for better and worse, what reflects on one to some degree reflects on all.


What other advice do you have for authors/writers regarding marketing?

When I started, author Jane Kurtz gave me the best advice I’ve ever heard. She said to do at least one thing a week, no matter how small, in support of your books. It could be something small like a blog post or stopping to say hi to a newly hired librarian. Or something huge, like throwing a launch party with a couple of hundred guests.

Consistency is more important than an all-out blitz. Sure, you’ll probably want to shout it from the rooftops when you finally hold that new novel in your hands. But in the long run, it’s more important to look for regular ways to highlight it as long as it’s in print.


What creative things have you done to promote a book?

Probably my most successful, out-of-the box thing was the giveaways of the Sanguini’s T-shirts (Sanguini’s is the fictional vampire restaurant in Tantalize). They were designed by graphic designer/artist Gene Brenek and tie in beautifully to the book. The YAs and YA librarians loved them. I sent them out with bat finger puppets from Folkmanis, which were equally popular.

Thank you for sharing your marketing strategies with us. We wish you the best with your new book.


Remember to join us Monday for Krista Marino (Editor, Delacorte)