A Few Questions with Karen Cushman

I met Karen Cushman briefly last summer at the Golden Kite Luncheon at the SCBWI Summer Conference in L.A. I knew everyone at our table apart from Karen and her nephew. She introduced herself, just as congenial as can be, and I think I said something smooth and charming and not all all flustered.

Something like, “Oh! Wow!”

I recovered, and we went on to have a lovely luncheon. Karen was awesome, and I’m honored to offer a little glimpse into her newest book, Alchemy and Meggy Swann, as well as her writing process. Thank you, Karen!

KB:  Tell us about Alchemy and Meggy Swann.

KC:  Feisty Meggy, sent from her mother’s village to live in London with the father she has never known, struggles with his evident disappointment when they meet. Not only is she is not the son he had expected, she walks with a halting gait–wabbling she calls it, aided by two sticks.  Meggy finds the city a horrible place and is angry and frightened.  Slowly she explores her new world, makes friends, and begins to help her father, an alchemist.  Along the way she learns much about friendship, loyalty, and transformation.

KB:  How did writing Alchemy and Meggy Swann differ from your other books?

KC: Differ?  I don’t think it did.  There were the usual panics and the usual hair-tearing-out when editorial letters came.  The most different thing about the book is that Meggy struggles with a physical disability.

KB:  What kind of writer are you (e.g. What time of day do you typically write)?

KC: I write better in the morning, but first I have to read the newspaper, check emails and writers’ blogs, eat breakfast, shower, do a load of laundry, think about dinner. Then I answer emails, play computer solitaire, and talk baby talk to my cat.  Finally I am impatient enough with myself to sit down and work.  By that time it is usually not morning anymore so in reality I write in the afternoon.

KB: Do you give yourself a daily word count? Are you an outliner?

KC: I don’t outline or make 3×5 cards or storyboards, but I do have a story pretty well developed in my head before I start to write it.  I hate facing the blank page and find writing the first draft by far the hardest part of the job, pulling words out of me like, Katherine Paterson says, a spider spinning a web out of her own guts.  I don’t have a word or page count but work as long as I feel productive.

KB:  Do you revise as you go, or just get the first draft down?

As I write my first draft, I go back and polish those pages and chapters that came before.  Over and over.  This is how I start working each day–reading over and polishing what I have already written.  It gives me a running start on the day’s work.  It’s those early chapters that establish mood and voice and I like to know these as I write on.  Is the voice humorous and ironic, like Birdy?  Naive but wise like Alyce?  Sad and angry like Rodzina?  Complaining and confrontational as are Lucy and Matilda?

KB:  Do you believe in writer’s block?

KC: I believe there are some times when a writer doesn’t want to write, doesn’t know what comes next, doubts she can do it, thinks she has nothing more to say.  But as a diagnosis?  Nope.  I don’t believe in writers’ block.  Or most attempts to turn a process into a thing, for that matter.

KB:  How do you stay in touch with the writing community?

KC: I read blogs, email friends, huddle with other writers at conferences, read what’s newly published.

KB: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

KC:  Sleep.  Read.  Putter in the garden.  See friends.  Watch Inspector Morse.

KB: Any writing and/or revision tips you’d like to share?

Revision is much easier for me than writing a first draft.  So with my work in progress, Will Sparrow’s Road, I tried something different.  I set up a vague outline of chapters, typed notes and ideas in each chapter, added a few sentences, a character description, an action, some dialogue, whatever occurred to me, until the book was laid out on the computer.  Then when I went back, writing that first draft was more like editing and revising, not writing.  Much easier.

KB:  What have you enjoyed reading recently?

KC:  Besides many, many, MANY books as research for one book or another, I enjoyed The Calligrapher’s Daughter, Eugenia Kim; Ice by Sarah Beth Durst; A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick; The Wet-Nurse’s Tale, Erica Eisdorfer.

Thanks, Karen!

Don’t forget that Karen will be speaking at our last SCBWI Western Washington meeting of the season on May 11th.

If you would like a chance to win a signed copy of Alchemy and Meggy Swann, just share a writing or revision tip in the comments. I’ll pick a winner on Thursday!

That and this.

Look, I’m back. I can stick with it, I can!

The truth is, the one time I put a water bottle in my computer bag- it leaked. My computer spent some time in a box of rice over the heater (per instructions my husband found on the internet) and then it went to a guru. Everybody kept saying it would be fine as long as I took the battery out- but the new Macbook Pros have nonremovable batteries. Gah! We got it back tonight, and it has a couple of permanent water spots on the screen and needs a new airport card- but everything else is superduper. Yeehah! I will never bag a beverage again.

The Onion examines an authors exploitation of innocent, interspecific friendship.

The Longstockings are calling for a new manuscript to critique.

If you just ventured out from your cave, there were some book awards this week. I did pretty well with predictions. How about you?

Congratulations all around! Great Kid Books has the list broken down by reading level.

The BBC has produced a video about the real toy story of what happens when a teddy bear is home alone. Some people might not appreciate the audio at the end, but I am a different sort of people. Thanks to Minor Details for the link.

If you’re going to New York next week for the SCBWI Winter Conference (or if you’re there already), there are a few extra events happening around town you might be interested in.

Books of Wonder is hosting a fantastic panel of middle grade and YA authors like Sydney Salter and Ann Haywood Leal this Thursday.

Once again Betsy Bird is throwing a Kidlit Drink Night to go along with the conference. I went last year and had tons of fun. Her partner in revelry, Cheryl Klein, will sadly be out of town. But, we’ll live it up in her honor on Friday.

And then back at Books of Wonder on Saturday from 12-2 you can catch the opening of illustrator  John Rocco‘s exhibition of Percy Jackson art. His editor will be there as well talking about the process of developing the art for the series.

Closer to home- SCBWI WWA’s 19th Annual Conference registration is OPEN! I’m so excited! Peter Brown! Jay Asher! Laini Taylor! Mitali Perkins! and LOADS of other great people.  Look! I’m even on there. Under “Distinguished Faculty.” Ha! I’m giving a talk on the very basics of social media for writers and illustrators. People come to the conference from all over, so don’t be shy if you’re not local. Registration is already almost half full- so don’t delay.

Did you register yet??

Back to blogging

I had an unplanned blog hiatus there for a while. I don’t know how it is for you, but if I haven’t blogged for a few days I feel like I should post something big, and so I wait for an idea/news/etc. A few more days pass and then it’s been even longer and I get out of the habit. Throw in the holidays, visitors, kittens, flu season- and a month goes by. I’m a girl in a bubble. Or a jello mold. Yes, I’m a pineapple tidbit encased in lime jello.

So, that’s where I’ve been. I’m still overwhelmed and I STILL don’t have anything too important to say, but I want to get back into the habit.

So…

I’m reading the Cybils finalists. So many great stories! I’m a judge for the middle grade fiction category, but I’ve been reading books from the other lists as well. So many awesome stories to be read- like Joni Sensel’s The Farwalker’s Quest! I just read the ARC for the sequel, The Timekeeper’s Moon. Great stuff!

Congratulations to all the finalists for middle grade fiction:

Captain Nobody
by Dean Pitchford
Putnam Juvenile
Nominated by: Dawn Mooney

Even though he’s smart and capable, Newt is the neglected younger brother of a high school football star, mostly content with sliding through the cracks of life.  Then a couple of events–his older brother ends up in a coma the night of the Big Game and Newt is forced to improvise a Halloween costume–coincide to spur the creation of a new superhero: Captain Nobody. Newt finds that he feels different when in his costume: stronger, more outgoing, more able to handle…well, everything (within reason, of course) that’s thrown his way. Hilarious, fun, and completely charming, this is one superhero that the world can’t do without.
–Melissa Fox

Chains
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Simon & Schuster
Nominated by: melissa

Anderson has taken the historical facts of the American Revolution and given us a new perspective. Chains is told through the eyes of Isabel, a slave girl. Sold after her master dies, Isabel is thrust into the middle of the war where both sides claim they want what is best for her. She passes along messages to the Loyalists only to learn that the only one she can trust to help her gain her freedom is herself. Anderson has presented a story that with the proper foundation can be read, enjoyed and understood by the youngest to the oldest middle-grade student. War is always a tough topic but the details were intricately woven into Isabel’s life.  It can be read as a stand-alone book and yet Anderson has left it open enough for a sequel.
–Sandra Stiles, Musings of a Book Addict

Anything But Typical
by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Simon & Schuster
Nominated by: Pam W Coughlan

There is much to love in Nora Raleigh Baskin’s Anything But Typical. The writing–in particular the narrative voice–feels so genuine: vulnerable and heartfelt; simple yet beautiful. Almost poetic. The book stars Jason Blake, an autistic hero, who loves to write stories and participate in online forums.  When his parents surprise him with a trip to the Storyboard writing convention, you might think he’d be happy instead of terrified.  But for Jason the thought of meeting his online friend, PhoenixBird, in real life causes nothing but anxiety.  Everyone has moments of insecurity and doubt, and to see these reflected so honestly in Jason feels more than right.
–Becky Laney

Heart of a Shepherd
by Rosanne Parry
Random House Children’s Books
Nominated by: jone

Twelve-year-old Ignatius Alderman discovers the “heart of a shepherd” as he helps his grandparents take care of the family ranch when his father is deployed to Iraq. Nicknamed “Brother,” Ignatius is the youngest of five brothers, named for St. Ignatius, and searching for his own gifts, talents and career path. He’s not sure that ranching or military service, the two traditions that dominate his family, are truly his gifts.  And although he learns to live up to his responsibilities, it will take a major crisis for Brother to find his own right road to maturity.

The book is rather quiet, the pacing slow and deliberate, like Brother himself. Even when the crisis comes, it sneaks up on the reader rather than announcing itself with trumpets.  In addition to its coming-of-age theme, Heart of a Shepherd also has lots of little details about ranching life and rural Oregon and the life of a soldier in Iraq and even about chess.  These will capture the young reader who’s interested in any of those subjects and make him pay attention to the larger themes in the book.  This debut novel by author Roseanne Parry is a treat to be savored.
–Sherry Early

All The Broken Pieces
by Ann Burg
Scholastic
Nominated by: Laurie Schneider

Matt Pin is haunted by his memories of Vietnam. He was born a bui doi, the dust of life — son of an American GI and Vietnamese mother during the Vietnam War.  He was airlifted out of Vietnam at ten years old, leaving behind his mother and brother.  Through the course of this verse novel, Matt is forced to come to terms with his with his horrifying past and his American present.

The spare, poetic format of the story allows the reader to feel like they have entered Matt’s head and heart. All the Broken Piecesis a gorgeous novel that captures the emotional and physical rubble left in the aftermath of a war. The free verse is incredibly well-written and not a single word is used when it isn’t necessary.  This powerful novel will satisfy even the most anti-poetry readers but many of the verses will remain in the heart and mind of the reader for days afterward.
–Sarah Mulhern

Operation Yes
by Sara Lewis Holmes
Arthur A Levine
Nominated by: Laura Purdie Salas

Operation Yes is a story that revolves around cousins Bo and Gari. Bo’s father is in charge of a military base in the south and Gariâ’s mother is deployed to Afghanistan; so Gari must relocate from Seattle to live with her cousin.  They are both in the same sixth grade class and their teacher teaches in a box about the importance of life outside the box.  What makes this story a standout is how kids can overcome tough times and show adults what they are capable of when they work together.
–Kyle Kimmal

Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis, The
by Barbara O’Connor
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Nominated by: Augusta Scattergood

Popeye is dreading the boring summer that stretches out before him…until Elvis arrives in a broken-down motor home and the two boys start exploring the back woods, investigating the mysterious Yoo-Hoo boats that come floating down the creek.  Barbara O’Connor’s book manages to be laugh-out-loud funny and still deal with more serious subject matter without veering into Depressing.  This is a rather quiet book for anyone who’s been bored and dreams of having small adventures.
–Abby Johnson

*****

Speaking of great middle grade fiction- do you remember a few months ago when Fuse #8 accumulated that massive list of everyone’s favorite picture books? She’s doing it again- with chapter books! Send her your votes for the best chapter books.  I had fun making my favorite picture books list, so I’m going to have to give this some thought.

We are a week away from launching registration for SCBWI Western Washington‘s conference on April 10-11. We just got the poster from the printer yesterday, so I’ll share it with you in a few days, along with more details. It’s going to be a very cool conference.

Did you make any resolutions? I’ve been chewing a few around, but they’re not set in stone yet. Who says you have to start on the 1st? I’m resolving to blog more regularly, and have my primary focus be on middle grade books with author interviews and such. I’m going to give morning writing another shot. I prefer to write at night when I can just go until I’m sleepy, but then I start the next day tired. Maybe if I can get into the groove, it will make me more efficient knowing that I need to wrap things up before the kids need to get ready for their days.

Then I can leave the nights to reading, leisure, and crafty activities. I might “Stay up and make something” as recommended by this poster that glows in the dark and smells like coffee.

I’m getting excited about the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York at the end of the month. Yay!

Last but not least, my sweet husband bought me an iPhone for Christmas. Great googily moogily, I love this thing. Any apps you recommend? Lemme know!

What better way to get back into blogging than Lee Wind & MotherReader‘s 2010 Comment Challenge?

Happy 2010! Bring it on!

Where I’ll be and maybe I’ll see you there.

I’m waiting for the rain and wind to let up and my little one to go down for a nap. Then I can go clean up the many chicken feathers that the raccoon left behind  when he decreased our chicken population from 3 to 2 last night. I’m still getting used to the idea of our chickens being pets/food-producers, and now they’re pets/food-producers/food. Gah!

That’s right! All glamour, all the time.

Let’s just focus on the future, ok?

Tomorrow and Sunday I will be on the Children’s Stage at Seattle Bookfest at 3 for wacky Mad Libs. With prizes! It’s a whole weekend of books and local authors and fun. Say hi if you’re there!

While we’re talking about where I’ll be when… I’ll be at the 2010  SCBWI Winter Conference January 29th-31st in New York City.  I was there last year, and had a great time (here’s the recap). Registration starts on October 28th!

If you have a something that is submission-ready, you might want to seriously consider signing up for the intensives on the 29th. I’m not sure how the illustrator intensive works, but for writers it’s like a group critique led by a mystery editor or agent. It’s not cheap, but if you have the scratch, it’s probably worth it. You won’t find out who you’re with until you pick up your badge at the registration table. Last year I was fortunate to have Michael Stearns and Liz Szabla lead my tables (!). They each gave fantastic, useful, different feedback.  There are many, many publishing success stories that sprung from these intensives (Just ask Jill Alexander or Holly Cupala.)

I eventually scrapped that particular manuscript in June, but I started something new in July and I should be wrapping up my rough draft this week (Wheeee!). Just in time for the revision retreat the first weekend of November and maybe the intensive, too.

Did you nominate books for the Cybils? Nominations are closed now, but there are plenty of recommendations.  First round panelists are super busy narrowing the long lists down to short lists. In the middle grade category, that’s where I come in! I’m a second round judge, and in great company. Look!

Panelists (Round I Judges):

Sherry Early, Semicolon
Melissa Fox, Book Nut
Abby Johnson, Abby the Librarian
Kyle Kimmal, The Boy Reader
Becky Laney, Becky’s Book Reviews
Sarah Mulhern, The Reading Zone
Sandra Stiles, Musings of a Book Addict

Round II Judges:

Kimberly Baker, Wagging Tales
Stacy Dillon, Welcome to my Tweendom
Monica Edinger, Educating Alice
David Elzey, Excelsior File
Kerry Millar Shelf Elf

Any predictions for the short lists? Share ‘em in the comments!

Lots of good news:

Martha Brockenbrough sold a picture book (This news is a couple weeks old, but still awesome.)!

Author/Illustrator Kjersten Anna Hayes got an honorable mention in the Writer’s Digest Writing Competition for Children’s/Young Adult fiction. Congratulations, Kjersten!

And this morning it was announced that Grace Lin’s wonderful Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was chosen for Al Roker’s Today Show Kid’s Book Club! Yay, Grace! You can see my interview with Grace about her process making Where the Mountain meets the Moon here.

I’ll have more interviews featuring fab middle grade authors soon, when things slow down a little bit.

And in the random news category: Ground Control to Major Tom You? Scientists are looking for a few good people to spend 520 days on a simulated trip to Mars.  You get a real trip to Moscow, and after a few days you won’t know if you’re on a real space ship or not.

Ok, it’s time for me to go outside, but first I’m going to watch one of my favorite videos ever. Happy weekend, everybody!

A little interview with Laini Taylor

So, I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks. I asked my friend Laini Taylor for an interview last month about her recently released middle grade novel, Dreamdark: Silksinger, and she graciously obliged.  I set the interview aside until her newest book, Lips Touch Three Times was released on October 1st. I’ve had a case of the blogging blahs, due in part to distractions of the  draft finishing and SCBWI variety. Long story short, two weeks pass.

And what happened?

Lips Touch Three Times becomes a finalist for the National Book Award!

Whoop! When I saw the list yesterday you would have thought someone won the lottery by the way I reacted (editor’s note: I can be very animated in real life.). But it’s even better than the lottery, isn’t it? Because lotteries are based on chance, and the National Book Awards are not. They’re based on talent and merit, and Laini and Jim are chock full. They’re sweet, lovely people, too, and I couldn’t be happier for them.

So anyway, I wish I had asked her more questions about Lips Touch! I don’t want to bother her now since I have a feeling her email inbox is a little full, and if I call it might wake sweet little two-month-old Clementine up. Oh, well. Silksinger is equally fantastic. Pick them both up, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

WT: Tell us about Dreamdark: Silksinger!

LT: Dreamdark: Silksinger is the sequel to my first novel, Dreamdark: Blackbringer, but it can also be read as a stand-alone (of course I recommend reading both!) Both are fantasy-adventure for upper middle grade (ages 8-12), and are sophisticated enough for teen and adult readers too. They’re about faeries, but not dainty flowery faeries. My faeries are tiny but fierce, warriors and devil-hunters with powerful magic.

WT: Your faeries kick ass. What made you want to create this book?

LT: Thank you! I have five books planned out in the Dreamdark series, and I came up with the basic plot of Silksinger when I was about halfway through writing Blackbringer. It changed a lot in the actual writing, but the character of Whisper has stayed true to that initial inspiration — a faerie who can weave silk by singing, and creates flying carpets that way.

WT: How different was your final draft from your first draft? Was the plot consistent? Any surprises?

LT:  Since I’m a compulsive perfectionist, I revise as I go, and I never end up with a true “first draft” — not a quick, messy one, anyway. It takes me a long time to get through a “first draft” and each chapter is generally revised many times before I proceed, and I reconceive the plot as I go, then backtrack and even start over. So by the time I get to “the end,” what I have is a draft that is already fairly polished. I’ve tried writing fast, loose first drafts, and it doesn’t really work for me — so far, anyway! Maybe one day!

WT: Huge congratulations on the birth of your lovely daughter, Clementine! How has parenthood impacted your writing?

LT:  Thank you! Well, we’re still working all that out Jim and I both work at home, so we have a lot of flexibility with our schedules and can take turns with Clementine. I’m trying to adjust my schedule a little to work at night, which has never been my prime creative time (I get sleepy and dippy late at night). I’ve heard that having kids makes one more efficient, and I’m trying to make that true of myself. Fingers crossed!

WT:  You collaborate with your husband, illustrator Jim DiBartolo (recently dubbed Gentle Bad-Ass Bohemian Warrior Daddy by Ben Watson).  At what point in the process do you begin working together?

LT:  (Love that title, Ben!) In all three of my novels so far that Jim has illustrated, he’s worked from the finished (or almost finished) manuscripts. With the [secret] project we’re working on now, it’s more of a back-and-forth where the text and images are much more closely interrelated and interdependent. We’re having a lot of fun with it!

WT:  You have a YA novel, Lips Touch Three Times, released this month. Did you work on Silksinger and Lips Touch simultaneously?

LT:  No. I wrote Lips Touch first. I had sent the manuscript of Blackbringer to my editor Timothy Travaglini, and while I was waiting to get my first-ever editorial letter back from him, I began writing short pieces for fun. Three of those pieces were the stories in Lips Touch (I realized I kept writing about kissing, and Jim had the idea that those kissing stories could be a book!). I started writing Silksinger after the major revisions on Blackbringer were done.

WT:  You’ve mentioned that you enjoy revising a manuscript. Why?

LT:  Ah, revising. First drafts are the hardest part for me: you’re creating something from nothing. What’s harder than that? I love to mess around with language, and my perfectionist brain finds revising very rewarding: taking something that already exists and making it better.

WT:  What’s made the biggest impact on your relationship with the writing community? Conferences? Blogging? Why?

LT:  Gosh. Both have been hugely important to my writing life. Before I started going to SCBWI conferences and blogging, I felt alone and entirely baffled by the mysteries of publishing. I didn’t have anyone to talk to about writing, and I didn’t know anything about publishing at all. Now, having made so many wonderful friends (not just writers, but also agents, editors, publishers, art directors, etc) both through conferences and online, publishing has been demystified and writing feels like a “real job”. Besides that, the friendships are just so rich, the people are so wonderful, they have made our lives feel larger and more colorful!

WT:  What are you working on now? Any more Faeries of Dreamdark?

LT:  I absolutely plan to continue the Dreamdark series, but right now I’m at work on several other projects: a YA novel, and something secret that Jim and I are doing together. All I’ll say about that is that it’s for younger kids, and is in a very different style than what we’ve done so far.

WT: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?

LT:  Well, the answer to this question has completely changed for me. Before I might have said: reading, baking, painting, getting together with writer friends, and traveling. And that’s all still true! But my #1 favorite pastime now is just cuddling Clementine, preferably with Jim too

WT: What have you enjoyed reading recently?

LT: I recently read Megan Whalen Turner’s Attolia series, and found it just as amazing as everyone says. Highly recommended! Also, Hunger Games and Catching Fire are fantastic.

Thanks, Laini! And Congratulations!!

Cybils! And other stuff.

It’s time to nominate your favorite books for the Cybils!

Then, go pick up a copy of Laini Taylor and Jim DiBartolo‘s Lips Touch Three Times, available today. Why should you pick it up? Because I read the ARC, and it’s wonderful.  Because their editor, Arthur Levine, spontaneously cheered when reading an excerpt at the YA Buzz panel at BEA. Because Laini and Jim are made out of awesome. I’ll post a little interview with Laini in the next few days.

Yay! SCBWI’s own Aaron Hartzler has sold his YA memoir, Rapture Practice, to Little Brown to be published in 2011 (via PW Children’s Bookshelf).

If you’re in Seattle, mark your calendar for October 24-25 for the newly resurrected Bookfest. I’ll be on the Secret Garden KidsStage hosting some crazy MadLibs on Saturday and Sunday, because Penguin is celebrating 50 years of filling in the blanks with silliness. So, stop by- but leave the rotten tomatoes at home. I hear Martha Brockenbrough is hosting a Grammar Bee as well. Fun stuff!

I have a little bet going with that very same Martha B. to finish my rough draft by the end of the month, so I’ll be going now.

Ann Haywood Leal interview- Also Known as Harper

I met Ann this summer at the SCBWI Summer Conference. We started chatting and I really liked her, even before it clicked that she was the fabulous writer that my friend Jolie had been telling us about. I loved Also Known as Harper, and it’s always great to know that authors are just as lovely as their books.

WT: Tell us about your novel, Also Known as Harper.
AHL:  Harper Lee Morgan is an aspiring poet, which isn’t surprising, seeing as how she’s named after her mama’s favorite writer, Harper Lee. And life is giving her a lot to write about just now. Daddy up and walked out, leaving them broke. Then Harper’s family gets evicted.
With Mama scrambling to find work, Harper has to skip school to care for her little brother, Hemingway. Their lives have been turned upside down, which Harper could just about handle—if it wasn’t for the writing contest at school. She wants nothing more than to get up on that stage and read her poems out loud . . .it is about perseverance, with some hope and humor mixed in.

WT: Where did the idea come from, and how was your road to publication?

AHL:  I volunteer at my local soup kitchen with my family. Harper isn’t based on any one child in the meal center, but more on a feeling I got when I saw the children standing there in line with their parents. I wondered what their lives might actually be like.

I’d love to say, my road to publication, was smooth, without any forks, but I’ve been writing stories since I was about four years old and I have a whole room full of rejection letters! I just kept writing and trying to make my manuscripts the best they could be. I joined SCBWI and tried to listen carefully to comments made in manuscript critiques and workshops. After a while, I started to get some “good” rejection letters with personal notes jotted on them. A couple of years ago, I read an interview with an agent that really caught my eye. I had just finished the manuscript of ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER, and I sent him a couple of chapters. He made some suggestions and when I did some revisions and sent it back to him, he offered to represent me.

WT:How different was your final draft from your first draft? Any big changes?

AHL: Hmmm…that’s a difficult question! The idea stayed the same, for the most part, but I’m very lucky to have a very hands-on agent and a wonderful editor. They are both incredibly good at coaxing more out of me!

WT:  Why was it important for you for Harper to write poetry?

AHL:  I think it is easy for a child in a situation like Harper’s to feel invisible. Writing poetry was a way for Harper to feel “heard” and worthwhile.

WT:  You deal with serious themes of homelessness, alcoholism, abandonment- how have readers responded?

AHL: I am a teacher and I think the most difficult response for me to take came from a student who was in a temporary housing facility. One of the other teachers bought her a copy of ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER. The little girl came into my classroom to ask me to sign the book and said, “Harper’s life is my life.” I had to turn away for a second and pretend like I was busy with something on my computer, because I didn’t want her to see me cry! She was standing there with such a strong, wise look. It was hard to see that in her eyes.

WT:  What have you done for promotion- online and/or in-person?

AHL:  I have really enjoyed doing blog interviews and bookstore and school visits. A few weeks ago, I went to the library in Auburn, Washington, where I got my first library card. I thought I was going to talk to a teen writing group, but a whole bunch of other people started walking in: my first grade teacher, my third grade teacher, the principal of my elementary school, my middle school English teacher….it was pretty overwhelming!

WT: That’s so cool! What are you working on now?

AHL:  I have another middle-grade novel coming out (also with Henry Holt/Macmillan) next year. It is called SEARCHING FOR EZEKIEL and is about two young girls, dealing with a mother who I hope will bring out conflicting emotions in the reader…

WT:  What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

AHL: I LOVE to read. I always have! I also like to run and do karate. My fourteen-year-old daughter and I just took our second degree black belt tests together!

WT: How do you stay in touch with the writing community (e.g. critique group, SCBWI, social media, etc.)?

AHL:  I love SCBWI; their conferences and workshops have been invaluable to me. I am a member of two critique groups, and I don’t know what I’d do without them! One of the critique groups has three other members and we have been together for over six years. I also am on Facebook, I just joined Twitter and I have a blog (www.annhaywoodleal.blogspot.com).

Ann's critique group

WT:  What have you enjoyed reading recently?

I loved THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett and just finished CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins.

Thanks, Ann!

Grace Lin interview- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

I met Grace Lin last spring when she was a keynote speaker at our spring conference. She’s sweet and sharp, and she always finds a way to create books in her own unique way. Her newest book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a middle grade novel based on Chinese folk tales with full color illustrations. From the wonderful story, to the beautiful artwork and even the lush feel of the paper, it’s truly a gem.

WT: Tell us about your novel, “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.”

GL: My publisher has dubbed “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” as an Asian “Wizard of Oz,” which, while I am honored it is compared to a great classic that I love, is not really what I had in mind when I wrote it. The story follows a young girl named Minli who, inspired by her father’s stories, goes on an enchanted adventure to find the Old Man of the Moon to change her family’s fortune. On the way, she hears various stories from all the people/creatures that she meets and the stories slowly weave a lesson (but not in a didactic way!) about the secret of happiness. The book is a mixture of Chinese folktales and my imagination and values; it’s both ancient and modern, Asian and American.

A noteworthy thing about the novel is that there are full color illustrations scattered throughout the book. The whole book was actually printed in full color–great pains were taken with the design and production. I truly hope that everyone who reads it feels that the book is a thing of beauty aesthetically as well as story-wise!

WT: What made you want to create this book?

GL: I grew up in Upstate NY, the only Asian (except for my sisters) in my school. Because of this, my childhood was always tinged with a strange sense of identity. Was I Chinese? Taiwanese? American? Most of the time I simply ignored my race.

But my mother regretted that I knew and had so little interest in our cultural heritage. So, one day she put about half a dozen Chinese folktale and fairytale books on the shelve for me to read. Which (always unable to resist the lure of a new book) I did.

At first disappointed. Used to lush illustrations and descriptions, the Asian books were plainly translated with an occasional simple b/w line drawings and seemed an inadequate comparison. However, slowly I discovered the stories had a magic and I began to imagine details of my own, tinged with Asian-American sensibilities. When I grew older and was able to travel Hong Kong, Taiwan and China–the stories came alive.

And “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” came into existence. An homage to the folktales and fairy tales I read in my youth, it is a mixture of Asian fairytales and North American classics. Not a traditional retelling of stories from either cultures it is, as I said above, a mix– like me, Asian-American.

WT: The format is so rich and unique. How was developing this book different from your previous novels?

GL: The was very different from my other novels as it was a fantasy, not first person narrative and less episodic than “The Year of the Dog” and “The Year of the Rat.” But I definitely needed to write those first, to gain confidence in my writing ability, before writing “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.”

I tend to write in kind of a haphazard way. I plan the start and end in my head, write the first couple of chapters and then write brief chapter summaries for the rest of the book. For “The Year of…” books, those chapter summaries were pretty much on base. For “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon,” the story just went off on its own tangent.

It was really important for me for all the stories to tie together, because of the red thread theme– was how everything is connected. So, this book was a very consuming process. I was constantly thinking of how to link stories– writing notes on scrap pieces of paper at the gym, post it notes all over my house, notesbook scrawls at lunch. This was the first book that I’ve written where it was impossible to work on anything else at the same time. I’m glad the story found its way back to my ending.

Also, my research for this book was much more lavish! I traveled to China to really soak up the atmosphere and landscape for my setting. I don’t think I will get to do that again.

WT: How different was your final draft from your first draft? Were the themes consistent? Any surprises?

GL: Well, the first draft was about half the length of the final. Many authors have a hard time cutting–seems like most write great volumes and cut down. For me it’s the opposite. I tend to write incredibly spare and have to go back and “thicken” it up.

The biggest change was adding the second story of Minli’s parents and their experience while Minli was away. My first draft was solely Minli’s journey and it was my editor who felt that I should include Ma & Ba’s experiences too. I kind of balked when she first told me that, but then I tried it and realized it made the story much better!

WT: I always love to hear when other writers write sparely and add more as they revise, instead of whittling down. I’m the same way, but so much revision advice starts with cutting down your word count. I felt like I must not be doing it right until I just accepted that my process was different.

You attended the Rhode Island School of Design, but I read that you write the story before creating the art. How important is it for you to combine the two?

GL: It’s been very important for me to have both the pictures and the words work together. To me, both are equally important. The difference is in a picturebook, the pictures are there to help the readers understand the words and in a novel, the words are there to help readers understand the pictures.

WT: Do you feel there is a growing acceptance of illustrations in children’s novels?

GL: I hope so. You see it a lot more nowadays, like in Kate Dicamillo’s novels and Sharon Creech’s “Castle Corona.” I think the illustrations add so much to experience of reading. To me, they are perfect—they give a glimpse of visualization into the world you are reading, but not so much that you aren’t left with anything to imagine. Also, they make the experience of owning and holding a book feel that much more special—turning the page and seeing a full color illustration is almost like discovering a jewel and the book itself feels like a little treasure.

I hope these days, in the age of technology with browsers and kindles, these kind of illustrated books will be even more cherished. With so much doom and gloom about the future of publishing, to create books that are not cheap throw-aways, but are beautiful objects to enjoy is something to consider.

WT: Great point! What are you working on now?

GL: My next book will be “Ling and Ting.” It is an early reader (which is a format I have been wanted to try for a while) about Chinese-American twins. It is almost the reverse theme of the “Year of the Dog;” using twins, I am trying to show how even when people look the same they can be different.

After that I have a picture book on the Moon Festival and a picture book set in Beijing. In the meantime, I have started preliminary drafts for a novel that has the same characters of my past novels “The Year of the Dog” and the “Year of the Rat.”

I have no plans on writing a sequel to “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon,” but I do have ideas for companion. My little dream is to have a trilogy of folktale-inspired fantasies, and then I’ll move on to something else (hopefully).

WT: What do you like to do when you’re not making books?

GL: Well, I lead a pretty boring life. Other than book-related things, I like baking cupcakes, decorating cupcakes and eating cupcakes. Oh, and biking (to burn off the cupcakes).

WT: You blog as part of the Blue Rose Girls, as well as your own blog, Gracenotes. How much of an impact does blogging have on your writing life, if any?

GL: When I first started blogging, I was going through a lot of emotional turmoil and I really needed outlets. Blogging was one of those outlets. Now that my life is peaceful, I blog almost out of habit. I think blogging was good for my writing, it was practice for expressing myself in words and sometimes it is the only writing I do in a day. I don’t think it takes away from my writing of novels, not yet anyway!

WT:  What have you enjoyed reading recently?

GL: I’ve been listening to a lot of audio books lately, as I’ve been painting my new picturebook. I’ve been alternating between old classic and new releases. I just finished Edward Eager’s “Half Magic” and I’ve got “Al Capone Shines My Shoes” by Gennifer Choldenko next. For my eager to read pile, I have “Any Which Wall” by Laurel Snyder (which I heard is an homage to Edward Eager, so I’m all primed and ready) and Sid Fleischman’s “The Dream Stealer.”

WT: Thanks for the suggestions, Grace, and thanks for a great interview!

More on the middle grade- and videos!

What a week! My son started first grade at a new school, SCBWI Western Washington kicked off a new season, my in-laws are visiting, and I accepted a little challenge to finish this draft of my manuscript by Halloween. Oof.

My question about middle grade authors really struck a nerve with people. Some readers speculated that YA authors blog more for teen readers- but I’m talking about support in the writing community. I’ve been paying extra attention to the YA and MG blogs I read, and the comments seem to be from the others in the kid lit community- not kids or teens (with exceptions like Maureen Johnson and Libba Bray). YA authors are online talking to each other, promoting each other, supporting each other, and building buzz in a way that middle grade authors just don’t.

So, can we take up the challenge? I think we can! We can definitely do better. If anybody has any ideas, shout ‘em out- or send me an email at kcb at kimberlycbaker dot com. Let’s get organized!

I’m continuing my middle grade author interview series on Wednesday with someone who definitely has her own take on creating a middle grade novel- with beautiful results. You have until tonight for a chance to win a signed copy of Kathryn Fitzmaurice’s The Year the Swallows Came Early by commenting here.

Speaking of interviews and awesome middle grade writers- Kirby Larson interviews Trenton Lee Stewart on her blog. He has a new book in the Mysterious Benedict Society series coming out next month. Yippee!

A good list of graphic novels for the K-4 crowd, via @lauriethompson.

Robin Mellom is rereading Judy Blume’s books, and sharing her impressions in the Great Judy Blume Experiment.

A long list of books with characters of color, via @brownbookshelf.

A house swap resource for creative folk only.

FSG editor (and middle grade author!) Lisa Graff will be on our faculty for the SCBWI WWA conference in April. Betsy at Fuse #8 posted a video Lisa made this morning…and I think we’re going to get along just fine.  And Lisa, if this apprenticeship doesn’t work out, I bet we can find you a Washington cow to milk when you visit in April.

One more video, but it’s a doozy.

Insert a metaphor here, or just enjoy the facial expressions.

Kathryn Fitzmaurice interview and book giveaway!

I’m so excited to present the first in a new series of  author interviews. Kathryn Fitzmaurice agreed to answer a few questions, AND she’s graciously offered a signed copy of The Year the Swallows Came Early! Just leave a comment below by September 14 and I’ll pick someone at random to win!

WT: Tell us about your novel, The Year the Swallows Came Early.

KF: The book is about an eleven year old girl named Eleanor “Groovy” Robinson who dreams of attending cooking school one day.  Only she discovers that someone close to her has taken away something very important that may keep her from ever going.  She has to decide if she can forgive the failings of someone she loves, and accept him for who he is, rather than who she wants him to be.  But it’s also about how she keeps working to achieve her dreams despite the obstacles that are put in her way.

WT: How did you get the idea, and how long was it between your first spark and publication?

KF: It took almost exactly three years from when I wrote my first sentence to receiving the offer from HarperCollins.  Then it took another 16 months after the offer for the book to be on bookshelves.

The idea for the book had been stirring since the summer I turned 13, when my mother sent me to New York City to visit my grandmother, who was a science fiction author.  My grandmother led a very eclectic lifestyle.  I remember we never did anything until late afternoon, and then we stayed up until 2 or 3am.  Sometimes, we went to dinner as late as 11pm.  When we returned, she’d sit down to write until very early in the morning.  She told me she did this because the middle of the night was when people said and did things they normally wouldn’t.  She had a collection of porcelain owls, because they were creatures of the night.  She studied paranormal events.  She discussed things like inner motivations and secret desires.  She helped me to write my very first story that summer, and stayed up all night typing it so I could have a real story like she had.  At thirteen, it was my first real writing lesson.

She worked very hard that summer revising a novel entitled Chrysalis of Death.  And one day, we met her literary agent for lunch, and after listening to them discuss how my grandmother could make her characters into whomever she wanted, I decided that someday, I’d like to be a writer, too.  So after I told her this, my grandmother proceeded to send me books about writing techniques, books by classic authors, and literary essays for every birthday and Christmas holiday after.   In most of these books, she would write inside the cover, “K: Write what you know. “  One of my favorite books she sent to me when I was deep into a teenage poetry writing stage was a volume of poetry by Emily Dickinson.  Inside this book she wrote: “Emily Dickinson is a revered poet. Perhaps the same can be said of K.H. someday. Love, Grandma Eleanor. “

When she passed away, she left me a big box with all of her unfinished manuscripts in it, which have been a tremendous inspiration to me.

So because of all of the encouragement she gave me and to honor her, I decided that when I sat down to write my own novel many years later, that I would name my main character after her and give her a grandmother very much like my own.  In fact, because I remember her revising Chrysalis of Death the summer I visited, I decided to include it in The Year the Swallows Came Early.  So on page 148, my main character and her best friend find this manuscript along with a few of her others stories.  I included her book inside my book.

She never got to read even the first draft of my novel.  But I did send it to her agent, Phyllis Westberg, four years ago, who is still alive and working in NYC.  After reading it, my Ms. Westberg made the comment that she thought my grandmother would have been very happy.

WT: How different was your final draft from your first draft? Were the themes consistent? Any surprises?

KF: As far as themes go, the final draft was very similar to the first draft.  But the format, the chapter orders, the way things were laid out; those all changed quite a bit over the course of three years.  There was one good surprise. I had changed the title of the book probably twenty times while I was writing it, but Brenda Bowen, who was the editor who bought it, asked if we could change the title to The Year the Swallows Came Early, which was the exact working title I had used while writing it.  So even though I had used many different tiles over three years, (mostly because I couldn’t decide on what I wanted) we went back to my first one.  I suppose some things are meant to be.

WT: I noticed you were at the SCBWI Summer Conference. What was the highlight for you?

KF: It was either Richard Peck’s speech, or Sherman Alexie’s speech.  Both made me tear up and want to be a better writer.  And actually, while I was listening to Richard Peck, I was so inspired by him that the idea for my newest title came to me about half way through his talk.

WT: I read that you’re working on a companion book for The Year the Swallows Came Early. Anything you can tell us about it?

KF: Yes, thank you for asking.  The companion book is about one of the other characters in Swallows, named Frankie.  It’s written from his point of view, which took some getting used to.  I had to separate from Eleanor, which was where I’d been for three years, and get into Frankie’s head.  I think it took me a good six months before I was able to think about him without thinking of how Eleanor saw the world.

WT: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

KF: I enjoy walking my dog, Holly, and I spend a lot of time on the pool deck watching my two boys play water polo, or at swim meets.  I also like to think up first lines as I see things happen around me.  And, I’m kind of a neat freak.  I like to clean out things.  Give me an unorganized pantry or garage, and a trash can, and I’m happy.

WT: How has your teaching experience impacted your writing?

KF: Every day we had twenty minutes of uninterrupted silent reading right after lunch.  I think back a lot to the books my students chose to read over and over.  They are the same books I love today.  Honestly, I hope someday I can write one of those books that kids wait in line to check out from the school library, or use their lunch money to buy at book fairs.  That is a well written book.

WT: How do you stay in touch with the writing community (e.g. critique group, SCBWI,  social media, etc.)?

KF: I attend many writing conferences each year and am part of a terrific critique group which meets once or twice a month.  I also twitter and facebook, like many other writers do.  I am also a part of two fantastic author’s networks. The Class of 2k9, and AuthorsNow.

WT: What have you enjoyed reading recently?

KF: I just finished two great books: Kate DiCamillo’s new one, The Magician’s Elephant, and The Help, by Kathryn Stockett,   I also just re-read Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana.

WT: Any writing/revision tips you’d like to share?

KF: I am no expert; I have a lot to learn myself.  But I suppose I would encourage writers to join a critique group because it’s a very good way to get honest feedback that helps you see what you’re missing.  Sometimes I learn more about my writing by critiquing their writing because I can be objective with someone else’s work, and so it helps me to be more open to receive criticism from others.  Like everyone else, I enjoy hearing positive comments about my work, but it’s the criticism that helps me grow while I’m writing my first drafts.  I can open my book to most any page and see a line that one of my critique group members wrote or revised.  I can see whole paragraphs and chapters that were inspired by a question one of them asked.  I’m so thankful they cared enough to push me.

Thanks, Kathryn! Pick up a copy of The Year the Swallows Came Early at your local bookseller, and find more of Kathryn on her blog or website.

Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a free, signed copy!

Thanks for reading!