<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" 
    xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
    xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
    xmlns:admin="http://webns.net/mvcb/"
    xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
    xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd">
	<channel>
<title>Kirstin Cronn-Mills</title><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/index.html</link><description>Homepage blog</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2007 Kirstin Cronn-Mills</dc:rights><dc:date>2008-08-05T09:46:13-05:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
<admin:errorReportsTo rdf:resource="mailto:kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com" /><sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
<sy:updateBase>2000-01-01T12:00+00:00</sy:updateBase>
<lastBuildDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:02:28 -0500</lastBuildDate><item><title>quick review:  DEBBIE HARRY SINGS IN FRENCH</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-08-05T09:46:13-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/56b1c18092a737f176c4788128ff5166-14.html#unique-entry-id-14</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/56b1c18092a737f176c4788128ff5166-14.html#unique-entry-id-14</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[He gets felt up by someone at the drag show, and thinks "does this guy know I'm a guy?"  

...Brothers uses Blondie song titles as chapter names, which I love, and which I didn't get (I don't like Blondie) until I ran across "Youth Nabbed as Sniper," a Blondie song I *do* know.    I am also a sucker for books about teens and music, since I'm a music freak myself, so the angle of falling in love with a musician makes perfect sense to me, since I'm currently in love with Elvis.    There are some implications in the book about cross-dressing that I'm not sure about (I don't know much about the topic), but I think Johnny's character is well drawn, and the subject of cross-dressing is handled with ease.


My editor, Andrew, describes books like Brothers' as "gay 2.0": characters have some kind of alternate sexual or gender identity, but it's not the main complication of the book, it's just part of the book.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>quick review:  HANCOCK</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-07-08T19:09:00-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/64481213e170c6d8b35899fd0f18a0dc-13.html#unique-entry-id-13</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/64481213e170c6d8b35899fd0f18a0dc-13.html#unique-entry-id-13</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[So over the weekend we took in Will Smith's annual (it seems) Fourth of July blockbuster:  HANCOCK.  ...  Granted, there are several out there that are anti-hero superheroes--Ben Grimm (the Thing) comes to mind, as does The Punisher (though is he really a superhero?)  , and to some extent Batman and Wolverine fit that role, as does the Tick, but he's weird all around.  

...The plot falls apart and gets stupid at several points, so the movie itself isn't the best, but Hancock as a character is pretty great.    I think his brilliance was helped along by the writer Vince Gilligan, who used to write for the the world's best sci-fi series THE X-FILES.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Judy Blume in person</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-06-29T20:08:41-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/5e5fff5288cd960f37d6705b8767ad4b-12.html#unique-entry-id-12</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/5e5fff5288cd960f37d6705b8767ad4b-12.html#unique-entry-id-12</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I don't think she does much publicity these days, but she's got new books coming out (early readers), so she can use the publicity, and she's a goddess of children's literature, and even though gas is $4 a gallon, I just bought a Prius, and what's wrong with driving all over hell & gone if you're getting 45 miles a gallon?  

...Her interviewer was more than a shade clueless, and she didn't give Judy a chance to shine (in my opinion).  

...At some point in the evening, Judy asked her husband something from the stage, so then we all knew who and where he was.    After the Q&A, my friend Angie had the bright idea to get Judy's husband to sign a book, instead of waiting in the looooooong line for Judy to sign it (gotta love how Angie's mind works!).    While she was doing that, I whipped out a trusty 3x5 card and wrote Judy a note:  "Dear Judy:  I just sold my first YA novel, and it's your fault.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Link love and big news</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-05-15T19:50:54-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/f3a06d17b1b0adf41995fb312ee1b49c-11.html#unique-entry-id-11</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/f3a06d17b1b0adf41995fb312ee1b49c-11.html#unique-entry-id-11</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I am cartwheels-in-the-grass pleased to announce that CONTENTS MAY EXPLODE UNDER PRESSURE will be published by Flux, an imprint of Llewellyn, in the fall of 2009!


This little morsel landed in my May Day basket, and I am woefully behind in posting it to my website.    Yesterday I discovered that Flux's blog is linked to my site, and I realized I'd better get with the program.  ...  Now we're into reality--someone wants it, someone will pay me for it, and someone is going to give it the chance to make it to Barnes & Noble.  ...  I get to meet Andrew Karre (editor extraordinare) tomorrow, so that will seal the "this is real" deal.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The longevity of story</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-04-27T21:58:32-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/8b5a3b4daeb09a03f108a78256106b9e-10.html#unique-entry-id-10</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/8b5a3b4daeb09a03f108a78256106b9e-10.html#unique-entry-id-10</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[My 9-year-old charmer comes home with a beat-up book in his hand and promptly sits down to devour it.    He's been doing that lately, and it cheers me to no end.


...When he's done, I check out the pub date.  

...My next goal is to read HENRY HUGGINS and see why the story's so delicious after 58 years.    If it can get through to my YouTube-loving, RUN'S HOUSE-watching child, I need to take lessons on storytelling from Beverly Cleary.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Boy books</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-03-12T19:47:05-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/4aba7f62e7f1e7fc75436f4cfe2840cb-9.html#unique-entry-id-9</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/4aba7f62e7f1e7fc75436f4cfe2840cb-9.html#unique-entry-id-9</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[There's at least some girl culture in him (cultural influences for girls), because he was raised as a girl, even if he's got a guy brain.  

...I like the stereotypical things--like when they fix and build, and when they watch sports (especially football, but I turn into a guy for football).  

...These traits are even more endearing when they're exercised by 9- to 20-year-old guys trying to find their way in the world.    It's a trick to teach a boy (like the one who lives in my house) when it's good to use the word "penis" instead of "doodle" (thank you Homer, Bart and THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, you spider-pigs).  

...THE SCHWA WAS HERE, Neil Schusterman (possibly the coolest title ever, especially if you're a nerd who knows what a schwa is).  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Plain old-fashioned dislike</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-02-13T19:58:01-06:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/2a6ad55dd18109b70a47d1e9bef5af42-8.html#unique-entry-id-8</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/2a6ad55dd18109b70a47d1e9bef5af42-8.html#unique-entry-id-8</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[An update--I thought for a long time about Anton Chigurh and Sweeney Todd, and despite what I said about violence and what I'm teaching my kid, I eventually came to the conclusion that I just plain didn't like Sweeney Todd, at least Johnny Depp/Tim Burton's version.  ...  I haven't liked an on-screen character that much since Ralph Fiennes became Voldemort.


I'm going to read NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN this summer, to see if Chigurh is as brilliant on the page as he is on screen.  

...Does this mean I'm not still wondering about violence and what I'm teaching my kid?    Of course I am--but I've decided to own my likes and dislikes as well.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>SCBWI--the personal gets national</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-02-13T18:36:09-06:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/e7cd1cae2f455be429544cf2acbf8109-7.html#unique-entry-id-7</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/e7cd1cae2f455be429544cf2acbf8109-7.html#unique-entry-id-7</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[In that particular time of my writing life, I hung out with some really cool people who wanted to help each other get better at their work.  

...I also got all sorts of good info, wonderful speeches from Susan Patron (the Newbery Queen of Scrotums, if you don't know what I mean, go find out), Richard Peck (omg, what a speech!)...  I got to trip Carolyn Mackler, eek, but then I got to tell her my favorite line from THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHRE BIG ROUND THINGS was Shannon's insult of "onion-loving fuckers."  

...PLUS I got to travel with two of my favorite people (who are also in my writing group) and hang out with other writer friends from here.  

...However, despite the hangover of work, tiredness, and germs, I came home reinvigorated to write and renewed in my commitment 1) to this group of people, and 2) to writing for kids, big or small.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Whose story should be told?</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-01-21T13:15:58-06:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/453a1c91e1ad039c4a48bad261b154a1-6.html#unique-entry-id-6</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/453a1c91e1ad039c4a48bad261b154a1-6.html#unique-entry-id-6</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[&nbsp; When I did some research, I discovered Sweeney Todd is a historical figure (first appearing in literature around the mid-nineteenth century, which seems obvious from the film), and there are people who believe a real person did what the movie says he did.

...&nbsp; Is it worth it to tell the story of a revenge-obsessed man who butchers people so that his downstairs neighbor can feed them to the unsuspecting public?

...Essentially, this is a fiction question, but it does have moral implications, because how do I teach my kid not to be violent and/or like violence when these characters are all over?...  All of this is his fault, isn't it (I know it's not, but there are people who probably blame him instead of Poe and his ilk)? 

...&nbsp; I know that one of the purposes of tragedy is to say "There but for the grace of God go I," but . . . . people like Sweeney Todd & Mrs. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>A lesson in audience</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-01-16T15:57:05-06:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/7f0a21088457662b312b52db30cd7dc4-5.html#unique-entry-id-5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/7f0a21088457662b312b52db30cd7dc4-5.html#unique-entry-id-5</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I'm being extreme, to say it's hate mail, but it's certainly not love mail.  ...  It's the first negative public comment about the topics of my book(s)--I'm guessing it was spurred on by my trans character, Gabe.   

...My friends & family have been very supportive of this web site, and its address has gotten passed around, even sent out in Christmas letters.  ...  The comment is anonymous, of course, and you can find it in the comments of the first blog entry, if you're curious.  ...  And why, if this person felt my prose is "absolutely terrible," wouldn't s/he stand by that judgment and name themselves?  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Hello and welcome&#x21;</title><dc:creator>kirstin@kirstincronn-mills.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Home</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-11-20T16:03:41-06:00</dc:date><link>http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/feeab3350f4f0b2c1dacc24c04546799-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.kirstincronn-mills.com/files/feeab3350f4f0b2c1dacc24c04546799-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Hello and welcome!   Thanks for checking out my web space.  &nbsp; Please look around, read some writing samples, and comment here in the blog section if there's anything else you'd like to see.   Hope to see you again.]]></content:encoded></item></channel>
</rss>