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It's nearly November and we're quickly realizing just how soon our debut year will be done. No doubt it's been an exciting time for us. We'd like to take this opportunity to review our greatest accomplishments for 2008 and outline our goals for 2018, when we hope to have one heckuva ten year reunion!
BARRIE SUMMY
In 2008, my goals were (some of these are from my list of New Year's Resolutions):
1. floss daily
2. finish Book #2
3. exercise 3x a week
4. watch more TV
5. buy cute clothes
6. survive the launch of I So Don't Do Mysteries
What I accomplished from this list:
1. I've been incredibly good about daily flossing, especially now that I've found a brand of floss that I actually like. Visit to the dentist planned for November where I will no doubt be awarded stickers for a cavity-free appointment. Which I so deserve.
2. Book #2, currently titled I So Don't Do Spooky, is done and revised and revised and copyedited. Amazingly, I still like it.
3. I'm pretty good with the exercising, although I did take off a month this summer to go to Toronto and eat some of my favorite foods like ketchup potato chips, butter tarts, Nanaimo bars, Swiss Chalet chicken.
4. I'm watching a little more TV now that I've figured out how to download (is it upload?) shows to my ipod. I watch the shows while treadmilling it at the gym. Currently, I watch The Office and sometimes Grey's Anatomy. Please feel free to give suggestions!!
5. I have failed miserably at this. Except when my friend, L, came with me to buy an outfit for my author's photo.
6. Ask me Dec. 21 (the day after my launch)
By 2018 I hope to:
1. still have my own teeth
2. have written 10 or 20 books
3. still be exercising. I'd like to try a personal trainer (if I find a really nice one who doesn't push too hard).
4. watch a reasonable amount of TV so I know what everyone's talking about
5. enjoy book signings6. have a fashion sense or have convinced L to shop with me on a regular basis
NINA NELSON
In 2008, my greatest accomplishments were:
1. Having fun launch parties in CT and MO
2. Speaking at schools, libraries, and bookstores
3. Being able to maintain balance in my life
4. Completing the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk
5. Having fun working on my second novel
By 2018 I hope to have:
1. Lived in Europe
2. Finished a triathlon
3. Continued to have written books I'm proud of
4. Continued to have balance in my life
5. Climbed another big mountain
What's your now and later?
Ever wanted to go deep into the Amazon but didn't have enough frequent flier miles or bug repellent? Well here's your chance! Join Nina Nelson as she gives you the full tour!
When I was writing
Bringing the Boy Home I frequently looked back at the photo album I’d compiled from my vacation to the Amazon back in 2001. I had gone with my husband, my sister and my mother-in-law and it wasn’t hard to recall the sounds, sights and feelings of the rainforest after looking at the below pictures and re-watching the video. We stayed at the Explorer’s Inn Lodge, a research camp on the Rio Tambopata. Interestingly enough, we were the only people staying there except for: two students, the camp cook (from a local village) and the guys who were fixing one of the thatched roofs.
Okay, so let’s start at the beginning:
In Bringing the Boy Home, an anthropologist named Juan Diego picked Sara and Tirio up from the airport and took them to the research camp where they were staying. In reality, a fellow named Juan Diego picked our little group up from the airport and took us to the research camp where we were staying. But he was not a portly anthropologist--rather he was a young, thin research student who was staying at the Explorer’s Inn Lodge and paying for his room and board by playing tour guide. Below you can see the outboard canoes that we rode in for six hours on our way to the lodge. This is what I imagined Sara traveling in when she found Tirio floating down the river and it is also what I imagined the two of them riding in when they returned to the jungle a couple days before Tirio’s thirteenth birthday.
Pic 2 shows me (I’m the one without the mustache) and the “real” Juan Diego. I’m sipping the tea that the camp cook made for my bellyache. After Juan Diego explained that I had an upset stomach (in what I’m assuming was Portuguese) the cook picked up a machete, went out back, returned with a bunch of leaves and brewed me a tea. Half an hour later…I was all better. Cool, huh?
These are the huts where we stayed. No electricity, HUGE water bugs (roaches on steroids for those of you who have never lived down South) that kept leaping out from unexpected places and mosquito netting around the beds. Strangely enough, this looks just like the research camp where I had Sara and Tirio stay when they went back to the Amazon. Hmmmmm. I even have a little (or should I say HUGE) discussion between the two of them about the water bug/roaches!
As for the local party animals:
This is Pablo..or is it Pedro? Anyway, this clown and his swine brother used to be wild piggies but had become semi-tame after being fed scraps from the kitchen. They were a constant source of entertainment for us and I envisioned their antics a lot when I wrote about Sulali’s pet tapir, Tambo.
Another friend of ours was, Willie the Macaw. I used him as my muse for the parrots gnawing at the clay lick leading to Tirio’s tributary. Willie was rescued when some poachers caught him and tried to take him overseas to sell. Juan Diego told us the poachers stuff the baby birds in paper towel rolls and then hide them in their luggage. Grrrrr….I’d like to show those poachers what a paper towel roll stuffing feels like! Anyway, Willie was unable to go back to the wild and now lives at the lodge. Here he is hanging out with my sister.
Here I am feeling like I’m on the movie set of, Honey, I Shrunk the Author. This is a banana leaf. The locals use them as roofing material for their huts. I used them in the book as Mother Nature’s umbrella to shield Tirio from the many downpours I put him through.
And THAT was my experience in the Amazon rain forest. And THAT is what helped me to write Bringing the Boy Home. I just wish I could have added some howler monkeys or birds as background music. I guess you’ll have to go to the Amazon jungle to hear THAT for yourself.
I love to be caught off-guard when I’m writing. I pray for those magic moments, especially on days when I’m dragging myself to the keyboard.
My first surprise was when Luka’s sister, Karara showed up:
I was typing away at a scene and out of the corner of my mind, this teen girl walks in carrying a basket on her hip. Her hair was divided into eight braids and she had attitude. I remember thinking “Well, hello, who are you?” And while I typed, she rolled her eyes and flipped her head, and in no uncertain terms let me know exactly who she was. She’s one of the strongest characters in the book and definitely one of my favorites—and she was totally unplanned. Magic.
My second surprise came when I left a gate open in a scene:
Luka was doing a trial run of his “seeing” test and when he gets to the wash area, he notices that the entrance gate of the wash area—usually closed to keep caiman out—is ajar. I have no idea why I wrote it that way, perhaps to create an eerie mood; anyway I went about my merry way and forgot about it. But several months and several chapters later, a friend reminded me during critique group, “You left the gate open back in the Punhana scene; is that going to come into play later?” To which I replied. “Hmmmm, I did, didn’t I? Better figure that out.”
And lo and behold, in the next chapter, that gate being open provided the perfect puzzle piece to connect two pieces of the story. Yeah, I planned it that way all along.
My last surprise, was the biggie: how the boys were related:
I had no idea, but I knew I didn’t want to it to be obvious. The truth is, up until a certain point, their stories were not related: Tirio was in Florida and Luka was in the Amazon, so I didn’t have to worry about the relationship. But then, when the time came for their paths to cross, I remember thinking “Oh, man. I really painted myself into a corner here.” So I strapped my 14 month old daughter in the Kelty backpack, leashed up our two Weimaraners, Abby and Eli, (RIP-Eli) and headed for a little wooded trail by our house.
(Not hard to imagine a jungle scene when you’re walking through this, huh?)
This was a well-tread route for me; and it had gotten me out of a lot of “What now?” writer situations. And on this turn in the road: as clear as if I’d planned it all along—the boys’ relationship came to me. And I remember smiling and feeling such a load lift and thinking,
“That’s it. OMG, how perfect, how gosh-darn perfect. That’s it.” Phew!
Last week was hot, but this week will be even hotter! We've got N.A. Nelson in the house all week for the launch of her debut novel Bringing the Boy Home! Whoo hooo!
"I've seen what the world does to the weak. It'll eat you alive."
Tirio was cast out of the Takunami tribe at a very young age because of his disabled foot. But an American woman named Sara adopted him, and his life has only gotten better since. Now, as his thirteenth birthday approaches, things are nearly perfect. So why is he having visions and hearing voices calling him back to the Amazon?
Luka has spent his whole life preparing for his soche seche tente, a sixth-sense test all Takunami boys must endure just before their thirteenth birthday. His family's future depends on whether or not he passes this perilous test. His mother has dedicated herself to making sure that no aspect of his training is overlooked . . . but fate has a way of disturbing even the most carefully laid plans.
Two young boys. An unforgiving jungle. One shared destiny.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: N.A. NELSON
N.A. Nelson was born in London, England and grew up on a cattle farm in rural Missouri. Living on a thousand acres of wilderness provided plenty of opportunities for adventure, but it also created a sense of wonderment about what else was out here. After graduating with a degree in tourism, the author strapped on a backpack and has been exploring the world ever since. Recent journeys include the jungles of the Amazon and the glaciered peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
How the book came about: “The idea for this story came from an experience I had while staying at a scientific research camp in Brazil. On my second night there, I developed a stomachache and asked our guide, Juan Diego, for some local medicine. He translated my problem to the camp cook, who grabbed a machete, went into the woods, chopped some leaves off a tree and brewed me a mild flavored tea.
As the cook handed me the cup, I realized that I was about to drink the same tea that he prepared for his own family. All of a sudden, the differences between us—our skin color, our country of origin, our place in life—disappeared. We were both just flesh and blood trying to make a sick person feel better. This realization actually became a theme of the book itself and allowed me to write about a culture of which I was not actively a part.
REVIEWS"Told in two distinctive voices, this imaginative and beautifully realized novel, set in the Amazon, tells the story of two boys from the fictional Takunami tribe, who on the eve of their 13th birthdays must endure the soche seche tente, a test of manhood. If a Takunami boy successfully completes this ordeal, he will have warrior status in the tribe and be allowed to meet his father, who psychically guides him during the experience. Tirio, who was ousted from the tribe because of a bad foot, has not been formally trained. But now that his birthday approaches, he has been hearing the voices of his ancestors and knows that despite his lack of preparation, he is being called upon to meet his destiny. Luka, who has spent his childhood working toward this moment under the tutelage of his strong-willed mother, is ready. Their stories connect in a surprising yet totally believable way, giving psychological depth to this richly hued novel about the winding turns of destiny and the bonds between father and son, tribe and family." ~Kirkus Review
"Refreshing, well put-together, and completely original." ~Teensreadtoo.com (5 star review)
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The Class of 2k8,
on 6/20/2008
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2K8ers love a good blog party, but nothing beats a debut author's first real world launch party!
I had my book party (Alive and Well in Prague New York) at the wonderful Bank Street Bookstore in my neighborhood in Manhattan. Friends and family braved fierce heat to come out and help me celebrate.
This is me and my super fabulous editor Jill Santopolo, who is an excellent author in her own right. She introduced my reading. I was pretty nervous about it but it was a sympathetic audience and they cheered me on. Afterwards I signed books.
This is my friend Keith Bunin who is a terrific playwright and screenwriter. He was one of a group of friends from high school who came out to show their support. It’s neat to have friend who actually knew me as a teen read my teen book!
Here are some other friends and my awesome-beyond-words agent Alyssa Eisner-Henkin. Writer Kathryne Alfred is in there too along with a couple of other friends. After the signing we headed out for food and drinks at a nearby restaurant.
And here’s another group that came out to support me: some Class of 2K8ers! This is me with Donna Freitas, Courtney Sheinmel and Nina Nelson.
It was so much fun to celebrate my book’s arrival in the world and I’m so grateful to everyone who came!
Thanks for a wonderful week, Daphne!
By:
The Class of 2k8,
on 6/14/2008
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"The story provides a safe and positive alternative to teens who are hoping for happy endings in their own lives."
Summer Events:
ALA Book Signings: Front Street will host two signings for Zu Vincent's young adult novel The Lucky Place at the American Library Association's Annual Conference on June 28th & 29th in Anaheim, California.
Zu will present on the panel “Managing Your On-line Career” at Vermont College Masters Program Alumni Weekend on July 13th.
Zu joins other 2K8ers for a panel presentation "Turning Old Writing Tricks into New Reading Tricks for Today's Young Audience " at the 110th California Library Association's Annual Conference & Exhibition in San Jose, California, November 14-17.
Zu's radio interview about writing her novel The Lucky Place first aired on "Nancy's Bookshelf," KCHO 91.7 FM, Saturday, May 24, 2008, at 3 P.M. Pacific Standard Time.
By:
The Class of 2k8,
on 6/13/2008
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Class of 2K8 & 2K9 at NJSCBWI
Marissa Doyle, Daphne Grab, Albert Borris (2k9 Co-Pres), Nancy Viau, Nina Nelson
Editors! Agents! And Authors, Oh My!
New Jersey has one of the largest SCBWI chapters on the East coast, and writers from Maine to Maryland sign-up early to attend the annual conference in lovely Princeton. This year top editors like Cheryl Klein, Robin Tordini, Jessica Dandino Garrison, Samantha McFerrin, Stacy Cantor, Nick Eliopulos, and came ready to dish out advice, provide critiques, and give workshops. Approachable agents were in the mix, as well, and the line-up included Dan Lazar of Writers House, Stephen Barbara of Donald Maass Literary, and Linda Pratt of the Sheldon Fogelman Agency.
Author Daphne Grab and Agent Stephen Barbara
Agent Stephen Barbara, Hallee Adleman, Daphen Grab
Nancy Viau and conference organizer Kathy Temean
By:
The Class of 2k8,
on 6/12/2008
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The Class of 2K8 panel at NJSCBWI:Daphne Grab, Nina Nelson, Marissa Doyle, & Nancy Viau Members from the Class presented an afternoon workshop on guerrilla marketing called 28 Great Marketing Ideas from the
Class of 2k8.
Nina Nelson,
Marissa Doyle,
Daphne Grab, and
Nancy Viau spoke about marketing their debut novels, individually and as part of a group, to a packed room full of energetic attendees.
They began with the basics—have a signature line for every email that includes your information, create a professional-looking website that reflects not only your book, but you as an author. People nodded and smiled, and scribbled notes in the spaces left on the handout. Press kits were discussed, along with publisher/author communication, tie-ins to national organizations, and what can be done to create consistent buzz. People scribbled harder!
Nancy, Daphne, And Marissa
Half way through the presentation, Nina, Marissa, Daphne, and Nancy addressed the nitty-gritty of marketing and had a little show-and-tell of popular swag like posters, tote bags, pins, candy, and bookmarks. Library visits, school workshops, signings, movie trailers, and blogging were discussed as ways to spread the word about books. A topic that got a lot of interest was that of social networking, and numerous attendees had questions about the usefulness and safety of promotion through MySpace, Facebook, JacketFlap, etc.
Daphne, Nina,Marissa, and Nancy
The panel was a hit! Questions kept coming long after everyone filtered out into the hallway.
Check the Class website for more 2k8 presentations coming to local, regional, and national conferences this year.
Stay tuned: more pics from the NJSCBWI conference coming tomorrow!
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The Class of 2k8,
on 5/31/2008
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Give us a week and SHAZAM good news bursts forth. It's literary lava and we are HOT!
RAVE REVIEWS
Nina Nelson’s Bringing the Boy Home received a glowing review from 
Kirkus. “"Told in two distinctive voices, this imaginative and beautifully realized novel, set in the Amazon, tells the story of two boys from the fictional Takunami tribe…their stories connect in a surprising yet totally believable way, giving psychological depth to this richly hued novel about the winding turns of destiny and the bonds between father and son, tribe and family.”
The Story Siren said Regina Scott’s “La Petite Four has a little bit of everything; mystery, suspense, romance and of course really beautiful dresses! The plot is interesting and captivating.” They also refer to Regina as an “awesome writer.”
BIZ BUZZ
M.P. Barker got an excellent write up in The Republican and was a featured author on Red Room.
Jennifer Bradbury’s Shift will be published in Dutch!
Teri Brown’s book trailer for Read My Lips is featured on CBS’s You Tube.
Laura Bowers is known for her amusing author interviews. Check out her latest 1-on-1 in which Daphne Grab confesses to singing to her cat.
Not only has Marissa Doyle been a featured author on the Fantasy Debut blogspot, her Bewitching Season was named in the editor's ten best summer reads for older readers in Scholastic’s Instructor, a magazine for teachers. 
Sarah Prineas talks about killing your darlings aka revising as a guest blogger on Darcy Patterson’s Revision Notes. Even better, Czech and Slovak rights to The Magic Thief trilogy were sold to publisher Fortuna. That's a total of 12 languages, plus the UK/Australia!
Who knew Lisa Schroeder was an expert juggler?!? But she says as much in this great interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith. And I Heart You, You Haunt Me is going to be published in Polish. It’s official…2k8 is international!
Pittsburgh’s Lux did an awesome interview with Brooke Taylor (her first!). Check it out!
Sarah Beth Durst (Into the Wild) recently interviewed our Zu Vincent about her essay in the Teen Libris anthology, Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.
Annie Wedekind’s new website is a must see in addition to her post about the love affair between girls and horses on the Feiwel and Friends blog.
Web sites…
may increase sales.
are great places to showcase excerpts.
provide information about worthwhile organizations.
explain a service available (such as proofreading or critiquing).
keep readers informed of future books, upcoming events, etc.
help authors be part of today’s technological world.
Like it or not, they are here to stay!
Jody Feldman puts it this way:
Why do authors need Web sites?
Outside of the fact that readers, today, expect us to have one, and rely on the reality that we will? And we don’t want to disappoint them? And this may be the only place where each of us can control our information? Make sure it’s accurate? And reflects our own voice? Outside of the fact that it’s fun to create your own personal version of the world most interactive business card? There are other reasons, but for now, that enough for me!
~Jody Feldman, Author of The Gollywhopper Games, http://www.jodyfeldman.com
And finally, the class would like to leave you with this tongue-in-cheek comment from Nina Nelson that is sure to make you smile:
Web sites keep people guessing!
A friend I hadn’t seen in awhile immediately called me after my website went up to say, “Okay, be honest, what work have you had done?”
To which I replied in a bemused tone, “What are you talking about?”
“Plastic surgery! I’m obsessed with your Web site photo! What have you had done?”
I replied, laughing (but totally honestly), “Nothing.”
“Nuh-uh!" friend says. "Your nose looks awesome in that picture. My mom and I both think you got your nose done. I’ve been telling everyone you did. Really, you didn’t? It looks great.”
So, if you ask me what’s the best part about having a Web site, I’ll say: my nose, because my nose looks good (and I’ve never been happy with my nose)! And because my nose looks good, friends are gossiping wickedly about me behind my back.
N.A. Nelson, Author of Bringing the Boy Home, http://www.ninanelsonbooks.com/
Be sure to check out all our noses on The Class of 2k8's Web site!
I thought I would share something from the poetry book that my soon-to-be 4 year old is currently obsessed with. I do love having a kiddo who is fascinated with words and rhyming! Such fun!
Spit
Saliva, better known as spit;
it seems our mouths are full of it.
To see your spit at work, don't spew it;
bite a bit of bread and chew it.
Your salivary glands produce
saliva, a digestive juice
that helps to turn the bread to mush,
assisting the esophagus
(a muscular and lengthy tube)
in swallowing the food you've chewed.
Although some folks think spit is rude,
your spit helps you digest your food.
With poems like "Consider the Anus", and "Your Hormones are Exciting", Allan Wolf's poems really do cover the ins and outs of the body. A fun look at our bodies and even a helpful gateway to those inevitable discussions about "parts"!
BARRIE SUMMY
NINA NELSON
Very cool, Nina -- I love the pictures!
Great pictures... and I love this book!
Teri
Indiana Jones has nothing on you, you adventuress. I love the tea story. You should host a show on the travel channel.
Wow, that is one huge banana leaf. I admire your courage going into the rainforest, Nina. I always wanted to join the peace corps, but only if they sent me to Sweden.
Can't wait to read this book!