What Book Brings Back Memories?

From YA Highway Road Trip Wednesday #130:

It takes about 12 hours to read a book, but the book spends a lot more time than that in the home, as a doorstop, a place to hide jewelry, even an old-fashioned petal press.  Is there anything you do with books before/after you’ve read them?

I love the Road Trip question this week, because I’m a chronic book re-reader, so I keep the books I love very close.

But when I really, really love a book, I also buy a copy to give to the person who MUST read said book. So when my now-husband and I moved in together, we wound up with quite a few duplicates. Just one example is NORWEGIAN WOOD, the fantastic love story by one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami.

This book is full of memories of True Love to me, and I still pick it up and re-read the same scene I read back then to my then auditioning-to-be-boyfriend:

So I made up my mind I was going to find someone who would love me unconditionally three hundred and sixty-five days a year. 

The scene goes on to describe an act we began to call “strawberry-shortcaking,” whereby a boy brings a girl strawberry shortcake because she asks for it, but when she changes her mind when he arrives with it, and he’s OK with this because he’d do anything for her. The clincher is of course that it must be mutual for it to be True Love, and thus our theory of “mutual strawberry-shortcaking” was born.

And now we have two well-worn copies of Norwegian Wood on our shelf. Not bad, Mr. Murakami.

TIMELESS Anthology

I’m thrilled to be able to share the news that my story was selected for the TIMELESS YA romance anthology being published by Pugalicious Press.

First off, the gorgeous cover:

Check out the full list of included titles and authors: http://pugaliciouspress.com/2012/05/02/timeless-short-stories-announced/

My story, AND THE NIGHTINGALE SANG, takes place in an Alpine village in the year 1188. I hope it’s as much fun to read as it was to write! Look for it as an eBook in June 2012.

 

Great February Books

Even though I had a crazy-busy month and didn’t get to read as much as I wanted, I still had a hard time picking my favorite book out of the five (only five! so sad) that I read.

Going for a two-way tie, my faves were:

THE DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor. What I loved about this book was that I am not a paranormal fan and yet I found those aspects of the story exquisite. I bought this book because of the art student in Prague angle, and hadn’t actually realized how far this book would take me down the paranormal path, but the writing pulled me willingly along. What a gripping love story!

THE GIRL IN THE STEEL CORSET by Kady Cross. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book because I’d never read anything from Harlequin Teen, but I was pulled in from the very beginning and couldn’t put it down. What they say about teen romance being about the anticipation and buildup more than fulfillment is so true here. So well done! Plus all that steampunky stuff is pretty cool too.

Looking forward to more great reads in March!

Great January Books

It’s been a wonderful reading month! It’s great to start of the year with a fresh stack of Christmas and birthday books, because it means I’ve got a bunch of new books I’ll probably be re-reading at some point in the future. I read a total of 8 books, including 1 adult book, 1 middle grade, and 6 YA.

I luuuuurved some of my Christmas gifts:

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth (YA), which I loved as much as everyone on GoodReads, apparently. Can’t wait for the sequel!

THE PARIS WIFE by Paula A. McClain (Adult), which I got together with Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, totally throwing me into Paris in the 1920′s. Delicious.

And because I’m lucky enough to have my birthday on Twelfth Night, I also got:

FLUTTER by Erin Moulton (Middle Grade), which was as gorgeous and delicate as wild and adventurous. A beautiful story of sisterly love–made me wish I had a sister!

A MILLION STARS by Beth Revis (YA), which already has me fidgeting for Book Three in the series. Such an exciting read, and by that I mean the characters as much as the plot.

I’m already devouring my first book of February, and can’t wait to read more recommendations of others’ favorites in January. Happy reading!

Fave Reads 2011

At a KidLit Meetup this week, I was raving about the latest book that kept me turning pages all night, and I just couldn’t shut up about it. The writing, the voice, the romance. I was literally fanning myself while telling people, “Oh. My. God! You have to read this book!”

My problem is that there are so many delicious books out there. I feel like I can never get to them all. By the time I’ve finished one, ten more books swoop into its place in my TBR list. I try to keep current and read lots of new books, but this particular book came out in 2010, and even though I’d also heard great things about it, I hadn’t gotten to it until now.

With that in mind, my list of faves for the year includes both new books from 2011 as well as ones I just hadn’t gotten to yet. The thing they have in common is that every book on this list made me rave like a lunatic, of the ”Oh. My. God! You have to read this book!” ilk.

Hope you love them, or will love them, or have your own to rave about. Please share your faves below!

Young Adult

IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma. The title and the cover immediately grabbed me, and as soon as I started this book, I had to know what happened. This book took me places I couldn’t have imagined, with an absolutely unique voice and a plot that stretched the boundaries of reality.

PLAIN KATE by Erin Bow. This also came out in 2010, and the combination of beautiful writing and fairy-tale setting grabbed my attention from the very beginning. A girl without a shadow? A talking cat? Yes, please.

STOLEN by Lucy Christopher. This gripping story also kept me up turning pages. Beyond the constant tension, the unique second-person telling added an amazing emotional element that I didn’t expect.

THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson. This is the one that kept me up all night this week. If you’ve read it, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, run to the bookstore! So good!

Middle Grade

NOWHERE GIRL by A. J. Paquette. A coming-of-age adventure set in Thailand–sign me up! This story is both beautifully-written and a page-turner to the very end.

PETER NIMBLE AND HIS FANTASTIC EYES by Jonathan Auxier. This book had me with its title, seriously. Then once I started reading, the incredible imagination of the author had me following along with my mouth dropped open half the time. Fans of Lemony Snicket will love this book.

LOVE, AUBREY by Suzanne LaFleur. This one came out in 2009, and is one of those books that seems to appear again and again on people’s lists of favorites, and I can see why. Above all, the authentic voice kept me reading long into the night.

PICTURE BOOKS
*these are the newest books my four-year-old twins ask for again and again

WINK: THE NINJA WHO WANTED TO NAP by J. C. Phillipps. We also have another WINK book, and my girls love both of them–everything from the colorful artwork to the active antics of their favorite ninja.

EL FANDANGO DE LOLA by Anna Witte. (English version also available at Barefoot Books: LOLA’S FANDANGO) My girls could not love this book more–about a little Spanish girl like them who learns to dance flamenco.

Author Interview: Ammi-Joan Paquette

Please welcome author AMMI-JOAN PAQUETTE, whose debut novel NOWHERE GIRL comes out September 13th, 2011!

Hello, Joan! Most people in children’s literature circles already know you as a fantastic agent with the Erin Murphy Literary Agency, so let’s just get that out of the way. You’re an agent! *applause*

But … you’re also an amazing writer, and today we are focusing on that. I am thrilled that NOWHERE GIRL is hitting the shelves this month, so let’s start there. This novel has been described by acclaimed author Mitali Perkins as “a lovely Cinderella tale” and by Publisher’s Weekly as a “memorable thriller about identity and belonging.”

Having read an early draft and other snippets, I couldn’t agree more. This novel has it all: beautiful writing, a unique setting, a character on a self-discovery quest facing a mounting set of obstacles. Everyone should run out and read it now! In the meantime, let’s tackle how you were able to pull all of those pieces together so well.

Q: Beautiful writing: There are some beautiful lines throughout NOWHERE GIRL, but I have a favorite line (a definite zinger!) from your manuscript back when I first read it—do you have a favorite line in the novel? Please share!

A: This is a tough one! I’m not sure that I can single out a specific line, but one of my favorite scenes comes early on in chapter 3, where Luchi thinks back to a time when she was very young and, in playing around among the prison bars, gets caught and trapped in them, unable to get loose. When this image fell into place for me, it seemed to do more than just describe an incident in Luchi’s past; it extended into a metaphor depicting her life as a whole. The larger-than-life feel of this image lingered with me long after its writing.

Q: Character: above all, NOWHERE GIRL is a very authentic story that rings very personal. Were you able to pull any experiences out of your own life to bring this authenticity to Luchi’s voice?

A: There wasn’t much in Luchi’s physical journey or life events that overlapped with mine, but I have definitely drawn from experience in her emotional progression. That feeling of sometimes not quite fitting in, of wanting to belong or being unsure exactly who you are while growing up—I think many people experience this to a certain extent, and with all my travel and assorted life paths, I’ve certainly had more than my fair share. If some of that early insecurity can translate into authenticity and a ring of truth for Luchi’s journey, then perhaps all of those years will have been well-spent after all!

Q: Plot: without any major spoilers, Luchi has to face a lot of obstacles from beginning to end of the novel. Did you, your agent, and/or editor make any major changes along the way?

A: The biggest changes that were made from the first draft was to go more in-depth with Luchi’s journey and the challenges she faces on her way. The basic plot and the story itself was pretty much unchanged from how I first envisioned it, but my editor encouraged me to build on the framework and flesh out certain areas to develop tension and to solidify the structure. The encounter with the pickup truck on the road to Sukhothai, for example, is one that I added in a later revision.

Q: Process: for all the other budding writers out there, could you provide a snapshot of the writing, revising, and editing process and how long it took for this manuscript?

A: Let’s see: I first thought of this story and wrote a very few opening paragraphs in the spring of 2005. After losing track of it for a few years, in 2008 I pulled the idea out again, dusted it off, and started getting serious with research and getting to know this character. The first draft was finished in late 2008; in late 2009 I received a detailed revision letter from Stacy Cantor at Walker, who loved the story but wanted me to do some further work on it before taking it to acquisitions. The final offer arrived in May 2010, and is being published in September 2011.

Q: Beyond NOWHERE GIRL, you also have several other books (picture books and another novel) in the works. Can you share a little bit about them?

A: My next book to be released will be THE TIPTOE GUIDE TO CHASING MERMAIDS, a companion book to THE TIPTOE GUDIE TO TRACKING FAIRIES (Tanglewood, 2009). This will be out in spring next year. I am also hard at work on a YA science fiction novel with Random House (title still being determined). This should be out in spring 2013, along with a picture book from Candlewick, GHOST IN THE HOUSE, in fall 2013.

Q: And finally the question everyone probably wants to know: how do you do it???? As a successful agent, wife, mom, critique partner, and writer, you manage to get everything done, and done well. Any strategies that are working for you that you could share?

A: This is a tough one to answer, but mostly I think a lot of it just comes from loving what I do. We all wear many different hats, and for every one thing you do there’s always something else that you end up not having time for. But I feel so lucky that I love my work, and I guess that gives me the incentive to squeeze little bits of it in anywhere I can. Which reminds me… I’d better get back to it!

Thank you so much, Joan, for giving us a window into your debut novel and life as a writer! So excited to see this in print!!

Book Review: Truth & Dare by Liz Miles

This compilation of daring stories by some of today’s hottest YA authors pulls off some of the greatest shockers I’ve read in stories for teens: rape, murder, armed robbery, and sexuality, to name a few.

The best part is that none of those felt gratuitous in any of the stories, and instead they resonated with authentic voices and believable situations.

A few highlights:
The humor of Sarah Rees Brennan and Luisa Plaja
The surprise twists of Matthue Roth and Sara Wilkinson
The raw emotion of Shelley Stoehr and Jennifer Knight

For me, this compilation of 20 stories was a success–both so that readers can get another taste of the work from authors they already know, as well as discover new favorites.

I hope there will be more books like this to come!

Sweet!

Since Kris Asselin passed on the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award to me last week, I’m following the rules by:

• Thanking Kris for passing it on! Check out her likewise sweet blog here: http://krisasselin.blogspot.com/
• Sharing seven things about me. Here we go:

1. I love languages. I’m a native speaker of English, pretty fluent in German and Spanish, and I can get by in French and Dutch. I would really love to learn Japanese someday.
2. I got engaged to my cute Spanish husband in Valencia, Spain, and we got married in a castle!
3. States and countries where I have lived: Massachusetts, Idaho, Connecticut, Kansas, New York, Germany, Pennsylvania, Austria, and Virginia. Boston is one of my favorite cities in the world, but I’d love to live in Spain someday. The next countries on my list to visit are India, Indonesia, and Japan.
4. When I was little, I was a Very Picky Eater. My favorite food was spaghetti with butter, and I refused to eat such things as onions, strawberries and tomatoes. Now I love everything from artichokes to octopus. Yum!
5. I have always loved reading. The first book I read on my own was HOP ON POP, and my favorite books growing up were the LITTLE HOUSE, DANCING SHOES, and ANNE OF GREEN GABLES series, and then anything by Madeline L’Engle and Judy Blume. In grad school, I fell in love with the dead poet Rainer Maria Rilke, then wrote my dissertation about his work. My favorite more recent books include THE BOOK THIEF, SECRET KEEPER, MATCHED, LOVE, AUBREY, and HOW I LIVE NOW.
6. Alternate careers I have considered: ballerina, fighter pilot, professor, and rock guitarist.
7. I drink a bowl (BOWL!) of espresso with milk every morning.

• Passing on the award to 15 awesome writing blogs. Here they are–enjoy!
• Mitali Perkins: http://www.mitaliblog.com/
• Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo: http://www.diversityinya.com/category/blog/
• Kristen Lippert-Martin: http://arockinmypocket.blogspot.com/
• Erin Bow: http://erinbow.livejournal.com/
• Mary Witzl: http://witzl.blogspot.com/
• Tabitha Olson: http://tabwriter.blogspot.com/
• Miriam Foster: http://msforster.blogspot.com/
• Marissa Doyle and Regina Scott: http://www.nineteenteen.blogspot.com/
• Alisa Libby: http://www.alisalibby.com/blog/
• Anne Leone: http://critically-yours.blogspot.com/
• Mindy Alyse: http://mindyalyse.livejournal.com/64931.html
• Jo Knowles: http://jbknowles.livejournal.com/
• C. Lee McKenzie: http://writegame.blogspot.com/
• Lena Coakley: http://lenacoakley.com/
• Ghost Girl Mary Ann: http://thebrokentree.blogspot.com/

Diversity in YA’s Boston Visit

We were lucky enough in Boston to be a stop on the Diversity in YA tour, which made its way from California to Chicago, and then from Boston to NewYork:

http://www.diversityinya.com/2011/05/we-are-on-tour/

The tour was spearheaded by Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo, two great authors who are doing everything they can to promote more diversity in YA books. The fantastic event in Boston was held at the Cambridge Public Library, around the corner from both Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School and Harvard University, and included authors Holly Black, Sarah Rees Brennan, Deva Fagan, Fransisco X. Stork, along with Pon and Lo.

Moderated by Roger Sutton from the Horn Book, the panel discussed the need for diversity in YA books. As Sutton pointed out, all the authors on this particular panel except Stork write Science Fiction and Fantasy, but between them, they represent Asian, Latino, biracial, LGBT, and disabled characters in their books.

One of the things they spoke about was wanting to read about characters like them. Another of the discussion points was about cover images: will a white kid pick up a book that has a black or Asian kid on the cover? How do we get them out of their comfort zone? The panel–and audience–were divided on this. On the one side, some felt diversity could be sneaked in. If the book isn’t about race, then it’s not necessary to show. At the same time, some felt that YA readers haven’t been given enough of a chance to choose for themselves.

Stork’s take was that putting characters into universal situations makes a book less about race and more about characters that everyone can understand.  He wants readers to accept books that are different to what they’re used to and not just about race.

So why is diversity in YA important to me–a white, straight writer? Having lived in other countries and immersed myself in other languages and cultures, I know what it’s like to be an outsider. It’s difficult, but it’s also interesting. I personally am less interested in reading about “normal” characters, and prefer to be thrown out of my comfort zone entirely.

I was glad to see the panel members agreed. While everyone acknowledged that it’s important to reach beyond stereotypes and do your research when writing beyond your experience, they agreed that diverse characters–even from non-diverse writers–are welcome. In the words of Fagan, “Don’t let fear of making mistakes stop you. Embrace the potential to fail. Do your research and be aware.”

Revising? Try Second Sight by Cheryl Klein

Truth: revision is difficult.

Truth: revision makes manuscripts stronger.

Truth: revision is necessary.

It’s sometimes hard to know where to begin when you sit down to revise. This is especially true when revising your first draft. What aspects of the manuscript need the most attention? Are there any easy fixes?

The good thing is that most writers have tools available: critique partners, books about craft, and writing classes. Critique partners will help you work through the problems specific to your manuscript, will help you brainstorm possible fixes, and will tell you both what you’re doing right and what areas need work. Books about craft often focus about a single aspect of a manuscript, such as plot or character, that you know you must strengthen. Writing classes can likewise focus on a single aspect or a more macro approach–entire manuscript, or novel-writing in general, with a teacher–a mentor–to guide you.

For me, reading SECOND SIGHT was like having all of these tools at my disposal at once. It was like having a great critique partner or teacher–and not just anyone, but the well-known editor Cheryl Klein–in the room with me as she walked me through examples by authors whose work I admire, showing me what I needed to look for in my own work. From the macro to the micro, this book spoke to me about where to focus my revision.

While not a workbook in the traditional sense–like Donald Maass’ WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL WORKBOOK–this book contains real how-to information that writers can immediately apply to their own WIPs. I was personally only a few chapters into the book when I began to scribble my notes on the sides of the pages. My scribbles increased as I progressed. My notes weren’t about the text I was reading in the abstract, but about my own manuscript, for example:

What is the point? (Great question!) *scribble, scribble*

What are the main character’s flaws? *more scribbles*

What are the Escalating or Complicating Events? *scribbles running on to next page*

SECOND SIGHT might not be the best first book about craft to read. It does assume that its readers have some basic knowledge about the novel-writing process. Also, it’s probably most helpful to those who already have a completed draft, who are looking for techniques to revise and improve it. I’ve already found it to be a great help, and I’m sure I’ll be referring to it again and again for future writing!