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Author: Lisa Dalrymple - Illustrator: Suzanne Del Rizzo
Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside - June 2013
I first heard about Skink On The Brink at a CANSCAIP meeting. Not only was the title intriguing, but I love the inspiring publication success story (details below). Lisa and Suzanne are popular children's book presenters; their activity session at Toronto's Word On The Street this past weekend drew over 100 young people! Lisa and Suzanne were kind enough to be interviewed for Inkygirl, and both give a TON of valuable info and insights into their process.
Lisa Dalrymple loves to travel and has lived in such countries as South Korea, Thailand and Scotland. She now lives with her husband and their three children in Fergus, Ontario. Her story, Skink on the Brink, won The Writers’ Union of Canada’s Writing for Children Competition in 2011 and is now a picture book illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo. Lisa is also the author of If It’s No Trouble… A Big Polar Bear and its sequel, Bubbly Troubly Polar Bear, coming in October 2013.
Suzanne Del Rizzo loves the squish of plasticine between her fingers. Her illustrations appear in Skink on the Brink (Fitzhenry & Whiteside Spring 2013), written by Lisa Dalrymple. Her cover illustrations appear in the YA novel The Ehrich Wiesz Chronicles: Demon Gate ( Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Fall 2013) written by Marty Chan. She lives in Oakville Ontario with her husband and four children.
Stewie is a very special skink — he has a beautiful blue tail which gives him a superpower against his enemies. Stewie loves singing his songs and rhymes as he dashes around his home. But as he grows up his beautiful blue tail starts to turn grey — he can't call himself Stewie the Blue anymore! And without his rhymes, his home by the pond doesn't feel as special either. A new Tell-Me-More Storybook about self-esteem, change, and growing up. Includes non-fiction back matter with bonus information and activities.
For lots of photos of Suzanne's amazing plasticine-illustration process, read further down in the interview.
A few of Suzanne's plasticine carving tools. Read further for lots of photos of how she created the amazing illustrations in SKINK.
Q. What was your publication process for SKINK ON THE BRINK?
Lisa:
I actually can’t remember when I first started researching and writing the manuscript, but I think it was sometime around 2008. (It usually takes a couple of years for me to develop and craft a picture book story until it is finally submission ready.) During this time, I was also working on other books and I was trying to learn the ropes of the publishing industry by getting out, meeting other writers and professionals, and attending trade shows, festivals, etc.
Christie Harkin, editor at Fitzhenry & Whiteside. Photo from Cynsations interview.In September 2010, I went to Word on the Street in Toronto. I remember that it was first thing in the morning that I saw Christie Harkin, the kids’ books editor at Fitzhenry & Whiteside, getting their booth ready for the day. I knew I wanted to talk to Christie, to find out what she was looking for in a manuscript and to establish a personal connection. However, first I had to walk around for a while to try to summon up the nerve. When I finally did, it was the end of the day and Christie was packing up her supplies to go home! She told me that she was developing a line of “Tell Me More” storybooks. In these books, while the story is, of course, the most important element, there’s also an additional educational component that can be more fully explored in the non-fiction back matter. We both agreed that Skink on the Brink might be a good fit for this line and that I should send it to her.
Suzanne and Lisa do a signing with Michael Martchenko & Loris Lesynski at Toronto's Word On The Street
There was a long period where I heard nothing, but I was getting used to no response if an editor really wasn’t interested. By the time February 2011 rolled around, I had completely given up. I went with a group of friends to the OLA Superconference in February and some of them stopped by the Fitzhenry & Whiteside booth to say ‘hi’ to Christie. When she noticed my nametag, she said, “Hey! You’re the skink lady!” I’d never been so excited to think that she remembered me and my manuscript. We had a “pre-editorial” discussion right there and I went home to create yet another draft of the book I’d now been working on for three years.
When April 2011 rolled around and neither of the books I had under consideration with two separate houses had yet acquired that elusive “yes,” I submitted them both to the Writing for Children competition hosted by The Writers’ Union of Canada. This competition receives between 600-800 entries each year and I submitted every year so, of course, I had no real expectation that I would win.
But then there was a day, the same day that I heard from Tuckamore Press that they were ready to send me a contract for my book If It’s No Trouble… A Big Polar Bear, when the phone rang and Nancy MacLeod informed me that Skink on the Brink had won the competition – and that I was sworn to secrecy for almost a week! By this point, Christie and I had a friendly relationship and I think it may have been my post on Facebook, “This is one of the most exciting days of my life,” that prompted her to get in on the excitement and send me my first official book contract!
Suzanne adding detail to one of her illustration elements. Wow.
In October 2011, we signed the contract and Christie let me know that they were considering Suzanne Del Rizzo to illustrate the book. She sent me a few samples of Suzanne’s work. Of course, I was thrilled! Suzanne’s plasticine artwork is beyond anything I would have imagined for Stewie and his story and I was so excited to see it finally start coming to life.
In January 2012, Christie and I got started on the ‘first round’ of edits, which actually became the ‘never-ending round’ of edits as we kept passing the manuscript back and forth, trying to get some of the rough spots ‘just right’ so that Suzanne could get started.
And then the real fun began. I was so excited that Suzanne would consult with me about the illustrations. Her artwork was fabulous and she wanted to check in with me from a research perspective. We both wanted to make sure that we were using our combined knowledge to make sure that the book was as biologically accurate as possible.
Once the artwork was done, in January 2013, I received the ‘final round’ of edits from Christie and the book went to the printer. Then, in May, Suzanne and I were able to drop by the Fitzhenry & Whiteside office to finally hold the finished book in our hands!
Q. What was your writing/illustration process for SKINK ON THE BRINK?
Lisa:
I wish I could say I have a process that indicated some sort of routine but, working from home for the past few years with small kids around, any routine has been pretty hard to establish. I’m hoping this will improve when my youngest daughter starts school fulltime this year because I know how important it is to have that dedicated writing time. 98% of writing is pure hard work – just keeping that butt in your chair and working, preferably with few to no interruptions! Sure, there’s that other 2% of writing that’s genius inspiration, where the brilliant ideas come to you (usually in the shower) and you hop out, words already flying from your fingertips. That kind of writing can be done almost anytime, anywhere (although I would recommend getting out of the shower first.) But the other 98% is very difficult to do when there are so many demanding distractions of family life and when we all know how tempting it is to give in to distraction in the first place.
At the same time, my kids make huge contribution to my writing process. Getting their input and ideas, as I’m crafting a story is an invaluable part of the process for me. I can’t tell you how many years we’ve spent out in the wilderness on family camping trips, pretending to be skinks and shouting things like “I’m Stewie the Blue” over the pond – and how informative and inspiring it is to see how kids engage with your story when it’s still all coming together in your mind.
Suzanne:
My process for this book began with lots of research. I must admit, I’d never heard of a skink before reading Lisa’s manuscript, so I had some homework to do before I even put pencil to paper. I researched all I could online and from books, and took photos at my cottage (which falls within the geographical region of the Common Five-Lined Skink’s habitat) to create a massive photo reference file:
Lisa also provided me with some great shots she had taken while at The Pinery Park where she had seen a Common Five-Lined skink up close. Stewie the skink would be undergoing both physical growth and coloration changes throughout the story, and because this was also a Tell-Me-More story book with accompanying cross-curricular back matter; I wanted to ensure I was maintaining as much biological accuracy as possible.
I envisioned having lots of secondary animals and vegetation to make Stewie’s habitat rich and authentic, so I also needed to familiarize myself with the various animals and plant life that co-exist in his habitat. I then created some sample art for Christie to show at the sales meeting, and after landing the contract, I began thumbnail sketches.
Christie encouraged Lisa and I to get in touch and bounce ideas around. It isn’t always standard for authors and illustrators to discuss a project, but in this case, I think it really helped us achieve something special with this book, it was a fantastic collaboration. It even led to some hilarious “oops” moments...like the time when I made a minor flub and put a moose in one illustration... moose don’t extend quite this far south- oops. Luckily Lisa caught it and it was easily changed to a white-tailed deer. If you look closely on my full- sized sketch:
...you can see the moose, yet in the final plasticine illustration it has been changed to a white-tailed deer:
Once thumbnail sketches were approved I worked up full-sized tight pencil sketches:
Because I work in plasticine, I prefer to create very detailed, tight pencil drawings to show my editor, and ideally make changes at this phase of the project. Each plasticine illustration can take from 20-40+ hours to create, depending on its size and complexity, so it’s much easier to erase a few pencil strokes at this point then to peel off/redo the plasticine final art.
My illustrations are essentially low relief sculptures created in plasticine(modelling clay) and pressed onto illustration board. The final plasticine art is then professionally photographed:
Before I started any final art I premixed the colours, after some initial colour studies, to create a colour chart:
I hang this next to my sketch for quick reference. Then I made up large amounts of my colours so I’d be able to maintain consistency throughout the illustrations. This type of chart comes in handy if I run out of a colour and need to make more. To begin each illustration, I’d smear on plasticine in a thin layer to create the background, then gradually build up and add on, then move onto foreground objects as I go:
(From Debbie: click here for a close-up look at some of the detail in the final illustration)
One of my favorite parts of any illustration is adding the final textures and details to really bring life to the piece. I use a variety of clay sculpting tools but often times I end up using my good ol’ favorites-a large safety pin, toothbrush, toothpick and my fingers. Sometimes I even make my own tools. For Stewie the skink, I made a selection of polymer clay tools that make impressions of reptile scales:
then I used an acrylic gloss to make him glisten.
For intricate parts, I sometimes worked on top of a Ziploc bag that I’d place directly over top of my sketch:
(Note from Debbie: Click here to see details in a bigger version of the woodpecker)
Then I could check to ensure that my sculpted objects were the correct size- plasticine has a tendency to spread and flatten as you work with it, which can be frustrating. So I kept a bowl beside me for my “rejects”...and believe me there were plenty. Faces are especially tricky to get just right. But that’s the great thing about plasticine- it never hardens, so you can just peel off the offensive bits and smoosh ‘em, and start afresh. My kids like to raid the reject bowl (as they call it) and put these bits to use in their own creations.
Having a little kiddo sitting next to me on the floor, working on their own plasticine is one of the best perks about having my art studio in my home. Kids are also the best source of inspiration.
Q. What advice do you have for aspiring children's book writers and illustrators?
Lisa: There is so much important advice out there given by far more experienced writers than me – but you’re not going to hear any of it if you’re sitting in your house staring at a cursor on a screen...
Suzanne: ...or working away in your art studio. And I’m even more “green”, LOL but I am always happy to share what I have found helpful on my pursuit to publication.
Lisa:Get out there and meet other writers and creators. The camaraderie and support of a network of peers is invaluable – for information sharing, providing a shoulder to cry on (or a glass to clink with), for forming critique groups and for gaining access to all that wonderful advice.
Suzanne: Yes, you said it Lisa! We creative types tend to be an introverted lot, but it’s so important to put yourself out there and meet others, connect, share ideas and soak up advice from more seasoned author/illustrators. I have found this community of author/illustrators, both online and in person, to be extremely supportive and encouraging
Suzanne and Lisa with their editor Christie Harkin (in red shirt) and friends Jan Dolby & Joyce Grant at Toronto's Word On The Street
Suzanne:The thought of attending a large conference might be utterly terrifying if you are just starting out, so start small. Check out the monthly CANSCAIP meetings, or go to Word on The Street and mingle at your pace, or hop online and get to know the Twitter and Facebook community of illustrators and kidlit writers. I must admit to having a bad case of “imposter syndrome” when I first made the career switch from working in a science research lab, after all I didn’t have an art degree. Could I make a go of it as children’s book illustrator? I decided to be brave and just go for it. The self doubt still creeps up on me some days. But I had to start somewhere. Those first small steps, attending meetings and making initial connections paved the way to bigger conferences and helped me gain my footing as an illustrator.
Joining a critique group is invaluable. We often work in a bubble, isolated, “in the zone” creating, be it painting, sculpting or typing away the hours on our tread-desk. We tend to be our toughest critics which can often lead to self-doubt or worse still the dreaded “analysis paralysis”. Crit groups will not only help you grow as an artist, by pushing you in a direction you may never have considered on your own, but they also give valuable, honest criticism of your work and provide a safe environment to share new ideas, ask those silly questions, and learn about the industry. I belong to a few crit groups, one of illustrators, and another of authors and author/illustrators. Authors and illustrators look at manuscripts (and artwork) from a different perspective, and it can be very helpful to get both types of input, especially if you are interested in writing and illustrating, as I am.
Lisa: A critique group is really important. Even if your writing is already awesome, there is so much to be learned from seeing other perspectives on your work. Engaging with other people’s stories when offering a critique has taught me to see my own work with a more critical eye and helped me to develop further focus and direction in my own writing.
Suzanne: Like I mentioned above, get online and make connections. Joining Twitter, and Facebook is one place to start. Every Thursday at 9pm EST there is a Tweet Chat of kidlit creators, just follow #kidlitart, and check it out. They are a welcoming and fun bunch. Zero2illo is another fantastic resource I found extremely helpful when I was starting up my illustration career. It has many great resources, from setting up your portfolio website to designing a business plan. I also belong to their zero2illo confidential, a crit group of sorts but so much more.
Lisa: If anyone reading this has any further questions, or would like direction to an online critique group for serious children’s writers, they can feel free to contact me through my website. (www.lisadalrymple.com)
Suzanne: Yes, please contact me through my website (suzannedelrizzo.com) if you have any further questions.
Q. What are both of you working on now? Any other upcoming events or other info you'd like to share?
Lisa:
Suzanne and I have decided to dub the past few months “the Summer of the Plasticine Road Show.” We’ve been taking Skink on the Brink and Suzanne’s fun and interactive plasticine workshops to events all over southern Ontario. For the fall, it looks like the Plasticine Road Show lives on! We were recently at Toronto's Word On The Street; I will be at the Family Resource Centre in Peterborough on September 28th, followed by a signing at Peterborough Chapters; we will be taking part in the Creemore Arts Festival on October 5th.
As for what I’m working on now, my third book, Bubbly Troubly Polar Bear, is due out with Tuckamore Books in October 2013.
I’m also very excited about a picture book with a multicultural theme that I’m working on, in which a young Canadian girl travels around the world with her archeologist parents. Through attending school in Thailand, Peru, Jamaica, Scotland and South Korea, she participates in both the differences and the similarities of daily life. I’m hoping to have her experiences to show, through an eight-year-old's eyes, that, while there are many diverse cultures, there can be a common understanding in the sharing of music, food or something as universal as a game of Hide & Seek.
Suzanne:
As for me, I just finished a project for a YA novel cover for The Ehrich Wiesz Chronicles: Demon Gate (Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Fall 2013) by Marty Chan. I created the front and back of a steampunk medallion/Infinity Coil in polymer clay and watch components. I also have another Tell-Me-More storybook project in the works with Fitzhenry and Whiteside. I’m working up some of my manuscripts into picture book dummies for submission as well.
Q. How did your book launch go? And how has reception to SKINK ON THE BRINK been so far?
Complete with plasticine activities and a skinktastic chocolate cake:
the official launch of Skink on the Brink was at Story Planet in Toronto, but this summer has actually been a series of exciting launch events. We held a second launch at Roxanne’s Reflections, in my current hometown of Fergus and it was every bit as much fun as the first! Then our favourite event this summer was definitely introducing Skink on the Brink to the Pinery Provincial Park at their annual Savannah Festival.
The Pinery is one of the few places in Canada where the Common Five-lined Skink can be found and it’s the area that inspired the character of Stewie and his story. There was something really special about reading Skink on the Brink right in Stewie’s natural habitat and then working with the kids on their terrific plasticine creations on the very veranda where he’s known to hang out and bask.
The kids at all of our events have been tons of fun to work with and incredibly excited – especially those who managed to catch a glimpse of a real Five-lined Skink in the wild, and Suzanne and I now both have households full of plasticine critters! But the best part is definitely hearing the kids’ enthusiasm for conservation efforts and for protecting skinks and their habitat.
Photo of Adrienne: Tanja Tiziana. Steampunk background: http://valerianastock.deviantart.com
I met Adrienne Kress through the Toronto MG/YA Author Group (Torkidlit). She's smart, funny and passionate about her craft, and I've appreciated her advice and encouragement over the years. I interviewed Adrienne about her middle grade novels last year, and I can't wait to buy her new YA steampunk novel, THE FRIDAY SOCIETY (Dial, Dec/2012). More info on her website: AdrienneKress.com.
Summary of the plot from a starred Quill & Quire review of THE FRIDAY SOCIETY: "The steampunk adventure novel, set in Edwardian London, follows the lives of three very different teenage girls, each of whom works for an important man but also maintains a life of her own. The three strangers – Cora (the lab assistant), Nellie (the magician’s assistant), and Michiko (the Japanese fighter’s assistant) – find themselves thrust together as the result of a horrific unsolved murder and quickly discover that, by combining their special skills, they can accomplish more than they ever thought possible."
Above: BookEnds interviews Adrienne about steampunk fiction, writing & THE FRIDAY SOCIETY.
Q. What was your creative process for The Friday Society?
The creative process for THE FRIDAY SOCIETY was very similar to the process for my writing in general.
It starts with thinking. Normally I get a cool basic idea. In this case it was a team of female Steampunk superheroes. Then I start to problem solve: how many should there be? Who are they? How do they meet? What is the basic plot that drives them? What are the supporting characters? Etc. The more I think, the more comes to me. It's all a bit of a logic exercise, "If they are like this, then this means that. If this is their job, that means that they probably live here. . ." and so on.
I really do just think about it for a good while. If the idea sticks with me, if it gives me butterflies still a week later, I take that as a sign that the idea has staying power. That's the key with writing for me. The act of writing is not glamorous. It's hard work. You aren't always inspired to write. In fact many days you feel a bit like a little kid who doesn't want to get up in the morning: "I don't wanna!!" So you need to have a project that you are completely passionate about. That you are willing to work through the rough patches for. At least I do.
Then comes figuring out the voice. This usually begins by jumping into the deep end and just starting writing. For THE FRIDAY SOCIETY it took a bit more effort than usual coming up with the voice. I started out writing it oldy-timey - a bit like the voice I used in my short story in the anthology CORSETS & CLOCKWORK - but it didn't really suit the light irreverent tone I was going for. Eventually the idea of writing the book in a contemporary voice came to me, and it made SO much sense. After all, the key to Steampunk is that it is anachronistic - a story set in the past but with futuristic technology and attitudes. Well why couldn't the actual act of telling the story be anachronistic too?? (if you want to read a post on the subject of anachronisms in Steampunk and why I chose the voice I did, check out my blog here). Once I had the voice, I could really get going on the story.
Photo: Tanja Tiziana
Now back when I was younger when I wrote just for fun, I realised I was the kind of person who enjoyed starting to write and seeing where the story took me. If I planned something out too much I got bored. I would feel, "Well, I already know what happens, what's the point in me writing it?" But I quickly learned that if I didn't do any planning whatsoever I would paint myself into a corner that I just couldn't get out of. So what I tend to do is a combination of both. I come up with a very basic plan, and then I fill in the blanks in the moment as I write. I also tend to plan in phases. So I'll plan the first fifth of the book, and when I'm coming to the end of that, I'll stop and plan the next fifth. Etc. As an example: with the beginning of THE FRIDAY SOCIETY I decided I wanted three chapters of introductions per girl and then I wanted my girls to meet up at a gala where they would come across . . . something mysterious. Seriously, that was it. Not much to go on, but still enough that I knew where I was going.
I should add at this point that I do tend to have a very basic idea of what the novel will be on the whole. This is part of what I think about during the thinking phase. But again it's very basic. In the case of TFS it was, "I want a Steampunk superhero origins story where my three girls defeat someone intent on destroying London for some reason. Also there will be subplots." :)
As I continue to write my book I, of course, come across bumps in the road and face difficult problem solving. This is always tricky to manage but I have learned that if I just stick with it I can get out to the other side. Sometimes it means moving onto something else or just going for a walk to clear my head. Sometimes it means sitting there and figuring it out one word at a time. And it's kind of amazing the direction your brain can take you. The characters of Hayao and Dr. Mantis were meant to be small one offs, but as I wrote them they just took on a life of their own and became integral to the story. This is why I enjoy not planning every little thing as I write, I love being surprised by my own story.
Now my method is simply mine. It certainly does not work for everyone. The most important thing is for a writer to find what works for him/her and be confident in that technique. So many blogs will tell you absolutes. But here's a secret: whatever works for you, works for you. Try different methods, see what sticks and discard that which doesn't. Don't be afraid to fail, and don't second guess when something is working for you.
Q. What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Unfortunately my advice in not particularly glamorous nor original. It is: Read and Write. Ta da! To elaborate. . . Read. Read a lot. Read every genre and every medium. Read novels, non-fiction, plays, poetry, graphic novels, picture books etc etc and so forth. Everything you read will inform what you write. It will teach you the writing rules, it will teach you how to break those rules. It will teach you what you like, it will teach you what you aren't a fan of.
And then you have to write. You just have to write. A lot. You never really learn until you do. And you never really improve until you do a lot.
Q. Any upcoming events or current projects you'd like to share?
Maureen's one of my favorite YA authors: she's so positive, encouraging and supportive...plus I love her wicked sense of humor. :-)
Maureen kindly agreed to answer a few questions about her Deviants experience:
Could you tell us a little bit about your new book?
Deviants is the first book in a new sci-fi series called The Dust Chronicles. Glory is a sixteen-year-old orphan who can kill with her eyes. She and her younger brother are both "deviants", their DNA having been mutated by asteroid dust that covers most of the Earth. When her brother, a paraplegic, is discovered, she must accept the help of a mysterious, hulking boy to flee the domed city they live in before they're captured and killed.
Outside the dome they're pursued by horrible scab-covered monsters, called Shredders, and Glory discovers the truth about her parents' deaths. It's fast-paced, full of action--and some kissing too.
Did you plan it as being the first of a trilogy from the beginning?
Yes. I think each of the books work as standalone titles, but I knew that Glory's full story could not be told in one novel. She learns things in Deviants that completely change her perception of herself and the world, and more in book 2 that changes her perception of others and her ability to differentiate between right and wrong... Basically she needs more than one novel to work through all these issues.
How did DEVIANTS get published?
When the version of Deviants that sold was ready to go on submission, my agent knew that each of the traditional publishers already had several post-apocalyptic-set novels on their lists. We figured there was a good chance that, even if one of those editors picked up the series, it was unlikely they'd be able to give the books "lead title" treatment.
So to increase the chance for the books to find a wide audience, he suggested we try something different and submit to Amazon who, at the time, were just getting ready to announce plans to ramp up their publishing arm.
At first I thought the idea was crazy. But I took it as a sign when Connie Brockway and Barry Eisler (then Penny Marshall and James Franco and Deepak Chopra) among others, announced they were planning to publish with Amazon. Suddenly it seemed like a bold and interesting option.
Claudia Osmond & Maureen at the DEVIANTS book launch this past weekend
The editor offered very quickly after reading the manuscript. I had to keep the sale a secret for a long time and that was tough! We first discussed releasing my trilogy under their planned adult sci-fi imprint 47North (not yet announced at the time) but ultimately decided to release the books as young adult titles.
I think the young adult market is so exciting right now, with so many fabulous books that smash both age and genre barriers. Most of the best books I've read in the past three years have been young adult and I'm excited to be part of that world.
Fabulous DEVIANTS book cake at the launch (by Fanta Cakes)What's your typical work process?
When I’m working on a first draft, I’m obsessed about the word count—to the point where I’ll change a passage to the strikeout font, rather than delete it, even when I know that a section needs to go.
I need to see evidence of forward momentum to keep motivated and meet deadlines. First drafts are the hardest part for me—usually. I can lose confidence in the book and myself midway.
The days when ideas are coming fast and furious and my fingers are flying are magical—but those days are few and far between. I need to store up that fabulous feeling to get through the bad days.
If you could travel back in time and give your younger writer self some advice, what would it be?
Don’t expect publication to happen too quickly or on the same timeline as other authors. Don’t try to write only what you think will sell. Know the market, but don’t pander to it. Write books you’d want to read.
Any tips for aspiring writers on handling rejection?
Rejection is part of the business. Everyone—and I mean everyone— gets rejected multiple times, and at every point in his or her career. Rejection typically begins the first time you show your work to someone and ask for objective feedback, and it doesn’t end when you get a publishing contract.
Embrace rejection. Every “no” simply means that particular editor or agent wasn’t right for that particular project at that particular time.
Success in publishing is like being struck by lightning. All you can do is build more and better quality lightning rods to up your odds.
Maureen doing a reading at her book launch
Any news about upcoming projects or events you'd like to share?
Compliance, the second book in The Dust Chronicles will be released May 21, 2013, so readers won’t have to wait long to see what happens to Glory next.
I’ll be appearing at the World Fantasy Con, in Toronto, November 1- 4th. I’m also excited to be part of a “Teen Books for the Apocalypse” tour with Megan Crewe, Lesley Livingston, Leah Bobet, Cheryl Rainfield and Courtney Summers. We’ll be visiting bookstores in southern Ontario during the month of November. It feels a long way off right now, but I’ll also be attending the Teen Day at the RT Booklovers convention May 1-5, 2013.
I first met Deborah Kerbelthrough the Toronto Middle Grade and Young Adult Author Group (a.k.a. Torkidlit) - Deborah's so fun to talk with, and I've also been enjoying her books over the years. Deborah's teen novels include Under the Moon (2012), Lure (2010), Girl on the Other Side (2009), and Mackenzie, Lost and Found (2008). Her personal essay, The Curtain, is included in the YA anthology, Dear Bully (HarperCollins, 2011) and her novels have been shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association’s YA Book of the Year Award and the Manitoba Young Reader’s Choice Award. A native of London, U.K., Deborah now lives and writes in Thornhill, Ontario.
Tell us a little bit about your new book, UNDER THE MOON.
Under the Moon is a YA novel about a girl who’s lost her sleep, a boy who’s lost his dreams and the twenty-six nights that change their lives. It’s about grieving, friendship, and first love. And at the heart of the story lies a question: what do we, as human beings, really need in order to survive in this world?
Despite the serene looking cover, this book was born out of chaos…specifically the chaos of my life. I started writing it in the spring of 2010 – at that time, my children were aged 7 and 4 and, between the daily demands of motherhood and writing, there was never enough time to give proper attention to everything. To put it bluntly, most of the time I barely had a spare moment to scratch an itch. During my busiest moments, I secretly resented having to give up so many precious hours to sleep and a strange fantasy began working it’s way through my exhausted brain: ‘Wouldn’t it be greatif I didn’t have to sleep at all? Imagine all the things I could accomplish?’
I actually came out and spoke about this weird little fantasy one night at a Torkidlit meeting…in fact, I think I said it to you, Debbie! And of course, uttering the words out loud immediately sparked an idea for a new book. Sure, I knew what I would do with all those extra hours in a day. But what would a teenager do if she didn’t have to sleep? How would she fill the long, dark hours of a sleepless night? I wanted to find out. That’s where the idea for Under the Moon came from.
When was UNDER THE MOON published?
Under the Moon was published in March 2012 by Dancing Cat Books (an imp
0 Comments on Interview: YA Author Deborah Kerbel & UNDER THE MOON as of 1/1/1900
After reading THE YO-YO PROPHET by Karen Krossing (Orca Books), I was inspired to do my Daily Doodle with a book theme (see above).
I also got curious about yo-yos and looked up yo-yo competitions online. Wow, really impressive performances out there. Check out this mesmerizing performance at a German Yo-Yo Masters competition:
So many reasons to love THE YO-YO PROPHET: the way the main characters change throughout the book (especially the main character, Calvin, who so desperately wants to be noticed and feel special), the tension and excitement of Calvin's yo-yo performances and competitions, how Calvin reacts to and eventually finds a way to cope with bullying, how he deals with his missing father and the declining health of his grandmother. Uplifting and hopeful ending without being clichéd.
I was also intrigued by the description of the yo-yo feats! This book might even lure young people away from their computer games to give a non-digital hobby a try.
Thanks so much to Claudia Osmond for hosting the holiday meet up for the Toronto Middle Grade & Young Adult Author Group! I had a fantastic time: so many great conversations, good food and lots of kidlit/YA talk.
Click the right- and left- arrows to see the slideshow of my iPhone photos:
Hm...just noticed that Squarespace's Gallery feature forces ALL the photos in horizontal mode, which means you're not seeing the full photo in some cases. To browse all the photos, do visit my 2011-12 Torkidlit Holiday Party Flickr set.
0 Comments on Photos from the Torkidlit Holiday Party as of 1/1/1900
We talk about everything from the craft and business of writing to renovation hell stories and family updates. Plus a whole lot of other stuff that I can't possibly post publicly, of course. :-) Anyway, I asked the attendees of last night's get together what they were working on or if they had any news to share, and here's what they told me:
We talk about everything from the craft and business of writing to renovation hell stories and family updates. Plus a whole lot of other stuff that I can't possibly post publicly, of course. :-) Anyway, I asked the attendees of last night's get together what they were working on or if they had any news to share, and here's what they told me:
Last night, I got together with some of the other members of the Toronto Middle Grade And YA Authors group at the Bedford Academy to celebrate our 2nd anniversary as a group.
I still remember when Claudia Osmond approached each of us in Twitter about getting together in person in Toronto. I confess I was a little nervous. Meet face-to-face? What if we all hated each other?
As you can guess, my fears were completely unfounded. Not only have I found everyone in the group friendly, but over the past 2 years it's been wonderful to watch friendships spring up within the group.
We talk about everything from the craft and business of writing to renovation hell stories and family updates. Plus a whole lot of other stuff that I can't possibly post publicly, of course. :-)Anyway, I asked the attendees of last night's get together what they were working on or if they had any news to share, and here's what they told me:
Working on her new picture book, IZZY GOURMET: 5 1/2 YEAR OLD GOURMET FOOD CRITIC, and creating political illustrations in support of Occupy Wall Street.
Has been distracted by her acquisitions editing work for McGraw-Hill Ryerson but has a kick-ass new agent (Jill Corcoran) and a couple of new books ready for publishers' eyes. Fingers crossed!
Cheryl Rain
0 Comments on Happy 2nd Anniversary, Torkidlit! as of 10/6/2011 9:18:00 AM
With Andrew Tolson's agent submitting his YA manuscript ,The Girl Who Saved Kafka, to prospective publishers, he wanted to entice editors with something extra, a taste of the novel before they had read the first page. He decided to launch a blog that was in the voice of the main character:
In my daily work as a photographer, I use big expensive cameras. For personal work, I’ve been using my iPhone and the Hipstamatic app. I’m fascinated by the lo-fi approach to many digital applications and Hipstamatic gives you all the beautiful and unpredictable results you’d get from a crappy film camera. The kind of low budget camera you might find in the Linfield Thrift Store. It’s a perfect tool for someone like Zoe Burns to express herself. She’s the fifteen-year-old heroine of my novel, who shops at the thrift store and uses a typewriter because it makes the letters sound loud. She’s desperate to break out of her outcast’s existence. But she must also come to terms with her crazy mother, her best friend’s growing allegiance to the popular girls and the pending appearance of teen pop star Tyler Sharp. Then there’s the school talent show which Zoe is being forced to enter. Can she combine her growing obsession with Franz Kafka’s existential masterpiece, The Metamorphosis, and her talent show performance? She’s certain she has the potential for extraordinariness but–
Wait a minute. This is starting to sound like a synopsis.
What gave you the idea for starting your Kafka Girl blog?
The idea was two-fold. First, I really enjoyed writing in Zoe’s voice and wondered what it would sound like if I transferred that voice to another medium and then added visuals. Since I’m also a photographer, I wondered what kind of things Zoe would take pictures of. How would she document her environment and her life? But also, I wanted to give prospective editors who are considering the manuscript a unique way of marketing the book to readers.
How often do you update?
At the moment I don’t update it all and that’s intentional. I’ve set up the blog so it has a narrative arc as Zoe introduces herself and her world. If the book sells, and the publisher is interested, I’d love to expand into regular updates with photos and video. Zoe already has a Facebook profile, but I’ve not done anything with it yet. It was a lot of fun putting together the stock images and shooting elements from the story, like Zoe’s Mom’s postcards. I hope the blog will intrigue readers enough to want to check out the book.
What has the response been so far?
The response has been great. I’ve even had a few people get to the end of the blog and not realize it’s fiction. I just hope no one will feel duped.
Who's the man in the picture? (beside "I'm Zoe Burns...") I thought Zoe was a girl?
The man in the photo is Franz Kafka, he of the book’s title. Nowhere in the blog is t
0 Comments on KafkaGirl.com: YA Author Andrew Tolson, Blogging, and Enticing Editors as of 1/1/1900
Toronto author Hélène Boudreau writes fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults. I first met Hélène at a Torkidlit group tweetup and have continued to be impressed by her never-ending positive creative energy, ability to juggle multiple projects AND her online promotion skills.
Last year you went on a book tour. How did that go?
The book tour was great! I spent a week in New Brunswick, touring schools, as part of the Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award program. Atlantic Canadian students from grades 4-6 spend the school year reading from a selection of nominated books and then vote for their favourites. My middle grade book, ACADIAN STAR, was nominated in 2010 and I was invited to visit a total of five libraries where I met hundreds of kids who'd taken part in the program.
What was your favourite part of the book tour?
My favourite part of the tour was meeting all the students. These kids were reading superstars! Some of them had read up to 13 books for the program and had so many great questions during my presentations. It was easy to tell that they came well prepared! The final day of the tour was the awards ceremony. Six hundred kids packed the auditorium with signs, banners and costumes, representing their favourite books. It was pretty inspiring to hear an auditorium filled with kids, cheering and going crazy for BOOKS! That's pretty much any children's author's dream.
During your tour, did you get any writing done?
I had one or two presentations each day plus travelling but I had a bit of down time during the tour to get some work done. I worked on a picture book revision and made a bit of progress on a young adult novel I've been working on. Most of my stay was in Fredericton, which is beautiful, so I took advantage of the pretty scenery and spent a lot of time walking along the St. John River. It was actually very restful (no laundry, no dishes, no cooking) and a nice change from my usual mom/writing/work mode.
How did you get your book tour? Did you plan it or did someone else arrange it?
The tour was all arranged for me by Hackmatack and the New Brunswick Public Library system. They arranged everything from my air travel and accommodations, booking the sessions and shuttling me from place to place. They were wonderful hosts!
So you're working on a picture and a YA novel at the same time? How to manage your work time?
I usually work on several projects at once and try to manage my writing time in the same way as I approached projects when
0 Comments on Interview: Hélène Boudreau on book tours, writing, promotion and MERMAIDS as of 1/1/1900
I had a lot of fun at last night's tweetup of the Toronto Area Middle Grade & Young Adult Author Group. We've moved to a new location: The Bedford Academy near Avenue Road and Bloor. The place has a laid-back pub atmosphere; I recognized it from when I attended the National Cartoonists' Christmas party (Canadian chapter) a couple of years ago.
Claudia Osmond, Nelsa Roberto, and I treated Maureen McGowan to dinner in celebration for her birthday before the official tweetup started. I think I might make a habit of showing up early for the tweetups to have dinner with other earlybirds; I find it gets a bit noisy later (I sometimes found it a challenge hearingthe person across the table).
Anyway, here's a list of the people at last night's gathering:
One of the many reasons I'm glad I joined Twitter is because I got to meet the Toronto Middle Grade and YA Author Group. The group was founded by Claudia Osmond (above left), and even though we get together once a month, some of us also meet in smaller gatherings as well.
Fun to hang out with Andrew Tolson (above right) and Claudia this afternoon, talking about kidlit publishing and catching up on each other's writing projects. The photos above & below were taken on my iPhone, and then I tweaked them using the TiltShiftGen app on my iPad. Andrew took the photo below. Andrew's a professional photographer, by the way; his recent photo of Bill Gates is the COVER photo of the current Maclean's magazine!
0 Comments on Coffee with Claudia Osmond and Andrew Tolson as of 1/1/1900
Derek Molata, Ian Keeling, Rob WestonWent downtown yesterday for the monthly tweetup of the Toronto Middle Grade and Young Adult Writer Group. As usual, I had a ton of fun as well as learning a lot about the publishing industry.
Last night, I recall feeling a bit tired and glancing at my watch, thinking it was around 9 pm... and being shocked to find out it was 10:30.
This may seem like nothing to you, but I'm so not a night person and am usually in bed by that time.
Adrienne Kress and I wield our vegetables.
The mix of attendees changes every time because of everyone's schedules. This time around, I met Derek Molata for the first time. Derek's a YA/adult science fiction and fantasy writer and (like most of the Torkidlit types) is on Twitter.
Really nice guy and wow, interesting publishing industry stories to tell (!).
Cheryl Rainfield, Jo Swartz & Megan Crewe talking with Adrienne Kress.
I feel very lucky to be part of such a great group. Everyone is so supportive and encouraging of each other. Thank you, Claudia!
Here are some of the other attendees at last night's gathering:
Earlier this week, some of the Toronto area middle grade and young adult writers on Twitter decided to get together to meet in person. Claudia Osmond was the instigator, approaching writers individually to see if we’d be interested.
I said yes, partly because Claudia was so friendly but also because I was curious about who would [...]
10 Comments on Toronto MG/YA Writer Tweetup, last added: 10/8/2009
Oh, you’re from Dundurn! Just checked your URL. Ok, I’ll make the change. Someone should probably correct that Chapters/Indigo page info.
Thanks for letting me know!
Claudia Osmond said, on 10/8/2009 2:50:00 PM
Hi Inkygirl!!
Thanks for the post and for sharing your thoughts on our first T.O. MG/YA writer’s night! It WAS a great night! So nice to meet everyone and see their real, live faces and hear their real, live voices! Thanks also for posting info on our books. Although Smudge’s Mark will be launched in the US spring 2010, it’s actually already available here in Canada now – the wait (for me) is over
Thanks again for your post and I’m looking forward to our next Tweetup!
Inkygirl said, on 10/8/2009 3:22:00 PM
Oh, thanks for the info, Claudia! Sorry I missed on your site. I’ll correct that now…
Mitali Perkins said, on 10/8/2009 3:37:00 PM
Did you have pie? You left out the important detail of food and drink.
marina said, on 10/8/2009 3:49:00 PM
Hey Debbie!
I had a BLAST! I really enjoyed meeting everyone and can’t wait for the next meeting!
Cheryl Rainfield said, on 10/8/2009 4:47:00 PM
Debbie, Thank you for writing up our meeting, and sharing all our books. You are very generous (and fantastic at promotion. You’re going to go far!). I really enjoyed meeting you and talking with you, too–and with everyone there. Everyone *was* very supportive–I love that about the children’s/YA writing community.
Mitali–I had apple crumble. I think that counts as pie.
Inkygirl said, on 10/8/2009 4:47:00 PM
Mitali – I had Cajun chicken salad; sadly, I was talking too much to have time for pie. I LOVE PIE!!!! Now you’re making me want pie.
Marina – It was so great meeting you, Marina! Looking forward to the next tweetup.
Nelsa Roberto said, on 10/8/2009 6:07:00 PM
Debbie: What a great recap! Wow, I don’t know how you juggle everything you’ve got going. And a personal thank you for being so exuberant, positive and brimming with fun. It was a pleasure to meet you. I honestly believe I would still be avoiding Twitter were it not for you.
A big shout out to Claudia for organizing the night and to Helene for encouraging me to attend. Cheryl said it best – everyone was very supportive and we’re lucky to have so many wonderful authors here in T.O. Can’t wait for the next get together!
Nelsa
Lisa Dalrymple loves to travel and has lived in such countries as South Korea, Thailand and Scotland. She now lives with her husband and their three children in Fergus, Ontario. Her story, Skink on the Brink, won The Writers’ Union of Canada’s Writing for Children Competition in 2011 and is now a picture book illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo. Lisa is also the author of If It’s No Trouble… A Big Polar Bear and its sequel, Bubbly Troubly Polar Bear, coming in October 2013.
Suzanne Del Rizzo loves the squish of plasticine between her fingers. Her illustrations appear in Skink on the Brink (Fitzhenry & Whiteside Spring 2013), written by Lisa Dalrymple. Her cover illustrations appear in the YA novel The Ehrich Wiesz Chronicles: Demon Gate ( Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Fall 2013) written by Marty Chan. She lives in Oakville Ontario with her husband and four children.
A few of Suzanne's plasticine carving tools. Read further for lots of photos of how she created the amazing illustrations in SKINK.
Christie Harkin, editor at Fitzhenry & Whiteside. Photo from Cynsations interview.In September 2010, I went to Word on the Street in Toronto. I remember that it was first thing in the morning that I saw Christie Harkin, the kids’ books editor at Fitzhenry & Whiteside, getting their booth ready for the day. I knew I wanted to talk to Christie, to find out what she was looking for in a manuscript and to establish a personal connection. However, first I had to walk around for a while to try to summon up the nerve. When I finally did, it was the end of the day and Christie was packing up her supplies to go home! She told me that she was developing a line of “Tell Me More” storybooks. In these books, while the story is, of course, the most important element, there’s also an additional educational component that can be more fully explored in the non-fiction back matter. We both agreed that Skink on the Brink might be a good fit for this line and that I should send it to her.
Suzanne and Lisa do a signing with Michael Martchenko & Loris Lesynski at Toronto's Word On The Street
When April 2011 rolled around and neither of the books I had under consideration with two separate houses had yet acquired that elusive “yes,” I submitted them both to the Writing for Children competition hosted by The Writers’ Union of Canada. This competition receives between 600-800 entries each year and I submitted every year so, of course, I had no real expectation that I would win.
Suzanne adding detail to one of her illustration elements. Wow.
Suzanne and Lisa with their editor Christie Harkin (in red shirt) and friends Jan Dolby & Joyce Grant at Toronto's Word On The Street
Anyway, here's a list of the people at last night's gathering:
Hello Debbie –
Great post – I was following the tweets the next morning!
Just a quick correction – The Third Eye is also a Dundurn publication!
Best,
Ashleigh
Ashleigh: are you sure? I got the info from:
http://bit.ly/1KR122
Oh, you’re from Dundurn! Just checked your URL.
Ok, I’ll make the change. Someone should probably correct that Chapters/Indigo page info.
Thanks for letting me know!
Hi Inkygirl!!
Thanks for the post and for sharing your thoughts on our first T.O. MG/YA writer’s night! It WAS a great night! So nice to meet everyone and see their real, live faces and hear their real, live voices! Thanks also for posting info on our books. Although Smudge’s Mark will be launched in the US spring 2010, it’s actually already available here in Canada now – the wait (for me) is over
Thanks again for your post and I’m looking forward to our next Tweetup!
Oh, thanks for the info, Claudia! Sorry I missed on your site. I’ll correct that now…
Did you have pie? You left out the important detail of food and drink.
Hey Debbie!
I had a BLAST! I really enjoyed meeting everyone and can’t wait for the next meeting!
Debbie, Thank you for writing up our meeting, and sharing all our books. You are very generous (and fantastic at promotion. You’re going to go far!). I really enjoyed meeting you and talking with you, too–and with everyone there. Everyone *was* very supportive–I love that about the children’s/YA writing community.
Mitali–I had apple crumble.
I think that counts as pie.
Mitali – I had Cajun chicken salad; sadly, I was talking too much to have time for pie. I LOVE PIE!!!! Now you’re making me want pie.
Marina – It was so great meeting you, Marina! Looking forward to the next tweetup.
Debbie: What a great recap! Wow, I don’t know how you juggle everything you’ve got going. And a personal thank you for being so exuberant, positive and brimming with fun. It was a pleasure to meet you. I honestly believe I would still be avoiding Twitter were it not for you.
A big shout out to Claudia for organizing the night and to Helene for encouraging me to attend. Cheryl said it best – everyone was very supportive and we’re lucky to have so many wonderful authors here in T.O. Can’t wait for the next get together!
Nelsa