Last night we went to the new TRANSFORMERS movie. I have never been such an un-target audience member in my life. Wow. Why, do you ask, was I not a target audience member?

Here’s one reason. She’s beautiful, but I’m married and not full of testosterone.



Here’s another reason:


I’ve never really been a truck girl.

It wasn’t a bad film. Parts of it were funny. But the jokes weren’t engineered for me, the music wasn’t picked for me, nothing was for me. But that’s perfectly OK--it *shouldn’t* be for me. I’m not their target.

I have to say, though, I wouldn’t mind having a guardian car with a humorous personality:


The only way that movie could have been more male-oriented is if it had smells. Eau de Sweaty Locker Room Clothes would have made it perfect.

Tags: reviews, audience

I know you don’t know her, and I don’t know her well, but this is Christine, everybody.



She is a very kind, cool woman, and she’s the first person who asked to interview me as an author. Me! Of all people. It’s a new title to add to the list: mom, writer, spouse, teacher, sister, aunt, cousin, on and on. “Author” is different than “writer.” “Authors” are people who have books published. And in two months, that’s me. Why do I have a picture of Christine? She wanted a photo for the story and she likes the ones I have on here, which are the point-the-camera-at-yourself-and-hope-for-the-best kind. So we gave it a try.

The reality of sending a book out into the world is this: life is busy, and the list of things to do is long. There are interviews and bios and bookmarks and networks and copy edits and prizes and contests, and it never stops. BUT . . . it’s fun. A ton of fun. And it’s a dream come true.

So Christine, it sounds corny, but thanks for helping me make my dream come true.

Tags: fun, interviews

So I am spending time with a famous teen author, one who’s been on the NYT bestseller list. Her characters are great, and they hit me where it hurts. But the storylines . . . not so much. Parts of them are compelling, but lots seem drowned in words and too much extraneous info/characters. Granted, my style (except here, it seems) is slightly minimal, so it doesn’t take much to be wordier and busier than me. But still.

So I wonder: what makes a NYT bestseller? Characters? Storylines? Beach readability? Getting in and getting out with no muss or fuss? Or is it just who you know, and knowing 47027009984 people who will buy your book? I don’t believe she’s won any awards, so that doesn’t do it (I can’t imagine there’s a huge correlation between awards and bestseller-dom at all). What has made her so popular? I think she’s getting ready to release her 7th or 8th book, if I’m not mistaken. She touches the terrible in her work--but it’s a light touch in some spots. Maybe teens don’t want too much pain in their commercial books. I’m not sure. She’s eminently readable, but I still see flaws. But what book is flawless?

I’m not sure I can unlock this mystery. And I wonder if NYT bestseller-dom is even achievable for someone like me. Not that I’m aiming for it, but I don’t think as commercially as I could. At my heart, I’m a lit major, and as a very wise editor said, sometimes lit majors are not good writers---they’re trying too hard to imitate the Great Books, and failing quite admirably.

She seems like a very cool, sane, down-to-earth person, and her writing mentor is the author of one of my favorite short stories. I would like to meet her. And she’s touched a ton of lives. I would like to do that, too. Maybe that’s the answer to the secret: resonance. If your book resonates, you land on the NYT bestseller list. Maybe I could do that.

I will say I rearranged the beginning of one book (in my head) and liked it much better. But what do I know?

Tags: reviews

So yesterday we’re driving along to soccer practice, and this woman on NPR starts telling us about the 3 literary father characters she’s picked to highlight for readers, since we’re so close to Fathers’ Day (is it Father’s Day? It probably is. But it should be plural---there are nine zillion fathers out there). Who did she pick?

Atticus Finch--he’s the good father, from TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (my friend Kristin’s favorite book in the universe). He and Scout learn about prejudice/racism, and they fight it. Excellent.

Jack Torrance--he’s the bad dad from THE SHINING, or the Good Dad Gone Awry, so to speak, made worse by Jack Nicholson’s indelible film images. Fair enough. Drinking crazily while residing in an insane hotel (while working on your novel, don’t forget that!) will send anyone over the edge.

AND . . . this really surprised me . . .

Vladek Spiegelman--he’s the in-between dad from MAUS, the most excellent graphic novel ever ever ever. I didn’t get to hear her reasoning (damn soccer practice), but my thought is this: Vladek loves Artie, his son, so he does his best to relate his horrific survival tale within the Holocaust so Artie may document it in an incredible way (Artie/Vladek are real people, and this is a true story) and eventually win a Pulitzer Prize for it. As he is doing this difficult and loving task, Vladek is also miserly, rude, racist, and a general pain in the ass. Artie loves Vladek, too, but their relationship is uneasy, to say the least. The struggle seems representative of fathers/sons in general, but it includes the awful tension of one of the worst events in history. Through it all, they manage not to give up on each other---even when they want to.

Happy Father’s Day, to literary dads and real dads everywhere. Being a dad is not an easy job.

Tags: characters

We celebrated my son’s last day of 5th grade with a movie: UP. And it was wonderful.

Once again, Pixar does its job well. The film is visually appealing, it tells a great story, and it’s family-friendly (duh). It also does America a great service by casting an older person in the hero’s role. I will expose my nerd self once again and tell you I liked the TV show LOU GRANT--I was way too young to really get it, but I thought Ed Asner was great. I still think he’s great, and this film gives him a way to show off his dry humor. The film also does America a great service in the way it explores how it’s possible to love someone for a loooooooooooooong time, through lots of changes--Carl and Ellie’s relationship is lovely and warm, even in the face of sadness and loss (Carl and Ellie are even opposites, just like the rest of us married people who think we’ve found someone like us, and then that person turns out to be from another planet, a nice planet to be sure, but another planet, and what the hell were we thinking?). Not to risk sounding like a conservative, but America could do with some more examples of couples who stick it out through the craziness (straight AND every other kind of couple, mind you). Between that and showing us an older person who is worth every single ounce of his salt, I am all for this film.

I am terrible in the fact that I pick apart storylines now (“ooh, you need more exposition there,” and “well, that’s a giant hole”), but this film has little to pick apart. I did, however, notice that I wasn’t suspending my belief quite in the way the Pixar folks wanted me to. I TOTALLY bought into the fact that a guy could fly his house to South America using balloons from the zoo--like nine zillion of them. I did NOT, however, buy into the fact that said guy and captive Boy Scout-ish friend (who the dogs of the film call “the little mailman”) could then tow said house around like a parade balloon. Too heavy!

Um . . . well, Kirstin . . . traditionally, houses can’t fly. At all, let alone with the help of balloons. So if you’re gonna believe a house can fly, believe it can be towed. Don’t wreck it for yourself.

Tags: reviews

So I’m behind on updating my site . . . gotta quit that! Can I blame it on the fact that I went to Ireland and Wales/England with 37 students and 8 other grown-ups, plus a tour guide?

When I was there, I got to make a pilgrimage to PLATFORM 9 3/4. I don’t think I’ve mentioned my Harry Potter class, have I? I teach a HP class: all Harry, all semester, 4200 pages, mo fos--watch out! It’s pretty intense, and I’m ready to punch Harry by the time it’s all over, but it’s also a ton of fun. So, you can’t not go to Platform 9 3/4 when you’re in London, right? And it will look just like you imagine it---or how you see it in the films, right?

Riiiiight.

Here’s the only thing we could find:


And here’s the Underground stop for King’s Cross:


And here’s the inside of King’s Cross station:



And that’s it. A friend of mine has a picture of some nice red sign somewhere at King’s Cross that says “Platform 9 3/4” but we couldn’t find it anywhere. No magic left, I guess. : ( Oh well. It’s good to have made the journey.

Tags: business, Harry Potter

So . . . I think story, both the concept of and stories themselves, is the bomb. Where would the human race be without the idea of story, and the stories thus told? Still in caves, maybe.

I’m thinking about story because It’s That Time Of Year (end of the semester), and literature students are reacting to/evaluating stories they’ve heard this semester in books & films. I always enjoy knowing story has touched someone’s heart or head. BUT . . . I also went to see Star Trek this weekend. Damn fine film, actually---I thought it was much shorter than it actually was, because I was so into it. J. J. Abrams has, in my opinion, done something nice for the franchise (and what is a franchise but a story told over and over again?) and added to the mythology in great new ways. And prequels can be really fun, on the whole. I know there are hardcore fans who don’t like it, but I’m not hardcore. And I’m going to have to go again, just so I can spot the Tribble!

No spoilers here: I’ll let you discover it all for yourself. But I kept thinking about the line that’s now drawn from this particular James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), daredevil and raconteur extraordinaire, to William Shatner, even though he’s no longer known much as James T. Kirk (“Denny Crane!”), and I am laughing. I love it.

AND---I also love how Leonard Nimoy’s character is “Spock Prime.” Sorry, small spoiler there. But isn’t that an interesting notion---being the “first” of yourself?

My story, Kirk’s story---all blended together now, and differently than it was blended before. Gotta love it.

Tags: story

Call me hopelessly 20th century, but I do not want my books to:

1) require a switch

2) require recharging

My dear spouse just bought a Kindle 2. And I’m not intrigued. Maybe I’ll feel differently when I read one of my faves on his Kindle, but it will be a while before I try. *Real* books are on 24/7. You recharge them each time you bring your eyes to them.

I stand in the camp of people who don’t buy Kindles because they like the sensuous pleasure of books. The weight, the smell, the act of turning pages---all of that is what I need. Books are booty, pirate gold. I like amassing them. And I like that I can’t break a book unless I’m REALLY trying, or I set it on fire. I could drop a Kindle and shatter it in an instant.

Paper books = old school. That’s me.

Tags: gadgets, Kindle

It’s a small stop on the publicity road, but I’ve been included in an article about lesbian/bi characters in YA novels. Check it out here! It’s even cooler because it’s in one of my target markets: the LBGT crowd. AND, my book is mentioned in the same paragraph with Julie Anne Peters, one of the stars of LBGT YA lit. Nice!

The article’s author, Malinda Lo, is debuting her YA novel in September, too--called ASH. To simplify, it’s a lesbian twist on Cinderella. Every time I think about it, I smile. Talk about retelling a story--I love it! Love it.

I keep forgetting that it could be a Big Deal that my book has LBGT themes in it (themes? hell--characters!). I don’t think Tessa’s character (Morgan’s lesbian friend) will be as shocking as the fact that Morgan is heteroflexible---someone who might consider a same-sex relationship if the time/person was right. A big deal, right? Not so much. But people will *think* it’s big deal. Whatev.

Maybe people will try to ban my book! I would consider it the ultimate compliment.

Tags: pr and marketing

Full disclosure: I have corresponded with A.S. King, and I really, really like her. Very cool. Made of awesome (I stole her phrase). We are also imprint buddies.

That aside, a YA lover MUST read this book. MUST. It’s unlike any other YA I’ve ever read. I read a lot in my subgenre of YA (realistic), and not so much in other subgenres. But this one . . . it’s its own subgenre, really: historic magic realism. I love magic realism. History, not as much--but by the time I was done with this book, I wanted to know tons more about Cromwell’s conquest for Ireland (look it up!).

So, the basics: Saffron is a teenager in the 80s. Not such a great family. Really smart. Really smart-ass. However--here’s the wild part--she is the first human incarnation of Emir Morrisey, totally (so totally!) bad-ass girl pirate who escaped Ireland not long after Cromwell invaded. Emir was cursed to live as 100 dogs back when she was a pirate, and Saffron remembers Emir’s life as well as the lives of the 100 dogs Emir became. Imagine what happens when you combine a pirate’s memories with dog memories and a teenage brain. It makes for a wicked good story.

The characters in this book are incredibly rich---Saffron and Emir are amazing. But wait until you meet Fred. I’ve never seen the likes of him in a YA novel---he could have walked out of the pages of King’s JUST AFTER SUNSET. Creepy. But his role in Saffron’s/Emir’s life is significant. Then there’s Seanie. Nothing like loving someone for 300 years, through 100 lives as a dog, to keep a girl’s heart stoked for romance! But whose heart---Emir’s or Saffron’s? You’ll just have to find out.

This book wrestles with important stuff: do souls continue after the body gives out? How does a person react in the face of complete adversity? When is it OK to kill someone (or pop their eyes out)? What will we do for safety and security? What is beauty? What should we do with other people’s expectations of us? But the issues don’t jump out at you--the story jumps all over you, and I was hanging on every single bit of it, ignoring the rest of my life to finish it, then being sorry I was finished with it.

I just realized, this very moment, that I didn’t include links for the other authors I reviewed (my apologies to Heather Brewer and Meagan Brothers). If you want to know more about A.S. King, check out her website here. AND READ HER BOOK!

Tags: book reviews

My child just came screeching to find me: “Chris Jericho is being a butthead. He’s beating up Ric Flair, in the spot where his head got opened a million times, and he hit him with a camera!” Then he races away to watch more.

Please, no comments about what kind of a mother I am for letting my child watch Raw. I don’t judge, you don’t judge.

When I was in high school, I had the same boyfriend for four years, more or less. A guy who wanted to marry me so I could live in my home town for the rest of my life. As much as I loved him (and I did, more than just the “omg this is love” situation), I knew I couldn’t live in my hometown when I graduated from high school (he wasn’t intending to go to college). So we broke up, and the essence of that breakup is in THE SKY ALWAYS HEARS ME.

That was not a digression. It was just to say that this high school boyfriend was pretty serious, and since we were serious, we did lots of stuff together, and he LOVED LOVED LOVED wrestling: Ric Flair, Steve Austin, Dusty Rhodes, Andre the Giant, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Stunning Steve Austin, back when there were three titles, maybe, instead of thirty-three. It’s just gotten stupider over the ages, though my child doesn’t believe me. But that’s OK.

Sometimes it’s surprising how high school returns to say hello. Ric Flair wakes up from a long siesta, and dang, there he is, bugging my kid instead of my high school boyfriend. ZING goes the rubber band world, and everything snaps back on itself.

Tags: high school

I haven’t blogged at all about my Harry Potter self---that’s probably OK. I’m not an expert or a fangirl, just a literature geek, though I play both of the other roles in my HP class. I think the HP series is one of the best in the history of literature. I can’t articulate why. Lots of reasons, I guess.

I’m doing some academic writing about Harry these days, and I ran across the quote below (again). The first time I read it, I realized it was the PERFECT description of what fiction should do for us. Today I was reading interviews with JK Rowling, and she mentioned she’d been waiting 17 years to get to use those words. They’re well done, Jo.

So, from DEATHLY HALLOWS, p. 723:

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”

Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry’s ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Rock on, Dumbledore.

And, if you’d like a bound galley of HP AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, signed by JKR, it will cost you $242, 485.43 from Abebooks.com. Send me three!

Tags: Harry Potter, book reviews

In no particular order, these are the things I (re)learned today:
1) I have a big mouth (this is the re-learning part).
2) I opened my big trap when I was asked not to---not good.
3) That act has cause consternation to several individuals, to whom I apologize. I may have also caused hurt feelings. I apologize for that possibility as well.
4) Someone is reading my blog besides my mother and my aunt.
5) I should reschedule important phone calls for days when I have not been up sick all night the night before---not an excuse for what happened, just good business practice in the future.
6) I should take uber-scrupulous notes and read them back before important phone calls are over.
7) (to redeem some luck from this situation) I can wi-fi for free in the Ft. Myers, FL, airport.

And, as it turns out, 8)--the people I’m working with are quite kind (which I knew) and forgiving (which I had hoped, since it usually goes with kindness). Whew.

Tags: business

I know this will be important to 0.002% of you, but Paul Harvey died yesterday. His voice is a constant of my childhood, at noon and 2:30, every week day. People set their clocks by Paul Harvey. He was a smart man, mostly conservative, but a Midwestern voice of . . . Midwesterners, I guess. I’m not even sure what I’m trying to say, except that there was no one else like him, nor will there ever be again. Radio doesn’t accommodate a Paul Harvey anymore, and that’s sad for all of us.

Stand by for news! Rest in peace, Paul. You did good work. And now we know the rest of the story.

Tags: randomness

Hi, Mom. Hi, Aunt Jo. This blog entry is for you.

I’m gearing up for publicity stuff for THE SKY ALWAYS HEARS ME--first conference call with my publicist and the publicity manager is this Thursday. It’s slightly nerve-wracking, because getting a book published is a looooong process (14-15 months or so), so I’ve sort of forgotten this stuff is coming up. But this baby is launching soon (though not in its final form). And publicity stuff happens before its official release, so it’s time.

Gulp.

But it’s fun to think about it again--what are the features of this book that we can emphasize to help it sell? The fact that it’s set in NE could be a plus or minus. Not many books are set in the Big Empty (at least not YA novels), so people may want to look in and see what it’s like. Or people will skip it because they think it’s boring. Who knows?? But it’s one aspect to sell. The lesbian/bisexual line is also a potential selling feature, as is Morgan’s irreverence. Then again, she’s just a bullshitting teenage girl, no different than any other one. What teenage girl *isn’t* irreverent, in one way or another? She’s just more overt about it.

Other book--out with my current editor. I’d love to work with him again, but there’s no track record for me yet, so he’s still gambling by buying it. Fair enough. I should know mid-March about that. If he doesn’t take it, it’s more edits with Agent Extraordinare Amy and off to more houses. This is a tough time to sell books--holy cats, is it--because the publishing industry is as stressed as every other one. But YA hasn’t shown a whole lot of evidence of slowing down, so I’m hopeful. Someone will love John Burrows and Gabe as much as I do.

Other than that, the writing life is rather scarce these days, because school is intense. Did I tell you I’m writing a book chapter? The book is a scholarly text on myth and identity, and the chapter’s about Harry Potter and how the colors red & green work in the story. I’ve got to get it done by May 15th, which is way closer than I think it is. I’ve also got a grown-up version (a short story) of the John/Gabe story going to a local literary journal this week. The switch into a grown-up voice was a challenge, but a good one. I’d feel very accomplished if I made it in---it would feel almost more accomplished than selling THE SKY ALWAYS HEARS ME. But what kind of whacked-out concept is that? That thought demonstrates I’ve internalized the social bias against children’s books. We who write them are “lesser” than grown-up writers. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Enough outta me. Homework is calling, laundry is calling, Mr. Peanut is calling, life is calling.

I love you guys. Thanks for reading. It’s nice to know I’m not yawping into nothingness.

Kirstin

Tags: business

Oh. My.

I’m not sure I’ve seen a better, more horrible film than SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. I don’t ever want to watch it again, and I want to watch it sixteen times in a row, so I see everything and understand it all. If this picture doesn’t win Best Picture I will eat my kid’s hat (I don’t wear hats).

The story itself is fantastic--kid with nothing gets everything, even after you think it’s going to end horribly--but the way it’s told is incredible. And the love story? One for the ages--Jamal and Latika, against all odds. As a writer, my favorite thing about it was its character development. We learned SO MUCH SO QUICKLY about Jamal and Salim (Salim is his brother). Within ten minutes of the film’s beginning, we know Jamal is tenacious and Salim is crooked. There’s a time transition in the film that’s incredible, too--the boys fall off the train, and they’re probably 7 and 8. When they stop rolling down the hill after falling off the train, they’re 12 and 13. Smooth as silk. The film jumps around in time quite often, but the jumps never leave you confused.

But then there’s MILK. I was introduced to Harvey Milk through the first documentary about him, THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK, back in college, and I was completely taken with the man. And I would SWEAR to you the film starts with Harvey’s voice, an actual tape of his voice. Sean Penn completely inhabits him.

As a writer, my favorite thing is the completeness of the immersion. The transport back into the 70s is solid--not once was I jolted into the 21st century. Sean Penn never lets you know he’s Sean Penn--he’s just Harvey. And the passion---oh, the passion! That’s why I like Harvey Milk as a human: he stood for something incredibly important, and passion gets me every time. Sean Penn was the perfect person to deliver Milk’s passion to a wider audience.

Then again, what do I know? See another opinion of MILK here, one from the POV of someone who still has to live the reality of Prop 8. Every story has a zillion sides, and what I see from a straight woman’s perspective is definitely not the same thing she sees. And SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE has detractors, too. Check here for a story about two of the child actors who still live in slums, even though the film has grossed a gazillion dollars.

Good stories---great stories---but at whose expense? An interesting question.

Tags: movie reviews

I went to a slumber party this weekend, for the first time since sixth grade. My writing group has been together five years (count ‘em--five!), so we celebrated with a major session of goofing around, followed by a tiny bit of sleep, followed by a writing retreat.

I can’t say enough about these women. They taught me what to do, they showed me my mistakes, they cried with me at my rejections, they celebrated with me at my successes, and they took me seriously. Each of us does these things for all of us. There is no jealousy--one member’s success is everyone’s success. And we’ve had a few successes--three agents acquired (one lost in there), one sold book, one Pushcart-nominated nonfiction piece, myriad drafts of book projects and stories (some of them final drafts), smaller publications in large and small venues, the list goes on. We give each other courage and strength to keep going. We love each other and push each other.

Every writer needs a writing group. I am convinced of it.

So here’s to you, sisters in ink. Thank you a million times over.

Tags: writing community, writing life

Here I am, mostly at the end of a project. So what comes next?

I need to talk it over with Agent Extraordinaire Amy, because I’d like to know what she thinks will sell. Writing with eyes fixed on the market doesn’t work (IMHO), but it’s still important to glance at it more than once. So her opinion will make a difference. But what do *I* want to write? I’m not sure.

I’ve thought about a girl in the Black Hills, sent there without her consent, and what might happen. I’ve thought about Ian and Ivy again. I don’t think about the verse novel, even though I’d love to, because I don’t think it’s the right time for a verse novel---I need a couple more regular novels out there first. I think a lot about a boy novel---a crazy boy, a streaking boy, a boy interested in saying what he feels and thinks to the detriment of his life---and I’ve thought about the phrase “jerk off for peace,” plastered across a wall of a vacant building in town (for a cultural reference, see the “bong hits for Jesus” Supreme Court free speech case from last year). A kid who idolizes Lenny Bruce and what he stood for: free speech and openness.

But can I really talk about jerking off? I’m not sure I’m that brave. Sure, I can write about it, but can I talk about it with kids someday? Don’t know. Despite my imaginary pink mohawk, I’m still a relatively reticent Midwesterner about some things. But I’d bet I can get over it.

And yes, I know these things may contradict the “in progress” page of my web site. I’m still thinking.

This is an odd place to be, in between things. I love the idea of not busting my ass for a while---2008 was about busting my ass, and I am TIRED. At the same time, the images and ideas keep creeping in, even when I tell them to leave me be for a while. They never listen.

I don’t think I can *not* write.

Tags: next book

(Not to change the subject already, but have you ever heard the soundtrack to THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY? It’s a very old Clint Eastwood western, and the score is fantabulous. Check it out.)

It’s one thing when I review a book on my blog--who am I? Nobody important. Will the author ever read it? Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on how they Google themselves. But it’s a wholly different thing when the “real” reviewers get to your book. Then it can make a difference.

An acquaintance of mine just received a . . . lukewarm? . . . review from Kirkus for his first book, a middle-grade sports novel. I can’t find the review to read, so I can only report on what he said: Kirkus claimed his book “tried too hard.” It’s not the kindest thing anyone could say about a book.

Lots of us responded to him and tried to help him feel better, so that’s good. Anybody can understand a stinging review, not just book people. Problem is, in the book world, reviews are currency. They can determine library sales, for one thing, and the can sway regular-person sales, too. A lukewarm-to-bad review can’t just be blown off, especially for a first-time author. Then again, a lukewarm-to-bad review can happen to ANYONE, even big fish in this little pond. Reviewers are like anyone else---they have good days & bad days, and specific likes & dislikes.

It’s the breaks of the business, where there are a zillion of us competing for attention. But it makes me wonder what will happen to THE SKY ALWAYS HEARS ME, and it makes me wonder how my acquaintance is thinking about his review, after a few days has passed. I hope he feels better. I know I’m looking forward to reading it, and my son will eat it up.

Reviewers have to call them as they see them. I know that. It’s a business, and my book (or my acquaintance’s book) is just one of the pieces of coal that makes the publishing industry go. We think they’re works of art. “They” think they’re fodder for the machine. Not in a bad way, usually, but fodder nonetheless. Might as well be honest about it.

I wonder what my reviews will say. I wonder how I’ll react. The book business is a lot of wondering.

Tags: reviews

It’s real now . . . here’s an initial design of the cover art for THE SKY ALWAYS HEARS ME AND THE HILLS DON’T MIND.

There are some things that could change: 1) Morgan doesn’t have long hair, so neither should the cover model; 2) the second part of the title gets lost (in my opinion) down in the bottom of the page, and 3) I’d like my name to have no caps, just like the rest of the cover.

But I like it. I like it a LOT. Holy smokes, I’ve got a book cover! Great news to get on the first day back to school.

Tags: sky always hears me

I’ve not gotten as much reading done over break as I had hoped, but I did let myself digest Stephen King’s new book of short stories, JUST AFTER SUNSET. I think the reviews are right: he’s still got it. At least most of it, anyway.

I’ve been a fan of King for a loooong time, since I was in middle school, which was right after he’d written some of his greatest novels (CARRIE, THE SHINING, THE STAND, etc.). When I read them as a youngster, I didn’t get them. But I was still able to absorb his literary prose, his ability to create a character (he’s a master), some of the themes he was working with (what happens when reality bends on you?), and his love of language (hail Mary, full of grace, let me win this stock car race). Even as a kid I could appreciate his ability to spin a good yarn. All of those things are still present in JUST AFTER SUNSET, but now as a grown-up, I can also tap into some of the craziness and desperation that comes with King’s characters. As a kid, I was oblivious to most of that subtlety.

In some of the stories there were holes. After I finished “Gingerbread Girl,” I wanted to e-mail him: “Dear Uncle Stevie, you need some backstory. It would help.” A couple others left me rather neutral. But there were also ones that piqued my mind. One story was about an English teacher and his alter ego, his writer persona, and the writer persona has to step in where the English teacher cannot. That story fascinated me. Other stories were old themes (possessed objects) with new twists (possessed objects whose owners were killed as a result of terrorism). The last story in the volume, which I think is called “In a Tight Place,” is vintage King, absolutely fantastic stuff. I didn’t really buy his main character (weird convolutions, and some “the character has to do X so Y can happen later on”), but the rest of it was amazing, just incredible. I was honored to read it.

So, for someone who’s retired a time or two from writing, he’s still producing good stuff. I’d wait until it’s in softcover, but I’d still buy it, if I were you. Even if you’re not a King fan, it’s still worth your time.

One more note: happy 2009! I am excited for this year--it’s going to bring good things. Here’s to good things for you, too!

Tags: reviews

I gave a presentation today for some K-12 teachers. In the course of that conversation, I talked about how I was the kid who WANTED to have the 12-inch spiked pink mohawk but didn’t, because 1) there was no space for individuality in my home town, and 2) I had no idea how to claim who I was---namely, the kid with the big pink mohawk. I didn’t know until I went to college that there were other personas/looks available to me besides “late-80s Midwestern girl,” and if I chose to look a little unusual, PEOPLE WOULD STILL TALK TO ME. Radical!

Even though I’m old(er) on the outside, I still want the pink mohawk, because that’s how I still feel inside. That’s why all my characters are sort of “stick it up your ass” types---in one way or another they’re who I wanted to be in high school, because they don’t keep all their subversive thoughts inside. I think folks currently high school feel a little more free now--at least the kids in this town do. But they also don’t live in the middle of Central Nowhere, where it’s 50 miles to the nearest Target. Not much freedom in Central Nowhere.

Later on in my presentation, after we’d gone on from the hair conversation, a teacher looked at me and said, “well, you have an invisible pink mohawk. You know it’s there. That’s what matters.”

And she’s right, I do. Intellectually and emotionally, my pink mohawk keeps growing. But actual pink hair may be in the works for 2009. It’s about time, don’t you think?

Tags: characters, philosophy

I am whacked-out excited to announce my partnership with my new agent, Amy Tipton, of FinePrint Lit. I’m convinced she will do great things with BEAUTIFUL MUSIC and whatever comes beyond it. I had another offer as well, but had to turn it down based on the “click” with Amy and her enthusiasm for YA work. If I could’ve kept both agents, I would have. He’s a fantastic agent, too.

Not having to fight for what I want in the book world is a COMPLETELY new experience. Especially with a trans book. Many thanks to all who helped.

Trans youth group in the Cities, get ready for a big fiesta! I owe you. Gabe owes you.

I have an offer of representation! The manuscript went from query to offer in 48 hours, a new land speed record for publishing . . . and it happened to ME, of all people. I am excited, to say the least.

I also have another agent who’s interested in BEAUTIFUL MUSIC (when you get an offer, you notify the other agents who have your ms.), and if he offers, too, then I have to choose. Though I am currently clueless as to how to pick one, who knew I’d be choosing between two top agents in the biz?

AND . . . another author, one who judged the National Book Awards recently, plans to read THE SKY ALWAYS HEARS ME for a blurb. Holy smokes!

This makes no sense. But it’s tons of fun, so I don’t care. And I have worked my ass off to get here. Just ask my family, who has been sorely neglected as a result.

Let me check to make sure this is really happening.

(Kirstin rereads some e-mail)

Yup. It’s real.

Tags: agents, famous people

. . . less than 24 hours. By yesterday afternoon I was fiddling around with a scene or two. Granted, I think I made the scenes better (sometimes fiddling makes things worse), but I was still going back on my vow of being “finished.”

Dammit. But it’s the nature of the beast.

Tags: writing life

So today I “finished” BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FOR UGLY CHILDREN. Its first rough draft was begun in December 2005 and “finished” in June 2006. Then there were major retools in spring 2007 and summer/fall 2008 (gaps as a result of child/husband/job/life), plus there are always little tinkers. It feels really good to have this draft “done” and polished. It’s my favorite revision of all.

But I know it won’t last. Some agent or editor will say, “hey, have you thought of . . .” or “you know, I don’t like . . .” and it will change. That’s as it should be, and I like to revise---a lot, maybe too much---because it always leads you to new ideas. But sometimes I just want a manuscript to STAY THE SAME.

But it won’t. It’s the nature of the game. For today, it’s “finished,” and I’m not fooling with it until it’s agented. I’m damn tired. Given how busy agents are, it will be “finished” for months.

But is a book *ever* really FINISHED? No, probably not. Someone will always have a new idea for it, even if you never meet that person. That’s one of the cool things about meaning, in the philosophical sense. Ideas build on ideas that build on ideas, and . . . . then it’s infinity.

Cool and frustrating, all at the same time.

Tags: writing life

Heather Brewer was one of the people who helped my agent hunt along, so, as a return favor, I wanted to help her royalty check. I bought the first two of her Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series, EIGHTH GRADE BITES and NINTH GRADE SLAYS last weekend (TENTH GRADE BLEEDS is out in February, I believe), and promptly *devoured* (pun intended) EIGHTH GRADE BITES.

Vladimir Tod = vampire. Also a regular guy---he’s part human. He has a kind woman, Nelly, to take care of him, and his good friend, Henry, keeps him company. Being a vampire isn’t so bad, though it does make things tough when he wants to talk to girls--but how is that different from any other eighth-grade boy? Then the mystery starts: enter Otis Otis. What does he want? How is he tied to Vlad’s dead parents? What is this book with a symbol on it, and what is this thingy that looks like a cylinder that’s about a million years old? Who cares? You know you’ll find out, because all you’ll want to do is turn page after page, chasing the answers.

I loved this book for a bunch of reasons, not the least of which was the discovery that vampires invented PlayStation. She also throws in cool references to other horror writers (the nerdiest kid around is Edgar Poe) and vampire lore/literature besides Vlad’s name--the vampire council is in Stokerton, for example. It took me until today (halfway into NINTH GRADE SLAYS) to realize she was referencing Bram Stoker, call me really slow. Most of all, I loved Vlad’s “regular-ness”---being a vampire is just another thing to deal with in the complicated life of being an eighth-grader. Granted, it makes the challenges unique, but Vlad is still a regular guy. Mostly.

For me, this book is illuminating in another way. Vlad’s dilemma isn’t so different from Gabe’s dilemma (Gabe is the main character in BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FOR UGLY CHILDREN)---both are perpetual outsiders, for large, unchangeable reasons, and both have to make their way in a world that’s perpetually unsure of what to do about those large, unchangeable reasons. Heather does a great job of providing Vlad with people who love him as he is. That’s so key.

Vlad was also illuminating to me/Gabe for another reason: at first, I was grossed out by him and his blood needs (no, he doesn’t bite people). But after a while, it became un-gross to read about him slurping a warm mug of O positive. When I look at my manuscript and think about Gabe and his journey to pee in a men’s room (you’ll have to read it to find out what I mean), readers will potentially have the same reaction: gross! Eeek! Ick! But hopefully they’ll trust Gabe enough to follow him along, and the bathroom dilemma won’t be gross anymore---it will just be part of watching Gabe’s life. Same with Vlad’s blood breakfasts---they became just another part of him.

I loved this book! I’m reading the whole series.

Tags: reviews, vampires

I admit it . . . I Googled myself today. : (

That almost sounds dirty.

I did it to see where my web site would pop up---and it’s at the top! Yes! But I also discovered a few things:

1) I have a hotness rating of 3.0 at ratemyprofessors.com (on a scale of 1-5). Who knew? One one hand, I’m flattered (should I do more to make it higher??), and on the other hand, do I REALLY want my students thinking about me that way?

2) my nonfiction book for middle graders will be published in March 2009!

I found that info about two-thirds of the way down the page. My name is in Amazon--my book is available for pre-order. Very cool. Nobody had given me a pub date yet, so it’s nice to have one.

I must say that writing my novels was about 10000x easier than writing this book. Getting the language down to the appropriate grade level was NOT my strong suit. It was fun, though, to go back and do some technical writing. Sometimes it’s good to exercise those old chops (I have a degree in business and technical writing, which is quite neglected). I have a feeling these folks won’t be asking me back. : \ But in my defense, it was TOUGH. How do you explain terms like “structural integrity” to sixth graders in words that fit the reading scale? I tried. Like really hard.

In March 2009. people can buy a book I wrote (along with Tony the editor, who fixed a lot of the language stuff, so his name should be on it as an author, but it’s not, which is too bad, as well as a couple of structural engineers’ names who also helped, etc., you get the point--a book is always a collaborative effort).

Cool.

Tags: structural collapse, pub dates

I’m on the agent hunt now, and three people---shout-outs and many thanks to Kurtis Scaletta, Amy Sarig King, and Heather Brewer---within the children’s writing community very kindly and graciously helped me with my search by chatting about their agents. Do I know any of these three people? Not at all.

Big whoop, right? People help each other all the time. Actually, it IS a big deal, if you’re a fiction writer for adults. From what I know, it’s unheard of to help a fellow grown-up fiction writer. That community’s pretty cutthroat--not enough shelf space for everyone--so if you help someone else, you help your competition, and woe betide you! (that’s such a dorky expression, but I love it)

Like there’s enough shelf space for all the kids’ writers? Not. But in the children’s lit community, however, helping each other seems to be the norm. I am grateful for that fact, not just because these two people gave me some great leads, but because it means the community is a nicer place to be. I’m not good at cutthroat competition.

I do think part of the reason why the kid lit community is kind to one another has to do with our audience--most children’s books, even the dark YAs, have some sort of redemption and hope in them. If we’re writing hope and kindness, you’d think we’d be practicing it. So far, nobody’s proved me wrong.

Kindness is a Good Thing. Call me cheesy and old-fashioned. I don’t care.

Tags: writing community

3 posts in less than 2 weeks!

Blogging is still an odd activity for me. It’s not like the blogosphere is new, but I still have my doubts . . . all 90 zillion of us are sounding Whitman’s barbaric yawp over the rooftops, but is anyone listening (hi, Mom! hi, Jo!)? Does anyone give a rat’s ass? (And if you’re the writer type, speaking of “rats” and “asses,” you should visit Editoral Ass. It’s hosted by an editor who’s moniker is Moonrat.)

I realized I should take blogging more seriously when I heard a news report about the media room for the bloggers at the RNC (and, living in MN, I heard a lot about the RNC). A whole room just for them! Granted, they need computers, but people are LISTENING to the bloggers--they were the press corps as much as newspaper reporters were. And I do read blogs every day--my writing group’s blog (no, it’s closed to you, too bad), my publisher’s blog, a couple agent blogs--and I do learn stuff. Maybe the question is whether or not I can live without those blogs. I might miss them if they go away. Goodness knows we all miss Miss Snark, a blogger extraordinaire who offered amazing advice about the publishing world. But blogs are huge time sucks--bigger than the Face, even (Facebook, for those of you who aren’t privy to that particular time suck). I can get lost in them.

Then again, blogs get me noticed by people who care: publishers, book reviewers, editors, agents, other writers, READERS. I need them for that.

But it still comes back to those junk-food words I mentioned a while ago: how many empty words can you handle before you weigh 300 lbs?

CONTENTS MAY EXPLODE UNDER PRESSURE is no longer . . . please welcome THE SKY ALWAYS HEARS ME AND THE HILLS DON’T MIND.

Long title, I know. But my editor, the marketing people, the art people, and everybody else liked it, so it’s pretty hard for a non-experienced person like me to say, “whoa, Junior, ix-nay on that idea.” I’ve known since Tuesday, and it’s grown on me. Titles are a complicated business, driven by forces I barely know about, at this point. Books in general are a complicated business. I’m getting an education, that’s for sure. Publishing is a weird, wild industry.

And, in general success stories, there are three:

1) a big-time author has agreed to read a copy of THE SKY ALWAYS HEARS ME, and he will hopefully blurb it (send a quotation that says, “I love the hell out of this!” for us to put on the back cover). This feels big to me, because I also use this guy’s work in my teaching life, and I worship one of his short stories. I’m psyched.

2) two agents are reading partials of BEAUTIFUL MUSIC. Either agent would be a great fit, I think, but I’ll line up more to query, too. No assumptions, after all. And wow . . . the response time is 1000x faster when you say, “I sold a book.” Very cool.

3) I took my author photos last weekend.

Maybe not this one . . .

Holy smokes, I suck at keeping a blog. I know I have at least two readers (hi, Mom! hi, Jo!), and I also know my site is linked on the Flux blog, so somebody might look. I re-vow to get with the program.

An interesting thing happened today: I was told, by someone I love, I use too many words. The speaker of that sentence would be mad if s/he/ knew I’d revealed this comment, but it’s a unique accusation to level against a writer. I’m supposed to be full of words, right? They’re my comfort food, a big bowl of whatever makes a person feel better on a cold winter night.

But are my words junk food, like so many Chicken McNuggets? Our culture loves junk words (we have whole magazines and TV shows devoted to them), just like they love McDonald’s and Burger King. But junk words make us fat and lazy.

This comment is worth pondering.

UPDATE (10/25/08): Junk food is fine sometimes. But sometimes it’s good to be prime rib.

Meagan Brothers has tackled a topic I've not seen in YA before. Here's the general set-up: John's got a complicated family situation. His dad is dead and his mother sends him to live with his Uncle Sam. He meets Maria, who thinks he's cool because he likes vinyl, and those two have a relationship. No stress, right? There's a complication: Johnny's in love with Debbie Harry, and he decides to dress like her. Not all the time, just sometimes. He does a drag show and wins an audience award. He gets felt up by someone at the drag show, and thinks "does this guy know I'm a guy?" It's no biggie, ever--Johnny wears a dress sometimes, and Maria has to teach him to walk in heels.

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. Sounds like a good idea to me--gender and sexual identity isn't usually the sum total of a person. Why should it be that way in a YA novel?

We've all seen Eddie Izzard cross-dress, right? Big whoop--and some of his outfits are BAD. But this seems large to me, having a YA protagonist do it. Good for you, Meagan.

Tags: book reviews

I'm trying to reform. 9 days between my posts is pretty good.

So over the weekend we took in Will Smith's annual (it seems) Fourth of July blockbuster: HANCOCK. I have to say I liked it, for a couple reasons. First, I love it when people mess with stereotypes, and Hancock is NOT a stereotypical superhero. He's rude, crude, drunk, with a possible cocaine habit, plus he's mean to children. Show me more! Bring on the anti-hero superheroes! 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. But Hancock is WAAAAAY out on the anti- side of the anti-hero role. He's a "fuck you" superhero, and I don't recall too many of those. And don't we all feel like that sometimes? Want me to grade your paper? #)$(*#)($* you, student. I never say it, but I feel like it sometimes. Should I even admit that? : \

Second, I like that Hancock never lost his . . . disdain? . . . for his abilities. So what if he mashed up the pavement when he landed? Part of the job. So what if went and wrote on the moon? Part of the job. It took him forever to be able to say thanks when the good guys helped him? Part of being an anti-hero.

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. That show was full, and I do mean full, of characters who turned things upside down. Good job, Vince Gilligan.

Next up: a review of DEBBIE HARRY SINGS IN FRENCH. Love and cross-dressers--good combo.

Tags: movie reviews

Wow. Remember I said I was going to get with the program? Obviously not. It's been, what . . . six weeks?

So I got to see Judy Blume a few weeks ago. 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? : ) I would've driven farther than 90 miles to see her, that's for sure.

But the evening was slightly disappointing. Her interviewer was more than a shade clueless, and she didn't give Judy a chance to shine (in my opinion). I was pissed. Judy lit up when it was time for Q&A, because then the kids in the audience got into the act. The audience itself was a study--grandmas, moms, daughters (mostly girls of many ages). How cool is it that books can touch so many generations in the author's lifetime? Damn cool, if you ask me.

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. Thank you." I signed it and handed it to George, her hubby, who smiled and congratulated me. THEN I had the bright idea to write my website address on the back of the notecard.

So . . . wonder if Judy Blume has been to my web site? Wonder if he gave her my fan letter (well, notecard) in the first place? Even if he didn't, I don't care. The fact that my web address was one degree of separation from Judy Blume is enough for me.

Pretty silly, I know. But it's JUDY BLUME.

Tags: authors

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. You gotta like link love! And when I saw that link, I realized that publishing this book is no longer a dream. 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. Holy freaking smokes. I get to meet Andrew Karre (editor extraordinare) tomorrow, so that will seal the "this is real" deal. Maybe.

I sold a book. *I* sold a book. I *sold* a book. I sold *a* book. I sold a *book*.

Nope. Still doesn't feel real.

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.

"Whatcha readin', Child O Mine?"

"HENRY HUGGINS. Do you know him?"

"Yup."

When he's done, I check out the pub date. First copyright? 1950.

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.

Tags: story

UPDATE: Anton Chigurh is as brilliant on paper as he is on screen. But I didn't have to imagine him much--the bad thing about seeing the film before you read the book.

My next two projects have guy protagonists. It's a new thing for me. Well, that's not entirely true. Gabe, my protagonist in BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FOR UGLY CHILDREN, is a guy, but he's a different kind of guy. 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. However, these next dudes have all the cultural training guys need (or don't, depending on who you ask). Could be tough.

But it will be as great as it will be tough. I love guys--as human beings, not just as a straight woman who loves guys (one guy these days). They appear simple, but their complexities are endless, and they're big fat chickens when it comes to sharing those complex minds/hearts. 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). I love their strength. I love their decisiveness. I love their tenderness. I love their action instead of talk. I even love their arrogance sometimes, because it's fun to watch them find out they're wrong. Was that mean? Probably so. I'll say it again--some of this is stereotypical, but there are truths contained in stereotypes.

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). It's more of a trick to teach him that's it's all right to cry. Culture is really mean to guys sometimes.

What's on my reading list, to absorb guy characters? THE SCHWA WAS HERE, Neil Schusterman (possibly the coolest title ever, especially if you're a nerd who knows what a schwa is). The YA by Nick Hornby, can't think of its title. A reread of THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN, Sherman Alexie's National Book Award YA. BE MORE CHILL, Ned Vizzini. I'll probably reread John Green's LOOKING FOR ALASKA and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES too. There will also be lots of sitting around and watching guys this summer, never a real hardship and always good for a laugh. Here's my favorite oveheard quotation from a twelve-year-old guy: "I stopped eating paper when I started eating more for breakfast."

Who wouldn't want to write for people like that?

Tags: characters

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. Anton Chigurh is my dude. 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. I'm betting so.

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. Then the question arises: is it bad to like a killer? A very elegant, eloquent, simple but badass character who happens to be a killer? I don't know the answer to that question.

But I still don't think I can go for Dexter the serial killer. That's too far, good character or not.

Tags: characters

So I just got back from a national SCBWI conference . . . Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, for those of you who are neither . . . and I was more than happily surprised. Before I wrote YA and before my Ph.D., I was a poet for grown-ups. 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 knew some highly competitive and crabby people who saw everyone as a threat. I was expecting a few more threatened people at SCBWI, but what I got was about 1000 people who were supporting each other all the way. WOW. Who knew?

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!), and Carolyn Mackler, and invites to submit from 2 publishers, which I will do if my current deals fall through. 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." Oh man, I laughed. Go read the book if you want to know.

Other bonuses of the weekend: marvelous Thai food, NY-style pizza, amazing pumpkin ravioli, and a couple bagels. Yum. 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. All in all, a stellar weekend.

I also got to see (though not talk to) Arthur Levine, the man who brought Harry Potter to America. Bless you, Arthur Levine! He's bald and very emotive, which doesn't surprise me on either count

But now I've got a cold. : ( Thank you, airplane air, and the germs of nine bazillion people in NYC. 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. I've never been to a conference where every single panel was worth my money, but it was true at SCBWI.

One more time: wow.

Tags: conferences

Now that I know how to jack with my web site, I'll be doing it all the time . . . the ego of having a forum!

I went to see SWEENEY TODD on Saturday night, and I was left with a few questions.  I'll spare you the summary and attendant criticism (what a lot of blood!) except to say it was worth about $5 of my $7.50.  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.  Thank you, Wikipedia.

So here's my question:  do all people deserve to have their stories told?  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?  What's the moral of the story--don't get sucked in by revenge?  You can't go home again?  Don't serve people in pies?   There's a series on Showtime called DEXTER, about a serial killer. My friend Royce. and many critics, say it's excellent--you want him to succeed. Excuse me?  Isn't our society screwed up enough without glorifying people like Dexter and Sweeney Todd?


I sound like a complete square. 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?  And I paid to see them? I need to turn in my role model badge. The most excellent movie recently? NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN--and killing abounds in that film. If I adored that film, and the character of Anton Chigurh, who am I to dislike Sweeney Todd? Who am I to use Stephen King (his writing and his writing advice) in my creative writing classes? 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)?

There's a scene in SWEENEY TODD where he runs his fingers over photos of his wife and baby daughter, leaving streaks of blood on the glass.  And I thought, "this won't end well."  And it didn't.  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. Lovett?  It's so over the top that we KNOW we won't have it happen to us. 


Maybe I'm not questioning society, just myself. My spiritual side says to love all, serve all, and not glorify gratuitous violence--and that's what I'm trying to teach my kid. Then here I am, loving NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. What does that say about me? Do I really want to know? Maybe I'm just keeping the alligators fed, as King says. We all have to take care of the alligators in the basement, so they don't escape.

Eeek.

Tags: serial killers

So . . . I got my first hate mail. I'm being extreme, to say it's hate mail, but it's certainly not love mail. It's more like nasty 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. I had hoped to wait until the books are in print!

My friends & family have been very supportive of this web site, and its address has gotten passed around, even sent out in Christmas letters. Not long after the first occurrence of distribution, a negative comment showed up in my blog. The comment is anonymous, of course, and you can find it in the comments of the first blog entry, if you're curious. But I continually wonder: was it a family member? A friend of a friend? Someone who stumbled on the site accidentally? A student who Googled my name? And why, if this person felt my prose is "absolutely terrible," wouldn't s/he stand by that judgment and name themselves? They didn't want to hurt my feelings?

The main lesson, for me, is one of audience. Obviously, the comment-leaver wasn't part of my audience. I still wish they would have been brave enough to claim their comment.

But hey--all exposure is good exposure, right? I hope so.

Tags: publicity

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