On Friendship

The world has a way of slapping you in the face, kind of like that song by Sheryl Crow, "Isn't It Ironic."

Less than a week after I posted about my upcoming book on friendship, my very best friend from middle school to about 10th grade had a cataclysmic event and has been in ICU fighting for her life ever since. I pray for her daily, hoping she hangs in there, thinking about the people in her life who love her, hoping she can come back from this.

We haven't been friends for a long time, but you don't forget the bonds of best friends. We did everything together, and most of it was stupid, like eating cake mix out of the box, or braiding each other's hair so we'd have kinks, getting sunburned and peeling each other's back. Those were some good times and I never laughed as much as I did when I was with Shelly.

I had to dig deep through the archives in the basement, searching through boxes of photos of my life since Shelly and I were friends. Wedding photos, vacations, multiple albums for our children. My own childhood nearly forgotten at the bottom of a box tucked deep into the storeroom, with photos from a time before digital.

I have one photo of me with the girl who inhabited my everyday for four years, and it is nothing but a Polaroid from 1985. This is Shelly and I sitting on Santa's lap. My eyes are closed and I look characteristically awkward in my jean jacket with buttons that say whatever I had to say at the time, while she looks as cool as a cucumber. She was always the cool one, while I was awkward and weird.

And, because I found a lot in that box, I have to give a shout out to Pennie, who I accompanied to prom night for a school that wasn't ours. This was probably 1986, and feathered hair, puffy sleeves and satin dresses were cool.

And finally, I have to give a toast to the best friend who got me through the rest of high school, my rock, my friend, my Taco Time partner, Linda. We haven't been in each other's world enough lately.

Best friends mean a lot. I'm sure there is a saying out there that you only need one good friend, and that friend is precious. Celebrate yours, the friends then and now. And please, pray for Shelly. She has some tough odds, and she is a special light in this world. Best friends need to live forever.

This Is Out of My Hands Now

Final copy is sent. Cover art is done. Vague blog and twitter posts explained.

I have a new novel coming out. The official release date is November 15, 2016.

This is a story about the power of friendship. Because sometimes in life, and especially in teen lives, friendship is everything, even more powerful than family. Please share your feelings about friendship on Twitter with #ForFriendship.

Ze Vang was raised to take over for his father, as the eldest and only son of a Hmong immigrant family. Then he does the impossible, he leaves, with a little help from his friends. When things go terribly wrong, Ze needs to make an impossible choice.

Gangbanger coming November 15!

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and stood in line at midnight many times for the release of the next book in the 2000s, although I was never the sort to stay up all night reading it and could have easily bought it at Target the next morning while running errands. That isn't as much fun, though. Standing in line at 11:35 pm and chatting it up with folks in costume makes a book release an event.

I felt a whiff of that excitement when I saw the new book, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", which bears JK Rowling's name and is most definitely based on her body of work, but is actually a play written by Jack Thorne.

Some are put off by the structure, as it is a screenplay, with little detail. At first, I didn't mind it at all. As time went on, I realized I didn't read this book in 24-48 hours like I did the series. While the sparse details and focus on dialogue of the screenplay format made it easier to move the plot, it didn't allow me to sink in and be absorbed in the story in a way that I couldn't put the book down.

That is not to say the story isn't compelling. It is, it really is, but perhaps only to a Harry Potter fan. If you haven't read another Harry Potter book, this one might not make any sense at all. For fans, it is a fun escape to see what might have been, and see some old friends. Although I have heard and agree the exclusion of Luna Lovegood was a disappointment.

The story, itself, is compelling and interesting, and leaves me wondering what will happen next every step (act) of the way. I don't know if I would buy another one (who am I kidding, of course I would!) I also looked into what plane ticket to the UK would cost, just for the chance to see this play on stage.

Publishing and other forms of insanity

A fellow author offered a link to a blog entry on useful hashtags for writers on Twitter. It was a good article, and if you are interested in writing and Twitter, you can find it here.

What fascinated me was the title at the top of the blog... Publishing... and other forms of insanity.

Insanity. We've all heard about the creative folks who were insane. Creativity has gone hand in hand with insanity since the beginning of time, fair or not.

For years, publishing was what I was working toward. I wanted to publish a book, and I achieved that in 2012 with the release of my first novel.

The experience was exhilarating, but what surprised me is how exposed I felt, and vulnerable, like standing naked on a street corner.

Writing is an intimate practice. Authors craft their novels in relative solitude. I have drooled over writing sheds in backyards or writing retreats in cute B&Bs away from the trials of family life. We get to know our characters' deepest flaws, their desires, what they always thought of themselves that is wrong. And let's face it, some of those flaws come from personal experience. We often have to feel what the character feels to write it well.

So you dive deep into your soul and you feel all the things and put them on the page. Then you send it off for public consumption, where everyone, including your mother, your aunt, your enemy can read it. And you don't do it for riches. There are some authors who break out and make big money, but they are few and far between. Most authors I know aren't in this for the money.

This very much sounds like insanity.

Yet I can't imagine NOT writing. As I write this blog post, I have been in editing for an upcoming novel (news coming soon!) and not working on my WIP. This is making me cranky. Editing is still part of writing, but different. I have to change gears and focus on this novel that I finished ages ago, and debate changes, and as an experienced novelist, I realize every change or suggestion can become the permanent record, in the book everyone will read, maybe even quote.

Take a look at your Twitter feed, I bet there are literary quotes on there that go back for decades, maybe even more. Talk about pressure.

Publishing is insanity, or causes insanity, or only the insane would pursue this.

It will be worth it.

Soldier on, my writer friends, through the insanity, at every level of this process.

Book Review: Eleanor & Park

Rainbow Rowell captures the intensity of first love between an unlikely pair in Eleanor & Park, but it isn't all rose petals and dreaminess. It comes with self conscious and awkward feelings, doubt, fear, and despair.

Eleanor is the new girl at school after having spent the last year in foster care. She is self conscious about her weight and appearance, and is received with cruel taunts from her peers. Park's first impression is that she is a weird girl who dresses funny, but he soon admires her for her quirkiness as a romance builds bus ride by bus ride.

The story is sweet, sad, foul mouthed and authentic to how it feels to be a misfit in love. Although I do wonder if today's teens would recognize references to Ozzy Osbourne and commercials that aired before they were born.

Celebrating Other's Successes

When my kids were small, I often heard the phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child." It felt very true and I was very thankful for my circle of supportive moms, especially in the early years. Since then, I have been thinking a village is useful for more than just raising children. I think we need a village for many of our ventures. Artists of all kinds, including writers, need a village for support, exposure, advice, inspiration, and to feel a part of something.

The best way to support any artist is to spread the word, and the easiest way to do this is write a review. Reviews on Amazon or Goodreads boost an author's reputation. Have a bad review? Well, I can tell you that authors don't like them, but they happen. Not everyone likes the same thing;) They still count toward review counts, which is a thing at Amazon.

Along with giving more reviews, I have started tweeting and sharing news of other author's successes. I went through a time when I wasn't having many successes of my own, so it felt good to celebrate others. I made it my job to promote other people's publishing news, and it made me feel more successful. I was more connected to my writing community. It made me believe that anything was possible again.

I went to conferences without the belief that I would be discovered. I went to meet people, make friends, make connections, and maybe learn something in the sessions. You know what? I want to go to more conferences, because I want to see those people again. I want to keep working at those relationships. Not with agents or editors I met (although that would be nice and happens sometimes), but with the other creators.

You might not even realize it. The woman who wrote a middle grade novel about snot who sat next to me in one of the sessions, I voted for your book in the Crystal Kite. Sorry you didn't win, but you had at least one vote.

Celebrating other people who work in your field is working on your own career, even if your career stinks at the moment. You have some good people to rub shoulders with.

Book Review: Raymie Nightingale

I recently read "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo. Young readers looking for something to read are likely to find something written by DiCamillo, who has penned, "Because of Winn Dixie," "The Tale of Desperaux," "Flora and Ulysses," and "The Mysterious Journey of Edward Tulane," among others.

Raymie Clarke is a 10 year old with a plan to win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire to get her picture in the paper and lure her father to come back home after he ran off with a dental hygienist. She meets her competition at baton twirling lessons, Louisiana Elephante, who is an orphaned daughter of performers, and Beverly Tapinski, who plans on sabotaging the contest. The three of them, dubbed "The Three Rancheros," do a series of tasks to heal their individual wounds and bond them as friends. 

The details are the delight in this story, as each piece has a place, from a drowning dummy doll to multiplying bunny barrettes in Louisiana's hair. This imaginative journey comes to a satisfying end for each of these kids dealing with the serious issues. It is about dealing with loss, friendship, and our ever growing souls.

And the story makes me want to say, "Pfffffffft" far more often.