Celebrating Agent Day!

Breaking radio silence to celebrate unofficial-but-it-should-be-official Agent Day with a little of this:

and some of this:

and a big helping of this:

My agent is Michelle Andelman, of Lynn C. Franklin Associates, Ltd. A few of the reasons I’m celebrating her today:

1. She believes in me. It’s an amazing thing to connect with someone who has faith in you and your writing.
2. Her guidance during the revision process has been excellent, and my work is continually improving because of it.
3. I think she might love my characters almost as much as I do.
4. She has a way-cool New York accent (and she probably thinks I have a totally Canadian accent, eh?) and a 212 area code that’s fun to see on my call display.
5. She balances professional with downright awesome very nicely indeed.

Happy Agent Day, Michelle! You rock.

Want to read more agent-love? Check out the master list of writers blogging about their agents today. And stop by Kody Keplinger’s site, because she’s the one who came up with the brilliant idea of Agent Day.

… and now, back to our regularly scheduled blog break. See you in the New Year!

Taking a break

Advent begins tomorrow, and, as Sara Zarr pointed out, it seems like an appropriate time to take a break from blogging/social networking. So after tonight I’ll be absent from the blogosphere in the hope of being more present to other things. Honestly, this is going to be hard for me, which is exactly why I think I need it!

I’ll miss you! I’ll still be checking email, so if you have news or just want to say hi, send me an email.

Wishing you all overflowing joy and peace. See you in the new year!

Shari

 

20 Questions YA Author Interview: Barrie Summy

Hey everyone! It’s interview time! I’m delighted to welcome MG author, Barrie Summy, to my blog this month.

Barrie Summy grew up in Canada on a steady diet of books and tobogganing. She tries to read a book a week and always breaks for tea and cookies at three o’clock. Barrie now lives in California with her husband and their four children.

Barrie is the author of I So Don’t Do Mysteries. Her next book in this fun series, I So Don’t Do Spooky, releases on December 8.

Thanks for dropping by my blog, Barrie! And now, 20 Questions….

1. Morning person or night owl?
   By nature, I’m a total night owl. Unfortunately, my children aren’t. Which means, I’m generally a very tired night owl.
2. Outliner or pantser?
   TOTAL outliner. I’m anxious if I don’t know where I’m going with a story. I’m more than willing to change the outline, but I need some sort of road map.
3. Rejection letters – save ‘em or toss ‘em?
   I’ve only saved one. It was for I So Don’t Do Mysteries and came THREE years after I’d submitted. Mysteries was already out in stores. Oh yeah, and there’d been a postage hike, so I owed money on the rejection letter!
4. What’s the best thing a reader ever said to you?
   “I’m not a reader, but I read your entire book.”
5. What was the last song you had stuck in your head?
   It’s a Small World. This happens every time I go to Disneyland.
6. What was the last movie you watched?
   Blue Streak
   
7. What was the last book you read and loved?
   What I Was by Meg Rosoff
8. What’s your all-time favourite story?
   A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
9. Any nicknames we might come across if we delved into your past?
   Hebert spoken with a fake French accent for “Hey Bar”
10. Any phobias you’re willing to admit to?
    I have a really, really, really bad sense of direction. So, I’m apprehensive when going to new places. Although now that I have a Garmin, I’ve become much braver. I’ve been known to walk along the street, Garmin in the palm of my hand, talking to me.
11. What’s the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
    Hmmm….I haven’t had any way-out-there jobs. I worked for 7UP Canada for a while in Promotions. Which is unusual for me because I’m so not business-y. I did, however, get to shake Wayne Gretzky’s hand once when he was the 7UP spokesperson.
12. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
    I drove to Northern California with two small children, which meant I was in charge of finding Northern California!
13. What’s one thing that really bugs you?
    Children who don’t share their French fries.
    
14. What’s one thing you’re really proud of?
    Raising four kids who are reasonably well adjusted! [Barrie, this takes an incredible amount of parenting talent, not to mention an ability to go months at a time without sleep, so definitely something to be proud of!]
    
15. What’s the last thing you Googled?
    Stephen Hawking (for one of my kid’s science project)
16. Where’s the farthest place from home you’ve travelled?
    Korea
17. What’s your idea of a perfect vacation?
    Different country, different language. Of course, I’d have to take my family (who all have a better sense of direction than I do!) and my Garmin.
18. What’s your favourite sports team?
    Whatever water polo team my kids are on!
    
19. What’s up next for you writing-wise?
    I’m writing the fourth Sherry mystery (due out May 2011): I So Don’t Do Famous
20. What’s your favourite piece of advice for writers?
    Question: What do you call a persistent writer?
    Answer: Published
    I forget where I read this, but I think it’s great advice. Hang in there. Keep writing. Keep revising. Keep submitting.

Barrie, thanks so much! Good luck with your book launch!

In lieu of actual content…

Working full-time: check. Revising my novel: check. Feeding my kids at least once a day: check. Sleeping: um… what?

Due to impending insanity, I’ll be staying off-line as much as possible for a bit. So in lieu of actual blog content today, I bring you… LINKAGE!

1. Definitely check out the Winter Blog Blast Tour this week – more than two dozen author interviews spread over ten blogs. See the full schedule over at Chasing Ray.
2. If you’re an introvert (like me), being told you need to promote yourself and your book can send you fleeing to a dark corner with your eyes scrunched shut and your fingers in your ears while you chant “I can’t heeeeeeeear you”. What, that’s not just me, is it? I didn’t think so. Check out Shrinking Violet Promotions for awesome suggestions as well as gentle reassurance that you are, indeed, normal.
3. Have you visited Jacket Whys (a blog about children’s and YA book covers)? Worth a visit, for sure!
4. Don’t you just hate it when you get that “it’s on the tip of my tongue” mental block about a word? Finally, there’s help.
5. And last, a little something for all you NaNo-ers out there:You’re welcome. Now, what are you doing reading my blog? Write, bb, write!

Peace….

YA Author Interviews

I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing quite a few YA authors over the past year (and a couple MG authors, too!). Here are links to the interviews, in case you missed any of your fave authors:

• Cyn Balog, author of Fairy Tale
• Karen Bass, author of Run Like Jager and Summer of Fire
• Kristin Butcher, author of Return to Bone Tree Hill, the Zach & Zoe MG series, and many other books for teens and children
• Megan Crewe, author of Give Up the Ghost
• Tina Ferraro, author of The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, How to Hook a Hottie, and Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
• Danette Haworth, author of Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning
• Carrie Jones, author of Need, Girl, Hero, Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend, and Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape)
• J.E. MacLeod, author of Waiting to Score
• Keri Mikulski, author of Screwball and Change Up
• Lisa Schroeder, author of I Heart You, You Haunt Me and Far From You
• Kristina Springer, author of The Espressologist
• Courtney Summers, author of Cracked Up To Be and Some Girls Are
• Barrie Summy, author of I So Don’t Do Mysteries and I So Don’t Do Spooky

20 Questions YA Author Interview: Kristina Springer

I’m happy to welcome author Kristina Springer to my blog today. Kristina’s debut novel, The Espressologist, just released on October 27 ( Farrar, Straus, and Giroux). It’s about a teenage coffee barista who discovers a talent for matchmaking customers based on their favourite coffee drinks. Grab a cuppa and check out Kristina’s responses to my 20 Questions!

1. Morning person or night owl?
   Morning.
2. Outliner or pantser?
   Outliner.
3. Rejection letters – save ‘em or toss ‘em?
   Save ‘em.
4. What’s the best thing a reader ever said to you?
   That she laughed out loud in so many spots.
5. What was the last song you had stuck in your head?
   That Beyonce one– Ring on It? It was on GLEE. So funny.
   
6. What was the last movie you watched?
   Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
   
7. What was the last book you read and loved?
   Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree, by Lauren Tarshis.
8. What’s your all-time favourite story?
   Tough question! Hmm…I’m always a sucker for A Christmas Carol.
9. Any nicknames we might come across if we delved into your past?
   I had a lot of names that end in “head” from my Dad while growing up. Really, me and my three brothers had a whole slew of them: Melon Head, Pumpkin Head, Knuckle Head, Meat Head, and so on.
10. Any phobias you’re willing to admit to?
    I‘m not a fan of hospitals.
11. What’s the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
    Pool attendant at an apartment complex. I just had to be there. And check the chlorine once a day.
12. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
    Hmm…probably giving birth. Especially the last kid– he was ten pounds.
13. What’s one thing that really bugs you?
    Spam.
    
    Oh wait… you probably mean this:
    
14. What’s one thing you’re really proud of?
    My kids.
15. What’s the last thing you Googled?
    Addresses (I’m working on Launch party invites).
16. Where’s the farthest place from home you’ve travelled?
    France.
17. What’s your idea of a perfect vacation?
    Somewhere tropical.
    
18. What’s your favourite sports team?
    I’m so not into sports teams. I never know who is playing or what season it is.
19. What’s up next for you writing-wise?
    My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours comes out in the fall of 2010.
20. What’s your favourite piece of advice for writers?
    Be persistent.

Definitely good advice! Thanks so much for being here, Kristina. Congrats on the release of The Espressologist!

Thanks Shari!

Acquisitions, reality, and hope springing eternal

Over on Buried in the Slush Pile, The Buried Editor wrote a great post about the acquisitions process, which, according to the nifty diagram, includes eleven points at which the manuscript may be rejected and five points at which the author may be asked to do revisions. Interesting, yes, but the last sentence of the blog post is what stood out for me: “It also demonstrates just how miraculous it is that anything ever gets published.” I chuckled, and then I thought, wait! I don’t want to hear this.

Actually, I kinda already know how hard it is to get published, how high the odds are stacked against any one manuscript or author. But I don’t want the reminder. Sure it’s important for aspiring authors to be informed and to understand the process, at least to some degree, but I guess I don’t like letting reality suck the fun out of dreaming and hoping.

Then again, keeping my dreams alive is up to me. I did choose to check out the diagram – which is truly informative and interesting should you wish to have a peek – and I can also choose not to let harsh reality get me down. I can choose to work hard to improve my craft, too.

Yes, it’s tough to get published. No, not everyone who hopes to get published will. And we writers can’t necessarily do much about that: as The Buried Editor points out, there is a lot that the editor does and very little the author can do during the acquisitions process.

So what’s my job? Write the best manuscript I can, and don’t worry about the odds. Write, learn, improve, write some more. Dream a little. Oh, and don’t give up. Hope springs eternal.

On synchronicity, and fish for breakfast

At the beach this morning, I watched a heron fishing for its breakfast. I watched for quite some time, amazed at the heron’s patience. He stood motionless, waiting… waiting…. Several times ducks and gulls disturbed the water near the heron, and I imagined him wanting to shush them – “be still! you’re scaring away the fish! – but he didn’t move. Even when a breakfast-sized fish jumped about six feet behind him, he didn’t flinch a feather. Occasionally he’d arch his neck forward to peer more closely into the water, then straighten up again and wait some more. Waiting, until the perfect moment, the moment that brought the right fish into the right place, and then… strike! (I expect the fish’s perspective would be that this was entirely the wrong place at the wrong time.)

All this reminded me of two things: first, a brief chat I recently had with a writing friend about synchronicity, about things coming together at the right time. We thought that perhaps this applies to stories, and I wonder if when it’s the right time for us to tell a certain story – and not before – the pieces will fall into place. (Depending on where you’re coming from spiritually, I imagine this idea of synchronicity may be interpreted as coincidence, luck, God’s timing, one’s stars aligning, et cetera.)

For me, forcing a story that’s not ready to be told – or that I’m not ready to tell – isn’t likely to meet with good results. I’ve been stuck at a point in one particular story that I really want to tell, and I’ve berated myself over my lack of progress on it. But I decided to cut myself some slack. Maybe it’s just not the right time for me to write this. Instead, I’m outlining a new project and spending time “refilling the creative well”, nurturing my spirit so that when the story demands to be written, I’ll be ready.

The second thing the heron brought to mind this morning was how painfully slow the publishing process can be, lol. So much waiting! And as we wait to hear back on critiques, queries, revisions, contracts, edits, and so on, it can be tempting to grow impatient or discouraged and give up before our breakfast swims by (if you’ll excuse the silly analogy), or to be jealous when someone else gets a bigger fish, or gets one more quickly, or to be frustrated when those blasted ducks splash about, disturbing the water and delaying, yet again, us getting what we want.

Maybe we should keep the whole synchronicity idea in mind during all the waiting, too. Things happen at the right time, and our job is to be ready to seize the opportunities when they come. Nurture our creativity; hone our craft; polish the stories we’ve already written so when we get a request, we can send it confidently; and when the pieces come together and the time is right for a new story, thank God / the universe / your lucky stars, open a Word document, and write!

What do you think about synchronicity as it applies to writing and waiting?

The patriotic season

Okay, fine. I’ve accepted it…. It’s fall.

I’ll admit it is pretty nice to see the maple leaves change to match the one on our flag, making fall the clear winner in the which-season-is-most-patriotic competition. (What, you’ve never heard of that competition?)  Throw in blue sky and just-above-freezing temperatures this morning, and it was the perfect time for a run. And now, it’s the perfect afternoon for some yardwork, but somehow that doesn’t hold quite the same appeal for me. Maybe later…. (Hey, if I wait long enough, the snow will arrive and hide my mess of a yard anyway, right?)

Hope you’re enjoying the weekend!

Peace….

Blurg: Eyes Like Stars

I just read Lisa Mantchev’s Eyes Like Stars and loved it! Unique, innovative, and freakin’ hilarious at times, thanks to Lisa’s take on the fairies from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Here’s the blurb:

Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater. She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents. She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own. Until now.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book–an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family–and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

Highly recommended!

(*blurg = blurb in a blog)