A Fabulous Fairy Tale

The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry

Bloomsbury/2009

I love to support authors, particularly ones I meet and like. I heard Julie Berry speak at a novel revision retreat I attended at Vermont College earlier this year. I picked up her book and recently dove in.

One thing I admit is after years of reading MG and YA, I’ve grown impatient. I know there are tons of fabulous books out there. So when a book doesn’t capture my attention and draw me in within the first chapter, I often put it down. This was a book I could NOT put down! I adored the characters and didn’t want the story to end.

Once wealthy and greatly loved by her parents who died in a carriage accident, 15-year-old Lucinda now works as a servant to her hen-pecked uncle and his second wife at their jewelry shop. A mysterious woman shows up with a unique gem to be re-set, and Lucinda and her family are told she is the Amaranth witch. Aunt insists Lucinda return it lest the gem be a cursed, but Lucinda keeps it and what follows is fantastic fairy tale full of adventure, mystery, and romance. All my favorite things, plus a smart, loyal, and loveable goat named Dog. I shed tears and laughed out loud as I cheered for Lucinda to find true love and a happy ending.

I’m waiting with great anticipation for Julie’s next book, a YA titled The Truth About Me, due out from Viking in September. Looks intense!

Share Your Favorites!

It’s summer! Which means more time for reading! I’ve been making good progress getting through my TBR pile. Unfortunately, some books I’ve not been able to get through, which is always a disappointment. So, i’m asking you – what book/s would you recommend for me, knowing what you know about my reading tastes? (See my reading list on the right and here’s my 2012 reading list.) For summer, I tend to like lighter reads, but I also love diving into literary reads with lush writing as long as the characters are strongly developed and likeable.  I avoid sad and/or depressing stories, although I can read a sad story as long as there’s some hope shining through. I’m not a huge fan of dark humor either. Okay – so give it to me! Looking forward to hearing what you recommend!

Coffee Break Tuesday with Jody Feldman

Hello! Please grab your favorite mug and fill it with your favorite hot beverage and join me in welcoming author, Jody Feldman!

Jody is the author of two fun adventurous middle grade novels, The Gollywhopper Games and The Seventh Level (HarperColins). I’m thrilled to be able to sit down with her (even if only virtually) to chat about her writing career!

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

It wasn’t until one day about ten years ago. I was this-close to getting my first acceptance letter, or so the rejections said. But during my walk that day, in a moment of clarity, I came to understand how much I wanted to do this. That’s when I amped up my game, became more open to the revision process and ultimately succeeded. I’m glad I stuck with it because, for me, writing for kids is the Best. Job. Ever.

What was the first book you wrote what was it about? (Not necessarily the first book you got published.)

The first book that got published was a work-for-hire, a gig that came from my freelance advertising days. Too bad I didn’t get royalties because A Golfer’s Night Before Christmas is still in print. Before that came a whole slew of picture books, but I’m not sure which one came first; maybe an easy reader called Grandma Waffles. After my picture book phase, I tried a chapter book which I would like to revisit one day. I believe Mrs. Oddbody Up the Street still has a lot of merit but I just didn’t know how to write back then. And then there was my first middle grade, originally titled Gilbert and the Gollywhopper Games.

What was your journey to publication like?

Ha! You and I have talked about this a lot, Debbi. It was long. Very long. From that first picture book submission to children’s book publication? 20 years and a huge learning curve. I’m still learning.

What is your most recently published book or upcoming book? What is it about?

The Gollywhopper Games wasn’t supposed to be a series, but sometimes funny things happen in this life. And so number two in the concept, Gollywhopper Games: Game On will be followed by Gollywhopper Games: (Subtitle To Be Determined). Game On centers around a contestant named Cameron who’s certain he doesn’t have what it takes to win. (His brother Spencer does.) And yet, Cameron’s the one competing. For those who still love the old contestants, never fear. They will make cameos.

How have you changed from when you first started out as a (pre-published) writer to now?

Of course I’m wiser about the industry. But I’d rather talk about what’s surprised me recently in my own writing process. I’ve suddenly noticed I’m much more aware of the ideas I’m accepting into first drafts. I hear my editors’ and agent’s voices as I type. Is there enough conflict? Are the stakes high enough? What does your character really want? Is that the best way to show it? Can you explain this scene a little better? You need to know that, but do we?

It may take away a bit of spontaneity, but it compensates by delivering so much more clarity so much more quickly.

Favorite book from childhood?

There was this one teen book (they didn’t call them YA yet) which was a favorite of mine when I was about thirteen. It was some angsty love story whose title I’ve yet to remember. I checked it out of the library five consecutive times that summer. As for books I can remember: Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown and anything by Agatha Christie. (Do you see a theme?) Picture books, Dr. Seuss. Oh, and when our third grade teacher read us the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books, yes!

A favorite book you recently read?

I rarely pick up non-fiction, but when it won all sorts of 2013 ALA awards, I was drawn to BOMB: The Race to Build–And Steal–The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin. It has it all: spies, geniuses, drama, intrigue, ticking clocks. You can’t make this stuff up.

A bit of wisdom to share:

I’ve been asked a lot about writer’s block lately. Honestly? I refuse to recognize there’s such a thing. Sure, I may get stuck. Sure, I may not know where the story should turn next. Sure, I can feel somewhat stale at times. None of those, however, need to stop me from writing. I can always, at least, write one new sentence. It may not be good sentence, it may not be a sentence of any value, but the one after that might be. The one after that might be perfect.

So what do I write in that sentence?  That’s when I ask my character–or a random, imaginary person–a question. Tell me about some object you saw on your way home from school. How do you feel about waffles? What are you holding? That sort of thing. This gets them talking and gets me typing. Usually that will put me back on track. If it doesn’t, I go take a walk which somehow, magically, produces new ideas for me.

For fun – something not a lot of people know about you:

I cook a lot, and I’m not afraid of cooking for crowds. This weekend, for example, though not a crowd, I’m cooking for ten. On the menu: triple cream cheese with mango chutney, Jarlsberg cheese spread, salmon rillettes, beef tenderloin with horseradish cream and cilantro chimmichurri, chicken and spinach canneloni, grilled vegetables, salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette, fruit, carrot cake, and fudge pie with real whipped cream.

MMMMmmm! Wish I were sitting at that table! Thanks for stopping by, Jody! I’m looking forward to reading the next Gollywhopper Games book!

Jody Feldman, the award-winning author of The Gollywhopper Games series and The Seventh Level (all, HarperCollins/Greenwillow) may have enjoyed working as a treasure hunter, a codebreaker, a movie director, an artist and an inventor. But one thing she loves about writing–she can explore all those occupations and adventures with the characters in her books.A lifelong resident of St. Louis, Jody likes to travel, cook, watch football, and solve crossword-type puzzles. Oh, and she watches way too much TV.

For more about Jody and her books, check out her web site, follow her on Twitter, or friend her on Facebook!

The Word Nest!

As some of you know, this past fall we moved from my beloved home state of California to Connecticut for my husband’s job. After being evacuated from Hurricane Sandy, making it through a blizzard and several snow storms, and otherwise enjoying our rental on the ocean, we are thrilled to finally move into our new home sweet home. New to us, at least. The house was built in the early 1800s!

My husband has always been very supportive of my writing career, and he knows how hard it is for me to move time and time again for his career. (This is the seventh move in sixteen years.)  To show his great love and appreciation, he had a special studio built just for me and my writing/reading! I’ve dubbed it The Word Nest (the area where we live is bird bountiful). As promised, here are a few before, during, and after photos! Many appreciative thanks to Mystic River Building Company and their amazing team and crew for creating and building this perfect space!

The studio is a former wood shop, attached to the detached garage. It was not weather proof nor secure so the first thing we did was put on a new roof, and add new windows and a door with a lock.

The original wood shop was not separate from the garage, so we added a wall, insulation, drywall, and paint and trim.

No surprise that I have a ton of books so I needed space for them. And I wanted to make sure I had additional space for my constantly growing library.

And finally, the most important part of my writing studio – where I write:

And my amazing views:

And let’s not forget, writing would be a very lonesome endeavor without the perfect companion:

Trixie checks out the new space!

Thanks to Amanda of GreenChickens for this awesome custom sign!

Happy reading and writing! I know I’ll be happy working and reading in my cozy Word Nest!

And The Winner Is…

Thank you to everyone for stopping by to help me shine the spotlight on Sara Zarr and her new YA novel, The Lucy Variations! If you missed the interview, you can read it here!

So, who is the lucky winner of a signed copy of The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr? My faithful rat terrier, Trixie, was on hand to draw the winning name.

I wrote the names on paper and crumpled them up, just how she likes them. She waited for the signal. It used to be a voice command of “Okay,” but she’s since gone deaf, so now it involves a lot of hand waving.

After several exaggerated hand movements, Trixie realized I was telling her it was okay for her to pick the winning name. She went straight for one in the corner and pulled it out.

Fortunately, she dropped it right away without slobbering or chewing and then she returned to the sunny spot in the corner of the studio to settle in for a long nap. It’s exhausting picking a winning name!

And the winner is…(drumroll please)….

Lucy of The Reading Date! YAY! Congratulations! Please contact me at just kid ink at yahoo dot com (no spaces) as soon as possible to let me know to whom you’d like the book signed and to give me your mailing address. I will be getting the book signed this evening so it’s important to get me the info ASAP! Thanks!

Stayed tuned for more rave book reviews, interviews, and give-aways! Happy reading!

Update on the Give-away for The Lucy Variations!

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

In case you missed it, I’m shining the spotlight on Sara Zarr’s newest YA novel, The Lucy Variations, right here. The update is that the winner will now receive a SIGNED copy! I’ll get to see Sara on Tuesday for her tour stop at RJ Julia Books! If you live near Madison, CT, be sure to stop by and see Sara, and look for me!

To enter the drawing click on the link and follow the instructions: Spotlight on Sara Zarr. The winner will be announced on Tuesday – and be sure to check in right away if you want your book signed personally to you or someone else. Otherwise, the book will just be signed by Sara (which is awesome)!

Thanks! Happy reading and good luck!

Welcome to the Spotlight: Sara Zarr and The Lucy Variations!

I’m thrilled to welcome back to the Spotlight, author Sara Zarr to talk about her brand new YA novel, The Lucy Variations!  This amazing novel is on sale starting today – but stay tuned to see how you can win a free copy!

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

Sixteen year old Lucy Beck-Moreau had it all and threw it away, at least that’s what her grandfather and parents think. A well-known and loved concert pianist, Lucy quit. Her gifted 10-year-old brother is now the focus, following her former path. His new piano teacher, Will, somehow sparks Lucy into thinking about her former love, and she wonders what it might be like to play again, without living under the heavy expectations and demands of her grandfather. Can Lucy find her own way, rediscover the joy, without being bogged down again by others’ expectations? And can she do it without hurting the ones she cares about the most?

A story about finding joy on one’s own terms, Sara Zarr delves into the emotions of a character searching for herself and making mistakes along the way.

Spotlight on Sara Zarr:

I’m a huge fan of your work and am so happy to read a new novel by you! How did The Lucy Variations come about? What was the initial spark for the story and for Lucy?

This book has been with me a long time, and it’s hard now to go back and identify that first spark. I know that I wanted a character in a family that was strongly identified by one thing, and see this character reject in some way the family’s identifying characteristic. I also knew I wanted to write about a teen girl in a life-changing relationship with an adult male mentor figure. Eventually these different interests came together (through some really different permutations along the way) into Lucy’s story.

Lucy is a gifted pianist who loves music. How much research did you have to do for this novel? Do you play the piano or any other instruments?

I didn’t play piano. I played clarinet, though nowhere near the level of Lucy’s skill or dedication. But music was a huge presence in my childhood, particularly classical music. My parents met in music school and both played and sang and led choirs and groups. So I already had a lot of familiarity with that kind of music and how passionate a person or a family could be about it. I did a little bit of research into the technical details, and at one point observed a master class–talented young pianists getting critiqued by a prestigious performer and conductor. That helped give the story some more texture.

Lucy talks about her loves – particularly music. What are your Loves?

It’s probably not surprising that a lot of Lucy’s loves are my loves. Her love list of music is basically straight from my own tastes. I love music. I love making meaningful connections with people. I try to love the world the best I can.

For more about Sara and her books, you can check out her web site, follow her on Twitter, or find her on Facebook. For a previous Spotlight interview on Sara: click here.

Win a copy of The Lucy Variations! Just follow these rules to enter the drawing:

1. Comment on this post, and for fun, tell me if you play any musical instruments! I don’t really play any, anymore, but I used to play the piano, clarinet, guitar, and accordion (yes, true). My husband recently bought me a keyboard and I’ve been slowly picking my way through my old piano music. Thank goodness it has headphones!

2. Leave your comment and email address by midnight EST Saturday, May 11th. The lucky winner will be drawn at random and announced here on Tuesday, May 14th.

3. Entrants must have a U.S. or Canada mailing address.

Thanks for stopping by! Good luck and happy reading!

 

A Reading Rave – Eleanor & Park

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

St.Martin’s Griffin/2013

When I read John Green’s review of this YA novel in the New York Times Sunday Book Review, I knew I’d have to buy this book. I knew it was the kind of book I would love. I was not disappointed.

Sixteen yo Park is probably the only Korean-American, probably the only Asian, in Omaha. Eleanor, just recently moved, wants only to keep her head, her big red haired-head, down. But on her first day as she climbs onto the school bus, she knows that won’t happen – and already feels ostracized, even though the strange Asian kid lets her sit next to him. Day after day they ride in silence, until he notices she’s reading his comics over his shoulder, and then she realizes he’s letting her. And then he’s loaning her his comics, and introducing her to music on his Walkman. And then they fall in love against all odds – a Korean-American boy and a red-headed girl who lives in a rather bleak family situation. Park’s parents accept her (his mother more slowly) while Eleanor must hide her relationship from her family, especially her stepdad. Set in 1986, this is a love story – realistic, heart-wrenching, and honest.

Get thee to the store/library and read this book!

And The Winner Is…

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to read the Spotlight on Brent Hartinger and his newest YA novel, The Elephant of Surprise!

I wonder if I scared some people off from entering the drawing by my question of what is your favorite food and would you eat it from a Dumpster? In any case, I pulled the lucky name at random, and the winner of a copy of this fabulous books is….

(drum roll please)

Suzanne Morrone! YAY! Congratulations! Please email me at just kid ink at yahoo dot com (no spaces) and give me your mailing address so I can promptly send you your prize!

Come back soon, everyone, for another drawing in the near future! And happy reading!

Welcome to the Spotlight: Brent Hartinger and The Elephant of Surprise!

Welcome back to my series where I put the spotlight on authors and books I love! I’m so thrilled to feature Brent Hartinger! I’ve been a long time fan. I’m especially pleased because we’re talking about Brent’s newest book, The Elephant of Surprise, book 4 in the Russel Middlebrook series. I’ve so missed Russel and his friends. Stayed tuned below for a chance to win a copy of this awesome book!

The Elephant of Surprise by Brent Hartinger (Buddha Kitty Books/2013)

In The Elephant of Surprise, Russel is trying to maintain a long distance relationship with Otto while Min is having relationship issues with Leah. Gunnar is on a kick of recording every second of his life online. During the course of the story, Russel meets a Wade, a freegan – someone who lives a free life by collecting food and material out of Dumpsters. Russel is not only attracted to this alternate lifestyle but he’s attracted to Wade, too. Oh, and Kevin Land, Russel’s first love is still on Russel’s radar. This story is part mystery and a lot love story – everything I adore about a good book!

You have quite a career – author, playwright, screenwriter! Call you tell us a little about your path to publication (in YA) and how the other facets of your careers came about? Do you favor one over another?

Like a lot of writers, I think my landing in YA was a bit of fluke. I wrote a book about a teenager back in the 1990s, and my agent said, “This is young adult.” At first I was a little offended, then I started reading YA and realized, “Ohhhh. This is good stuff!” And the genre has just kept getting better and better. It’s one of those cases where the genre’s success has totally be driven by its quality.

Anyway, that first book sold to HarperCollins and it was a hit, and suddenly I had a career as a YA author. But I think if I’d had my first big success writing screenplays or plays, I would have been totally happy working mostly in those worlds too.

Honestly, I see myself as a storyteller. I just love the whole idea of “story.” I think an intricate, well-crafted plot is a thing of such beauty and power. Plays, screenplays, and novels are three very different mediums, but I see more similarities than differences. Basically, it’s all about structure, baby, structure: beginning, middle, end. A main character with a dramatic goal, rising tension, and some kind of powerful, life-changing resolution.

People often confuse “structure” with “formula,” but they’re TOTALLY different things.

Incidentally, most YA novels are all about plot and story too, which is partly why I think I’ve fit into that genre so well.

These days I really have the best of all worlds: I make enough money writing books and screenplays that I’m able to write plays whenever I feel the urge.

I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing you a few times before. (2003, 2004, 2007) I suppose you could call me a HUGE fan (I hope you don’t call me a stalker)!  Can you tell me a little about how this fourth book in the series came about?

Ah, that’s so sweet of you to say. You’re the opposite of a stalker. And I really, really appreciate the support!

HarperCollins published GEOGRAPHY CLUB, the first book in the series, in 2003 — before I even knew it *was* a series. It’s about a gay teen named Russel and his misfit friends. The book did well, so I was asked to do some sequels. I’m one of those writers who thinks that sequels can’t just “continue the story.” If the story was at all well-written, the story is over when the book is done. So you need to tell an entirely *new* story: a new setting, new goals, new conflicts, new themes.

So that’s what I tried to do with the next two books in this series, THE ORDER OF THE POISON OAK (where Russel and his friends get jobs at a camp for burn survivors) and DOUBLE FEATURE (where Russel and his friends volunteer to be extras on a low-budget zombie film).

But honestly, HarperCollins wasn’t a very good fit for me. I wrote a total of six books for them, and I had six different editors — maybe more, now that I think about it. That’s just impossible, creatively speaking. No one really has your back. And while I’m grateful they published me, they made a lot of decisions regarding my books that seemed to me to be bone-headed.

So I left around 2008, moving onto other publishers. The problem was, I couldn’t write another book in the series, even though I wanted to, because they controlled the rights to the earlier books and had even taken a couple of them out of print. I was getting all these emails from people asking about the books, but at the time, HarperCollins wasn’t even interested in publishing them as e-books.

So my agent petitioned for the rights back, and we got em, and I started publishing my own independent editions. I didn’t get rich, but they sold a lot better than I thought they would.

Then, after about eight years in development, they finally announced the movie version of GEOGRAPHY CLUB. I’d always wanted to write another book in the series, so I thought, “Well, with the movie coming, why not just write it and publish it myself?”

So that’s what I did. I hired my first editor and copy-editor and everything. It was a lot of work, but it was totally worth it. And if it continues to sell like it has, I’m pretty sure I’ll make more money from this book than I ever did from most of the books I published with HarperCollins. So it’s a happy ending for everyone.

One of my favorite types of stories is a great love story. I count THE ELEPHANT OF SURPRISE in that category. I was rooting for Russel to find true love. Without giving anything away about the outcome of Russel’s love life, how do you orchestrate (plot) the romance angle of a story? Obviously there needs to be tension for a reader to continue turning pages. Do you know ahead of time what the outcome will be? I suppose I’m most curious about you as a writer – plotter or “free-writer”?

I think the perfect ending to a story is one that’s both totally surprising yet completely inevitable in retrospect. Something that really packs and punch and makes you realize that the writer brought you on this particular journey for a reason — that there was a point to the story, a reason why it was told. The story is a coherent whole; it all hangs expertly together. Every scene is there for a reason, and (again, in retrospect) it all fits together like a perfect puzzle.

I happen think that kind of thing is really, really, really hard to pull off by the seat of your pants. It’s hard to pull off even when it’s planned out in advance!

I mean, there are different kinds of stories, and they all have their readers, their place in the world. The more literary type novels, the ones with softer ending or a more meandering feel, I can see how they can be sort of “discovered” along the way. I heard one writer talk recently about seemingly plot-free books actually having an “emotional plot.” I wasn’t very impressed, but if it works for some readers, I think that’s great.

But a story-story? That takes a hell of a lot of thought. For me anyway, it’s not an intuitive process — at least not entirely. It’s partly an intellectual one: figuring out how all the pieces fit together, and exactly why.

So yeah, I’m definitely a plotter.

As for the “romance” aspect, that’s always hard because — let’s face it — we sort of know the ending to a romance, right? But I’d like to think a threw in a few pretty wild surprises in THE ELEPHANT OF SURPRISE. And if I did my job right, they’re “earned” twists. At the end, you’ll be excited and surprised, but you’ll also think, “Of *course*! Why didn’t I see that coming?!”

Russel is introduced to an alternate lifestyle called Freeganism. You describe freegans as “a real-life group of environmentalists who give up all their possessions and live on the streets, foraging for food and other necessities.”  How did you hear about this and what kind of research did you do?

A friend told me about them a couple of years ago — they’re better known as the people who eat out of Dumpsters. Then I read an article, and I thought, “Oh, yeah! I’m totally writing about them one day!”

One of the reoccurring themes in the Russel Middlebrook Series is the whole notion of the “outsider.” Russel sees the concept from lots of different places. But when I read about the freegans, I thought, “Now these are the *real* outsiders!” I mean, eating out of Dumpsters? It doesn’t get any more outsider than that!

But it was important for me not to stereotype them. I spent a lot of time researching them, and I saw they have a coherent, very compelling point of view — and in many ways, it’s a very romantic one.

I loved writing about Wade, the freegan that Russel gets involved with, because he basically forces Russel to question absolutely everything about his life and what he believes. And dramatically speaking, you just can’t ask for a better object of romance than that!

The first book in the series, THE GEOGRAPHY CLUB, has been turned into a movie. How exciting! Can you tell us a little about that? What was the most exciting thing about that process? And when can we expect to see it?

I guess it’s a two-part story. The first part was pretty frustrating. The rights were optioned right after the book came out in early 2003. And it “almost” got made lots of times — a big-budget movie, a TV movie, a TV series, a micro-budget indie project. It went through a whole string of different producers. But it always seemed to fall through. At one point, one producer said to me, “I think this thing has literally been rejected by every studio and financing entity in town.” This was before the success of GLEE or anything.

But around 2010, everything changed. The producer invoked the option (which means they purchased the rights, and I got paid the full price we’d previously negotiated). And what do you know? It actually went into production!

It is an indie project, so it’s not a $50 million dollar budget. But it’s not a micro-budget either. It’s a quality production with a great cast — some famous actors like Scott Bakula and Ana Gasteyer, and some up-and-coming young actors too.

And the good news, it’s actually a decent movie! It’s different from the book, but they were pretty respectful, and I’m very happy to have my name involved with it. The plan is it for it to be released later this year or early next.

It’s also exciting because I have another film project that I think will go into production later this year based on an old play of mine. So movie-wise, it’s been a very exciting year.

It’s just a coincidence that this is all happening now. But I’d like to think it’s sort of a reward too, because — not to pat myself on the back too much — I’ve been working my butt off!

Well! I for one can’t wait to see the movie! Congratulations, Brent! All exciting stuff!

Brent Hartinger and Cameron Deane Stewart, the actor who plays Russel in the movie

Brent Hartinger is an author, teacher, playwright, and screenwriter. Geography Club, the first book in his Lambda Award-winning Russel Middlebrook Series, is now a feature film co-starring Scott Bakula and Nikki Blonsky. In 2005, he co-founded the entertainment website AfterElton.com, which was sold to MTV/Viacom in 2006. Read more by and about Brent, or contact him at www.brenthartinger.com.

You can also follow Brent on Twitter and on Facebook.

Win a copy of THE ELEPHANT OF SURPRISE!

Follow the directions below to be entered in a drawing where one lucky winner will receive a copy of this fab book! Good luck!

1. Comment on this post, and for fun, what is your favorite food (and would you eat it if you found it in a Dumpster?). I have many favorite foods, but the only one I can think of that I would eat if I found it in a trash can (and it would have to be a very clean trash can and I’d have to know it was tossed out just seconds ago) is a wrapped Lake Champlain Peppermint Crunch bar. Although I’d have to wonder why it was thrown out. Hmmmm.

2. Leave your comment and email address by midnight EST Sunday, April 21st. The lucky winner will be announced here and contacted by email on Tuesday, April 22nd.

3. Entrants must have a U.S. or Canada mailing address.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy reading!