tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33885783257825390132024-03-18T17:01:07.133-04:00YA Outside the Lines♥ YA Novelists Pushing the Boundaries of the Genre and Writing from the Heart ♥Brian Katcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159532800819759917noreply@blogger.comBlogger2528125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-38655169455699487462024-03-18T07:00:00.001-04:002024-03-18T07:00:00.133-04:00The Not-So-Immediate Turning Point<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWx8wmUjsBLxDKEsOlY8VwUYYPFYSHb7h9F7vzAsINAcPqCnVq_TLpAUAaUfm3RZJ4PKwL4ExP1ATY7fSOUiW2bBvZxe3Gh5ABHDlalK5kHbmhY-OnrFCERJPcPrh8BpCIiaZWLd57hBNLJ30W7MNW2eC_VpZZ9DJpVQdosot_DEzIrHAFLO6l0MaTMW60" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1200" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWx8wmUjsBLxDKEsOlY8VwUYYPFYSHb7h9F7vzAsINAcPqCnVq_TLpAUAaUfm3RZJ4PKwL4ExP1ATY7fSOUiW2bBvZxe3Gh5ABHDlalK5kHbmhY-OnrFCERJPcPrh8BpCIiaZWLd57hBNLJ30W7MNW2eC_VpZZ9DJpVQdosot_DEzIrHAFLO6l0MaTMW60" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div>I've often thought of turning points as those moments when reality reaches from nowhere and smacks you in the face. But I've had to reevaluate because, for me, my turning point in getting the guts to tackle a YA thriller is only visible from my rearview mirror. Here's what happened.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'd been very happy in my lane, writing upper-middle-grade/tween books... Until I grew frustrated with my inability to make my stories sing like they needed to, like they had in the past. Time for a breath. Or ten.</div><div><br /></div><div> Refreshed and re-energized, I approached my agent asking which of several shiny, new story ideas she and the industry might best be able to get behind. We talked. We chose. Then she asked me a question: "Have you ever considered writing a YA thriller? I think you'd be really good."</div><div><br /></div><div>YA, yes. I wrote a few (bad ones) when I was trying to figure out this whole writing thing. But thriller? Definitely not. Thrillers and mysteries were for other people to write and for me to read. How could any book of mine measure up to those in my lifelong genre of reading choice? And so, I thanked her for her confidence and wrote another book in my comfort zone. The result of that? A big, fat <i>No.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>There are those who would look toward that rejection as the turning point which sparked me to write <i><a href="https://read.sourcebooks.com/young-adult/9781728254265-no-way-home-tp.html" target="_blank">No Way Home</a>. </i>I'm confident, though, that the real pivot happened the moment my agent asked her question. My subconscious merely forgot to alert me.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm on alert now. I'm also aware that the turning point which finally brought a new dimension to my writing might, one day, lead to, as yet, unexplored opportunities. <br />I'll let you know when I see it in my rearview mirror.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="http://www.jodyfeldman.com" target="_blank">Jody Feldman</a> continues her YA thriller journey with a just-finished first draft of a new story and current revision of one she let breathe for a few months. She hopes to show you both very soon.</i></div><div><br /></div>Jody Feldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05826620526949644604noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-48266542321848759122024-03-12T06:00:00.001-04:002024-03-12T06:00:00.135-04:00Take the Fork in the Road...<p> by Charlotte Bennardo</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietk1khCrHlM4sIjpPFibwRkmaroZNyWlBwDDNja618_q17BX00200IWOHXoikIVIeuSTlObsHGduMLypiH3D3fg5Dc7joLg-NeBnpGVTp503Zo0F-oWHpo6uNtjV_JYK46QzulWkw_X1SSF96AjsAfZZBmSnsiEe-ipKeaVRh-AUFyK-hhfoik_nwI88/s3200/pexels-james-wheeler-1578750.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2146" data-original-width="3200" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietk1khCrHlM4sIjpPFibwRkmaroZNyWlBwDDNja618_q17BX00200IWOHXoikIVIeuSTlObsHGduMLypiH3D3fg5Dc7joLg-NeBnpGVTp503Zo0F-oWHpo6uNtjV_JYK46QzulWkw_X1SSF96AjsAfZZBmSnsiEe-ipKeaVRh-AUFyK-hhfoik_nwI88/w527-h354/pexels-james-wheeler-1578750.jpg" width="527" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="plusjakartasans, -apple-system, blinkmacsystemfont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", Ubuntu, sans-serif" style="text-align: start; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by James Wheeler: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-pathway-surrounded-by-fir-trees-1578750/</span></span></div><br /><p>There comes a time when you hit a point where you must make a decision about the path you're on. Crisis, turning point, options- whatever you call it, you must make a decision about where your path continues.</p><p>Writers reach many such points: writing time or time with the kids; writing for children or writing for adults; stay in one genre or branch out; and the biggest-should I give up writing because I'm not having any success. Each decision we make about our writing career/life/passion/hobby- whatever you want to classify it as, takes us on a different path after we come to a turning point.</p><p>My turning point came when the pandemic hit. The publishing industry was severely limited and a lot of authors struggled to keep their writing dreams and businesses going. I hit such a wall. Although I had several novels written and had three novels traditionally published, I wasn't getting anywhere with finding an agent or a traditional publisher. That was my turning point: either give up a passion to simply write for 'fun' (which isn't feasible to me) or try a different route. I needed something to reinvigorate my writing career. Time for a drastic move.</p><p>With so much shut down, I enrolled in school, which could be done online, to obtain my master's degree in creative writing, with a certification as a professional writer. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJL3K_e3YGFCL4h9VrYhCakh6TpC9cRy603FrIOeTmHxYzuI_WekKuqPNyPJ-TwkKKgVqdZOHy57KPZSCfuVuckNYe-YuDJkupZ9JqngXu4LSFAqfjImDSCznWdDY04X_wz0vcqwfik6-9AUYMj7cpPfwJmpuoH-FidEaBkTGD1C7BeCGIp-7GOIrC-Q/s4624/20240311_132938.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2604" data-original-width="4624" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJL3K_e3YGFCL4h9VrYhCakh6TpC9cRy603FrIOeTmHxYzuI_WekKuqPNyPJ-TwkKKgVqdZOHy57KPZSCfuVuckNYe-YuDJkupZ9JqngXu4LSFAqfjImDSCznWdDY04X_wz0vcqwfik6-9AUYMj7cpPfwJmpuoH-FidEaBkTGD1C7BeCGIp-7GOIrC-Q/w500-h281/20240311_132938.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What did I get from this new path? I had to start with the basic: studying classical pieces of literature both old and new; learn about plot points beyond merely conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution; revisit grammar rules; adopt new styles of query letters; learn how to tighten up synopses and refine my writing; acquaint myself with sound practices for my professional writing business; and mostly, force myself to write smarter, faster, and more focused. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With my degree up on the wall I came to another turning point, another decision; would I put all that I learned to use, or just let the knowledge and motivation faded away....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My path follows a solid routine: Mondays are for social media. I write on my blog and if there is a deadline for the two other blogs I write posts for- YA Outside the Lines and Smack Dab in the Middle. If I have free time, I work on revising a manuscript and/or submit a polished novel to agents/publishers. Tuesday-Thursday are for working on manuscripts, with Tuesday night being reserved for my romance writers critique group, and Fridays are for short story writing and submitting. I leave time for personal activities like swimming (or, at the moment, physical therapy...annoying inconvenience), biking or hiking with the hubs, or such. By sticking to a routine I can make the most of my writing time. I believe this focused effort will produce results and rewards. It hasn't been easy, but success never is. Sometimes a turning point is merely a course correction to help us get what we want.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Char</i></b></span></div><br /><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Charlotte</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"> writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, and paranormal genres. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Evolution Revolution </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">trilogy, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Simple Machines, Simple Plans, </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Simple Lessons</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">. She co-authored the YA novels </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Blonde OPS,</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Sirenz,</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"> and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Sirenz Back in Fashion. </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">She has two short stories in the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Beware the Little White Rabbit (Alice through the Wormhole) </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Scare Me to Sleep (Faces in the Wood) </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">anthologies. Having finished her MFA, she's applying what she learned and is working on several children's and adult novels, along with some short stories. She lives in NJ but dreams of a Caribbean beach house. </span></p>Author on the Loosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13371105720422860639noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-6102164872251794032024-03-11T08:00:00.008-04:002024-03-11T08:54:25.674-04:00Turning Point | Decide What To Be and Go Be It | Sara Biren<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPVeQYcuTxq6_2R0mPE3z0VRr8nB6TanqwNxNMFcEoJ5BalB23pjNdynuWzFseYOMza2fN4JwBslsjsgI6AmV0grhVlBwNFT2cbtArkDtvJN7HYgdcdIDc2eNB4hnOYl0f0rNWTxvUmBrZy-hHobBBAsb03iJ60JCQP8_WhwpAcNxFEnRk2OVz_iltj7L/s1080/Decide%20what%20to%20be%20and%20go%20be%20it.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPVeQYcuTxq6_2R0mPE3z0VRr8nB6TanqwNxNMFcEoJ5BalB23pjNdynuWzFseYOMza2fN4JwBslsjsgI6AmV0grhVlBwNFT2cbtArkDtvJN7HYgdcdIDc2eNB4hnOYl0f0rNWTxvUmBrZy-hHobBBAsb03iJ60JCQP8_WhwpAcNxFEnRk2OVz_iltj7L/w400-h400/Decide%20what%20to%20be%20and%20go%20be%20it.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Four years ago this month, the wheels began to turn for our move to Wisconsin. This was 2020 at the beginning of lockdown, and moving during a pandemic presented many challenges. I'm still trying to find my footing and my place as a Wisconsin author. I'm getting there and taking steps to keep moving forward. <br /><br />One thing that I've started this year is a new fiction writers' group at a wonderful independent bookstore in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, <a href="https://www.papercranebookstore.com/" target="_blank">Paper Crane Bookstore</a>. Six (!) people came to the first meeting last Friday. The Friday Night Writers range from published authors to writers who have a lot of ideas but aren't sure where or how to start.<br /><br />Friday night was a turning point for every person who showed up for that meeting. At some point, they all decided to try something new. They decided that they would see what the group was all about, that they would actually stop whatever they were doing and get into their vehicles and drive to the bookstore in the cold, late-winter rain and put themselves out there. They decided to become a Friday Night Writer, to learn and improve their craft and help others, too.<br /><br />Since the first time I heard it, I’ve adored the Avett Brothers song “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise,” especially this line: <i>Decide what to be and go be it</i>. I love it so much, I’m considering getting a tattoo of that lyric. (Watch the <a href="https://youtu.be/QeYSqZPzwr8?si=I7PKHe_P9z1Ek82u" target="_blank">video</a>. It’s amazing.)<br /><br />Because that’s one of life’s major turning points, isn’t it? When you decide what to be and go be it? When you decide that you are a writer or a dancer or a filmmaker or an engineer or whatever your heart desires? When you take steps to nurture the passion inside you and let it out into the world for yourself or for others to enjoy, even if it’s scary or hard or people think you’re bananas for doing it. <br /><br />Life is full of turning points, small ones and more significant ones. I remember the moment I decided to be a writer, decades ago. And I feel so honored to have been there Friday night for the turning point of some of those Friday Night Writers. Sara Birenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00232407986912820233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-69118251880659573462024-03-10T13:38:00.007-04:002024-03-10T13:38:47.552-04:00The Dirty Floor Test (Sydney Salter)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_319_gbHaAtgPVJBASh6DZ_4hk2dtLL7HaqvrBxO3IVrb75FjafDEju3V1Ds1PVAFqDheE_uAWd6DeXJx6TxiFz2tysHhiDcZoRoxTWx6mBQDkLo_xTeSy7ECOuCZZVewXRgZNqzRiFUDWwoGldVOVSJ7vATUPKETxyMwh6V1SnpC7KjhAHjQsE8pH4/s259/vacuum.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_319_gbHaAtgPVJBASh6DZ_4hk2dtLL7HaqvrBxO3IVrb75FjafDEju3V1Ds1PVAFqDheE_uAWd6DeXJx6TxiFz2tysHhiDcZoRoxTWx6mBQDkLo_xTeSy7ECOuCZZVewXRgZNqzRiFUDWwoGldVOVSJ7vATUPKETxyMwh6V1SnpC7KjhAHjQsE8pH4/s1600/vacuum.jpeg" width="259" /></a></div>The book had been listed on most of the Best Books of 2023 lists, so why did I find reading it a bit of a slog? The characters were interesting, the setting was unique and compelling, the writing gorgeous and strong, the plot had big turning points. But I got a bit bored. I vacuumed before reading another chapter. <div><br /></div><div>Why? Not every scene had a mini turning point. Some scenes repeated information about the characters, setting and plot. I found myself thinking, <i>yeah, I know that already. I get it. I know!</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Each scene needs to give your reader some new information:</div><div><br /></div><div>* a detail or scenario that moves the plot forward.<i> Mother's diamond ring is stolen! </i></div><div><br /></div><div>* information that changes the way your characters see themselves or their circumstances. <i>The character finds an appraisal for the ring that shows that the diamond is fake. Should she tell everyone?</i></div><div><br /></div><div>* you can add information that changes the way your readers sees the characters or plot. <i>The character doesn't tell her sister that the diamond is fake. Oh, she's that kind of person! </i></div><div><br /></div><div>* give new information that sets up inevitable consequences to come. <i>The character stuffs the appraisal in her pocket--forgetting that she's wearing her sister's jacket. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><br /></div><div>During revision, watch for scenes that don't add any new information about your characters or plot. Don't let zippy dialogue or great descriptions fool you. Ask: does this scene move the story forward by showing a shift in plot or character? <i>Something</i> has to change in every scene. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you love the scene, you can always add a bit here and there to weave in new information to make the scene do more work. But often we can delete a sterile scene and think of something more dynamic, something that will propel the reader into the next chapter and the next. </div><div><br /></div><div>Reading genre fiction is a good way to learn how to utilize mini turning points. Murder mysteries constantly feed the reader new information about plot and character. Romance novels give the reader anticipated mini turning points, like the inevitable misunderstanding. How can you use mini turning points to propel your readers through your story, make it hard to put your story down? Make your reader skip chores for the afternoon?</div><div><br /></div><div>You want your story to pass the dirty floor test. </div>Sydney Salterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00004855240652246923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-67655484183078113282024-03-06T04:30:00.006-05:002024-03-06T04:30:00.134-05:00Turning Lemons into Lemonade (Mary Strand)This month at YA Outside the Lines, we’re SUPPOSED to talk about turning points, particularly in writing.</p><p>
For me, a good day is when I don't talk about technical writing stuff. By that definition (although not by all definitions), almost all of my days are good days.</p><p>
But a turning point is a decisive change, hopefully for the better.</p><p>
So let's talk about life instead of technical writing stuff.</p><p>
For me, turning points tend to come when everything sucks, and I decide to either throw out whatever I was doing or (if I can't) at least turn lemons into lemonade.</p><p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wQcEY_GnufIYl6MWkB3Y7bEPJ6cll4k8PvthPDNI_VQ-GVWYnl8LKLecwq1zmWfzKFVVFq1nFfk40VYhHXMjPu0ydeu-twJUn5erce8b0NZE6GUzDKQWe3SjroP3ZT97WwbxFla0yZmNxKDkfPORuuqv6DAKP1TZsZEsXTLVPRGH0yusMKLqDkf5f7PC/s860/March%202024%20-%20lemonade.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="860" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wQcEY_GnufIYl6MWkB3Y7bEPJ6cll4k8PvthPDNI_VQ-GVWYnl8LKLecwq1zmWfzKFVVFq1nFfk40VYhHXMjPu0ydeu-twJUn5erce8b0NZE6GUzDKQWe3SjroP3ZT97WwbxFla0yZmNxKDkfPORuuqv6DAKP1TZsZEsXTLVPRGH0yusMKLqDkf5f7PC/s320/March%202024%20-%20lemonade.jpg"/></a></div>
My biggest turning point in recent years was toward the end of 2022, when the Great Scooter Crash wrecked my right shoulder and arm. For weeks (months), I couldn't use that arm. No writing, no playing guitar, no physical activity. My only option was to turn lemons into lemonade.</p><p>
It took a while. I was in ghastly pain, and I felt like my life was over.</p><p>
Writing books was literally impossible. I couldn't type, and I definitely couldn't write anything funny, so I didn't even try.</p><p>
We were already hard at work on my <b><i>Golden Girl</i></b> album. The first single ("Act As If") was scheduled to release two months after the crash, and the album itself was scheduled to release that June. But I couldn't pick up a guitar, let alone play it. My single release party was rescheduled for a month later, which offered only a slight hope that I'd be able to play guitar by then.</p><p>
The only productive thing I could do was sing.</p><p>
So we recorded my vocals on the remaining album tracks, postponing my guitar tracks for a few months. After two months or so, I started playing guitar, five ungodly painful minutes at a time. A mere week or two before my single release party with St. Dominic's Trio, I was maybe up to 15 minutes of guitar per day, and I spent them all on "Act As If."</p><p>
The single release party happened. And I played guitar! But I had four more single releases to come, one each month, plus the album release, and it was all breathing down my neck. Luckily, I had already recorded my guitar tracks for the upcoming singles, but I still had to record my guitar for the last few songs. I was bumping hard up against deadlines. I considered postponing the album release, but I just couldn't: too much was already in place. So I recorded my final guitar tracks (even my one guitar solo on the album), and it took serious time, patience, and more retakes than I wanted to think about. But I gritted it out.</p><p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZlV0ypLGHejSq6rp7YzUAQhr-nMXKSl-uZJ7vV9DhxDKqY0bmaKgFJmi6l8o4eM6EmTBwLISOyV97dTyNB8jziHc2G9G6oiuOvE4jAIZQl234GVijKNrFVJQYEPWpEM4rFVwq-llrr70Y-Qu9X13Ti4BYkFAAuFSseslgjbl6Jl61a_b5gE_8H46v5tB/s2844/album%20cover%20-%20high%20res%20image.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="2844" data-original-width="2844" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZlV0ypLGHejSq6rp7YzUAQhr-nMXKSl-uZJ7vV9DhxDKqY0bmaKgFJmi6l8o4eM6EmTBwLISOyV97dTyNB8jziHc2G9G6oiuOvE4jAIZQl234GVijKNrFVJQYEPWpEM4rFVwq-llrr70Y-Qu9X13Ti4BYkFAAuFSseslgjbl6Jl61a_b5gE_8H46v5tB/s320/album%20cover%20-%20high%20res%20image.jpg"/></a></div>
We made every deadline. (Hey, I'm a lawyer by training. I make deadlines.) And I love <b><i>Golden Girl</i></b>. And releasing my first album was a massive turning point in my life. But was it the sort of turning point that you find in books?</p><p>
I think so?</p><p>
The heroine (me) finds herself in the worst situation possible (the effective loss of my arm) and decides to make a change (drop everything else, since I couldn't do it anyway, and focus on the album) that is ultimately for the better (my album).</p><p>
And then I had to do the same damn thing with writing books. I'm still working on that, but it finally looks like my books will live happily ever after, too.</p><p>
<i>Mary Strand is the author of</i> Pride, Prejudice, and Push-Up Bras <i>and three other novels in the Bennet Sisters YA series. You can find out more about her books and music at <a href="www.marystrand.com">marystrand.com</a></i>.
Mary Strandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04207891254900502488noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-46659569390112418702024-02-29T01:00:00.001-05:002024-02-29T01:00:00.141-05:00By Hook or By Crook (Brian Katcher)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WF77h9wSHNeKztTszKVLfyJ6JeOkgO02yXnZ7GcfKbooXqTUqqOYpL7t8d-XEjBJCdeorCZQPDbPCQyzpmaYuYnrJDzC3eQf28hzBzl3EJmKLGyWAcSHefwK4FJyUdnGhO0GHo6Wk_OAWiP9AJ8bfszNAm_BmtYF-0Hbikrsgll4tTjbAj8cTPl1MA/s500/hook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WF77h9wSHNeKztTszKVLfyJ6JeOkgO02yXnZ7GcfKbooXqTUqqOYpL7t8d-XEjBJCdeorCZQPDbPCQyzpmaYuYnrJDzC3eQf28hzBzl3EJmKLGyWAcSHefwK4FJyUdnGhO0GHo6Wk_OAWiP9AJ8bfszNAm_BmtYF-0Hbikrsgll4tTjbAj8cTPl1MA/s320/hook.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>As authors, we know that editors, agents, and the public have become jaded when it comes to original stories. How many ways can romance writers rehash meet cute/friends to lovers/enemies to lovers? How many times can sci fi writers crank out another technology fails/turns against us tale? And there's the overused comedy trope of failed hockey player who joins the PGA circuit to pay off his grandmother's debts. </p><p>In order to get an editor's attention, you really have to hit them where they live. Not that you should actually go to their house. I learned my lesson, Mr. Humorless DA. What I'm saying is not only do you have to have an original idea, but it must be one that relates to the reader on a personal level.</p><p>I think the Japanese short story '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Human_Chair">The Human Chair</a>' by Edogawa Ranpo illustrates this point. It is one of the few pieces I've read about the submission process. In it, an author receives a letter from another aspiring writer who comes up with a very novel way of getting her attention (see the title).</p><p>It's worth a read. And if you're looking for a way to really get an editor's attention, well, it's certainly outside the box (and inside the upholstery) thinking!</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edogawa_Ranpo" title="Edogawa Ranpo"><br /></a></p>Brian Katcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159532800819759917noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-37685291784788527782024-02-26T15:05:00.000-05:002024-02-26T15:05:42.939-05:00What is the one hook that will work for any story, regardless of genre? By Laurie Faria Stolarz<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">For this month, we’re discussing the idea of hooks. Which hooks work best? Which entice the reader, compelling them to the very end of the story or book? In my opinion, hooks come in all shapes and varieties, suiting readers of all tastes. But, is there a universal hook that works for everyone?</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span> </span>Yes, I think there is*.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span> </span>For me, ever since I was a young reader, I’ve preferred stories of mystery and suspense as those have always made me feel as though I’m actively involved in the story. When “hooked,” I read carefully, trying to figure things out – to catch nuances and foreshadowing and hunt for clues and themes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span> </span>When I was an early reader, I loved books of the “choose-your-own-adventure” variety, as I was actively engaged, figuring things out right along with the characters – or better yet, with a careful enough read or reread, even before the characters.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span> </span>As I continued to read, my taste in reading expanded and I would find myself hooked by other genres too: historical fiction, drama, fantasy, memoir…</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span> </span>Regardless of genre, the stories that “hooked” me were those in which I’d find myself turning pages, eager to learn the fate of the characters and how their plots unfolded. Like with reading stories in the mystery/suspense genre, I made predictions along the way, “hooked” by asking myself questions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span> </span>In my opinion, the best hook a story can have is that of inciting curiosity, making the reader ask questions, starting at page one: <i>Why is the character hiding? Who is after her? Why is she so fearful? Why is he so angry? What will happen to them at noon? What is the significance of the ring and why does he need to bury it? What will happen if she doesn’t find it?</i></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i> </i></span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">Et cetera, et cetera.</i></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span> </span>Question, question, question…</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span> In this way, t</span>he writer teases the reader, creating a landscape in which the reader feels “hooked” by mystery, regardless of genre. The writer gives just enough information to incite curiosity, but not too much information that would spoil the intrigue, and not too little information that would distance or frustrate the reader. It’s a balancing act, for sure.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span> </span>So, the best hook? Start with a question the reader will ask, and start at page one. The whole book or story, regardless of genre, should be mysterious and suspenseful, inciting questions.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">* My hook for this blog. Did you ask yourself the question: what is the universal hook that Laurie is talking about? If so, I've proven my point.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Laurie Faria Stolarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04677755282972768256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-17036606568537552142024-02-26T14:33:00.002-05:002024-02-26T14:33:45.969-05:00To Hook and Hook Again - Jen Doktorski<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQKYixQqUdh4qzw7ZEa-MxXc55QscrwAydHlG4hYJJ9EvbibjP0DYCC7QqfMtomiGlOhLG8m1pRC48UqpiFDgU2HYxelpI5opPWLV4OoGq20_v1_H_PJmagDUxqoUlfuA9TtJxnLO2hl1J0GiMSnS5Ul5ix6p3D94a2L_XhDC8_RYy5dm4BRznxFd3NHU/s2860/IMG_0073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2313" data-original-width="2860" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQKYixQqUdh4qzw7ZEa-MxXc55QscrwAydHlG4hYJJ9EvbibjP0DYCC7QqfMtomiGlOhLG8m1pRC48UqpiFDgU2HYxelpI5opPWLV4OoGq20_v1_H_PJmagDUxqoUlfuA9TtJxnLO2hl1J0GiMSnS5Ul5ix6p3D94a2L_XhDC8_RYy5dm4BRznxFd3NHU/s320/IMG_0073.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The hook. In music, it’s often that combination of
melody and lyrics that seems familiar and yet brand new at the time. That
signature guitar riff—think “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones—or a chorus
that has you chiming in by the second verse. “Sing us a song, you’re the piano
man!” That infectious payoff that makes you stay with the song, and makes the
song stay with you.</span></p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">With books or screenplays, the hook could be the
premise (a girl takes her sister’s place in a fight to the death), the voice (Pony
Boy Curtis), the plot (There’s a monster living in the sewers of Derry, Maine),
or a killer first line.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the
darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and
a ride home."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place
like this at this time of the morning.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"Aujourd'hui, maman est morte” or Mother died
today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be
a gangster.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But unlike a three-minute pop song, in writing, repeating
the same hook is boring. The first line is the earworm, that thing that grabs peoples’ attention, but as authors we need to work hard at continually
reeling readers in—to build into our plot moments that re-hook them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s like at Thanksgiving dinner when your great uncle
is telling that exceedingly long story about the time he hiked the Appalachian
trail with only a canteen and a walking stick, eating berries and tree back
along the way. Sure, it could be an epic tale of perseverance and survival, but
you’ve heard it all before, and somewhere near the Pennsylvania border, your
eyes glaze over and Aunt Millie falls asleep, prompting your uncle to snap his
fingers loudly and yell “Hey, hey! Are you all still listening?!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We’re trying, Uncle, you want to say. But you’ve got
to give us something here. Thwarted bear attack, snake bite, fist fight with a fellow
hiker, a love story. Hell, we’ll even take a case of poison ivy, especially if
it gets infected. Something that holds our attention and makes us want to take
this thousand-mile trek with you. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The re-hook. It’s no simple task.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But it’s what keeps us turning the pages of<i> War and Peace,</i> <i>Gone
with the Wind</i>, <i>Lonesome Dove</i>, and all nine Outlander novels. <i>Moby Dick</i>? Not so
much. I’ve never gotten past, “Call me Ishmael.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Jen
Doktorski is the award-winning author of five young adult novels including the
forthcoming FINDING NORMAL (Fitzroy Books 2025), FAMOUS LAST WORDS (Holt), a
Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year and THE SUMMER AFTER YOU
& ME (Sourcebooks), a YALSA Teens' Top Ten nominee. Visit her at
www.jendoktorski.com or Instagram @jendoktorski.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Jen Doktorskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16143138396478408692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-55307911054252775032024-02-24T06:30:00.002-05:002024-02-24T06:30:00.137-05:00Hook 'Em with Voice (Holly Schindler)<p>I'm a total sucker for voice. I still remember the first time it happened--it was summer, and I was about eleven, and I'd picked up this book with a "totally weird" red and yellow cover. What was that thing? At first, it looked like a dragon. On second glance, I realized it was a--what? Horse? Unicorn? </p><p>It was a carousel horse. This one, to be exact:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51EXPv0IXRL._SY445_SX342_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="295" height="254" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51EXPv0IXRL._SY445_SX342_.jpg" width="168" /></a></div><br /><p>I was already a big reader by the time I'd picked up <i>Catcher in the Rye</i>. But there was just something about the way Holden talked, right there, in the first line. I'm typing from memory, so this probably isn't exact, but: "So you're probably going to want to know all about me and how I grew up and who my parents were and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't really feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." I remember being totally sucked in. Feeling like Holden was sitting there beside me, on my front porch, in the sweltering summer sun, gearing up to tell me this story. </p><p>I loved the conversational tone. The non-polished, non-flowery language. I remember some of the descriptions, even now--like the one about the teacher who was picking his nose while talking to Holden (I mean, I <i>was </i>eleven). </p><p>I still remember the feeling of that, of tumbling headlong into this person. Of feeling like the character was real--because he <i>talked </i>like a real person. </p><p>We often go big, as authors, attempting to snag our readers at the beginning--murders are committed. Cars tumble over cliffs. Banks are robbed. But sometimes, the very best way to draw someone into your book is with nothing more than a strong, personality-driven voice. </p><p>~</p><p><i>Holly Schindler is the author of the YA A Blue So Dark. For more of her thoughts on the writing life, follow her on <a href="https://hollyschindler.substack.com/">Substack</a>. </i></p>Holly Schindlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16742207239654178917noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-15728124997801303972024-02-22T08:20:00.001-05:002024-02-22T08:20:00.243-05:00My Favorite Habit by Patty Blount<p> I got hooked on books when I was about four years old. Mom took me to the public library and that was it. We read stories together often. </p><p>By the time I was about 7 or 8 years old, I'd 'discovered' Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden mysteries in the library. I read every one I could get my hands on. </p><p>My pre-teen years introduced me to Romance fiction and all I can say is WOW. That really hooked me. That's what I wanted to write. You know, Romance fiction gets such a bad rap and I don't fully grasp why. I mean, when it comes to reality, what's more REAL than romance? Most of us strive to find that special person and I have to wonder if those same people looking for love in real life aren't the same ones turning down their thumbs at Romance. </p><p>Mystery is fun, sure. I loved when I was able to tell Nancy or Trixie who the bad guys were before they figured it out. They're puzzles and I love to solve puzzles. But Romance is special. It goes DEEP. It introduces you to not one but TWO heroes and even as it's showing you all the ways these two are perfect for each other, it throws obstacles in their paths that keep them apart. You KNOW they'll end up together by the end of their story, but getting to experience all the emotion they feel as they reach that point is nothing shy of pure magic. </p><p>My first romance novels were Barbara Cartlandt's in all their historical and puritanical glory. By 14, I was reading Harlequins as fast as they were released. Romance critics claim they're UNREALISTIC so I wonder what novels they're reading, because the ones I read show deeply flawed people not only finding love, but finally understanding that they deserve that love despite their flaws. These characters make mistakes, they screw up, they hurt each other, but in the end, forgiveness and hope win out. </p><p>Always. </p><p>I can't think of anything more real life than relationships that are tested and grow stronger as a result. </p><p>What do you think about Romance fiction? Tell me in the comments! </p>Patty Blounthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11928111057602279792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-91561573287263577982024-02-19T06:52:00.005-05:002024-02-19T06:52:59.090-05:00A Hooker I Be, Fur Shur<p> </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
A Hooker I Be, Fur Shur</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbvhjY-4bbzz6cX6bfXQDHcOb1B5Nkt92o_K2EuK03HbgFeO37I6HJfJcgGkXd_11qCoMbr7kVTXG5SX-tMGBh_XW0iU3dtgPsIPrc1RvtBwqhz7uOyme-0Ul_znqCN2uRSnB8kPonW6MJgqCimZQZ_ldE0AQAF5ZKY2rhyphenhyphen7i-jB66B62PlCaCQ3VRu8E/s1400/bethonbridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbvhjY-4bbzz6cX6bfXQDHcOb1B5Nkt92o_K2EuK03HbgFeO37I6HJfJcgGkXd_11qCoMbr7kVTXG5SX-tMGBh_XW0iU3dtgPsIPrc1RvtBwqhz7uOyme-0Ul_znqCN2uRSnB8kPonW6MJgqCimZQZ_ldE0AQAF5ZKY2rhyphenhyphen7i-jB66B62PlCaCQ3VRu8E/s320/bethonbridge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>John Clark</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
weighing in on this month’s topic of hooks. While I write full
length books, short stories are my secret sin. I blame my sister,
Kate Flora, for getting me started with them way back when she and
two fellow mystery writers started Level Best Books. They offered a
competition leading to a crime anthology featuring stories by New
England writers. I have appeared in nearly half of them.</span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Juggling 5000 word creations and 80-100,000 word ones can be
disconcerting. With the former, there’s a tendency to pack a lot in
the beginning, as in a book, information is best delivered gradually.
In either instance, a good hook is essential.</p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I’m revising this month’s post after reading some of the other
ones. I’m just completing a rough draft for a YA book I’m
currently calling <i>(I’m Not) Singing the L.A. Blues)</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
it’s one of several completed, or nearly completed books I’ve
written in the past fifteen years, none of which have seen the light
of day for reasons that defy logic. However, each has what I think is
a decent hook, so here they are.</span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>LA Blues </i><span style="font-style: normal;">i</span><span style="font-style: normal;">s
the story of Skye, an accomplished high school basketball player in
Long Beach. Her mother refuses to </span><span style="font-style: normal;">say
anything </span><span style="font-style: normal;">about her father,
and she remembers nothing before she started school. When her
boyfriend humiliates her at an end of the year party, she’s angry,
devastated, and ready for change. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">T</span><span style="font-style: normal;">hen
a certified letter from a law firm in Machias, Maine addressed to her
mother arrives and Mom freaks out, Skye is compelled to read it. What
she learns sends her on an unexpected journey to coastal Maine.</span></p><p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5M0THbAsnIN_nNXyOGgp4f_Mj3nCYZV2K7nl_pyWwP5tzTaKdG6IkSpBgVhJi0OchFK1bHOANJ_B9u6UDXJFlIWu99m80Rq-grxhckJV_Kfm9ZXhwfoADz_IQ3nBv7e-Babo3f3iuR9sQEKdoZZ3Lt5tdQmh63HbAh4BL1VtUYsSKLDrqlc94xk6V2g/s3888/IMG_0058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="3888" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5M0THbAsnIN_nNXyOGgp4f_Mj3nCYZV2K7nl_pyWwP5tzTaKdG6IkSpBgVhJi0OchFK1bHOANJ_B9u6UDXJFlIWu99m80Rq-grxhckJV_Kfm9ZXhwfoADz_IQ3nBv7e-Babo3f3iuR9sQEKdoZZ3Lt5tdQmh63HbAh4BL1VtUYsSKLDrqlc94xk6V2g/s320/IMG_0058.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Don’t Say It</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, which Holly
has read, is the story of high school junior Marcy-Jo Parmenter who
was abandoned in different ways by her parents. She lives with her
grandfather, a recovering alcoholic and retired county sheriff. It’s
1969 and Marcy-Jo is beyond tired of being treated as less than by
nearly every male she encounters. Factor in a mystery encountered
while clearing alders from blueberry land she bought as tax acquired
property, coupled with a boyfriend with a big secret of his own and
you’re off and running.</span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Finding Ginger</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> begins when a
young man working in a mall fast food restaurant sees a wild looking
young woman taking food from the dumpster behind the mall. He’s
intrigued and over the next few days uses fresh meals to decrease her
wariness. She’s a runaway from Baltimore, MD who has bipolar
disorder and feels like she dies inside every time her well-meaning
parents have her hospitalized, hence her leaving home. She
self-medicates with alcohol until her moods stabilize, but it’s a
tricky and unpredictable life. Their attraction to each other grows
until something unexpected happens, sending her into a panic, forcing
her to run again. Now, he must figure out how to find her.</span></p><p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGGzTWaEO_iLyQJhydigmBf6JzSU4_DpBAVrVyEdL4P_MJ0mJdmgDvBaPvS4zg9CHr17ebAEGHD8HTgP6GinLbY5qBi8FfQMdBi8PfESgcDdbDpPxAGHcxDN0DoY3MjUff0Usy80hjYyYShXnIpxc7DQImmV1nKzTiVbnTGKaxyWcpuCMeyiEOxNuHo8/s2200/round%20the%20bend1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1467" data-original-width="2200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGGzTWaEO_iLyQJhydigmBf6JzSU4_DpBAVrVyEdL4P_MJ0mJdmgDvBaPvS4zg9CHr17ebAEGHD8HTgP6GinLbY5qBi8FfQMdBi8PfESgcDdbDpPxAGHcxDN0DoY3MjUff0Usy80hjYyYShXnIpxc7DQImmV1nKzTiVbnTGKaxyWcpuCMeyiEOxNuHo8/s320/round%20the%20bend1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>When Magic Bleeds</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> starts in a
ratty tent in the forest outside of Gettysburg with </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Thiery</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
awakening to find her mother’s body beside her. Her memories of her
earlier life are spotty, the strongest being of them dancing to
silent music on a beach under the moon. When she realizes Mom’s
dead, she panics, seeks help, and loses consciousness. The hospital
where she’s taken does a DNA test, but the results are confusing.
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">Sh</span><span style="font-style: normal;">e’s
not entirely human. In addition, she’s attacked by otherworldly
creatures at the foster home where she has been placed. She has to
figure out who/what she is as well as who wants her dead. That
involves a trip to a place she never imagined existed.</span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Over the Edge</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> begins when
teen</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ager Raphael</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
is kicked out of his home by extremely rigid religious parents in the
middle of a Maine blizzard. He’s trying to stay upright in a
howling snowstorm when a snow plow hits him, throwing him over the
guardrail. When he comes to, it’s night, warm, and he’s lying on
damp sand. His first thought, uttered aloud is “I don’t think
we’re in Kansas any more, Dorothy.” He hears a melodious female
voice reply, “Who is Dorothy?” This is his introduction to a
completely different </span><span style="font-style: normal;">planet
in an alternate universe, </span><span style="font-style: normal;">and
Leorah who has green skin and is a member of a small commune of
survivors</span><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></p><p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMoXgPD_bqOS5BUdsertPi64fB_gGmZ4_rPlarO7OTh9Z5I2gkPKER9vnEZ4aXrIw-HQClC3wU3N0qS_rclYxnRyKViBS4qsQy1WSkq0OxFEspGTZDLVK9qBALy00lEAoxJjI9slwujpiyHH3vfZssI49Fo88jMqkM7UpmICYpufV2lMGuGA86PlOkrA/s3888/IMG_0106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="3888" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMoXgPD_bqOS5BUdsertPi64fB_gGmZ4_rPlarO7OTh9Z5I2gkPKER9vnEZ4aXrIw-HQClC3wU3N0qS_rclYxnRyKViBS4qsQy1WSkq0OxFEspGTZDLVK9qBALy00lEAoxJjI9slwujpiyHH3vfZssI49Fo88jMqkM7UpmICYpufV2lMGuGA86PlOkrA/s320/IMG_0106.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Dubstep and Wheelie</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> begins
when </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Cece</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">who must use</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
a wheelchair, hears her classmates words of pity just before she
comes around the corner to access her locker. Several months earlier,
she was returning from her secret dancing spot on a mountain, atop
her horse when a partridge flushed, spooking the creature and
slamming her back into a tree, resulting in lower extremity
paralysis. Her dancing and riding careers seemingly over, she
descends into a depressive funk, only to be rescued by a mysterious
new boy at school. It turns out that he’s really a Greek undergod,
tasked with supporting varied types of dance, his current one being
dubstepping. When she extracts a promise to get her to Olympus and
confront the gods in hopes they will give her a task to fulfill so
she can regain full movement, he initially agrees, but panics and
abandons her. What does she do then?</span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">In </span><i>Thor’s Wingman</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Jared Mills is a high school junior, well versed in navigating the
woods and waters </span><span style="font-style: normal;">of Maine</span><span style="font-style: normal;">,
as well as crafting things like signs from wood. His ability to
interact with people outside of his mother and grandfather, is
impaired by emotional scarring thanks to his abusive father who is
now in prison for murder.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
When Jared builds his own boat and takes it out for a trial voyage on
the lake where Gramps has a camp, he catches a monster lake trout.
Something tells him to release the fish. When he does so, he feels a
sense of excitement rather than disappointment. That feeling is soon
reinforced when during the fireworks display on the Fourth of July,
he sees a giant bird tumble from a tall pine tree. At first, he
ignores the urge to see what happened to the creature, but when he
checks it out, he discovers a six foot tall eagle with a badly broken
wing. What happens next involves an encounter with Twyla DelMarillo,
a sassy camp counselor with a missing finger coupled with a challenge
to travel to another realm to retrieve something stolen from the
bird.</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let me know what you think of these as hooks.</p>
Berekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172936893264053007noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-48875794249675831172024-02-18T08:00:00.003-05:002024-02-18T08:00:00.142-05:00They Hooked Me<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhshDvTJyz9mnLDvTpd7XBRJa3EsgD-rMCjsEERX77zA6mclgxRfnP-1CRFv7Bvnkm5bLJSunfiXxHL_7In3bt2RPD0DlVUTXywYnhQxBcRx5DOdKhxZPaMZdEl7Ksv4Yew0ZRLyCPK6wRs9Jr6BvkJrAGzRLBwKOkbSWv8Y2QI8jg2uoap27Q1A8qMnPM0" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3018" data-original-width="3018" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhshDvTJyz9mnLDvTpd7XBRJa3EsgD-rMCjsEERX77zA6mclgxRfnP-1CRFv7Bvnkm5bLJSunfiXxHL_7In3bt2RPD0DlVUTXywYnhQxBcRx5DOdKhxZPaMZdEl7Ksv4Yew0ZRLyCPK6wRs9Jr6BvkJrAGzRLBwKOkbSWv8Y2QI8jg2uoap27Q1A8qMnPM0" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Files.<br />Case.<br /></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Agenda.<br /></span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">Mystery.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Suspicion. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">These are just some of the
words that have caught my attention since I turned double-digit age. Maybe
before. My parents read widely in the mystery/thriller genre. They watched
movies like <i>The Lady Vanishes, The Thin Man, The Manchurian Candidate, French Connection</i>,
and I’ll stop now. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bottom line, I was naturally
hooked. And I’ve carried that love of whodunnit and howdunnit through my life.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">So, when I was approached to write a thriller, my kneejerk reaction wasn’t what you might have expected. Quite simply, it was... “No. I can’t do that. I can’t write the books I’ve gravitated toward and have loved my whole life. They’re SO good, so well-crafted, so twisty.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">(Well, most of them are.) I can’t possibly have the skills to write like the authors who I cut my mystery teeth on; people like Donald J. Sobol, Carolyn Keene, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, and whatever my parents already had in the house. I can’t possibly write the tense and twisty stories terrific enough to play alongside the movies, TV shows, and books I’ve constantly relished since then.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZRDQnqp-XqP_kUgUBx8c5rE48xAHKcmP0OgUXDxjtnCMWZK6V-Pu9YN1wa1TVrtgqRZoFxs9iGEu2KyHSfNHvxI9lEgpPf32R-2jkCReYmHquIcd3TSbToFpdM5h2nRs2AkQkArn96F0ruiHt-aQMsMoUaekcH-VtPoBly0HP3EHq4_BvfyLnmhwphD3X" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZRDQnqp-XqP_kUgUBx8c5rE48xAHKcmP0OgUXDxjtnCMWZK6V-Pu9YN1wa1TVrtgqRZoFxs9iGEu2KyHSfNHvxI9lEgpPf32R-2jkCReYmHquIcd3TSbToFpdM5h2nRs2AkQkArn96F0ruiHt-aQMsMoUaekcH-VtPoBly0HP3EHq4_BvfyLnmhwphD3X" width="320" /><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;"> </span></a></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Even though that thought of
inadequacy haunted me, the thought of trying gave me such a thrill, I took the
plunge.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I started by turning this
little notepad (thank you school visit gift!) into my Thriller Files. Then I
proceeded to jot down 100 potential ideas, premises, and twists, my way of
testing the waters.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> I've gotta tell you, those waters feel really good. So, no</o:p></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">w I’m hooked again. And I
don’t plan to look back.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i>Jody Feldman’s first YA
thriller, </i><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/no-way-home-jody-feldman/17984003?ean=9781728254265" target="_blank">No Way Home</a><i>, has been call a pulse-pounding thriller by School
Library Journal which was enough to propel her into giving this genre a second
and third try. She’s hoping you’ll be able to read these stories once her works-in-progress
are in thriller-y enough.</i></span></p>Jody Feldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05826620526949644604noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-24199855318875258272024-02-12T00:30:00.001-05:002024-02-12T00:30:00.127-05:00Hook, Line, and Clincher<p> by Charlotte Bennardo</p><p><br /></p><p>(Yes, I know that's not how the saying goes. In an author's world, there is no good connotation for 'sinker'.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7eYHW703guNE23HkU44Kq9ECVrtVCYl8LSusfFQcNmYab0qH458WDc4e8He418cYxb-Ej0g2wBSnJJLu9FFSCtNsVVmEeEBBSHsTl3mFwLPXlYgsWUFqI81r321eFzt8GjLKQ6sYTZr_pMc4Dy3M1Ab_ClTPUFEZ1pjEkHa9OynnGN35sqFvAdIVkwqM/s4032/pexels-ma%C3%ABl-balland-3099187.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7eYHW703guNE23HkU44Kq9ECVrtVCYl8LSusfFQcNmYab0qH458WDc4e8He418cYxb-Ej0g2wBSnJJLu9FFSCtNsVVmEeEBBSHsTl3mFwLPXlYgsWUFqI81r321eFzt8GjLKQ6sYTZr_pMc4Dy3M1Ab_ClTPUFEZ1pjEkHa9OynnGN35sqFvAdIVkwqM/w268-h357/pexels-ma%C3%ABl-balland-3099187.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="PlusJakartaSans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", Ubuntu, sans-serif" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="PlusJakartaSans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", Ubuntu, sans-serif" style="white-space: pre;">Photo by Maël BALLAND : https://www.pexels.com/photo/boy-catching-fish-with-fishing-rod-3099187/</span></div></span><p><br /></p><p>Our theme is 'hook', as in what's the hook in our story, that first idea that pulled you in as a writer, and would hopefully pull in readers.</p><p>One project that is out on submission is my novel, <i>The Excalibur Vow.</i> The hook for this story started at the New York Renaissance Fair in Tuxedo Junction. (If you ever get the chance to go, do it, especially if you are a fantasy/steampunk/sorcery writer, Lots of inspiration.) As I rambled around, admiring all the costumes (yes, even some sci fi with swords, so it worked), I stopped to watch a blacksmith pounding out a sword blade. The glowing orange coals, the sweat he swiped off his forehead with his linen shirt sleeve, the ringing clang of the hammer on the raw steel fascinated me. I didn't know much about the process, but it drew me in, like it must have so many others over the century. </p><p>What if... something went wrong (because that's where all good stories start) in the process? Not just a bad blade you can fix or scrap for later, but something... BIGGGER.</p><p>I don't know famous blacksmiths (Paul Revere was a silversmith), so while I was formulating a story around a blacksmith, notoriety wasn't on my side. However, if they worked for someone who was infamous... like.... say King Arthur? What would happen if a young bladesmith is called upon by King Arthur to sharpen Excalibur before what would be the final battle at Camlann where the king dies? How would that affect everything, from the king, the kingdom, the bladesmith? </p><p>That was my hook: young bladesmith breaks the most infamous sword in all history/myth/legend and somehow must make amends. </p><p>With all my books, I find that a single scene, like imagining the aftermath of this situation, to how would Victor Frankenstein's creature survive in current times (my novel <i>The Frankenstein Vendetta, </i>also out on sub), and even a faery, thrown out of the Realm for saving the life of a human art forger without her magic to fix her mistakes (yes, another novel out on sub, <i>Ripples on Water</i>) all start with the hook of one scene. I never see the whole book initially, just the hook and that makes my mind spin off in all directions and leaving me great leeway when crafting the storyline. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFihB2h7NkqX_kwxZoHSaW5ZaMj0_D4gnNuByHHTRLgGTmT65wi431jqsFzRkFXewNDR3w-xhU-6Xj1jY_jjYhcZ_9R__SjwnBqXduvbtS01rz936dyu_8eBOiyqWo8V8bCIHDfmpm0ihzLomnL0KuSQhQ-OQ_R7NtI4n1jCJecfkEWWgL6Cl9-4cE80/s1280/eery-1648250_1280%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFihB2h7NkqX_kwxZoHSaW5ZaMj0_D4gnNuByHHTRLgGTmT65wi431jqsFzRkFXewNDR3w-xhU-6Xj1jY_jjYhcZ_9R__SjwnBqXduvbtS01rz936dyu_8eBOiyqWo8V8bCIHDfmpm0ihzLomnL0KuSQhQ-OQ_R7NtI4n1jCJecfkEWWgL6Cl9-4cE80/s320/eery-1648250_1280%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span face="PlusJakartaSans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", Ubuntu, sans-serif" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><div><span face="PlusJakartaSans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", Ubuntu, sans-serif" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>Photo by j.mt_photography: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-forging-metal-3680094/</span></span><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghDXNHLMlGK1gIdFWerKIFo7y8sNP9RinFZP-dhHVo9kFAH-G43z2l-569ircwyS4bY_XAHN-zhzclOSfND2rlSKvJL7XT4ubzl7cpEFmBPunX3yMo5WOCVtq6ls0s5dk8q9ltsvnKQpAaEZsoap5-lnI4JgJu0H75nYJ9w05lQSNfe-XwfpZSuIGwhP8/s5568/pexels-jmtphotography-3680094.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5568" data-original-width="3712" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghDXNHLMlGK1gIdFWerKIFo7y8sNP9RinFZP-dhHVo9kFAH-G43z2l-569ircwyS4bY_XAHN-zhzclOSfND2rlSKvJL7XT4ubzl7cpEFmBPunX3yMo5WOCVtq6ls0s5dk8q9ltsvnKQpAaEZsoap5-lnI4JgJu0H75nYJ9w05lQSNfe-XwfpZSuIGwhP8/w239-h359/pexels-jmtphotography-3680094.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><p style="text-align: right;"><span face="PlusJakartaSans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", Ubuntu, sans-serif" style="text-align: start; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by j.mt_photography: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-forging-metal-3680094/</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_Xj4YyoC0LUaZdCtPoUn8Pdw5DN1Qe1kifRlZhrm3-N5bttm3x_TFbYf3oeV9ovjhq-ADQv6xEjcQ2pQ-mk6cZBNny4Xok4K-EIUjVGA6evtmpGEjXe38uMUoHSMwswOqsh4ltrnTl0RFGvjYkqR6DABE2Koo0UntmdnKv_JhyeADhvHi9ij0KENaN8/s5616/pexels-myicahel-tamburini-1554740.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5616" data-original-width="3744" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_Xj4YyoC0LUaZdCtPoUn8Pdw5DN1Qe1kifRlZhrm3-N5bttm3x_TFbYf3oeV9ovjhq-ADQv6xEjcQ2pQ-mk6cZBNny4Xok4K-EIUjVGA6evtmpGEjXe38uMUoHSMwswOqsh4ltrnTl0RFGvjYkqR6DABE2Koo0UntmdnKv_JhyeADhvHi9ij0KENaN8/w248-h373/pexels-myicahel-tamburini-1554740.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><span face="PlusJakartaSans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", Ubuntu, sans-serif" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><div><span face="PlusJakartaSans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", Ubuntu, sans-serif" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>Photo by Myicahel Tamburini: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photography-of-woman-holding-string-lights-1554740/</span></span><br /><p><br /></p><p>And just going out into the world, watching ordinary, surprising, or new situations always manages to create a hook for the next story. </p><p><b><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;">Char</span></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Charlotte</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"> writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, and paranormal genres. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Evolution Revolution </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">trilogy, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Simple Machines, Simple Plans, </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Simple Lessons</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">. She co-authored the YA novels </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Blonde OPS,</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Sirenz,</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"> and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Sirenz Back in Fashion. </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">She has two short stories in the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Beware the Little White Rabbit (Alice through the Wormhole) </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Scare Me to Sleep (Faces in the Wood) </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">anthologies. Having finished her MFA, she's applying what she learned and is working on several children's and adult novels, along with some short stories. She lives in NJ but dreams of a Caribbean beach house. </span></p>Author on the Loosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13371105720422860639noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-19630657564347271082024-02-10T14:39:00.003-05:002024-02-11T11:41:30.951-05:00Red by Annie Cardi: A Book With A Great Hook (Book Review by Sydney Salter)<p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRwAA1aovwoqeZ0HrinewePL7w_on8bDWJmu_niLRyER6AQT2SXYtt5UrH0NhYvafJiey8uYrXP7XAmvTH_wR0S7ztRn7JBR0QEh2fmJDGbzhz3ar5FoY4yK1UGzqpC21_tocFusCuN5rApv9FGZITJnhAk3DruIpr0EBkvBNJYo-AbsB_I_zhQ5zjig4/s273/Red.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="184" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRwAA1aovwoqeZ0HrinewePL7w_on8bDWJmu_niLRyER6AQT2SXYtt5UrH0NhYvafJiey8uYrXP7XAmvTH_wR0S7ztRn7JBR0QEh2fmJDGbzhz3ar5FoY4yK1UGzqpC21_tocFusCuN5rApv9FGZITJnhAk3DruIpr0EBkvBNJYo-AbsB_I_zhQ5zjig4/s1600/Red.jpeg" width="184" /></a></i></div><i><br />Red</i> by Annie Cardi is a modern retelling of Nathanial Hawthorne's <i>Scarlet Letter</i>. Great hook, right? Immediately the reader knows what to expect--a story about power imbalance and hypocrisy. <p></p><p><i>Red</i> tells the story from the perspective of a sixteen year old girl who gets pregnant. The book opens with the main character Tess Pine (a nice nod to Hester Prynne) driving to an abortion clinic with her mother--the big red A, painted on a high school locker, is for abortion. I appreciated how well Cardi wrote about a controversial topic with nuance, thoughtfulness, and complexity making it an ideal mentor text for anyone writing about difficult topics.</p><p>The details about how Tess ended up making a difficult choice to end her pregnancy are told through carefully chosen flashbacks that build tension. The pacing of the flashbacks allows the reader to understand the characters almost as they begin to understand themselves. Big and small moments are shown in flashbacks--sometimes authors focus on the big events, ignoring the way small moments can be powerful too. The story told in the current timeline is one of personal growth, forgiveness, and dealing with the tough times in life. Cardi weaves the dual timelines together masterfully and crafts a satisfying ending.</p><p>Ideal readers: Mother-daughter book clubs, writers seeking a mentor text or comp title for a story about a controversial subject matter or dual timeline story. Anyone who hated reading the Scarlett Letter in high school will enjoy this updated version--it's a fast read with a great cast of characters. </p><p>Highly recommended.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sydney Salterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00004855240652246923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-74618777445406726762024-02-09T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-09T06:00:00.136-05:00Interview with Michael J. 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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black;">Thanks for joining us at YAOTL, Michael. Can you tell us a
bit about Wages of Empire?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Wages of Empire</i> begins in the summer of 1914 when
sixteen-year-old Evan Sinclair leaves home to join the Great War for
Civilization. Little does he know that, despite the war raging in Europe, the
true source of conflict will emerge in Ottoman Palestine, since it's from
Jerusalem where the German kaiser dreams to rule as Holy Roman Emperor. Filled
with such historical figures as Gertrude Bell, T.E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill,
Faisal bin Hussein and Chaim Weizmann, <i>Wages of Empire</i> follows Evan
through the killing fields of the Western Front where he will help turn the
tide of a war that is just beginning, and become part of a story still being
written.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.koehlerbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WOE-CVR-550x830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="530" height="264" src="https://www.koehlerbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WOE-CVR-550x830.jpg" width="175" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black;">What drew you to telling this story? In many ways, this WWI
story–which details the battle for control of Palestine–feels incredibly
relevant, given recent events.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">You’ve already perfectly answered the
question since what drew me to telling this story is <i>precisely</i> its
relevance to current events. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">The topography of much of the world in 1914
was the result of centuries of colonial adventures (and misadventures), and by
1914 the Ottoman Empire had ruled the Middle East for over four hundred years.
Before the Turks, the Muslim Mamlukes ruled for three hundred years, and before
the Mamlukes, the Crusades ruled for two hundred years. And here lies the
through-line linking the main European combatants of WWI to the Holy Land: Knights
of the Crusade came to the Holy Land from England and from the Holy Roman
Empire (meaning France and Germany), and many belonged to fervently religious
orders. Given this, one can understand how the memory of the Crusades was </span>firmly
imprinted <span style="color: black;">in the collective consciousness of these European
nations: in their worship, art and literature. So it was that, as the European
powers embarked on their colonial escapades into the 20<sup>th</sup> century,
the Holy Land would fire their imaginations with a desire to revisit and refurbish
their Crusader heritage, holding fast to the memory of a sacred quest that
might finally be graced with victory. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">Conversely, </span>Arab <em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">consciousness</span></em>
was equally impacted by this history, and with a profound sense of national pride,
since the Crusades ended with the defeat and expulsion of the Europeans in 1291,
followed by seven hundred years of Muslim rule under the Mamlukes and then the
Ottoman Turks—a Muslim hegemony of five hundred years ending with the defeat of
the Ottoman Empire by the British Empire in WWI. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">Layered into all this history is that of
the Jews, who trace their origins to Abraham’s journey to Canaan in antiquity (about
2,000 BC). Following their enslavement in and exodus from Egypt (circa 1350
BC), the United Monarchy emerged under King Saul (circa 1030 BC) and with the
building of the Frist Temple came the fulfillment of the divine promise to
Abraham of Jewish hegemony in the Land of Israel, if only intermittently and for
a few hundred years over the next thousand years. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">However, with the ebb and flow of empires in
the Holy Land with successive challenges from Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians,
Greeks, and Romans, the First and Second Jewish Temples were destroyed, and the
vast majority of Jews were exiled from the Land of Israel. Dispersed throughout
Europe, North Africa, West Asia, and elsewhere for nearly the next two thousand
years, the Jews were without a homeland in this diaspora. Depending upon the
prevailing administration or local ruler, Jews intermittently thrived, were tolerated,
persecuted, or slaughtered. Throughout, however, they generally maintained
their religious identity with daily prayers yearning and directed toward their
lost homeland, and specifically, Jerusalem. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">In the middle of the 19<sup>th</sup>
century, Jews joined other small nations in the rising tide of nationalism.
This Jewish nationalism was manifest as Zionism, and led to an initial trickle
of immigration to the Land of Israel, which grew with the advent of the 20<sup>th</sup>
century, reaching large numbers before, during and after WWII with the
establishment of Israel in the mid-20<sup>th</sup> century—specifically in 1948,
which coincidentally, was the year of my birth. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">Being the same age as Israel and growing up
in a Zionist family and engaged in Zionist youth groups, this narrative of redemption
and return to Zion became a centerpiece in my life. This was, indeed, the
reason I emigrated to Israel in 1966 at the age of seventeen. Once there, and
for the first time, meeting native Palestinians, I quickly became aware of their
connection to and love of the land. In this way, I came to understand that my
Zionist narrative required reconciliation and coexistence with their Palestinian
narrative.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">This is, then, the reason that I am “drawn
to tell this story.” Through writing historical fiction, I hope to foster, in
some small measure, a narrative of coexistence, reconciliation, and peace. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black;">I love a historical YA–mostly because it rarely gets much
attention. Why did you decide to place a historical novel in the YA category?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">Wages of Empire sits comfortably in the YA
category because the book opens with the hero, Evan Sinclair, as a young man of
16-years. Without having to issue any major spoiler alerts, I can safely tell
readers that, as the trilogy moves forward, Evan will grow older and wiser, and
his story will intersect with the lives of other historical and fictional
characters. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">It might be of interest to readers that I published
a previous novel, Foxes in the Vineyard, with a forty-eight-year-old Evan Sinclair
as the hero. That book is set at the transition from British Mandatory
Palestine to Israel and Jordan in 1948—thirty-two years after Wages of Empire
ends. In this sense, Wages of Empire provides a study of Evan at the beginning
of his journey. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">With or without assigning it to the YA category,
I believe that Wages of Empire will appeal to all readers since Evan, along
with the other fictional and historical figures, are drawn as fully formed characters.
Given this, and the setting at an epic historical moment, I hope that my books will
appeal to readers of all ages who love historical mysteries. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black;">You had several balancing acts in this book: Fiction and
fact, action and character delineation. Your book is gripping because of the
characters–they truly bring history to life. Did you find it difficult to craft
historical characters that modern readers would find relatable? How did you
approach writing about historical figures?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; text-indent: 24.75pt;"><span style="color: black;">The key to answer this composite question is that the
writer must learn all he or she can about their central historical characters. This
requires learning about them through primary source accounts of their own and of
their contemporaries. In this way, we learn how they spoke, what they thought,
and what they looked like. We gain these insights as we study our characters through
the windows of contemporary biographies, autobiographies, and collected letters.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; text-indent: 24.75pt;">To be sure,
writing any type of fiction requires research, but with historical fiction, the
writer must be positioned to inform the reader about details of the setting and
time period. To “get things right,” or even close to “right,” requires a
massive amount of research. However, the weaving of historical detail into the
story should be so subtle as to be invisible. Indeed, nothing wakes the reader
more rudely from the dream of a good story than a ham-handed display of detail.
Or, to put it simply, the writer must be able to “show” without “showing off.”
<span style="color: black;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 24.75pt;">In referring to requisite research as
“massive,” I know that the task appears daunting and thoroughly unpleasant.
Clearly, if one only follows the adage of “write what you know,” only minimal
research may be required. However, if we are drawn to write outside of
ourselves, outside of the confines of our known world, we have no choice but to
do a prodigious amount of research. And the secret of doing this, and actually
enjoying it, can be encapsulated in an alternate adage: “Write what you love.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black;">How did personal experience play into writing Wages of
Empire? </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">Personal experience played a pivotal role
in writing Wages of Empire, especially those sections related to Evan Sinclair.
I drew on a host of my own experiences as I followed Evan from the high desert
in Utah to the killing fields of France and Belgium—playing baseball in a ramshackle
ball field in the summer heat, crossing the Atlantic on a steamer, resisting
temptation in France, and volunteering (with a good deal of ambivalence) to
serve in a time of war. Beyond these personal experiences, I also drew on my
first-hand experiences in Israel where I spent my </span>formative years—returning
there in my mind to a land where history waits for you around every corner, in
the luminous quality of light in early morning and toward evening, in the
freshness of Jerusalem’s mountain air, and in the sun-heated warmth of the
desert, or in the joy of floating in the Sea of Galilee at night beneath a sky
crowded with stars. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black;">How did you approach research? Did your research ever
surprise you? </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">My approach to the research required to write
my novels of historical fiction is to use multiple reliable sources related to
the story’s historical setting. Even though I am not a historian, I avail
myself of articles and research papers written by historians to enlighten all
significant aspects of pertinent historical events and characters, and then to modify
those findings with information from primary sources written by those individuals
who actually participated in those events. Once this structure is in place, I
have the </span>scaffolding to construct multifaceted stories that
authentically reflect historical figures in their time. <span style="color: black;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;">Regarding the surprises that arise from research, this is yet another
gift of the process. As fascinating elements of hidden history, unsolved
mysteries, and bizarre historical characters are uncovered by research. All these
add context and richness to the unfolding story. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;">An example of this was the emergence of the personality of Kaiser
Wilhelm II. Contemporary historical accounts attest to the fact that Wilhelm, though
gifted with a quick understanding and occasionally showing genuine curiosity, was
more often superficial, restless, and lacked any desire for hard work, or to
see things through to the end. He frequently showed no sense of sobriety, had
no respect for balance and boundaries, or even for reality and real problems.
He enjoyed giving his enemies humiliating nicknames, and was often arrogant and
uncontrollable. Desperate for applause and success, he had an exaggerated
self-confidence and a desire to show off—to play the part of the supreme
warlord. Needless to say, these erratic qualities affected how the Great War
began and how it was conducted.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;">As I review the description of the Kaiser’s personality, I couldn’t
help but notice certain interesting, if not unsettling, parallels to current
public figures. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black;">What did you most want readers to take from Wages?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 65.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">Wages of Empire is a historical novel set
in wartime. As such, it offers the reader a rich buffet—having all the elements
for a compelling story; drama, heroism, conflict, tension, intrigue, action,
heartbreak, and perhaps romance. And the effect of armed conflict on history is
itself dramatic since war is an accelerant to history, and often with dramatic
changes in human and natural topography.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 65.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">Additionally, I hope that the reader will
sense the compelling tension between knowing and unknowing—to engage with the historical
and fictional characters in the grip of their threatening present, infused with
their anxiety in the face of an unknowable future, at their uncertainty of
outcome. And, I want the reader to realize that now, it’s our turn to be
anxious in our ignorance in our time of uncertainty—with war in Ukraine, the
Middle East, and in a time of civil strife in our own country—our turn to share
the anxiety of having no idea as to the outcome of all this conflict. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 65.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">I hope that the reader will see that <i>Wages
of Empire </i>is a novel about war in a time of war. As such, it holds up a
mirror to time past that reflects on present uncertainties and current wars. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .25in;">And in that spirit, I hope that the reader
will ask the obvious question—what do present wars have to do with history? Because
the answer is: Everything. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black;">Every book has its own journey to publication–traditional,
self, hybrid. Why did you choose your particular route?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">I chose a hybrid route since it offered a rapid pathway to
publication—a mere</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">eight months from signing the contract to the pub date.
With my prior books, the process took years—running the gauntlet of pitching to
agents at conferences, querying and querying them, submitting and submitting to
publishers. Now that I am working with a hybrid publisher, I’m able to enjoy
the writing and the promoting of a book without all the pain and disappointment
of the long search.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 29.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 47.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black;">What’s been the biggest surprise in seeing this book come
into the world?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: 29.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">After a short gestation and an easy birth, I
was nonetheless surprised and gratified that I was able to turn quickly from
writing and editing Wages of Empire to promoting. And with that added time and
energy, I’ve been able to enjoy a greater level of success. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 29.25pt; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black;">Where can we find you? What’s next?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">I live in northern California in the USA
and look forward to doing book events across the country and internationally. Please
check out my website for all pertinent and extraneous information:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="https://michaeljcooper.net/">https://michaeljcooper.net/</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">My next book, <i>Crossroads of Empire</i>,
a sequel to <i>Wages of Empire</i> will be coming out in the fall of 2024.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></p>
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Holly Schindlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16742207239654178917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-34895426734118937972024-02-06T04:30:00.001-05:002024-02-06T04:30:00.130-05:00Hooked! (Mary Strand)This month at YA Outside the Lines, we’re talking about hooks: whatever they mean to us.</p><p>
As a kid, I spent my summers hooked on sports, reading, and building forts in the woods. It's less clear to me what I cared about the rest of the year.</p><p>
(Note: Come to think of it, I would still like to build forts in the woods, and why am I not making that happen?)</p><p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3m-4aqU73YLwetJt8AogpRqUVnJr98LnVL6tEkMVirvsXbchTJUNq7D0NhZM3oqknHoslK7CTv1vql7vbjjSKfEA3yxVMKfMv4q5QGndpaXOE0dqSbSHHTl9jnMiFAnXpY3mh4-eynmDPoMc4BLXgI2-5k4qGA9iuqtFfh3fsoSAKKkGPW91i9nhxCgEp/s825/Feb%202024%20-%20fort%20in%20woods.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="825" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3m-4aqU73YLwetJt8AogpRqUVnJr98LnVL6tEkMVirvsXbchTJUNq7D0NhZM3oqknHoslK7CTv1vql7vbjjSKfEA3yxVMKfMv4q5QGndpaXOE0dqSbSHHTl9jnMiFAnXpY3mh4-eynmDPoMc4BLXgI2-5k4qGA9iuqtFfh3fsoSAKKkGPW91i9nhxCgEp/s320/Feb%202024%20-%20fort%20in%20woods.jpg"/></a></div>
As a teen, I was mostly hooked on sports, but not always in the same pure-of-heart sense. With basketball, yes: I shot hoops in the driveway every chance I got, so much so that my dad complained about the constant thump-thump-thump he could hear from anywhere inside the house. But at that point I was serious (as opposed to, often, joyful) about tennis. I played twice a day, for five hours a day, every day in the summer. And why? Sometimes I wonder. Tennis was a job to me. In fact, my mom said at one point that I didn't need to bother getting a job, because that was my (self-inflicted) job.</p><p>
At this point in my life, hooks have more to do with the books and songs I write, and they're very different. In a song, I think of the hook as the thing that connects the listener to it. "Let It Be:" there's a hook. Or the long guitar intro to the Eagles' "Hotel California": a very different hook. If I don't have a hook, I don't like the song.</p><p>
With books, hooks either draw readers in or keep them reading, especially when it's late at night and they know they need to go to bed, but the last page of a chapter (hopefully, every chapter) jet-propels them into the next chapter. To me, it's a "BANG." Something major almost always happens on the last page, preferably the last line, of every chapter of my books. If I'm really acing it, it'll also happen on the last line of every scene within a chapter.</p><p>
It doesn't literally need to be a bang, though. At a minimum, something just has to surprise the point-of-view character at that moment, leaving him or her reeling. The reader wants to know HOW the character will react, but the sneaky author doesn't reveal that until a few paragraphs into the next chapter. Bye-bye, good night's sleep.</p><p>
A friend who used to be the first reader on all of my manuscripts would often text me something like this: "YOU NEVER LET ME STOP READING AT THE END OF A CHAPTER, DAMN IT!"</p><p>
I loved those notes. I'm sure they were meant to be sweet. ha ha.</p><p>
But is there a hook to this blog? Why no. I'm too hooked on the thought of building a fort in the woods right now to come up with a decent one.</p><p>
<i>Mary Strand is the author of</i> Pride, Prejudice, and Push-Up Bras <i>and three other novels in the Bennet Sisters YA series. You can find out more about her books and music at <a href="www.marystrand.com">marystrand.com</a></i>.Mary Strandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04207891254900502488noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-55564964582503450962024-02-01T04:30:00.017-05:002024-02-01T04:30:00.125-05:00News<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwjeI0GeWzM3FsJjed3YTTWxGA2ioRgFcwCCxehBXRPjErgFUvYQZHtKWgKqt7WfbDt4dvp5QOazu3ZMTkUt4ogLMvbk5zwY_sPZ3lJnBIv6utyeBbgPwKjvRPDINaGQd1zmQixwZwsruPniFfH4kkmtSF_E_KOebY9qVIoIUOvlnKJ8yMsoSXKb2QP45/s1080/Ice%20Cold%20Rivals%20.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwjeI0GeWzM3FsJjed3YTTWxGA2ioRgFcwCCxehBXRPjErgFUvYQZHtKWgKqt7WfbDt4dvp5QOazu3ZMTkUt4ogLMvbk5zwY_sPZ3lJnBIv6utyeBbgPwKjvRPDINaGQd1zmQixwZwsruPniFfH4kkmtSF_E_KOebY9qVIoIUOvlnKJ8yMsoSXKb2QP45/w400-h400/Ice%20Cold%20Rivals%20.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Sara Biren's novel <i>Cold Day in the Sun </i>will be republished in the Netherlands in <a href="https://www.amazon.nl/IJskoude-rivalen-Holland-ijshockeyteam-weerstaan/dp/9000393825/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1706671441&sr=8-5" target="_blank">paperback and ebook</a> on February 22, 2024. Along with a new cover, there's a new title, which translates as <i>Ice Cold Rivals</i>. <p></p>Holly Schindlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16742207239654178917noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-86383108179968299672024-01-31T04:30:00.001-05:002024-01-31T04:30:00.130-05:005 Faves (Holly Schindler)<p>I'm one of those writers who didn't grow up with much of a YA section in the library. Kids lit, then straight to adult lit I went (with some exceptions, as I talk about a bit more below). But while I was drafting my earliest manuscripts, I was also teaching music (piano and guitar lessons) and working as a private tutor with K-12 students on writing and reading skills.</p><p>I loved my students. I loved their sweetness and their humor. And I found myself wanting to write for them. </p><p>So off to the YA shelves I went. I immersed myself in the current YA reads. These are my faves (+ one fave from the past):<br /></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529044298i/39280444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="162" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529044298i/39280444.jpg" width="106" /></a></b></div><b><br />Speak</b> - This book keeps showing up on lists this month. I loved this one for its bravery. In an ironic twist, the book about <i>not </i>being able to speak about something horrific that has happened to you, believing that no one really wants to hear what you have to say, is stuck in my head <i>because it had such a memorable voice. </i>It's a testament to Laurie Halse Anderson's ability to bring a teen character to life. <p></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1350054787i/477338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="147" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1350054787i/477338.jpg" width="95" /></a></b></div><b><br />Blue is for Nightmares </b>- This one is by our own Laurie Faria Stolarz. I snatched it off the shelf because I was interested in the publisher (Flux, which did wind up publishing my own first two books). I loved this twisty read. In a way, it brought me back to those Christopher Pike books I read (and loved) as a teen. Christopher Pike was my introduction to books that read like movies--and I had the same feeling when I read Blue. <br /><p></p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358270741i/51738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="300" height="152" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358270741i/51738.jpg" width="98" /></a></div><br /><b>Just Listen</b> - You could <i>not </i>think about writing for teens in the early '00s and not read Sarah Dessen. She was everywhere--her work was in freestanding displays in my grocery store! This was by far my favorite Dessen read. I'm a lifelong music nut, and the obsession with music and discussions of music took me right back to my teen self. <p></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327962165i/37743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="161" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327962165i/37743.jpg" width="107" /></a></div><p></p><p><b>Forever </b>- I read this one really early. I mean....<i>really </i>early. I didn't know what it was, just that it was Judy Blume (and I had recently read a bunch of hers--I was somewhere between <i>Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing </i>and <i>Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret </i>in age. I was young enough that I didn't picture things right--I'll spare you the details of how I imagined "rolling on a rubber." I'm glad I had this book, though--I'm glad I got to live through a first relationship on the page. My favorite thing about it was always that the couple isn't together at the end--and that's okay. <br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442686280i/359410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="168" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442686280i/359410.jpg" width="112" /></a></div><p></p><p><b>Elsewhere - </b>Gabrielle Zevin's book is <i>it</i>. My all-time favorite YA. I love so many things about this book--her explanation for talent and the detail of the disappearing tattoo. It's imaginative and lovely and unlike most anything else in the genre. <br /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>No matter how many years go by, and no matter what new YA I read, these are the first five that always pop immediately into my mind when YA is mentioned. They're definitely lifelong loves. </p><p>~</p><p><i>Holly Schindler is the author of the YA A Blue So Dark.</i><br /></p>Holly Schindlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16742207239654178917noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-41234746168692960832024-01-30T06:00:00.001-05:002024-01-30T06:00:00.132-05:00Interview with John Be Lane, Author of The Future Lies<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5873ccba725e25b7e0123f26/83c5d5f2-a20b-4d31-9504-d7f5b9730b97/TheFutureLies_Hi+Res+front+cover.jpg?format=1000w" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="551" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5873ccba725e25b7e0123f26/83c5d5f2-a20b-4d31-9504-d7f5b9730b97/TheFutureLies_Hi+Res+front+cover.jpg?format=1000w" width="367" /></a></b></div><b><br />Thanks so much for visiting YAOTL, John. Please
tell us about <i>The Future Lies</i>:</b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thanks for inviting me! </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Future Lies</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is my first novel, set in Denver, decades in the future. It tells
the story of a collapsed society, overseen by an Artificial Intelligence
network, and a small group of teenagers who struggle to figure their way out of
it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You call this a post-dystopian romantic
thriller. Can you tell us more about this categorization? (I had a friend who
joked about post-dystopian being when everything got back to normal. But that’s
not quite what we have here…)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I finished writing the book, I’d been so
focused on the specifics of the story that when people asked me what it was
about, I wasn’t quite sure what to say. I didn’t have a decent log line ready. But
the off-the-cuff responses I attempted were obviously not doing the job. I
think that was in part because there’s a lot going on in the story. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally, that phrase just popped into my head: it’s
a post-dystopian romantic thriller! It’s not really a log line, but it just
seemed to fit. As you point out, “post-dystopian” is a category that’s open to
interpretation. We’re used to hearing “post-apocalyptic,” or “dystopian,” but
what’s this “post-dystopian” all about? I asked myself the same question, but I
ended up liking the ambiguity. It has a nice ring to it, too. It felt like it
worked as a hook. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I usually ask about inspiration, but this time,
I’m really curious when you started drafting The Future Lies.<i> What would you
do if you found out the A.I. that ran everything was not quite as bright as it
seemed? </i>This feels ripped-from-today’s headlines, in so many ways. But you
had to start writing this several years ago. What brought you to this subject?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A healthy dose of caution! I’ve felt AI looming
over the horizon for the past ten years or so. It’s not a monolithic thing as
of yet, but there are scenarios that have earned my concern. The potential for
total surveillance and control, for example, in which AI would integrate the
Internet of Things that we’ve been casually allowing into our lives. That’s
really how I envisioned the Network in <i>The Future Lies</i>. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where that leads to, in the book, is a society in
which not only does nobody have to do anything; they’re no longer <i>allowed</i>
to do anything. To ensure that’s sustained, people have been groomed to no
longer be <i>able</i> to do anything. Although the book is set later in this
century, I don’t view that kind of a world as some blue-sky projection. I worry
that we’re already on an trajectory to a very similar end state. My intention
was to raise an alarm.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was intrigued by the use of second person at
certain points–the Prologue, or for example, from page 322: “It was never a
good thing to run for your life…” Tell us about what fueled this choice? The
desire to immerse the reader even deeper into the story? </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That was definitely my intention in the
Prologue, which begins with, “You never questioned what the Network wanted you
to do…” It was used there to immediately immerse and engage readers. To get
them to place themselves, personally, within the context of the story. Even if
it’s subliminally. Second person wouldn’t have worked for the overall book, but
the Prologue felt like a necessary moment to play that card.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You mentioned the other prominent place that
second person shows up; the “run for your life...” section. It was used there more
to convey immediacy and a sense of the stakes. That’s where the climax of the
story kicks off. But I have to say it was an instinctive choice as I was
writing that scene, not at all premeditated. Part of the fun of a first draft,
for me, is to write from the gut, and then evaluate the results in the cold
light of some other day. In that case, upon further review, it felt best to
leave it in second person. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let’s talk genre (or really, age categorization)
a bit. The Future Lies doesn’t quite feel as firmly YA as other books I’ve read
this year–it really could have gone adult as well. Why did you decide to go YA?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first part of your question speaks to the
crux of what happened. At no time while I was writing the book did I think of
it as intended for the YA genre. I had this story, and I wrote it as well as I
could. That was my only goal. But the story revolves around characters who fall
into the YA demographic. That detail was never in question, because that’s how
the story presented itself to me. But I think there were reasons why that was
the case. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For starters, I think my (Baby Boom) generation,
overall, has done a disgraceful job as the stewards of what we inherited. There
are no excuses. I remember the first Earth Day observance at my school in
Omaha. Climate change, or “ecology” as it was referred to in those days, didn’t
sneak up on anybody my age. Not in this country, anyway. And that’s not to
mention the erosion of integrity and the rule of law itself, that too many have
either enabled or stood by and allowed. It’s been a wholesale moral failure. I
felt an obligation to address that. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another reason is that I remember what it felt
like at that age, to be maturing out of the cocoon you were raised in. Until
then, the world seemed to more or less make some kind of sense. And then one
day, you start noticing things. You think, “Wait a minute. Some of these things
don’t make sense at all. In fact, some of it’s just downright wrong.” And you
realize you’re on the short end of a lot of those things. But you feel
powerless to do much about it. And maybe you’re not sure that anyone else even
feels the same way. I remember all that, because I still feel that way. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The book addresses that sense of disorientation,
unease, and injustice that I imagine a lot of young adults must be feeling
these days. And yet as I was writing it, I was writing <i>about</i> that
audience, not consciously <i>for</i> that audience. Not that it necessarily
makes a difference. It’s just that after I finished it, it came to my attention
that books with YA protagonists are generally considered YA by genre. I
embraced that. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I agree that it could have gone adult, probably
in part because I was age-agnostic while writing it. So it may well appeal to
adults beyond the YA demographic. But I really hope it finds traction with
young adults, too. As daunting as the cards are that they have been dealt, young
adults do still have all kinds of agency. They just need to realize that, and empower
themselves to actually use it. Greta Thunberg would be one good example of all
that potential.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We’ve had a year of A.I headlines–and we’ve all
played around with ChatGPT. What’re your current feelings on A.I, at this
point? Any different than they were when you wrote the book?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Except for some final fine-tuning, I was done
with the book when ChatGPT was launched at the end of November, 2022. Even
though I’d been keeping a close eye on AI developments, I didn’t expect it to,
overnight, become another app on a smart phone. It felt like they just suddenly
started handing out candy bars with Pandora’s Boxes inside. Whereas the book
imagines AI as a mature, late-stage technology. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So it’s been fascinating to see how the past
year has unfolded. Aside from my profound concerns about the unlicensed data
scraping of writers’ and other creatives’ work, not too much has surprised me.
At the top of the pyramid, the Lords of Technology have positioned themselves
to compound their already-excessive power and wealth. In the middle, you’ve got
politicians (with the recent exception of the European Union), artfully
wringing their hands as a substitute for action. And at the bottom, a whole lot
of people seem happy to dive in head first, no matter how shallow the untested waters
might be. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By now, it’s a familiar pattern. Smart phones
conquered us with hardly any resistance. The “goners” in my book were inspired
by people I see walking down the street every day. Or driving their cars. Take
GPS as a modest example. In a pinch, it’s a great tool. But when you trade a
useful skill like reading a map for some lines of code that lead you around, you’re
giving up part of your privacy, your cognitive capacity, and your freedom of
choice, not to mention the unexpected pleasures that may await your wrong turn.
In exchange for…not having to use your own head.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So I’m as concerned about what we seem so
willing to give up, as I am about what AI and the digital ecosystem wants to
take away from us. But it’s been fascinating to watch AI enter our cultural
bloodstream in real time. There are signs that it might end up being both more,
and less, that what we currently think it will be. So far though, I haven’t
seen anything that seems inconsistent with the AI character in the book. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a book publisher myself, I’m interested in
the layout of books. I found it interesting that the paragraphs were all left
justified, with no paragraph indents and an extra space between—it mirrors a
non-fiction book. Is that intentional? (I felt playing off the non-fiction
layout actually gave it the appearance of a real-life true-fact story.)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I hadn’t thought of that non-fiction aspect, but
you’ve made me feel better about what began inadvertently! What actually
happened is, that’s just how I typed the original draft. I wasn’t even thinking
about it. After I’d done the whole draft, it dawned on me that this wasn’t the
typical format. I had a moment of panic – it would have required some effort to
undo. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I took a closer look at the news websites I read
every morning, and realized that’s their format too, even down to the ragged
right margins. That’s where I may have subconsciously picked it up. I started
thinking it might ring a bell with other people who read a lot online. (Or, maybe
I was just rationalizing what I’d done!)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Either way, I needed another opinion, so I
showed it to Julz Greason, who was about to start designing the book. After a
careful assessment, she thought it would be fine to keep it like it was. Especially
because there are quite a few one-line paragraphs that might have looked odd if
they all were indented. We also liked how it seemed to give the text some extra
breathing room. A little more white space on the page. I’m for anything that
might make it easier for a reader to sink into a book. But Julz gave it the
critical vote of confidence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Can you talk about the use of music throughout?
You even include songs in your citations at the end, as well as a playlist.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Music really helped me find my way into the mood
of this story, before I could put it into words. Another portal was a TV series
called <i>Babylon Berlin</i>, about Germany in the late 1920s. <i>The Future
Lies</i> tells a completely different story, but there was something about that
atmosphere in Weimar Germany that resonated with the world I imagined. I keyed
in on the music from that period, including the music from a show called <i>The
Threepenny Opera</i>. A decadent-sounding accordion in particular. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I started this playlist of songs that gave me
the same disoriented, melancholy feeling. <i>After The Gold Rush</i>, by Neil
Young. A song by Tom Waits called <i>Strange Weather</i>. The Beatles’ <i>Strawberry
Fields Forever</i>. The playlist turned into the soundtrack for a movie I
hadn’t seen, or in this case, written yet. But I could immerse myself in the
underlying feeling, and that did help me understand what I was after. All of that
infused itself in the story as I was writing it. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At certain points in the story, music has a
strong effect on the characters themselves. As it did for me when I started the
book, it seems to help them connect with a world they’re struggling to
understand. And I thought the absence of literacy in their world would give any
music they heard that much more currency.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are snippets of lyrics in the story, too.
I didn’t read a lot of poetry growing up, but I absolutely loved the lyrical
treasures in the songs I was hearing. Lyrics were my poetry. I can’t quote
Shelley or Keats, but I can throw down some Slim Harpo, Melanie Safka, or
Robert Hunter! </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What’s next?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ll be wearing my publisher hat for a while,
trying to help this book and its audience find each other. That’s its own
creative challenge, which I’m fortunate to also enjoy. It gives me a chance to
let the writing well fill up again. I have a few ideas in mind for my next
project, but haven’t locked in on any one of them yet. I do have a book of
poetry that’s pretty much ready to go, but I’ll save that till the timing seems
right. And I’m beginning to expand Global Arts Press beyond my own writing. I’m
working with several other writers who have projects in various stages of
completion. Actually, work seems like the wrong verb. I love all these things
I’m able to do at the moment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where can we find you?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Besides finding me now at <i>YA Outside the
Lines</i> (thanks to you!) the two best ways would be via publicist
extraordinaire Simone Jung (</span><a href="mailto:simone@booksforward.com"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">simone@booksforward.com</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">), or through my contact page at </span><a href="https://johnbe.com/"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">https://johnbe.com/</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> ~</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5873ccba725e25b7e0123f26/9a5e1508-ce50-4b2a-9913-53be19fd2816/Lane+website.jpg?format=750w" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="456" height="187" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5873ccba725e25b7e0123f26/9a5e1508-ce50-4b2a-9913-53be19fd2816/Lane+website.jpg?format=750w" width="107" /></a></div><br />John Be Lane’s first book, <i>The Beatin’ Path –
a lyrical guide to lucid evolution</i> received a Living Now Evergreen Award as
“one of the world-changing books published since the year 2000.” His new novel,
<i>The Future Lies</i>, will be available in February, 2024. He lives in
Colorado.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
Holly Schindlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16742207239654178917noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-21506200619528416012024-01-25T17:09:00.001-05:002024-01-25T17:09:33.543-05:00The 5 YA Books I'd Reach for Today by Laurie Faria Stolarz<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For this month on the blog, we’re chatting about our favorite YA reads. Honestly, it’s wayyyyyyyy too difficult to choose just five. I have so, so, so many titles that I love (and for various reasons, including content, plot, character, style, setting, voice, emotional resonance, etc., etc.) Also, my favorites change with my mood. <br /> <br />But, if you’re asking me to pick, today, what my five favorites are? My mood has me reaching for these:<br /> <br /><b><u>1. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson<br /></u></b>Prior to reading the novel, Selective Mutism was something I hadn’t really heard much about, so I was fascinated by this piece of the novel – the idea that trauma could steal one’s voice or that silence could become a coping mechanism, a brain’s way of protecting the self. So interesting. The story itself was relatable too; the trauma aside, I felt Anderson did a really excellent job of conveying the teen high school experience with its cliques and pressures. I also loved how Anderson played with form a bit. And, the narrator’s voice??? So, so good. Add in interesting characters and page-turning drama. I was sold.<br /> <br /><u>Here’s the publisher’s description</u>: Freshman year at Merryweather High is not going well for Melinda Sordino. She busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, and now her friends—and even strangers—all hate her. So she stops trying, stops talking. She retreats into her head, and all the lies and hypocrisies of high school become magnified, leaving her with no desire to talk to anyone anyway. But it’s not so comfortable in her head, either—there’s something banging around in there that she doesn’t want to think about. She can’t just go on like this forever. Eventually, she’s going to have to confront the thing she’s avoiding, the thing that happened at the party, the thing that nobody but her knows. She’s going to have to speak the truth.<br /> <br /> <br /><b><u>2. Burned by Ellen Hopkins<br /></u></b>Omg, this one was a wallop of emotion for me. I’m a big fan of Hopkins’ and love her other work too, but this one just stood out for me. I loved that the novel didn’t skirt any issues. It’s raw and heartfelt, posing questions about faith, love, loyalty, and good versus evil. The free verse was so artfully done. I loved how Hopkins played with structure, fully conscious of every word and line, and how they appeared on the page. So good.<br /> <br /><u>Here’s the publisher’s description</u>: <span style="background: white;">It all started with a dream. Just a typical fantasy, but for a girl raised in a religious—and abusive—family, a simple dream could be the first step toward eternal damnation. Now Pattyn Von Stratten has questions. Questions about God, and sex, and mostly love. Will she ever find it? Pattyn experiences the first stirrings of passion, but when her father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control.</span><br /><span style="background: white;">Pattyn is sent to live with an aunt in the wilds of rural Nevada to find salvation and redemption. What she finds instead is love and acceptance, and for the first time she feels worthy of both—until she realizes that her old demons will not let her go. Those demons lead Pattyn down a path to hell—not to the place she learned about in sacrament meetings, but to an existence every bit as horrifying.<br /></span> <br /> <br /><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u>3. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've read this book so many times. It explores that period of time when you’re not quite a kid but not quite ready to be an adult, and meanwhile people are aging/maturing all around you, and your perception of them is changing. You begin to see your parents differently – more human. And, you begin to see your friends as moving on a different path from yours… It’s a graphic novel, and the story and imagery are equally lush. This is a book I read in awe, page after page. There’s so much here – so much nuanced goodness. The characters are distinct, interesting, and unexpected. The writing is smart and brimming with nods to theme and subtext. I LOVE this book.<br /> <br /><u>Here is the publisher’s description</u>: <span style="background: white;">Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It's their getaway, their refuge. Rosie's friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose's mom and dad won't stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. One of the local teens - just a couple of years older than Rose and Windy - is caught up in something bad... Something life threatening.</span><br /> <br /><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u>4. Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block<br /></u></b>Like Hopkins, but in a very different way, I admire so much what Block is able to do with language. She’s a sheer poet with her words, descriptions, and sense of rhythm. Her characters are unique, interesting, textured, nuanced, and fearless. Her setting is nothing short of magical. I remember reading the book for the first time and being in sheer awe at the language and word choice.<br /> <br /><u>Her is the publisher’s description:</u> Francesca Lia Block’s dazzling debut novel,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="a-text-italic"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Weetzie Bat</span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">, is not only a genre-shattering, critically acclaimed gem, it's also widely recognized as a classic of young adult literature, having captivated readers for generations.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <br /></span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This coming-of-age novel follows the eponymous Weetzie Bat and her best friend Dirk as they navigate life and love in a timeless, dreamlike version of Los Angeles. When Weetzie is granted three wishes by a genie, she discovers that there are unexpected ramifications….<br /></span> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b><u>5. Stolen by Lucy Christopher<br /></u></b>I haven’t read a lot of novels that are told in the second person point of view, so I love that about this one. The whole novel is structured as a letter to the main character’s captor. From the first page, I was hooked by the character’s voice: her anger, though complicated and nuanced, was fascinating to read. I loved how richly textured and complex the main character was; there was nothing black and white here, only shades of gray. It was fascinating to follow Gemma’s arc through such a traumatic experience – and to see her come out a survivor (no spoilers in that since we know she’s okay from page one). The novel is suspenseful and uncomfortable and explores Stockholm Syndrome in a way that felt authentic. <br /> <br /><u>Here is the publisher’s description:</u> A girl: Gemma, 16, at the airport, on her way to a family vacation. A guy: Ty, rugged, tan, too old, oddly familiar, eyes blue as ice. She steps away. For just a second. He pays for her drink. And drugs it. They talk. Their hands touch. And before Gemma knows what's happening, Ty takes her. Steals her away. To sand and heat. To emptiness and isolation. To nowhere. And expects her to love him. Written as a letter from a victim to her captor,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="a-text-italic"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Stolen</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span>is Gemma's desperate story of survival; of how she has to come to terms with her living nightmare--or die trying to fight it.<br /></span><o:p> </o:p></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10.5pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10.5pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Laurie Faria Stolarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04677755282972768256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-84921070967426236062024-01-22T08:12:00.004-05:002024-01-22T08:12:45.860-05:005 Favorites by Patty Blount<p> Happy New Year! </p><p>Throughout the month of January, we're blogging about our 5 favorite novels...the ones that made us WANT to be authors ourselves. </p><p>I've got quite a few favorites and you've probably heard me say more than once that Judy Blume is my writing-hero. I adore her novels. </p><p>She wrote a book called Deenie about a young girl diagnosed with scoliosis and had to wear an ugly back brace and potentially have surgery. I didn't know it at the time, but I would be diagnosed with the same disorder about a year after reading this book. <br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUQYMqwvjDwTMQE72_hMbWuST64M1JPHp8Xe_zQ2RUyblAM9ttfNEZ_EmX7Z78pG7U1YXaKgva3z2mx16k1WzcRBP4VEplZ8m3lsuUa_MqEEZaL6W8i6sIwdHYogtjfTEVbldFBQ_1iHzvkxCxUd5np4Q4Y4lAgGroMkEPHT6j2lz0Tfe_eB4NKeIU6VIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUQYMqwvjDwTMQE72_hMbWuST64M1JPHp8Xe_zQ2RUyblAM9ttfNEZ_EmX7Z78pG7U1YXaKgva3z2mx16k1WzcRBP4VEplZ8m3lsuUa_MqEEZaL6W8i6sIwdHYogtjfTEVbldFBQ_1iHzvkxCxUd5np4Q4Y4lAgGroMkEPHT6j2lz0Tfe_eB4NKeIU6VIC" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>When I was told I also had scoliosis, I wasn't afraid. I was 12 years old, but because I'd been with Deenie throughout her experience, fictional though it may be, mine was easier to handle. I'm happy to report I didn't need surgery or the back brace. </p><p>That was the first time I can remember a novel preparing me for something that could happen in my life. And it HOOKED me. I wanted to do that, write the kind of content that readers would also identify with. </p><p>As for other books, it's nearly impossible for me to remember titles now. I cut my romance-teeth on the drugstore Harlequins and before that, Barbara Cartlandt's series. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-zyvcW06fybD_w42pITb0eq_iJECjKMVgnP2ARL4VvdX0Ycscaofj50JID7a85OejtUvNUk9fMQLL75PUfoctMLEq3mhtDU5jKXwTSP8JJESoY5vjRxlYRpT2grE8KIVftEims1-UJ_qH9fn2ghQUKygmxwBBWpsyxwpZ-JLZw6wh1XTIsHQHL4HBLk2-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-zyvcW06fybD_w42pITb0eq_iJECjKMVgnP2ARL4VvdX0Ycscaofj50JID7a85OejtUvNUk9fMQLL75PUfoctMLEq3mhtDU5jKXwTSP8JJESoY5vjRxlYRpT2grE8KIVftEims1-UJ_qH9fn2ghQUKygmxwBBWpsyxwpZ-JLZw6wh1XTIsHQHL4HBLk2-" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Recently, I read Kendare Blake's ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirIANUXr7fIAvz_CxAZi9rBgP93dIxdnc1MZOJ1iO6EIjOvatCKSlUIJSQyz-PQ4HJBh3hxLLvG92L-_7B3RgAP4Hh5xQMWcBBobmipfMbBXE7N05GWRguYxttXt6S2JGzL6YHMt8RyjZgg93gk6fsULmwoU7yf0zJghwrFr9zzE28OQQJ16ug4FPqZgS9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="187" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirIANUXr7fIAvz_CxAZi9rBgP93dIxdnc1MZOJ1iO6EIjOvatCKSlUIJSQyz-PQ4HJBh3hxLLvG92L-_7B3RgAP4Hh5xQMWcBBobmipfMbBXE7N05GWRguYxttXt6S2JGzL6YHMt8RyjZgg93gk6fsULmwoU7yf0zJghwrFr9zzE28OQQJ16ug4FPqZgS9" width="166" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>Y'all, I bought this book just for the TITLE. What a great hook! Urban legend about a ghost haunting a house and ghost-hunter Cas must investigate, only to fall for the ghost he's supposed to vanquish. </p><p>Delicious. </p><p>Spine-tingling. </p><p>Also, sweet, in a way. </p><p>This novel compelled me to switch genres from YA contemporary to horror. I'm currently writing my own ghost story, whose working title is THE SMELL OF SMOKE & ASH. </p><p>One of my instant-buy authors is Katie McGarry. Her novels wreck me! The first one I read was PUSHING THE LIMITS. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJAEyVKUc86eOvHzYoH_WHNVT2h1yzUKIyUTC8zbXPs432BaDlWxkCm20yu9gOF_OfnfCiNOR2EuzPeRE-72YH2u2kq2bIEd96X24_xawdLT3h4n1SVh2tNt_DxSyXAFdvS24CgMGdSs1alrQiS5iNDOcemLsRLc4vNVuxsIUNtCN0vI7t2eVquFK-F5UJ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="182" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJAEyVKUc86eOvHzYoH_WHNVT2h1yzUKIyUTC8zbXPs432BaDlWxkCm20yu9gOF_OfnfCiNOR2EuzPeRE-72YH2u2kq2bIEd96X24_xawdLT3h4n1SVh2tNt_DxSyXAFdvS24CgMGdSs1alrQiS5iNDOcemLsRLc4vNVuxsIUNtCN0vI7t2eVquFK-F5UJ" width="158" /></a></div><p><br /></p>I adore the way Katie manages to weave in heavy situations for her teen protagonists to conquer and fall in REAL LOVE, too. I've read this series a dozen times now and it never gets old. <p></p><p>Finally, and even though I know she's fallen out of favor because of her narrow-minded views on transgendered people, I have to add JK Rowling's Harry Potter to this list. I'd wanted to write my own books for decades, but I lacked an MFA. It wasn't until I'd learned Rowling did it without a degree that I finally decided to try. These books taught me about the Hero's and Heroine's Journeys. </p><p>What are YOUR top 5 YA titles? Tell me, tell me, tell me! </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Patty Blounthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11928111057602279792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-80080785928930266532024-01-20T06:30:00.001-05:002024-01-20T06:30:00.128-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/516FFlOvNsL._SY445_SX342_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="298" height="445" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/516FFlOvNsL._SY445_SX342_.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><p><b>Thanks for joining us at YAOTL, Tim. Please tell us a bit
about The Powell Expeditions.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Thanks
for inviting me. <i>The Powell Expeditions</i> is the story of Jubilee Walker,
a young man whose mother dies when he is seventeen, leaving him to decide
whether to continue farming or pursue a life of adventure, which he has often
dreamed of. He turns to Major John Wesley Powell, a family friend, for advice,
and learns Powell is leading a group of students on an exploring expedition in
the West. Jubil sets his sights on joining Powell. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But his plans for a life of adventure
are complicated by his deepening feelings for his best friend, Nelly Boswell.
She is very independent-minded and reluctant to spend her life with a man who
insists on such a dangerous lifestyle.</span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We join Jubil as he navigates the hardships and lawlessness of
the American West and grapples with choosing between a life of adventure and
the girl he loves.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>This is based, in part, on “real-life adventures,” as you
put it. What drew you to the story of Major John Wesley Powell?</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During one of my early trips to Rocky Mountain National
Park, I hiked the Longs Peak Trail. Afterward, exhilarated by the challenging
climb, I purchased a book on the history of the mountain and learned that the
first person to summit it was Major John Wesley Powell. Researching Powell, I
was surprised to learn he had close connections to my hometown, Bloomington,
Illinois. Much of Powell’s life struck me as something out of an adventure
novel, but I did not find any fiction that had dramatized it. I carried the
idea with me for years before finally deciding to make an effort to write the
novel I wanted to read.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>I love long-and-winding stories of how authors finally
saw their dream come true. How did you come to be a writer?</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Though I have always had an artistic nature and enjoyed
music and writing as hobbies, I chose the more expedient path of making a
living in the business world rather than the risky world of the arts. After I
retired, my wife was taken ill and passed away, and I was lost for what to do
with myself. I tried following my hobby of music but could no longer find joy
in it. But writing provided me with a means to block out my internal dialogue
and pass the days doing something constructive. These days, I follow my
curiosity to research topics that appeal to me and then weave those into
fictional stories that I would like to read myself.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>How did you balance fiction and fact in The Powell
Expeditions?</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The story adheres closely to the historical record of
Powell’s 1867, 1868, and 1869 exploring expeditions and the people who
participated in them. I think memorable historical events have all the elements
of good fiction stories, so I don’t find it necessary to alter any of the
salient facts.<br />
<br />
I use fictional characters to add layers and liveliness to the historical story
and to deepen the reader’s awareness of what life was like during the period.
Putting words in the mouths of historical figures is an unavoidable challenge
of writing historical fiction, but I do my best to keep their dialogue true to
their nature. Having heroic historical figures talk to everyday fictional
characters helps me bring them down to earth and make them more human, both for
myself and for the reader.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>I love your straightforward storytelling style - from the
beginning, you pull the reader in with simple prose, but you also show a
glimpse of how life promises to change for Jubil: “In late February, while
winter still had a grip on the prairie, Jubilee Walker’s mother fell ill.” Did
that storytelling style come naturally? Or did you work through multiple drafts
to find it?</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you. I believe the storytelling style comes naturally
to me, but it wasn’t until I began to work with a wonderfully patient and
talented editor that the simplicity emerged. It took several drafts to carve
away the things that, interesting or not, didn’t need to be there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>So rarely do we see historical fiction in YA. (Or we find
books in which “historical” means the late ‘90s!) Why did you decide to publish
historical fiction in the YA realm? The story of Jubil and Nelly has a definite
YA aspect to it–but what other aspects of the book led you to believe YA was
the right category?</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I didn’t specifically set out to write a historical fiction
adventure novel for a Young Adult audience—that’s just what I ended up writing.
I chose a young man’s coming-of-age story as a vehicle to showcase some of the
adventures of Major John Wesley Powell and to examine life during that era. But
a lot of work in the Young Adult fiction genre, especially in recent years, is
also enjoyed by an adult audience, and this is how I see my work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>What are your favorite parts of Jubil’s adventure?</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Vicariously summiting Longs Peak is a highlight for me, as
it is something I have never achieved in real life. I have hiked up the mountain
to the final approach several times, but summiting requires braving more
exposure to a fall than this flatlander can stomach. Also, Jubil’s ride down
the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon was exciting, but it’s the closest
I’ll ever need to get to having that experience. Even a safe whitewater rafting
experience is frightening—what Powell and his men did in the Grand Canyon was
well beyond brave.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>What do you hope readers will take away from the story? </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The protagonist, Jubilee Walker, is a young man who knows
more about what he doesn’t want to do with his life than what he does want. He
makes most of his decisions by following his passions and doing what his heart
tells him is right. His good-natured personality, enthusiasm, reliability, and
calm demeanor in the face of difficult circumstances win him the support and
friendship of most people he meets. Jubil’s philosophy of following his passion
and his heart is a worthwhile message for anyone.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>What’s next for Jubil?</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I first started writing <i>The Powell Expeditions</i>,
I didn’t know where the story might lead me. As I wrapped up the book about
Jubil’s participation in Powell’s expeditions, it seemed there was plenty of
room for his life of adventure to continue. I did some initial research about
what was happening in the years after <i>The Powell Expeditions</i> ends, and
the Jubilee Walker series was born. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The next book in the series is <i>The Yellowstone Campaign</i>.
In this story, Jubil is drawn into the 1870 Washburn expedition that paved the
way for the first formal geographic surveys of the Yellowstone Basin in 1871 by
Dr. Ferdinand Hayden and Captain John Barlow. Jubil and his fellow adventurers
find themselves in a wonderland of exotic geography that can be as deadly as it
is awe-inspiring.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Yellowstone Campaign</i> will be released in July
2024. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Where can we find you?</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/e194edaf-2701-4c69-b891-2635f0ea8772/tim%20bw%20portrait%201000.jpg/:/cr=t:2.08%25,l:0%25,w:97.92%25,h:97.92%25/rs=w:800,cg:true,m" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="165" src="https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/e194edaf-2701-4c69-b891-2635f0ea8772/tim%20bw%20portrait%201000.jpg/:/cr=t:2.08%25,l:0%25,w:97.92%25,h:97.92%25/rs=w:800,cg:true,m" width="124" /></a></div><br />Connect with me at <a href="http://www.timpiper-author.com">http://www.timpiper-author.com</a>,
or on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/people/Tim-Piper-Author/61550582340267/?sk=about"><span style="color: #1155cc;">@Tim Piper - Author</span></a>.<p></p>
Holly Schindlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16742207239654178917noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-50778406250084264712024-01-19T06:35:00.000-05:002024-01-19T06:35:15.960-05:00An Extremely Difficult Choice<p> </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>John Clark</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">-I read between
225-300 books a year and review them all. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">That
makes choosing just five a real challenge. In fact, I rewrote this
post three times and if it were tomorrow, might do so a fourth time.
</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">It’s worth noting that I
particularly like dystopian, dark fantasy, and girls who play sports
genres. However the ones I’ve chosen, while having some dark
elements, were selected more because they reflect hardscrabble Maine,
teens who feel significant emotional pain, and remind me in ways of
teens I’ve worked with as a mental health professional and public
librarian.</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhVIuK9ephWys6gmAnt3dycMv99s_YckrZEVwKgwguQLod9rph6d-BmEj4ZzNj1NSl9B11FT_izHc88rYgxG7yNZYCIbA3QmcxgX3GMQx3My0VeIBQOqH_36RDq_ivo3nXUT7VKWuZMfE3-YmxryC6EWEULr_qvaRUuzjqk4Lyf7IABCHGS1TLc1D9pI/s1000/three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="662" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhVIuK9ephWys6gmAnt3dycMv99s_YckrZEVwKgwguQLod9rph6d-BmEj4ZzNj1NSl9B11FT_izHc88rYgxG7yNZYCIbA3QmcxgX3GMQx3My0VeIBQOqH_36RDq_ivo3nXUT7VKWuZMfE3-YmxryC6EWEULr_qvaRUuzjqk4Lyf7IABCHGS1TLc1D9pI/s320/three.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Three Things / Betty
Culley</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">It's very clear that
Betty Culley has experienced some of the emotional landscape in this
book, either personally or professionally. She also captures
hardscrabble Maine, the part I'm very familiar with, as well as Gerry
Boyle. Written in verse form, this takes readers through a bleak
physical and emotional landscape, part of rural Maine where hope left
when the local mill closed, sadly a reality in more and more towns.
What transpires as you follow the events after Jonah accidentally
shoots himself in the head, is first a fracturing between neighbors,
so well described as Liv and Clay's mom meet on the yellow line
dividing the dead end street where they live like it was a
demilitarized zone. Then you follow Jonah's care, with the
personalities of the nurses caring for him playing their own roles,
Liv's feelings about her brother, as well as Clay, the boy who was
her brother's best friend and who she cares deeply about, then the
events leading up to the negligence trial, pitting Clay's family
against Liv's. You get to see Liv's inner monologue as she tries to
connect with her brother in his new, nearly unresponsive form, deal
with how unimportant school becomes and go through the trial and its
aftermath. One scene that really illustrates the plight of those
struggling when wages and benefits are inadequate, or nonexistent,
comes when Liv deals with her mom's tooth. Read the book to see what
happened. This is an excellent look at struggle, grief, love and the
real Maine.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbAXbI1eGjbb0xew5d-pvhuRpS7GlADDHZ4ccQNnqB_ELW6cHF9Mf4TCTI0iyNLgikLHd-aqYkoiOmgawPutwuczOrayc8HKT1It3ymYrrv_ONecyoJ4tBC5goWxRUY4dmV5hJR709affEH_4NhJikl4wWqEoMiIEd2hQLnRgDvprW2ReyIRBjROUM8w/s456/Far.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbAXbI1eGjbb0xew5d-pvhuRpS7GlADDHZ4ccQNnqB_ELW6cHF9Mf4TCTI0iyNLgikLHd-aqYkoiOmgawPutwuczOrayc8HKT1It3ymYrrv_ONecyoJ4tBC5goWxRUY4dmV5hJR709affEH_4NhJikl4wWqEoMiIEd2hQLnRgDvprW2ReyIRBjROUM8w/s320/Far.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Title Far from you
/ Tess Sharpe.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Sophie Winters has
been in pain since age fourteen. That pain has been physical,
spiritual and emotional. It started when her best friend's brother
was driving and they were hit by another driver. Sophie wasn't
wearing her seat belt and was terribly injured. Her leg and back will
never be the same. Trev and his sister Mina weren't badly hurt and
he's felt guilty ever since.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> Sophie ended up
addicted to pain medication, but the only person who noticed was
Mina, but then Mina reads her like nobody else can. They became
friends when she moved to town after her dad died. Sophie saw her
sitting alone and tear-faced at lunch and befriended her. They've
been extra close ever since. When Sophie crashes and burns from drugs
and Mina finally dares to confront her, she goes to Oregon and rehabs
with her aunt. It's brutal going through withdrawal, but she holds on
by reminding herself how long it's been: six months, three days, nine
hours. When she returns home, gaining everyone's trust isn't easy.
One night she and Mina make a detour on the way to a party and Mina
is murdered by a man in a ski mask and Sophie's world destroyed. Not
only has she lost her best friend, and when she's able to be honest,
the person she really loved, but the killer planted Oxycontin in her
pocket after beating her senseless.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> Sophie is stuck in
a rehab facility even though she never relapsed. Neither of her
parents believe her, but she's determined to fight back and find out
why Mina was killed and who did it. Her efforts to do so are
alternated with flashback chapters that flesh out her relationship
with Mina.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> With Trev's
reluctant help, he's been in love with her for years, after all, she
unmasks the killer and in the process solves another murder case, the
story Mina was working on that got her killed. Sophie darn near gets
killed herself in the process.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> This is an amazing
first book. It combines mystery, a girl's struggle with addiction and
a love story seamlessly as well as doing a very good job of making it
next to impossible to figure out who the killer is. Sure there are
sexual references and some strong language, but if you're a
librarian, do not let them prevent you from adding this book to your
collection. This is a sweet, but sad love story blended with a dandy
mystery. It will appeal to lesbian and bisexual teens in particular,
but should have a much wider audience and serious consideration for a
young adult Edgar nomination.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxLocaB_zzsHNdAmgv3dre0QBTIDVap316cW84IjmWrCcw8diY5tIWMjhgcbRy7zsVVhyc0qIhbslK_E1lfd4y7tRiTtmwLh8TV8Vvxhpav6dnFAGe7YtrJ9Lusl-Ch6_FVhVOJ003XML82XryYRt9chVgyDweU_OhOK5r5oKm_Jpil2jPl18ZnWUPSbQ/s960/lies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="635" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxLocaB_zzsHNdAmgv3dre0QBTIDVap316cW84IjmWrCcw8diY5tIWMjhgcbRy7zsVVhyc0qIhbslK_E1lfd4y7tRiTtmwLh8TV8Vvxhpav6dnFAGe7YtrJ9Lusl-Ch6_FVhVOJ003XML82XryYRt9chVgyDweU_OhOK5r5oKm_Jpil2jPl18ZnWUPSbQ/s320/lies.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The Lies They Tell /
Gillian French</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">It takes a special
writer to 'get' the essence of Maine when writing fiction. Nowhere is
this apparent than when creating a story that features natives VS
PFAs (People From Away). In this dark and gritty story, Gillian
French nails both groups perfectly. Having grown up near the coast
and later serving as library director in a wealthy Maine community, I
know of what I speak. The characters, setting and slow reveal are all
done just right, leaving those still standing at the end, scarred,
but with enough hope to keep going. The ending is perfect.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAOfDW4lE16kvV9yeB24zZv8e7i984W_hQz99Daz82XPgFMZVrK2RC3zkuE_lF7yM6PMwv1po21dYFQNur3MGI0eCMXqMJUKwwSxBiG2vTU3EwGbqoif75LGiIMr05mYnkOpKJ_-5rDz5jZLQN39HYELayZmmUE3aGFieALt2Pvpw309M77OpSzIz9ps/s400/down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAOfDW4lE16kvV9yeB24zZv8e7i984W_hQz99Daz82XPgFMZVrK2RC3zkuE_lF7yM6PMwv1po21dYFQNur3MGI0eCMXqMJUKwwSxBiG2vTU3EwGbqoif75LGiIMr05mYnkOpKJ_-5rDz5jZLQN39HYELayZmmUE3aGFieALt2Pvpw309M77OpSzIz9ps/s320/down.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Downeast: Five Maine
Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America / Gigi Georges (While
nonfiction, it reads like a diary of real Maine teens)</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">I grew up in a small
Maine town and Washington County is my favorite part of Maine. In
this book, Gigi Georges weaves a beautiful and emotional story of
five girls over a four year period. These five young women are
honest, insightful and wise beyond their years. I've seen their peers
working in stores and restaurants when visiting Downeast. The blend
of narrative, statistical information and family dynamics, coupled
with insights from relatives, teachers, and others living in the
area, all enhance this book. I'm not one for reading nonfiction, but
this was a notable exception. It's the sort of book any public or
school library should have on their shelves for it not only offers
insights, but hope and a bunch of relatable experiences for teens no
matter where they live.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pO_xFfXKZCLPPYz0MB8gmxAeE8Uw5ystIUlmbwwLXf6urWtn2m_HervYx5yVfi2RJoCbfKRpHPndLVtOGktWjSCQBeeYjHgNcgxOf4m1taHzAKucXrRZeJs5MLkTnnKmbWdllFWWtDzAxvDG0nO_xQqAr-BxnQDB7NSRGjYUj_42ctSi6AmM06vpLDw/s475/all.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pO_xFfXKZCLPPYz0MB8gmxAeE8Uw5ystIUlmbwwLXf6urWtn2m_HervYx5yVfi2RJoCbfKRpHPndLVtOGktWjSCQBeeYjHgNcgxOf4m1taHzAKucXrRZeJs5MLkTnnKmbWdllFWWtDzAxvDG0nO_xQqAr-BxnQDB7NSRGjYUj_42ctSi6AmM06vpLDw/s320/all.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">All the Bright
Places / Jennifer Niven</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Theodore Finch and
Violet Markey would seem to have little in common. That is until they
find themselves on opposite 4 inch ledges six stories up in the bell
tower overlooking their high school campus. Although Violet gets
credit for saving the 'weird' kid, both of them know it was more
likely the other way around. While Finch is known as the crazy guy
around school, his mania and wild brilliance mask a severe
depression, one so strong that he spends an inordinate amount of time
contemplating statistics on different methods of suicide.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> Violet, on the
other hand, was extremely popular and involved in all sorts of
extracurricular activities until the night she and her older sister
were returning from a party. Eleanor was killed when the car hit
black ice and crashed. Violet hasn't been able to let go of a massive
wave of guilt because she blames herself. She's so paralyzed by the
aftereffects that she refuses to ride in a car.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> When they find
themselves as unwilling partners in a class project that involves
learning about unique places in their home state of Indiana, it's an
uneasy process, but Finch won't let Violet wither any further. By
teasing, cajoling and worming his way through her protective shell,
he's able to show her just how amazing life one day at a time can be.
Unfortunately, as he expands her world and helps bring her back to
life, he can't accept her attempts to do the same for him.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> What happens as
they fall for each other and Finch finds himself unable to free
himself from his demons is both sad and beautiful. If you're looking
for a happily ever after finish, this book doesn't have one. What it
does have is the ability to make you feel an amazing variety of
feelings and realize as you close the book that, while life isn't
always fair, it's all we got.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> It's an excellent
book for any school or public library and teens who have struggled
with depression, loss or grief may well find a bit of hope and solace
if they read it.</p>
Berekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14172936893264053007noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-13220562626476758492024-01-12T08:00:00.001-05:002024-01-12T08:00:00.139-05:00A Classic Five<p>By Charlotte Bennardo </p><p><br /></p><p>I'm relatively new here, this is only my second post, so hi all. </p><p>This month, the theme is five YA books we wish we'd written. Oh, tough list because there are just sooo many. Please note I'm purposefully NOT choosing any novels by friends and colleagues because I can't fit them all in! I would never choose one over the other so I am staying with the classics. There are many on my list, but here are a random five:</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxI-rXb8H184yPFB1luh77cpBRG6dtnfvxoayMFJ11BzMscAnk50Ia-X5LdvzNhGPpjXZ9SpRQjG-yIQC-WFvFoSS6RHbvVqqd5KT0GeZzmFXM8FynVYmap7Ik6pO6Vr-eu2PuKTwAFcaQOyvg3Ab0FXqjgG4fDtVE2LeW6YLG_SPjLCsyjATHUKDMISg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxI-rXb8H184yPFB1luh77cpBRG6dtnfvxoayMFJ11BzMscAnk50Ia-X5LdvzNhGPpjXZ9SpRQjG-yIQC-WFvFoSS6RHbvVqqd5KT0GeZzmFXM8FynVYmap7Ik6pO6Vr-eu2PuKTwAFcaQOyvg3Ab0FXqjgG4fDtVE2LeW6YLG_SPjLCsyjATHUKDMISg=w330-h330" width="330" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><div><i>Seventeenth Summer</i> by Maureen Daly was truly the first YA book I read. Yes, it's old, but it had such an impact on me when I read a battered library copy. The emotions and confusion of being seventeen were raw and sweet and beautifully realistic that as soon as I finished it, I reread it. </div><div><br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjhR1iWEIno0miwKyUP9vyaKA0hqPJppwpAymu6XtZ4WPdcLuw7DYlJmkh1Keg-wXHZ513izZo1bzXLXIvhlCpeK6pzydNrfFRDGDOJMOwz0gWbXrz_wIVo9tPsDzKF7NyhcHs1fJSauIJljtHBFC0i53CAItsfxBx1jf1WSiaIZCYP1S8l35WWWqiVdg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjhR1iWEIno0miwKyUP9vyaKA0hqPJppwpAymu6XtZ4WPdcLuw7DYlJmkh1Keg-wXHZ513izZo1bzXLXIvhlCpeK6pzydNrfFRDGDOJMOwz0gWbXrz_wIVo9tPsDzKF7NyhcHs1fJSauIJljtHBFC0i53CAItsfxBx1jf1WSiaIZCYP1S8l35WWWqiVdg=w422-h281" width="422" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Anne Frank, the Diary of a Young Girl</i> is the epitome of bravery and tragedy. While I would not want to have been in her situation to write that book, what I took away from it was her appreciation for life, even at its hardest. Her words are sincere and honest and heartbreaking. I want to write with that joie de vivre, that belief in hope and people even when surrounded by evil and despair. </div><div><br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsZuj0EAZgEofn60Izj-deVO3yFp_MmvKD-bp0i0bM1QG77go5qCUsY6R2-AeM2KoOHzpyN6mzeu6h3Xw0g7q7XSzjUQ8WSdkFVsquClPLy0EnKHSqPGBHp511CrjhCraNFW-lPJrCExr3cmweUDbNlag5I2bMna2BsFWLYxCGkIIn9m6WerrRGUWupIk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsZuj0EAZgEofn60Izj-deVO3yFp_MmvKD-bp0i0bM1QG77go5qCUsY6R2-AeM2KoOHzpyN6mzeu6h3Xw0g7q7XSzjUQ8WSdkFVsquClPLy0EnKHSqPGBHp511CrjhCraNFW-lPJrCExr3cmweUDbNlag5I2bMna2BsFWLYxCGkIIn9m6WerrRGUWupIk=w288-h288" width="288" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div><i><br /></i></div>The Princess Diaries </i>by Meg Cabot. Honestly, the witty self-deprecation of Mia and the snark of her bestie Lilly, and the sweetness of Michael make this fun and a salute to the horror that can be high school, loss of a parent, and navigating puberty. Life shouldn't be all dark and gloomy, a little royal fantasy is a sweet getaway. </div><div><br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0RqL1tGjDQezU5pVZaZAuETQkRtFO9UqGfcZY9AfEMIUFWr6m0_bWB19dPvVZ983Ku5Lk6JUH0tStPO03iEw8m-jAg68kETTlNmS9CaK9AJZSG08sfZ9P3rQGVosr3wQ17cgSSw46XlnpkR46lEcJOJWGvwQOWhUXeI2IFy2qiLk6yrR63LI9_phuMnc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0RqL1tGjDQezU5pVZaZAuETQkRtFO9UqGfcZY9AfEMIUFWr6m0_bWB19dPvVZ983Ku5Lk6JUH0tStPO03iEw8m-jAg68kETTlNmS9CaK9AJZSG08sfZ9P3rQGVosr3wQ17cgSSw46XlnpkR46lEcJOJWGvwQOWhUXeI2IFy2qiLk6yrR63LI9_phuMnc=w280-h280" width="280" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div><i><br /></i></div>The Hunger Games </i>by Suzanne Collins has every human emotion in a story of every possible situation. Love, hate, betrayal, anger, grief, friendship, sacrifice, growth, horror, discovery. In my opinion, this book is the best dystopian novel.</div><div> <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGlrXDpi4X9WUEPWml0SfkwrtIga92jlsKlXdor38TbkndUCt1UHnF-3Pkp39FkugUrIpJ4pB9ymdnwo4g54gmbcZoWaBapFdGjgcpf-oPI_85Oc7yIK2Bqt48pk8v5LBW-Cw0xolJ6avB-jZJxXeSHs-IEQy3UCfBLc8yxt_NYUVIlfTv7IdNOIAteeo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="175" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGlrXDpi4X9WUEPWml0SfkwrtIga92jlsKlXdor38TbkndUCt1UHnF-3Pkp39FkugUrIpJ4pB9ymdnwo4g54gmbcZoWaBapFdGjgcpf-oPI_85Oc7yIK2Bqt48pk8v5LBW-Cw0xolJ6avB-jZJxXeSHs-IEQy3UCfBLc8yxt_NYUVIlfTv7IdNOIAteeo=w209-h344" width="209" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The Witch of Blackbird Pond </i>by Elizabeth George Speare. When I read this book, it became a favorite because I felt like I could be Kit Tyler. I believe most teens feel isolated at times and look for a place to fit in. Kit's feelings of being an outsider resonated with me. Hard to believe, but I was very shy and introverted, having few friends until junior high school year. (People who know me now are probably reading this with their mouths open- I'm quite engaging.) This book stands the test of time. <br /><p></p><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Charlotte</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"> writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, and paranormal genres. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Evolution Revolution </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">trilogy, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Simple Machines, Simple Plans, </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Simple Lessons</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">. She co-authored the YA novels </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Blonde OPS,</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Sirenz,</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;"> and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Sirenz Back in Fashion. </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">She has two short stories in the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Beware the Little White Rabbit (Alice through the Wormhole) </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">Scare Me to Sleep (Faces in the Wood) </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; text-align: justify;">anthologies. Having finished her MFA, she's applying what she learned and is working on several children's and adult novels, along with some short stories. She lives in NJ but dreams of a Caribbean beach house. </span></div></div>Author on the Loosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13371105720422860639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388578325782539013.post-51075021772486256392024-01-11T09:00:00.012-05:002024-01-11T09:00:00.137-05:005 Books That Shaped Me as a YA Writer | Sara Biren<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNl5J8XiLIitfd2jtApV7GavlNkzyxxTQfe5BoLBxKM6PrrOjeIfnZaFgii0jCDftpCnG-B1uPI9kisRbj29UAn6rC02VvdV3UOeTErsyGe-2-ekqGirmVkdR1rKzj8FO9zYVrgKFFAhp2giuBBNWPqcxsI6ebBBCfR6wo0P0I8jlBesX7lMR2oLxsDw0i/s2048/5%20books%20that%20shaped%20me%20as%20a%20ya%20writer.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNl5J8XiLIitfd2jtApV7GavlNkzyxxTQfe5BoLBxKM6PrrOjeIfnZaFgii0jCDftpCnG-B1uPI9kisRbj29UAn6rC02VvdV3UOeTErsyGe-2-ekqGirmVkdR1rKzj8FO9zYVrgKFFAhp2giuBBNWPqcxsI6ebBBCfR6wo0P0I8jlBesX7lMR2oLxsDw0i/w640-h640/5%20books%20that%20shaped%20me%20as%20a%20ya%20writer.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />This month is all about books… I chose to write about five books that shaped me as a YA writer—a tall order. I’m grateful for so many authors and their books that inspired me early on in my journey. When I started writing young adult novels, I was already well on my way as a writer; I’d been writing since the third grade, went to grad school for creative writing, and had several short stories published in literary journals. One of my grad school professors told me I had a “voice” for YA, so in 2006, I started reading novels more recently published than my beloved Beverly Cleary and Maud Hart Lovelace books. These five books made a lasting impression and helped shape me as a young adult author. <br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">I Can Do This</h3><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110733.A_Brief_Chapter_in_My_Impossible_Life"><i>A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life</i></a> by Dana Reinhardt, 2006. I recall standing at a display table at Barnes & Noble, a birthday gift card burning a hole in my pocket, and being completely drawn to the cover and jacket copy. I devoured this book and thought to myself, “I can do this.”<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Team Jeremiah</h3><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5821978-the-summer-i-turned-pretty"><i>The Summer I Turned Pretty</i></a> by Jenny Han, 2009. I was Team Conrad before being Team Conrad was cool. Is it cool? Or are there more people on Team Jeremiah? I haven’t watched the show, so I have no idea. I just know that I loved the “Summer” books pretty hard. <br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">A+ Book Boyfriend</h3><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5821978-the-summer-i-turned-pretty"><i>Forget You</i></a> by Jennifer Echols, 2010. I’ve read this book more times than any of the others on the list. There’s something about the story and the characters that completely sucked me in, sort of like the current that wants to drag Zoey under in the opening chapter. And Doug is an A+ book boyfriend. <br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Comp Title</h3><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5231173-twenty-boy-summer">Twenty Boy Summer</a> </i>by Sarah Ockler, 2009. I used this book about grief and love and navigating tragedy as one of my comp titles when I queried <i>The Last Thing You Said</i>. <br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Writing Style</h3><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8887183-the-sweetest-thing"><i>The Sweetest Thing</i></a> by Christina Mandelski, 2011. I remember reading this one during a “YA Book a Day” vacation challenge in August of that year. Here’s what I wrote about it: “I was immediately drawn to the storyline and the writing style. I found myself saying—often—I could have written that exact sentence.”<br /><br /><br /><br />Have you read any of these? <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3db3e8f0-7fff-98ff-714c-ade3f4f0c26a"></span> </p>Sara Birenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00232407986912820233noreply@blogger.com1