{only real people here}

I don’t want my characters to serve as symbols. I want them to feel like people. I want them to feel like you, and your family, and your friends, and your enemies. And I don’t want them to feel real ‘in spite of’ their challenges. I want those challenges to be part of what makes them real.

After all, they’re part of what makes us real.

Here’s the thing about fiction. It’s one of the ways we understand the world. We tell ourselves stories to work out who we are, and to make sense of reality. Stories are incredibly powerful – and incredibly dangerous. By making things up you can tell the truth; or you can create, perpetuate and reinforce a lie. Simplistic, tokenistic ‘uses’ of disability in fiction – as though it’s a thing to be ‘used’ and not an intrinsic facet of the human condition – are a way of not telling the truth. And by not telling ourselves the truth in our stories, we make it easier to avoid the truth in our daily lives.

The truth is, every one of us is differently abled. Every single one.”

Stephanie Saulter, author of GEMSIGNS, guests posts at SF Signal.

Weekend Drive-Thru

The Guardian had a piece today on Angry Arthur, by Hiawyn Oram, and the illustrations of Satoshi Kitamura. This book is part of “Get Glasgow Reading” this year for the 0-5 set, and it’s all about tantrums. The illustration really matches the fury of Arthur. Speaking of illustrations, via Chicken Spaghetti, the NYT has already chosen their 2008 Best Illustrated book list. A whole ton of them are Cybils picks. Yay, us.

The pink-tressed Laini (whose name I’m rather partial to!) is holding grudges in a way that totally makes me laugh — I have to admit that even three years on, I’d go in and FIND that waiter — which is probably a really bad use for a time machine).

Ooh, ick… Bookmoot’s been sick! She’s had an –ectomy or an –oscopy. Yikes! Go and wish her well while she’s on drugs and won’t remember! She might spill something good…

Book Evangelist Jen Robinson is guest blogging at ShelfSpace, which is part of ForeWord magazine. She talks about giving the gift of reading, and her number two suggestion in how to give kids the gift of reading really resonated with me:

2. Let the children in your life see that reading is important to you. Mention it when you encounter something interesting in a book or a newspaper. Turn off the TV, and let kids see you reading for relaxation. Bring books for everyone when you travel on planes. Listen to audiobooks in your car on road trips. Clutter up your house with books and magazines and newspapers. Demonstrate a culture that values reading, all types of reading.

I know too many people who only read TV Guide and don’t understand why their kids don’t just pick up the reading habit — and a habit of excellence in their schoolwork — just by osmosis. Go, Jen. Well said.

Like me, Sara’s always a little leery of books with big buzz, thus her enthused review of Graceling has gotten me on tenterhooks to come HOME and get some BOOKS already. This is killing me!

And on a personal writing note: Just got word from Secret Agent Man that my next book, MARE’S WAR, is being shopped to the UK, and is being offered to fifteen (!) houses. That seems… a bit… extreme to me, but here’s hoping something good comes out of it.

Toon Thursday, Plus Neil x 2!

And now for something completely different…

This is a historic moment. The reason is twofold (or should that be “the reasons ARE twofold”?). Firstly, though I’ve been writing like crazy this week, apparently the toon part of my brain was watching way too much CNN, so for the first time ever, here’s a political cartoon on Finding Wonderland. I hope it is an entertaining diversion. Secondly, this is a historic moment because this cartoon occupies the very last page in my sketchbook. Said sketchbook is mostly cartoons, too, which made me realize just how dang many of these I’ve posted. But now I’ll have to either start using the giant sketchbook, which is unwieldy but has many blank pages left; or buy a new one. Hmm…


I’ve been meaning to post a few of these links for almost three weeks now, which is very sad. Firstly, thanks to the GoodReads newsletter, I ran across interviews with two authors whom I really like–Neil Gaiman and Neal Stephenson. Definitely two iconoclastic people.

Okay, I guess I wasn’t done with politics for today. Back on a political note, visit ArtsVote2008, a program of Americans for the Arts, to find out both presidential candidates’ positions on arts policy.

Right. Back to lit stuff. I was informed by Gina R. that FW is featured on an aggregator site called Alltop – Top Children’s Literature News–above the fold, no less! Readers’ Rants is on there, too, along with a host of other familiar faces from the kidlitosphere. Lastly, speaking of the kidlitosphere, don’t forget to nominate your favorite books for the Cybils! Now you can also help spread the word–and the love–with a downloadable and printable flyer that includes a list of all 2007 shortlisted titles.

Reminds me I’ve gotta sit right down and come up with MY nominees…

Because Da College, She Isna’ Cheap

This is a public service announcement: College Isn’t Cheap.

Hello, People Who Know Seniors! mental_floss: Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix , is giving away college MONEY. Listen to me now. ¡M-O-N-E-Y! And you don’t have to be a 4.0 — or even a 3.5 — to get it. mental_floss honors even those of us not on the honor roll. All you have to do is …want. Then, write.

The Contest: In 750 words or less, explain why you (as the most deserving person on the planet) should win a $10,000 prize for tuition/books in the fall of 2009. The contest is open to full-time students pursuing an undergraduate degree at an accredited two-year or four-year college or university in the U.S. or Canada in the fall of 2009. Essays must be original work and should reflect the tone of mental_floss magazine. Winning essays must be truly memorable. They should be easy-to-read, funny, quirky and creative without being pretentious. Just (we hope) like mental_floss magazine. The prizes will be awarded on the overall quality of your essay.

Eligibility: You must be 18 years of age or older (by August 15, 2009) and a legal resident of the United States (except Puerto Rico), the District of Columbia or Canada (except Quebec) in order to enter.

Go on, read the fine print and if you’re eligible, or your kid is eligible, or your neighbor’s kid is eligible, stand on their front porch, send them text messages and show up on their dates until they actually put fingers to keyboard and enter.

This has been a public service announcement: Thank you.

Because Da College, She Isna' Cheap

This is a public service announcement: College Isn’t Cheap.

Hello, People Who Know Seniors! mental_floss: Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix , is giving away college MONEY. Listen to me now. ¡M-O-N-E-Y! And you don’t have to be a 4.0 — or even a 3.5 — to get it. mental_floss honors even those of us not on the honor roll. All you have to do is …want. Then, write.

The Contest: In 750 words or less, explain why you (as the most deserving person on the planet) should win a $10,000 prize for tuition/books in the fall of 2009. The contest is open to full-time students pursuing an undergraduate degree at an accredited two-year or four-year college or university in the U.S. or Canada in the fall of 2009. Essays must be original work and should reflect the tone of mental_floss magazine. Winning essays must be truly memorable. They should be easy-to-read, funny, quirky and creative without being pretentious. Just (we hope) like mental_floss magazine. The prizes will be awarded on the overall quality of your essay.

Eligibility: You must be 18 years of age or older (by August 15, 2009) and a legal resident of the United States (except Puerto Rico), the District of Columbia or Canada (except Quebec) in order to enter.

Go on, read the fine print and if you’re eligible, or your kid is eligible, or your neighbor’s kid is eligible, stand on their front porch, send them text messages and show up on their dates until they actually put fingers to keyboard and enter.

This has been a public service announcement: Thank you.

Weekend Update

It’s a long “bank holiday” weekend here in Scotland, the week of the Glasgow Fair, which is supposed to be a high time celebrating sun and picnics, but which will be a weekend of thunderstorms and showers. Never mind. We have books.

Fine Lines sends up one of my all-time FAVORITE books, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase — some good fun there. Kelly reviews a UK novel which isn’t yet on the American publishing horizon, Just Henry, which is well-worth looking for (hint to American publishers looking for a classic). Gail’s “Computer Guy” reviews The QuickPick Adventure Society at Original Content, and advocates for “a whole series of civil engineering related adventure books.” (Um, Mr. Johnson? Could you take him up on that?)

Shannon Hale debuts the paperback covers of the Bayern books — I think Enna’s gorgeous, but I don’t like River Secrets at all. (What is UP with Razo’s mouth?) And Eisha hilariously reminds writers what being a fan is all about — it’s the love. It’s the faith. And then, it’s the break-up.

I DEEPLY appreciate Laurie Halse Anderson. The other day, she did a post on the financial realities of writing that made me want to hug her, and possibly walk her dog (and clean up after it — and it’s a BIG dog). Even with the little writers get paid, and the near impossibility of supporting oneself with one’s art — which she made clear — she said something very lovely:

“The course of a creative life is littered with lots of crappy temp jobs. It’s nice to get paid for living your dream, but the truth is, the real benefit of an artistic life comes in the joy and excitement of the work itself, the moments that no one else can experience; when you are in the story and you are surrounded by magic.”

That’s what it’s all about. That, and your audience, who, like Eisha, will hang in there with you, if you’re lucky, like true fans.


Backchat in the Blogosphere: This next week, we’re going to be talking about YA literature — the controversies and issues of writing for this field, the way the world looks at writers and readers of YA literature, and how to connect more readers with some excellent books, etc. Margo Rabb has kicked it off with her fabulous piece in The New York Times and we’ll be revisiting the issue with personal anecdotes (the struggle for editors to decide where to place your book publication-wise) and commentary later in the week. For now — go, read Margo’s article.

Reminds me of the papers on Buffy…

Via Mitali’s Fire Escape, a Carnival of YA lit — portraying people of color in SF/F. Some really interesting reading to be had here, and this is, as always, a topic dear to our hearts, as we at the Wonderland tree house feel it’s vital to reflect the worlds of young readers in their books.

Don’t miss the piece on Jacob Black, the heavily exoticized Quileute character in the Stephanie Meyers’ TWILIGHT series — is he really anything more than a metaphor to Bella Swan (and aaargh– the name. Beautiful Swan. Is she anything more than a badly cut out paper doll? But that’s a post for another day.)? Love the scholarly angle on this one — reminded me of those thesis papers on Buffy, back in the day (what IS IT with us and vampires?!).

The anti-princess rant from an anti-pink, anti-blonde-Disney-princess role modeling Mom made me smile. However, “I Didn’t Get A Heroine” is really …well, enlightening, to say the least. At least we’ve now found someone who’s read one of the KimaniTRU books and can comment. The words ‘graphic’ and Street Lit’ don’t begin to cover it, methinks. The tagline for the KimaniTRU series is “Reflecting your dreams. Your issues. In your voice,” and the irony there is very heavy indeed.

A happier discovery is the Virgin Comics graphic PANCHATANTRA: THE TALL TALES OF VISHNU SHARMA, which includes a cameo by a murderous Harry Potter. Heee! Has anyone else read any Virgin graphics? I’ll be looking for reviews of this one.

And that’s the work avoidance this hour.

Controversy in the Blogosphere…Or, Blogoversy in the Kidlitosphere. Or–never mind.


There ain’t room in this town fer the both of us. So I challenges ye–dueling blog posts at forty paces. Ready…aim…

Well, I didn’t really want to post about the discussion going on about a site called Kidzbookbuzz.com, and the ensuing hubbub about whether it’s right or wrong to offer a pay-to-play blog tour service, whether it’s right or wrong to compensate bloggers, what it means for the overall perception of blog tours and the kidlitosphere, etc. etc. I don’t want to get up on my soap box. Some feel that the blogosphere thrives on controversy, but I’m strictly conflict-avoidant over here.

But. Having said that, I wanted to say a few things anyway. I think there’s room in the kidlitosphere for different types of blog tours, pay-to-play or not, as long as all parties–especially authors and their publicists–are clear on who is offering exactly what. The kidlitosphere continues to grow and change, and it can be difficult to keep up with the netiquette associated with reviews, interviews, and ARCs, but hopefully we can all continue to behave professionally without losing that informal sense of community and fun that we know and love.

It was mentioned on one blog that the SBBT/WBBT have an exclusivity about them, and I wanted to say that I haven’t felt that–I feel like the event is special, but I don’t feel like I’m part of a special group. Finding Wonderland sort of got involved in it by being in the right place at the right time. The small size of the group, to me, doesn’t connote exclusivity. In fact, I find the size to be comfortable and unintimidating. I feel like there’s more room for everyone’s individuality as bloggers to really blossom and be appreciated. I might feel differently if there were fifteen, or twenty, or fifty interviews a day.

But truly, there has to be room out there for a variety of individual visions about this type of project. Just like there needs to be (and is) room out there for individual authors’ visions as realized in their stories. It’s not a bad metaphor–sometimes the world of published authors can seem, to a non-published author, like an exclusive club, a clique that we (and by “we” I mean “me) are longing to break into but are waiting for…well, the right place at the right time.

I want to conclude on a positive note about the SBBT/WBBT, an inspirational moment from this past week that really made us very glad that we’ve been participating, and makes me feel like we’re all doing the right thing in our own unique ways (okay, sorry, that was sort of barf-inducing, but you know what I mean). Last week TadMack and I were contacted by someone putting together a scholarly book of interviews with Sherman Alexie, and asked if we’d be willing to include our WBBT interview. How cool is that? And how lame am I for saying “how cool is that”? Please don’t answer the second question.

{EDIT} – Tad here, putting in my two centavos. I’m really chuffed about the Alexie book inclusion, too. What an honor!! We’re really excited that our little corner of the blogosphere was able to honor someone of Mr. Alexie’s status, and for someone else to feel that our interaction with him is something to be shared. From this, we can only hope more people pick up his books!

And that’s what it’s about — the books.

I wanted to really respond to some of the book buddies I’ve met through participation in Poetry Friday and others who aren’t part of the group — Guys, this isn’t meant to shut you out! I promise we’re not thinking you’re “unclean,” and this isn’t some hideous trip back to high school — we’re not working to exclude. Blog tours are huge unwieldy beasts — if you could only see how much darned WORK it is to just organize the people who ARE in SBBT/WBBT… it’s a massive effort, a drain of time and resources. It seems sad to distance from the group because that activity is full. PLEASE join in the One Shot World Tours and Under Radar Reads promotions that take place the first Monday of the month. All of the crazy stuff we do and Chasing Ray organizes are about BOOKS and spreading the love — not about exclusivity or stats. Please come and join in — there’s never enough voices and hands connecting kids and young adults with great books.

Thanks, A.F., for posting about this.

Weekend BookCandy

Another don’t miss interview with Our Jane (Yolen) on her upcoming book! (Via SF Signal.)

Girlz Rawk!

“The march of female empowerment has even hit the Smurf village. Those blue Belgian characters “three apples high”, have long had only one woman in their hundred-strong tribe: Smurfette. But with a new film in the offing, Hendrik Coysman, head of the company that holds the Smurf rights, has said that there will now be “a greater female presence in the Smurf village”.

The times, they are a’changin’… even in Smurfville (or wherever the heck Smurfs live). Who knew? Females in the comics/graphic sphere are a presence growing ever greater, according to The Guardian. This article covers our usual faves at Dark Horse and Minx as well as DC, talks up The Plain Janes and sequel (whoo!) and points out some other girl-centric graphic sites, including The Ormes Society, which is named after the legendary pioneering cartoonist of color Jackie Ormes, and is an organization dedicated to supporting black female comic creators and promoting the inclusion of black women in the comics industry as creators, characters and consumers, and the brilliant Girl-Wonder, which is just THE find of the day, has some really cool comics onsite, and probably world’s cutest t-shirts.

Also via the Signal site:

I suppose J. K. Rowling could give me 1.12 billion reasons in favor of it: get your formula just right and you can enjoy worldwide sales, film and television options, vibrating-toy-broom licensing fees, Chinese-language bootlegs of your work, a kind of limited immortality (L. Frank Baum who?) and — finally — genuine grown-up readers. But where’s the artistic satisfaction? Where’s the dignity?

Dave Itzkoff in the NY Times continues to hand out the most backwards of compliments to a very few YA writers as he reviews Un Lun Dun. Will the rest of you other YA writers please find some dignity. Mr. Itzkoff thanks you.


CONTEST ALERT! Via Cynsations, who offers an additionally excellent freebie for YA librarians, Teens Reads Too is giving away “A(Nearly) 30 Books…In (Almost) 30 Days.” Go forth! Get free Books for Valentine’s Day!

Happy Lazy Sunday!

A Hogmanay Hootenany

Wow, it seems like only yesterday, the Cybils were still in the nomination stage, and we anxiously kept checking the list to see what else we could track down at the library. And now I can report that Saturday night at …um, midnight in the UK, anyway, our list was pushed screaming into the world.

Oh, it was not an easy birth by any means.
There were those books which each of us were clutching and sobbing over and writhing on the floor and drumming our heels to force everyone else into voting for them because they were our PRECIOUS LOVELY BABIES, but… *sigh* There’s just a limit to the number of books we can foist off on the judges without giving them hives, and that’s all there is to it. We’ve got to stop somewhere, but people, the books of 2007 — are amazing. Thank-you to everyone who took part in the Cybils, by nominating or reading or talking up your favorite books. It’s all about the books, isn’t it? Look for the Science Fiction/Fantasy shortlist on January 1 to ring in the new year.

So much fun stuff going on! British station ITV has an interview with JK Rowling tonight which the British SCBWI is buzzing about (here’s a clip). The documentary follows her through the last year of writing the Harry Potter series. So many people on our Cybils team really responded strongly to the book, so here’s hoping this shows up on American TV for the HP7 fanbase sometime soon.

Quite an honor has been bestowed upon children’s author Jacqueline Wilson. She’s now Dame Jacqueline, having been made a peer of the British Empire. I’ve only read one Jackie Wilson book, but The Illustrated Mum, about a mother with tons of tats who isn’t always able to take care of her kids, due to her bi-polar disorder, left me in tears. She’s an amazing writer, is our Dame Jacqueline, and I look forward to reading more of her books now that I’m in the UK (and the Cybils are over).

Hey – want to learn a little Latin? A little learning isn’t always a dangerous thing.

Once a graphic novel about an Islamic childhood, told from the point of view of a young girl, Persepolis is now a short film. Has anyone else seen this? I’m very interested, and the graphic looks really interesting. Hmm! Something else to look forward to on the TBR list.

Bottom Shelf Books leaves us laughing this year with the best list of book resolutions — from book characters themselves. The Giving Tree vows this year to stop letting that wretched little boy walk all over her. Stop by to see who else is making resolutions. And don’t forget to leave one of yours!

It’s bad luck to wish you a Happy Hogmanay, according to Scottish tradition, so I’m not — until tomorrow, anyway. Enjoy your burning sticks (which is what a Hogmanay is, literally), fireworks, bubbly drinks, and animal-skin wrapped processions. (Also part of historic Hogmanay celebrations, strangely enough. And don’t get me started on the decorated herring in Dundee). Find a good looking dark-haired man to be the first over your door step after midnight, visit friends and bring them the traditional gifts of coal, shortbread, salt, black bun (a kind of fruitcake) and whiskey — and play safely, kids.