Totally YA by EI Johnson

FEATURED AUTHOR: Rick Riordan - Award-Winning and New York Times Best-selling Author of "Percy Jackson & The Olympians:The Lightning Thief"

2010-07-12T17:48:00.016-04:00

Rick Riordan is best known for his YA series Percy Jackson and the Olympians and also for his series of multi-award-winning adult mysteries featuring San Antonio P.I. Tres Navarre.

He was Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas on June 5, 1964. He knew from the time he was young that he wanted to grow up to be a teacher and a writer. His father was a ceramicist and his mother was a musician; both were teachers.

The first book he ever read was the Lord of the Rings' series. He began his writing in middle school. His favorite topic in middle school was Greek and Norse mythology; he also liked to read fantasy and science fiction books. His biggest inspiration was his 9th grade English teacher, Mrs. Seaholm, who often pushed him to write. His first job was at a middle school in New Braunfels, Texas.

He went to Alamo Heights High School and became interested in mystery novels. That’s where he got his inspiration to write adult mystery novels because they intrigued and fascinated him. He also was caught writing an underground newspaper that made fun of their school’s football team.

He went off to college at first North Texas State. He transferred to the University of Texas at Austin in 1986 where he graduated with a double -major in English and History.

After college, he became a teacher, and was quite happy with the idea of doing that the rest of his life. He was a teacher for 6 to 7 years at Presidio Hill School & Saint Mary’s Hall and also worked as a music director at Camp Capers for 3 years.

In 1997 he began publishing mystery novels “Tres Navarre” mystery series for adults. The series has won the top three national awards in the mystery genre – the Edgar, Anthony and the Shamus.

Tres Navarre is a Tex-Mex thriller featuring San Antonio PI. Jackson "Tres" Navarre, a complicated loner with an offbeat pedigree. Navarre is a tai chi master with a University of California English Ph.D. degree in medieval literature who turns to detective work when he is unable to find a teaching job!

His first novel in the Tres Navarre series is Big Red Tequila. The sequel, The Widower's Two-Step, won the coveted Edgar Award in 1999. THE LAST KING OF TEXAS; and THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO AUSTIN. He is also the author of the acclaimed thriller COLD SPRINGS

Rick Riordan has presented workshops for such organizations as the International Reading Association, the California Association of Independent Schools, the National Council for Teachers of English, the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute and the Texas Library Association.

Reluctantly, he left teaching a career he thoroughly enjoyed in order to write full-time. He still harbors hopes that someday he'll return to the classroom. Meanwhile, he makes frequent visits to schools and enjoys meeting young readers on his book tours. For a total of fifteen years, he taught history in public and private middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area in California and also in San Antonio Texas. In 2002, Saint Mary’s Hall honored him with the school’s first Master Teacher Award. In 2003, he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.

He wrote grown-up mystery novels for about seven years before he even started the Percy Jackson series for young readers. He began Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief as a bedtime story that he invented for his son Haley -- who, at eight, had just been diagnosed with learning disabilities. Although Haley was having trouble in school, he loved the Greek myths and asked his dad to tell him some stories about the gods and heroes.

Motivated by his sons’ request, Mr. Riordan quickly came up with the character of Percy Jackson and told Haley all about Percy's quest to recover Zeus's lightning bolt in modern-day America. It took him about three nights to tell the whole story, and when he was done, Haley told his dad that he should write it out as a book. He chose to give the character of Percy certain attributes that hit close to home.

The Lightning Thief won the Red House Children's Book Award in June 2006.Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a terrific YA series that features a twelve-year-old trouble-prone boy with attention deficit disorder and dyslexia. He is the modern-day half-blood son of the Greek god, Poseidon., which is one of the twelve Olympian gods making mischief right in the 21st-century America.

The novel was an instant hit all over the world with preteens, who loved the concept of a kid like themselves because the novel embroiled in the everyday problems of school, family, and relationships -- embarking on heroic quests, soothing vengeful gods, and battling monsters.

He said in one of his interviews that making Percy ADHD and dyslexic was my way of honoring the potential of all the kids I've known who have those conditions," says Riordan. "It's not a bad thing to be different. Sometimes, it's the mark of being very, very talented. That's what Percy discovers about himself in THE LIGHTNING THIEF."

The Film rights for the The Lightning Thief have been purchased by Twentieth Century Fox, and was released to theaters on February 12, 2010. The fantasy-adventure film was directed by the award-winning director, Christ Columbus. He is best known to audiences as the director of the runaway hit "Home Alone"and "Mrs. Doubtfire" with Academy Award-winner, Robin Williams.

The cast for The Lightning Thieft are: Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson alongside an ensemble cast which includes Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd to name a few....

His book The Sea of Monsters was a Child Magazine Best Book for Children for 2006, a Publishers Weekly and BookSense national bestseller. The Titan’s Curse, made the series a #1 New York Times bestseller, and the fourth title, The Battle of the Labyrinth, which was published in May 2008 had a first printing of one million copies. The series concluded with The Last Olympian, which was also a major national bestseller.

In September 2008, Scholastic published the first in a new series of “The 39 Clues”, for 8-12 year olds. Mr. Riordan sees “The 39 Clues” as a potential vehicle for doing some education in a fun way — to take some of these amazing stories from history, and make them alive for kids.

The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones was another #1 New York Times bestseller. The film rights for The 39 Clues have been purchased by award-winning director Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks.

Each volume of the 10-book mystery series will feature a different historical figure. Scholastic published one volume every 2-3 months. He wrote the first volume and outlined the plots for the remainder of the series, which will be written by other authors.

The story, is about Amy and Dan Cahill both orphans, 14 and 11, who are competing against other branches of the sprawling Cahill family to discover the first of 39 clues - which when revealed will provide the key to a secret that will lead to ultimate power. The books are designed to compliment the Internet game. Each book reveals one clue, leaving gamers to find the remaining 29 online.

The 39 Clues: The Black Book of Buried Secrets will available in bookstores October 2010.The Black Book will reveal the shocking truth about history’s most notorious family.

His later book, The Kane Chronicles Series is titled Book One: The Red Pyramid which was released on May 4, 2010 by Disney's Hyperion Press and is now available in every bookstore and on line.

The first in a brand new series which is set to be a trilogy is another adventure and fantasy following two siblings, fourteen-year-old Carter and twelve-year-old, Sadie Kane.

After the death of their mother, Sadie and Carter Kane have become complete strangers. One lives with the grandparents and the other one is travels across the world with the father who is an Egyptologist.

The siblings are brought together by Dr. Kane, their father, in British Museum where he is conducting a research experiment. During the experiment the Egyptian God is freed and Dr. Kane banished, absorbed by the floor of a museum during a failed experiment.

The children are a descendant of Ancient Egyptian Magicians and Pharaohs and now their mission is to search for their father.

They understand their own magical powers as they move into a shape of animals from London, Cairo, Paris and Phoenix. Throughout their journey they use the ancient Egyptian tools, such as clay figurines and an ancient form of paper, made from the papyrus plant, which grows wild in the marshes of the Nile river.

The papyrus scroll helps them with information, during their all important battles. Sometime, when they get into trouble they try to summon a sword to fight for their lives but all they get is a butter knife.

Mr. Riordan again makes mythology and history really cool for his young readers with vivid tales, relatable characters, and immersive plots in his novel.

UPCOMING NEW BOOKS:
The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles” will be released 9/28/2010
The Lost Heroes” will be released 10/12/2010

Rick Riordan writes full-time and lives in San Antonio Texas, with his wife Becky, and his two sons Haley and Patrick.

Photo of Mr. Rick Riordan by Becky Riordan
To learn more about Rick Riordan, please visit his website
To purchase his books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble

INTERVIEW: Kristina McBride - YA Author of "The Tension of Opposites"

2010-07-07T18:33:00.009-04:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with YA Author, Kristina McBride. She was a HS English teacher at Springboro High School in Springboro, Ohio and a year book advisor for eight years. She has a B.A. and Master’s Degree in Education from Wright State University.
She now lives in Centerville Ohio with her husband and two young children.

Her debut novel, THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES is about a haunting psychological thriller of a very serious subject of child kidnapping. It also shows the emotional aftermath on the victim, and the people that were left behind.

Tagline: What happens when your best friend is kidnapped - and returns home two years later?

Short Summary: Two years ago Noelle disappeared. Two long years of no leads, no word, no body. Since the abduction, Tessa, her best friend, has lived in a state of suspended animation. She has some friends, but keeps them distant. Some interests, but she won’t allow herself to become passionate about them. And guys? She can’t get close—she knows what it is like to really lose someone she cared for.

And then, one day, the telephone rings. Noelle is alive. And maybe, just maybe, Tess can start to live again, too.

Excerpt: Sometimes I saw Noelle sunning herself on a tropical beach, away on an endless vacation. But like my old therapist had told me, it isn’t healthy to ignore reality. Most of the time, I envisioned Noelle in a dark basement, chained to a moldy wall. But that went directly against the information I had found online the day the crisis-intervention speaker came to our middle school and tried to soften the blow of Noelle’s absence. In my worst moments, I pictured Noelle’s clean bones peeking up from a pile of damp leaves in the woods.

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give your readers three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page. Also tell us about Kristina McBride today -- the woman behind the book “The Tension of Opposites”?

Kristina McBride: As a teenager, I was an obsessive journaler. I loved my friends, and was the one who kept everyone on track – my nickname was Clipboard. Needless to say, my love of writing and intense need for organization have helped me move into the world of publishing. My first real job was at a local pizza joint called The Flying Pizza, where I worked for several years in high school. I loved it; pizza is one of my favorite foods! I think the most important thing about any job is that you love what you do. This is one thing that I have always used to gauge what I am doing in life; if I’m not loving something, I make a change. After college, I went on to teach high school English for eight years. While I loved that job so very much, I decided that being a mother was more important, and quit teaching when I had my first child. It was at that point that I really dove into writing and focused on my life long dream of getting published. As cheesy as it might sound, paying attention to my inner-self and being true to my needs and desires has been the best guide for my life. And, luckily, it has been a very good life so far!

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing YA novel that enchants you, and gives you the enduring passion to continue in such a demanding profession?

Kristina McBride: You use a wonderful word, I am definitely enchanted with YA literature! First, let me say that I am blessed with an intense need to write. Always have been, which makes it easy to continue, even through the tough stuff. Writing is something I would do regardless of it being my official profession. I’m just lucky enough to have gone through the long struggle of acquiring an agent (it took me 3 manuscripts and 2 ½ years), perfecting my manuscript (another 11 months), and garnering the attention of some amazing editors (3 offers in 3 weeks!). Having taught high school for eight years, I simply feel more connected with YA literature. The characters offer so many various struggles that the options are endless when I’m plotting a new idea.

E.I. Please tell your YA readers about “The Tension of Opposites.” What was it that sparked your imagination? What were your favorite aspects about the book?

Kristina McBride: The Tension of Opposites is the story of sixteen-year-old Tessa McMullen whose best friend was kidnapped two years ago. The book starts when Tessa learns that Noelle has been found alive and is coming home. We follow Tessa through her struggle to reconnect with her friend, who returns as a distant and self-destructive version of her old self, and to also reconnect with a life she has felt too guilty to live while her friend was missing. There’s also a love interest, a new guy in town named Max, who tries to help Tessa along her journey. Through the book, there is much question as to whether or not Tessa will succeed at regaining her friendship, her life, and if she will allow herself to open up to Max, the first guy she has ever had any real interest in.

The inspiration for this story came to me one day while my daughter was napping and I caught an episode of Oprah. This is the day that I learned the story of Shawn Hornbeck, a young man who was kidnapped at the age of eleven and returned to his family four years later. I was in awe of this young man’s strength and fortitude to have survived such a traumatic ordeal. Soon after, the character of Tessa started speaking to me.

E.I. How do you weave so much information while writing and creating the character ‘Tessa McMullen', and yet you keep her so fast-paced and interesting? Did you work her out in advance, or did she evolve as you wrote the story?

Kristina McBride: Dirty Little Secret: With the guidance of my agent, I revised this book for nearly a year. Six months into revisions, I deleted all but five chapters and started over. I think I got to know Tessa through all of the writing, revising, and re-writing, which helped immensely. It’s essential to really know your characters as you write. The fast pace was difficult to handle. I wanted the book to flow well as I showcased the tension of all the opposing forces. As I write, I do some initial plotting and character study, but have to wait until I’ve written a few chapters to really work out all the kinks. And then, of course, there are a lot of changes to be made once the first draft is complete. The main thing here is to have a pretty intense desire to see it through to the end.

E.I. You've created a cast of so remarkably believable and captivating really interesting characters: Noelle (Elle) Pendleton, Tessa McMullen, Max Kinsley, Cooper Pendleton (Noelle’s brother) and that your readers definitely clamor for more; how did you decide what level of details your readers will accept? How does your creative process work?

Kristina McBride: Thank you so much! I’m glad you like the characters! I try not to think too much of the reader as I’m writing. I’m not sure if that’s bad to admit, but it’s true. I just write the story as it needs to be told and cross my fingers that others will like it. As for my creative process, I’ve already talked about it a bit, but I hover between outlining and flying by the seat of my pants. I outline a little and fly a lot in the beginning. But as I really dig in (around the 100-page mark) I start to really plot things out to make sure everything is weaving together nicely and that it will all come to a close by the end of the book.

E.I. How did you pull the readers into Noelle’s life, when she returns to Centerville, Ohio two years after she was kidnapped by a pedophile? The distress and raw emotions behind her that follows is such a raw story that makes it so hard to imagine what Noelle had to live through day to day in order to survive.

Kristina McBride: Elle was a difficult character to handle. I wanted the reader to get to know what she had been through, but it would have been way out of character to force her to just open up and share her traumatic ordeal. One of the main devices I use to help the reader learn about Elle is her journal. Through the journal entries written by Elle, we learn about the time she spent with her kidnapper, and get to dive deeper into her story. I tried not to be too heavy handed with these entries, not wanting to divulge too many details, because I wanted leave the reader some room to wonder. I felt that this was important because it’s a true feeling that most of us experience when we hear these stories in the news.

E.I. Tessa is a completely believable character, you’ve written her in an almost painful manner, having given up much of her own life after Noelle’s disappearance. Tessa had become more of a loner and finds herself fading away as much as her best friend did. How did you write this character while playing her in your head?

Kristina McBride: Okay, this might make me sound a little crazy, but I have to be honest, right? When I’m writing, it’s as if I am the character. So, to answer your question, Tessa kind of just flowed out of me. Her thoughts, emotions, and dialogue just came naturally. Here’s another secret, I originally tried to write this book from Elle’s perspective. But she wouldn’t talk to me until I started listening to Tessa. From the start, the characters knew this was Tessa’s story to tell.

E.I. Ms. McBride, you as an author of this book, you have done a phenomenal job describing Tessa’s emotions, struggles, and trials that she went through with Noelle’s disappearance and re-immersion into society. I loved hearing the story from the best friends’ perspective. I think, people sometimes forget that others that were left behind are just as hurt when someone disappears. How did you overcome these challenges creating Tessa’s emotions?

Kristina McBride: Thank you again – I love this praise! One of the hardest things for me to do was deal with the emotions of these characters. I thought the book would be easy to write, emotionally speaking. But as I researched kidnapping, it became more real. And more difficult. I began to really care about these characters, and hated writing some of the scenes because I knew they were struggling. But I just had to keep going. I wanted to write them out of their conflicts so they could find some sort of peace. At the end, things certainly aren’t perfect, but there is more of a balance in regards to the tension of opposites pulling Tessa in different directions. (To find out where Tessa finds that balance, your readers will have to go get the book!)

E.I. Max's journey with Tessa is so inspiring, though, he pushed Tessa a little bit too far at times, but he’s a pretty decent young man. He is really a determined and knows what he wants and will go for it. Although he begins to fail the same tension and battle as Tessa- except he's fighting to keep her while she struggles to keep Noelle. Is Max character based on a real life experience of a victim’s friend or family? Did you find it difficult to write Max’s character?

Kristina McBride: Max was a blast! He is not based on anyone I know or have ever known. Like Tessa, he just hopped into my mind one day and started hanging out. I loved him from the start! He’s this intense guy who just wants to make things right for Tessa.

E.I. How many years of research did you do to create the realistic events in the kidnapping? Did you speak to any real life survivors of a similar trauma, their Psychologist, victims family, etc?

Kristina McBride: I did a ton of internet research, and also watched countless television shows on the return of a kidnapped child (interviews with Shawn Hornbeck and several others were a huge inspiration for me).

E.I. If you were asked to read a page from “The Tension of Opposites” is there one that you would personally select to share with your fans? And why?

Kristina McBride: I have done several public readings, and when I planned for those, I always had a difficult time. I wanted to find a passage that would showcase the tension of opposites within the book. However, each time I came back to the same thing, this book starts with Tessa learning of her best friend’s return, which sets up all the following scenes. If I had to choose, I’d definitely start at the beginning.

E.I. And finally what’s next with Kristina McBride? Can you give your fans a sneak peek about your upcoming book?

Kristina McBride: I signed a two-book deal with Egmont USA, and am working on the next book right now. The only thing I can say is that it’s totally unrelated to The Tension of Opposites.

E.I. Ms. McBride, thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

Kristina McBride: Thank you so much for having me and introducing my book to your readers. For any aspiring writer out there, the main thing I can say to you is to never give up. Keep writing. Learn how to break into the business (finish your novel, query agents who represent your work, and know that you will face rejection). The key is in not allowing rejection to get you down (at least not for more than 24 hours – eat lots of chocolate), and to think of each pass as a step closer to that desired agent or editor. For more advice on this matter, people can check out my blog post “Query Away! 3 Essentials That Helped Me Land My Dream Agent” or my blog series “One YA Author’s Journey to Publication”. I hope this can help someone out there!

Photo of Kristina McBride courtesy of Easterling Studios.
To learn more about Kristina McBride, please visit her website
Order Now From Your Choice of Online Retailers
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BOOK TRAILER VIDEO

INTERVIEW: Diane Falanga - Interior Designer / Author of "P.S. I Hate It Here! Kids' Letters From Camp"

2010-07-02T23:30:00.002-04:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Diane Falanga. She is the Interior designer founder of Heart Homes Initiative Designs for Dignity (a non-profit organization providing furniture for those in need). She’s a mother of two and the author of number one book this summer “P.S. I Hate It Here! Kids' Letter’s From Camp.”

Her new book is a collection of one hundred fifty real-life, laugh-out-loud letters from kids. Ms. Falanga was inspired to write the book after receiving a very entertaining letter from her then eight-year-old daughter, Bianca complaining about her chores. It went into hysterical detail about how her camp counselors made her “the maid, sweeper and scraper.”

This book is amazingly funny and perfect for the whole family. File it in the category of truth is stranger than fiction. You could not make this up!!! If you've had kids at camp, it will bring a smile to your face. That's how good Ms. Falanga’s book is... packed full of real, laugh-out-loud letters, from real kids who will now appreciate the sage old camp song… “Camp Granada” in a whole new light!

Ooh ahhh, sunburn pain, yes, its summertime – Summer of angst: While you send your kids to camp thinking they’re living it up, making friends and getting active, the experience may also be a test of their ability to survive outside the cocoon of parental supervision. This is also the time of year marked by mosquitoes, lightning bugs or also called fireflies - those small blinking creatures that lights up nights or illuminating earth’s summer nights at home or at a camp.

Ms. Falanga’s collection of real letters written by children ages eight to sixteen to their parents about their adventures at summer camp is laugh-out-loud funny and will have readers reminiscing about their own camp days. Every letter in the book will make you smile:) “P.S. I Hate It Here: Kids’ Letters From Camp” really captures a childhood experience shared by millions of kids dealing with growing pains at camp.

After sharing her story with her friends, sending e-mails across the country, and working with camps nationwide, and the American Camp Association®, Ms. Falanga was able to gather hundreds for this collection for her book.

For every parent who’s ever received a letter from a homesick child or anybody who’s ever written their parents with crazy requests from the upper bunk, P.S. I Hate It Here: Kids’Letters From Camp will delight with hilarious and heartwarming real-life letters.

If you’re the parent of a camper, you will recognize the unedited quality of what kids write to home speaking directly from the heart. Campers have no appreciation for how their raw thoughts will be received, analyzed, critiqued, digested, read, re-read, and re-re-read as much for what they don’t say, as for what they do. While some kids may bitterly complain about hardships and homesickness, all the imaginable scenarios, cabin lice inspection, bunkmates grinding teeth at night while sleeping, to breaking the bad news about a retainer lost while canoeing on the lake.

These letters reveal that kids are wittier and more sophisticated than their parents might ever have known. And that the experience of being away from home for the first time creates hilarious and lasting memories touching a common cord in all of us.

E.I. Please tell your young readers about your book “P.S. I Hate It: Kids’ Letters From Camp.” What was it that sparked your imagination? What were your favorite aspects about this famous latest release summer book for kids and parents as well?

Diane Falanga: When my 8 year old daughter, Bianca, went to overnight camp for the first time - she really thought she was ready, emotionally. In her case, 8 was just a bit too young. She felt the effects of homesickness pretty quickly. However, she really was able to vent beautifully on paper. (A budding writer!) Knowing she was okay and on her way back from the week-long camp by the time I rec'd the letters ... I was definitely able to find some humor in her homesickness. She has developed a wonderful gift at a young age (now she's 12) of being able to laugh at herself and move on!

E.I. You've compiled a hundred-fifty captivating letters from different kids that it’s so remarkably hilarious. How did you decide what level of details your readers will accept? How does your creative process work that your make your readers definitely clamor for more page after page after page......

Diane Falanga: I was definitely looking for a certain voice in each of the letters. Without knowing most of the letter writers personally - I needed to feel a real connection to the kids, their humor, sense of self, sense of family. It was important to me that I related to their voices. I found each of the kids very affable - like people I'd want to sit down with and really get to know.

E.I. How do you imagine audience specially the parents as you are writing this book? Do you try to do outlines and brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls thinking which letters comes first or last?

Diane Falanga: When the letters started to come in - I separated them in giant piles. ( My daughter was a wonderful help to me, too. She and I share such a similar sense of humor and comedic timing - that she was able to know which letters would spark my interest and make me laugh.) Those that made it into the giant piles had the "voice" qualities that I mentioned in question 4. It became very clear to me quickly how they also be categorized ... those categories became chapters from the book: Just To Let You Know, Camp Ailments, What I Really Need, Guess What, Get Me Outta Here, I Lke Camp A Lot, This Is My Supper Letter.

E.I. How many years of research did you do to gather those letters from different kids, to create this wonderful summer book? How did you overcome these challenges?

Diane Falanga: Once I had the deal from Abrams Books NY I had about 7 months in which to collect 150 letters. I read through more than 3500 to find those gems. Camps around the country posted my query for letters on their websites and in their newsletters. Friends emailed friends across the globe ... the letters just started to pour in.

E.I. What is your advice to parents whose children’s at camp for the summer? Should they write their children every day and should they tell them in their letters any funny news from home so they don’t feel they’re left out?

Diane Falanga: While I'm absolutely no expert on this topic, I will say that I learned a lot about kids away at overnight camp after collecting and reading thousands of their letters. I would advise parents to prepare their kids in advance so they know they might get a bit homesick at first. Assure them that this feeling dissipates quickly and that most kids only feel this at the very beginning of a camp session. Advise kids to take pen to paper and write home often - get those feelings out and then move on! Suggest to the kids that they Read P.S. I Hate It Here Kids' Letters From Camp before they go so they know they are not alone in their feelings and experiences. Camp is a wonderful rite of passage and many emotions are so universal.

E.I. What should parents do when letters of their kids from camp starts to come in? Should they try to simply enjoy in their minds that their kids spending the summer away at camp will all be perfectly fine and that kids will get over their summer angst away from home and their electronics?

Diane Falanga: Save and cherish those letters! Most camps don't allow any kind of electronic gadgetry - so this is your time to relish a hand-written note (not a text, IM, tweet, email, etc.)! Pack up the kids with plenty of stationery, pens and self-addressed stamped envelopes!

E.I. And finally what’s next with Diane Falanga? Can you give your fans a sneak peek about your schedule promoting this book or do you have any upcoming new book in back burner?

Diane Falanga: Would love if there's an opportunity for a P.S. I Hate It Here Kids' Letters From Camp volume TWO! This project was such a joy that I'd love the chance to start over again!

Ms. Falanga, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure to have you.

Photo of Diane Falanga by Brian McConkey
VIDEO w/ Diane Falanga "P.S. I Hate It Here: Kids Letters From Camp"
To learn more about Diane Falanga, please visit her website
To purchase her book, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble

INTERVIEW: Linda Benson - Middle Grade YA Author of "Finding Chance" & "The Horse Jar"

2010-06-27T17:50:00.007-04:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Linda Benson. She grew up in Northern California on a prune ranch. Ms. Benson spend a lot of time running barefoot in the orchards, picking prunes in the summer for 25 cents a box, playing with her animals, riding her bike, and enjoying being a kid.

She always wanted to write children's books ever since second grade, but she didn't get around to it until later in life. Ms. Benson is the author of two middle grade novels: “Finding Chance” & “The Horse Jar”

Finding Chance is about the story of a lonely twelve-year-old Alice and a lonely dog named Chance. Her debut novel “The Horse Jar” is about Annie Mitchell. Annie loves horses and dreams to have a horse of her own.

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give your readers three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page. Also tell us about Linda Benson today -- the woman behind the two middle grade YA author of “The Horse Jar” & “Finding Chance.”

Linda Benson: As a teenager, I rode my horse a lot, played the piano and guitar and fancied myself growing up to be a singer/songwriter. One of my first jobs was working at a zoo, and I’ve also started a native plant nursery, a plant rental business, and a horse brokerage, and have been a substitute teacher and elementary school librarian, among other things. Nature and animals always seem to find their way into my books because they are such a large part of who I am. Today, I still have horses, donkeys, dogs and cats, and I love to read and write.

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing middle grade YA novels entirely that enchants you, and gives you the enduring passion to continue in such a demanding profession?

Linda Benson: The reason I write for young people is that I so distinctly remember those “in-between” years - having my own distinct thoughts and ideas but having such a hard time making myself “heard.” Those formative years, when you are developing the sense of who you are in this big world, are a great source of conflict, interesting story lines, and I hope satisfying or a least hopeful resolutions.

E.I. Please tell your young readers about your novel “Finding Chance.” What was it that sparked your imagination? What were your favorite aspects about this book?

Linda Benson: I started Finding Chance after a move to a new area (and I have moved many times in my adult life) in which I felt like a new girl, all over again. So Alice’s feelings at the beginning of the novel – knowing no one, feeling like an outsider – were very easy for me to identify with and write. The setting of that story was sparked from magical times in my childhood, walking the creeks and back roads of the Santa Cruzmountains of California. Although Fox Creek is a fictional town, it is not too far removed from small towns sprinkled throughout the coastal mountains of California.

E.I. How do you weave so much fun of information while writing and creating the character of twelve-years-old ‘Alice’ and yet you keep them so fast-paced? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story?

Linda Benson: The characters in Finding Chance just kind of showed up during the course of writing the novel. For instance, without giving too much away, of course there would be a librarian at the library, but that particular character and plotline just developed on its own as Alice’s story unfolded. And Heron – yeah, she’s a great character, isn’t she? I think all the people we ever meet in life are all there in our minds as inspiration to draw from, and we kind of mix and match unconsciously as they show up in new and interesting combinations on the page. That is such a fun part of the creative process.

E.I. You've created a cast of so remarkably captivating and really fun characters: Alice, Chance, Heron, the Librarian and Alice mother that your readers definitely clamor for more; how did you decide what level of details your readers will accept? How does your creative process work?

Linda Benson: The Horse Jar was actually the first novel that I completed, although it is the second one published. I have written about the long road to publication of The Horse Jar here: http://lindabenson.blogspot.com/2009/09/horse-jar.html It was a storyline that came to me pretty much in its entirety, although the ending was tweaked a bit in final drafts. The Horse Jar was the one I wrote following the advice writers hear so often: “write what you know.” Well, I certainly knew about growing up as a young girl living and breathing horses. And I knew about buying and selling horses, because I’ve done that also. Many of the characters and situations in that novel were easy to write because they were so close to home.

E.I. And finally what’s next with Linda Benson? Can you give your fans a sneak peek about your upcoming book?

Linda Benson: I have two new manuscripts that I am excited about - one is a horse story set in the future, and the other is a contemporary story about a boy and girl whose paths cross because of a lost dog. Hopefully you will be hearing more about them soon.

E.I. Ms. Benson, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers all over the world?

Linda Benson: Advice for aspiring writers. Read, read, and read some more. Join a critique group, and keep seeking to perfect your craft. There is a lot of information out there about how to become published. Find it and study it. But most importantly - believe in yourself, and don’t give up on your dreams.

Photo of Linda Benson courtesy of her daughter
To learn more about Linda Benson, please visit her website
To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON
Linda Benson's BLOG
Linda Benson on Twitter

INTERVIEW: Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve - Screenwriter, TV & Film Producer and Award-Winning Author of children's book "Drizzle"

2010-06-26T18:05:00.006-04:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Kathleen De Marco Van Cleve. She is the author of children's book “Drizzle.” She's a screenwriter and also wrote 2 adult fiction novels: Cranberry Queen which was a Book Sense 2001 pick, originally optioned by Miramax Films, and The Difference Between You and Me 2003, both published by Miramax Books.

While living in New York, Ms. Van Cleve was working as a film producer and writing partner for many years to Emmy award-winning actor and Golden globe nominee, John Leguizamo. Mr. Lequizamo is famous for his role "Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec" with Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge and To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar with Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipe.

Ms. DeMarco Van Cleve was co-writing with Lequizamo in films such as The Secret Life of Jesse Sanchez, under option to Universal Films in Rebel Films, a NY-based production company.

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve has also been the producers of numerous films, among them are: Undefeated, Pinero and Joe the King which won the 1999 Sundance Film Festival Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, Big Shorty an animated TV series under option to Nickelodeon, Sexabolix; a Love Story HBO Films and others.

She had been very active as a Development Executive, seeing through such films as The Story of O, Before He Wakes, King of the Jungle, Murder at 75 Birch Street, The Beast based on the novel by Peter Benchley and others. For several films she managed the development process, she wrote the treatment that sold the project to the studio or network.

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve holds her B.S. and B.A. in Creative Writing from Penn University where she graduated in 1988. She also has dual degree from the Wharton School College of Arts & Sciences.

She has been a consultant for NYU's Tisch School of the Arts M.F.A. dramatic writing program as well as for Tisch's undergraduate dramatic writing candidates. Ms. DeMarco Van Cleve, also teaches creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania.

Her book for younger readers, “Drizzle” is about an eleven-year-old girl named Polly Peabody, who lives at her family’s world-famous magical rhubarb farm.

Jennifer Long, a girl from Polly's class does not like her and thinks that everything about her is weird, except her brother Freddy, who she has a crush on. Polly has literally no friends at school but she has a best friend named Harry, which is a rhubarb plant on her family’s unusual Midwestern rhubarb farm. Polly and Harry communicate. Harry nods when he agrees with her and swats her with his leaves when he is angry and Polly can talk with the other bugs.

The most magical thing is every single Monday, at exactly 1:00 p.m. it rains. Also, some of their plants in their rhubarb farm taste like chocolate. One day, her Aunt Edith, shows Polly a secret room with bugs that fly in patterns and spells out words.

Until suddenly the weekly rain stops and plants starts to die. Polly’s seventeen year old brother, Freddie has a mysterious illness. Now, Polly has to make it starts raining again before it’s too late for her brother’s life and the survival of all of the plants and her family’s future.

Polly's gradual discovery of her own strange power and the joy she takes in her ability to help those she loves best is both entertaining and gratifying. Does Polly have the power to save them? Let's find out.....“Drizzle” is a fantasy book that will take 5th through 8th graders on a magical adventure.

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give your readers three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page. Also tell us about Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve today -- the woman behind the screenplay, film producer and award-winning author of 2 adult fiction novels and author of the children book “Drizzle”?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: Ah, self-reflection. As a pre-teen, I was a geek with thick glasses and braces who was always, literally always, reading. As a teen, I had contacts and straightened teeth and discovered boys - well rather, they discovered me. (I always knew they were around.) I still read a lot, but I was definitely distracted.

Besides reading, the one thing that "defined" me (and other members of my hometown) growing up was blueberries. Specifically, the fact that I grew up in Hammonton, NJ, the "blueberry capital of the world." (No joke.) My family owned a blueberry (and cranberry) farm in the Pine Barrens of NJ, and my mother insisted that my three siblings and myself would work there every single summer until we were 18. By 5, we were picking blueberries in the field; by 12, we were "packing" blueberries in the shed (meaning that we would put the cellophane on top of the cardboard pints for packaging... now it's all been replaced with plastic containers). We would also watch the cranberry harvest in the fall - my mother would have made us work there too, but we had school.

My childhood spent on our family farm has become a major theme in all my writing. Adding to this was that our farm was in NJ, which everyone - outside of people from my southern area of the state - sees as either a massive turnpike or toxic waste dump. From my perspective, it is neither, and the beauty of my hometown's farms was something I wanted to extol in my writing.

Fun Facts: (1) I was New Jersey's 1982 Blueberry Queen. (2) I never liked blueberries growing up, and preferred to eat at McDonalds. (3) I'm an avid Philadelphia sports team fan, particularly the Philadelphia Eagles, and am crushed when my oldest son - age six - tells me he wants to root for the Dallas Cowboys.

One more thing: I started teaching creative writing at the age of 40, and besides becoming a parent, it has been the most rewarding, delightful, fun experience in my life.

Oops. One final thing. I love being a wife and mom. Love it more than I could ever possibly have imagined.

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing screenplay and children’s book that enchants you, and gives you the enduring passion to continue in such a demanding profession?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: Well, first of all, I'm not really good at anything else, which kind of limits my chances of success in other fields. More importantly, there isn't anything I DON'T find enchanting about writing and storytelling. What other profession allows one to imagine literally anything and put it in narrative form? In other words, I consider myself the luckiest woman in the world that at 44, I can spend my days dreaming up chocolate rhubarb and spelling dragonflies and actually make an (admittedly small) living from it. Screenwriting to me is just another venue to communicate one's imagination - one that has its own "rules", for sure, but none that inhibit the fundamentals of telling a good story.

E.I. Please tell your young readers about your book “Drizzle.” What was it that sparked your imagination? What were your favorite aspects about this book?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: Drizzle tells the story of eleven year-old Polly Peabody, who lives on her family's famous (and magical) rhubarb farm. Some of the rhubarb tastes like chocolate, diamonds pop out of the ground, and it rains every Monday at one o'clock... until the one Monday when it doesn't rain, and Polly has to figure out what has happened.

My favorite aspect of Drizzle is the combination of "real" and "magic." I was always drawn to stories like Charlotte’s Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – when the “real” world (Zuckerman’s farm, London) mixed with the “magic” world (talking pigs and spiders, Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and the Oompa Loompas). This is exactly what I was going for with Drizzle – to create a very real world for an eleven year old girl, complete with school bullies and mean older sisters, mixed with a completely plausible magic world – a farm with communicating plants and enchanted lakes, etc.

I also love the “supporting” characters of Drizzle: Beatrice, Owen, Ophelia – they were so fun to write. And I love writing about the joy of being outside, and the idea that “nature does nothing in vain” – that we are, and should be, powerless against nature.

E.I. How do you weave so much information while writing and creating the character ‘Polly Peabody’ and yet you keep her so fast-paced and interesting? Did you work her out in advance, or did she evolve as you wrote the story?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: What a kind thing to say! Thank you! Perhaps the most challenging aspect of Drizzle was detailing the “magic” nature of the farm while pushing the plot along. Since this is a first person present novel, all of this had to be expressed via Polly – and it was very, very, very (did I say very?) difficult. Her voice was always clear to me – but the explication of the farm’s magic was only achieved through thousands of revisions and the very close attention of my editor.

E.I. You've created a cast of so remarkably captivating and really fun characters: Polly, Freddie, Patricia, Aunt Edith, Jennifer Jong, Christina, George, Beatrice and Ophelia that your readers definitely clamor for more; how did you decide what level of details your readers will accept? How does your creative process work?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: Thank you again. (I will always do interviews for you!) I have to admit I didn’t spend a lot of time wondering what the readers would “accept” – it was more about making the people that existed so clearly in my mind come alive on the page. I assumed that if I could capture even a fraction of, say, Jennifer Jong’s meanness or Ophelia’s whimsy, it would work.

Re: creative process. I’m still figuring this out, actually, but I’ve begun to realize that I’m the kind of writer who needs to just sit at a computer and write, with perhaps only an idea or a character in mind, and then see what happens as I type. It’s only after a complete first draft that I discover the “theme” of the story and then I can go back in and revise to make it crafted. It’s the hardest part for me, but also the most exciting. I watched Elizabeth Gilbert (author of EAT PRAY LOVE) talk once about how the writer’s job is showing up (i.e., getting in the chair) and the “muse’s” job is to appear and help out. (I’m paraphrasing here.) I think I know what she was getting at – in that I can’t control what happens in that first spark of connection between my creative brain and the page. I just start to type, and the story and characters unfold, and then, after I print out the pages and can go back and read what’s there, then the craft part of writing takes over. But the most important thing is to show up: to sit in the chair.

E.I. How did you pull in the reader into Polly’s life, living her life hour after hour as she deals with the magical events in the farm and the illness of Freddie that follows?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: I have two brothers whom I absolutely adore. I also was lucky enough to grow up on a farm that I loved. It was relatively easy – but emotionally painful – to envision a situation where my brothers were sick and I wanted to do something to make them healthy, just as it was easy/painful to imagine our farm withering without rain.

E.I. How do you imagine audience as you are writing? Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: Again – and perhaps I should rethink this – but I don’t really think about the audience as I’m writing, except in the more general “will anyone like this? What am I doing? Perhaps I should be an accountant?” kind of way. The one thing I try to do is read as many middle grade and young adult books as I can. This is my way, I think, of learning what is out there and being well received by kids. For example, I read Gennifer Cholodenko’s AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS about three thousand times while writing Drizzle, since it was also a first person present novel. It is also a master class in writing for middle graders. I tried to examine why it was that Moose Flanagan was such a delightful protagonist, and then incorporate some of that with Polly. I’d also read other masterpieces: CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and THE GIVER and BRIDGE TO TEREBITHIA and THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN (for only a few examples) just to give me that “running start” to going back and trying to improve Polly’s story.

I should also add that I am, fundamentally, a reader. Most of the time, I don’t read as a writer –I read as the little bespectacled geeky girl I was, gulping books like water. That’s the kind of person I’m trying to reach when I write my own stuff.

I don’t have sheets of newsprint… but I do have index cards taped up all over, with random sections/selections from novels I like. Even when I’m not in the middle of a project, I like to read (and reread) these quotes … they always make me smile in awe, and admiration.

E.I. How many years of research did you do pertaining to the creation of a magical farm which is a totally different enchanted world run by plants and bugs? How did you overcome these challenges?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: I had to do a lot of research about rhubarb, since I knew basically nothing about that plant. I wrote Drizzle over three and a half years, and certainly I spent a lot of that time discovering specific rhubarb traits like the oxyalic acid on rhubarb leaves and how it can be used to combat the CFC’s in the ozone. I also did a lot of research about genetics and the water cycle and Ralph Waldo Emerson, since those are all important threads in the novel. But writing about growing up on a farm, perse, was not that difficult: there are many autobiographical details in Rupert’s Rhubarb Farm that come from my childhood spent on a blueberry and cranberry farm. Plus, as I said earlier, I really do think our real farm was “magical” even though we didn’t have the magic bugs or talking plants.

E.I. Do you take the view from the perspective of a woman who grew up in a farm, or do you see yourself as an objective observer, while writing “Drizzle”?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: Absolutely, 100% the former. I think it’s obvious (!) from these answers that I was anything but an objective observer about Polly, her family’s farm, or anything else she encounters in her story.

E.I. If you were asked to read a page from “Drizzle” is there one that you would personally select to share with your fans? And why?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: If it didn’t give away the ending, I’d read the seven paragraphs of the novel, since I love what it says about Polly’s growth and her state of mind at the end of her story. Besides the last line of the novel (which I can’t reveal here!), I do have three other favorite lines:

p. 263
“But parents are just people. Tall third graders. It’s hard to find balance between your own stuff and your children – and the whole time you just watch as they grow up and you have to accept that they’re a whole different person than you are. It’s hard. You plant watermelons, out grows broccoli.”

p. 352“I’ve learned something during this process. No one, absolutely no one, suspects than an eleven-year-old girl is capable of anything.”

p. 249 and again on p. 357
“There’s a feeling you get when you achieve something all by yourself that will bring you more peace and contentment than anything money or love can provide. It is at that moment when you can look around and say “I did it” – and know no one can take it away from you.”

E.I. If you were allowed total control of the Hollywood version of “Drizzle” who would be in it? And in your opinion who do you think should direct?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: I love this question!

Directors: Peter Weir, Robert Zemeckis, Guillermo Del Toro, David Yates, Alfonso Cuaron, Alexander Payne, Mo Ogrodnik, Tim Burton, Stephen Spielberg (oh please, please, please!).

Actors: I think Polly (and her peers) would be portrayed by young actors new on the scene… but re: adult roles…
Aunt Edith: Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Helen Mirren
Owen: Owen Wilson (who was always the guy I pictured as I wrote him)
Ophelia: Emma Thompson, Diane Keaton,
Christina: Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock,

E.I. And finally what’s next with Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve? Can you give your fans a sneak peek about your upcoming book?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: I am having a terrific time with my new story… about a 12 (perhaps 11?) year old boy named Ike, who desperately wants to be on his town’s summer basketball team, but alas, Ike is very short for his age. He is also a gifted piano player, although his teacher… the very sweet-seeming Mrs. Johnson, may also be a very petty, very sinister, witch. The working title is SMALL TOWN GODS, but that may change.

E.I. Ms. DeMarco Van Cleve, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve: At the risk of telling them something they already know: read! Read anything you can. Also eat cupcakes. And finally, take notes: I’m still learning how to do this with consistency, but it’s impossible to remember every detail that you may consider a potential story idea/character trait, etc.

Ms. DeMarco Van Cleve leaves in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her family.

To learn more about Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve, please visit her website
Photo of Kathleen DeMarco Van Cleve by Emory Van Cleve
To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble

FEATURED AUTHOR: Brian Selznick - New York Time Bestselling & Award-Winning Author of “The Invention of Hugo Cabret.”

2010-06-21T11:34:00.004-04:00

Brian Selznick, born in July 14th, 1966 in Brunswick, New Jersey is an author and an illustrator of children’s books and young adult books. He is the author of "The Invention of Hugo Cabret".

He graduated at The Rhode Island School of Design and worked at Eeyore’s Books for Children in Manhattan, after graduation where he learned all about children’s books from his boss Steve Geck who is now an editor of children’s books at Greenwillow.

His grandfather was a first cousin of David O. Selznick an American film producer. He is best known for producing Gone with the Wind.

Brian Selznick first book, The Houdini Box, about a boy who almost meets the great magician which Mr. Selznick also illustrated, was published in 1991 while he was still working at Eeyore’s bookstore. The book, won the Texas Bluebonnet Award and the Rhode Island Children’s Book Awards for. His other books are: The Boy of a Thousand Faces, but The Invention of Hugo Cabret is by far the longest and most involved book he’ve ever worked on. His obsessions with old French movies, clockworks, mechanical figures and the filmmaker Georges Méliès inspired him to write the book, “Hugo.”

The Invention of Hugo Cabret has been awarded the 2008 Caldecott medal. It also was named a finalist for the 2007 National Book Awards in the Young People's Literature and won the Quill Award in the Children's Chapter/Middle Grade category. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which has been a New York Times #1 Bestseller, was named one of the New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Books of the Year.

Academy award-winning director, Martin Scorsese’s will be making his first children’s movie base on "The Invention of Hugo Cabret." But just how child-friendly this movie will be is entirely up to Mr. Scorsese’s. He admits, he does not abide by any rules of genre, let alone his own. The media has said that Martin Scorsese, suggests he’ll make the leap to 3D with The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It’ll be the first time for the Oscar winning director, Martin Scorsese will directly aimed and marketed towards young kids movie.

The historical fiction book, which is set in 1930’s Paris tells the story of a 12 year old orphan, clock keeper, Hugo who is also a thief. The boy lives in the walls of a Parisian train station. Suddenly Hugo’s lives interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station. Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

The cast would be Academy award-winning actor, Ben Kingsley is being cast Georges Melies, a famous silent filmmaker with a pivotal role in the story. English actor, comedian, and writer, Sacha Baron Cohen, best known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictitious characters, Ali G, Borat and Brüno step into the role of the station inspector.

As for the two lead children,, Chloe Moretz from the movie Kick-Ass, will play Isabelle and English child actor, Asa Butterfield known for his role “Nanny McPhee” a movie with Emma Thompson, will be playing the role of Hugo.

Brian Selznick also illustrated many books for children, including Frindle by Andrew Clements which won Christopher Award. The Doll People which is a trilogy by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin, Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride by Pam Muñoz Ryan and The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley, received a 2001 Caldecott Honor.

Mr. Selznick have one sister who is a teacher, and a brother who is a brain surgeon. He also have five nephews and one niece. Brian Selznick divides his time between Brooklyn, New York, and San Diego, California.

To learn more about Brian Selznick, please visit his website
To purchase his books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Nobles

INTERVIEW: John Michael Cummings - Award-winning Author of "The Night I Freed John Brown"

2010-06-14T16:27:00.006-04:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with the Award-winning author, John Michael Cummings. He is born 1963 in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. He holds a B.A. in Art/Graphic Design from George Mason University.

He was a reporter for Times Community Newspapers March 1989 — August 1991. He reported business news for The Reston Times.

His short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five literary journals, including North American Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Chattahoochee Review, The Kenyon Review, and The Iowa Review.

He was twice been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. His short story “The Scratchboard Project” received an honorable mention in The Best American Short Stories 2007. He is also the Newberry Honor recipient Ruth White award and Poet Laurete Fred Chappell award.

His novella The House of My Father, from which his debut novel was adapted, was a finalist in the 2006 Miami University Novella Contest. His other novella Chimney Rock was a Semi-finalist ,Winnow Press 2004 First Book Award for Fiction.

The Night I Freed John Brown is Mr. Cummings' powerful first novel for young readers and the Winner of the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like?

John Michael Cummings: Shy, a little huffy, and very lost. That was me in my teens. God, not by choice, though. I so wanted to be happy and popular. But I couldn't find my smile, couldn't feel right around others, always felt small and less than enough. Inferior, in other words. Yikes! Those were terrible years.

Should I say why they were? My counselor provides an answer: a critical father.

But there was another side to me then despite him. I wrote 20-page love letters to a particular girl--nightly! She always said I would be a writer.

Or I stood in the town phone booth all evening long waiting for her to call; we didn't have a phone in my house, and by ringing the phone booth once, she would signal me to call her. (Phone booths allowed incoming calls then.) She had a house full of sisters, so her phone was always busy. Timing was everything.

So as knotted up as I was in crowds, I was a giant of devotion for this girl.

E.I. Give your readers three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience.

John Michael Cummings: I was fired--fired because I kept making eyes at the waitress. I was a dishwasher, and I couldn't stop looking at her--fired, mind you, because the owner had a bigger thing going on with her. Maybe she liked the attention from a boy, and that infuriated him.

He died soon after he fired me. I always thought it was the food that killed him. It was a diner in West Virginia, after all. Need I say more about the food?

So I was a terrible dishwasher, but I knew a beautiful face when I saw it. That's my first job experience.

E.I. Tell, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page.

John Michael Cummings: Inspiration for writing has always come from joy, pain, and the curiosity in between. I write to capture the emotions that press against the lid of my head like a volcano. It's hard work, getting the words right. The fewest words, all of them dead on. But only language can answer the cry for understanding in us, and language, like us, is limitless.

Fun anecdotes? Me have fun? Never. Just kidding. Twice I drove up to John Updike's mansion in Massachusetts and left my manuscripts at his door, with a letter imploring him to read them. Twice he sent his Rottweilers after me down the driveway. Just kidding about the Rottweilers. Once, though, he did write back. "...nice touches," he said. "Try to create more curiosity. Keep writing, but don't keep sending your work to me. You need an editor. I'm a dead-end," he wrote.

John Updike a dead-end?

Rest his soul. I assumed he was too smart to smoke.

E.I. Also tell us about John Michael Cummings today -- the man behind the author.

John Michael Cummings has never been happier. He left New York City last July and is well on his way to the life he's always wanted--full of friends, love, and good writing.

I just finished a stint teaching college prep English and am about to embark on my master's degrees in creative writing at University of Central Florida. Go Knights! (No, I am not drinking a wine cooler right now.)

The man behind the author? Hmm... That is journey, isn't it? To realize the man behind the author. The new Christian. The loving boyfriend. The father figure. The decent neighbor. The good employee. The commuter. The smart shopper. None of these hats seemed to have any color in New York. Now they're brilliant.

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing that enchants you, and gives you the enduring passion to continue in such a demanding profession?

John Michael Cummings: "You'd probably die if you didn't write," my counselor once said.

That I'm telling you I have a counselor who's so intense to say this lets you know I'm not a pitted, sun-baked statue of a man, but a watery body, like a lake that ripples, mercurial with flitting fish.

A friend once said I had the head of a horse--sensitive. (I think this friend was drinking a wine cooler when he said this.)

Seriously, what enchants me about writing is the world of interactions, settings, and ideas that come to life on the page. Creation. Language has no limits. How can one not be psyched up by that?

E.I. Please tell your young readers about your novel “The Night I Freed John Brown.” What was it that sparked your imagination? What were your favorite aspects about this book?

John Michael Cummings: It's the story of a shy, mistreated boy growing up in the town where the controversial preacher-turned-revolutionary John Brown was captured in 1859 for his raid on a federal weapons depot. Brown believed he could free the slaves, and the guns at Harpers Ferry were to be the instruments of his change. Josh, in modern times, just wants to free himself, to belong to the community that lives in the historic town today. Being high on John Brown is one way to be with the in-crowd. It's a town where it's everything John Brown.

But Josh must battle his antisocial father and his way of clamping down on freedom.

The story's a modern-day parallel on the historic events at Harpers Ferry, a modern-day twist; Josh feels as liberated by John Brown as the slaves did a 150 years before him.

Imagination was not needed as much as a dramatic autobiographical treatment. I grew up in that stinking little historic tourist-trodden town I love so much. (I think I do need a wine cooler now.)

My favorite aspect was getting the novel published! That, and the gorgeous energy and details that my wonderful editor Patti Gauch lovingly and painstakingly helped me thread throughout it. Patti was the best! She made the novel twice as good as I could have ever made it without her.

I also had an excellent, outstanding, redoubtable agent: Jessica Regal. Jessica's phenom brilliance repeatedly shaped the book through critical stages. She's so young, but so good. It's scary!

Let me add that the novel took years! Five if it took one. Finding Jessica, revising. Finding Patti, revising again.

E.I. How do you weave so much fun of information while writing and creating the character ‘Josh’ and the metaphors involving John Brown? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story?

John Michael Cummings: Patti first said to me, "I like the last twenty-five pages. Rewrite the rest." Next question, as far as anything worked out in advance.

Everything evolved as the story was rewritten. Boy voice, vivid details, narrator's voice, pacing, tension, and the constant little reminders of the story's big and small promises of a payoff that is, I like to say, worthy of literature.

E.I. You've created a cast of remarkably captivating characters: Josh, his new friend Luke Richmond, Alex, Daniel, Father Ron, Bill Connors, Katie, his two brothers Jerry & Robbie that your readers definitely clamor for more; how did you decide what level of details your readers will accept? How does your creative process work?

John Michael Cummings: Saying as much as possible in the fewest words was our motto. Letting no character be thin or weak seemed to be our next standard. Again, I drew from people I knew, so there was a direct line in the writing process to actual people. That is the key to real and memorable characters, I feel.

Level of details--what a challenge. It's all about keeping the story moving forward, the bicycle pedals pumping--one pedal story, or plot, the other pedal language, neither causing the other to skip off the chain or to get clogged with sticks.

E.I. If you were asked to read a page from “The Night I Freed John Brown” is there one that you would personally select to share with your fans? And why?

John Michael Cummings: The dedication and acknowledgments page. This novel came to fruition because of teamwork. That should never be forgotten or understated.

E.I. If you were allowed total control of the Hollywood version of “The Night I Freed John Brown” who would be in it? And in your opinion who do you think should direct?

John Michael Cummings: I would like Richard Thomas to narrate the audio book. Maybe the actor Richard Boone of the sixties or seventies could play the fierce father. Elijah Wood could play our young hero. How about Anthony Mann or John Sturges as director. (Jessica, are you reading? Sell the movie rights, please!)

E.I. How do you imagine audience as you are writing? Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls?

John Michael Cummings: I work on the page and hold my plans in my head and heart. I do use a simple notebook for ideas and especially for dialogue. But I am not messy with papers lying about. My filing cabinet is my heart.

E.I. And finally, when you finish a novel, it's off to your agent and publisher, then you're on to the next. Do you find letting your manuscripts, especially your characters, as easy to part with when finished?

John Michael Cummings: Not so difficult to let finished works go. By the time I have reread and polished them enough, I'm looking forward to new terrain.

E.I. Mr. Cummings, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers all over the world?

John Michael Cummings: Uh, buy my novel? Also, find a good shrink. Finally, love what you do, and do your best. Have guts and stamina. You're special. Make sure your writing is too.

Photo of John Michael Cummings, courtesy of the author.
To purchase his book, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble.

INTERVIEW: Jillian Cantor - Award-Winning YA Author of "September Sisters"

2010-06-13T02:55:00.000-04:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Jillian Cantor. She is the author of YA novels, “The September Sisters” which was nominated for the Rhode Island Teen Book Awards and YALSA Best Book for Young Adults.

She has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona, where she was a recipient of the national Jacob K. Javits fellowship.

Her first novel, The September Sisters, was called "memorable" and "startlingly real" by Publishers Weekly. September Sisters is now out in paperback.

Her other novel, THE LIFE OF GLASS was published February 9th 2010 by Harperteen.

Ms. Cantor’s debut novel for adults, THE TRANSFORMATION OF THINGS, will be released in Fall 2010 by Avon/HarperCollins.

Jillian Cantor lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give your readers three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page. Also tell us about Jillian Cantor today -- the woman behind the author.

Jillian Cantor: As a teenager I loved to read, but in high school I mainly concentrated on music. I played clarinet competitively and spent most of my time practicing or at some band or orchestra rehearsal!

I majored in English in college because I didn’t want a career in music, and English was a subject I’d always enjoyed. I thought I’d be a journalist, and my first job was an internship at a newspaper, the summer after my freshman year in college. I hated it! I got bored very quickly, writing the truth, and I realized what I enjoyed about writing was the creative side, so when I returned to college in the fall, I took my first fiction writing class. That was the point when I really seriously thought I wanted to become an author.

Today, I’m a mom to two little boys, who take up the majority of my time. In any free moment I get, I’m writing!

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing YA Novels that enchants you, and gives you the enduring passion to continue in such a demanding profession?

Jillian Cantor: Well, I do write books for young adults and adults, and I enjoy writing them both. But I think the short answer to your question is that YA speaks to me because I love writing stories that are “coming of age” stories, and I think the teenage years are when these stories most often take place.

E.I. Please tell your young readers about your novel “The Life of Glass.” What was it that sparked your imagination? What were your favorite aspects about this book?

Jillian Cantor: The Life of Glass is the story of 14-year-old Melissa. It takes place about a year and a half after her father dies and follows Melissa through her freshman year of high school as she must deal with her mother dating again, her beautiful and obnoxious older sister ignoring her, and her best friend Ryan abandoning her for the new beautiful girl at school. Also, she begins to unravel a mystery about her father’s past, and begins to wonder how well she really knew him.

The idea for the book came from this image I had of a girl wearing a pink prom dress and riding her bike through the desert. I tried to think about who this girl would be, where she was going, what she was doing, what kind of person she was. It was clear to me she would be somewhat of a tomboy, not caring much about beauty in the traditional sense, and the story came from there. I had it in my mind that this prom dress/bike scene would be the last scene of the book, and I wrote towards that. (It did not, by the way, end up in the book, but you will definitely see pieces of this image near the end.)

My favorite aspects of the book are, as is always true with my books, the characters. I loved writing Melissa and her sarcastic wit. The supporting characters were fun too, and in a lot of ways brought me back to what it felt like to be in high school.

E.I. How do you weave so much information while writing and creating the character ‘Melissa’? Did you work her out in advance, or did she evolve as you wrote the story?

Jillian Cantor: When I write, my characters become like real people to me. So when I thought of Melissa that way, it wasn’t hard to figure out the details of her life. As I started to write her, as I could hear her voice in my head, the details evolved from there. And as I said in the previous answer, really the idea for her came from that image I had. The rest did evolve as I wrote the story.

E.I. You've created a cast of so remarkably captivating and really interesting characters: Melissa, her best friend Ryan, her bitchy older sister Ashley, her aunt Julia and the manipulative new girl Courtney? How did you decide what level of details your readers will accept? How does your creative process work that your readers definitely clamor for more?

Jillian Cantor: Thank you! I’m glad you found them captivating. I don’t think I decided consciously what level of detail to include or what readers would accept. When I wrote the book I tried to tell the story I felt I needed to tell, with the characters I felt needed to be there. I try not to think about how readers will react or what they’ll think when I’m in the process of writing, but rather just to tell the best story I possibly can, in a way where I would believe it and I would want to read it, as a reader.

E.I. In any of your novels, how do you imagine audience as you are writing? Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls?

Jillian Cantor: Well, as I said above, no I really don’t try to imagine the audience as I’m writing. I try to write for myself, to write what I love, and then after I have drafts done and I show the book to my agent or my editor, I get some input that might be more geared towards audience or the market. But as a writer, I don’t worry about any of this in the initial drafts.

I’m not much of an outliner, I’m afraid. Usually I’ll have a general sense of where a story will begin and where I’ll want it to end, and maybe a few key plot points in between to kind of guide the story. Most of the plot comes to me as I’m writing, or even, after I’ve finished the first draft. When I begin I usually have a premise or a hook for the story and some idea of who the characters are. And no, I don’t have storyboards on my walls! Usually I’ll begin with a Word document that lists my cast of main characters, their names, their roles in the story, etc. and a few plot points.

E.I. If you were asked to read a page from “The Life of Glass” is there one that you would personally select to share with your fans? And why?

Jillian Cantor: When I do readings from The Life of Glass, often I’ll choose to read the first chapter. The first chapter takes place about a year and half before the rest of the book, and I think in a lot of ways, it almost stands on its as somewhat of a short story. I think you really get a sense of who the major players in the novel are here – Melissa, her sister Ashley, her mother, her father, her best friend Ryan.

E.I. If you were allowed total control of the Hollywood version of “The Life of Glass” who would be in it? And in your opinion who do you think should direct?

Jillian Cantor: Well I think Kristen Stewart would be great for Melissa and Michael Cera would be the perfect Ryan. I’d say Ashley Judd for Melissa’s Mom and definitely Dianna Agron (Quinn from Glee) would be the perfect Courtney. I’m not too up on my directors to say who should direct, but hey, if anyone wants to, I’m willing J

E.I. And finally what’s next with Jillian Cantor? Can you give your fans a sneak peek about your upcoming book?

Jillian Cantor: My first book for adults will be out on November 2nd from Avon/HarperCollins. It’s called The Transformation of Things and tells the story of a woman who, after her judge-husband is indicted, begins dreaming true things about her friends and family.

E.I. Ms. Cantor, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers all over the world?

Jillian Cantor: Thank you so much for having me! A tip I have is not to give up. There’s a lot of rejection in publishing, but if writing is what you love, keep at it, keep revising, and keep trying to get your work out there.

Photo of Jillian Cantor, "courtesy of the author"
To find out more about Jillian Cantor, please visit her website.
To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble.

INTERVIEW: Cynthia Jaynes Omololu - YA Author of "Dirty Little Secrets"

2010-06-06T00:16:00.010-04:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Cynthia Jaynes Omololu. She was born in New Jersey, but grew up in San Diego, California. She majored in English at U.C. Santa Barbara. The best part of her college was living in Scotland for a year.

She met some amazing people in Scotland who she still consider some of her best friends all these years.

She’s the author of two YA adult books: “When It's Six O'clock in San Francisco” and her latest novel “Dirty Little Secrets.”

Dirty Little Secrets is novel that deals with compulsive hoarding and its affect on a child's life.

The book tells the story of a girl forced to make an agonizing decision in this nicely realized page-turner. Sixteen-year-old Lucy has been painfully isolated from her peers for years, refusing to let anyone near her house lest they discover the towers of garbage and heaps of mold-encrusted dishes. This is a mind-blowingly intense novel.

Ms. Omololu’s leaves in Northern California with her husband and two sons.

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give your readers three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page. Also tell us about Cynthia Jaynes Omololu today -- the woman behind the author.

CJ Omololu: My two best friends in high school became cheerleaders and homecoming queens. I felt like I couldn’t compete with that, so I dyed my hair black and started hanging out with musicians downtown. I recently found my senior yearbook and there were two signatures in it, which didn’t bother me at the time, but now I find sort of sad.

I got my first real job as a junior in high school. It was working in City Hall in our small seaside town, doing administrative stuff. That first experience pretty much inspired me to not want to work in an office if I could help it in the future. I’ve been a lot of things (several of them office jobs) in my life before I discovered that I was actually good at something. I’ve worked for a travel agency, a weekly newspaper, a fashion designer, as a waitress and a barista before Starbucks existed. I spent my life looking for the job I have today.

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing YA novels entirely that enchants you, and gives you the enduring passion to continue in such a demanding profession?

CJ Omololu: I love writing about a time in my own life that was full of conflict and confusion. Those years are so formative, and it’s interesting to me that the people who look like they have it together in their teens don’t necessarily do the best as adults. The stories that come to me so far have all had teenage voices, so that’s what I write. The children’s and young adult writing community is so supportive, I can’t imagine doing anything else.

E.I. Please tell your young readers about your novel “Dirty Little Secrets.” What was it that sparked your imagination? What were your favorite aspects about this book?

CJ Omololu: I read a magazine article about adults who had grown up in hoarded homes and that got me thinking what their childhoods must have been like. I feel that all of the characters are multi-dimensional – I made a real effort to have Lucy’s mother seem like a real person and not just a monster.

E.I. How do you weave so much information while writing and creating the character ‘Lucy Anne Thompkins’ and yet you keep her so fast-paced and interesting? Did you work her out in advance, or did she evolve as you wrote the story?

CJ Omololu: Thanks for saying that! Lucy came to me pretty fully formed, although I found out a lot about her as I worked. I try to cut anything that doesn’t add something significant to the story.

E.I. You've created a cast of so remarkably captivating and really fun characters: Lucy, Joanna, Kaylie, Josh Lee, Sara and Phil that your readers definitely clamor for more; how did you decide what level of details your readers will accept? How does your creative process work?

CJ Omololu: I didn’t really think about that in advance – I guess I write the book that I’d like to read. When I come up with an idea, I let it stew for a month or two. When the characters start talking to me, I know it’s time to start writing. I use a very loose, 9 step outline (I’ve got a post on how I do that on my blog) and then just start writing. Fiction for me is just the process of writing down the ‘movie’ that is going on in my head, so I start writing with the first scene and go until it ends.

E.I. How did you pull in the reader into Lucy's life, living her life hour after hour as she deals with the tremendous hardships of her mother's hoarding and the tragedy that follows.

CJ Omololu: When I started the book, I wasn’t sure what the format would be, but I realized pretty quickly that it would take place in a short period of time. I basically just followed along as she dealt with what happened.

E.I. Have you witnessed hoarding in your life, but never thought of it as a disease until you wrote this novel? I’m sure your audience felt so bad for Lucy’s life. I know that this is fiction but in reality a child should never have to go through that.

CJ Omololu: Great question, and the answer is yes. We used to joke about the mess and all the belongings without understanding that it was a disorder that actually had a name. I didn’t grow up like Lucy did, but unfortunately, many kids have. I have the emails to prove it, and each one breaks my heart. I have a lot of resources on my website, including www.childrenofhoarders.com, which is one of the best places to start for someone who has a hoarding problem in the family.

E.I. Can you explain the difference between a packrat and a compulsive hoarder?

CJ Omololu: Semantics. Hoarder is a pretty recent term for what people used to call packrats. My test for hoarding is if the person can get rid of things, either by giving them away, recycling or just putting things in the trash then they’re probably going to be okay. If they always come up with excuses as to why things could be useful to someone, then they might have a problem.

E.I. Does a hoarder spends money on lockers or additional storage space, and is filling up their car with possessions because they've run out of room in the house?

CJ Omololu: Absolutely – that is classic hoarding behavior. I know one hoarder who has purchased three homes that are now full of possessions.

E.I. Are people born compulsive hoarders, or do they become them?
CJ Omololu: There is just starting to be a lot of research on this disorder, so there isn’t a clear picture of a typical hoarder at this point. There does seem to be an element of OCD that many hoarders show early in their lives. Contrary to what it might seem, hoarding can often come from perfectionist tendencies – they don’t want to get rid of things that might be useful in the future. Hoarding does seem to get worse as people get older or have a traumatic event happen in their lives like a death or divorce.

E.I. Do hoarders tend to collect different things, or are there commonalities among hoarders?

CJ Omololu: For a disorder that has been so secretive, hoarders do tend to collect similar things. If you watch the hoarding shows you will see a lot of newspaper and magazines, books, clothes and toys (even if they don’t have kids).

E.I. Do people ever go back and read the newspapers or magazines they've saved? Can you explain what it's called churning? Which I guess one of hoarders habits?

CJ Omololu: While I can’t speak for all hoarders, I doubt that most of them go back over newspapers and magazines. They tend to save them ‘just in case’ they might need them someday. Churning is when a hoarder is trying to deal with the mess, but they are really just moving items from one location to another – not actually getting rid of anything. They may start to tackle a stack of magazines, only to realize that they might need an article in every copy and end up stacking them somewhere else.

E.I. Some people hoard animals. Is that related to compulsive hoarding? Some people will say, "A stray came to my door, how could I turn it away?" It's the same kind of thing -- they think," Everything is important.

CJ Omololu: There is a similar disorder called animal hoarding where people collect dogs, cats and other pets, but I didn’t include that aspect of hoarding in my book. Hoarders tend to put an abnormal amount of emotional attachment to things, and animal hoarders do this to pets. Even though they may have many more animals than is safe or sanitary, they can’t part with any of them, even if they know they are going to good homes. I foster kittens for our local animal shelter. Every year we have about 20 kittens come through our house (in twos and threes) and each and every one is special, but when it’s time, we give them back to the shelter so that they can find their ‘forever’ homes.

E.I. What are some of the factors that can lead to someone becoming a hoarder? Are some people predisposed to collect things? Men vs. women, old vs. young, rich vs. poor?

CJ Omololu: Hoarding is one of the great equalizers. At this point, it does seem to affect more women than men, but we are just starting to get a better picture of the disorder. You don’t need money to be a hoarder – many hoarders love garage sales and dumpsters for their treasures.

E.I. How many years of research did you do about hoarders to make your novel realistic? How did you overcome these challenges?

CJ. Omololu: When I wrote the book back in 2008, there weren’t many TV shows on hoarding and it wasn’t talked about too much. Once I got the idea, I Googled ‘hoarding’ and found the website Children of Hoarders. Through that site, I found three women who worked very closely with me to get the details right. They would tell me stories and read parts of the book as I wrote to give me pointers. I’ve had people who grew up in situations similar to Lucy’s in my story tell me it was like I had a camera trained on their lives. That is the best possible compliment I can get.

E.I. And finally what’s next with Cynthia Jaynes Omololu? Can you give your fans a sneak peek about your upcoming book?

CJ Omololu: I’m just finishing a book that is very different from DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS – a bit lighter, with more romance. I felt like I needed a little break from such heavy subjects. I do have some more “issue” books waiting to be written, so I’ll probably come back to writing important issues soon. People can watch the blog at www.cynjay.blogspot.com for updates and news.

E.I. Ms. Omololu, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

CJ Omololu: Thank you! It’s been great. People told me in high school that I was a good writer, but I really didn’t pay attention and I was well into adulthood before it even occurred to me to write books. If you love writing, keep at it and don’t be afraid to share your work with other writers. Almost every writer has several ‘practice’ books in a drawer somewhere (and those who don’t, we don’t talk to) so don’t give up if your first novel isn’t perfect. It’s a long learning curve, but the rewards are awesome.

Photo of Cynthia Jaynes Omololu courtesy of the author.
To learn more about Cynthia Jaynes Omololu, please visit her website
To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble

INTERVIEW: Catherine Fisher - New York Times Bestseller And Award-Winning Welsh Children’s Fantasy Author of “Incarceron”

2010-05-05T15:30:00.003-04:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Catherine Fisher. She was born in Newport Wales and graduated from the University of Wales in 1980. She has worked in teaching archaeology, lecturing creative writing at the University of Glamorgan. She writes full–time specializing in myth and history.

She began her career writing poetry. Her poetry has appeared in leading magazines, newspapers, anthologies, and she has published numerous award-winning novels.
Catherine Fisher is well known for her fantasy novels for children such as The Snow-Walker and Oracle trilogies, and her award-winning poetry collections since the late 1980s.

She won the 'Welsh Arts Council Young Writers' Prize for her volume of poetry Immrama in 1989 and the Cardiff International Poetry Competition. Another award in 1990 to her initial novel, “The Conjuror’s Game”, and was shortlisted for the Smartties Book Prize. Her novel, “The Snow-Walker’s Son” made the shortlist for WH Smith Award in 1993.

In 1995 Ms. Fisher won another award Tir na n'Og Prize for "The Candleman” and was shortlisted for the “Whitebread Children’s” Book Award for the Oracle in 2003. She was involved with BBC Wales History project “Celtic Myths” and wrote the story of “Becoming Merlin” in autumn of 2009.

Her latest novel “Incarceron” is about the two main characters, Finn and Claudia, who are both searching for a means of escape, are very different characters in two parts of a stagnated future world.

She, the Warden's pampered daughter, is trapped in her own form of prison which is a futuristic world constructed to look like a past era. She is about to be married off to a playboy prince for her father's benefit.

He, a young prisoner is an amnesiac boy in the Scum gang, plagued by seizures that give him prophetic visions of an earlier life.

“Incarceron” is a futuristic prison, sealed from view with a mix of high technology. It is everything a fantasy novel should be: exciting, scary, thought-provoking, and imaginative. It's poetically written by Ms. Fisher, well characterized and beautifully paced.

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give your readers three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page. Also tell us about Catherine Fisher today -- the woman behind the bestselling author of more than fourteen fantasy novels.

Catherine Fisher: I was the sort of teenager who is always reading or out walking in the courtyard. I had a feeling I would be a writer but didn’t really know, so I studied English. I had a selection of jobs after college, including working on an archeological dig and as a lab technician. But I was always writing poems and stories and gradually I began to try and get them published.

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing fantasy novels for young adults and children that enchants you, and gives you the enduring passion to continue in such a demanding profession?

Catherine Fisher: My favourite writers were often experts at fantasy. I loved Alan Garner’s novels, especially The Owl Service which is based on Welsh myth, and also Tolkien and Ursula Le Guin, and my fellow countryman Arthur Machen, a genius of terror. So when I began to write, magic and strange things came into the books at once. I feel this genre gives me far more scope to explore people and nature and indeed the supernatural than any other.

E.I. Please tell your young readers about your novel “Incarceron.” What was it that sparked your imagination? What were your favorite aspects about this book?

Catherine Fisher: INCARCERON was sparked by several things - an exhibition of prints by Piranesi called Imaginary Prisons, showing huge and strange buildings where the prisoners were tiny and remote. Also a conversation with someone, and literary sources like Ghormenghast and others. All these things came together and started the book. My favourite aspects were creating the two different worlds - one sunny, open, luxurious, the other dark, enclosed, savage- and the relationships between characters, like Claudia and her father, or Finn and Keiro.

E.I. How do you weave so much suspense and elements of information while writing and creating the characters Claudia and Finn and yet you keep them so fast-paced? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story?

Catherine Fisher: Not much is worked out in advance. I tend to work things out as I go, and then I can’t give information away by accident. The only thing I really knew from the very start was the dimensions and whereabouts of the Prison- if you’ve read the book you know what I mean. Everything else evolved. I try to keep the action fast and drop information in discreetly. The chapter heading quotes area great help with this.

E.I. You've created a cast of characters: Giles, Earl Casper, Sapient Gilda, Attia and Keiro so remarkably captivating that your readers definitely clamor for more; how did you decide what level of details your readers will accept? How does your creative process work?

Catherine Fisher: I wanted a disparate group of characters, so that people will be able to identify with at least one. I became interested in several of the characters: Jared in particular grew in importance as the story went on. The Warden was fascinating to write, and Keiro was great fun, as he’s fairly uncomplicated. Finn is a troubled character and he was interesting, as was Claudia. I also had fun with the secondary characters like Gildas and Rix, who you’ll meet in SAPPHIQUE.

E.I. If you were asked to read a chapter from “Incarceron.” is there one that you would personally select to share with your fans? And why?

Catherine Fisher: I often have to read from INCARCERON at schools and so on. I usually choose the part where Claudia breaks into her father’s study. But I think my favourite chapter is 29.

E.I. If you were allowed total control of the Hollywood version of “Incarceron” who would be in it? And in your opinion who do you think should direct?

Catherine Fisher: I don’t know much about Hollywood actors so I don’t have a clue. There’s a British actor called “Charles Dance” who would do the Warden very well.

E.I. Ms. Fisher, how many years of research did you do pertaining to create a 17th century manor house and include a totally different world run by computers? How did you overcome these challenges?

Catherine Fisher: I don’t do research really. I just read a lot- history, archeology- and I invent. These are invented worlds and don’t have to be perfectly correct. And I went to school in a 17th century manor house so I know what that’s like.

E.I. And, finally, could you give us a sneak peek about your upcoming book, “Sapphique? What was it that sparked your imagination about this new novel?

Catherine Fisher: SAPPHIQUE leads directly on from INCARCERON. Finn is finding life at Court difficult, he’s worried about Keiro and Claudia is afraid for her father. In the Prison, Keiro and Attia find a magic glove said once to belong to Sapphique- Keiro thinks it will get him out. But the Prison has its own plan. And then the real Giles turns up.....

E.I. Ms. Fisher, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers all over the world?

Catherine Fisher:
My writing tips are simple: Read
Write about what you like.
Believe in yourself
Read your work aloud
Keep things moving
Get inside every character

To learn more about Catherine Fisher, please visit her website
To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Nobles

UPCOMING INTERVIEW: Lauren Myracle - New York Times bestselling author of Internet Girls trilogy—ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r

2010-04-12T17:29:00.003-04:00

Lauren Myracle is a graduate of the Vermont College MFA program writing for children and young adults. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling Internet Girls trilogy—ttyl, ttfn (Ta-Ta for Now), and l8r, g8r (Later Gator) which was the first novel ever to be written entirely in instant messages.

For computer-savvy YA readers, the title TTLY focuses on instant messaging; "TTYL" is e-mail shorthand for "Talk to you later." In the novel tenth graders Angela, Zoe, and Maddie keep up with one another's adolescent ups and downs via IM's, and the novel is composed entirely of keyboarding dialogue, complete with typesetting characters such as smiley faces and other e-mail shorthand.

Ms. Myracle has written many novels: horror novels Bliss and Rhymes with Witches, and the coming-of-age trilogy, Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen.

Ms. Myracle considers writing for young people to be her life’s work, and with over a million copies of her books in print, she feels amazingly lucky to be able to reach such a large audience. Her realistic portrayal of the issues middle school and high school students deal with, however, brings Lauren negative attention as well as positive.

Her first novel, Kissing Kate, was selected an ALA Best Books for Young Adults for the year 2004. It was named by Booklist as one of the "Top Ten Youth Romances" of the year, as well as one of the "Top Ten Books by New Writers". Her middle-grade novel, Eleven, came out 2004, along with Twelve, which came out in 2007. Myracle published The Fashion Disaster that Changed My Life in 2005. Thirteen was released in March 2008.

Her novel Rhymes with Witches, was nominated for Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association. Bliss, which came out in 2008, is its prequel.

Ms Myracle has a book written entitled How to Be Bad with author E. Lockhart and Sarah Mlynowski. She also teamed up with four other favorite teen authors Stephanie Myers “Twilight”, Meg Cabot “Princess Diaries”, Kim Harrison & Michelle Jaffe) produce a book “Prom Nights From Hell” which is about proms gone supernaturally, horribly wrong. While regular girls are so concerned about shoes matching with their purse, the girls in these stories are worried about crossbows and vampires, zombie dates who've been dead for weeks, and a devil in a red dress who causes chaos by snapping high heels and breaking up couples.

Her latest novel ‘Luv Ya Bunches’ book one is about four elementary school girls who have little in common, but bond over the fact that they’re all named after flowers. Luv Ya Bunches is the first installment of a four-book series is now available in bookstores and one line. ‘Luv Ya Bunches: Violet in Bloom’ book two in the series will be out later this year.

Lauren Myracle was born on May 15, 1969 in Brevard, North Carolina, and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her BA in English and Psychology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked for some time as a middle-school teacher in the US and Japan. She later earned an MA in English from Colorado State University and a graduate of the Vermont College MFA program in writing for children and young adults.

She currently resides in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her husband and their children. Most of Ms. Myracle's novels take place in Atlanta, Georgia.

To learn more about Lauren Myracle, please visit her website

To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble

INTERVIEW: Mette Ivie Harrison - Award-Winning Author Of The Young Adult Fantasy Novels

2010-03-25T10:02:00.000-04:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Mette Ivie Harrison. She was born in Summit, New Jersey. Her father, a retired computer professor at Brigham Young University. Her mother Betty Jo Ivie, have 11 children.

Ms. Harrison, holds an M.A. in German Literature from Brigham Young University, and a B.A. in German. She also attended Princeton University and has a PhD in Germanic Languages and Literatures

AWARDS & HONORS
The Monster In Me—One of Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books, 2002
The Princess and the Hound—Top 100 Librarians' Choices (Texas Women's University), 2007
The Princess and the Hound—Honorable Mention, Best YA Novel of the Year (Association of Mormon Letters), 2007
The Princess and the Hound—Nominated for ALA's Best Books for Young Adults, 2007
Mira, Mirror—Spirit 0f 76 Recommended Book List, 2004
Mira, Mirror—Honorable Mention for Juvenile Books (Association of Mormon Letters), 2004
Mira, Mirror—Utah Center for the Book Letters for Literature Level II Winner, 2004

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give your readers three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page. Also tell us about Mette Ivie Harrison today -- the woman behind the Middle-grade bestselling YA author.

Mette Ivie Harrison: I went to Germany for a year my sophomore year as high school. My mother used to tell people that was the year I "grew up." I was certainly allowed a level of independence that many other teens my age never experienced. I took a train to the ferry across the English Channel and then a bus to London for two weeks and wandered through the National Museum and wherever else I wanted to go. I also spent a week with my German school friends at a ski lodge taking lessons from an advanced ski instructor. I think I nearly killed myself, but I was a different person when I came home. I was more confident, and I had seen a lot of the world that others were still reading about in books about famous art and literature of the ancient Western world. But I was also very much a square peg in a round hole. I had a small group of very bright friends, and one of those was my current husband. I had always known I wanted to be a writer, since I was in Kindergarten, and I swerved away from that for a time, but not very far. Books have always been a part of my life. I read them while I walked to school, at school whenever I could, and I used to read myself hoarse reading to my children.

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing young adult novels that enchants you, and gives you the enduring passion to continue in such a demanding profession?

Mette Ivie Harrison: I do like to have some kind of formal challenge when working on a novel. For MIRA, MIRROR, I wanted to write an entire novel from the viewpoint of an inanimate object. I have another book in which each chapter is written from the first person viewpoint of a different character, and yet all the stories work together to tell a whole novel.

I am working on a new project that takes the old German legend Tristan and Isolde and translates it into modern high school. I wrote a romance with a bear and a hound as the two main characters. And I like to play with conventions about romance and fantasy and turn them on their heads.

E.I. Please tell your young readers about your novel *“The Princess and the Bear.”* What was it that sparked your imagination? What were your favorite aspects about this book?

Mette Ivie Harrison: I love that the "princess" in the book is not at all princessly. I hope that I make readers feel like they know what it would be like to be a hound or a bear. I also hope that the magic feels real and integral to the world. I think that fantasy demands just as much realism with characters as realistic fiction does.

E.I. What were your biggest challenge and obstacle while writing and creating the character King Richon and Chala? You've created a cast of characters so remarkably captivating that your readers definitely clamor for more; how did you decide what level of details your readers will accept? How does your creative process work?

Mette Ivie Harrison: The tricky part was making the two characters feel human, and yet not at all human. The reader has to care about them, so I can't stretch too far away from the bounds of a traditional novel, but I press the boundaries. I think that dialog has always been the easiest part of writing to me. Rather than seeing a novel visually, I tend to hear it in my head, mostly in conversations between the characters. I am blessed with family and friends who love conversation. We sometimes have to raise our hands to get a word in edgewise when we are debating hotly.

My creative process is very messy. I keep trying to shape it up. We'll see if it works. But I try to get a first draft down in a rush. I wrote BEAR in a month, about 10,000 words a day (only a tenth of which probably stayed in the final draft). It was rough, but it was a beginning point. Then I work through layer by layer, adding details, shaving away the extraneous, and twisting the cliched.

E.I. How do you imagine audience as you are writing? Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls?

Mette Ivie Harrison: I have notebooks in which I scrawl a variety of comments. I doubt they would make much sense to anyone but me. Sometimes plot questions, character issues, things that are inconsistent that I have to get right, questions about rules of magic, and then story ideas for the next book, and the one after that. Very rarely, I outline before I write. More often, I outline afterward and try to see the structure that needs to be in the broken one that I already have. If I had advice for writers, it would be to let go of what you wrote before because what you write the second time will be much better. I once lost my entire master's thesis on my computer. I had to rewrite it out of my head. It was one of the best things that happened to me. So now I have to force myself to do that a lot, and cut out a hundred pages here and there without blinking an eye.

E.I. If you were asked to read a page from *“The Princess and the
Bear.”* is there one that you would personally select to share with your fans? And why?

Mette Ivie Harrison: I love the first page. I think I got the feelings of the bear there exactly right. If I had to choose another section, it would probably be the rising of the animal army out of the forest.

E.I. When you finish a novel, it's off to your agent and publisher, then you're on to the next. Do you find letting your manuscripts, especially your characters, as easy to part with when finished?

Mette Ivie Harrison: On the one hand, I am eager to start a new project. But whenever I have a chance to take another pass at a manuscript, in galleys or any other stage, I do. I have been known to add scenes even at the very last moment because I want to get the manuscript exactly right.

E.I. Ms. Harrison, you are well known in the writing community as
Award-winning author, recipient of the Best Children’s book of 2007, Nominated for ALA's Best Books for Young Adults. Having a PhD in Germanic Languages and Literatures. Do you ever feel pressure or insecure, or are you able to separate all that from your own creative
process?

Mette Ivie Harrison: I feel pressure and insecurity constantly. I think I am my own worst critic. But I will say that I write easily. I don't let myself off the hook just because I am afraid, and once I get started, I just remind myself that I am just trying to tell the story as clearly as possible. I try not to get in the way of my creativity. That is the biggest problem I see. People are so afraid of writing badly that they never start. And if you don't start with something, you are never going to get better.

E.I. And, finally, could you give us a sneak peek about your upcoming book, *“The Princess and the Snowbird?* What was it that sparked your imagination about this book?

Mette Ivie Harrison: I conceived of SNOWBIRD and BEAR in the same moment, as I was going through the galleys for THE PRINCESS AND THE HOUND and realized that the story of the hound and the bear was woefully incomplete and the only way to fix it was to write two more novels about them. I thought of these books first as THE BEAR AND THE HOUND and THE HOUND'S DAUGHTER and think of the series as THE HOUND SAGA. I have a couple of other books in the series I am working on, one about the hound's hound daughter. If you read the first book, you will know who I mean. And I was drawn to the story of the hound and the bear's daughter because I wanted to tell a story about a character who has so much magic that she cannot relate to any other humans. And not really to animals, either. She is very lonely, because of her power. But she can't escape it. I think that is a story that gets told over and over again, and this is just one of my versions of it.

E.I. Ms. Harrison, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has
been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers all over the world?

Mette Ivie Harrison: I think that writers have to find out what they do well, what they are uniquely suited to write about. That takes a lot of experimenting. I wrote 20 novels before I figured out that I should write YA fantasy. But how could I have found that out unless I had tried everything else? Or a lot of other things, at least. Don't worry about trying to get published at an early age. Just write what you want to write. Let yourself write without fear as much as possible. Don't show it to teachers who will correct it if you can help it. And read. I used to read a book a day. This year it's only a book a week, but you can learn so much from reading and rereading fine books that no teacher can tell you in words. You learn an instinct for character and plot. And also, that's all material for you to steal, twist, and make utterly your own.

To learn more about Mette Ivie Harrison, please visit her website.
To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Nobles

UPCOMING INTERVIEW: Cassandra Clare, Award-Winning Author Of Mortal Instruments: A YA fantasy trilogy

2010-03-13T16:17:00.001-05:00

Cassandra Clare is actually the nom de plume of Cassandra Claire, born in Teheran, Iran. She wrote the hugely successful Award-Winning YA trilogy books that has been optioned for film.

Her parents are American and they have travelled all over the world with her when she was a toddler from Himalaya through Europe.

Ms. Clare, spent her high school years in Los Angeles. She moved to New York after college where she worked at different entertainment magazines and tabloids.

Her first novel, City of Bones, was a New York Times best seller. The her latest series “Shadowhunter” books is Ms. Clare’s first of a trilogy of prequels to her “Mortal Instruments” series, “The Infernal Devices.”

The first volume in her Mortal Instruments is “The Clockwork Angel,” which will be available in every bookstore and on line September 7th, 2010. Her fourth Mortal Instruments book, “City of Fallen Angels,” will be available next year March 11th , 2011

Photo of Cassandra Clare (B/W) by D. Williford

To learn more about Cassandra Clare, please visit her website
to purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Nobles

UPCOMING INTERVIEW: Laura Rennert - Author of Children's Book "BUYING, TRAINING, AND CARING FOR YOUR DINOSAUR" & EMMA, THE EXTRA-ORDINARY PRINCESS

2010-03-03T08:47:00.006-05:00

Dr. Laura Joy Rennert is the author of the picture book, BUYING, TRAINING, AND CARING FOR YOUR DINOSAUR which was published in the Fall of 2009. Her new highly illustrated book for young readers inspired by her daughter, EMMA, THE EXTRA-ORDINARY PRINCESS is coming Spring 2011.

She speaks at writer's conferences throughout the country and abroad. Dr. Rennert was awarded her Ph.D. in English literature by the University of Virginia. She has worked as a freelance editor in the United States and Japan, and has nine years of experience teaching on the faculty in the English Departments of the University of Virginia, Osaka University of Foreign Studies, and Santa Clara University. She has published articles in various scholarly journals in the United States and internationally.

FROM HER AUTHOR WEBSITE:

Coming Spring 2011!

Psst. Over here... in the corner of the page. No, I am not the one brushing her golden hair. That's my friend Rapunzel. But this book is not about her. (That's another story.) I'm Princess Emma. And I'm telling this story because I am NOT your typical princess.

I'm in my first year at the Royal Princess Academy. Yes, even Princesses need to go to school. My best friend Rapunzel and I are in the same class. But unlike Rapunzel, I am NOT your usual princess.
I don't like pink.
I'm too clumsy to dance.
I'm always tearing my gowns.
Here are the things I like best:
1. Kicking a soccer ball
2. Playing with my Pug and my Chihuahua
3. Racing my cousin Prince Ben
4. Reading about magical animals and faraway kingdoms
5. Sliding down the castle banisters (Don't tell my mom!)
The most important day of the whole year—the All School Princess Contest—is almost here. I'm a little worried about it. The girls in my family have always outdone themselves in the Contest, but I don't think I'm going to win any trophies. Everyone's always giving me advice on how to be a proper princess. I'm not exactly the star student at school, and some of my classmates are worried I'll make us take last place.

Plus, Lady Mary our teacher just let us know, this year, the boys from the Royal Prince Academy are going to come and help out with the contest. Great. Now even more people will see me mess up!

What if I trip during the royal parade out onto the field? Or accidentally break a glass slipper! What if I do everything wrong?

HELP!

To learn more about Laura Rennert, please visit her website.
To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble

INTERVIEW: Sally Gardner - Award-winning British children author of “I, CORIANDER”

2010-02-26T09:31:00.008-05:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Sally Gardner. She is a British children's writer, illustrator and she lives in London. Her award-winning book, I, Coriander, is set in 17th-century London. It tells the story of Coriander, the unhappy daughter of a silk merchant.

Her books THE RED NECKLACE & THE SILVER BLADES has been option for film and television rights by Dominic West, and his production company White Soup.

Dominic West is a British director and actor, celebrated for his portrayal of ‘Jimmy McNulty’ in THE WIRE, on which he was also a director in its award winning final season.

Sally Gardner is also the author and illustrator of picture books including The Fairy Catalogue, The Glass Heart and The Book of Princesses. She also illustrated the Polly books by Francesca Thomas, and is the creator of the Magical Children series, which feature unconfident children who blossom when they are gifted with magical powers.

Ms. Gardner has been very successfully published by Orion Children's Books, where she is notably the illustrator of the Norwegian author, Jostein Gaarder's novels as well as the creator of beautiful color picture books.

Her work is characterized by her uniquely wonderful and witty imagination and her exquisite illustrations. She was a theatre designer for many years and this is reflected in the collage effect of much of her artwork. She also specialized in costume for fifteen years before moving into children’s books.

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give us three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page. Also tell your readers about Sally Gardner today -- the illustrator and the woman behind the Award-winning British children author.

Sally Gardner: My first job was as a sales assistant at the original Pollock’s Toy Theatre shop in London, aged 16. I was severely dyslexic and school managed to bash all my confidence out of me. When I was a teenager I was chubby and about as confident as a wombat, but I was very determined to do something with my life and prove them all wrong – show them I wasn’t ‘silly sally’. I got a 1st class Honours degree in theatre design and then won an Arts Council scholarship to become a theatre designer, after which I was involved in notable productions around the world, both for Opera and theatre.

E.I. What is it about the art form of illustrations and writing that enchants you, and gives you the enduring passion to continue in such a demanding profession?

Sally Gardner: Basically I’m doing what I absolutely love and there is nothing and I mean nothing I would rather be working in and in that I feel truly blessed. I started with the illustration because I believed I couldn’t be a writer due to the fact that I couldn’t spell my way out of a paper bag. But spelling and grammar don’t make a writer thank goodness - two of my heroes also apparently had problems in that department: Scott Fitzgerald and the boss Hemingway. Writing novels is a bit like being a marathon runner and now I’m past the half way point of my next book and I’m feeling pretty exhausted!

E.I. Please tell your readers about your book “The Red Necklace”? What sparked your interest about this book? What were your favourite aspects?

Sally Gardner: Magic. I am very interested in and believe in magic. I think it’s around us in more ways that we see. I also love periods of history that are like divorcing parents and the French Revolution had all the ingredients that a storyteller might need: a walled city, an Aristocrat in love with a gypsy and the most evil of evil villains who thrives on the bloodshed. I also become fascinated with the plight through the ages of the gypsies and the loss, due to the prejudice and development of our societies, of their rituals and magic.

E.I. In your novel how much of the lives of your characters Yann Margoza, Count Kalliovski and Sido is planned out in your head? How do you know where to go next with your story? How does your creative process work?

Sally Gardner: My poor editor’s hair has turned white over this very question. All I can say is that the beginning of books are a sort of vision, or visually clear, like a film - the first part of the book is so clear and quick to draft, but after that’s written, on the whole my planning goes to pot. I spend much time going up the wrong paths and having to retrace my steps. I find that however much you plot, if a character is not ready to be bumped off by chapter 7, you have to let him live and are horrified to find its not until chapter 12 that meets his demise! I have tried to plan my current novel more tightly, however and for the first time think I've got plotting a bit more sussed!

E.I. How do you imagine audience as you are writing? Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls?

Sally Gardner: I read lots and lots of books, especially those written at the time it’s set in. My current novel is set between wars so I watch old films and footage and documentaries – I also listen to audio books and visit the theatre. I spend a lot of time thinking up my characters from the shoes upwards, once I start them they have their own lives - in ‘I, Coriander’, I wanted Hester to be horrible but she would only be charming no matter how hard I tried - I’m not a control freak about my characters, but I am a perfectionist, and I hope my readers feel too that that characters are very much alive, with wills of their own.

E.I. If you were asked to read a chapter from the book (The Red Necklace), is there one that you would personally select to share with your fans?

Sally Gardner: This is difficult to answer as there are quite a few pivotal chapters, but what springs to mind right now is the drama of the first theatre scene at the Marquis’ Chateau, with Torpalin’s death in front of the Marquis – it shows the duplicity of Kalliovski – he's like a cat with a mouse, and it shows what he’s capable of. It also sets up all the other characters’ personality traits quite well.

E.I. When you finish a novel, it's off to your agent and publisher, then you're on to the next. Do you find letting your manuscripts, especially your characters, as easy to part with when finished?

Sally Gardner: It’s not as simple as that unfortunately. It goes to the editor, the editor comes back, with ‘why’s’ and ‘what if’s’ and you have to go over it again – I rewrote the Silver Blade in six weeks having been dissatisfied with the first draft. A first draft to me is like a lump of clay that needs to be moulded before it dries up completely. All my characters stay with me long after i’ve written them. It took me a very long time to lose Coriander. And Yann and Sido - I still think about them all the time.

E.I. You've created a cast of characters so remarkably captivating that your readers definitely clamor for more; are we to be so fortunate as to see them again?

Sally Gardner: I can’t rule that out and I don’t want to rule that out but I don’t want to plan a series, I want it to be organic, if there is ever a time I feel it’s right then it will be written. At the moment though you may be suprised at the direction im taking my work in - and no, it’s not vampires! But it is rather unusual and exciting...

E.I. The novel is being developed for film, were you involved in the casting process? Had you considered British actors or American actors for the starring roles in the movie? And will you served as production advisor on the film location?

Sally Gardner: At the moment the film has just been bought by Dominic West and I’m not sure what plans they have for it or what role they see me in - it’s up to them but I would like to be involved. I have great faith in Dominic to make an excellent film and the nationality of the actors doesn’t matter, as long as they’re the good at their job and right for the role.

E.I. And, finally, if you could say "thank you" to someone for helping you become a successful writer, who would it be?

Sally Gardner: I would thank the main inspiration in my writing life: Judith Elliott. She was the first editor I ever worked with and she led me to believe in what I thought was an impossible dream.

To learn more about Sally Gardner, please visit her website.

To purchase Sally Gardner’s Books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes &
Noble

INTERVIEW: Alison Hart,author of young adult books, novels, mysteries and historical fiction, nominated for an Edgar Award.

2010-02-08T13:20:00.020-05:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Alison Hart. She is the author of more than forty books for young readers, including many popular mysteries and historical fiction novels for children. She loves writing books that keep young readers glued to the pages.

Her books “Riding Academy” series and “Shadow Horse” was a 2000 Edgar nominee for best children mystery.
At the age of seven she wrote, illustrated and self-published The Wild Dog, a book which she shows to young readers to make the point that it is never too early to be an author.

Alison has a master’s degree in Communicative Disorders from Johns Hopkins University. She taught elementary school and is currently a college instructor specializing in improving reading and writing skills.

Ms. Hart honed her craft writing Nancy Drew mysteries and quickly developed a love of strong characters who are thrown into suspenseful situations. Research is another passion for her. She loves old journals, letters and memoirs because they provide her with an amazing connection to the past. She believes that "well-researched historical fiction should bring to life the people, events and struggles of the past and make them relevant and real for today's young readers."

Her two books Gabriel's Horses and Gabriel's Triumph, are both Junior Library Guild picks. She has also written books for younger ages under the name of Alice Leonhardt. Among these books are: Turtles; Tide Pool Creatures; Mystery at the White House; and Why the Ocean is Salty.

She has also written books for American Girl/Pleasant Co. Publications in addition to her other novels for grades three and up.

Her upcoming novels are: Emma's River and Whirlwind. “Emma’s River” will be Available April 2010 The main character, Emma and her pony Twist find sudden danger on the Missouri River. Based on a true river disaster in in 1854, Emma's River will take readers on an incredible steamboat trip back in time.

“Whirlwind” is the exciting sequel to the Edgar nominated Shadow Horse. Whirlwind (Random House May 2010) answers readers' questions: what happened to Whirlwind? Will Hugh get caught and punished for his crimes? Does Jas ever find her beloved horse? Do Chase and Jas ever admit they like each other?

Ms. Hart is a teacher at Blue Ridge Community College and lives in Virginia.

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give us three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page. Also tell your readers about Alison Hart today -- the woman behind the award-winning author.

A. Hart: I apologize, but I rarely talk about ‘me’—there are a few details on my website: I have lots of animals two cats, two horses, three dogs and I teach at a community college--that’s about as personal as I get. Also I haven’t won any awards yet! Nominated many times, yes, won, no.

E.I. Please tell your readers about your upcoming books, Emma’s River Peachtree Publishers, March 2010 and Whirlwind Random House, Mary 2010. What sparked your interest about these books?

A. Hart: Emma’s River takes place in the spring of 1852 on a steamboat traveling up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The story is based on a real steamboat disaster in Lexington, Missouri. Steamboat disasters were commonplace during this time, and they were horrendous. Fires, explosions and sinkings were common. Between 1819 and 1897, over two hundred and eighty-nine boats sank in the Missouri. Fog, high winds, ice, storms, and dark nights also made river travel dangerous.

Steamboats were also a microcosm of 1800’s society. The immigrants and deck hands traveled crowded together with cargo and animals on the main deck while ‘upper class’ folks traveled in luxury on the cabin deck. Emma’s River combines these elements with a plucky heroine and her pony for an exciting read!

Whirlwind is a suspenseful mystery set on an animal rescue farm in present-day Virginia. It is the sequel to Shadow Horse, which was nominated for an Edgar Award. Since I am an animal lover and have been riding since I was five years old, many of my books are about horses, plus I have been writing mysteries since my first story was published in Highlights Magazine in 1984. Yeah, a long time ago. Combining horses and mystery is a natural for me. Whirlwind has a twisting plot laced with romance and animal rescue details. To me, the book crackles with each turn of the page. I can’t wait for it to come out!

E.I. In your novel Emma’s River, how much of the lives of Emma and her pony Twist is planned out in your head? How do you know where to go next with your story? How does your creative process work?

A. Hart: For all my books, I do an incredible amount of research. For historical fiction, I begin the creative process by reading general history books to understand the era. For Emma, I also read about steamboats and steamboat travel and then read journals and diaries. I noted down broad details such as which states were territories at the time as well as tiny facts such as what the immigrants ate as they traveled until I filled a notebook. I toured the Louisville Belle with a ‘captain’ who knew every detail about steamboats and visited the town of Lexington on the Missouri River. As I research, characters and plot ‘stew’ in my head until the characters are clamoring to be “written” so they can tell their stories. I work hard to mesh accurate history and sensory details, making readers feel as if they have traveled back in time, with an intense and suspenseful story arc that keeps young readers turning the pages.

E.I. Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in story boards all over your walls?

A. Hart: I work many different ways depending on the editor. Some request a complete manuscript, others a synopsis and first chapters, others a detailed outline and first chapter. However, for all my books and proposals, the research comes first—before I write anything. I create plot and characters as I learn the factual and sensory details—whether the story is a mystery set on a present day rescue farm or historical suspense set in the past.

E.I. When you finish a novel, it's off to your agent and publisher, then you're on to the next. Do you find letting your manuscripts, especially your characters, as easy to part with when finished?

A. Hart: This varies with the project. I just finished a romance and suspense YA that I loved writing and it was difficult to part with. However, often I am on deadline and another project is waiting, so I have no choice but to send it off, and really I am not ‘parting’ with it for long, since I know the revising stage will soon follow.

E.I. What can fans anticipate from you in the coming months? Can you give us a hint of what to expect?

A. Hart: I just finished final edits on book four in a new American Girl series very hush-hush until launch date. I have handed my agent a completed YA manuscript titled Remembering Kate, which will require revisions before she sends it out to publishers. I am researching book seven in the Horse Diaries series Random House, which will be about a Thoroughbred racing in the 1930’s. It is tentatively titled Risky Chance and is due April 1st. And I am brainstorming and doing early stage research for a sequel to Whirlwind.

E.I. And, finally, if you could say "thank you" to someone for helping you become a successful writer, who would it be?

A. Hart: Writing and publishing books, like raising a child, takes a village. I would have to thank family, friends, editors, my agent and anyone who has helped me with research. Lastly, I need to heartily thank teachers, librarians and media specialists who champion historical fiction; they’re the ones who help my books reach young readers!

Photo of Alison Hart by Beth Thompson

To learn more about Alison Hart, please visit her website
To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Nobles

INTERVIEW: Katherine Marsh - Edgar Award-Winner for Best Juvenile Mystery & Author of “The Night Tourist,” Universal Studio has movie rights

2010-02-03T11:56:00.001-05:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Katherine Marsh. She is a winner of 2008 Edgar Award followed by an excellent sequel, “The Twilight Prisoner.” She is a writer of children’s fantasy literature and an editor of nonfiction articles. She was a high school teacher before moving to New York, where she began writing for Rolling Stone Magazine and Good Housekeeping.

Some of her stories also appeared in New York Times. She is now a managing editor of “The New Republic” magazine where she specializes in politics and culture.

Her book, The Night Tourist is about a 14-year-old Jack Perdu, a shy, ninth grade classics prodigy, meets a girl named Euri who leads him into New York City's Underworld, and discover a ghost world. A place where those who died reside until they are ready to move on.

In Katherine Marsh's book, ghosts can fly, are invisible, and can move through any object. Ghosts spend every night haunting the City, and the book's hero (Jack) and heroine (Euri) definitely have their fun exploring both known places like the Guggenheim and less-known places like Roosevelt’s secret tunnel in Grand Central.
“The Twilight Prisoner” is the sequel to “The Night Tourist,” this exciting sequel blends together the modern-day world and mythology.

Katherine Marsh graduated from Yale where she studied English literature. She and her family lives in Chevy Chase DC with their two cats.

E.I. Would you share some early self-reflection to give us a sense of who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give us three “Good to Know” facts about your first job experience, the inspiration for your writing career, any fun details or anecdotes that would enliven your page. Also tell your readers about Katherine Marsh today -- the woman behind the award-winning author and Journalist.

KM: I was the kind of teenager who couldn't wait to stop being a teenager, which I guess made me pretty ordinary. I'm an only child and so was shy in new situations (still am), extroverted and a little goofy with my friends (I remember making a ouija board out of a pizza box and then scaring my friends with it), and wasn't into any particular scene (i.e. I wasn't a goth or a deadhead or a mean girl). Like any good teenager, I took myself pretty seriously though, especially when it came to being well read and writing stories of my own, which I started doing in middle school.

It’s technically not my first job experience but it's one of my earlier and most colorful. A year out of college, I took a job as an editorial assistant at Good Housekeeping magazine. Three fun facts: 1) My Good Housekeeping desk was so messy that when I finally cleaned it, a year into the job, I found a half-eaten sandwich. 2) I was the recipient of a celebrity makeover in which I was made over to look like Meg Ryan (and for a while referred to myself as "the poor man's Meg Ryan" though these days I prefer to call Meg Ryan “the poor man's Katherine Marsh”). 3) The story that launched my journalism career was about Jay Bakker, the tattooed street preacher son of 1980s televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, a great guy who became a friend in the process. I wrote versions of his life story for both Good Housekeeping and, the magazine I worked for next, Rolling Stone.

Me, today? Behind the award-winning author and journalist lies a high-functioning neurotic ex-New Yorker who lives in a suburban neighborhood of Washington, D.C. with her reporter husband, amusing two-year-old son, and two kooky cats. To complicate the Meg Ryan image, I actually share a lot of qualities with the New York filmmaker Woody Allen including being claustrophobic (if you ever run into me hyperventilating on an elevator kindly look the other direction), obsessed with death, and confused by Southern California. I like writing, the TV show Lost, sleeping (I'm a 9 hour a night type of gal), playing guitar, Russian literature, American Idol, okra, poetry, pie, and going for walks with my son (the type where we cover one block per half-hour stopping to look at everything).

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing that enchants you, and gives you the enduring passion to continue in such a demanding profession?

KM: There are very few things that I feel like I'm good at. I'm a horrible athlete. I'm terrible at math. I get nervous talking to big groups of people. But what I feel like I’m a natural at is writing. This isn't to say that I don't have many, many days when I think that I've just written the lamest page ever committed to a laptop or that the act of writing isn't ever laborious or downright painful. It's that I am most myself when I'm writing. And that's somebody who is taking others on a journey and giving them a way to process the world--the highs and lows of it. It's an incredibly powerful experience because the first person going on that journey is always me.

E.I. Please tell your readers about your book “The Night Tourist”? What sparked your interest about this book? What were your favorite aspects?

KM: THE NIGHT TOURIST is about a 14-year-old boy, Jack, who finds a secret entrance in Grand Central Terminal into the New York version of the Greek mythological underworld. Jack's mom died when he was young so he decides to stay in the underworld to find her with the help of a mysterious, smart-aleck, 14-year-old ghost named Euri. But over the course of his visit, Jack learns some secrets about his past and Euri's that change his plans and his future. It's a modern-day retelling of the Orpheus myth, the one in which Orpheus goes down to the underworld to try and bring back his dead wife, Eurydice.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is how real life New York history and characters are woven into the story. The places Jack goes--including the secret ones beneath the city--really exist! (see my website katherinmarsh.com for photographic evidence). Since I'm a journalist by training I made sure to base some of my story on actual facts. Another is how the relationship between Jack and Euri develops—I won’t say more about that since I don’t want to give away too much of the book. But I will say that Jack and Euri must grapple with some tough emotions that I believe many kids, and not just adults, face in their lives--depression, isolation, and loneliness. Their story in part is about the right and wrong ways of dealing with these feelings.

E.I. In your novel how much of the lives of your characters Jack Perdue and Euri is planned out in your head? How do you know where to go next with your story? How does your creative process work?

KM: I know where Jack and Euri's stories will ultimately end. I don't know how I'm going to get there. I think it's good to have a goal or sense of your story arc but to be open to the changes that occur when you discover your characters. It's a nice metaphor for life too, I think. We all know how it's going to end and have a vague sense of what we want to accomplish but the fun comes in letting ourselves be open to our passions and to the changes—some good, some bad--of fortune and circumstance. Often if your characters are fully developed enough, they will tell you where the story should go. Jack and Euri both seem like old friends now to me--I know how they speak, I know how they think, if I took them out to dinner I know what they'd order.

E.I. How do you imagine audience as you are writing? Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls?

KM: I don't think a lot about my audience as I write. I think mostly about me. I'm a very picky reader and one of my best qualities as a writer and editor is that I'm easily bored. If a scene bores me, I worry it'll bore my audience and try to revise it. I didn't outline THE NIGHT TOURIST but I did THE TWILIGHT PRISONER. There's not one way I do things except that I constantly revise. The books change a lot from start to finish, even the one I outlined.

E.I. If you were asked to read a chapter from the book, is there one that you would personally select to share with your fans?

KM: I'd say the first chapter because that's how I judge most books myself. If you don't want to turn the page to chapter two and keep reading then I haven’t done my job. But I also have a soft spot for The Now That You're Dead Seminar chapter which is the introductory class that ghosts, including Jack, must attend once they arrive in the underworld.

E.I. When you finish a novel, it's off to your agent and publisher, then you're on to the next. Do you find letting your manuscripts, especially your characters, as easy to part with when finished?

KM: I find letting go very hard. After I finished THE TWILIGHT PRISONER, I ended up working on a couple of books unrelated to THE NIGHT TOURIST series. I'm very excited about these, especially my first young adult book, but I'd like to write one more book in THE NIGHT TOURIST series and am hoping for the green light from my publisher (Disney-Hyperion in case you want to lobby them!). Jack and especially, Euri, have some unresolved issues and I'm anxious to finish their stories and not leave their many fans hanging.

E.I. You've created a cast of characters so remarkably captivating that your readers definitely clamor for more; we are so fortunate o see them again in “The Twilight Prisoner.” Please give your readers a little clue about “The Twilight Prisoner?”

KM: THE TWILIGHT PRISONER (which comes out in paperback in April and is out now in hardcover) continues the stories of Jack and Euri. In a typical stupid teenage move, Jack decides to take Cora, a living girl he has a crush on, to the underworld to impress her. They get trapped there and together with Euri, who isn't too happy about this new girl, they must figure out how to escape. The Twilight Prisoner is based on the Persephone myth. But like THE NIGHT TOURIST, the characters that you think are Orpheus or Eurydice or Persephone change as the story develops. This is because the whole series is based on the Metamorphoses, the Roman author Ovid’s retelling of the Greek myths (and Jack's favorite book). Ovid suggests in the Metamorphoses that there is no life or death, just change. I've always loved that idea.

E.I. And, finally, if you could say "thank you" to someone for helping you become a successful writer, who would it be?

KM: My husband for supporting me when I began to write for children and encouraging me not to give up when I was frustrated. He made me believe that success was not just possible but inevitable. Everyone needs a cheerleader like that!

E.I. Both novels are being developed for film, where you involved in the casting process? Had you considered any young actors for the starring roles in the movie? And will you served as production advisor on the film location?

KM: Actually THE NIGHT TOURIST is the book being developed by Universal for film at the moment. I have a creative consultant credit but in all reality I have very little to do with the process of putting together the movie, casting included. My main hope is that George Clooney gets a role and that I get the chance to meet him. Oh, and I wouldn't mind a cameo as a ghost.

E.I. Ms. Marsh, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers all over the world?

KM: Thanks, E.I. Johnson for the opportunity to chat with you and your readers. My advise: Writing is a craft first, an art second. In other words, revise, revise, revise!

Photo of Katherine Marsh by Patrick Andrade.

To learn more about Katherine Marsh, please visit her website.
To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble

SUPPORTS BEHIND MY RECOVERY

2010-01-24T18:49:00.000-05:00

Hello, Blogosphere! It's been a bit of stretch since my last entry, so I wanted to catch up with all of you. I have received numerous emails from my readers, authors & friends who were concerned about my health. The outpouring of supports I received was so overwhelming,

There was so much support behind my recovery, and I thank you all for your thoughts, well wishes and kind words concerning about me.

Well, I’m back now..... I’d like to announce that new interviews, blog updates and website updated materials will be posted here starting NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you.

Sincerely,

E.I. Johnson

INTERVIEW:Wendy Clinch - Author of "Double Black: A Ski Diva Mystery"

2010-01-11T08:09:00.006-05:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world.

Today’s interview is with Wendy Clinch. She's born and raised in Ocean County, NJ, and the founder of The Ski Diva dot com, the premier internet community for women skiers. She is the former advertising copywriter, having spent more than 25years in the field, most recently as a partner in her own agency in a suburban Philadelphia.

She’s a graduate of Syracuse University, and now lives in Vermont with her husband, Jon Clinch, author of “FINN: A Novel” and “Kings of the Earth.”

Double Black - A Ski Diva Mystery is her debut novel that tells the tale of Stacey Curtis from Boston, who's dreams of wedded bliss on Beacon Hill are turned upside down. She ditched grad school, along with her cheating fiancée, when she finds him in bed with a mutual friend. This life shattering event sends Stacey rebounding into her first love - the mountains of Vermont ski country to become a ski bum ...

The novel is populated with quirky characters, bitter family warfare, murder, loaded with New England atmosphere, and a young woman with nerve, spunk, and a sense of humor about it all, DOUBLE BLACK is an exciting run down some treacherous mountain trails.

E.I. Would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give us three “Good to Know” facts about your first job, the inspiration for your writing, any fun details that would enliven your page. Tell your fans about Wendy Clinch -- the woman behind the” DOUBLE BLACK: A SKI DIVA MYSTERY” suspense mystery novel

WC: I grew up on the Jersey shore, so my childhood is tied very closely to the beach and the ocean, an interesting background for someone who’s become such a dedicated skier. But I was always very active and athletic. I became a cheerleader in high school -- not because I liked football or basketball, but because I liked to jump around and there weren’t many options available for girls when I was a kid. It was either that or field hockey, and I wouldn’t trust myself around a hockey stick.

My Dad took me on my first ski trip when I was 13. The funny thing is that I absolutely hated it at first. The only thing that kept me going was sibling rivalry; I wanted to be better than my sister. But after a lot of lessons and many more ski trips, I eventually fell in love with the sport. And that’s stayed with me, even today.

Some facts about me from when I was growing up?

Bruce Springsteen’s Dad was my bus driver in elementary school;
I skipped first grade;
My first job was in the hosiery department at WT Grant, a store very much like today’s Walmart;
I used to waitress on the boardwalk during the summers;
During college I wrote commercials for a small local radio station. Sometimes they’d use me for voices, too. I did a great Burger Chef Jeff.

E.I. Please tell your readers or describe to them the central idea of DOUBLE BLACK: A SKI DIVA MYSTERY? And what was it that sparked your imagination? What were your favorite aspects?

WC: The book focuses on Stacey Curtis, a young woman who ditches her cheating fiancé and moves to a Vermont ski town to live the life of a ski bum. She doesn’t have any money so she ends up sleeping in her car, until one day she stumbles across a ring of master keys for the area’s vacation condos. Since the condos are unoccupied most of the time, why not put them to good use? So she starts going from condo to condo, spending one night here, one night there, until late one night she opens a door and discovers—a dead body. And that’s where the book takes off.

One of the things I most enjoy about the book is the local color. As someone who hasn’t lived in Vermont for very long, a lot of things here were new to me, and I felt that I could present them in a way that an outsider would understand. Describing the landscape, the town, the ski resort, and developing characters based on the people who live, visit, and work here was a lot of fun.

E.I. Many writers describe themselves as "character" or "plot" writers. Which are you? And what do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

WC: I truly believe that nothing gets a book going better than well developed, believable characters. I love the whole process of coming up with a backstory about someone and figuring out their personalities. Once you have that, the plot sort of takes care of itself.

E.I. Do you think the art form of writing is a calling for you?

WC: Although being a novelist is fairly new to me, I’ve always worked as a writer. For many years I made a living writing ad copy for industrial equipment—like pumps used to move toxic chemicals, and wastewater treatment equipment. Writing DOUBLE BLACK was a welcome change of pace.

In many ways, I think my years in advertising were terrific preparation. You get an assignment for an ad or brochure and you just sit down and do it. Every day. There’s no waiting for inspiration to strike. I approached writing this book in much the same way.

E.I. Your book, DOUBLE BLACK: A SKI DIVA MYSTERY explores the Mystery set in a small town in Vermont, the heroine’s unfaithful fiancé, combining a love of skiing with a tricky murder mystery in a Vermont’s wilderness. What drew you to explore these topics and was there something special that first sparked the storyline for the novel?

WC: The book was mostly the result of my moving from suburban Philadelphia to rural Vermont. The way of life here is very different. There are no shopping malls, very little traffic, and a much slower pace. What’s more, there’s a definite contrast between the locals who are trying to go about their ordinary lives, and the out-of-staters who come to the area for short periods of time and then go back home. Each depends on the other, yet both have entirely different perspectives. It’s a huge culture clash. I thought it would be interesting to develop a story where both of these groups had to work together to solve a murder.

In many ways, and as funny as it may sound, Stacey Curtis, the main character, is the person I never gave myself the chance to be. When I graduated from college I got married and went straight to work—and soon I pretty much traded in skiing for the pressures of daily life. Not that I’ve regretted a minute of it, but I’ve always wondered what course my life would have taken if I’d followed a less-conventional path. Now Stacey’s doing just that on my behalf!

E.I. What were your biggest challenge and obstacle while writing and creating Stacey Curtis, Guy Ramsey and Chip Walsh? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story? Are any of the characters in the story actually based on real people in your life?

WC: No, the characters aren’t based on anyone particular, though aspects of their personalities are drawn from people I’ve known and observed. Mostly they evolved as I wrote the story. I had some basic traits for each of them. For example, Stacey Curtis was young, independent, and determined to make a new life for herself; Guy Ramsey was a small town sheriff and dedicated family man with limited crime fighting experience. And Chip Walsh, the ski patroller, was a rich young man who’d moved to Vermont to find himself. They fleshed out as the story went along.

E.I. If you were asked to read a chapter from this book, is there one that you would select to share?

WC: I think it’d be the first chapter. It gets you into the story and sets up the situation right away.

Here’s the opening sentence: “When Stacey Curtis found the dead man in the bed, she knew it was time to get her own apartment.”

I think it’s a grabber!

E.I. Do you let anyone read your manuscript, before you send it to your editor?

WC: My husband, Jon Clinch, is my best editor. He’s an author as well; his first novel, FINN, was named one of 2007’s best by The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and The Christian Science Monitor, and a Notable Book of the Year by the American Library Association. His second book, KINGS OF THE EARTH, is coming out in July, 2010, and it’s absolutely staggering.

I run things by Jon all the time. After all, he’s a tremendous reader, incredibly smart, and has a fantastic sense of plot and character. I’m lucky to have him, not just as a writing resource, but as my husband, too.

E.I. As a writer do you ever feel pressure or insecure, or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

WC: I think all writers have their up and down days. Some days it all comes together, and other days the entire process is a struggle. If you let the bad days get to you, it’s easy to feel pressured and insecure. I try to focus on the good days. It just makes life easier.

E.I. If you were allowed total control of the Hollywood version of (DOUBLE BLACK: A SKI DIVA MYSTERY) who would be in it? And in your opinion who do you think should direct?

WC: I actually think that DOUBLE BLACK would make a great TV series. Some people have told me that it reminds them of an old TV show, NORTHERN EXPOSURE. There are a lot of quirky characters, tons of local color, a nice amount of action, and a great setting.

I’m not much of a movie person, but I could see Jennifer Garner playing Stacey Curtis and Matthew Mcconaughey playing Chip Walsh, the ski patroller/love interest in the story. Jennifer’s done a lot of action and could pull it off, physically. And Matthew has a preppy look that I think would work well for Chip. For the sheriff, Scott Bakula. He’s about the right age and can combine gruffness and concern very nicely. I’ll have to pass on recommending a director, but I’m certainly open to options. (Spielberg, if you're reading this, give me a call!)

Photo of Wendy Clinch by Jon Clinch

To learn more about Wendy Clinch, please visit her website
To purchase her book, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble

INTERVIEW: Award-Winning Author Famous For Her Novel “I Know What You Did Last Summer” - Lois Duncan

2010-01-04T17:35:00.039-05:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world

Today’s interview is with Lois Duncan. She is an award-winning author of suspense novels for young adults. Some of her works have been adapted for the screen, the most famous example being the 1997 film “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” adapted from her novel of the same title.

The 1971 children's book “Hotel for Dogs” has been made into a movie, in 2009, starring Emma Roberts . She is the niece of 3 times Golden Globe winner and Academy award-winner, Julia Roberts.

Ms. Duncan was born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in April 28th 1934. Her parents were famous photographers, Joseph Janney Steinmetz and Lois Steinmetz. She attended Duke University but dropped out of school, got married and started a family. She later graduated from University of New Mexico, with a B.A. in English in 1977.

Ms. Duncan, is the author of fifty books ranging from non-fiction books for adults, children’s picture books, but she is best known for her young adult suspense novels.

Her novel, “Who Killed My Daughter?” is the base on a true story about the brutal murder of her eighteen-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn. “Who Killed My Daughter?” was written for the adult audience but the young adult audience accepted it and loves the book.

Her latest novel, “News for Dog” published in April of 2009 is another canine adventure with Andi and her brother Bruce. They started a new project which is a newspaper for dogs. They made a hit out of their paper but then, they attracted mysterious dognappers.

E.I. Would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Give us three “Good to Know” facts about your first job, the inspiration for your writing, any fun details that would enliven your page. Tell your fans about Lois Duncan -- the woman behind the award-winning author of suspense novel for young adults?

LD There was never a time when I didn't think of myself as a writer. At age 10, I started submitting poetry to magazines, and, amazingly, some of it was published. By age 13, I had begun to sell stories and articles, and, at age 20, I wrote my first novel. Because of my age when I started my career, teenage subject matter was all I knew to write about, so I fell automatically into that genre. Today I have written over 50 books, including poetry, text for picture books, and fiction and non-fiction for adults, but I've experienced the most success with young adult suspense novels such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Killing Mr. Griffin.

I'm married to Don Arquette, an electrical engineer, and am the mother of five children. The youngest of those children, Kaitlyn Arquette, 18, was murdered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1989. When police dropped off Kait's unsolved case, I wrote a non-fiction, adult book, Who Killed My Daughter?, to motivate informants. Our family maintains a Web site at, www.kaitarquette.arquettes.com, to update people on our on-going personal investigation and give tipsters an easy way to contact us. We've gleaned a lot of new information that way.

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing suspense novels that enchants you the most?

LD Those are the kind of books I most enjoy reading. I like plots with twists, character development, and surprise endings..

E.I. Please tell our readers about your book “News for Dog”? What sparked your interest in the subject of Dogs? What were your favorite aspects?

LD Between writing suspense novels, I've always liked to "cleanse my pallet" by writing something in a different genre. Hotel for Dogs -- a humorous story for 8-12-yr-olds -- was such a book. I wrote it in 1971, and it came and went without much attention, because everyone was salivating for my next suspense novel. Then, a couple of years ago, my film agent was in Hollywood, marketing film rights to my YA novels, and one of the producers at Dreamworks asked, "Is that the same 'Lois Duncan' who wrote Hotel for Dogs, my favorite book when I was a little boy?" That book had been out of print for so long that my agent had to phone me to find out if I'd written it. I had to order a copy from Amazon to recall what it was about.

"The rest," as they say, "is history." Hotel for Dogs became a very successful movie. Scholastic republished HFD and, as part of the contract, I agreed to write two sequels. So, I wrote News for Dogs (Scholastic, 2009) and Movie for Dogs, which will be published in the spring of 2010.

E.I. Many writers describe themselves as "character" or "plot" writers. Which are you? And what do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

LD I think I'm equally balanced between the two. Plot -- meaning structure -- is very important in a genre novel, especially a mystery, where all the pieces have to fall into place. Because I'm less interested in what people do than in the motivation behind their actions, characterization is one of my strong points. Description is probably my weakest point. And I'm not very good at research. I've never had much success with historical novels or stories laid in foreign settings. I write best about what I know about.

E.I. What was your biggest challenge in writing “News for Dog”?

LD Trying to write a modern day sequel to a book written over 30 years ago and having the two flow seamlessly together as if they were written in the same time period. News for Dogs starts six months after Hotel for Dogs ends. Yet the characters now have computers, digital cameras and cell phones.

E.I. How did you decide what level of details your young reader will accept? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story?

LD I always plot my stories before starting to write them. Otherwise it's too easy to bog down in the middle.

E.I. How much of Andi, Bruce, Jerry, Connor and Aunt Alice were planned out in your head?

LD Andi, the young writer, is a self-portrait -- myself at age ten. My hobby is photography, so there's quite a lot of me in her brother, Bruce, the young photographer, as well. The other characters were invented.

E.I. How do you imagine the audience when you are writing?

LD With books for children and teenagers, I imagine the reader as being the same age or younger than my viewpoint character. Never older. Kids don't like to read about characters younger than themselves.

E.I. Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls?

LD No. I make notes in a notebook.

E.I. If you were asked to read a page from “News for Dog” is there one that you would personally select to share with your readers? And why?

LD I don't think you can pull a page out of context and have it make sense.

E.I. Please tell us about your upcoming novel, “Movie for Dogs” Can you give us a sneak peek about the book?

LD In News for Dogs, Andi and Bruce publish a newspaper for dog owners to read to their dogs. (I got that idea from a neighborhood newspaper that my brother and I published when we were children.) When their on-line edition of the paper gets them into so much trouble that they're no longer able to publish it, Andi focuses her talents on writing a book about their adventures with evil dog-nappers. In Movie for Dogs, she converts that book into a film script, and she and Bruce and their friends make a video and enter it in a contest. When they make it to the finals, they and their dogs go to Hollywood. (I got the idea for that from going to Hollywood myself to watch the filming of Hotel for Dogs.)

E.I. As a writer do you ever feel pressure or insecure, or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

LD I felt extreme pressure when I signed a multi-book contract to write three young adult suspense novels within a three year period. I wrote the first two books, The Twisted Window and Don't Look Behind You right on schedule. Then, Kait was chased down in her car and shot to death. All my will to write vanished. There was no way I could create a fictional mystery novel about a young woman in jeopardy when our own horrendous real life mystery was all I could think about. I overshot the deadline for that third novel by seven years. However, my publisher was patient, and I eventually forced myself to honor the terms of the contract by writing Gallows Hill. That's the last teenage suspense novel I intend to write, at least until Kait's case is solved.

E.I. Ms. Duncan, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

LD Just sit down and do it. Writing is a self-taught craft, and there are no shortcuts. Good writing comes with practice. Write your story. Then set it aside for a while. Take it out and read it with fresh eyes to find the weaknesses. Then rewrite it and set it aside again. Take it out and reread it. Continue that process until it's the best you can make it. Then write something else.

To learn more about Loid Duncan, please visit her website

NOTE: For teachers and librarian interested in the 35 minute DVD "A Visit with Lois Duncan," which was created specifically for classroom use. You can order it on line at http://www.loisduncan.arquettes.com/DuncanDVD.htmIt contains her whole life and career in a nutshell.

To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Nobles

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-31T11:50:00.003-05:00

As 2009 rushes to meet 2010... it's pop-the-champagne time, cheer-like-mad time... And just be party-harty time!

Wishing you all a healthy Happy New Year that's a blast all the way!!!!!!

INTERVIEW: Young Adult Writer Josie Bloss, Author of Band Geek

2009-12-26T01:39:00.007-05:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world

Today’s interview is with Josie Bloss. She grew up in East Lansing and attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She was a member of the best college marching band in the country and a staff reporter for the Michigan Daily and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

After obtaining a degree in Political Science, she tried to decide if she wanted to be a lawyer while wrangling paper in several large Chicago law firms that are attempting to take over the world. Finding herself uninspired by global domination, she decided to relocate to somewhere more quiet and write instead.

When not mining her high school journals for material and wishing there were marching band options for adults, Josie enjoys obsessing over various TV shows, karaoke and all things theater. Josie Bloss lives in Bloomington, IN.

E.I. Tell us about your book “Band Geeked Out” for young adult? What inspired you to write it and what drew you to attract the YA readers?

JB: BAND GEEKED OUT is the sequel to my first novel, BAND GEEK LOVE. It follows the main character, Ellie Snow, as she navigates the tricky time around making decisions about college. Everyone in her life has an opinion about what she should do, and Ellie has to figure out how to stay true to herself. Writing about that time of life is very interesting to me, since it's the stage a lot of teenagers are making their first big decisions about what to do with their lives. That's what I love about YA lit in general...there are so many "firsts" to explore.

E.I. What was your biggest challenge or obstacle while writing and creating the characters Ellie Snow, Alex, and Connor? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story?

JB: The characters definitely evolved while I was writing the story, which was the biggest challenge! Sometimes it was hard to keep them all in line, to be honest. But it was a lot of fun to watch them grow and see how that growth changed the plot.

E.I. If you were asked to read a page from this book, is there one that you would select to share?

JB: Page 33, when Ellie meets the fascinating and intimidating Alex Campbell on a college tour and everything changes.

E.I. With two books under your belt, and a third one coming February 2010, how have you evolved as a writer?

JB: I am growing in confidence in my process. And I'm certainly getting accustomed to the stages I go through when I write a book...the initial deep infatuation with a new idea, the sprint through the first 100 pages, the slowly growing depression that it might not work, the bliss when I figure out how to tie it all together, and the crazy race to the end. I'm able to have more fun at this point, and to just let it happen. ALBATROSS, my book coming out in February, was a joy to write, even though it involved a painful topic.

E.I. As a first time YA novelist, do you feel more pressure, feel insecure or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

JB: At this point, I've learned how to separate it fairly well. I expect that I'll always feel a little insecure about how my books will be received, but while I'm working on them, I'm usually able to relax and enjoy the process. I hope to get better at that as my career moves forward.

E.I. Give us three "Good to Know" facts about you. Be creative. Tell us about your first job, the inspiration for your writing, any fun details that would enliven your page.

JB: Fact #1 - My first job was as a waitress in a retirement home - I still think it's the hardest job I've ever had! I guess I'm glad that I started out with it so everything I've had since seems easy in comparison.

#2 - I've never been able to keep a plant alive. This is probably why I've been too nervous to ever own a pet, even though I adore animals.

#3 - Though I was a band geek in high school and college (like Ellie Snow), I've since become a big old theater nerd. I love all aspects of theater, and recently spent a few months stage-managing a production in the town where I live. I've also discovered that writing short plays is a nice creative jolt when I'm stuck on a book.

E.I. Ms. Bloss, thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know you, and your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

JB: I think the hardest and most important thing to do is simply to finish something. If you learn how to clear out distractions and keep yourself focused until the end, you're already a success!

To learn more about Josie Bloss, please visit her website

Photo of Josie Bloss by Adam P Schweigert

To purchase her books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

2009-12-25T07:29:00.000-05:00

I hope that you are all celebrating with your friends and family this holiday season.

I'd like to thank each and everyone for your support and generosity. It has been a joy to work with all of you in person and online.

All your wonderful messages and efforts in getting involved with my blog meant the world to me. I'm deeply grateful to all of you.

Best wishes, peace and joy of the holiday season be with you all throughout the coming year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE !!!!!!!!

INTERVIEW: Larry Gonick - Best known for his book “The Cartoon History of the Universe”

2009-12-10T23:12:00.003-05:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world

Today’s interview is with Larry Gonick. He is a cartoonist best known for his book The Cartoon History of the Universe, a history of the world in a comic book form, which he has been publishing in installments since 1977.

Mr. Gonick has also written The Cartoon History of the United States, and he has adapted the format for a series of co-written guidebooks on other subjects, beginning with The Cartoon Guide to Genetics in 1983. The diversity of his interests, and the success with which his books have met, have together earned him the distinction of being "the most well-known and respected of cartoonists who have applied their craft to unravelling the mysteries of science" Drug Discovery Today, March 2005.

Since 1990 to 1997, Mr Gonick penned a bimonthly Science Classics cartoon for the science magazine Discover. Each two-page comic discussed a recent scientific development, often one in interdisciplinary research.

He was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT in 1994 through 1995. In 1997, his 14-issue series, Candide in China, published on the WEB, described Chinese inventions.

Larry Gonick also writes the Kokopelli & Company comic that appears in the magazine Muse and the satirical, anti-corporate comic “Commoners”.

E.I. Would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Please tell us more about Larry Gonick-- the man behind the award-winning writer and now a comic author?

LG: I grew up in Phoenix, where there was a lot of space to play outdoors. As little kids, we lived near huge vacant lots that were great places to make forts, run around, and step on these huge thorny burrs we called bullheads. Our feet got very tough in summer. My grade school, Grandview, had a 440-yard track, a couple of baseball diamonds, and many outdoor basketball courts. I was outdoors a fair amount. But I was basically a bookish kid, and rather shy. Not into tinkering or hardware. More on the theoretical side, though I can fix a faucet if I have to. Good student. Somewhat alienated, though I didn't feel this so acutely until high school. It came as a great relief when I finally met a few other outsider-intellectuals, who became proto-hippies soon thereafter.

Growing up, I had no specific goal for adulthood. Part of the reason was that I knew very few adults who weren't teachers (as my parents both were), so there was a lack of role models. I used to say I'd be either a writer or a mathematician—I was pretty good at both—but really had little idea what that would look like in real life. In college, I kind of backed into majoring in math, because I could get A's in it, and there wasn't much support for creative writing at Harvard in those days. Four years flew by, and I suddenly found myself applying for graduate school in math, which in those days pretty much meant going on to an academic career, without ever having consciously chosen that life path.

But I always liked to draw, too, and after college I picked it up again. One thing led to another, and in 1972 I dropped out of math and into cartooning.

E.I. What is it about the art form of writing cartoon text books that enchants you the most?

LG: What one thing? One? Thing? Um... it's a thing with several ingredients. Let's put it this way: the medium's ability to combine text and images into a narrative rhythm that delivers humor, opinion, and information all at once—in a way that's hard to forget!

E.I. What do you find to be the hardest part of writing it? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story board all over your walls?

LG: No, the walls aren't covered. I do a page breakdown of each "volume" (a 48-page unit) on a single sheet of 9 x 12 sketchbook. And that's one of the easier parts. The hardest thing by far is writing the first draft. It's always too long by a factor of 3, and I'm conscious of that fact as I write. This generates an uncomfortable running internal argument with myself about nearly every sentence. I put down a few words and then think "but...", and then agonize about it a while, and then coach myself to follow through with that sentence and worry about editing it later, after it's written, etc. Just exhausting! Everything else is more or less fun.

E.I. What was your biggest challenge in writing “Cartoon History of the World”? How did you decide what level of details your reader will accept? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story? How did you overcome these challenges?

LG: The level of detail is pretty much determined by one consideration: does the story make sense? I aim to put in everything necessary to make the story coherent, and very little else. In retrospect, I think I could have left more out of Modern World, Part
2. There's always a tradeoff between details and the big picture, and when you see the big picture, often really good jokes pop up. So, if I had to do it again, I think I'd put in more humor and less about, say, Kaiser Wilhelm II.

In a work of this complexity, pretty much the entire narrative framework is developed ahead of time. I used to wing it more, but now I'm convinced it pays to get organized.

E.I. How do you know where you will go next with your story? All the fascinating historical events and topics that have managed to slip through the gaps of common knowledge?

LG: In some sense, the main impulse for doing cartoon histories was to highlight the stuff that slipped through the gaps, as you put it. I'm a revisionist historian, or was when I started. Part of the point is to satirize received historical wisdom and the historians who promote it, especially when that received wisdom contains tendentious distortions, in other words, not to put to fine a point on it, the received wisdom serves the interest of the ruling class. And believe me, it isn't hard to find neglected and important information. When I started out, decades ago, there was a gold mine of data about women, minorities, and the underclass that had barely entered mainstream historical discourse. Later on, of course, this became mainstream historical discourse, at which point a lot of important narrative history dropped out of books, so paradoxically, by the end I was trying to restore some of the national-history type material that seemed absurdly traditional when I started out!

For example, I was horrified to discover not long ago that an 8th-grade history class had never heard of Magellan. I mean, really!

It also soon became clear to me that a lot of European history made much better sense in the context of Eurasian history, and this pointed me in the direction of Constantinople, first as a Byzantine capital and then under the Turks, not to mention China and India, which were the real centers of the world once upon a time. In the current book, this shows up in the very important role played in 18th-century European affairs by the decline of the Ottoman Empire.

Another example would be the British abolition of slavery in the early 1800s. I'm not aware of a parallel development anywhere, so it seemed to be a fruitful subject of study, and I spent many pages discussing it.

Another would be the birth of the Dutch Republic, which I covered in Modern World, Part 1.

E.I. If you were asked to read a page from “Cartoon History of the Modern World” is there one that you would personally select to share with your fans? And why?

LG: I just flipped through the book, and I really couldn't pick out just one. I like 202-203 for graphics. P. 39, introducing Napoleon, may be a good start. Not too complicated, and summarizes his exalted opinion of himself.

E.I. You are the most well-known and respected cartoonists in the writing community who have applied your craft to unraveling the mysteries of science, you were a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT and now an award-winning writer. Do you ever feel pressure or insecure, or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

LG: I always feel pressure and insecurity, but it has nothing to do with upholding a reputation. It's more about all the inadequacies I see in my own work. I'm a perfectionist without the time or ability to perfect things.

E.I. What would you tell those authors considering applying to an M.F.A. program? In your opinion how important is it for a writer to have a writing degree?

LG: This is one I have no opinion about. It does seem to be important to have a writing degree if you want a day job teaching creative writing. But whether or not writing programs produce a certain kind of writing is a question I'm not qualified to answer.

E.I. Mr. Gonick, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

LG: Edit yourself mercilessly, but not while you're in the middle of writing.
The Cartoon History of the Modern World, Part 2
Raw Materials

To learn more about Larry Gonick, please visit his website

To Purchase his books, please visit AMAZON and Barnes & Noble

INTERVIEW: Claude Izner - French Author of Murder on the Eiffel Tower: A Victor Legris Mystery

2009-12-04T19:10:00.012-05:00

Welcome to “Totally YA". For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing their books written especially for adolescents and teenagers around the world

Today’s interview is with Claude Izner who is actually the nom de plume of two French sisters, Liliane Korb born in 1940 and her sister Laurence Lefevre born 1951 who wrote hugely successful books.

After colorful and separate careers they started working together as secondhand booksellers on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris many years ago. They are experts on nineteenth-century Paris.

The sisters have been writing together for over ten years. Their early novels written together were targeted at younger readers, and they two sisters turned to detective fiction since 1999. They jointly write the popular Victor Legris series of crime novels. Legris is a bookseller in the late 19th-century Paris who is also an amateur detective. The books were originally bestsellers in France.

Liliane initially worked as chief editor before becoming a bookseller. She has participated in writing several of audiovisual performances and plays.

Laurance becomes a bookseller at the same time as her sister in 1970’s. Alongside her work as publisher she wrote two novels for adults in which from the society of men of letters an award.

E.I. Would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Please tell us more about Laurence Lefèvre -- one of the women behind the Claude Izner num de plume?

C. I. When I was a teenager ? Well, I was a rather lonely person, who liked to dream and above all to read, all sorts of novels, plays and poems. Not only mystery stories, but also science-fiction, XIXth century english litterature such as Dickens and the Brontë sisters, American novels (Steinbeck, Erskine Caldwell, Richard Wright, Carson Mac Cullers,etc...), Russian novels (Tolstoï, Dostoieveski) or plays (Tchekhov), and so forth. But also comics (Tintin by Hergé !)

And who liked to go to the movies. I still do !

E. I. What is it about the art form of writing detective mystery that enchants you the most?

C.I. Lilian and I like to give us challenges : will we be able to invent a mystery and to solve it ? It gives us a frame inside which to put everything we are fond of, humour, tenderness, popular language, and of course a little fear (not too much !) And our love for old Paris.

But we wrote many other kind of books, in particular for children, so we do not consider ourselves "crime specialists" !

E.I. How do you imagine audience as you are writing your detective novels? Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls?

C.I. We do not imagine our audience, let them forgive us ! We think that we must first entertain ourselves, in order to please other people. We talk a lot. We make "sketches" exactly as, I think, a painter. We try some "tricks", if we are not satisfied we cut them off, we try other ones ! It is long and tiring but worth while ! It thrills us.

The walls...I live in a small flat, so the papers are in drawers or on the table where my computer awaits me !

E.I. What was your biggest challenge in developing the character of the Parisian bookseller, Victor Legris in your book “Murder on the Eiffel Tower”? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story? How did you overcome these challenges?

C.I. The bigest challenge ? To make Victor and Tasha, and all the characters around them, as real as possible, To re-invent 1889 Paris so as to insert in all that stuff a non-realistic story - as are almost all criminal stories !

We had no ideas of what would come off the magical hat ! It was like building a house : you have to put a brick after another...and look at the result : is the house a solid one ?

E.I. How much of Victor Legris life is planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with any of your characters?

C.I. Nothing is planned. Of course, each year we write a book taking place in a chronological suite, from 1889 to 1900 (we are now in 1898). We know that some changes will happen in Victor's and other characters'life, but we invent by and by ! We try to ignore where we go, to be "fresh" and inventive...except with the central plot which is the main bone of the skeleton...and the biggest challenge !

E.I. If you were asked to read a page from “Murder on the Eiffel Tower” is there one that you would personally select to share with your fans?

C.I. The page that I would choose would be the first I wrote, the very first of the series, which begins in the american edition p.5 by these words : "Wearing a tight new corset that creaked with every step, Eugénie Patinot walked down Avenue des Peupliers.". I wrote it in summer, without any documentation except an old map of Paris, and without guessing what would be Eugénie's fate ! We still know this phrase by heart ! Then, some weeks later, Lilian wrote the prologue.
And the adventure began, for us !

E.I. How do you weave so much suspense and elements of information into your stories and yet you keep them so fast-paced?

C.I. It is for us a mystery ! We choose a short part in one year, we invent a plot, a plan, chapter after chapter. Then we search in old newspapers and books what happened during these weeks. Then...the ideas some !

We have to try to put some order in all these informations ! We like a fast rythm. Do not forget that Lilian was a film editor, and that we both loved cinema, especially old films (for instance americain classical ones). We are "visual", we have to see the scenes.

E.I. Many writers describe themselves as "character" or "plot" writers. Which are you? And what do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

C.I. Without characters, no plot. Without plot, no book ! I do not know if we are more gifted for this or that. I think that in fact we could manage with any plot, because we could fit it to our own mind, which is a fantaisist one !
We for instance love Hithcock and his "Mac Guffins" !

Anyhow, the plots...they is a limited number of them ! What gives savour to a story ? The characters, the way you show them, the way they think and talk, the errors they make, as Victor, who is not a great sleuth ! This is our authors' small credo...

E.I. You are well known in Internationally as a former chief editor before becoming a bookseller, you also participated in writing several of audiovisual performances and play? What is one thing you would change if you can do it all over again?

C.I. It is Lilian, not I, who was a former chief editor. She worked with great documentarists such as Jean Rouch, Joris Ivens, also with Peter Brook, Maurice Pialat, among others. Maybe she would have liked to direct movies, but it is very difficult, many reponsabilities. Writing is more simple, no producers, no comedians...

I, myself, do not regret the life I had, selling old books gave me freedom.

E.I. Your book has been translated into different languages and has been published all over the world and now a bestselling author. Do you ever feel pressure or insecure, or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

C.I. It seems a dream, being translated : we never thought this could happen ! But we stay the same as before. We still doubt of ourselves. Of course, we separate our anxiety (it is rather frightening, even if exciting) from the writing process. When the book is finished, now, we sometimes pity our translators, so many jokes and popular expresssions !
Maybe, being "Claude Izner", that is a third person, helps us to feel more secure !

E.I. Ms. Lefevre, Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

C.I. Advice ? I do not consider me a teacher...All I would say is : be yourself, forget the teachings, read a lot, create what you like. Then...work, do not be sure to be the greatest writer, be humble and believe in yourself at the same time. Choose to write science fiction, or fantasy, or love stories, or criminal investigations, or poetry, if this is what you prefer. Do not be too serious ! Do not hope to change the world...but be happy if some people appreciate you.

There is not one unique way, life is a rainbow even if the sky is often very cloudy. Choose your colour and try to feel joy, because life is also very short...

Photo of Claude Izner (Liliane Korb and Laurence Lefèvre)by Monika Katz

To purchase their books please visit AMAZON