Month: October 2006

The Guardian’s podcast this weekend included Jonathan Stroud reading from Ptolomey’s Gate, the third and final book in the Bartimaeus Trilogy.

It seems like so many things are ending… the warm weather of Indian Summer seems to have finally worn out its extended lease, the month is ending, and we are finally both entering and leaving October Country. I have always loved the metaphor that Bradbury presents in this series of stories, in that ‘undiscovered country’ of imagination. I think the October Country is where my imagination lives most of the time, but it’s only in the autumn that others join me there.

I don’t mean that I’m a Halloween person necessarily — I’m not all that fond of being importuned by costumed little strangers questing for candy — but the sort of melancholic half-light of time changes and shadows, slivers of moon and the wind rustling across dryness of stalks and leaves makes room for the senses, seems to speak to another part of the mind. In the sunfiltered days of autumn, before the endless rains and the dregs of the year, some of the best dreams are yet waiting to be discovered.

When I was very small and fiction-deprived, I read Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables over and over and over and over. Before I ever knew what it was, from ages nine through eleven I wrote what is now called ‘fan fiction,’ my own sequels and new endings to the novel, where I either wrote out Gilbert altogether, or added another boy who wasn’t such a git — and then I forgot about it before growing older and learning, safely away at boarding school in high school, that there were actual sequels to my hands-down-favorite-heart-pulling-vocabulary-expanding novel of all time. So you can see how the news I learned via Fuse#8 has me shrieking blindly at the screen, “NO!!!! NO!!!! NO!!!!!!” Because honestly — a prequel novel before Green Gables? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, it’s not going to be my stained sweats… via Chasing Ray we are clued in to a funny conversation about what to wear for a book signing from authors chatting on Justine Larbalestier’s blog — What to Wear is something we should all think of as we’ll be giving readings and signings in the next year or two. My uniform of choice is sweats… but after all the commentary, I’m thinkin’…. maybe not.

Since I am a big fan of BRIEF — ( not that I can do it, thank you fellow Flickr Fictioneers for reminding me), I cherished the intensely short, six-word stories at Wired Magazine, which I discovered via Bookshelves of Doom. Of the myriads funny (and unreprintable) listed, one of my favorites: Bang postponed. Not Big enough. Reboot. – David Brin

Something quite exciting for those of us who aspire to write fantasy with strong female characters: Tamora Pierce is coming to our end of the universe! WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 Pierce swans into town with her newest novel, BEKA COOPER #1: TERRIER, which just came out the 24th. According to the details on Cody’s Books’ website, Beka Cooper lives 200 years before Pierce’s popular character Alanna. Born and raised in the bowels of the Lower City, Beka is now a rookie with the law-enforcing Provost’s Guard. She’s shy, but her terrier-like demeanor and quick wits make her a fierce opponent for the Lower City’s criminals. When the city’s pigeons give Beka clues to two underworld conspiracies that include exploiting and murdering men and children, Beka thinks they are linked, and she will stop at nothing to arrest the perpetrators. Welcome to the beginning of an exceptional new series…” Seating is first come, first served, and readers will be let in between 6 pm and 7 pm. It’ll be crowded, but if you’re a huge fan, it’ll be worth it, at Cody’s Fourth Street, Berkeley.

“So, tell me again… Why do people do this?” I asked my Irish friend.
“For the same reason that people climb a mountain, or run a marathon,” he replied with some asperity.
And I thought to myself, “That stupid of a reason, eh?”
Yep. It’s just to say “I can.”
I already know I can, but I got hornswoggled into National Novel Writing Month anyway. Eek. So the month of November will be just a joy. I will be: a.) substitute teaching the first week and a half, b.) planning a Thanksgiving Pageant, c.) badly writing 50,000 words for a new novel, d.) continuing to write/edit my historical fiction piece, e.) working with my editor on another piece, f.) planning a brunch g.) finalizing plans for Thanksgiving in Monterey. I plan to blame all of my stress on those who regularly participate in such madness and talked me into it (yes, A. Fortis, I mean YOU!), but I think that even though the schedule will be crazy, it will be doable.

I have learned this year, if nothing else, to be really, really, really prolific. It may be that I’m just blowing smoke every day, but it’s writing, which is actually a good fourth of the battle. In today’s Chronicle, (in which a professor of mine from my alma mater was honored YAY Micheline and congrats to Yiyun, too! ), one of the women interviewed talked about whatever we have in our backgrounds as being fodder for us learning useful writing habits. Yiyun was studying to be a doctor; I am learning to take all of the time and careful research that I brought into preparing lesson plans into creating plans for stories. Neither portion of our adult lives was wasted doing something before writing… now we can both just bring what discipline and meticulousness that we learned and apply it to now. That’s a comforting thought.

Still… all this cramming-the-writing-in stuff sound like it makes about as much sense as running a marathon. (With apologies to those who run. I’m sure it seems like a great idea at the time.) Still, it’s a way to jumpstart all the time you lose shopping and visiting during the holidays (okay, okay, it’s not LOST time, but you know what I mean!), and it’s going to help me hopefully be well on my way toward finishing something in time to start the round of publishing houses in January. It’s going to be a busy November… maybe in December I’ll take up yoga.

Things are going by in a blur! I’m reading like a mad dog for the Cybils, trying to remember to sit down and read through all the paperwork in preparation to vote, launching off into an historical fiction novel, and starting to finalize plans for my non-traditional Thanksgiving by-the-foggy-sea. I took the time to read the paper this weekend, and you’ll want to check out The Chronicle’s two great articles on National Book Award finalist Gene Yang’s graphic novel American Born Chinese.
The Chron’s online Asian Pop column has a great author interview as well, and and Yang’s nonreaction to finding out he’d placed as a finalist is posted on his blog.

After reading all the pieces, what stuck with me were Yang’s comment regarding the state of Asian American culture today. He said, “I think the Asian American community right now is in the midst of defining itself. For a while I think we were all trying to be white. Then there was a period of time when we were trying to be black. And now we’re finally coming up with something that’s truly our own.” That reminded me very much of Justina Chen Headley’s Patty Ho character in Nothing But the Truth… at some point, cultural clarity must exist for every child or teen to be truly whole. But getting there — is tricky. It requires some excellent books and some straight talk. And this cartoon? Reminds me of every interaction I ever had with any new African American student in my predominantly Caucasian school. If we weren’t somehow cousins, obviously, we must date. Erg. Someday, someone has to write a YA book about how to balance being okay with people of your own race while completely avoiding them in your junior high classroom. (And incidentally? Sorry, Raymond Brinson… you were an okay guy… Really.)

Kate DiCamillo has warmed a lot of hearts with her middle-grade novels and picture books. In this interview, she talks about her most recent awards and how success has been kind of a surprise. A good surprise, however.

Writers and readers who know the digital revolution has only just begun should be interested in Adobe Digital, a new E-Reader software that will enable readers to better manage their digital publications. Authors on the fence about “someday” looking at their electronic rights should make that ‘someday’ soon, and start speaking up for retaining those rights; although most publicists, agents and editors claim that there is no YA market for electronic books, they may be in for a shock — the market is changing.

Don’t miss the Guardian Unlimited’s interview with Eoin Colfer. Colfer reads a bit from his newest Artemis Fowl book, and shares a clip of his PR tour… which has turned into a sort of comedy tour called Fairies, Fiends and Flatulence during which he kind of waves around his books says, “They’re out there, buy them if you like,” and simply tells deranged stories. And no, don’t ask — he doesn’t know why he’s doing it either.

Now, you know how I feel about celebrity authors… and earlier this month, yet another pecked her way through the non-literary shell and was hatched. That being said, All Hail the Queen… I give up. I will now officially state that Everyone has the right to endlessly reinvent themselves… and if their latest invention is children’s author, so mote it be. Further, until I actually read their books, I will reserve my snark.
Ahem.
But STILL! Could they all STOP now!?

Well, the World Cup it is not, but to my mind, it should be at least as important (and include face painting, screaming, and a requisite three day party in the streets of an Italian city. Oh, okay. Maybe not the screaming. But definitely Italy should figure in somehow…). Creating a piece of children’s literature worth reading is a major accomplishment, and we want to honor the accomplishment of the people who gave kids and young adults their best this year.

I’m jazzed to be on the Cybils YA Nominating Committee, and we need you to step up and start nominating what you’ve loved in this year’s YA novel crop. We don’t all read or love the same thing, by any means, and you may have gotten tired of hearing the same novels talked up in the blogosphere, so speak up — we want to hear what struck you as wonderful, funny, quirky, and worth passing on. Just remember – only one nomination per category, por favor, so make it count!

Non-fiction books for all ages, graphic novels, picture books and poetry is also going to get this treatment, so don’t be shy – visit the Cybils website and tell us where your kid-lit explorations have led you this year. You’re an opinionated person — admit it. So nominate your favorite!

Tru… Romance?
Publishers Weekly reports that Harlequin is introducing a YA line for African American girls. Kimani TRU is the first romance genre dedicated to what Kimani Press feels is an underserved target market… er, audience. “African-American teens are underserved in today’s literary climate with stories that solely dwell on the negative influences of the streets,” states Linda Gill, general manager of Kimani Press. “Our goal is to reach out and embrace young adult readers with stories that are true to their life experiences, but that also encourage growth, and empowerment. At times, teens feel alone with the issues they are facing … and in KIMANI TRU novels they will meet characters they can ultimately learn from,” Gill concludes.

The novels will debut in 2007, and promise to present “characters that navigate this
crucial period and triumph through these hardships.” The line is especially proud to debut the line with the work of 17-year-old Cassandra Carter, and another under-30 author, Cecil Cross II, who they hope will be able to catch the true voice of African American young adults.
Hm.

A new to-be-read recently reviewed by ChildLit Book Club (the blogger responsible for the fabulous Cybils icon design) is going on my booklist – it’s Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce. This novel takes place in a tiny Welsh town, and sounds like it’s a good one for boy readers. Especially since someone I know loves all things Wales (ahem, A.F.), it’s worth checking out!

ust say …Happy Bunny?
Oh, WOW. PW also reports that the Texas Alliance of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America is going to be using HAPPY BUNNY, the über-snarky, plastered everywhere white rabbit for it’s campaign ads. Good grief.

Via Ursula LeGuin’s blog I found Fairytales for Cynics, wherein LeGuin reviews The Ladies of Grace Adieu And Other Stories, by Susanna Clarke. Clarke has written some fabulous fantasy novels that depict another England in which magic wakes up again. Definitely going on my to-be-read book list.

A sad truth of my life is that I’ve never even considered who wrote the six volume series of Mary Poppins adventures, and saw it only as one of the most aggravating Disney movies ever (although there are many more recent ones in the running, sans the winsome Julie Andrews). However, here’s a great piece on the P.L. Travers, who was the genius behind the original STORY, not the horrifying musical. I take quite a savage joy in the fact that she couldn’t stand Walt Disney either. Hee!

The Cybils will be accepting nominations for the best books of 2006 through November 20, 2006. Books will be judged in the following categories: Picture Book, Middle Grade Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy/Sci Fi, Picture Book Non Fiction, Non Fiction (Middle Grade/Young Adult), Graphic Novel, Poetry. DO read more and find out how to nominate a book for the award and/or nominate your blogger-self to serve on a nominating/judging committee at Big A little a.

All right, back to the salt mines.

Kudos, kudos, kudos to Aquafortis! Yay!

Meanwhile, finally, my opinion actually counts. Okay, not for money, but still! Over at Big A little aI learned that there will be a kids lit award given by …kidbloggers! Book Buds’ Anne Boles Levy is playing ‘Name that Book Award.’ The names which I thought of were so bad (The KidsBlogger Book Awards? Erg!) that I would NOT post them there but I’m going to keep trying… Those of you who can actually write titles to your YA novels that your editor doesn’t change right off the bat? Well, perhaps you should give it a stab…

So, the big wheeze our way is some spat about an SF city supe having a child with a friend. Of the friends, one is gay, the other lesbian, and they are neither married nor in a relationship (obviously) and the discussion is about what constitutes a family that is strong and solid and appropriate for kids. One talk radio commentator stated quite correctly that children are not a social experiment. Kudos to that thought. But as to what else is needful to provide a good home environment and stable life… ? That is open to discussion yet, I would think.

So, now to my real point: in the world of the glitterati, it’s Adopt-An-African-Young Adult month (apprently I did not receive the memo), and now that certain celebrated personages are jumping on the Bag A Brown Baby Bandwagon (just wait – as Big A, little A says, “literature” on the topic will be forthcoming!), Mitali has had a few comments about a recent Washington Post article on the effect isolating a child from its home-turf can have upon its development. She raises some deeply “Hmmm!” ful points. The word ‘apartheid’ is used. Read. Think. Enjoy your weekend.

You must read Maureen Johnson’s blog today. She’s writing about Edit Head. It’s something like Pregnancy Brain, something people don’t like to admit exists, but…

I know everyone else has blogged on it, but today is, in fact, The End, and that adorably lugubrious Daniel Handler, Lemony Snicket’s, er, friend, was quoted in the SF Chronicle today as saying that he’s surprised to find himself with a completed series on his hands.

What actually caught my attention — other than the fact that this is a strange and clever series with a huge vocabulary and amusing literary allusions in — is the number of copies in this first print run. According to the Chron, “The initial print run for “The End” is 2.5 million copies, the largest ever for HarperCollins’ Children’s Books. “One million is considered really big,” said Kyle Good, vice president of corporate communications for Scholastic Books, which released that many copies of the latest “Captain Underpants” book in August.”

Two point five MILLION.

It’s been a crazy week… and I’m just as glad to see the backside of it. Enjoy your weekend!