CAMO GIRL, Interview with Author, Kekla Magoon

CAMO GIRL, Kekla’s tween novel, just out with Aladdin, is the story of sixth grade outcast Ella. Ella finds herself caught between her old best friend Zach, who is increasingly lost in a fantasy world, and a beckoning popular crowd. Her dilemma: she can only fit in if she leaves “Z” behind.

This story is notable for what you chose to leave out as much as what you included. Can you speak to that?
Yes, I left out Z’s official psychiatric diagnosis, and the name of Ella’s skin condition, which created camouflage-like lighter and darker patches on her face. Her POV was such a close one, that I didn’t think it was realistic for her to know Z’s diagnosis. And it wasn’t crucial to the story that I focus on the nature of Ella’s skin disorder. I preferred to concentrate on the ways that kids deal with trauma. Thus, the title CAMO refers to her skin’s light patches; but also to the ways that Ella hides from her budding social life, and how Zach uses his fantasy world to avoid working through his family trauma. Even Bailey, the new boy, who helps Ella take a chance on getting to know the popular kids, has a secret he’s hiding from. *no spoiler here!*

What theme in CAMO GIRL would you most like kids to come away with?
The feeling of self-acceptance, coming to terms with both your strengths and weaknesses. Also, I’d like kids to consider what it means to be a friend: it may mean keeping a friend’s secret, only to reveal it in time. Ella thought that keeping Z’s secret was helping him, but she learned that it ultimately hurt him by preventing him from getting treatment. Also, by remaining “loyal” to him, she stilted her own social growth. Kekla has vivid memories of the tension of trying to straddle two groups, who did not necessarily like each other. That’s why she jokes that this novel could be called How to Choose a Lunch Table.

Regarding humor, I love the feisty grandma. How did you think up her awesome name?
Funny you should ask. I was on a road trip and brainstorming with my friend about what I should name her. I sprinkled Splenda in my coffee, and read the label out loud. My friend said, “Sounds like an old lady’s name, but you’d never name the granny that.”
“Oh, yeah?” I replied. “Watch me!”

Are you more of a realistic fiction author or what?
I’m writing for the child that I was, who wanted to know more about how to negotiate the real world. In that sense, I’m a writer of realistic fiction. I realize, though, that fantasy also describes the real world, in allegorical terms. So who knows? I may try my hand at another genre if it’s the best vehicle for my theme.

What’s up next for you? And how can your readers stay updated?
I have two books coming out in 2012. The first is a YA with Holt, called 37 THINGS I LOVE. The second is FIRE IN THE STREETS, a middle-grade companion book to THE ROCK AND THE RIVER, (ALA Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award) published by Aladdin. Please stop by my website to say hello and get updates at: www.keklamagoon.com.

Get your writing on

5 Authors. 5 genres. 5 awesome writing exercises.

Check it out, and discover Sympathy for the Devil, The Guiness Book of You, 1k1hr and other exercises and bits of writing advice: http://sylsome.livejournal.com/10718.html?mode=reply

Write on,

T.

Are words to blame?

After the horrific killings in Arizona this weekend, and the near-fatal wounding of Congresswoman Giffords, the media is a-twitter about how incendiary language may have created a climate that led that troubled young man to buy a 9mm Glock and use it so disastrously. While I think it's hard to draw a direct causal relationship here, I do agree that the language of violence that has infiltrated American politics is, to say the least, very inappropriate. Sarah Palin's battle cry, "Don't retreat, reload," is the clearest example, and of course much has been made of her gunsight map that names Giffords as a target. Did she want people to go out and shoot political opponents? Quite doubtful. Was she careless and even irresponsible with her language? Most certainly.

Now Representative Robert Brady (D-PA) wants to make the use of language or symbols that could be seen as inciting violence against lawmakers a federal crime. I wonder, though, is this going too far in the opposite direction? How do you prove that language is inciting violence? Where do you draw the line? While I agree with him that the tone of our national conversation has gotten way out of hand, this sounds like the kind of law that could be abused by a paranoid or oppressive government. I don't think our government is oppressive now, but who can say what American will look like in 20 years? Could we become a nation with our most outspoken protesters locked up for their choice of words?

What do you think? What, if anything, should be done to curb the hate speech so carelessly bandied about by our "rogue" politicians? Should it be up to elected officials, or should the voters take the reigns on this one?

--
www.amykathleenryan.com

Adventure Mantra 2011

Soon it will be 2011, an entire decade from the maelstrom of 9/11. The creator of facebook has been crowned man of the year. Email is rendered uncool, as it's all about texting, apps and iPads. The economy is creaking uphill, and the book industry is in a chaotic swirl. As Vampire lit is trending out, Aronofsky's luminous film, Black Swan cements the trending in of magic realism, and the subsequent blending of horror and magical realism. Conan's back, and his holiday set has been designed by a freaky New Agey guy living in the California desert and sporting a beard and a shalwar kameez.
Life in the good ole US of A. Weirdness, color and adventure.

Which brings me to thinking about dreams and wishes for 2011. I'm not really interested in New Year's resolutions, as they tend to be dropped after a couple of weeks. I'm thinking more along the lines of an overarching dream.

Adventure! Go places that fire up your imagination and inspire your writing. For me, that's traveling to places less familiar to Americans. For me, it was India, Russia, and now China. In 2011 it may be Istanbul. Take a notebook and fill it with sketches, ramblings, observations.

Pamper yourself between stints of hard work. Go for that massage, that spa visit, a day hike, a leisurely bike ride with friends.

Make a new writer friend. Have lunch, dinner, or a cuppa joe. Establish a pen-pal back and forth. Exchange ideas!

Subscribe to a foreign online paper. The Shanghai Daily? The Guardian? Expand your tight circle of where you get your info.

Make a gratitude list of all of your accomplishments of 2010. Don't fall into the trap of thinking about what you didn't accomplish. For a warning on this, check out Kelly Hashway's great post on Finding Balance: http://www.kellyhashway.com/apps/blog/show/5663079-finding-balance

Above all, don't take yourself so darn seriously! Have fun with what you do.

Seek adventure, take calculated risks, and more adventure! That's my mantra of 2011.
What's yours?

I'll think of you all fondly when I'm standing on the Great Wall of China, and freezing my ___ off as the Mongolian wind roars over the mountains. Cheerio!

book giveaway!

Today was our very first snow here in Boston. I find writing in the winter particularly satisfying, because I don't have that feeling that I should be doing something else. Are you kidding me? It's freezing out there! Why not stay home in my cozy socks and sip tea? As long as I get some work done, of course.

And work is exactly what I have ahead of me. If the draft in my bag at the moment is any indication, there are global revisions on the horizon. This is enough to give me a writerly crisis, but as it is a holiday-ish time of year, I'm trying not to stress about it. Too much. Where will the doubt and worry get me? Nowhere. Just wound up like a peppermint twist by the time I actually sit down and work on my new draft.

As a distraction from my current writing woes, I've got a book giveaway to share with you! To enter, follow my blog at it's new home: www.alisalibby.com/blog. I'm giving away Lauren Strasnick's new novel, Her and Me and You; The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan; Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle; and, of course, signed copies of The King's Rose and The Blood Confession. I plan to send the books out next week, after the holiday rush. Please check it out.

I'll be sure to blog again soon about my revising (rewriting) adventures. Until then: deep breaths. Cozy socks. Lots of tea.

The Demise of the mega-bookstore?

Barnes and Noble and Borders are both reporting troubling numbers. B&N seems to be holding on just barely, but Borders is closing yet more stores. I was talking to another writer friend of mine, and we had some interesting thoughts about why this might be happening, beyond the looming bugaboo of e-books.

I've always thought it strange that, even though young adult books are the fastest growing and most lucrative genre going right now, Barnes and Noble stores dedicate comparatively little space to this genre. Fiction for adults takes up easily more than three times the room, even though YA novels sell like hot cakes, and not just to the target audience. Lots of adults read YA too. Seems as though B&N isn't quite keeping up with the trends in the marketplace. What's more, they stock a very limited selection of YA novels, dedicating huge amounts of shelf space to best selling writers and very little to the well-reviewed midlisters. So a voracious reader might easily exhaust the selection at the local B&N and instead resort to ordering books online, or going to the library, where there is a wider selection of quality writing.

My friend also had a very interesting thought. She feels that the larger stores neglect regional needs. There are plenty of writers, like her and me, who are very well known in their own geographic region because we tend to do events near our homes to cut on travel costs. Word gets around about local novelists, and people go to their local bookstores looking for their books. But try to find one of our books at the local B&N or Borders and you can't. So all the benefit of the publicity we do regionally is lost on the megastores, and the slack is taken up by independent bookstores (and more power to them) as well as online sales. 

Ask any ten readers about the threat of e-books to the printed tome, and the majority will tell you they are too attached to the sensory experience of holding a book. The smell of printer's ink, the feel of the rough paper under our fingertips --they're part of the pleasure of reading. Perhaps these megastores should stop looking at the scary boogie man outside their doors, staring through their windows with digital eyes, and instead focus inwardly on improving how they go about peddling that ancient technological innovation: The good old book.

--
www.amykathleenryan.com

Thrilling Holiday Gifts for your Author Friends

The holidays are fast approaching and you need to find those perfect gifts, including ones for your writer friends! Susan Kaye Quinn’s fun post on her Ink Spells blog about holiday presents for writers got me inspired to research and think up more great gifts.

You could buy your special author friend a party dress made entirely out of paper—specifically, out of phone books, designed by the awesome Jolis Paon. What a cool way to recycle! How about a gift certificate to a day spa for a massage, focusing on your writer buddy’s troubled neck. Or what about a tropical cruise? Neal Schusterman, the YA thriller author swears by cruises, and says that’s where he writes his best novels! Does your friend like jewelry? What about custom jewelry for writers? Tickets to hear your friend’s favorite author speak will, no doubt, be appreciated. A chocolate keyboard? Or simply some random keys? If your beta reader has a philanthropic streak, you could donate money to his or her favorite scholarship fund. Pen.org, for instance, funds Freedom to Write and prison writing programs. Or you could donate to an SCBWI.org scholarship fund, such as the work in progress grant for a needy author. A gift certificate to your friend’s fave indie bookstore is always a sure bet. Does your friend like to entertain as well as write? Then how about a great authors coaster set? Cups that say “Be careful or you'll end up in my novel” are always conversations starters. Finally, for the fanciful cook or writer of historical fiction, you could always gift a digital Medieval cookbook, with recipes from 1390, some from Richard II’s own kitchen!

What is your dream present? Any other great ideas to add to the list? Feel free to list as many as you want! And don’t get too distracted by putting up the tree and making sprinkle cookies to keep on writing!

Are MFA programs really such a scam?

I just read this article in the Huffington Post about MFA programs. The main thrust of the article is to go after James Frey, who has created his own packaging business for young adult novels, and is courting writers by going into MFA programs and making presentations. I completely agree with this blogger when she says the programs shouldn't let Frey in, but I'm not sure I'm down with her take that many MFA programs are out to soak their students for money, without giving them the skills they need to survive as professional writers. I think more depends on the student than depends on the program. Here is the full text of the article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-rettig/a-million-exploited-mfas_b_787564.html

And here is the comment I wrote in response:

I agree that these MFA programs shouldn't let James Frey in for his song and dance. Nor should those students let themselves in for it. But in defense of MFA programs, I will say that I made connections in mine that have been invaluable to me professionally. And yes, I have published, and I've got a sustainable career as a writer. I may be in the minority, but I think that's because I didn't give up when the going got tough, and I've had a few lucky turns, for which I am very grateful. If not for my MFA program, I doubt I would have been in a position to be "lucky," and I might not have had the wisdom to avail myself of opportunities. MFA's aren't the only way to go, not by a long shot, but they're not all bad, either. (And incidentally, word to the wise, if you're planning on going for an MFA, get a job at the university you're attending if they offer a tuition benefit. Most do. My MFA was basically free. I had to work my butt off, but that's good prep for being a professional writer anyway.)

What do you think? Is Hillary Rettig being too hard on MFA programs, or am I being too easy on them? 

--
www.amykathleenryan.com

This makes me think I'm with the right publisher.

My publisher is St. Martin's Press, which is a subsidiary of MacMillan, a company that is taking the lead in standing up to the e-book thugs of the publishing industry. Read this excerpt from an article in STANFORD MAGAZINE, written by Bridget Kinsella:

Macmillan moved to institute a different pricing model—one that reflected, as Sargent wrote in his blog, a belief that "the first release of an e-book is worth more and people will pay more for it." In general, Macmillan insisted that Amazon was an agent for its titles and the publisher had the right to withhold the release of e-book editions unless Amazon agreed to sell them at a price the publisher deemed fair. Under this plan, the e-book price of a new release generally would start at about $15—with the expectation that the price would fall to about $10 as demand waned.

Amazon responded immediately by stealthily removing "buy" capability from its listings of all Macmillan titles. Furor among authors and customers followed. (Bemusement, too. Macmillan, highlighting what was often perceived as Amazon's pettiness, took out a full-page ad in the New York Times to boost an important title likely to suffer from an Amazon "blackout" at the moment of its publicity push. The ad, for The Checklist Manifesto by surgeon Atul Gawande, '87, drolly noted, "Available at booksellers everywhere except Amazon.")

Within days, Amazon backed down. The result was the ascension of an "agency" pricing model friendlier to publishers and one that kept the playing field somewhat more level for booksellers. It was an audience of about 500 national booksellers, at a February meeting in San Jose, who rose to applaud Macmillan.

For full text, go here: http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2010/novdec/show/publishing.html

I'm glad I'm with MacMillan. I'm also glad that the publishing industry is being proactive about the e-book phenom. (I think they learned something about it from the music industry.)

--
www.amykathleenryan.com

recharging

I liked Amy's last post about taking time to reflect in the midst of the writing process, getting your bearings before barreling ahead to the end of your draft. I've been doing my own brand of reflection lately: the kind that comes when a draft is done (for the moment) and it's time to put it aside and take a break.

So what do I do during this break? It's time to read as much as possible. I've got a too-long list of books to read, and I'm always eager to hear suggestions, if you have any! I'm also eager to watch movies and television programs that might spark a little something in my imagination. I am contemplating another project, of which I have an intriguing opening (at least, it intrigues me) and an outline that's not quite working yet; it's suffering a murky middle. I need to read and watch and think a lot to help clear this problem up.

Taking a break is fun, rejuvenating. But I can get a little twitchy - why am I not writing? I've got SO MUCH to do, so little time to do it. I should get going, shouldn't I? But this non-writing time is part of the process, too. Best not to rush it.

Taking stock.

After a long haul of writing at a breakneck pace, I've run out of steam. The scene I've had in my mind for months, the big turning point that leads to the grand finale is now written. From here, I work my way toward my ending.

But at the moment, I'm taking a pause. I'm at the crest of the hill and I'm looking around before I get back on my scooter and head down the curving road. I'm reading, thinking, imagining. I always feel as though I'm wasting my time at moments like these, but I try not to get too down on myself about it. Most of the time I can write, and I can write fast. Sometimes, though, I can't. I need to let my subconscious replenish. But there is a pattern to these pauses, I'm beginning to realize. The problem is I'm between acts.

I tend to subscribe to the three act mode of writing fiction, borrowed from the dramatic structure going all the way back to Shakespeare, and before. I use it because it works, and it gives me a framework for thinking about my story. The three act structure goes something like this:

First Act Begins- This is the hook you use to set up your main characters. 

First Act Break - Your heroes set off on their journey, also known as, "The point of no return."

Second Act - Your heroes begin their journey.

Mid Point Break - All is lost. The heroes are at their lowest, on the verge of giving up, but they pull it together and forge onward.

Second Act Break - Heroes make a decision that brings about the final challenge to vanquish the forces that hinder them.

Third Act - The Hero faces the antagonist and risks all to accomplish goal.

Ending - Hero either accomplishes goal or fails.

 

Always between acts I have to take a little caesura and retool my thinking. Right now I'm at the Second Act Break. All my characters are about to compromise themselves in ways that will cost them dearly. It's always my favorite point in any book I'm reading, but when I'm writing, I have to proceed with caution. 

Leading up to now, I've been giving myself the tools I'll need to write a bang up climax and a stirring resolution. Now I have to take stock of those tools, decide which to use, which ones need spiffing up, and which ones to discard. It would be wonderful if this were an entirely conscious process; then I'd have some control. But I find, at least for me, my themes are largely under the surface, working in ways I don't consciously manipulate. I've got to let them line up they way they need before I can start writing again.

Or maybe all this is rationalization. I'm writing a book I enjoy, and I'm afraid of finishing it, because then I will have to get down to the difficult work of revision, which always takes me about twice as long to do as the actual writing of the book. But I don't think this is all rationalization, because of that pattern. Always between acts, even if I don't realize I've reached the end of an act, I mysteriously run out of steam. As long as I get back to writing soon, I'm willing to accept this pause as a part of the process.

--
www.amykathleenryan.com

NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month is here, and I want to give a shout-out to all of those brave, wonderful writers out there who are setting to the task of a 50,000 first draft in one month's time. Sadly, I won't be participating this year - I still have to finish up this revision, and then I need to read and recharge. But that doesn't mean I won't be thinking of all of you, and looking forward to joining next year. In fact, the novel I'm currently revising was my Nano project last November. It's gone through a few changes over the past year, and I'm thrilled to still be working on it.

So, how goes it, so far? I want to hear about your mad first-drafting, so that I may live vicariously!

monsters!

I apologize for the re-post from my blog, but it's Halloween and I want to talk about monsters. Please comment and share your favorites!

Inspired by a post on the Enchanted Inkpot, as well as Halloween, I want to talk about monsters. I LOVE MONSTERS! I love reading about them and writing about them. Erzebet in The Blood Confession is about as monstrous as you can get – so obsessed with her own beauty that she’s willing to kill and bathe in her victim’s blood. In The King’s Rose I had some very different monsters to write about: King Henry, and – perhaps even more so – the dowager Duchess of Norfolk. I knew that whenever the Duchess swept into the room and appraised Catherine with her ice-cold eyes, sparks would fly.

As implied above, it’s the human-variety of monster that intrigues me the most. As for my favorite monster from literature, the first that came to mind was Carmilla, the titular character in J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampiric masterpiece. Carmilla’s monstrous identity is concealed behind a pretty, endearing facade. Carmilla’s affection for the main character makes her true nature that much more unsettling: they’re constantly walking arm and arm or whispering secret confidences. That’s awfully close proximity to a monster. And the blood-drenched nightmares “warning” the narrator still give me chills!

What about the monsters that are ourselves? I read Stephen King’s Carrie as a teenager, and I think it affected me so profoundly because the sad sack, depressed, troubled Carrie White was so sympathetic and repulsive – she was everything I feared I was, worthy of ridicule. What could be worse than our own fears about our true selves? And then, when she cracks and unleashes havoc on her tormenters – sweet revenge! Also, quite terrifying. The movie, in particular, scarred me at the age of thirteen.

Speaking of fears of self, I’m so glad that Ellen Booraem mentioned the Dementors and their connection to depression in the Inkpot post. This is much scarier than the scaly skin or eyeless faces: “Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself…soul-less and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.” (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

And speaking of Potter, I love a monster that has a connection to our hero. Voldemort’s mind-connection to Harry manifests itself in terrifying dreams. Also, Harry fears that he inherited some of Voldemort’s powers during their first face-off. Likewise, Wilhelmina Harker carries the mark of Dracula (the bite marks on her neck, the burn of a holy sacrament on her forehead) which is both danger and boon – they use this connection to track Dracula down. But they must be wary of any changes in the brave Wilhelmina; the evil aspect taking over her otherwise pure soul.

This comes up in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, too: she’s the good guy, slaying vampires. But that makes her sort of magical, not like a normal human – and therefore maybe a bit more like her fanged enemies than she would like to admit. Could she really belong to the night, like the demons she slays?

So not only do I love a good monster – especially one in a human guise, with true evil lying beneath the surface – but I also love a hero with some monstrous aspects, as well. It’s all a metaphor for the human condition: there is the potential for true good or true evil in all of us. Sometimes the scariest thing on earth is the face staring back at you in the mirror. We could all be monsters, if only to ourselves.

Working weekends.

As a full time writer, I work the normal week, Monday through Friday. I start my day attending to emails, checking sales ranks, publicity stuff, and other business involved with writing. Then I get to my five pages, which can take anywhere from 90 minutes to many hours, depending on how things flow. Then I spend time reading, because I consider reading to be part of my job as a writer. I never feel I'm wasting time if I'm plunged into a good book, reacquainting myself with modes of story telling that are different from my own approach. Sometimes my best ideas come from other books. This describes my average work day, with room for messy schedule changes. Ever since I became a full time writer, I've taken the weekends off.

But lately I've come to realize that always, my Monday mornings are slow. It takes me forever to get back into my book because over the weekend I lose my fire. And sometimes I don't get it back for several days.

Usually this isn't a serious problem. Until recently I've always been one of those writers who takes as much time as I want to write a book, and then when I feel it's ready, I submit. But having sold my science fiction series, now titled THE SKY CHASERS, suddenly I'm a deadline writer. I've got a year to turn in Book Two when it took me two years to write Book One. When I'm in the midst of a slow Monday morning, I feel as though time is ticking twice as fast, and I just can't type speedily enough. I'm starting to think I need to take a page from On Writing by Mr. King, who advises the new writer to write every day, even on weekends. That's what he's been doing for decades, and clearly it has served him well.

So for the first time since I gave up my day job, I'm a weekend writer. I did my five pages yesterday, a Saturday, and I'm about to settle in for five more today. Surprisingly, I'm finding that working more actually decreases my stress. With my momentum a constant, I feel that this book is writable. I'm willing to give up my days off for the next several months in exchange for the peace of mind. 

--
www.amykathleenryan.com

my writing process

I am sinking (slowly) into my revision process. I've typed up a bunch of notes, typed up an outline of the current draft (what the book is right now), and will now attempt to apply these notes to this outline. Ideally, this will create an outline of what I want the book to become.

Then I have to actually write this new book.

I often wonder if there are better ways to go about this process. Do other authors sit down, struck with inspiration, and start typing their novel on a blank page, with no notes to guide them? Is my devotion to my outlining process just a way of being lazy, or a control freak?

That said...this process has worked for me in the past, so why doubt it now? Maybe because I'm in the thick of it, staring at a lot of brightly highlighted notes and feeling daunted by all the work that lies ahead. It's exciting work, but it can make an author sink a little bit in her chair to think of it.

I'm planning on spending a lot of time on the book this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

Laughable Author Photos!

OMG!!! I stumbled across the funniest blog post I've seen in months. Flavorwire.com posted a bunch of hackneyed author poses. It seems that authors tend to do the "Thinkers Pose" with a hand propping up their chins (hiding saggy necks?), or pose at their writing desks, with pithy gazes, or--yick--pose with a smelly cigarette dangling from their lips. Do you have an author's photo on your jacketflap?

If so, what photo crime are you guilty of?

I'm a genius and I know it

Deep, tortured thinker

My studio is way cooler than yours

I'm a mess and that's awesome

Pretty Polly

Downer Debbie

Arrogant Adam

Keep scrolling down to see every category and get your daily belly laugh!

http://flavorwire.com/117566/against-promotional-author-photographs

writing community

I went to an event for writers last week - a chance to chat and mingle with other children's/YA lit writers, all of us at varying stages of our careers/projects, etc. It was really nice to talk to other writers to feel like I'm not alone in this crazy publishing endeavor. In fact, it made me think of what I advice I would give to writers just starting out - what advice I would give to myself years ago. Here are a few thoughts:

* Join a group like SCBWI, especially a regional chapter. Attend conferences.
* Connect with other writers online. Read blogs, friend people on facebook, follow them on twitter.
* Verlakay.com is another good resource - writers swear by the message boards, which offer a wealth of information about writing.
* Start a critique group. Workshop your writing.
* Other places to find readers: goodreads.com, librarything.com.

Mind you, I'm still struggling with putting myself "out there" in this way. It's difficult to keep up with all of the online stuff. But I can really see the value of it now. Writers need each other for encouragement, and for help promoting each other's work, and spreading the word about new books, in general. Even if you're just starting to write, that doesn't make it too early to become a part of the community. And if you do - look for me!

And if you're a teenager, there are a bunch of publications that accept ONLY submissions from teens. I created a list of them on my blog: http://alisamlibby.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/stuff-for-young-writers/.

monster in the box

Hi all - sorry for the long hiatus. My day job has conspired to keep me away from all things extracurricular this summer, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things!

That said, I'm contending with a different kind of monster at the moment - the monster of my current draft. I've been away from this project for a while now, and it's time that we meet again. It's time that I print out my novel-in-progress and sit down with a red pen and start diligently making notes about what I should fix and rework. But wait - I have to do laundry. And buy groceries. And maybe this evening I'll bake a batch of cookies for no apparent reason...Yeah, I think you get the picture. There are some real life issues that keep me away from this book (My full time job for one, plus a distracting little book entitled Mockingjay) but that doesn't entirely solve the issue. Were all things to miraculously disappear from my schedule and I was packed off to some writer's retreat in a sufficiently pretty woodland region with nothing to distract me - well, I would be thrilled, but I think I would also be terrified of what I would find on the printed page. The words that are trying - and failing - to evoke what I see in my head.

So, I think I'll give myself a deadline: one week to get my act together, get back to blogging regularly (mea culpa) and then get on with it. And now I've made this statement public so I'll have to stick to it. Or else bake more cookies. It's really a toss up.

Visiting an old friend: A Wrinkle in Time.

I've been rereading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, reacquainting myself with the awesomeness of this book. L'Engle does so many things in those pages that must have been pretty unusual in her day. Some of them are STILL unusual. For one, her heroine isn't particularly attractive, though she is saved by having "dreamboat eyes." Otherwise she has unruly mousy hair and garish braces on her teeth. Even better, she is clumsy, recalcitrant, unfriendly, and disliked. Remember, this was written when people were watching almost nothing but "model families" on TV. Imperfection was most often hidden away, but L'Engle celebrates it, showing how Meg's stubbornness is the very thing that is most needed to save her father, who is being kept imprisoned on a distant planet by an evil entity.

When I was a kid I must have read this book about ten times. I read all kinds of books all the time, but this was the one that kept me coming back. There's something comforting about Meg's family life, a nice escape when my own family life seemed less than wonderful. I was a kid who often felt awkward and unsettled, like I didn't fit anywhere, like I could do nothing right, so to see a heroine like Meg in a book made me feel so much better about being me. What a gift L'Engle had! She wrote thrilling, imaginative stories that were somehow also enormously reassuring.

L'Engle died a few years ago at a ripe old age, but I still think about her from time to time. She's not the only reason, but she's a big reason why I write for kids. I don't know how successful I am, but I always try to write books that will make kids feel at home, and will also make them feel better about being the gloriously imperfect people they are. Thanks, Madeleine, for being such a good writing teacher. And thanks, A Wrinkle in Time, for being such a good friend.

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www.amykathleenryan.com

Yay! A Girl's Best Friend Debuts Today

Today is more than the first day of September, it’s the debut of A Girl’s Best Friend the book I wrote for the fabulous, new Innerstar University series from American Girl. You’ve heard of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” tales, where you interact with the story, and have a say in where you venture off to. Traditionally, most were adventure stories aimed at boys, where it was a matter of creeping into the snake-infested cave, or choosing to stay on the path, only to be confronted with a snarling Grizzly.

A Girl’s Best Friend is more about friends and school and figuring out what it is to be really loyal. All, of this, with a scoop of pure fun… and a snaggle of puppies—cuddly, drooly and dashing off faster than you could ever catch them.

Innerstar University has an online gaming aspect too. There are more than twenty endings, which was a challenge to write—like figuring out a jigsaw puzzle. Some of the endings go online, where the party continues!

Don’t take my word for it, dear readers, explore for yourself.

http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Best-Friend-American-Girl/dp/1593697597/ref=tmm_pap_title_popover?ie=UTF8&qid=1283356699&sr=1-1

I’ll be at the Brooklyn Book Festival, in the vendor section (because we signed up too late to be in the author group *grumble, grumble* ), on Sunday, September 12^th, so come on down and say hi, and check out A Girl’s Best Friend, while you’re there.

http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/BrooklynBookFestival/festival.html