The Insect Collector

What I read in January: an I DIG READING update

2012-02-09T08:16:00.000-05:00

What I read in January

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
39clues: One False Note by Gordon Korman
Finding Antigone (BETA) by Sue Winegartner
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
The Moving Finger, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, AND Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part TimeIndian by Sherman Alexi
Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra
Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris
I am a genius of unspeakable evil and I wantto be your class president by Josh Lieb

That's eleven books!

For the I Dig Reading Challenge I'll be donating again to the North End Action Team, which makes my neighborhood fantastic!

The 3/50 Project. LOVE. THIS. NOW.

2012-02-06T07:58:00.000-05:00

As writers and consumers of books we're reminded constantly that brick and mortar bookstores are on the decline. Of course this trend isn't only impacting bookstores. Local shops of all kinds are struggling to compete with the large, omnipresent box stores in our communities. I won't name names, but these stores bring the goods to us cheap and that's what we (apparently) like. I shop in those stores too-- I think it's a necessary part of modern life.

But I wish I had the budget to shop other places.

This generally makes me feel helpless.

If I were to shop locally all the time, it would take so much time that I'd never have a chance to work (which would end the shopping pretty quickly). I'd also lose out on spending time with my family, and writing. Not to mention that it costs more.

You might argue that shopping locally or with independently run stores costs the ACTUAL price, and that the prices at a box store are absorbed all along the path of production (by the children making the items in a third world country, all the way to the person working the register without healthcare). For a better argument, see The Story of Stuff.

I saw this project referenced on one of my favorite podcasts How Stuff Works.

The brainchild of Cinda Baxter, The 30/50 project is simple. Pick three independently owned stores you think are important, and patronize them.

For every $100 spent locally, $68 returns to the community (versus $43 in a national chain).

$50 per month IS in my budget right now, and I am going to make a conscious effort to spend more money with independently owned stores, both locally and on places like etsy.

Since I put my own things on etsy, I have a big interest in supporting and enjoying the other artists there. And as I browse the site, I find myself LOVING the gorgeous hand-made items. They have something that mass produced items will never have.

What about you-- do you feel guilty about supporting the stores that are devastating local economies?

Do you think I'm nuts?

Where do you shop and why?

You think your book club rocks?

2012-01-31T09:49:00.001-05:00

Well, then, I ask you: did a giant alligator show up to your last book club?

This is why my book club rocks:

That's right! In honor of our book Swamplandia!, Jeanie came as a gator.

My neighborhood book club's December read was Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, listed as a NYTimes top ten book of the 2011.

It is about a troubled family of gator wrestlers in Florida, and how they deal with their mom's death. Thirteen year old Ava is left to fend for herself when her father disappears, her brother leaves for work on the mainland, and her sister falls in love with a ghost. The swamps were beautifully described and the chapters in Kiwi's pov were hilarious, which (personally) I needed to counteract Ava's heartbreaking story.

I read as an e-book, which means I did not see this gorgeous cover-- though this makes the story appear deceptively whimsical, in my opinion. It's got some painfully dark moments.

The book club was split on the book-- there were some depressing themes, and several people said they had trouble getting into it.

I thought it was beautifully written, but Russell really sucker-punches you at times (which says so much for her ability as a writer, but it is tough on the reader). As a group we had a GREAT time, though, which is really the point.

Our January neighborhood pick is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, and I'm lobbying for The Hunger Games as the February book.

My Middle Grade book club at the neighborhood elementary school is also rocking. Our pick for the semester is MT Anderson's Whales on Stilts.
I'm a huge fan of Anderson's dystopian YA Feed, and as I read WoS I revel in his talent.

This book is hilarious, and I don't mean in a middle-school only kind of way. It's irreverent and madly ingenious.

It is so awesome that I am having A LOT of trouble waiting to read it with the group.

We're reading slowly, so we will finish it in a couple of months. Look for a full review in the future!

Friday Fives with Paper Hangover: books for 2012

2012-01-27T07:03:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to be doing a Friday Five again-- it has been too long since I last participated!

So I already have a shortlist for the debut author challenge, so here are five from that list (but I agonized over narrowing down the list at all, because I'm so excited to read all the books on my list!):

Sarvenaz Tash The Mapmaker and the Ghost
Stephanie Strohm Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink
Susan Dennard Something Strange and Deadly
Meagan Spooner Skylark
Kasie West Pivot Point

..and stacks and stacks of books not published this year that I am dying to read!

What about you?

What five books are you looking forward to reading this year?

Something Strange and DEADLY... ARC tour WINNERS

2012-01-24T12:27:00.001-05:00

Check out Holly's post HERE to see the ARC tour winners!

Something Strange and DEADLY... this week on the blog!

2012-01-19T09:16:00.002-05:00

This week on the blog is your BIG chance to win a spot on the ARC tour of Something Strange and Deadly by the talented Susan Dennard.

Each day of the week we're featuring posts by Susan-- you can comment on the day's blog to gain extra entries:

The fun continues--

Today at Pam and Quita's Y(A)? Cuz We Write

Friday at Alicia's Slice of the Blog Pie

Holly will announce winners the following week!

Not sure what an ARC tour is...
How does an ARC Tour work? Easy. You fill out the form, Holly chooses FIVE winners, lines them up, and we ship the book from one person to the next. So, it's shipped to you, you ship it to the next in line, etc.
It is only open to US residents, due to shipping constraints.

Something Awesome and Awesome: An Interview with author Susan Dennard

2012-01-18T05:55:00.007-05:00

We all focus on THE QUERY and THE AGENT, but what happens next?

As a part of our ARC tour for Susan Dennard’s debut Something Strange and Deadly (sign up to win a spot below!), Susan answered some questions for me about what happens after you’ve sold a book.

1. What’s the most challenging part about working on/editing a book that has sold?

The self-imposed pressure! At least initially.

When you're first faced with a deadline...well, you know how you think you can write really fast? Um, you can't. At least not nearly as fast as you think. Mostly because on top of the deadline pressure, you've got this huge MUST-BE-GOOD-pressure. That was by far the hardest thing for me (and I know for many other debut authors as well) to handle. Will my editor hate my changes? Will she regret buying my book? Will she like book 2 as much as book 1? AM I A TOTAL FAILURE?

But eventually, you have no choice but to deal with that stress and power through. Now that I've seen I can revise to my editor's standards and I can write a good second book (on a deadline, no less!), I realize just how much that pressure was self-imposed and utterly self-defeating. Hopefully my new-found confidence will carry over into book 2 revisions and book 3. ;)

2. What’s the most satisfying thing about writing for you now?

Having written. ;)

Honestly, though, all the satisfaction comes in seeing a finished story and knowing I can now share the story in my heart with someone else. The actual writing is a constant uphill battle (in the rain, with high-heels on, and with fire-breathing dragons attacking from above), but it's ALL worth it when I hear someone has enjoyed my book--when I hear that, for a few hours, I transported them to another world.

3. What has working with a real editor taught you?

Tighten, tighten, TIGHTEN! You don't need all that internal dialogue, and you certainly don't need to reiterate things. Readers are NOT dumb, so a few key thoughts said ONCE will get the point across.

In my older drafts of Something Strange and Deadly, Eleanor was (as my editor put it) "too thinky". For my editorial revisions, I spent a very long time simply tightening her thoughts, cutting redundancy, and removing excessive action tags (like, a character doesn't need to arch his eyebrows AND smirk when just the smirk will express his emotion). I wound up shortening the book by almost 9K words!! And now, all of my new writing is much cleaner and much tighter from the get-go.

4. Does sending things out on submission get easier?

Absolutely! My second book went on submission, and I was antsy about it for a few days...and then I forgot about it. It's SUCH a slow process, so even though the book has been out several months, I'm not worried about it at all. In fact, most of the time, I forget I even have a book on subs!

5. Was there anything you thought you knew about publishing, but now understand in a different way?

The author has no control! :) Honestly, I thought that the author had all sorts of power over things like cover, marketing, flap copy, etc., but in reality, ALL of that is up to the publisher. Their marketing team knows best, so at the end of the day, it's their decision--not the author's. So while publishers DO want their authors to be happy, they also know that the author's won't always be...and then it's time for some "tough love"--i.e. "Here's your book and that's just the way it is."

Like I said, they ultimately do know better, so it's up to me to trust them to their job while I focus on writing the best darn book I can!

6. Any advice for those of us on the other side?

Dream big and NEVER give up. I spout these words a lot, but only because I truly believe them! If you set your sights high, work hard, and don't let the tough times get you down, you'll get there eventually! I PROMISE!

Thank you SUSAN! You rock, as always, and I CAN'T wait to read your book (insert huge squee)!!!

Something Strange and DEADLY... this week on the blog!

2012-01-16T06:19:00.001-05:00

This week on the blog is your BIG chance to win a spot on the ARC tour of Something Strange and Deadly by the talented Susan Dennard.

Each day of the week we're featuring posts by Susan-- you can comment on the day's blog to gain extra entries:

Monday at Holly Dodson's blog Super Mom Writes

Tuesday with Erinn at Something Else to Distract Me

Wednesday: an interview with Susan about what happens AFTER you've sold a book HERE!

Thursday at Pam and Quita's Y(A)? Cuz We Write

Friday at Alicia's Slice of the Blog Pie

Holly will announce winners the following week!

Not sure what an ARC tour is...
How does an ARC Tour work? Easy. You fill out the form, Holly chooses FIVE winners, lines them up, and we ship the book from one person to the next. So, it's shipped to you, you ship it to the next in line, etc.
It is only open to US residents, due to shipping constraints.

RTW: A rose by any other name smells weird

2012-01-11T07:15:00.003-05:00

I think it's been months since I've done a Road Trip with YA Highway! I've missed it!

I must confess: I had a hard time keeping up with blogging at the end of last year. In honor of the new year I've been trying to get back into blogging. Let's not call it a resolution, let's call it an apocalution. If the apaocalypse is coming, I might as well try to be my best me for twelve months.

This week's question, What would your pseudonym be?

My full name is Katharine Amory Owens.

I LOVE the name Katharine. Even though there are always a lot of Katharines around (an abundance you might say), I still think it's a classic, beautiful name.

But did you notice something about how I spelled it? It's Katharine-with-an-a.

Like Katharine Hepburn, for whom I was not named, and my great Aunt Katharine, for whom I was.

It used to drive me crazy that no one could get it right. My high school boyfriend even wrote me a poem about it. (I still have it. I could find it if I had an extra 20 hours or so to dig through my boxes before this post goes live. But I'm not jumping into that black hole today.)

I still notice when people email me and misspell it. I'm not saying I keep a list of these offenders, but I do notice.

I love my middle name, and wanted it to be my first name for many, many years. I could never successfully convince anyone else to switch to calling me that, however. I think my one golden opportunity was when I went off to college and met tons of new people, but I missed it. So that's that.

The truth is, I love my name.

Does it bother me that there is potential future confusion with Katherine Owens, a Kentucky mom, who writes. Yes.

Does it bother me that people are much more likely to find her website first? A little.

I've thought of K.A. Owens, but I don't want people to think that I think that I'm some kind of Rowling. I'm probably overthinking that one.

I've thought of the full thing, Katharine Amory Owens, but that seems pretentious.

I've thought of K. Amory Owens but that seems confusing.

I've thought of Amory Owens, but then it doesn't seem like me.

I'm not shy or ashamed of what I do. When I publish, I want credit for it.
I didn't take my husband's name when we married, because I like my own name. (Though some family members continue to ignore this and send my mail to the non-legal entity that is Katharine Maier, or worse, Mrs. Michael Maier).

I'll stick with Katharine A. Owens

If it means more years of misspellings, I'll get over it.

Wait, Amory Maier has a nice ring to it...

Review: Screwing up Time by CM Keller

2012-01-10T09:51:00.000-05:00

This is an indie book by Connie Keller, who you might know from the blogosphere (she also has a blog just for this book here).

I bought this book because the premise sounded interesting (time-traveling teens) and because I knew Connie through the web. There's always a bit of hesitation for me about getting a book from someone I "blog know", because reading is subjective, and I worry that they might be upset if I don't like it.

To be honest, there is also some hesitation for me about getting self-pubbed or indie books. I think the fine line between these categories and "published" is being erased even as we speak, but still, I imagine there is a wide range of competence and skill among indie books. Because, while we're being honest, we can all admit there is a WIDE range even among published books, which have been through the so-called "gate-keepers".

I pushed my hesitation aside because I could tell (by her blog) that Connie was intelligent and serious about writing, and wasn't going to just put something random out there.

I'm so glad I did.

Here's the blurb from Amazon:

Mark Montgomery is a slacker content with his life. He’s a senior at New Haven Prep, has a great friend, and after graduation he’ll get a brand new sports car from his parents, assuming he stays out of trouble. Then, she comes into his life—Miranda with her I-just-escaped-from-a-Renaissance-Fair clothing. Only, she hasn’t. She has come from Bodiam Castle in the Middle Ages and demands a secret ingredient and a book of recipes for traveling through the treacherous colors of time. Although Mark has never even heard of either before, he must find them, or Miranda will die. To save her, Mark must break into a psych hospital to visit his grandfather who once tried to kill him, pass through the colors of time, take on a medieval alchemist, prevent Miranda’s marriage to a two-timing baron, and keep it all hidden from his parents. The sports car is definitely in trouble.

I adored this book. Connie did a great job of setting up the premise, making it believable (and it can't be easy with time travel, psych wards, and alchemy involved), and populating her book with smart, funny characters. The sibling relationship just sang with honesty, and I loved the way she portrayed the castle time period, it was gritty and dank. Not to mention the Grandfather in the Psych Ward-- ooh, he was a delightfully frightening character.

I read a traditionally published book to my son about kids and time travel in the last year, and since we're still being honest here, Connie's book was SO MUCH BETTER. The other book had huge gaps in logic, and was one of those books that strings you along the whole time, gives you no real resolution, and then sets up the next book. I've become really aggravated with these kinds of books lately: the ones that feel like they're forcing you to buy the next book in a series.

Screwing up Time had a complete and very satisfying story arc. Of course not every single loose end was tied up-- I don't believe all books should be stand alone-- but there was the satisfaction of knowing this story was finished, and the journey of these characters at this time was over.

I recommend this book- you can find it on Amazon.

A Year in Reading

2012-01-07T08:11:00.001-05:00

I had a great reading year. I hoped to break 100 books for the year, but I fell a little short, with only 89. I didn’t realize I was so close (yet so far away) until about mid December, and by then I knew it was unlikely I’d cram 11 books into the last days of the year.

I think in the summer I had so many that I got too sure of myself- I didn't take into account that in the Fall, when I'm teaching, my numbers go waaaaay down.

Though I didn’t reach my goal I still feel great about having read more books this year than last. You can see the list of 89 below, but I wanted to pull out my favorite reads of the year and highlight them. I settled on the top 15, which are (in no particular order):

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Time Machine by HG Wells

Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

The Giver by Lois Lowry

No Passengers Beyond this Point by Gennifer Choldenko

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

The Geurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Holes by Louis Sachar

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

The Missing Person’s League by Frank Bonham

Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

What I read this year:

Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Matched by Ally Condie

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

If I Stay by Gayle Foreman

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

In the Dead of Night by John Marsden
Satisfaction Guaranteed by Lucy Monroe
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
Happily Never After (Beta) by Holly Dodson

What my Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones
Wake by Lisa McMann
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
A Killing Frost by John Marsden
Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
The Time Machine by HG Wells

Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart (non fiction).
Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
A Load of Old Ball Crunchers: Women in History by Jo Brand
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm
The Giver by Lois Lowry

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Messenger by Lois Lowry
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
No Passengers Beyond this Point by Gennifer Choldenko
Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams

The Half Life of Planets by Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

On Writing by Stephen King

The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

The Geurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

A Wind at the Door by Madeline L’Engle

Phoenix Rising (Beta) by Alicia Gregoire

No System At All (Beta) by Erinn Manack

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

The Book of Time by Guillaume Prevost

The Tale of Desperaux, and

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Shug by Jenny Han
Happily Never After (Beta) by Holly Dodson
Aaron and Ahmed by Jay Cantor and James Romberger

The Exile by Diana Gabaldon

Flutter by Erin Moulton

Holes by Louis Sachar
Making Waves by Tawna Fenske.
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

Elliott and the Goblin War by Jennifer Neilsen

The Calder Game by Blue Balliett

Erebus (BETA) by Holly Dodson

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

The Missing Person’s League by Frank Bonham
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
Ms Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto
Bossypants by Tina Fey.

The 39 Clues #1 by Rick Riordan

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby by Erin MacPherson
Stolen Harvest by Vandana Shiva
the murder of roger ackroyd, Agatha Christie

the boomerang clue, Agatha Christie

the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle

Screwing up Time by CM Keller

Penny and Hank (BETA) by Erinn Manack

What was YOUR favorite book of the year?????

2012: Finally here! and Debut Author Challenge

2012-01-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

I'm excited to be participating in this year's Debut Author Challenge, hosted by the Story Siren. I was inspired by Pam and Quita's participation last year.

Here are the books I've chosen so far. I'll be reading these twelve MG or YA 2012 debuts, plus a few more.

I'll be posting about the books I read as well as keeping track on the tab above (entitled 2012 Debut Author Challenge)

Check the tab to see my list, read my reviews, and check my progress!

Please note: I know there aren't 12 books listed below.
I am still building my list!

I want to add a few via word-of-mouth during the year!

Debuting in JANUARY
Robin Mellom Ditched: A Love Story
Anne Nesbet The Cabinet of Earths
Ivy Adams The International Kissing Club

Debuting in MARCH
KM Walton Cracked

Debuting in APRIL
Sarvenaz Tash The Mapmaker and the Ghost

Debuting in MAY
Stephanie Strohm Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink (An agency-mate!)
Shelley Coriell Welcome Caller, this is Chloe

Debuting in JULY
Susan Dennard Something Strange and Deadly (WOOOOOT!)

Debuting in the FALL
Meagan Spooner Skylark (WOOOOT again!)

Debuting in DECEMBER

Kasie West Pivot Point

So- are you doing the Debut Author Challenge?

Is there a book you think I need to add?

Let me know in the comments!

I DIG READING 2012

2011-12-31T06:08:00.002-05:00

You may or may not have been a participant in last year's I Dig Reading Challenge. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, let me give you the scoop.

WHY? Most years I think to myself that I'd really like to donate money (not a lot, by any means, but a little here and there) to charities that I think are doing important work. Most years I go through month after month without donating anything. While I don't have a lot of extra money, I find that at the end of the month, whatever is left kind of disappears anyway... so I thought, why not make an effort to give consistently throughout the year.

The BIG idea: I love reading. I want to challenge myself to read more. Why not kill two birds with one stone, by merging reading goals with donating to my favorite charities? I read more, I give more. It's a win-win situation. It also allows me to do something "for the greater good" while I'm also doing something that I enjoy.

HOW it works: YOU make all the decisions. You decide how much you'd like to give per book, or per page. Participants have done a penny a page, a nickle a page, a dollar a book, five dollars per book, or more. It can be ANYTHING.

YOU decide where to donate. In 2011 I gave to local, international, and national organizations (sometimes with the help of Charity Navigator, which rates charities).

YOU keep track of what you read during the year and periodically (or at the end of the year) blog about your experiences.

I decided to donate monthly and blogged about it.

Keep track of the other I Dig Reading Challenge Participants by linking to their posts and updating their work in the handy-dandy tab at the top of the page.

Over the year, I noticed people shying away from listing amounts as the challenge proceeded, and I think that might be because of a general dislike of talking about money. In response, I stopped listing amounts myself. Do whatever you feel comfortable with. Talking about the actual amounts is not important.

For me, it's about realizing that I can give more. If I get to read more in doing it, then all the better.

So, join me if you like, or keep watching here for my updates if you prefer.

If you'd like to take part, here's what to do:

1. Grab a button and put it on your blog.
2. Send me an email [insectwriter (at) gmail (dot) com] so I can add you to the ALL-STARS page.
3. Let me know when you update and I'll link to your posts in a blog and on the tab.
4. Read more.
5. Give more.

Check the tab above to see who has already signed up for 2012!

Superlative blogfest: best in show

2011-12-30T06:09:00.002-05:00

Here is my list of 2011 reads:

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
No Passengers Beyond this Point by Gennifer Choldenko (MG)
Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Flutter by Erin Moulton (MG)

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske (Adult)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Ms Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto (Adult)
Screwing Up Time by C.M. Keller

I'll try to stick to the YA titles...

Friday, December 30: Best in Show

Favorite Cover Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Cutest Couple Henry and Miranda from Screwing up Time

Most Likely to Succeed (Or, pick a Printz Winner) The Piper's Son

Most Likely to Make You Miss Your Bedtime (The book you just couldn't put down) Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Romance Most Worthy of an Ice Bath Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Breakout Novel (Favorite book by a debut author) Before Ever After

Best Old-Timer (Your favorite read of the year, published BEFORE 2011) On the Jellicoe Road

Most Likely to Make a Grown Man Cry: The Piper's Son

Most Pleasant Surprise (The best book you didn’t think you’d like, but totally did) Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Most Creative Use of a Love Triangle Invincible Summer

Sleeper Hit (Book you found so awesome you wish it had been hyped more) No Passengers Beyond this Point

What about you?

Do you have some favorites from the Class of 2011? Tell me about them. I'll put them on my to be read pile!

Visit our hostesses blogs [Alison, Tracey, Jessica, and Katy ] to read what others loved this year.

I'll be posting about the 2012 I Dig Reading Challenge on New Year's Eve (you can also get details by clicking the tab above). Check back for updates.

Superlative blogfest: elements of fiction

2011-12-29T06:00:00.003-05:00

Here is my list of 2011 reads:

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
No Passengers Beyond this Point by Gennifer Choldenko (MG)
Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Flutter by Erin Moulton (MG)

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske (Adult)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Ms Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto (Adult)
Bossypants by Tina Fey (non-fiction)
The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby by Erin MacPherson (non-fiction)
Screwing Up Time by C.M. Keller

I'll try to stick to the YA titles...

Thursday, December 29: Elements of Fiction

Most Envy-Inducing Plot (Or, the plot you wish you’d thought of yourself). It's not like what I write at all, but No Passengers Beyond this Point really kind of blew my mind. I loved the concept, and it was so perfectly executed.

Most Wonderful World-Building, Laini Taylor made me believe in Karou's world in Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Absolutely.

Most Formidable World (Or, the setting you most definitely would NOT want to travel to) Divergent- I'd want to be Dauntless, but I don't think I can hang.

Wanderlust-Inducing (Or, the setting you'd happily travel to) Bodiam, the Medieval Castle in Screwing up Time (though Keller does a good job of showing it wasn't very clean or comfortable, I'd still like to see it in its glory).

Loveliest Prose: Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Taylor is a master of word choice. I geeked out over many of her descriptions and lines.

Best First Line- I don't have actual copies of most of these... bummer.

Most Dynamic Main Character: Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Most Jaw-Dropping Finale: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Best Performance in a Supporting Role: It's as much her story as his, but Aunt Georgie from The Piper's Son was incredible as a supporting role in Tom's story.

What about you?

Do you have some favorites from the Class of 2011? Tell me about them. I'll put them on my to be read pile!

Visit our hostesses blogs [Alison, Tracey, Jessica, and Katy ] to read what others loved this year.

I'll be posting about the 2012 I Dig Reading Challenge on New Year's Eve (you can also get details by clicking the tab above). Check back for updates.

Superlative blogfest: popularity contest

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here is my list of 2011 reads:

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
No Passengers Beyond this Point by Gennifer Choldenko (MG)
Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Flutter by Erin Moulton (MG)

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske (Adult)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Ms Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto (Adult)
Bossypants by Tina Fey (non-fiction)
The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby by Erin MacPherson (non-fiction)
Screwing Up Time by C.M. Keller, which I just finished last night!

I'll try to stick to the YA titles...

Most Likely to Become a Rock Star: Tom from The Piper's Son, if he can just stop the self-sabotage.

Mostly Likely to Start a Riot: Tris from Divergent

Fashion King and/or Queen: that would have to be the beauty queens AND the pirates from Beauty Queens

Girl You’d Most Want For Your BFF: Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Because she kicks a**.

Boy You Wish You’d Dated in High School: Tom from the Piper's Son. I think I did date him, but later, in college. IRL, the moody artist is much less fun (especially without the personal growth).

Most Likely to Become President: Taylor Renee Krystal Hawkins of Beauty Queens. I'd vote for her. She'd get stuff DONE.

Quirkiest Character: I loved the little girl who floated in Miss Peregrine's Home, but all of those kids were quirky and amazing.

Villain You Love to Hate: The nemesis of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (can't remember his name/didn't want to drop a spoiler). Also, the hunter man (guy in the cabin) from Daughter of Smoke and Bone... I kept waiting for him to reappear. When he does, it will not be good.

Favorite Parental Figure: Parents? Were there parents in these books? Given the choices, it's definitely Brimstone from Daughter of Smoke and Bone. He's such an intimidating character, I don't think until late in the book I realized how much he cared for Karou.

Coolest Nerds: Brian and Henry from Screwing Up Time. I loved that they were intellectually curious enough to get themselves into ALL sorts of trouble. Even Kate was nerdy in her own cool way.

What about you?

Do you have some favorites from the Class of 2011? Tell me about them. I'll put them on my to be read pile!

Visit our hostesses blogs [Alison, Tracey, Jessica, and Katy ] to read what others loved this year.

superlative blogfest!

2011-12-27T06:22:00.013-05:00

I am typing this post on my new iPad (cue the squee)! Thank you, Santa!

Now, onto business... The superlative blogfest. Thanks to Alison, Tracey, Jessica, and Katy for this awesome idea.

Okay, first a confession... I have not read a lot of books published in 2011! I know! for SHAME!

I've read eighty-eight books in the last twelve months... but only a handful from this year. It makes me doubly glad to be trying out the 2012 Debut Author Challenge.

Here is my list of 2011 reads:

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
No Passengers Beyond this Point by Gennifer Choldenko
Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Flutter by Erin Moulton

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Ms Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto
Bossypants by Tina Fey (non-fiction)
The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby by Erin MacPherson (non-fiction)
Screwing Up Time by C.M. Keller, which I just finished last night!

So, with this in mind... here are my picks

Tuesday, December 27: Head of the Class

Favorite Dystopian: definitely goes to Roth's Divergent.

Favorite Science Fiction/Fantasy: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, thanks to Tracey for making it a book club read. It blew me away!

Favorite Contemporary: Before Ever After. It's a romance, a mystery, a dabble of science fiction... and a GREAT read. I highly recommend it.

Favorite Action/Adventure: I am loving the self-pubbed Screwing up Time by CM Keller. Time traveling kids, mystery, and a touch of romance. Look for a review in the next week.

Favorite Comedy: It's billed as a romance, but Fenske's Making Waves is as funny as it is romantic. (There's also a mystery that kept me guessing).

Favorite Family Drama: The Piper's Son, no contest. Back me up, Marchetta fans..

Favorite Genre Bender: again, a book that defies classification, the middle grade No Passengers Beyond this Point had me thinking FOR DAYS. Is it a mystery or a contemporary? Science fiction? I can't say... but I loved it.

What about you?

Do you have some favorites from the Class of 2011? Tell me about them. I'll put them on my to be read pile!

Visit our hostesses blogs [Alison, Tracey, Jessica, and Katy ] to read what others loved this year.

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm scheduling this ahead.

By the time you read this, we will have traveled across seven states, seen at least twelve aunts, uncles, and grandparents, and about nine cousins.

By the time you read this, I hope to be working hard at putting together a Playmobil Knights Castle for my kids, or perhaps just watching my husband do it while I play with my new toys!

Then I'll get to eat all the grits I can at my sister's house plus the delights of many breakfast-oriented casseroles. I'll get to see both my sisters and their families, who I haven't seen since the summer of 2010.

I hope your holiday, whichever one you celebrate, is filled with lots of joy, love, and kindness.

Mine will look something like this

and this

I hope yours is just as nice!
See you next year!!!

CONTEST WINNER and Review: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

2011-12-23T06:23:00.004-05:00

I've been on a bit of a Agatha Christie binge lately. I bought a 5-book volume of her work and have loved tearing through it.

I recently read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It's seems to be a typical Christie book featuring her sleuth Poirot.

It plays along in the usual way (big manor house, mysterious death, many clues, lots of people who could have done it, many people with motive). You, the reader, are led down several false paths until you think you've finally figured out who the murderer is.

And then, she blindsides you. In the most incredible way.

I don't want to spoil it, but I REALLY WANT TO SPOIL IT! But, I won't. I promise.

It was so great I woke my husband UP after finishing it to tell him who the murderer was (he had NO IDEA what I was talking about, of course, but he kindly grunted appreciatively at the big reveal).

If you've never read a Christie, I think this is my favorite so far... I may have to follow her lead and plan something similar in a book down the road (but it would be quite a dark book if I did). I recommend it!

Contest update: I'm tallying the votes in my contest to win a cool bug print like this one! I'm at my in-laws and things are SOOOO busy. I hope to have the results in a few hours!

CONTEST WINNER: After tallying all the entries, scrambling them in an excel sheet and using a random number generator to select the winner, I'm happy to report it is:
SOPHIA of My Fleet-Footed Self

Congrats Sophia! Contact me at insectwriter(at)gmail(dot)com and we can talk about which print you'd like. Check out what's available at my etsy shop. ANY print is available!

Review: The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby

2011-12-21T05:48:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am not reading this book because I'm pregnant or plan to be.
Let's just get that out of the way. I feel extremely fortunate to have two handsome, healthy boys that fill my life with lots of fun. Right now, we're not planning to add any more kids to the crew.

I'm reading this book because it was written by blogger friend Erin MacPherson of the Christian Mama's Guide. I met Erin somehow on the web through blogs (I never remember exactly HOW) and have enjoyed watching her launch her book and post about family and life.

I read just a few books when I was pregnant... let's see if I can recall them now... hmmm... six plus years later, I'll admit it's a little difficult. I read the very popular What to Expect When You're Expecting, which my husband and I called What to Freak Out About When You're Expecting. I often felt WTEWYE erred on the side of waaaaaay too much information. Maybe in the days before the internet it would be useful to know every potential complication on a month by month basis, but post-internet, it was at times overwhelming (and downright scary).

I read Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way (at the recommendation of a sister in law who saw it on Baby Story) because I planned to use the Bradley Method. In the Netherlands, where I had both my kids, the custom is home birth without anesthesia. I wanted home birth, but I also wanted to be sure to go into it well-prepared. My husband and I got a kick out of all the "book dads" in NCtBW who invariably were featured wearing denim cut offs and no shirt. Still not sure why this is the clothing style preferred by the dads in this book. (Our best guess was that the photos seem to be from the 1980s). I can say that even after being present at two home births, my husband does not wear cut-off denim shorts. :0)

I read The Girlfriend's Guide to pregnancy, which was light and funny and most certainly balanced out the denim-short wearing dads of NCtBW and the worst-case scenario stories of WTEWYE.

What does Erin's book offer that these others didn't? Well, it's not going to be a huge surprise, because it's right in the title: Faith.

Erin's book on pregnancy answers the usual questions that ALL pregnant women have-- she covers all of that practical advice. Her section on the different types of nausea was so on target I found myself nodding my head the WHOLE time I read it.

But, she doesn't stop there. She takes this practical advice and weaves her faith throughout in a seamless and wonderful way. She describes how you can use pregnancy as an opportunity to grow your faith, to strengthen your relationships, and solidify your family.

Of course, you may not find yourself in the market for a book on pregnancy right now, but if you're pregnant, I recommend it!

I'm glad to have read it. I've already sent it to a cousin's pregnant wife, and I will continue to give this to friends and family who are pregnant.

Don't forget to enter my contest to win a cool bug print like this one!

Lego Fest! with everybody's favorite Danish brick

2011-12-18T05:54:00.000-05:00

You read that right.

We took the boys a few weekends ago to Lego Fest at the convention center to get our play on. It was just as awesome as you're probably imagining.

Because I'm in the throes of exams, and am sick, and have a sick kid, I'll leave you with photos and a few comments.

You could build whatever you liked on a green square and they placed it in this giant USA-shaped section.

There were huge models, like this dinosaur.

and lightning mcqueen

Don't forget to enter my contest to win a cool bug print like this one!

Contest: A bug in your (mail) box for the holidays

2011-12-12T07:05:00.002-05:00

Your reception to my prints was so great I decided to hold a contest and give one away.

I've opened up an etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/KatOwens25 where you can view the prints I make.

The winner can select one print (any value) and I will sign and send it to you.

Here are the details:

To enter, simply comment on this blog and leave an email address for me. That will give you one entry.

For more entries, you can do the following:
(+1) tweet
(+1) new follow
(+2) old follow
(+1) blog about it or put it on the sidebar

Just post in your comment what you've done and for what amount of points.

The contest ends December 22nd and I will mail your choice of print out on the 23rd. You'll have a bug of your own by New Year's.

Open Internationally.

Here are a few of the bugs available, but check the ETSY site for new additions.

The full details are on ETSY, this paper measures 4 13/16 x 5 14/16.

This one measures 5 x 6 1/8 (paper size)

This is much larger, 13 x 17 inches

Here's a detail from the wing.

This measures 10 x 13 inches.

Girls Night / Book Club

2011-12-07T06:07:00.001-05:00

It began as a simple idea. The way all great things do.

A group of us were talking and our friend Jeannie said, "We should start a book club". We talked about how some people are burned out on reading, about how some of us can't get into anything deeper than the latest US Weekly, we talked about how we never do anything without our kids (but would love to), we discussed books we loved, we mentioned a couple of books we hated, and then made a plan to launch the inaugural North End Ladies Book Club.

The official rules of book club are:
1. No hummus and carrot sticks
2. No one will judge you if you don't finish the book

Eleven ladies came to my house this past Friday night, just after the kids went to sleep (collectively leaving behind a total of 21 children).

Our plan was simply to select a book to read by the meeting in January.

The wine began to flow, the discussions started, and I'm pretty sure I committed to getting at least three tattoos (some of them book related).

We started at 8PM. I fell asleep on the sofa at midnight (my college roommates will confirm that this is not unusual behavior for me) and at that point, a handful of ladies walked to a neighbors' house for an after-party that lasted until 2AM.

Waking up at 6 AM for the kids was not a good idea in my case. Thankfully my husband (who said the sound of our "book club" was deafening) watched the boys until Mom was back on her feet.

I heard all weekend from the ladies about how much FUN everyone had.

We all agreed in retrospect that while hummus may still be a non-starter, FOOD in general is a good idea.

Our book club selection for the January meeting is Swamplandia by Karen Russell

The selection for the February meeting is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexi

I have a feeling that this book club is going to be something special.

I'll keep reporting on our adventures here. If we can manage to sit still for a photo, I'll post it next month!

Are you in a book club (online or IRL)?

Have you been in the past?

Did you love it?

The night the lights went out in Connecticut

2011-12-05T06:10:00.008-05:00

So, during our recent snowstorm, without power for six days, I needed something to DO.

The days were bright and sunny, which made things much easier to bear (until the sun set, that is). On most of our powerless days we got the kids dressed and outside to play as much as possible.

I couldn't work, couldn't write, couldn't chat or tweet or blog. Couldn't watch television or call my sisters.

We read, played outside, and I did a LOT of woodcuts.

I studied printmaking in college but haven't had time to devote to it since about 2003, when we moved to the Netherlands and I started my PhD.

As a testament to this, my husband Mike bought me printmaking supplies for my birthday in May of 2010, and I hadn't even touched them until the snowstorm.

So, I wanted to share some of the images here. These are all insects mentioned in my books about a mystery-solving bug-collecting 13 year old girl.

These first three are scans of the prints (that's the actual size), which are small enough to fit on the bed of our scanner. I hand-printed them, and you can see they are not consistent-- the blacks aren't getting dark enough. I've been researching printing at home on the internet, and I think the next run will be a lot better.

Wasp

Katydid

Beetle

These last three are photos from my phone, so they're not great quality, but you can see the images. these prints are too large to fit on the scanner bed. The ant and mantis are about 8x12 and the dragonfly is about 12 x 14

The Velvet Ant-- she's kind of the star of my first book

Praying mantis

The one I think came out the best/the one I spent the most time on, cutting out every tiny cell in the wings: The dragonfly

So, what do you think?

Do you hate bugs? (I know lots of people do- it won't hurt my feelings, I swear)

Do these prints give you the willies?

I think the strongest images are the katydid and the dragonfly (which not coincidentally took the most time. Maybe I like them because I literally poured blood, sweat, and tears into them?)

I would say the wasp and the beetle are my least favorite.

I dig Reading Challenge: November edition

2011-12-02T07:05:00.000-05:00

November and April are my nuttiest months for teaching.

So. Many. Meetings.

And this year was not helped by #snowpocalypse or was it #snowmageddon? Whatever. You get the idea. I had several e-books in the TBR pile... and then my computer died. Ug.

Fortunately the computer was still under warranty, so I got a new motherboard and new screen FOC. Huzzah.

I was able to read a little in November, but not a ton.

Here is what I read:

Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto. Read my review below. I adored this book. It's a keeper.

Bossypants by Tina Fey. Love her, love her style. It was a quick read with some LOL moments.
All that said, I find the cover photo... um, disconcerting.
Yet I can't stop staring at those big hairy arms.
Look at them.
No, stop looking at them.
Can we please stop talking about it?

The 39 Clues #1 by Rick Riordan, with my middle grade book club. I dug it. Good times. I reviewed it here.

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie. I enjoy her books, and am working my way through a collected volume of five of hers right now.

This is a "Tommy and Tuppence" mystery... which means there must be more books out there featuring these lovely lead characters! Tommy and Tuppence remind me of The Thin Man's Nick and Nora Charles, played here by William Powell and the super-chic Myrna Loy (and don't forget cutie-pie pup Asta).

Tommy and Tuppence are charming, clever, and, ya know, just happen to solve a ton of mysteries while looking fabulous! Who wouldn't dig them?

The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby by Erin MacPherson. Can I start by saying, the answer is "no". I am not pregnant. I am not planning on becoming pregnant.
:0)

Just wanted to clarify.

Erin is a lovely blog-writer-friend and I won a copy of her book. I certainly enjoyed NOT being pregnant as I read about food cravings, morning sickness, and weight gain. :0) Look for a real review of the book in the coming week.

Stolen Harvest by Vandana Shiva. Shiva is one of my environmental activist heroes. Her book about what she describes as "food totalitarianism" (a handful of corporations controlling all of the world's food supply) is an eye opener and also a great source for my enviro-disaster book THIRST.

That makes 6 books for the month, and my donation will be going to The Jonah Center for Earth and Art.

Review: Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto

2011-11-30T09:25:00.000-05:00

It's funny how you hear about books and authors. I can't recall how I ran into Samantha Sotto on the blog circuit-- we must have been involved in some blogfest together. She had lived in the Netherlands like me, and so I enjoyed seeing what she had to say.

I liked her blog, followed it, and we commented back and forth on each other's blogs. At the time, I remember her book was available for pre-order. Then it published, and it was neat to watch all of that unfold. She was jetting around, visiting book clubs and going on signings, having interviews and magazine shoots.

I ordered her book Before Ever After without even knowing what it was about. It came and like SO many books, it found a place on my waiting shelf. Based on the title alone I thought it was a fairy tale-themed book.

Check out this gorgeous cover.

This November I pledged to read some of the books on my shelf that were written by "blog friends", and Samantha's was the first I grabbed.

People. I'm telling you. You should treat yourself to this book. If you forced me to sum it up in one word it would be magical... no exhilarating... no, I change my mind, it's surprising... no, delectable.

Okay, I can't sum it up in one word.

Here's a little blurb based on the cover copy (these are not spoilers, I PROMISE)

Shelley's husband Max dies tragically, leaving her widowed at a young age. Three years later a young man appears on her doorstep who looks nearly identical to her lost husband. He claims to be Max's grandson, and takes her on a journey to the Philippines to attempt to track down his grandfather and her husband, who Shelley knows to be dead.

And it is SO much more than that. Samantha's book is beautifully written, with a plot that carries you through time and around the world. I love to try to crack the plots of books before I finish them, but this book really was an enigma wrapped up in a mystery, surrounded by a puzzle. The clues were all there, but it wasn't possible to bring them together until the very end. And when it all came together, it was logical (in its own way), satisfying, and just worked perfectly.

I can't say more without spoiling it. I can say that I HIGHLY recommend this book.

It will have you itching to visit Europe (but only on a tour with Max), ready to fall in love, and dying for baked eggs.

Seriously.

Book Club Slacker

2011-11-17T06:00:00.056-05:00

Have you seen the movie Kicking and Screaming?

Not the one with Will Ferrell. (Nothing against WF, I love him, I'm just talking about the other one).

This is the one by Noah Baumbach, who wrote The Squid and The Whale and many other awesome movies.

Well, if you haven't seen it, there's this one moment where Chet (played by Eric Stoltz), the local over-educated barkeep and Otis (Carlos Jacott), the hilarious but infantile member of the group of friends decide to start a book club. Anyway, it becomes clear pretty quickly at the first meeting that Otis is pretending to have read the book.

Such. A great. Scene.

Anyway-- my point-- and I am getting to it, is that I'm kinda feeling like I'm that member of the Book Club.

The first month, the book was checked out of the library and I didn't get it in time. This month, I was planning to post a little late and then #snowmageddon hit.

I know. These excuses sound lame even to me.

It's like that I time I had to call the representative of TIAA-Cref and tell her I couldn't make our appointment to discuss my retirement account because my cat had an eye infection and the veterinarian said I had to bring him in IMMEDIATELY.

And even though that was TRUE, I still sound like one of my students.

I am trying, though, and I'm hoping that I will not get kicked out of the book club.

I caught up, and read both Ransom Rigg's Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

Here are the briefest of reviews: I enjoyed Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. The photos made the book oh-so-compelling. I enjoyed the imagination of the story and the cool world-building. I adored the characters. I want to see more books with integrated images/old photos.

All that being said, Daughter of Smoke and Bone blew me away. It transported me into another world. I didn't see a single twist or turn coming, and yet every plot point was perfectly believable. Most of all, I LOVED Taylor's precision of words. She has a special gift for language. At moments reading the book I almost kind of drooled over her words (and I realize this sentence does nothing to display a special talent I may or may not have with words. Sorry. I'm still a little awed). They were magical.

Many times lately I've read a book that is a part of a series, and while I've enjoyed the experience, I've thought: I'm not necessarily going to rush out to buy when the next one comes out. Maybe I'm being stingy with my reading time. Maybe I'm feeling the fatigue of so many three-book deals. That was not the case with this book. I will keep reading Laini Taylor.

Middle Grade Book Club

2011-11-14T06:19:00.024-05:00

As you may recall, I'm hosting a middle-grade book club with my son's elementary school. My sons are in the Pre-K and 1st grade, but the book club is for 4th and 5th graders.

Our first book is Rick Roirdan's The 39 Clues.

Many of you made great suggestions for our pick. I worked with the school's administration to whittle that list down. Some of the suggested books were already taken by the other book clubs running at school, or by teachers as their read-aloud books.

We settled on The 39 Clues because we liked that it was a series that the kids could continue in the future.

I have to say, it is SO MUCH FUN. The kids are great: bright, funny, and sweet. It's really casual. We read aloud during our meetings and have a snack, and then we decide as a group how much we'll read for the next week (and invariably almost half the kids do not read that far and we pick it back up where we were reading it aloud from the week before).

I've also been reading it with my first grader and we're really enjoying it. I think what I like the most is seeing what cracks him up in the book. It's hilarious.

Also, I love the concept of these interwoven stories by a host of writers. All the puzzles and clues are also fun, smart, and mind-bending in the best way.

Have you read this series?

What did you think about it?

What I'm reading in November

2011-11-11T06:13:00.008-05:00

I can't believe I'm finally at the stage where I kind-of know people who write books!

I don't "know-know" these authors, but maybe I "blog-know" them.

As my husband says, they are my "pretend friends".

I have several books by blogging friend authors, or friends of blogging friend authors on my shelf, and for whatever reasons haven't had the chance to read them yet.

November will be a month for catching up! I'll be reading and posting reviews of these books by new authors, so you can get the chance to know them, too.

What are YOU reading in November?

Chronicle's Happy Haul-idays

2011-11-09T12:47:00.001-05:00

I SO loved doing this event last year.

This year, the lovely folks at Chronicle have upped the prizes.

The basic prize is the same, you can win up to $500 of books for you, a friend who comments on your blog, AND THIS YEAR, also for your favorite charity.

How cool is that?

I emailed Chronicle and they say that I can pick my neighborhood public school as the recipient of the gift. That would be the The Macdonough School.

Last year, I loved browsing their site so much that I bought nearly ALL my holiday gifts from Chronicle (oh, what a clever promotion you have thought up, you brilliant folk!)

This year, it was fun to revisit and to narrow down $500 worth of goods.

And, I will proudly admit that the MoMA Modern Family Play House is for ME, not some child in my life.

YA/MG
How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend	16.99
Spinning Out	16.99
The Space Between Trees	17.99
The Orphan of Awkward Falls	16.99

KIDS and FUN STUFF
MoMA My Museum	19.99
MoMA Modern Play Family	12.99
MoMA Modern Play House	19.99
Seeing Stars: An Introduction to the Night Sky	14.99
Mobile Art: Papers, Instructions, and Patterns for Twenty Stunning Mobiles	19.95
Curiosities: Vintage-Inspired Adornments for Gifts and Correspondence	24.95

Architecture
More Mobile: Portable Architecture for Today Princeton Architectural Press	24.95
The Nature of Place: A Search for Authenticity	19.95
Sustainable Design: A Critical Guide for Architects and Interior, Lighting, and Environmental Designers Princeton Architectural Press	24.95

Journals and Notecards
Typewriter Eco-Journal	10.95
Clear Skies Eco-Journal	10.95
Succulents Eco-Journal	10.95
Forests Eco-Keepsake Notecards	14.95
From My Garden Eco-Keepsake Notecards	14.95
Petit Collage Eco-Keepsake Notecards	14.95

COOKING
How to cook like a Top Chef	29.95
The New Whole Grains Cookbook: Terrific Recipes Using Farro, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Barley, and Many Other Delicious and Nutritious Grains	19.95

ART/POPULAR CULTURE
Design for Victory: World War II Poster on the American Home Front	24.95
Audrey Hepburn	45

NATURE/ENVIRONMENT
The Meaning of Trees: Botany History Healing Love	19.95
A Force for Nature: The Story of NRDC and the Fight to Save Our Planet	24.95
	494.12

Visit Chronicle's SITE.

Create your own HAUL-IDAYS post, comment on others, and JOIN THE AWESOMENESS.

October's I Dig Reading Challenge

2011-11-08T06:00:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update for the I Dig Reading Challenge in October.

Check out Joanne Fritz' update-- she reads a ton of books and has donated to some amazing causes.

I read eleven books in October, here they are in no particular order:

Elliott and the Goblin War by Jennifer Neilsen, a fun middle-grade romp.

The Calder Game by Blue Balliett: LOVE her puzzle-filled middle grade books. Definitely check her out.

Erebus: An edge-of-your-seat thriller BETA by Holly Dodson

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. Dudes. Why didn't you tell me this book would rip my heart out and stomp all over it?

All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor a lovely old-school book about a family living in NYC in the early 1900s.

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. This was a re-read. I love what she did with this book (succeeding in getting DDT banned in the US) , and I love her writing. She writes about a serious topic (the impact of pesticides in America), and does it so, so beautifully:

"There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings. The town lay in the midst of a checkerboard of prosperous farms, with fields of grain and hillsides of orchards where, in spring, white clouds of bloom drifted above the green fields... Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change."

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. If it weren't for the book club I may have missed this one. To make up for missing the Book Club (again), I will write a whole post for this book. INCREDIBLE. That's all I can say here.

The Missing Person’s League by Frank Bonham. This was the book from my teen years that I recently found again. Every bit as amazing as I remembered. Isn't it wonderful when a book is like an old friend?

Hate List by Jennifer Brown. A book that is about so much more than what the cover indicates. A deeply moving and gripping story, told with a lot of compassion.

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler. Also about a lot more than you'd think (I love when a book surprises me!)

Ms Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. This author has the best name ever. (He could be a spy with that name.) What a delightfully creepy book. Those found photos really elevated the story, and I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more books that integrate images with text but not quite to the level of the graphic novel.

And once again I'm donating to Gilead Community Services for their annual fundraiser. Unfortunately it was postponed due to #snowmageddon, but I'm looking forward to it being rescheduled soon.

Halloween in #snowmageddon

2011-11-07T06:36:00.000-05:00

Here's a pic of my little Jedi knights and their "light savers".

I'm happy to report Halloween was rescheduled for last night. It was more like two weak Halloweens instead of one mega-event, but the boys had a great time. (Just between you and me and their dentist, I'm glad they didn't get tons of candy).

Why you don't want to be on my team during the apocalypse

2011-11-05T12:49:00.001-04:00

I think of myself as being pretty tough.

I have no problem picking up nonvenomous snakes and bugs. I've even held a 'gator (with its mouth tied closed, I'm not insane).

I've camped, hiked, etc.

I've stayed in grubby hotels in developing countries.

I've been to a dry toilet CONFERENCE for goodness sakes!

I've lived in multiple homes my husband has been in the process of remodeling. I've lived without hot showers, bathrooms, or a kitchen for several days during these kinds of remodel jobs.

But I will tell you now, I'm a wus.

Six days without heat, hot showers, and the ability to keep food cold, and then heat it up... and I know myself better.

Perhaps because #snowmageddon was a surprise? Maybe because when you do a remodeling job you plan it for nicer weather?

I don't know... but while my characters are tough, and regularly kick butt in apocalypse-style scenarios, I know now that I cannot hang.

I want my house to be warm and I want to eat hot food.

The only kind of cool thing about #snowmageddon was that school was cancelled (for both myself and the kids). After a day or two of totally FREAKING OUT about work obligations, I was able to relax and we had a lot of fun together.

Besides reading, playing outside, and gathering food from the wild (I made that last one up), we had a blast creating linoleum prints.

I will post some soon.

It was already that time of the year when the school calendar gets a little nutty, so you may not hear from me much in the coming weeks -- I will schedule some posts, but may not be visiting many blogs.

I will return though, I promise!

SN-OMG

2011-11-02T15:03:00.000-04:00

Just an update lovely blogging friends.

We are still in the midst of #snowmageddon

No heat, no cooking gas, no electricity... and *gasp* no interwebs.

Not to mention: they cancelled Halloween! The gall!

The kids are home from school and full of questions about when we can make pancakes, or why we can't watch a movie. (I guess I haven't made the whole "electricity" thing clear to them).

Thank goodness for generous friends with power, showers, and internets.

Here's a brief photo essay.

Here's breakfast

Here's the Volvo (thank you Swedish engineers, it's fine)

Here's the back yard.

And to be honest, it wasn't that bad for us. Many many towns are still at 100% without power.

I have SO many posts I'm just itching to write, like reviews of two months worth of the Fall Book Club picks, the exciting books I'm reading in November, what I read in October including the I Dig Reading Challenge, and an update on my middle grade book club which is SO AWESOME.

They say we'll have power by Sunday...

Hope to be visiting your blogs again soon.

Writing Advice

2011-10-25T06:46:00.000-04:00

This is the kind of advice that is neither simple nor easy.

If I were to sum up the resource I'm about to share, it could be done like this: if you want to write a great book, then you have to just, well, do EVERYTHING.

The first time I read this advice, I threw my hands in the air and thought, "Yeah, right". I think on some level I recognized that it would be a world of work to do all of THAT to my book.

Much later, after being rejected repeatedly, I came across this advice again and decided to implement it all. I'm not saying I've necessarily done it successfully (some bits came easier than others), but it was a helpful guide for me.

I cannot take credit for compiling this advice, as it originates with Sarah Davies of the Greenhouse Literary Agency, but it was so helpful that I had to share it. Here are her tips for writing "the breakout novel". I'll list the titles here and redirect you to her website for the details.

Sarah recommends the following:
1. Start with an inspired concept
She uses Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher as an example of taking an idea that's been done before, and doing something different and riveting with it (both in structure and plot).

2. Include larger than life characters
Among other things, she describes how characters can reveal themselves through whispers. A MUST READ. I'm reading Ransom Riggs' Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children right now, and I'm struck by how these characters-- even people in Florida, not just the peculiar children from the home in Wales-- jump from the page.

3. Have a high-stakes plot
She especially emphasizes that novels are not like real life. Well, you're thinking, "duh", but it's worth saying (and me repeating) because it's natural to tell a story in real-life terms. We feel a natural desire to protect our characters, but those extremes are what make a story riveting. I'm also reading Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone this week, and boy howdy, does she weave a high stakes plot. Just when you've got a firm stance on the rug of her world, she rips it from beneath you, again... but I should save my talk of DOSAB for Friday's book club.

4. Incorporate a deeply felt theme.
This is one of my favorite bits of Sarah's list, because it was something I wasn't thinking of AT ALL. She says, "THE BEST BOOKS TEACH US MORE ABOUT OURSELVES THAN ABOUT THE CHARACTERS". She cautions about overwriting or preaching, but charges us to find "A NEWLY PERCEIVED TRUTH ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN". *Gulp* Remember in Stephen King's On Writing when he describes in the first pass after writing he edits the book, and in the second pass he looks for a theme just below the surface and pulls it out? In my mind, they're talking about the same thing here. Maybe it's as simple as the concept of hope or instinct... but the idea is not to let it hide in the shadows, or worse, turn it into a morality lesson, but find that theme and emphasize it within the text.

5. A vivid setting
We hear this all the time, but I think we can stand to make it pop no matter whether the setting is meant to be a bland, suburban landscape or a magical mystical world.

6. The final mystery ingredient: Voice
A tall order, and universally acknowledged as hard to define, your character's voice sets your story apart.

So, see what I mean? Ms. Davies advice is simply: do everything, and do it well.

It's daunting, but this is a great resource for any writer.

(Note: she acknowledges that there is more than "one way" to do anything, this is just her advice.)

30 Pitches, 30 Days: Cooking ideas

2011-10-21T14:21:00.001-04:00

Sophia's post today for the 30 pitches in 30 days blogfest is fantastic.

She laments that she is dismissing ideas without giving them a chance.

I'm afraid I err on the other side of the spectrum of ideas: I'll write anything down in my mystical spreadsheet.

Sometimes, I read ideas later and find them lame, embarrassing, maybe even stupid.

That being said, while I write all my ideas down, I don't choose to pursue them all.

Something happens with time, when the idea cooks a little, that can take it to a place worth pursuing.

That's what I love about the spreadsheet, holding my ideas in place until they're ready, or I'm ready, but hopefully both.

Sometimes moving from idea to pitch is the hard part for me.

Margo writes this week about how the third character in the pitch can say a lot about a pivotal change in plot.

She and Sophia both are great about turning out true pitches, whereas I've come up with lots of great ideas, but I haven't pushed them beyond the one-line stage.

So, I thought I'd share a real pitch today. It's not a new idea. I hope it will be the follow-up to my first bug-girl book. A post I found long ago that has helped me envisioning pitches, and even queries, can be found on the edittorrent blog here.

So, here goes, but be warned, it's pretty rough:

Bea and Mila are hunting a ghost at the Mulberry Bed and Breakfast. When they find a packet of letters in the attic about an abandoned silkworm plantation, they think they've found her identity. But can they understand what she lost, and what she wants now, before it's too late?

What tools do you use to write pitches?

How do you take ideas from "ideas" to a true development stage?

That book

2011-10-17T06:00:00.002-04:00

We all have THAT book, don't we?

For me it was a paperback I bought at a Scholastic book fair in approximately 1984. A book I loved and re-read, but for whatever reason disappeared from my life.

The book I'm thinking about is one I kept for many years, probably until the mid 1990s, and probably on a random weekend when I was cleaning my closet I put it in the goodwill bin.

For years I have thought about that book.

For decades I have wondered about that book.

Since the invention of the internet I have performed more than one search for the book, but seeing how I know neither the title nor the author, I could never find it.

Well, this week I attempted again to piece together some search terms that might solve this very important mystery.

Yet again, I got nowhere. That is until I found this site.

Loganberry Books of Shaker Heights, Ohio's STUMP THE BOOKSELLER feature.

I typed my crazy combo of words into their search bar, and lo and behold, I'm not the only person wondering about this book.

I found it! And I could not be more thrilled.

My long lost book love was The Missing Persons' League by Frank Bonham.

What's yours?

Friday Fives: Favorites from Childhood

2011-10-14T08:59:00.000-04:00

This is easy.

1. Ferdinand the Bull

I loved it so much I made a painting of my fave scene for my kids' room

2. My Book about Me is fantastic- you fill out all the details of your life, count things around your house, and even get your mailman's signature!

3. Goodnight Moon

4. Richard Scarry's works

5. The Little House

30 Pitches: Week two

2011-10-14T06:00:00.003-04:00

I'm loving this blog fest.

My favorite idea this week is for a children's picture book called

...drumroll please...

Guess Who Ruined the Planet.

I'm thinking of it as a kind of tongue-in-cheek book that may not really be for kids, in the vein of Go the F*** to Sleep (but, you know, minus the F bomb).

30 Pitches, 30 Days: A great idea

2011-10-12T05:00:00.008-04:00

I'm late to the party, but Sophia of My Fleet-Footed Self is hosting a fab blog fest this month.

The idea: come up with 30 pitches in 30 days.

Here is Sophia's original post, but she includes a few follow-ups with tips on writing more fleshed-out pitches that are also worth reading.

I spent about 40 minutes last night agonizing over new book ideas and nearly gave up, then decided to think WAAAAAY out of the box.

When I sat down today, I came up with 39 ideas of books including picture books, non-fiction chapter books, and of course the requisite YA and MG that I love so.

These ideas are now ensconced on the good ole excel file where I put all my ideas. I let them sit. I percolate. I give them a little space. Then I check back periodically to see whether I think they're a great idea or completely nuts.

If you're in a rut, or even if you're not, give it a whirl this month.

Suspense in writing

2011-10-10T06:08:00.001-04:00

I love these tips on writing suspense, which were a big help to me while I worked through my last WIP. I supplement with stills from some of my MOST favorite hitchcock films.

The post is originally from the Writer's Digest site and written by Simon Wood.

Some of my favorite of Mr. Wood's tips include:

Use time constraints. Ahh, all hail the ticking clock. It can amp stakes up in a big way.

Keep the stakes high! As Wood points out, it's not necessarily about "global annihilation." Instead, "the story must be about a crisis that's devastating to the protagonist's world."

Apply pressure. Your protag must face seemingly insurmountable odds. "All [her] skills and strengths must be stretched to the breaking point in order to save the day."

Create dilemmas. I love Sophie Kinsella's ability to set up an awkward dilemma that turns into a misunderstanding at the MOST inopportune moment. As Wood puts it, "the choice must seemingly be a lose-loss situation for the protagonist."

Complicate things. Or as Wood says, "Pile on the problems."

and finally, Create both real good villains and really good heroes.

Wood closes by saying "suspense writing is all about creating a pressure cooker with no relief valve."

All excellent advice about building suspense in your writing. Please check out the FULL article.

Friday Fives: Aspire to climb every mountain

2011-10-07T09:45:00.000-04:00

1. Reading books I love. Sometimes I read things that are similar to what I write, but I get just as much inspiration from books nothing like my style and way out of my genre.

2. BETA reading. I feel lucky to have fallen into a fantastic group of writers: The ladies of the Weekend of Awesome. Not only does reading their work introduce me to new things, but I love seeing how their work evolves over time. It is truly inspiring.

3. My family, and not just because we're expected to be inspired by our life partners and our kids (this is especially true for women in our society... but don't get me started). It is more that I feel they have made an investment in me. When I take time to write, I am dividing up the time that goes to sleep, housework, cooking, myself, and them. That they are counting on me to make something of that time inspires me.

4. Non-fiction and documentaries. Because most of my books have an environmental theme, I get a lot of inspiration from the reading and films that are a part of my job. I've been watching FLOW: For Love of Water with my students this week and it never fails to inspire me about worldwide water issues.

5. Seeing others succeed. It seems to me that the road to publication is a series of peaks on a ginormous mountain range.

You write that book (one peak), you edit that book (another peak), you query it (a big peak), then maybe you do that a few times (peak, peak, peak). Maybe you get an agent (huge peak). Maybe you sell a book (enormous peak). Maybe it becomes popular (gigantic peak). Maybe you get the chance to do it all over again (peak, peak, peak, peak, peak).

It feels like an endless series of obstacles.

But because of the openness and transparency of the web, you can see people working their way through those obstacles every week.

When you realize it truly can happen --that it does happen all the time-- it's inspiring.

The elusive "perfect" novel: a contagious post

2011-10-03T16:18:00.002-04:00

Just in time for flu season, a contagious post.

No, wait... put down the Vitamin C and the flu shot.

This is the good kind of contagious! I promise.

Katy Upperman has a great post today about perfect novels, and more so: what makes a novel perfect for YOU. What a great idea-- this would make a good blogfest, Katy!

Katy's list included romance, relatable main characters, flawless writing with engaging dialogue, a unique setting, and the unexpected. Visit her post to find out how she elaborates on these, and provides examples of exactly what she means.

Now, what would you find on my list?

I love a circular story with twists and turns that keep me intrigued. But by the end they must make sense in a logical way, like Jellicoe Road or Holes. I don't want twists and turns that leave me frustrated an unfulfilled.

I love when the MC is someone you think you know, but then realize is more complex. Maybe the main character is headstrong and you discover that she/he is vulnerable. Maybe the main character has been a total jerk, and you finally understand why. Melina Marchetta does this well, but in very different ways, in both Jellicoe Road and The Piper's Son.

I love a book that makes me think. Books that you puzzle over long after you've read them. Feed, A Wrinkle in Time, Divergent, and When you Reach Me come to mind.

Finally, I adore a mystery, but it doesn't have to be the "Mrs. Peacock in the drawing room with the lead pipe" sort. I think almost all books have a mystery, it's just not as emphasized in other genres (for good reason). This ties in with my love of twists and turns above. I love a mystery that gives you just enough clues to make guesses along the way, and one where you discover the truth just as the MC does. Or even better, a page or two ahead of the MC, but not in the first chapter.

What would be in your perfect novel? What makes a novel perfect for you?

Friday Fives with Paper Hangover: Banned Books

2011-09-30T12:28:00.000-04:00

A fantastic topic, and if you've read the ALA's list of frequently challenged books, it's hard to not find a book you love.

How are we still challenging books like Brave New World, Huck Finn, and Of Mice and Men? It blows my mind. I thought we were waaaay past that as a society.

It also makes me realize that people can't be reading some of these books, because if they actually read them from cover to cover, they would understand the topic in context, and context is simply everything.

What are my top five?

1. Go Ask Alice An exceptional cautionary tale. (Though I was sad to learn it was fiction, not a diary as originally purported.)

2. Brave New World I haven't read this book since my junior year of high school (1991, people) and I still think about it pretty often.

3. To Kill a Mockingbird. Breaks my heart, and the film is just as good as the book.

4. A Prayer for Owen Meany One of my favorites of all time.

5. There are not enough numbers on my list, because I'm having trouble picking from The Outsiders, What My Mother Doesn't Know, Speak, Crank, and The Handmaid's Tale, but it's going to the ultimate classic Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

And if you haven't seen it, check out this article on teenage brains from National Geographic. Very interesting!

RTW: Best Book of September/ I Dig Reading

2011-09-28T13:47:00.000-04:00

September was all over the place in terms of reading. In addition to a LOT of reading for my classes, I read four books for fun:

Holes by Louis Sachar. I'd seen the movie, but not read the book. EXCELLENT! I can't recommend it enough.

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske. If you read Tawna's blog (Don't Pet Me, I'm Writing) you know that she is truly funny. Hilarious, even. My expectations were high for her debut Making Waves, and this book met them all. A big dollop of romance, a cool mystery, and lots of laughing out loud along the way.

Chasing Vermeer. I picked this up when agent Amanda Lewis called me about my own book-- I had to read a book she represented before meeting her. I loved this book. It was so good that I'm already reading the others in the series. It played a big role in my decision to sign with Amanda, because this book is in many ways what I aspire to: a smart MG book full of mind-bending puzzles, great characters (smart girls, FTW!), a fast-paced plot, and a suspenseful mystery.

Sloppy Firsts, Megan McCaffrey. This snarky protagonist manages to tell it like it is while remaining lovable and endearing. You can't beat that!

Don't make me pick.

I won't.

As for my I Dig Reading Challenge, four books for the month will go to another donation for Gilead Community Services (they have a fundraiser in October, so I'm saving up!)

Visit YA Highway to see what others loved reading this month!

TWO awards: 7 X 7 and TAG I'm it

2011-09-26T11:44:00.000-04:00

For the 7X7 Award I share seven past blog articles that fit the superlative and THEN share the award with seven other bloggers.

Thanks to the effervescent Katy Upperman for passing this award to me.

Most Beautiful: I still love this post featuring some of my son's art. I'm a mom. That's my thing.

Most Helpful: My post on creating tabs in blogger.

Most Popular: Inexplicably, this posting of a story about a painted bunting has twice the hits of any other post.

Most Controversial: Have I had a controversial post? I try not to... if I've blanked on one, let me know.

Most Surprisingly Successful: I love this post where I tell a scar story from junior high. The response was so positive I wrote it up as an essay and sent it to a real live magazine. Even better: the Dude in question sent me a nice email lamenting that he hadn't come out to help me.

Most Underrated: A post on public service announcements.

Most Prideworthy: I'm still crazy about Tiny Punk and the Machine a mini-steampunk odyssey featuring my kids and some of their friends.

And for the TAG, I'm it, which was passed to me by The Contemplative Cat.

I must tell 10 random unknown things about me, then tag five other bloggers.

1. My middle name is Amory
2. I've eaten a bug on purpose
3. I once attended a conference dedicated to learning about composting toilets
4. I lived in the Netherlands for 5 years
5. I lived in a caravan park in the Netherlands (I could tell some stories!)
6. I have two older sisters
7. I always wanted a little brother
8. I was a camp counselor and taught riflery (i.e., shooting targets with guns)
9. I love tomatoes
10. I can take a nap almost anywhere

Well it's only fair that:

I TAG Katy for the Contemplative Cat post, and

pass on the 7x7 award to the Contemplative Cat!

And I'd like to double-tag some of my favorite bloggers!

Laura Hughes
Holly
Erinn
Sophia (My fleet-footed self)
Joanne (My brain on books)
Alicia (who has already done at least one of these)
Pam and Quita

Participate if you like, no pressure if you don't!

Friday Fives with Paper Hangover

2011-09-23T11:06:00.001-04:00

I'm typing this surrounded by piles of cold and sinus products I picked up at CVS this morning. The school year is upon us, and in our family that means four separate sets of germs culminating in regular colds.
Ugh.
But, I'm fighting it with the probably-toxic combination of cold and sinus meds, sinus wash, fresh ginger, and tea.

Despite the cold I didn't want to miss this week's Friday Fives, where Paper Hangover asks

I'll go with a few actual and a few fantasy writing locations.

IRL
1. I write in my home office, which is cozy and perfect for me.

2. Some days, due to circumstance, I write in the den, but it is often at night or during nap time when the boys are asleep upstairs.

3. One thing I love about writing is that all you really need is a piece of paper and a pen. Sometimes I take my notebook along and try to squeeze in time for ideas and scenes at the playground, in the backyard, or anyplace else I can.

Now, for the fantasy picks:
4. I wouldn't mind writing here one little bit...

5. and I'm in talks with my husband to build me a standing desk like this one.

BIG news

2011-09-21T20:54:00.003-04:00

I have an agent, the lovely Amanda Lewis of Doe Coover agency!!

The story is long, but here goes. :0)

I wrote my MG STUNG (about a girl who loves bugs and solves mysteries) almost two years ago. I've been re-working it ever since. I spent some time this spring rewriting it and sent it out to a few agents. But honestly, I'd decided to trunk it after that, because I feared (as my first book), that maybe it wasn't meant to be.

Two agents liked it, but both suggested it was neither firmly MG or YA (it was YA at the time). I pondered what to do about it, and then struck out to write THIRST. I finished THIRST, got feedback from my lovely critique partners, and started querying it.

I was sure that THIRST, a dystopian, would be a winner... but that was because I didn't realize that dystopians sold really well... 2 years ago! THIRST, a YA about a post-climate-shift world wasn't unique enough. I had several requests for partial and full manuscripts, but I didn't have a lot of hope for it.

Cue the freak out.

I was angry with myself for using time to write THIRST when I could have been writing something else. I tried to be open-minded about it: to consider what I learned in writing THIRST as a benefit, no matter what the outcome.

But that is so difficult. We toil over a project because we want it to see the light of day.

So I turned again to STUNG, and thought the smartest move would be to take the feedback I'd been given to rework it into a MG book. I finished it and sent it to one of my fantastic crit partners.

At about that time, an agent held a contest where you could submit your query and she would tell you the truth about it. I entered a new query of STUNG, hoping for feedback. She requested pages.

I quickly sent it out to two other agents who I thought were a great match for the book, and my work in general. Three agents.

...and that's when I got "the call".

I can say that I feel, without a doubt, that I've found the right agent for my work.

I went to meet Amanda this week, and spent several hours talking with her, getting to know her, and discussing working styles, books, and many other topics.

It was fantastic, and I couldn't be happier.

I'd like to thank the Academy... but really, it would not have happened without Erinn Manack, Holly Dodson, Alicia Gregoire, Marquita Hockaday, Pam Harris, and Maryanne Fantalis, my excellent crit partners + the Weekend of Awesome crew.

The challenge of saying WHY

2011-09-19T13:38:00.001-04:00

I am not an expert at this whole writing thing.

They could fill books with what I don't know. (They have, actually, and they're at the library. I will go check some of them out as soon as I finish this post.)

I do pride myself on learning quickly. I can and have made the newbiest of newbie mistakes, but I know I have a steep and steady learning curve.

The first time I queried, lo many months ago (February of 2010, to be precise) I made several errors. One was going through websites like query tracker and finding every agent that covered my genres of interest.

Now, that's not a bad thing, I still think that's a good start, but at the time, that was all I did. I put those names in a spreadsheet, I read directions for what each one wanted, and I started querying.

I wasn't a horrible offender.

I didn't send a group email to twenty addresses with the opener "Dear Agent".
I didn't refuse to write an honest to goodness query letter.
I followed directions.
I acted professionally.
I thanked authors who sent me advice or suggestions, but I didn't clog the in-boxes of those not interested with multiple follow up emails.

But if you had asked me WHY I'd picked the agents I was picking, outside of genre of representation, I'm not sure I could have answered that question. At the time, I didn't know HOW to find out more specific information about agents, if they didn't readily provide that information on their blogs.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't take the time. I thought, "the agent that likes my book is the right agent for me."

More recently, I geared up to query again, and as I prepared, I challenged myself to say why.

Why would I want to work with this agent?

Why do I think they would be a good fit for me?

I'm not saying there was a mind-blowing-we-are-cosmically-destined-to-be-agent-author response for every one, but I felt I HAD to answer the question of why, if only for myself.

The website Literary Rambles' agent spotlight series proved INVALUABLE to me this time, in delineating from agents who (as far as I could tell) were a good match as opposed to those who were not.

Of course, for some agents you can get a better feel for what they like and how well you mesh based on their online personas. Others do not have a cache of articles, comments, blogs, and tweets that can give you insight into their tastes and personalities.

I'm not saying it's always easy, but I do think it's worth it.

Do you challenge yourself to answer the why question?

How do you decide an agent might be a good candidate for querying?

Do you read their tweets? Their blogs? Have you ever found that alters your desire to be repped by a given agent?

Read for Relief!

2011-09-14T10:40:00.001-04:00

If you're not already aware, there's a wonderful event happening right now, sponsored by Erin Bowman, Tracey Neithercott, Sarah Enni, and Caroline Richmond called Read for Relief.

Many excellent prize packs are up for bid, but I'm only pimping one here:

6 YA writers and critique partners come together to give you a critique package that will make your manuscript submission-ready. (NOTE: Manuscript must be YA and ready for critique by March 30, 2012.)

The package includes:

1 query critique: Pam Harris
1 synopsis critique (1-2 page limit): Holly Dodson
1 first pages critique (10-15 page limit): Marquita Hockaday
1 first 50 pages critique: Alicia Gregoire
1 full manuscript (up to 90K words) “in-depth” critique: Katharine Owens
1 full manuscript (up to 90K words) “big picture” critique: Erinn Manack

About the critiquers:

Pam Harris is a school counselor by day and YA writer by night. She is a contributor to Paper Hangover and is represented by the lovely Sarah LaPolla at Curtis Brown, Ltd. You can learn more about her on her blog and on Twitter.
Holly Dodson is Super Mom, YA writer, and eater of many Sweettarts. She is a contributor to Paper Hangover. You can learn more about her on her blog and on Twitter.
Marquita Hockaday is 20-something, constantly reading or writing YA, throwing in time to teach history to our youth (saving them essentially) while stalking the finest literary agents and Hollywood actors. You can learn more about her on her blog and on Twitter.
Alicia Gregoire writes edgy YA fiction while combating the machinations of her two cats. You can learn more about her on her blog and on Twitter.
Katharine Owens is a YA and MG writer, mom, professor, environmental nerd, amateur naturalist, and lover of all things bug. You can learn more about her on her blog and on Twitter.
Erinn Manack is a YA writer, middle school teacher, and a contributor to The Patch. She’s written five books but has beta read many more. You can learn more about her on her blog and on Twitter.

Bidding ends Friday, September 16th, 2011 at 10:00 PM EST. Click here to bid.

Book clubbin'

2011-09-12T14:23:00.002-04:00

I feel kind of fortunate to be wallowing in book-club goodness right now.

I am joining Tracey Neithercott's Fall book club (You should, too! Click on the orange box on the left hand sidebar.)

AND I've been working with my local elementary school all summer to develop a middle grade book club!

Our neighborhood school is amazing!

Here are just some of the ways it rocks the casbah:

Though this community has had many issues in the past, we have been one of our state's fastest improving schools for the last several years.

We have wonderfully dedicated staff and faculty. When our summer school programming was cancelled this year due to budget cuts, parents and teachers volunteered to lead a half-day summer program just to keep our kids' minds sharp over the break.

There are monthly assemblies attended by most of the community, where they give out awards to kids for being good citizens of the school. At the assemblies they sing their school song, Knowledge is Power, and I tear up every time.

Free books! They never miss an opportunity to provide free books to the kids at our school.

It's a wonderful school. So, I knew that if I was able to volunteer this year, I'd like it to be through a middle grade book club.

We're setting up the program right now and I am bursting at the seams.

I hope I don't frighten the children with my excitement for reading!

Here's where I need YOUR help.

What good middle grade books have you read recently, that you would recommend for a group of 4th and 5th graders? This is a mixed group of both boys and girls.

Friday Fives with Paper Hangover

2011-09-09T09:42:00.002-04:00

Time for another post!

This week, the folks of Paper Hangover ask:

It's not easy... but here are the top ~~five~~ , make that four, picks:
No Passengers Beyond this Point by Gennifer Choldenko
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
When You Reach Me Rebecca Stead

and after staring at my list (below) for a full five minutes, I can't pick ONE more from it.
There are too many that are excellent.

Here's what I read from May until August:
Gathering Blue and The Messenger by Lois Lowry
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams

The Half Life of Planets by Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

On Writing by Stephen King

The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

The Geurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

A Wind at the Door by Madeline L’Engle

Phoenix Rising (Beta) by Alicia Gregoire

No System At All (Beta) by Erinn Manack

Happily Never After (Beta) by Holly Dodson

Pederwick’s 1: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy Jeanne Birdsall

Jenna and Jonah’s Fauxmance by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

The Book of Time Guillaume Prevost

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

and The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo

The Exile Diana Gabaldon

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Aaron and Ahmed, Jay Cantor and James Romberger

Shug Jenny Han

Leviathan Scott Westerfeld

Flutter Erin Moulton

And you? What are your five fave reads from this summer?

Visit Paper Hangover and join in!

Road Trip: Adult character as YA

2011-09-07T11:31:00.000-04:00

Today the intrepid ladies of YA Highway ask:

What non-YA character would you love to see star in a YA book as themselves?

When I saw this question, I knew my answer immediately.

And it's not just because Matt Damon is so easy to watch! Seriously!

It's because I've been toying with the idea of a character who is a "sleeper" and suddenly realizes he/she has been trained for something (like spying/terrorism), but doesn't know what or for whom. Something like Jason Bourne meets Little Nikita (c'mon River Phoenix fans, tell me you remember this one?)

It's one of those ideas that I feel an itch to outline and write a synopsis on NOW, and I just don't have time NOW. Must squeeze it in, because I love this idea.

What about you? What adult MC would you like to see as a YA protagonist?

Check out the highway and join in the fun.

Not just evil for evil's sake: What I learned from Long John Silver

2011-09-05T16:15:00.000-04:00

Let me clarify. I'm not talking about this Long John Silver...

I'm talking about this one:

Do you remember the basic storyline of Treasure Island (perhaps you know better the steampunk version from Treasure Planet)?

The premise is the same. Young Jim Hawkins is the recipient of a treasure map from a dying pirate. He takes the map to a local authority, who decides to take him on an incredible adventure to seek out the treasure. This gentleman allows Long John Silver to find him a crew, and they set sail.

Our suspicions are aroused about LJS from the very beginning (because the dying pirate warned about someone matching his description), but LJS works hard to win over young Jim (and us, as readers). LJS becomes a sort of mentor and friend to Jim... and then betrays him.

Though I grew up watching the 1950s version on VHS, I hadn't watched it in at least 20 years. While I watched the newer steam punk version with the kids a few months ago I was struck by how likable Long John Silver is.

He's such a compelling villain, because yes, he's an evil pirate who wants to overthrow the ship's captain to steal the treasure, but he is also Jim's friend. I haven't watched the 1950s version or read the book lately, but in Treasure Planet, it's clear he loves Jim.

It got me thinking about evil for evil's sake, or better yet, avoiding evil for evil's sake.

I think it's quite natural to paint our 'bad guys' (or even 'mean girls') as caricatures.

Whether it's a greedy bank robber or a snotty cheerleader, it's easy to fall into the trap of creating a two-dimensional villain.

I don't think it works in every story to have such a compelling or likable villain, but I love the idea of this.

Have you ever written a likable villain?

What tricks do you use to create antagonists with multi-dimensional motivations?

For the holiday weekend: I Dig Reading Challenge, August

2011-09-01T08:33:00.000-04:00

What a great month of reading! I read eleven books.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

The Book of Time by Guillaume Prevost

The Tale of Desperaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Shug by Jenny Han

Happily Never After (Beta) by Holly Dodson

Aaron and Ahmed by Jay Cantor and James Romberger

The Exile by Diana Gabaldon

and Flutter by Erin Moulton

If you forced me to pick ONE of these as a favorite, it would probably be When You Reach Me, because it kept me thinking for days after... but please don't make me pick. There were so many good ones.

I read The Book of Time, and the two Kate DiCamillo books with my boys and we enjoyed them so. The Book of Time was probably pitched too old for my kids, but my older son liked it, and the premise, of a time-traveling kid, was super cool. Kate DiCamillo's books were perfect my my kids' ages, and we loved reading them together.

I picked up the two graphic novels at the Borders sale and they were quick and interesting reads. I'm a huge Gabaldon fan, so I enjoyed The Exile, but it's also hard to "see" a book's characters who you think you know. Almost like when they cast the film and you have to adjust.

Aaron and Ahmed was a cool concept, but I wanted the author to push it a little farther. It was an interesting build up, but I wasn't satisfied with the ending. That being said-- it's about terrorism and the creation of jihadists, and I like a good sweet story. This was obviously not going to end that way.

Beauty Queens was a relentless, witty satire that never stopped making fun of corporate America and our culture. Bray did not let convention hold her back. This would make a great movie.

I thought Shug would be a light MG read, but it had much more depth than I realized-- there was so much going on there, and you might not pick that up from the cover description. It was great.

I'm basically the last person to read Leviathan on the planet so you probably already know it rocks. It sets the bar for funky, creative, conceptually solid steam punk.

Flutter was a heart-pounding MG adventure story. I LOVED the way Moulton pulled in themes of nature and the outdoors. The sisters in this book were sweet, but also realistic siblings. Their adventurous were truly riveting, and there was a little mystery/magic woven in that was lovely.

My donation for August, based on the number of books read, will be to a Juvenile Diabetes Walk that a friend is participating in.

What's your favorite book of your recent reads? Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Final hiatus post: birthday two, electric boogaloo

2011-08-30T07:29:00.000-04:00

Well, the month of August would not be complete without wrapping up with our favorite youngest birthday guy.

Our double-brother-deluxe-birthday was scheduled for Sunday, as in hurricane Sunday. So, that didn't happen at all. We're on the agenda for tonight for a make-up party before school starts.

Here are some photos of our number one little brother.

Always in favor of a nap.

Day out with mom at Artis Zoo in Amsterdam

Hiking in Connecticut.

Taking a ride.

Clowning with everybody's favorite big brother.

The Hiatus ends this week-- starting next week I will return, posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on writing, books, and bugs!

Hiatus status check

2011-08-26T15:43:00.000-04:00

In the midst of some natural disasters, I'm managing to get the kids ready for school, get myself ready for teaching, and finish up some research articles.

Somehow I've been lucky to squeeze in writing and reading, too.

The only downside: previewing films for my Food and Sustainability course. It will be a rockin' class, but the movies about slaughterhouses are a real downer. Trust me on this one.

I'll be back on a regular basis soon!

Thought I'd share what's inspiring me right now.

Transmissions from the Hiatus

2011-08-15T06:43:00.000-04:00

Only a quick break in hiatus programming to wish a happy 6th birthday to my favorite oldest son, James.

I just spent an hour reading our old family blog and remembering his early days. To say it has been a blur would be an understatement. It has been a fun but hard, sleep-deprived, bank-account-reducing, incredible adventure.

Riding with mom to a new baby checkup in the Netherlands

Early days

Helping Dad with a remodeling project.

Sledding with BFF!

With your number-one-little-brother-fan.

With cousin B outside Saint Patrick's Cathedral.

As Thomas the Train

I love you buddy, and I wouldn't change a thing.

Hiatus

2011-08-08T19:55:00.000-04:00

I'll be taking a wee break for the next weeks, as I prepare for the coming school year, and try to get as much work as possible done.

I'll still be reading your blogs, even though I will not be posting here very often.

See you soon!

2011-08-05T13:03:00.000-04:00

From Friday Five

Inspiration for THIRST

Visit Paper Hangover to see all the results, and show us what inspires your writing.

Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance

2011-08-02T09:54:00.001-04:00

Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance, by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

Tiny synopsis: Heartthrobs Charlie and Fielding play Jenna and Jonah on TV. They are the stars of a hit tween TV series about neighbor-rockstars who have fallen in love. Off screen, Charlie and Fielding have been dating for years-- to the delight of their many fans. The paparazzi fill tabloids with the pair vacationing in Tahiti, visiting the farmer's market, and enjoying romantic dinners.

Here's the problem: they hate each other. Their off-screen romance began as a publicity stunt but has taken over their lives. When they are forced to spend time alone together, they find themselves getting to know each other for real. Maybe that isn't such a bad thing.

I loved this book, which I won in Alicia's Brendan Halpin fest!

I must admit, I can be a little bit of a doubter when it comes to Hollywood romances. Who doesn't enjoy the party game of trying to figure out which big-name couples are real, and which are merely going through the motions as a career move?

Everyone does this, right?

So, the premise hooked me right away.

The book delivered, but in unexpected ways. Yes, there was insider Hollywood fun, like the stars bemoaning the contracts and clauses that kept them on such tight leashes. But there was so much more.

The romance between the two characters was real, multi-layered, and interesting to watch unfold. They are after all, very mature in some ways, and totally typical kids in others. The fact that they are actors, and the way they use those skills to shield themselves from real emotions and opening up to each other kept me guessing whether they would ever make a deep connection.

Loved it! I highly recommend it.

And the house.... oh, the house where they're forced into hiding had me salivating. Does this place exist? It was the most luscious setting. Loved it.

I Dig reading June/July edition

2011-07-31T18:21:00.000-04:00

What did I read in June and July?

Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams

The Half Life of Planets by Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin

Jellicoe Road by Melian Marchetta

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

On Writing by Stephen King

The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

The Geurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

A Wind at the Door by Madeline L’Engle

Phoenix Rising (Beta) by Alicia Gregoire

No System At All (Beta) by Erinn Manack

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Pederwick’s 1: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy Jeanne Birdsall

Jenna and Jonah’s Fauxmance by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

Or, seventeen books.

That will mean a donation to local Gilead Community Services.

They do INCREDIBLE work in our community.

And, have you seen Adventure Time?

It's hilarious. Don't make me ruin it by trying to explain it.

Fun for the whole family.

Have you seen this?