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I want to tell you a quick story, with permission from who told it to me, of the unexpected ways books connect us. A few years ago I did a photographic essay of men and boys reading Princess Academy to illustrate that, yes, this does happen and yes, it is okay for heaven's sake. One of the participants is this man, who I've known for years:

He is a family man. He has many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and is hands-on involved in their lives in an active, loving manner. He's a treasure. A few years ago one of his grandchildren gave up her two precious children for adoption. As is often the case, even though it was for the best, it was still very hard for the whole family.

The two kids, a brother and sister, joined a loving family. And not knowing that their birth grandparents knew me, they apparently became fans of my books. One day the grandson is reading through my past blog posts and sees the above picture. He recognizes "Papa." And so the boy has his mother take a picture of him reading Princess Academy in the same manner, recreating the photo. His adoptive mother sends the picture to his birth mother, who shows the birth grandparents. And today, with tears, they showed it to me.

A few weeks ago author Shannon Hale blogged about showing up for a school visit and learning that only the girls would be attending her lecture. The assumption that boys don’t want to see a “girl book” author is wrong in a million ways, but enough people have responded to this outrage, and I don’t need to add to the chorus.

I know Shannon Hale is popular with young readers, as her name always comes up when I poll groups of kids on their favorite books, but I’d fallen into the same benign sexism as the school: assuming that something that looks like this had no interest to me.

But in following this story, I read a synopsis of Princess Academy and was intrigued. It sounded far more interesting than I would have guessed from the title and cover. Now, after reading it, I know it a thoughtful critique of the “princess” ideal with a strong feminist theme. Its popularity with girls shows that they are quite ready for this message.

Hale’s way into this topic is intricate: girls competing against one another, tempted by materialism, made to feel ashamed and undeserving. Every element feels natural in the story but could lead to rich discussions about how own culture treats girls. It could even be assigned reading in a college class on women’s studies or gender issues. But the sociopolitical aspects are so well integrated with a good story, it doesn’t feel like the whole book is just a frame for a lecture. I’ve read few children’s books that are as deceptively simple on the outside and run as deep.

After a childhood of Disney princesses, girls really need books like Hale’s. I think boys should read it too: because it’s an enjoyable book, and to have an idea of what girls are going through. We know many men arrive at college belligerent and hostile to feminism; why not begin those discussions sooner?

Besides that, few quote/unquote “boy books” show heroes as reflective and conscientious as Miri. Boys steeped in the personal exceptionalism and power fantasies that often shape “their” stories will be ill-equipped for the real world; Miri is a much better role model for all children.

How do we make the leap to a world where boys can read a book called Princess Academy without fear of bullying and scoffing? Men need to read books by and about women, showing that it’s expected of men to care about women, and boys about girls. And schools need to encourage boys to see brilliant authors like Shannon Hale when they’re lucky enough to have her instead of keeping them in class.

The Forgotten Sisters, the final book in the Princess Academy series, hits shelves one week from today. Preorder the book from anywhere and get a free poster.

Here are details of my upcoming appearances in Utah, Chicago, North Carolina, Wyoming, and Santa Monica. I need to focus more on writing and family than on trips and book events, so I will be cutting back wherever possible this year. Catch me while you can!

What am I currently working on? Nine things. Short stories, screenplays, a graphic novel, an adult novel, some middle grade and young adult novels. I honestly don't know which one will be finished and out first. I often hear non-writers muse that coming up with ideas must be the hardest part of writing. There are many things harder than coming up with ideas.

1. Sitting my butt down and writing every day
2. Ignoring the internet
3. Not letting myself get discouraged
4. Getting enough sleep at night
5. Eating healthy food
6. Ignoring the internet
7. Choosing which ideas to work on first
8. Staying with one book till it's finished and not getting distracted by all the other shiny ideas
9. Sitting my butt down and writing every day
10. Balancing work time with business/publicity and family needs

Today I took my four-year-olds to their indoor soccer class, stood outside the door, and had a phone interview with Sally from Publisher's Weekly about Princess Academy's tenth anniversary. The class pit the girls against the boys. My daughters had a stunning plan for victory: stand directly in front of the PVC-pipe-and-net goal and twirl their hair in eerie unison. And then when a boy kicked the ball anywhere near them, they picked up the goal and turned it around. I watched and laughed and gave my interview. A janitor overheard me on the phone and interrupted the call to ask, "Are you a writer? Do you have any books out? What are they? I love to read."

So do I, my friend.

Big day for literature! The ALA Youth Media Awards. Especially excited for my pals:

Dan Santat wins the Caldecott for BEEKLE

Cece Bell's EL DEAFO and Jacqueline Woodson's BROWN GIRL DREAMING win Newbery Honors

Candace Fleming's THE FAMILY ROMANOV wins a Sibert Honor

Jason Reynold honored with the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent for WHEN I WAS THE GREATEST

I always love what I think of as the Newbery morning. Reminds me of the call that woke me up nine years ago. Still such a powerful memory that when I retell the story I tear up. Congrats to all the winners. Though awards aren't everything, honoring books is a great way to remind us of the power of literature.

This year PRINCESS ACADEMY celebrates it's tenth anniversary. The final book in that trilogy, THE FORGOTTEN SISTERS, publishes in just three weeks. Preorder a copy, either ebook or hardcover, from anywhere and get this free poster. See here for more details.

Also announcing the paperback of DANGEROUS, coming in May with a brand new cover. What do you think?

In honor of the 10th anniversary of Princess Academy and the upcoming publication of the third book in the trilogy, Bloomsbury has redesigned the jackets in this series, with artwork by Jason Chan. I'm excited to reveal them here at last!

The Forgotten Sisters pubs in hardcover March 3, 2015, with the rejacketed paperbacks of the first two at the same time. The first review is in, a starred review from Booklist!

"On the day that Miri is to return to her beloved Mount Eskel, she is summoned by King Bjorn of Danland, requesting her to travel to outer-territorial Lesser Alva where she is to tutor three royal sisters. If the King of Stora chooses one to marry, war will be prevented, and it’s up to Miri to succeed. Unhappy but dutybound, Miri accepts the task, only to meet three wild girls who spend their days wrestling on the floor and hunting and fishing in the swamp. ...Action packed and wellpaced, the story’s depth incorporates artful negotiation, the importance of education, and citizens’ equality and rights. This final installment of The Princess Academy trilogy certainly leaves room for more books if Hale were so inclined. Won't she reconsider?"

What do you think of the covers?

Winner winner chicken dinner! My children and husband all chimed in and picked their two favorites. The first was no surprise:

I know the marvelous manipulator of the Batman image and she has been justly rewarded. I wanted to honor a second winner so I gave my family three votes on another one. They all chose different pictures (so many great ones!), overlapping on one:

Awesome! Marvelous-photo-taker, please email me your address and who you'd like the books personalized to at squeetus (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks, guys, for caring about this! I love that so many of you care too. Hopefully by spreading awareness we'll give our boys a chance to grow up reading lots of great stories and embracing female characters as well as male.

To continue the ongoing posts featuring bits from the Palace of Stone area on my website, I list dozens of titles we tried on for size. Here are a few that I thought would be the final title at one time:

Lady Miri

The Queen's Castle

Lady of the Princess

The Robber Princess

Crown Breaker

Miri of Mount Eskel

I've been neglecting you! And I haven't posted winners of the contest yet. Sorry. I just sent off the latest draft of my unnamed YA book to my editor and am working on a short story for an anthology I'll annouce later. But first, Happy Halloween! And as has become a magnificent Squeetus tradition, here's a book pumpkin from carving wizard Laura Middleton.

There are no words.

Also, check out her ode to FRANKENSTEIN, from the picture book parody of MADELINE, written by Ludworst Bemonster, aka Rick Walton and Nate Hale.

Aw. The little demon looks so sweet. And celebrating Ally Condie's final book in the MATCHED trilogy:

Gorgeous! Thank you, Laura. Your talent rocks.

Here are your photos! I love these so much. I'll let my husband and kiddos select two winners (because I have no doubt that they'll choose the Batman one, so we'll add a second winner to the mix). If you submitted a photo and it's not here, please put the link in the comments below and I'll add it. Enjoy!

I received this wonderful account from Erin, age 12.

    I had stayed up late the night before at our ward’s Women’s Retreat, and was grumpy that evening. My sister and I were supposed to clean our room. I was mean to her, and my mom took away my book, Palace of Stone, for five days. When I argued and tried to get my book back, I got sent to bed.
As I was lying there, I was trying to think of ways to get my book back. I didn’t want to just take it, even though I knew I could easily find it and take it back. The only other way I could think of was to convince my mom to give it back, and I didn’t know how I would do that. So I started thinking about what I had already read. I had just passed the part when Miri convinces Peder’s dad to let him go to the lowland by using Diplomacy. Suddenly the idea came to me. I could use diplomacy to get my book back. If it worked for Miri, is should work for me, right?

    Rule one: Identify the problem
    “I know I’m not allowed to have my book back.”

    Rule two: Admit your own error
    “I was mean to Ashley and disobeyed you. That was wrong.”

    Rule three: State the error of the other party
    “But you took my book and yelled at me. That was wrong too.”
   
    Rules four + five:  Propose specific compromises + Invite mutual acceptance
    “I think we should put that behind us and forget last night on these terms. I will try my hardest to be nice to my siblings and do everything I’m asked the first time. In return you will give me my book back.”

    Rules five + six: Illustrate the negative outcome of refusal and positive acceptance + Assert a deadline for acceptance
    I couldn’t really think of any way to say this without it sounding like a threat. You know, she is my mom. :)

    I also had to make sure she was in a good mood. I chose Sunday afternoon, on the way home from our ward choir practice. Then we were alone in the car for several minutes. All through choir I prepared myself and went over my speech in my head. In the car, I gave it to her, and she laughed. I didn’t get my book back until later that afternoon, but it still worked. I was really excited that now I could finish devouring it and enjoy the drive to Salt Lake to visit family.

What a cutie! Cheers to Erin and her mom. Also, here's more info about the webcast event: Join Shannon for a live webcast at Brooklyn Friends School to celebrate the release of Palace of Stone. Click here to register for the free event.

This is a cool thing I'm doing in early October. I'll be presenting an author assembly in New York City, and School Library Journal is broadcasting it live into other schools. Educators, you can sign up your class or school to participate remotely. I'll be taking questions and comments from kids both live and digitally. I know Jeff Kinney did this recently and it turned out super awesome.

See my events page for upcoming appearances in Utah, Illinois, Baltimore Book Festival, and NYC.

Thanks for your support of my new book! Here's a snippet, one of the songs that start off the chapters:

Once there was a queen in a palace of bread.
Sing blue, sing white, stay up all night.
She nibbled on the walls and gobbled up her bed.
Sing white, sing blue, sing ballyhoo.

The people begged a crumb from their robust queen.
Sing blue, sing white, she ate all night.
She would not share a thing until it turned green.
So white, so blue, the mold it grew.

Here it is! For reals! Palace of Stone at #8 on the NYT best seller list. Wahoo! Thank you SO MUCH to those who bought the book early. It really makes a difference for a book's overall success if it's launched well.

It was interesting looking over all the children's best seller lists. Like most female children's/YA writers I know, I've been asked many times why I don't write books for boys. (My answer is: but I do. Why don't some boys read books about girls?) There is a crisis in reading. Boys aren't reading as much as girls and are suffering academically for it. I love that this is being addressed and questioned. But I wonder why books that have female main characters are seen as part of the problem.

I also hear over and over again that there just aren't enough "boy" books and books about boys. Look at this week's NYT best seller lists and the ratios of male:female authors.* [EDIT: whoops, I write it out wrong the first time. Now it reads correctly, e.g. 8 male authors: 2 female authors.]

Children's paperback - 8:2

Series books - 8:2

Children's chapter books- 7:3

Children's picture books - 9:1

I love to see a lot of men in children's books. It's wonderful! But I don't see the paucity that some are worried about. 80% of the current best sellers are written by men. Does anyone know, are the best seller lists not representative of what's published over all? Are, say, 80% of books published by/about girls, even while 80% of the best sellers are by/about boys? I don't know those stats but I'd be curious to learn.

Now please keep posting your great photos of boys reading "girl" books! Loving the entries. Some of these are really going to make you laugh. Let's give the contest a couple more weeks. And I'll post about the book tour soon.

*I looked at this just by author gender. There are a couple of books by men that have female main characters, and a couple of books by women that have male main characters. But overall, the best sellers are 80% male-led. Not a criticism, just the facts, and I like to look at facts and wonder about them.

You guys! You guys you guys you guys! Princess Academy: Palace of Stone will debut on the New York Times Bestseller list next week. I feel like I'm walking on air...and any second I'll trip and come down and it won't be true. But for now, it's true! YAY!

I'm in Georgia at the moment, will be at the Decatur Book Festival tomorrow. I've met so many great people and done crazy amounts of travel. Tired. But good tired. More later.

Keep sending in entries for the Guys Read "Girl" Books contest. Jon Scieszka, our former esteemed ambassador of chidren's literature and founder of the awesome Guys Read campaign, sent me a photo to add to the collection:

"Rooting for Miri and the Revolution all the way!"

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone is now live, people! It's been a crazy busy week for me and next week promises the same. Keep sending in entries for the contest--loving the photos. You can enter more than once and pose the pix if you want, I'm not making any rules. Also check here to see my tour schedule. Having a great week in the southwest. The first couple of weeks are often critical for a book's success. (If there's an immedite demand for a book, a book store will often order more copies, and having copies in store makes it much more likely people will buy a book.) Thank you SO MUCH to the bloggers, readers, journalists, book sellers, and reviewers who have been talking about the book.

I have a Palace of Stone section on my site and will post the stuff here as well. Today, some reviews. I'm just filled with so much gratitude. Thank you!

"Absolutely incredible ... this is the book we have all been waiting for."
--Jennifer L. Holm, three-time Newbery Honoree and NYTimes-bestselling author of Turtle in Paradise

"Shannon Hale is a master of fantasy. In Palace of Stone, she raises her own stakes with a gorgeously-written sequel about the heartbreaking complications of revolution, friendship, romance, and returning home."
--Stephanie Perkins, NYTimes-bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss

"[P]owerful and deeply engaging...Miri's clear voice keeps the story hers and her people's. There's lovely...descriptions and vivid warmth to Miri's friendships, her longing for home and her thirst to learn more and more. Miri's story comes to a satisfying end; readers who have been waiting since 2005 will find their patience well rewarded."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Hale's skill as a storyteller will charm her audience...nobody else has quite the same knack for seamlessly segueing between the folksy, intimate charm of an extended fairy tale and the larger canvas and more epic scope of high fantasy."
--Horn Book

"Miri may be just a young woman from Mt. Eskel, but in Palace of Stone she proves once again that with quick wit and brave words, one person really can change the world."
--School Library Journal

"Miri's appealing blend of innocence, bravery, and good sense will draw fans...[A] lively, provocative tale about political change and justice...Princess Academy rode a Newbery Honor onto the New York Times Bestseller list, and Hale's only gotten more popular ever since.
--Booklist

"Readers of Hale's Newbery Honor-winning Princess Academy (2005) will welcome this reunion with Miri and her schoolmates...this is a fine follow-up"
Publisher's Weekly

"It was lovely to be reunited with the girls of Mount Eskel. Where in Princess Academy she found her strengths, now Miri has to find the best way to use them -- and quickly. Politically challenging, thought-provoking, and genuinely heartwarming, Hale's newest is one I can't wait to handsell."
Jenn Northington, WORD, Brooklyn, NY

"What a treasure! Shannon always puts her whole soul into what she writes and I think this time she has outdone herself. I didn't even know I wanted a sequel and now I am not sure how we went so many years without one!"
Heather Herbert, Children's Book World, Haverford, PA

"We loved Palace of Stone! This was classic Shannon Hale. Even though I haven't read Princess Academy in five years, I instantly identified with all the characters. Shannon Hale is so reachable!"
Becky Lee, Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, TX

"Again Hale has spun a tale of adventure and friendship where good over evil can get complicated."
Valerie Lewis, Hicklebee's, San Jose, CA

"For me, Palace of Stone bears two hallmarks of a great book--a story that I found myself daydreaming about and characters that I miss now that I have finished the novel."
Cynthia Richards, Northshire Bookstore, VT

"I loved this beautifully written coming-of-age story. A very worthy sequel to the wonderful Princess Academy."
Carol Moyer, Quail Ridge Books & Music, Raleigh, NC

"Yay! Highly enjoyable, this is sure to please fans of Princess Academy, Shannon Hale, or fantasy."
Adrienne's Book Blog

"Five full and enthusiastic stars."
Calliope's Reviews

"I LOVED this book. Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors."
Raving Reader

"I had not read the first Princess Academy book, which was a Newbery honor book. I know it's always been very popular with the middle school girls at my school, as have almost all of Shannon Hale's books. I didn't find it an issue reading this one without reading the first...I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend it."
Wandering Librarians

"This is a worthy sequel to Princess Academy. The book is sweet, even while dealing with the threats of revolution and assassination, it maintains the fairytale like quality that we've come to expect from Shannon Hale books."
Galavanting Girl Books

"This is one of the very few books that both educates and entertains -- and doesn't short-change either side! It is an absolute must-read!"
Alamosa Books

"It's sort of... Princess Academy meets Catching Fire. In other words, thought-provoking and multi-layered while somehow cozy and, of course, beautifully written. As usual with a Shannon Hale book, I just wanted the story to go on and on; I wanted to live in it. Gorgeous."
Reading Everywhere

"The writing is like snuggling down into a huge pile of feathers and getting lost in the softness until you don't know which way's up."
Colorimetry

"This book is going to be memorable. Very memorable."
Books Are Better Thank Ice Cream

"Palace of Stone doesn't have quite the same magic to it as its predecessor. But there's nothing wrong with that. It's got a different kind of magic to it that's all its own."
Cracking the Cover

Several years ago, I did a signing at a Borders in New Jersey and snapped a photo of this display:



I'm sure it was a shelving error and I got a kick out of it at the time. Of all my books, it sounds the least likely to be considered a book for boys. And yet I've met many boys who have read and enjoyed this most "girlie" of my stories, though many were ashamed to admit it to me (their moms/teachers did so for them). Per our conversations here, here, and here, I hope to encourage awareness of how we talk about books and try to wean ourselves off the gender categories. Not all kids will like all books, of course, but no boy should be shamed for reading a "girl" book. And no boys should be led to believe that anything to do with girls is off limits to them or inferior. Boys can and do read "girl" books! And here's some photographic evidence, followed by a contest.

The title of this post comes from my husband. He went with me on tour to the UK years ago for Princess Academy. At one of the high schools, some of the boys seemed dubious about the book, and my huge, muscly husband stood up and said, "Real men read Princess Academy. In public." (The term "real men" is used lightly here of course. What, I wonder, is an unreal man?)

He's a man's man. (Notice the power tools!) And he's not ashamed of his reading choices.

Reading a "girl" book in public? Why not? (He's also an incredible pianist and has the cutest curly hair.)

I told this 14-year-old cousin, "I bet I get emails from girls asking for your number," and he said, "And don't hold back passing it along." But seriously, is there anything more attractive to a reader girl than a guy reading a book she likes too? Hm, maybe I should make a calendar of teen boys reading. I'll be a millionaire...

Look at these cute brothers! I never ask anyone if they've read one of my books (writer ettiquette 101) but many of my photo subjects volunteered the info that they had, in fact, read Princess Academy. (most are from my extended family, but still, I was guilty of assuming the guys wouldn't have read it...)

If I had a dime for every time I saw a guy at a gym lifting while reading Princess Academy...

These brothers and a son-in-law paused their manly pursuit of piano fixing to catch up on a few chapters. (Staged? What do you mean it looks staged? I'm a nature photographer, I snap pictures and never interfere!)

Out for a ride...and a read.

Construction and Princess Academy: two things that go great together!

Aw, a father reading to his boys. Stop my heart.

He's a man with a penchant for mustaches and excellent literature. And a sweetheart besides.

And now the contest. Snap a photo of a guy (any age) reading what might popularly be considered a "girl" book (doesn't need to be one of mine). Post it somewhere and paste the link in a comment on this post. My husband, son and daughter will pick the winners, who will get a signed hardcover of Princess Academy: Palace of Stone (in stores August 21!) and some other of my books too, whatever we can scrape up. If you enter, you're giving me permission to repost your photo on my blog in a future post, as I think it'd be fun to see all the entries together. [EDIT: I'm going to be busy the next couple of weeks, so check back for contest deadline, but you have at least two weeks to enter.] To get us started off, here's a photo of Ricky Whittle (Austenland's George East) with 50 Shades of Grey.


(copyright Splash News & Pictures)

PS. No Austenland movie news yet.

Did you see the Princess Academy: Palace of Stone book trailer yet? Check it! This is my first official book trailer. I think it's quite fetching. And after this cinematic interlude, return next Monday for more about boys and books, including a contest.

Sorry I'm late! It was an exhausting day yesterday and I plum forgot to post, and on the very last one, too!

Chapter 25

The ending: I remember one of the notes my editor gave me in her first editorial letter for this book was to slow down at the end. She'd said that the pace felt leisurely generally and so the short ending seemed rushed. It was a pleasure really to take some more time and allow all the loose threads to twist together.

Britta's lie: This is the part that I get the most complaints about for this book. What do you think about Britta's behavior? Do you understand why she did what she did? Was Miri right to forgive her? How did you feel about the outcome? (ps. there will be fallout from this in Palace of Stone)

"Maybe Mount Eskel didn't need a princess, just an academy.": I felt shy about writing that line. That's the kind of conclusion that means more if the reader arrives at it herself rather than a character saying it outright. But it felt true to me that Miri and Britta would have that conversation. I felt like they needed to acknowledge it among themselves.

Olana: By writing with a close third person narrator, we only know as much as Miri knows. It takes till the last chapter for Olana to open up a little.

Peder holds her hand: Nothing we write is ever wasted. I wrote a middle grade book several years before The Goose Girl which hasn't and never will be published. At the end of the book, the boy takes the girl's hand. That moment stuck with me and I borrowed it for the end of this book. (My favorite moment in Enna Burning I also stole from one of my never-will-be-published short stories.)

"the miri flowers were already blooming": Choked up a little reading the last line!

Alysa asks, "If I bring my copy of Scapegoat to a Palace of Stone signing, will you sign it?" Of course! I love that book! Check out my events page for book tour locations.

Savanna asks, "Do you prefer handwritten notes and drafts or working on the computer better? And what are your thoughts on choosing titles for your books?" I started writing my first novel when I was 10, which was also the year our family got our first computer (an Apple IIe). I think my brain is hardwired to write on a keyboard. My fingers and wrist hurts writing longhand. Titles are so important. Some come naturally, some I have to search and fight for. Sometimes titles come very late after much debate and dozens of suggestions. On my site, I'll post a list of all the titles we considered for Palace of Stone, but here are a few that were almost the title: Lady of the Princess, The Robber Princess, Crown Breaker, and Miri of Mount Eskel.

Thanks for coming on this journey with me! Next week: more fun stuff, with a contest the week after.

Chapter 24

Second to last chapter. In the homestretch! Have any of you been reading along with us, only a chapter/day? I think I'd probably read ahead. Just a chapter each day would be too hard for me.

I mentioned before that the song in this chapter was inspired by "The Hosting of the Sidhe" by W.B. Yeats. Here's Yeat's poem (the lines in bold are the ones that I echo in my song):

The host is riding from Knocknarea
And over the grave of Clooth-na-Bare;
Caoilte tossing his burning hair,
And Niamh calling Away, come away:
Empty your heart of its mortal dream.
The winds awaken, the leaves whirl round,
Our cheeks are pale, our hair is unbound,
Our breasts are heaving our eyes are agleam,
Our arms are waving our lips are apart;
And if any gaze on our rushing band,
We come between him and the deed of his hand,
We come between him and the hope of his heart.
The host is rushing 'twixt night and day,
And where is there hope or deed as fair?
Caoilte tossing his burning hair,
And Niamh calling Away, come away.

Here's my song from Chapter 24:

Night is calling, Away, come away!  
Empty your mind of troubles and dreams
Empty your heart of all daylight things         
Night is calling, Forget! But the day
Will not wait, not long now, won’t delay

And here's a song I wrote for Palace of Stone that was inspired by the previous. Different rhyme scheme, but I feel like they're sister songs.

Bury the embers, extinguish the spark
We plunge ourselves in the well of the dark
Far from voices that trouble and chatter
Down deep down where worries don’t matter
Our minds all teem with the unseen thing
But night is a blink, and sleep but a dream
Wake, wake, see things as they seem

pg 281: With her head, Miri doesn't believe Mount Eskel is anything but a mountain, but with her heart she wonders if the mountain did hear their need and sent the snow. What do you think?

By the end of this chapter, Miri still doesn't know what she wants. What do you want for her at this point? What do you think will happen?

QueenEnna asks, "The ending of this chapter always worries me. How could Miri's father have been sure that the mallet wouldn't hit her instead of Dan?" Think of Pa as Thor. Would Thor miss? Pa doesn't know much, my friend, but he knows the business end of a mallet!

Allerednic asks, "You mentioned that you switched some of Peder's actions in this chapter to Miri's pa. How did you decide what to have Miri's pa do, and which actions to keep for Peder?" Originally when Miri was hanging from a tree root, Dan holding her ankle, Peder dropped a rock on Dan's head. I switched to Pa with his mallet (nice little symbolism there). As I reworked the chapter and the whole book, that action of Pa's resonated and other things changed too.

H.P. asks, "You're the AUTHOR, if you're not the Sole Voice of Authority, who is?" You are. The reader. My work is done with the final draft. The reader's work begins when you open the book. I don't like authors interfering with that, trying to insist on The True Meaning of Things. That's the reader's perogative.

H.P. also asks, "Why are you using the new cover of Princess Academy? Why not one of the two old ones?" I don't know, I usually use the most recent cover of any book, and that one's the most recent. I think if you go into a bookstore now, that's the most likely cover you'd find.

Kaitlin asks, "How do you start a book after you've had an idea? Do you plan out the plot and subplots or

Chapter 19

The opening song: A love song that only Mount Eskel would create.

"However...": Oh! To float above the ground only to come slamming back down again! I so feel Miri here. Never in my life has a prince seemed to like me and then leave early without declaring his feelings, but I feel like I know exactly what she feels. Isn't it amazing how universal feelings are? That we don't have to go through the exact same thing to understand each other? Like quarry-speech, similar memories nudge our own till the message is almost just the same. Not exact, but humanly close. I love books for how they help us empathize with others experiencing things we never will.

"she felt as though she sat in the puddle" pg 226: Sitting in a puddle is never a pleasant place to be. But I trust that Miri will be able to stand back up.

"She was used to having the idea of Peder nestled constantly inside all she did," pg 228: This is how I felt when I was falling in love with Dean. The feeling has changed slightly with the years and the confirmation of his own love. Being mutally, welcomingly in love means the other is a constant companion even in their absence.

"Esa was telling her to run." pg 230: Wait, what? Danger is afoot, you say? I wasn't expecting that! (or were you? Do tell!)

Libby asks, "With editing, are there times when editors tell you to change things that you'd rather not change (stuff that's important to the plot, etc.)?" I've never had any negative experiences with this. I trust my editor and try to listen closely to her feedback. There are definitely times when she points out something isn't working and suggests a solution that doesn't work for me. But so far I've always found a different solution that solves the problem in a way that works for both of us.

Kris says, "Just letting you know that my preteen daughter and I read PA together last year (along w/The Witch of Blackbird Pond-- don't you love that book?!), and I know that the experience will always be one of those special memories." I do love that book! Thank you. Reading books together creates such a unique and profound bond with people, doesn't it? It's much more intense than watching a movie together. It's closer to actually experiencing the action of the story. Going on an adventure together. So lovely.

Chapter 18

Music: I remember going on a field trip to a symphony when I was very young, perhaps first grade. I was completely astounded. I had never realized that so many instruments could combine to make music altogther. I'd heard guitar, banjo, and piano before individually, but the symphony had been way beyond my imagination. It was thrilling and perspective changing.

The ball: 200 pages of build-up and at last we get to the ball. Will it be heavenly? Horrible? What are you expecting at this point?

Miri jokes, pg 212: Ah, Miri. When I told my sister a few years ago that I was going to be interviewed on NPR's Weekend Edition, her advice to me was, "Don't try to be funny." She well knows my tendency to make jokes that people end up not understanding and the awkwardness that invariably follows. My husband tells me I do it too straight-faced. I need to wink or something I guess, that visual :).

Food, pg 216: I love descriptions of food. Food is such a great way to ground the reader in a particular culture. Somehow in this book I'd neglected to name any foods at all. My editor noticed this (she was a professional chef for a time) and gave me that note around draft 3. It was fun to research old Scandinavian foods.

Miri and Steffan's conversation: Pivotal moment! What's your opinion of the prince now? What do you think will happen?

Zena Parks asks, "How do you manage to push through the first draft without getting bogged down/distracted by wanting to go back and fix everything?" I give myself daily writing goals, usually 1000 words/day. I have to reach that, and if I'm going back to rewrite I won't have time. I have to be very firm with myself. First drafts are hard for me, usually the hardest part.

Alyshkalia asks, "I thought it was interesting that Miri became academy princess through a vote, rather than because she was actually the best in the class.Were you always planning to have it happen like that? What were your reasons behind it happening that way?" I can't remember! I just went back to the first chapter. In that version, Miri simply had the highest score and the scene on the hillside with the girls quarry-speaking to each other didn't occur. How boring and meaningless.

Isobel asks, "When you start writing a book, I guess you don't know your character extremely well. In later drafts, when you get really familiar with the character and are editing with that in mind, is there a temptation to put the whole character out there right away?" I try to ground my writing in that old adage "Show don't tell." As a reader, I so much prefer to learn about a character by what they do than have the narrator just declare, "Miri used her quick wits and humor to hide her unhappiness, had a strong sense of justice and a tendancy to act rashly" or something. It's sort of insulting to the reader, as if we couldn't figure that out on our own if the writer just showed us the character in action.

Genevieve Ford asks, "Did you see this list on NPR.org? Goose Girl is on it." Yes! Thank you to those who nominated Goose Girl. I went to vote and was tempted to use up all 10 of my votes before getting through the B's. Go vote! SO many excellent books.

Chapter 17

Though the river is milk

It stops dead in my throat

Like a stone, stone, stone

pg 199, "Surely there was some other place for her": Miri needs something to make her special, something (being a princess perhaps?) that gives her a place, a reason, something to contribute. I think we all do. Even young children. It's interesting in large families to see how children will claim a certain role--the funny one, the smart one, the good one, the baby, etc.--even though those labels can be limiting and sometimes just wrong. I wonder how we can allow ourselves and each other to be someone special, and also to be more than one thing. (more on that in Palace of Stone)

Pg 201, Miri waves: Even though we know a main character pretty well 200 pages in, it's important to keep learning new things. This is a simple act yet I think it's revealing of Miri's character. Would you have guessed she'd wave cheekily at the prince's carriage? Would you have done it?

"The prince had suddenly become a real person with a height and an age and hair color": For so long he was just "the prince." Slowly his character is revealed. At this point, what kind of a person are you expecting he will be?

Britta's sickness, pg 204: When I was in high school, I participated in the Homecoming queen pageant. At my school, each club and organization nominated a girl, and then we did an interview with the judges and then performed a talent at an evening assembly. (I wrote and read a poem--I was very dramatic...) The first night I did well and made the final ten. Then the next day we did it all over again. I got a little sick and nerves brought it on so fast, by the evening I was barely conscious. The interview was a nightmare, I couldn't remember the questions after they'd asked them. I remember lying on the floor backstage when someone told me I was supposed to be on stage. I stumbled on, forgetting all my props. Of course I didn't make the top royalty. Now it seems strange to me that I was a part of the competition at all. But I thought about this experience when I was writing about Britta's illness.

Esa's arm: Whenever I have a newborn (or two) I think often what it would be like to only have use of one arm. It's hard, very limiting. I was writing Princess Academy when I had my first child. Trying to open jars and make meals while holding a newborn was tricky. Those thoughts led to Esa's disability. And not just Esa. In my current novel, my main character was born with one arm. (still rewriting that one but hoping to make Fall '13 release.)

Sorry I'm out of time again! Tomorrow I promise to get to your questions. Feel free to ask more.

Chapter 16

Pg 184: "Her mind and heart tangled." What Miri believes she knows and what she years for at sometimes not the same. How often I've felt this way about so many things.

Miri cheats: This part of the story is one I've been criticized for. Miri can pass the test on her own, but she helps the other girls cheat. There are no negative outcomes in the story for her actions here. Does it seem as if I'm promoting dishonesty? Were Miri's actions wrong? Is it okay to have a main character do something wrong and not be punished for it? Why did Miri do what she did? Given Olana's actions, could you justify Miri's?

I have some personal opinions in this matter that may not be relevant. But I'll say this much: the ability to memorize the years of a certain war are not the best criteria for selecting a princess.

Katar: A character is what they do and say. When writing, if a character is feeling weak, examine their relationships with the other characters. Relationships are the key to character strengthening. My characters feel quite flat to me in a first draft. I have to see them act, hear them speak, allow them to form relationships in order to understand them. Katar is one who grew. Miri had never wondered why Katar was the way she was before. Perhaps that's a failing on her part. This scene was not in the first draft, but now it feels essential.

"All her life she had seen herself as the only lonesome thing in the world": I love Miri, I identify with her, and I can say I think her personal doubts and sadness made her self-centered in many ways. She looked inward so often, she missed noticing the struggles of those around her. I think this encounter with Katar will change how she sees other people forever. I think we all need these encounters to give us more empathy. What a gift it can be with others entrust to us their vulnerabilities.

Weekend. Family time. I'll get to questions tomorrow. Thanks for staying on this journey with me!

Chapter 16

Pg 184: "Her mind and heart tangled." What Miri believes she knows and what she years for at sometimes not the same. How often I've felt this way about so many things.

Miri cheats: This part of the story is one I've been criticized for. Miri can pass the test on her own, but she helps the other girls cheat. There are no negative outcomes in the story for her actions here. Does it seem as if I'm promoting dishonesty? Were Miri's actions wrong? Is it okay to have a main character do something wrong and not be punished for it? Why did Miri do what she did? Given Olana's actions, could you justify Miri's?

I have some personal opinions in this matter that may not be relevant. But I'll say this much: the ability to memorize the years of a certain war are not the best criteria for selecting a princess.

Katar: A character is what they do and say. When writing, if a character is feeling weak, examine their relationships with the other characters. Relationships are the key to character strengthening. My characters feel quite flat to me in a first draft. I have to see them act, hear them speak, allow them to form relationships in order to understand them. Katar is one who grew. Miri had never wondered why Katar was the way she was before. Perhaps that's a failing on her part. This scene was not in the first draft, but now it feels essential.

"All her life she had seen herself as the only lonesome thing in the world": I love Miri, I identify with her, and I can say I think her personal doubts and sadness made her self-centered in many ways. She looked inward so often, she missed noticing the struggles of those around her. I think this encounter with Katar will change how she sees other people forever. I think we all need these encounters to give us more empathy. What a gift it can be with others entrust to us their vulnerabilities.

Weekend. Family time. I'll get to questions tomorrow. Thanks for staying on this journey with me!

Last night I spent an hour reading parts of Palace of Stone before bed. (Is that silly?) That made me so excited to share it! The book releases one month from tomorrow. I'll have that section of my site up soon. And now back to Princess Academy...

Chapter 15

Weather: Again we start with a description of the outside world, as it reflects the mood and thoughts of Miri and the girls. This may be surprising considering how often I pause to describe setting, but as a reader I often get bored in long passages about what someone/something/someplace looked like. Descriptive passages better do two things for me: show me something visual (without rambling) as well as tell me something about the character/s. If descriptive passages don't also move the plot along, I get antsy and skim them. (I LOVE Tolkein, but I do some major skimming in LOTR.)

Boots, pg 180: Oh beautiful footwear. Can you imagine what it was like to lack good footwear? I lived in Paraguay for a year and a half. The streets were either dirt or empedrado--lined with stones. The stones were not smooth, they were rough and jagged. I literally wore through the soles of my shoes, straight to gaping holes. I could feel those sharp rocks on my feet as I walked, and I was luckier than many to have shoes at all. I can imagine how grateful Miri was to get those new boots.

"She would find her own place": Where will that place be? I feel like the essence of growing up is finding that personal place, and often re-finding it. It's easier to be kind and forgiving of others, I think, when I remember that they, too, are on a quest to find their own place.

Short chapter! Let me get to some questions.

Some of you asked about Danland's religion. I hesitate to give story details that aren't in the text. We know they attend chapel every rest day, once a week, and worship the creator god. There are priests of the creator god in the lowlands who divined Mount Eskel as the home of the future princess. I wrote more details about what they did at chapel in earlier drafts, but I always cut a lot out of my drafts and that was a section that went under the knife because it wasn't essential to the story. The same thing happened in Palace of Stone. I find the priests and their religion interesting. Maybe someday the story will require more details.

Alysa asks, "do you keep a journal?" I do though not daily. I also have a writing journal, something I started doing 3 or 4 years ago. At the beginning of each writing day, I record the current word count/page number and what my goal is for that day, as well as kind of talk to myself about any problems I see. Not sure it would prove interesting reading for anyone else, but it's helpful to me as motivation and to record progress. I also keep a journal for my kids. Every month I write an entry in it, like a letter to them, talking about what they're doing this month, recording stories. That's a real treasure for me and I hope for them one day.

Rebekah asks, "I was browsing your website and you mention in a couple of places that there are other professions you can do from home besides writing...could you explain what these other professions are?" I think there are lots, but I'm not a very good career counselor. I just know of people who work from home. In college I did some contract tech writing from home.

Perri asks, "If you had the choice of marrying the prince or staying on the mountain, which one would you choose?" In Miri's cirucmstance, I would have chosen as she did, but at the beginning I didn't know that's what I would have done. It took exp

Chapter 13

Katar: She's a prickly one. What is your opinion of Katar at this point? There's always so much more going on with minor characters than I can tell. The narrator only knows as much as Miri does. Unless Katar opens up to Miri, she can seem flat.

The rules of diplomacy: 1. State the problem, 2. Admit your own error, 3. State the error of the other party, 4. Propose specific compromises, 5. Invite mutual acceptance, 6. Illustrate the negative outcome of refusal and the positive of acceptance, 7. Assert a deadline for acceptance

pg. 156: Do you think Olana really was impressed and pleased with the girls? Or was she bested and pretended to be pleased to maintain her pride?

Peder's hawk: It's a 3 hour walk to the academy and a 3 hour walk back again through the night, arriving in the morning with quarry work is waiting for him. It's about the most romantic thing ever. It's funny--I know that I made it up, but I don't feel that way. I feel like it was something that Peder did and I observed it. Is being a novelist a form of mental illness?

Chris asks, "After "honing your inner reader" with works by other authors, do you every consciously emulate or avoid elements of their style? If so, do you find either approach (emulation or avoidance) to ultimately help or hinder your writing?" That's hard for me to answer. The honing process never ends. Writers keep reading--observing, taking note, absorbing. Sometimes I do consciously emulate or avoid elements I note in other books, though at the moment I can't think of a single example! The problem with reading as a writer is it's hard to turn off my brain and get lost in the story--I'm always noticing the writing, analyzing, editing. But it's a critical skill for being a writer.

Heather asks, "Where did you come up with the name Asland for part of the kingdom? That question actually comes from my mom because it kind of bothered her because it sounds so much like Aslan (she's a big Narnia fan)." I took Scandinavian names as the root (Dan and As) and added +land to them, reminiscent of Finland. The similiarity to Aslan was a bonus for me, as I too am a Narnia fan!

Ashley R asks: "My little brother (12) read The Goose Girl, and he loved...How many boys have you heard of who have read The Goose Girl and liked it? :)" Lots, actually! My experience is boys over the age of 9 rarely pick up books that seem "girly" on their own. But many older sisters and mothers let me know that their boys enjoy my books (and other "girly" books) on the sly. A shame there is any shame.

Two and a half more weeks of this. Are you guys still game?

I love this poll on my publisher-run Facebook fan page: What did you/do you think will happen at the end of the book?

Chapter 12

Mud in the stream/And earth in the air/Clay in my ears/And stone in my stare: I remember someone once asking me which song was my favorite and I chose this one. I don't know if I could pick one favorite of anything, but I do like it.

First paragraph: I love that feeling of waking up at home again after being away for a long time. What could in some circumstances be annoying--Pa's snore--is comforting.

pg 143-145: Dialog is a lovely and dangerous tool. It's so awesome for character and relationship building, and so lousy for exposition. A general rule is never use dialog for anything the narrator could tell. Never use dialog to deliver information. I break that rule here with Katar informing about delegates, and I did so very carefully. I hope it isn't jarring. I do like this conversation, all the girls talking together, making plans really for the first time. I love that this is the first time any of them have thought to ask the prince's name. Slowly, he's becoming more real to them.

Being smart, pg 150: Miri considers what it means to be smart. I've often felt discouraged that the main way we determine smarts is by school grades or the ability to test well. Of course there are so many different kinds of smarts.

Marda and the academy: Even as Mir and spring holiday solved some of the problems and questions of the story, new ones arise. Within the main story arc, a novel is a series of smaller problems and solutions.

Dr. Sallie N. Cheinsteen asks, "When you decided that you wanted to be a writer, was it solely because you loved writing, or did multiple things help you decide that? For example, you had a goal of uplifting others, you wanted others to read what you had written, etc." I dealt with this question on my site: Why do you want to be a writer? I'd also add that no author I know writes because it's easy for them. This is the hardest work I've ever done, yet the most satisfying too. It takes a ton of commitment and sacrifice. But the main motivation is always the words, the characters, the story. We tell the story the best we can and let the readers decide what it means to them and how, if at all, it changes them.

KMB asks, "how much research do you do on the country your story setting is based on?" Since I'm not writing non-fiction or historical fiction, I have so much leeway. I love doing research and the true facts I uncover help root a fantasy novel in reality. But I can pick and choose what I use. For quarrying, I used the library, reading all or parts of about ten books. For setting research, it was combined books and internet. I do no where near the amount of research as a non-fiction writer, but I do a fair amount, I guess.

HP asks, "are you given a choice about the cover of your book?" My publisher consults with me but they  make the call on covers.