I really have no clue what contest that I had the luck of winning. I ended up getting LOVE (AND OTHER USES FOR DUCT TAPE) in the mail today with a note from Carrie Jones congratulating me on my win.
The ironic thing about me getting this book is that i was in the library earlier today looking at it and ended up taking the copy of Jump the Cracks instead, i was planning on getting this one later on in the week and what a coincidence.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Literary Controversy: The Twilight Movie -- good or bad?
As we hit the end of the school year, one interesting question dominates most of our readers:
Just how bad - or good - will the Twilight m0vie adaptation be?
Thus far, the controversy rages, in part because Twilight is a fan phenomenon that has missed a large part of the mainstream even yet. That is to say, the big fans are already nitpicking 'getting it right', when those who've never heard of it are so far behind that they don't even know there is something to get wrong. Witness articles like this, after all.
There's a lot of casting controversy; now that some of the 'that's not my Bella and Edward!' has died down, the latest source of scream is 'that's not my Jacob Black!', as Taylor Lautner (Shark Boy from Shark Boy and Lava Girl, natch) has been cast as Jacob. Personally, I can't get over Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen -- I keep thinking, 'The guy from Fastlane, that failed series on Fox, is the family patriarch? Really?'. But I'm old.
So weigh in: how bad is it gonna get?
Just how bad - or good - will the Twilight m0vie adaptation be?
Thus far, the controversy rages, in part because Twilight is a fan phenomenon that has missed a large part of the mainstream even yet. That is to say, the big fans are already nitpicking 'getting it right', when those who've never heard of it are so far behind that they don't even know there is something to get wrong. Witness articles like this, after all.
There's a lot of casting controversy; now that some of the 'that's not my Bella and Edward!' has died down, the latest source of scream is 'that's not my Jacob Black!', as Taylor Lautner (Shark Boy from Shark Boy and Lava Girl, natch) has been cast as Jacob. Personally, I can't get over Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen -- I keep thinking, 'The guy from Fastlane, that failed series on Fox, is the family patriarch? Really?'. But I'm old.
So weigh in: how bad is it gonna get?
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Sara Zarr is Really Awesome, Part 2: The Interview
I knew Sara was going to be a lot of fun to work with and promote at our library from the very first time I peeked at her blog and websites after reading Sweethearts. The questions that follow come from book club members, students who wrote in during National Library Week, and library staff -- bet you can't guess which question comes from me. Thank you SO MUCH, Sara -- you've gone above and beyond for our library and our students!
The question you probably hear the most comes first: What inspires you to write?
There's a quote that I think comes from Flannery O'Connor, and it's something like, "The only adequate response to a work of art is another work of art." I'm inspired by great music, books, movies, paintings, dance... Engaging with something artistic gets me itching to create something of my own. In terms of actual story ideas inspiring me enough to do the work, I've found that the best way for my brain to come up with ideas is if it's sort of blank for awhile---the kind of blank you get on a long drive, or staring out a bus window, or sitting on the porch doing nothing.
What's the most challenging part of writing books? Do you find it a challenge in general, or have you found ways of making it easy?
It's never easy. When I finished my first book, I thought it would get easier after that. It doesn't. Every book requires something different and I always feel like I don't know what I'm doing. I think one of the most challenging parts is having the discpline to do what I describe in my answer to #1. It's weird that doing nothing would require discipline, but with so much technology available all the time it actually takes a lot for me to say, okay, now I'm going to stare into space for awhile and not check my email or look at my cell phone or text my husband or see what's on my DVR. I think I've developed ADD over the past 10 years because of all the technology, and now I have to force myself to daydream, which is something that used to come so naturally.
The SPOILER QUESTION: Those of us who read Sweethearts really want to know – why did things have to almost come full circle again for Jenna and Cameron, specifically their separation at the end?
I got a fanmail the other day from a reader who had loved the book, but wondered by Jenna and Cameron had to end up being miserable instead of happy. Here's my answer: I don't see them or their ending as miserable at all. They came back together in high school, and resolved what they could resolve, and were strengthened by their re-connection - strengthened to do what they each needed to do in their individual lives. And this time, even if it's a little delayed, Cameron says goodbye and we're assured that Jenna will always know how to find him. I'm convinced they'll always be important in one another's lives, and will always be there for each other when they need to. I just couldn't see, given who they each are and their histories, any way to make it realistic for them to end up together in the traditional way we think of love. But that's one of the things I wanted to explore in the book---the different kinds of love we can have for people, and the complicated, difficult, important relationships that we start to form as we move into adulthood
How do you find the discipline and patience for the process of writing-and-rewriting? What helps you revise what's already finished?
I wish I knew! Every time I finish a book and all the revising is done, I kind of look at it and go, Wow, how'd I do that? It's a little bit of a miracle every time. My editor is a huge help, of course, because when I'm satisfied with something the way it is she pushes me to do better. She's like a coach who has seen my potential and will never let me come in under the bar. Deadlines help a lot. The fact that I've been paid and I have to get this book done or else give back the money helps. Knowing that even though when I'm on mile 17 of the marathon it's really painful and I want to quit (hey, 17 miles is darn good!), ultimately I'll be happier if I go all the way helps. Before I sold a book, my competitive spirit and desire to be published was what drove me.
You've said before that you had some difficulty with your early efforts to get published. What changes did you make that made the biggest difference between your early efforts and the successes of your two books to follow?
Part of it was just time and patience and practice. When you do something for ten years and seek out advice and criticism and help, you naturally get better. When I wrote the first draft of what became Story of a Girl, I knew that it would be the book I'd never give up on. I'd written three books before that and didn't stick with them the way I did with Story. My passion for that story and those characters helped push me across the divide between unpublished and published. One of the best things I did while writing that book was join a writers group. Everyone in the group was a better writer than me, and I learned a ton and also felt like I had something to prove---that I belonged there. My writing improved by leaps and bounds during that time.
If you weren't a writer, what job would you most love to have?
It would still have to be some form of storytelling, so I'd love to either be a singer/songwriter or a writer/director.
Have you ever considered writing a series? On that note – what are you thinking of writing about next after Sweethearts? (The series idea is only sort of a hint, we swear.)
I had an idea for a series once, about kids in a high school drama department. But a series is a big commitment. What if you get sick of the characters? Maybe someday. Right now I'm working on my third book for Little, Brown and it's a bit different in style and tone from my first two, but still realistic fiction.
What books meant the most to you as a teenager? What are your favorite books now?
Young adult fiction was sort of in a golden age when I was a teen in the eighties. There wasn't nearly as much of it as there is now, but what was there was new and innovative and really, really good. I loved Robert Cormier and M.E. Kerr, particularly. I still read a ton of YA, and realistic fiction is still my favorite. I also try to read poetry (it helps keep my brain in shape for thinking about language in different ways), and I like adult fiction that is realistic and not too overwrought with useless description. In other words, I like adult fiction that's like YA fiction, but with adult characters! Tom Perrotta or Anne Tyler, for example.
The OTHER SPOILER QUESTION: So much of your first two books are all about teenagers who have new identities they either build or have thrust upon them, and how those images may be only part of the truth. Why do these questions of identity appeal to you as writing topics/as good YA topics of interest?
Identity is the fundamental issue we grapple with our whole lives, I think. We're born into a family and get our identity from that family. Then somewhere along the way---usually in adolescence---we struggle with and against that identity. That continues at least through college, and for me through my twenties and into my early thirties. I might be finally figuring some things out now, but then when I get to my forties will I have a midlife identity crisis? And then beyond that, in my sixties and seventies when I start thinking about the end of life, will I have another identity change? Who we are, who we believe ourselves to be, the way others see us, what we project vs. what we feel inside...all of those things contain so much drama. In adolescence, the drama is really compressed and exacerbated by physical change and all the decisions you have to start making that you never made before, and that's just a simmering cauldron of dramatic potential!
Finally: If you could tell your teenaged self some things about your life as a writer now, what would you say?
Don't be afraid. Not of failure, not of success, not of trying new things. You really can't fail at this---the only failure would be not trying at all. Also: watch less TV and stare into space more.
That's it! Thanks again, so much!
Thank you!
The question you probably hear the most comes first: What inspires you to write?
There's a quote that I think comes from Flannery O'Connor, and it's something like, "The only adequate response to a work of art is another work of art." I'm inspired by great music, books, movies, paintings, dance... Engaging with something artistic gets me itching to create something of my own. In terms of actual story ideas inspiring me enough to do the work, I've found that the best way for my brain to come up with ideas is if it's sort of blank for awhile---the kind of blank you get on a long drive, or staring out a bus window, or sitting on the porch doing nothing.
What's the most challenging part of writing books? Do you find it a challenge in general, or have you found ways of making it easy?
It's never easy. When I finished my first book, I thought it would get easier after that. It doesn't. Every book requires something different and I always feel like I don't know what I'm doing. I think one of the most challenging parts is having the discpline to do what I describe in my answer to #1. It's weird that doing nothing would require discipline, but with so much technology available all the time it actually takes a lot for me to say, okay, now I'm going to stare into space for awhile and not check my email or look at my cell phone or text my husband or see what's on my DVR. I think I've developed ADD over the past 10 years because of all the technology, and now I have to force myself to daydream, which is something that used to come so naturally.
The SPOILER QUESTION: Those of us who read Sweethearts really want to know – why did things have to almost come full circle again for Jenna and Cameron, specifically their separation at the end?
I got a fanmail the other day from a reader who had loved the book, but wondered by Jenna and Cameron had to end up being miserable instead of happy. Here's my answer: I don't see them or their ending as miserable at all. They came back together in high school, and resolved what they could resolve, and were strengthened by their re-connection - strengthened to do what they each needed to do in their individual lives. And this time, even if it's a little delayed, Cameron says goodbye and we're assured that Jenna will always know how to find him. I'm convinced they'll always be important in one another's lives, and will always be there for each other when they need to. I just couldn't see, given who they each are and their histories, any way to make it realistic for them to end up together in the traditional way we think of love. But that's one of the things I wanted to explore in the book---the different kinds of love we can have for people, and the complicated, difficult, important relationships that we start to form as we move into adulthood
How do you find the discipline and patience for the process of writing-and-rewriting? What helps you revise what's already finished?
I wish I knew! Every time I finish a book and all the revising is done, I kind of look at it and go, Wow, how'd I do that? It's a little bit of a miracle every time. My editor is a huge help, of course, because when I'm satisfied with something the way it is she pushes me to do better. She's like a coach who has seen my potential and will never let me come in under the bar. Deadlines help a lot. The fact that I've been paid and I have to get this book done or else give back the money helps. Knowing that even though when I'm on mile 17 of the marathon it's really painful and I want to quit (hey, 17 miles is darn good!), ultimately I'll be happier if I go all the way helps. Before I sold a book, my competitive spirit and desire to be published was what drove me.
You've said before that you had some difficulty with your early efforts to get published. What changes did you make that made the biggest difference between your early efforts and the successes of your two books to follow?
Part of it was just time and patience and practice. When you do something for ten years and seek out advice and criticism and help, you naturally get better. When I wrote the first draft of what became Story of a Girl, I knew that it would be the book I'd never give up on. I'd written three books before that and didn't stick with them the way I did with Story. My passion for that story and those characters helped push me across the divide between unpublished and published. One of the best things I did while writing that book was join a writers group. Everyone in the group was a better writer than me, and I learned a ton and also felt like I had something to prove---that I belonged there. My writing improved by leaps and bounds during that time.
If you weren't a writer, what job would you most love to have?
It would still have to be some form of storytelling, so I'd love to either be a singer/songwriter or a writer/director.
Have you ever considered writing a series? On that note – what are you thinking of writing about next after Sweethearts? (The series idea is only sort of a hint, we swear.)
I had an idea for a series once, about kids in a high school drama department. But a series is a big commitment. What if you get sick of the characters? Maybe someday. Right now I'm working on my third book for Little, Brown and it's a bit different in style and tone from my first two, but still realistic fiction.
What books meant the most to you as a teenager? What are your favorite books now?
Young adult fiction was sort of in a golden age when I was a teen in the eighties. There wasn't nearly as much of it as there is now, but what was there was new and innovative and really, really good. I loved Robert Cormier and M.E. Kerr, particularly. I still read a ton of YA, and realistic fiction is still my favorite. I also try to read poetry (it helps keep my brain in shape for thinking about language in different ways), and I like adult fiction that is realistic and not too overwrought with useless description. In other words, I like adult fiction that's like YA fiction, but with adult characters! Tom Perrotta or Anne Tyler, for example.
The OTHER SPOILER QUESTION: So much of your first two books are all about teenagers who have new identities they either build or have thrust upon them, and how those images may be only part of the truth. Why do these questions of identity appeal to you as writing topics/as good YA topics of interest?
Identity is the fundamental issue we grapple with our whole lives, I think. We're born into a family and get our identity from that family. Then somewhere along the way---usually in adolescence---we struggle with and against that identity. That continues at least through college, and for me through my twenties and into my early thirties. I might be finally figuring some things out now, but then when I get to my forties will I have a midlife identity crisis? And then beyond that, in my sixties and seventies when I start thinking about the end of life, will I have another identity change? Who we are, who we believe ourselves to be, the way others see us, what we project vs. what we feel inside...all of those things contain so much drama. In adolescence, the drama is really compressed and exacerbated by physical change and all the decisions you have to start making that you never made before, and that's just a simmering cauldron of dramatic potential!
Finally: If you could tell your teenaged self some things about your life as a writer now, what would you say?
Don't be afraid. Not of failure, not of success, not of trying new things. You really can't fail at this---the only failure would be not trying at all. Also: watch less TV and stare into space more.
That's it! Thanks again, so much!
Thank you!
ARC Madness!
The wonderful folks at Flux, including up-and-coming author Maggie Stiefvater, who deserves much credit for her help -- have sent us a whole bunch of advance release copies of new YA books. This includes Maggie's book (which is so brand-spanking-new that the galleys I have aren't even really in book form), and a half-dozen other really great titles that will be hitting the shelves someday -- but not yet. That's right -- ever wanted to get a sneak peek at books so new that nobody else can read them, and maybe give feedback to their publisher? Because they'd like you to!
Flux was also kind enough to send some swag -- there's bookmarks! -- and offer to see what they might do about an event at our library in the future. THANKS, GUYS -- most especially Maggie and her editor Andrew! You're aces in our book.
Stop by my desk for more information on the goodies!
Flux was also kind enough to send some swag -- there's bookmarks! -- and offer to see what they might do about an event at our library in the future. THANKS, GUYS -- most especially Maggie and her editor Andrew! You're aces in our book.
Stop by my desk for more information on the goodies!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Sara Zarr is Really Awesome, Part One
Hi guys!
Some of you have seen the little pink-hearted invitations I've been prepping for National Library Week -- and some of you have even seen the little boxes of candy that go with them. We've got somebody very important to thank for that -- the author of one of the most popular new books in the library, Sara Zarr. Sara was nice enough to send us a whole lot of boxes of the promotional Sweethearts candy that were made to promote Sweethearts, her latest novel. You can find out more about Sara in the display in the library.
Some of you have seen the little pink-hearted invitations I've been prepping for National Library Week -- and some of you have even seen the little boxes of candy that go with them. We've got somebody very important to thank for that -- the author of one of the most popular new books in the library, Sara Zarr. Sara was nice enough to send us a whole lot of boxes of the promotional Sweethearts candy that were made to promote Sweethearts, her latest novel. You can find out more about Sara in the display in the library.
Sara's first book, Story of a Girl, was widely praised and was nominated for a National Book Award for 2007; Sweethearts is meeting with just as much praise. Of the new books we purchased lately that I've read, this one is the standout and not to be missed. (Yes, Steffi -- there is a hot guy in it.)
But it doesn't stop with candy and great reading. Next week, Sara's agreed to answer Q&A for us on this blog! This is a great opportunity to connect with a real up-and-coming author and learn more about the writing life, and her books. Please brainstorm questions here, or in person in the library, and encourage others to participate!
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
April Showers Bring A Bunch of Contests
YA Books Central just put up its list of April giveaways and contests, including the extremely well-reviewed The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by popular author E. Lockhart of The Boyfriend Book and Dramarama fame. This is said to be her best book yet, so don't miss out.
Also of interest: Meg Cabot's journal has a contest to win the British editions of several of her books, including the new Pants on Fire. These have different and unique covers from the usual books you'll find in stores, and a few have very different titles. Check it out and email her to win if you're a Cabot fan!
Also of interest: Meg Cabot's journal has a contest to win the British editions of several of her books, including the new Pants on Fire. These have different and unique covers from the usual books you'll find in stores, and a few have very different titles. Check it out and email her to win if you're a Cabot fan!
Monday, April 07, 2008
Prestige Plus...Pizza!
On Thursday, April 17th, we will be showing the movie The Prestige for Read It 1st. Because it is also National Library Week, as well as the last Read it 1st event of the year, we've decided to do something special.
Sign up in the library and bring us $2 to cover costs, and we'll buy pizza from Pizza Corral or T-Joe's to share during the movie, in addition to our regular snacks! The movie shows at 4pm, so it's not long after school. Newcomers welcome!
Sign up in the library and bring us $2 to cover costs, and we'll buy pizza from Pizza Corral or T-Joe's to share during the movie, in addition to our regular snacks! The movie shows at 4pm, so it's not long after school. Newcomers welcome!
Want Lock and Key?
We've already received our copy of Sarah Dessen's Lock and Key here at HHS, but if you're interested in getting your own copy of her latest book, Sarah is holding her first-ever contest! Follow the directions here on her website to be entered to win. Sign up before April 20th to meet the contest deadline!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
What I am Reading
Well with all of the wonderful new books that we got at the library, I have been doing a lot of reading. Since Martha wants people to blog I thought that I would tell you about all the wonderful books that I have been reading.
The first book that I read was The Red Queen's Daughter. I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and the one character is so hot that it makes up for any thing that the book is lacking.
The next one that I read was Wicked Lovely. This book is the first book in a series and I am now looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I really loved it and am glad that I took a chance on it.
At this time I am reading Change of Heart. It seems to be good so far and I hope to have it finished soon. I have a lot of other books that I checked out and they look interesting and I hope to have finished them within the next 2 weeks.
The first book that I read was The Red Queen's Daughter. I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and the one character is so hot that it makes up for any thing that the book is lacking.
The next one that I read was Wicked Lovely. This book is the first book in a series and I am now looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I really loved it and am glad that I took a chance on it.
At this time I am reading Change of Heart. It seems to be good so far and I hope to have it finished soon. I have a lot of other books that I checked out and they look interesting and I hope to have finished them within the next 2 weeks.
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