It's Out! The Book is Out!

My debut YA novel, "Divided Moon" is now available!

"Hey, I just met you
And this is cra-zy
But here's my cover
so read me maybe...."

on Amazon
at Barnes and Noble
on Smashwords
at the publisher's website

Available as an e-book for now, coming out in paperback in about a month.

NaNoWriMo

What are you doing in November?

I am going to hole up with a brand spanking new project for the month, thanks to the inspiration and peer pressure of National Novel Writing Month.

If you don’t already know about NaNoWriMo, you can find out more here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/. In a nutshell, NaNoWriMo challenges writers of all stripes to write a novel in 30 days. Forget perfect prose and plot holes, the goal is to get words on paper (or, more likely, on a Word document). You win by penning 50,000 words by November 30.

I have never won NaNo, and I probably won’t this year either. There have been many great novels that were born from the project, including Cinder, the popular YA debut by Marissa Meyer. (She actually wrote 150,000 words that year during NaNo).

While I won’t win in word count, I will in focus.

That is what I love about November. For one month, I set aside everything else to concentrate on a WIP.  Sometimes that is a rough draft, other years, it is revisions. Creative writing is king during the month of November. By the time I emerge in December, with disheveled hair and a messy house, I hope to have created something awesome. 

Good luck fellow NaNo writers!

Book Review: Al Capone Does My Shirts

The school librarian recommended this book to my fifth grade son. I can see why. After browsing the internet, I see this book and its follow up, Al Capone Shines My Shoes, both by Gennifer Choldenko, on recommended lists for boys who don’t like adventure stories.

Not that there isn’t adventure in this book. Young “Moose” Flanagan braves breaching a fence of the yard in a maximum security prison to look for a baseball. That takes guts.

The heart of the story is the relationship between Moose and his autistic sister, Natalie. The meat of the story is the setting. They live on Alcatraz Island in 1935, when the renowned criminal Al Capone is in residence.

Moose is like most kids I know, or maybe he is just like my kids.  He loves his independence and begrudgingly takes on responsibility, which he takes seriously. Yet he is still a kid and drawn into the plots of the cute warden’s daughter and the appeal of the infamous.

Al Capone does not actually appear in the book, but makes a significant impact nonetheless, in a very powerful Al Capone way. 

What Readers Want....

It is the perennial question for authors, editors, agents, booksellers and librarians. What do readers want? What are the elements of a satisfying read?

I am a lucky member of a middle school book club. I joined this book club with my son when he was in fifth grade, and he has since decided being in a book club is not something that interests him anymore. (Killing me softly, these boys of mine who don’t read enough.)

Lucky for me, there are eager readers in this bunch who allow me to stay without my child in tow. As an author for the young adult and middle grade audiences, I feel privileged to hear what they have to say about what they are reading.

Tonight, I heard these young readers appreciate neat storylines that tie up at the end of a book. Quiet stories “where nobody dies” are sought out by some. Surprising news is that these particular young readers do not like character growth in minor characters. In one case, the mother in the story gives up her obsession with horoscopes, realizing she cannot predict her life from those words on a page. The young reader told me she didn’t like it when the mother gave up her horoscopes, because that was something that made her love the character.

The idea that not all characters need to change is new to me, and I appreciate this input from readers. Most of the advice I hear is from professionals ensconced in the business or writers who broke in or hope to break in. I enjoy the fresh look of a reader looking at the genre for the first time.

I can’t wait for this group to get to YA novels. I hope they don’t kick me out before we get to Cinder. 

Author Photo Outtake

I got in front of the camera in my latest attempt to get some decent author photos. (Thank you, Michael Sabina for doing such a great job while trying to beat sundown).

I am not very comfortable in front of the camera. When I am uncomfortable, I talk a lot.

Sometimes I talk with my hands.....

.....or to my hand....

.....and sometimes I don't know what my hand is doing.

I won't be using that photo on the back of my books, but it was too funny not to share.

Hello, Chicago

The last weekend of summer, before I put away the white shorts and drag out the backpacks, we took a trip to Chicago.

My family is lucky enough to live where Chicago is an easy train ride away. Once we get there, nothing is easy. This small town girl was overwhelmed by the crowds and impatient with the traffic. Glad I didn’t have to drive in it!

We met a Forrest Gump impersonator at Bubba Gump’s. He only comes twice a year, and although he has the accent and costume down, he is no Tom Hanks.

Still, my kids were absolutely star stricken to meet this impersonator of a fictional character. They looked at him with wonder lighting their eyes. It reminded me of what we, as storytellers, give to the world if we are good at our jobs. We give them a world so believable, that people are honored to meet other people who look and act like the characters we created. It is an enormous task, yet a privilege to do this. It is, essentially, what built Disneyland and Disney Worlds. People go to these massive theme parks and come home with star struck children and cameras filled with pictures of awestruck offspring with Disney characters.

We all can’t be Walt Disney, but sometimes even Forrest Gump will do. 

Inspiration

I love a walk through a garden. Getting outside and seeing beautiful things relieves stress and inspires creativity for me. I must be aesthetically inclined.

I recently took a guided tour of the Allen Centennial Gardens in Madison, WI. This is a garden in the middle of the university campus (but not supported by university funds, I am told).

It was quite beautiful, and unusually serene against its urban landscape. 

This tree made me think of secret places with that opening that looked like a doorway to wonder. 

These had to be painted plants in this "natural" garden, because I could not get over their color. 

Who wouldn't want to ponder plots and characters on this bridge?

One last piece of garden as inspiration. This French garden is supposed to mimic a tapestry. I loved the idea of a garden imitating such permanent art.