Sarah Laurence Blog

Fort Popham Beach

2010-03-10T07:00:00.012-05:00

March means mud season in Maine . . . shall we escape to the beach?

Fort Popham reminds me of other half finished work.

Lobster traps featured in S.A.D. and now in a work in progress.

An old wharf remembers better days.

Imagination is at home on an island.

Sea stars sparkle.

Shakespeare Watch: Macbeth opens on Thursday March 12, 2010 at the Theater Project in Brunswick, Maine. Director Al Miller blogged about why he staged Macbeth with teenaged actors. I've been observing rehearsals to research for my young adult novel. I love the genuine delivery and passion that teen actors bring to the famous lines.

Undercover by Beth Kephart: review & interview

2010-03-03T07:00:00.076-05:00

Have you ever read a novel that felt like coming home? Undercover by Beth Kephart is set in Pennsylvania, but with the turning leaves, wild animals and pond skating, it could have been Maine.

My favorite place to skate is on our friend’s island in Harpswell. A stonewall separates the freshwater pond from the sea.

I’ve rested on the wall with my face turned to the sun, listening to the crash of waves and marveling at how my children zip confidently across the bumpy pond ice.

We all have our unsteady moments, but there are none in Beth’s first young adult novel. Undercover is literary fiction for discerning teenagers:

“… the sky was poked to bits with the nakedness of trees. The color of the day was the color of a storm that had chosen not to come.”

The story unfolds slowly with sensitivity and grace. Elisa is a lonely, unattractive girl with a knack for beautiful metaphors. Like Cyrano de Bergerac, she crafts love poems for the boys to woo the pretty girls at her school. Elisa collects feathers and images in the woods, capturing them in verse like fallen leaves under ice. She teaches herself to figure skate on a secluded pond.

Complications arise when Elisa is attracted to her latest client. Theo is in her honors English class, where they are reading the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. Theo secretly befriends Elisa as they skate under the stars. His jealous girlfriend vows revenge. Shy Elisa must find the self-confidence to fight back:

“… the greatest tragedy of all is letting invisibility win. It’s choosing to give up the thing you want because you think you don’t deserve it.”

My only criticism was that I didn’t understand how an unusual girl like Elisa would fall for a conventional boy like Theo. Still, I could relate to her desire for love and for friendship. I was sad to reach the final page and found myself longing for the woods where foxes dance in the moonlight.

I loved how the themes of Cyrano de Bergerac echoed in Undercover. I’ve tried to do something similar with my young adult novel, as u like it, and Shakespeare’s play. This writer seems to share my sensibility, which is another reason I felt at home in the narrative. I connected with Beth through Cynthia Pittmann@Oasis Writing Link’s post that mentioned our writing for teens. Thank you, Cynthia!

Beth has two other young adult novels: The House of Dance and Nothing but Ghosts. Her fourth YA novel, The Heart is not a Size, is set in a border city of Mexico and will be released on March 30th, 2010. You can read more about Beth's books on her blog (my review is featured today.)

My Interview of Beth Kephart

author photo by Mike Matthews

Sarah: Who are your favorite young adult authors?

Beth: My very favorite young adult book is The Book Thief, which is original and deeply moving and artful and all that I look for in any kind of book. I’m also a huge believer in books that cut across categories, and time, so that I want every young adult out there to read, for example, To Kill a Mockingbird, though I’m not sure it was labeled YA upon its release, as well as Julie Otsuka’s When the Emperor was Divine, which was published as an adult novel but certainly, certainly features younger protagonists and important issues and graceful writing. I also love, and would love every teen and parent to read, Marilyn Nelson’s Carver—a book of poems that tell the story of botanist and educator George Washington Carver.

Sarah: As a poet, non-fiction and memoir author, what made you decide to write a young adult novel?

Beth: I was actually asked to write YA by Laura Geringer, who was first at Harper and is now working with Egmont, who had read some of my nonfiction and who knew that I had taught young writers for years. I had also chaired the National Book Awards’ Young People’s Literature Jury in 2001 and made my thoughts about what YA might be quite clear.

Sarah: How autobiographical was Undercover?

Beth: Undercover is emotionally true, and, in many ways, factually resonant. I went to Radnor High School, as Elisa does. I was a young poet who benefited from the encouragement of an English teacher. I was often asked by the popular guys for advice about winning over the girls they actually loved, and sometimes I was bruised by that, but didn’t show it. I also learned to ice skate on a pond in Boston, and ultimately I excelled at the type of competition in which Elisa skates at the end. My mother was a seamstress, and my final competition dress was very much like the one I describe in the book. Finally, I run a consulting business; my first business was called Point of View, which is the name of the firm I created for Elisa’s dad.

Beth Kephart at age seventeen, family photo

Sarah: What elements are key in writing for teenagers as opposed to writing for an adult audience?

Beth: The story has to move more quickly. The scenes, in some ways, must be more intense. The characters must be immersed in situations that matter enormously to teens. That said, the teens I know and interact with on my blog are hugely intelligent, their vocabularies sometimes outpace mine, and they tend to embrace books of linguistic or thematic complexity. I write my heart out when I write for teens. I don’t keep anything off the page.

Sarah: What’s the best writing advice you have received?

Beth: My degree from Penn is in the History and Sociology of Science, and I didn’t take any writing courses as an undergrad. I went to three writing workshops later in life, one conducted in Spoleto by Rosellen Brown and Reginald Gibbons, one in Prague with Jayne Anne Phillips, and one at Bread Loaf, again with Jayne Anne. I’ve been blessed to have some truly extraordinary editors—Alane Mason and Laura Geringer—and from them I’ve learned quite a bit. Through it all, one thing stands out: Give yourself and your stories room to breathe.

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@Barrie Summy

Publishing Industry Watch:

"Math of Publishing Meets the E-Book" (NYT, 3/1/10, business section) compared the costs of publishing books vs. e-books and showed how profit is shared among publishers, authors and booksellers.

"The Editorial Role: An Agent's View" (The Huffington Post 3/2/10) Jean Naggar (my agent) describes the changing role of agents as editors lack the time and support to edit manuscripts.

Portland Waterfront & Eastern Prom

2010-02-24T07:00:00.007-05:00

During our staycation, the kids and I visited Portland, a half an hour south on the coast. It’s the biggest city in Maine with only 64,000 people. The salted murky scent of the sea hung on the air.

Sarah Laurence by her daughter

Satori Salon on Fore Street was our first stop; it had been almost 6 months since my last haircut. Perhaps I’ve been a little too wrapped up in revising as u like it. I was able to step outside without a hat or even a coat. Can you believe this is February in Maine?

After a delicious Japanese lunch at Sapporo, we walked northeast on Commercial Street along the harbor. The busy road transitions to a waterfront path at the ferry station. Check out the windmill on board the tall ship. I've been noticing nautical details since I created a maritime museum curator for as u like it. A visit to the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath last year provided inspiration. I love being able to track novel details like that. My blog is a travel log of my works in progress.

The Eastern Promenade offered a spectacular view of the islands in Casco Bay. The water was a deep winter blue. You might remember the Eastern Prom from a research trip I took for NOT CRICKET. Even when I’m not writing, I’m sketching ideas in my head.

Normally the Eastern Prom would be white with snow. Every big storm that has hit the eastern seaboard since mid January has missed Maine. We usually ski over February break, but I have to admit that I enjoyed a week of warm sunshine. Snow mixed with rain is in the forecast today.

From the hilltop, you can watch the old Narrow Gauge trains pass. There is a railway museum too. The caboose had to be my last image. Vacation is over so I’m happily back to work on my latest novel.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

2010-02-17T07:00:00.061-05:00

With sunsets like this, why leave home for vacation week? My 12-year-old daughter and I have been reading by the fire. Here’s her review of a favorite book:

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray is set in the high, stone-walled and ivy crept turrets of Spence Academy for Young Ladies, a preparatory boarding school outside London, 1895. Girls laugh and play in the forest, dipping their feet in the ponds and gossip about attending balls, suitable men to marry some day, and the new green-eyed, slightly rebellious Gemma. She had caught the attention of most with her occasional cursing, red hair, moving from India and her mother murdered mysteriously… but of course her mother’s death is covered by the lie of an unfortunate case of cholera.

After a time of fitting in, Gemma has stitched a close bond with Felicity, Pippa and Ann and as they tell each other secrets, Gemma tells them every deep, twisted truth about who she really is. They form an Order, after being informed by a somewhat mythological group of witches, and retreat at midnight to caves to perform rituals, tell secrets and stories and try to feel magic, until they figure out what magic truly is… and soon everything goes sadly wrong in the paranormal.

I adored this book; it is my favorite novel that I have read recently, most definitely. I usually do not like paranormal fiction, but this one is absolutely amazing! I liked every aspect of it: the paranormal, the time and setting, the very original, intense plot, unique romance, the developed characters (I especially liked the descriptions that helped etch out in my mind each character like Felicity, Kartik and Ann) and I loved getting to know the voice telling the story, Gemma. It is very interesting as it is set in present tense, first person. I think it was a bit odd how it switched from imperfect to present at different times, and I slightly wished it just stayed with imperfect tense but ah well. It is a very whimsical, entertaining, compelling, passionate story about friendship. I thoroughly loved it.

An excerpt:

"Felicity ignores us. She walks out toward them, an apparition in white and blue velvet, her head held high as they stare in awe at her, the goddess. I don’t yet know what power feels like. But this is surely what it looks like, and I think I’m beginning to understand why those ancient women had to hide in caves. Why our parents and teachers and suitors want us to behave properly and predictably. It’s not that they want to protect us; it’s that they fear us."

My daughter with English bluebells.
Our family lived in London in 2004 and in Oxford in 2007-8.
My daughter can relate to being the new girl at an English school.

Sarah’s Review: I chose the excerpt after reading and enjoying A Great And Terrible Beauty (2003) on my daughter’s recommendation. The best parts were about girl empowerment, maturity, romance and friendship. Some of the author's Victorian period details were off, such as referring to men's evening wear as tuxedos. Would have corsets been part of a boarding school's uniform? Anyway, these are just details, and there is definitely a strong atmosphere to the book. I liked how A Great and Terrible Beauty teaches girls today about the restrictions of women in that time period. Gemma is a strong protagonist and a believable teenager. Her love interest, Kartik, is very appealing and breaks racial stereotypes. There are two more books in the trilogy: Rebel Angels (2006) and The Sweet Far Thing (2008). My daughter is reading them over vacation.

Photos: chosen by my daughter & taken by me.
Sunset at Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, Maine.
Swans in Regent’s Park, London.
Rousham Garden, Oxfordshire.
Upper Library window and books at Christ Church College, Oxford.
Merton College, Oxford.
Bluebell Woods, Oxfordshire.
Sainte Chapelle, Paris, France.

Winter Waves at Reid State Park

2010-02-10T06:43:00.000-05:00

Sick of snow and ice?

Play wave tag at One Mile Beach.

No crowds in February,

Silver sealines are yours alone.

Without snowdrifts,

Only the surf is white.

The waves are green,

Crashing down.

Rocks too slippery to climb

Entrap tide and rustle sand.

One man dares the ocean

To sweep him away.

Music Watch: my neighbor Robert Rand recorded waves at Reid State Park to create relaxation music, Wavepool. Here's his story:

For the Wavepool project, I engaged in recording sorties from the studio in January 2008. The task was to find that very pace and texture, a surf softly breaking, almost like breathing, that I had heard in early January during a kind of daydream when my muse graced me with a visionary sound for a time one day.

After four months of sometimes repeated visits to multiple beaches from Bar Harbor to Plum Island, it was in May 2008 that I returned once again to Reid State Park. Several times I had visited Reid that Spring, as if I had somehow sensed its potential. Yet each time, I had come away without a useful recording.

As I walked onto One Mile Beach with my pack and gear, a happy couple nodded and smiled as they returned to their car and drove away, leaving me alone. There were no cars, no people, no happy dogs, no lovers, no gulls or terns, no boats or planes, no blustery winds. It was, for once, an absolute soundscape of slow surf.

Precisely halfway down One Mile Beach, the surf sang to me, and I recorded. Then time passed back in the studio immersed in composition as I recreated and mixed the simple, deep ensemble my muse had delivered four months earlier.

You can listen to a clip of Wavepool in the upper left corner of Robert Rand's website.
Note: I did not receive any free products or compensation.

Blog Watch: Cynthia@catching days went beach walking too. Lakeviewer@sixtyfivewhatnow lives on the beach as does Delwyn@a hazy moon.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl: interview & review

2010-02-03T06:50:00.001-05:00

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl will captivate fans of To Kill a Mockingbird. This new young adult novel takes its inspiration from Harper Lee’s classic and from contemporary paranormal fiction. Magic, romance and history are served with a side order of southern charm. The atmosphere, replete with dripping moss and Civil War gravestones, is a character in itself.

From To Kill a Mockingbird, we get a story of senseless persecution and bigotry in a small southern town. Eccentric Macon Ravenwood is called the Boo Radley of Gatlin. His niece, Lena, has just moved into his old plantation home. Rumor has it that Ravenwood Manor is haunted.

Ethan narrates this Gothic romance in a true teenaged boy voice. He recognizes Lena from his dreams, but she ignores him and everyone at school. The other girls ridicule Lena for wearing black and a necklace of junk mementos. Lena breaks windows and writes poetry. The weather always seems stormy when she’s around. Lena is also under a curse, coming to term on her sixteenth birthday. Ethan is smitten, but he’ll have to choose between Lena and his friends.

Old Burying Ground in Beaufort, North Carolina, photo by Kami Garcia

I picked up Beautiful Creatures at a Harvard Coop bookstore and couldn’t put it down. I loved the writing and the southern flavor. The food descriptions were good enough to eat. I really liked Ethan, but I never quite connected with Lena, although I related to her inability to fit in. The other high school kids were stock characters, but the rest of the cast was marvelous. Ethan’s surrogate mother Amma, who practices voodoo magic, and Lena’s Uncle Macon were my favorites. Having well developed adult characters, sophisticated literary references and beautiful descriptive prose broadened the appeal of this young adult novel to an adult audience. It was one of the best young adult novels I read in 2009. Unforgettable!

Although Beautiful Creatures was remarkably well crafted for a debut, it had one problematic flaw. Too much back-story about the town and the families slowed the opening, although the pace really picked up later in the narrative. My 12-year-old daughter quit on page 30 of this 563-page book. She prefers a book with a faster pace and a strong female voice (instead of a male narrator.) Perhaps she’ll return after she reads To Kill a Mockingbird. Many, many teenaged bloggers have raved about Beautiful Creatures.

Will Beautiful Creatures become the next big hit since Twilight and Harry Potter? It has been a New York Times bestseller since its December 2009 release. Two more books in the trilogy are in the works at Little Brown, the publisher of the Twilight series too. The movie rights have already been sold to Warner Brothers and the fan club launched. What a magical debut!

My Interview of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Authors photo by Alex Hoerner

Sarah: Who are your favorite young adult authors and what made you decide to write in this genre?

Margie: My favorite young adult authors are Diana Wynne Jones and Robin McKinley, but Kami and I both love Cassandra Clare, Melissa Marr and Holly Black. Holly Black's ARC of WHITE CAT (Spring 2010) is one of the best books I’ve read in years. I write YA fantasy because that is what I read – and always have - and I identify as a reader more than a writer.

Kami: I love S.E. Hinton, Clive Barker, and Ray Bradbury. I also worship Cassie, Melissa, and Holly. I had the same reaction to WHITE CAT – it was one of the most original novels in urban fantasy. I decided to write in this genre because these are the books I love to read. Also, I work with teens, and Margie’s daughters are teens, so I think we feel comfortable writing them.

Sarah: Why do you think paranormal fiction is so popular with teens today?

Margie: I think we all want to feel powerful. And none of us seem to feel “normal,” so why not let ourselves feel what it is to be paranormal? (Photo of Margie Stohl at age 16 by her parents.)

Kami: In some sense, all romances feel supernatural. They don’t feel natural—because each one is so special and unique. A supernatural romance takes those feelings and magnifies them, and allows us to explore them.

Sarah: Why didn’t you call the novel “Sixteen Moons” like the book’s theme song? Who composed the song?

Margie: The original title of the book actually was Sixteen Moons, and it is still called that in France, 16 Lunes. We didn’t call it that in the US because of the many titles with “moon” somewhere in the mix.

Kami: Michele McGonigle composed the music and sang the song on the audiobook, and we wrote the lyrics.

Sarah: Which character in your novel do you most closely identify with and why?

Margie: I identify with Ethan. I almost never feel like I fit in anywhere, but I never want to rock the boat. Aside from Ethan, I identify with Marian. I always have my nose in a book and my head is full of bits of everything I’ve ever read…

Kami: I identify with Lena. I grew up not fitting in and not caring and writing poetry in my own journals. I also identify with Amma, because I’m ornery and incredibly superstitious! (Photo of Kami Garcia at age 15 by her friend Madeline Smith Scoular)

Sarah: Despite having two authors, the voice in Beautiful Creatures is remarkably consistent. How did you split the writing of the first draft? Do you write together or separately in sequence? What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing a novel as a team?

Margie: We outline obsessively in a shared office in my house, which is full of crazy, color-coded whiteboards. Then we each take a chunk of writing to work on, and hand it back and forth to each other until we’ve hacked it apart and written over each other.

Kami: By the end of the process, we have a hard time remembering out who wrote what. But we also naturally have similar voices, and a shared vision for the series. We fight all the time like sisters, about stupid things, but never once about the books themselves.

Sarah: What is the best advice you’ve had on writing?

Margie: My oldest friend, the brilliant middle grade fiction writer Pseudonymous Bosch, likes to say there’s no such thing as a bad book, only a bad draft. It’s really true. Just keep going!

Kami: Clive Barker told me that Ray Bradbury once told him to read everything he writes out loud. It is so painful, but so helpful. If something sounds awkward when you read it, it needs to go.

Sarah: When is the next Beautiful Creatures novel due out? Can you give us a hint about where the series going? What is happening with the movie?

Margie: Our sequel will be out in the USA in December 2010. The next book is more intense, and the stakes are higher. Broken hearts, true love, pie – everything you’d expect from Gatlin!

Kami: Richard LaGravanese, our screenwriter and director, and Erwin Stoff, our producer are hard at work on the film version for Warner Brothers. We completely trust them!

Sarah: thank you, Kami and Margie, for squeezing in this interview right before your book tour. Best of luck with the future!

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Half moon photos at Bailey Island, Maine.

Creative Insomnia

2010-01-27T07:00:00.025-05:00

Sometimes my characters wake me with their chatter. My job is to listen to those voices, only they don’t keep normal hours. I stow index cards and a pen in the bathroom so as not to wake my husband. Henry sighs in the morning when he finds my nocturnal scribblings. Many of my author, artist and composer friends share this affliction or blessing, depending on your point of view. The problem is you can’t control when inspiration will hit.

During the day, I always have a notebook in my bag. Snippets of conversation are game, so is the way a storm dropped snow mushrooms in a brook (thanks, Alida, for showing them to me.) I collect laughter and sorrow. I have a hard time answering the question: “How many hours a week do you work?”

I do try to keep normal hours and write while the kids are at school. I’m there for them when they come in the door and need to talk. Once they start homework, I catch up on email and blog comments. I read other people’s novels in the evenings. I try to get my story out of my mind so that I can sleep.

Still, sometimes my best writing comes from those crazy nights. This happens more frequently during revision. I need extra time to see the entire manuscript as a whole. The adrenaline flows, and I can visualize every word. I get into a zone, and I won’t stop until I finish the draft. I love writing and revision, but it is my vice.

On my desk is the perfect first chapter. At least it’s perfect until it’s time to revise again. In the mean time, I’m catching up on sleep. Perfection can only be a dream.

Groundhog Day (1993) with Bill Murray is not about writing a novel, but it captures the process.

For those of you suffering from a more debilitating form of insomnia, I recommend Insomniac by Gayle Greene. It’s a layman’s review of the disease and its treatments (there is no known cure) as well as a memoir of a woman’s struggle to live with chronic insomnia. Gayle interviewed doctors, researchers and insomniacs. She presents the complex information in a format that is both easy to understand and engaging to read. Insomniac was a New York Times "Editors' Choice" when it was released in paperback last summer. Gayle and I share an agent, which makes us agent sisters (according to Barrie Summy.)

Gayle's list of insomniac writers includes: Marcel Proust, Franz Kafka, Mark Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Allan Poe, Anne Lamott, Vladimir Nabokov, Charles Dickens, "maybe even Shakespeare" and Joyce Carol Oats, who provided the jacket blurb: "Impassioned and fascinating."

The book opens with this W.C. Fields quotation: "The cure for insomnia? Get plenty of sleep."

Blog watch: dovegreyreader scribbles and 3 other UK book bloggers are hosting Not the TV Book Group with online discussion of selected novels. Cynthia@Catching Days is posting a series on “reading like a writer.” A fun new blog, Books in the City, lives up to its name. She Brews Good Ale cooks good food too: a multi course meal prepared entirely from local ingredients and paired with locally brewed beer, recipes included. sixtyfivewhatnow posted artsy rainy day photos.

Theater watch: excellent New York Times review of As You Like It, playing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music through March 13 and directed by Sam Mendes. I just figured out what I want for my birthday.

My Photos: sunset at Bailey Island, dawn from our back door, "snow mushrooms" in the woods behind our house, our mudroom entrance.

Morse Mountain on Ice

2010-01-20T07:00:00.017-05:00

In between storms, I returned to Maine’s Morse Mountain. Winter skies reveal broad vistas.

Spot the snow-clad peak of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire 100 miles away, away, away….

The sea swallowed snow before winter froze the tide.

The icy path is treacherous. Surreal.

The sun dares not climb too high in the sky.

Seawall Beach is wiped bare.

Only the islands can stand the frigid sea.

Lobster season is over, except far offshore.

Winter waves dribble forts.

Ice sculpts sand.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Blog Watch: Author Justine Larbalestier gave excellent advice on "How to Conduct an Interview" on a blog. A Cuban in London reviewed a witty book of poetry, More About the Song by blogger Rachel Fox. Congratulations to debut author Marie Mutsuki Mockett on the birth of her first child! Troutbirder has a new grandchild. Elizabeth Wix also has a special new addition to her extended family. Elenka's husband is back home and doing well after heart surgery. This already looks to be a most happy new year.

Advice for New Bloggers 101

2010-01-13T07:00:00.112-05:00

Skiing at the Brunswick Naval Air Station

My third anniversary seems the right time to share my experience of blogging, especially since my friend Maria Padian asked for advice as a newbie blogger. Do comment with more tips. As I said to Maria, the best part of blogging is the community.

My blog started as a place to gather material for my novels and to stay in touch with friends and family while living abroad. In 2007 my family was moving to England for a year. At lunch with my literary agent in NYC, she encouraged me to start blogging right away. She thought I’d enjoy it. I did, but it took months to build a following.

Back in 2007 the blogging community was barely connected. People were always asking, “What’s a blog?” This was in a time before “followers” and hyperlinked Blogger profiles. RSS feeds were brand new. Dial-up modems were common. Photos slow to load. WiFi rare. System crashes common. I typed in a shoebox in the middle of the road….

Nonetheless, my blog proved to be an invaluable writing tool and a storefront for my artwork. In England I was still working on my American novel S.A.D., and the Maine posts provided inspiration and material, like my lobstering jaunt. Now I revisit the Oxford posts to work on my English novel NOT CRICKET. I’ve sold paintings and photos as well, but the commercial side of blogging is secondary. I don’t sponsor advertisements, and I avoid commercial sites.

Most of all, it’s the community that makes blogging worthwhile. Writing and art are solitary occupations; you are my connection to the world. I look forward all week to my Wednesday blog days. There are true friendships in cyberspace. If you don’t believe that, then you aren’t a seasoned blogger.

Now that I've broken the ice, let me share some blogging tips:

READ other blogs before you start to get ideas. Start commenting.

BLOGGER PROFILE: anyone can create a profile for free, even if your blog is hosted outside Google Blogger or you haven’t started. List all your interests; these are hyperlinks. Use them to find other bloggers who share your interests. Be sure to include an email so people can contact you. Enable share profile; it defaults to hide it.

BE YOURSELF: blogs are personal so get ready to share. Pick suitable content. Assume the last person you want to read it will. Be honest but don’t be snarky or mean. People may still identify you under a fake name.

DON’T SELL: a sales pitch is a big turn off. Many author blogs are boring because all they post are signings, fan mail, sales figures and reviews of their books. If you post good content, people will be interested in your books.

LENGTH: too short is better than too long. People read lots of blogs. Long paragraphs are hard to read, so are colorful fonts and backgrounds. Don’t post every photo from your vacation. Occasional longer posts, like an author interview, are fine. Revise and condense. I know; I’m guilty of long posts like this one!

FREQUENCY: post regularly or you’ll lose your following. An occasional vacation is fine, but let us know when you’ll be back. You can program your blog to publish while you are away in EDIT POSTS under POST OPTIONS. Pick a rhythm that works with your lifestyle, be it weekly or daily. The social side of blogging is time consuming (but rewarding.)

COMMENTING: respond to comments promptly either on your blog or on the commenter’s. Delete ads and abusive comments; don’t respond to them. Visit other blogs and leave comments about that post, but don’t push your blog. If you write thoughtful comments, they’ll come visit you too via your profile. Don't post the same comment every time and everywhere. This is NOT a good comment: I love your blog, come visit mine - link.

FOLLOW: click on “follow this blog” in the sidebar, which will create an RSS feed in your blogger dashboard. Add a follow widget to your blog from LAYOUT. You can also add “blogs I follow” to your sidebar or reveal it on your profile. Don't wait for followers to find you; go find them.

LINK LOVE: to create a community, link to other blogs in your posts and sidebar. If you read a cool post, share it. Personally, I find awards that require the recipient to post and to pass them as irritating as chain letters. I have my own feature, “blog watch,” where I link to posts of interest with no strings attached. Feel free to use that meme but credit me. If you borrow a meme, always credit the source with a link.

ROUND UPS: to broaden your circle, join a regular blog round up. Visit and comment on all posts. I’m a regular contributor to the monthly Book Review Club hosted by Barrie Summy. You can even host your own.

PROTECT MINORS: do not post photos of children with their names and location. There are sick people out there. Also your kids, as they get older, will value privacy. If you swear or post unsuitable content, Google Blogger will ban you.

RESPECT COPYRIGHT: quote and cite written material. Add a link if it came from another blog. Get permission to repost from another blog. Do not reproduce artwork or photos without permission from the artist or at very least cite the source with a link. Better yet, post your own photos. Add a watermark to discourage copyright infringement.

BOOK BLOGGERS: explain your review criteria and post it in your sidebar along with your contact email. FTC rules in the USA require that you state if you received a free product, like an ARC. Reveal personal connections. Don’t expect publishers to send you ARCs until you have a large following and stats to prove it. Visit your library or join online book swaps if you are short on cash. Everyone knows that Jane Austen is good; review new authors, who need help getting their name out there. You don't need permission to post book jackets, short quotations (but check with publisher if an ARC), book trailers or links to authors. Story Siren posts helpful blogging advice and excellent YA reviews. She has become a hub of the YA blogging community by facilitating connections. Dovegreyreader scribbles blends personal life (Devon, England) with quality reading; I love her blog.

TRACKING STATISTICS: anyone with a Google account can use Google Analytics for free. There is a link to "Analytics" on your "My Account" page. Follow instructions to install the html code on your blog. Don't worry about low stats. It can take 6 months for search engines to find a new site.

HAVE FUN: blogging should not feel like a chore. If it does, take a vacation or stop. Forced posts or whiny ones are not fun to read. If you have nothing to say, you are spending too much time online. Get out there. Enjoy!

If you have more blogging tips, please add a comment. So ends Blogger 101.

Note: shoebox line adapted from Monty Python. I shot the photos at the Brunswick Naval Air Station last weekend. My son took the photos of me and Stella in the fields. Dogs aren't allowed on the groomed ski trails. Maria Padian is a young adult author; check out her new blog, Teens, Writing and Randomness, and say hello.

Wondrous Strange & Darklight by Lesley Livingston: interview & review

2010-01-06T07:00:00.025-05:00

Fairies mingle with mortals at Tavern on the Green in Central Park

When I finished writing “as u like it,” I searched for other young adult novels with a Shakespeare theme and found the enchanting Wondrous Strange (2008.) The sequel, Darklight, was released on December 22, 2009 (on January 14, 2010 in Canada.) By coincidence, the author Lesley Livingston and I are both represented by the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, although by different agents.

Lesley’s novels, unlike mine, are paranormal fantasy and feature the fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream. These aren’t cutesy flower fairies, but strong, passionate characters. They remind me of The Lord of the Rings fairies in their penchant for violence and romantic dalliances with humans. Quests are central to the epic narrative.

Lesley studied Shakespeare in graduate school and was a founder/actor of the Tempest Theater Group. That’s Lesley (to left) in her Nurse costume from Romeo and Juliet. Backstage was a bit cramped so she used a shower for her make up room! The actress/author does a fine job of introducing the reader to Shakespearean characters and storylines without sounding didactic. Her novel alternates between the interlocking stories of Kelley and Sonny.

My 12-year-old daughter’s review of Wondrous Strange

The protagonist, Kelley, is a professional actress who got the role of Tatiana from A Midsummer Night's Dream in a Shakespeare production. She is mostly described as an average 17-year-old girl until later on she figures out a huge secret about her past.

The story is set in Manhattan, which makes it quite intriguing and different. There are small little paths, portals and places in Central Park that lead her into the Otherworld. The book is written thoroughly and descriptively, which makes you feel that as the reader, you are being lead into a mystical world where fantasies and fairies are true.

The story was wonderful because it was an adventurous, magical page-turner. The characters individually were strong; I particularly liked Tyffanwy, also known as Tyff, who is more than she appears to be. The one criticism I have is that the relationship between Kelley and Sonny was confusing to me.

Sarah Laurence's review of Darklight

Sonny and Kelley’s complicated relationship is the central storyline of Darklight. Romeo and Juliet provides the inspiration. We are talking star-crossed lovers and tragic romance. Kelley comes into her own in Darklight. In Wondrous Strange Kelley had a bad habit of blacking out and needing others to rescue her. Of the two main characters, Sonny is more appealing. He’s a foundling (ie. a kidnapped human baby raised by fairies) of surprising origins who becomes a brave warrior-guard of the gate separating our world from the Otherworld. There's a lot of spilled fairy blood. This series isn’t for the squeamish, but it isn’t gratuitously violent either.

Morality pervades the books, but good and evil aren’t black and white. The most interesting characters came in shades of grey (and green!) The secondary characters (fairies and Janus guards) often steal the stage. My favorite character was the broody Fennrys Wolf. I loved the Central Park setting and the Shakespeare references. Theatricality pervades the narrative, stylistically as well.

Darklight is the middle book of the trilogy and should not be read alone. You might want to read the prologue last because it doesn’t make any sense until the end of the novel. The ending leaves the reader longing for the final book in the trilogy, since very little was resolved.

Interview of Lesley Livingston

by Sarah Laurence and her daughter

What was your favorite book growing up and why?

When I was really young, I devoured horse stories. I think I read the entire Black Stallion series about ten times over. When I was a teenager, I discovered mythology and history and legendary stories. I discovered Celtic tales of wonder. And I met King Arthur. I became absolutely fascinated by the Age of Camelot and read everything Arthurian I could get my hands on. My favorite, to this day, is a book called Firelord by Parke Godwin. I found it as a paperback in a convenience store wire rack on a family vacation down in Montana, and it was the book that started my Arthur craze. It is told from Arthur’s point of view as he lies dying in Avalon. It is gritty and realistic and heartbreaking and funny and full of lyrical, muscular prose. It has Voice. And I usually re-read it once every year or two. It is the book that made me want to be a writer.

Were you interested in the theater as a kid? What got you into acting?

I’ve always been interested in acting. I think because I’ve always wanted to be a storyteller—whether they were my own stories, or those written by others that I could bring to life for an audience. Then, when I first read Romeo and Juliet, it was like some kind of fireworks went off in my head. That was it. I was hooked. That photo (to right) was my acting headshot when I was about Kelley's age or maybe a couple of years older.

Central Park and Shakespearean fairies are an original mix. What was the inspiration?

I’ve been fascinated by Faerie lore in general since I was a kid. The stories that intrigued me the most were never the ones that portrayed the Fae as tiny, sweet, sparkly things. Rather, I was drawn to the idea that these were the creatures that existed beyond the circle of firelight, or just on the other side of the threshold, or just over that far hill; things only ever glimpsed out of the corner of your eye – if you were lucky! I love the dangerous aspects of the Fair Folk. I always appreciated that you got that sense with Shakespeare’s characters. That, given just a little nudge, things could go badly south with those creatures pretty quickly.

As to how that fascination managed to find a home in the middle of an adventure set in NYC, well, I had some time ago written a short story about an actress in a production of Dream in which some of the characters in the play were actually real Faeries. It was a fun little character piece and it stuck with me as something to expand upon. But, if it was going to become a longer tale, it needed a truly extraordinary setting outside of just the theatre.

When I went down to New York for the first time to meet my agent, I—naturally—paid a visit to Central Park. I fell instantly, irrevocably in love with the place. And with its history. The Park was the most magical place I had ever been and it virtually demanded that I turn it into a setting for a story. For some reason, it was just perfect for this story. It fits so well with the play and the pastoral setting, but there is also a whole bunch of really interesting history behind the building of the Park that just dovetailed wonderfully with what I had in mind.

How were you able to research Central Park and life in NYC while living in Canada?

It’s a pretty short hop from Toronto to NYC. At the time I was writing the book, I had friends living in an apartment about half a block from the Columbus Circle gateway to Central Park. I would stay with them and got to know the city quite well (my agent and editor helped get me acclimatized, too). I would always visit the Park and take long, foot-killing strolls all over the place. Even after dark! (My one friend works out a lot and is fairly physically imposing so it was never the least bit scary, even in the middle of the night.)

As far as learning about Park history and anything else I needed, well that was just good old-fashioned research: books and maps and the Internet.

Did you have a roommate or a friend like Tyff?

I had a couple of friends in high school who were crazy party-girl fashionista-types. But, as far as Tyff’s attitude goes… well, it’s kind of funny, but she’s probably the character in the book that sounds most like me! If I were tall and ridiculously gorgeous and had an unending closet, I swear you wouldn’t be able to tell us apart. Heh.

Which Shakespeare play is central to the last book in the trilogy and when is it due to be released?

The third book (or, as I call it, Book the Third – it doesn’t have an official title yet!) is scheduled to release at the end of 2010. It links thematically with The Tempest and was way too much fun to write. Plus, I’m not entirely convinced I’ve left the world of Wondrous Strange behind for good…there are potentially a few Otherworldly tales that remain yet to be told. ;-)

What’s the best advice you’ve had on writing?

Not so much advice necessarily as just a plain truth that was very subtly impressed upon me every time I went to lunch with a well-known author friend of mine. We’d sit down and he’d say “Are you writing?” and if I couldn’t answer “Yes” he would get a certain look on his face. The one that made me make sure I would be able to answer “Yes” the next time I saw him.

Because writers write. It’s as simple as that. You can talk about the great story idea you have rolling around in your head until the crack of doom but if you don’t sit your butt down and get the words out, then you are not a writer. Writers write. And then they re-write. And then they write something else. Rinse. Repeat.

Thank you so much for this, Sarah! It’s been so much fun!

Reviewer's Disclosure: I bought Wondrous Strange (now available in paperback) and requested the ARC of Darklight. Harper Collins Canada sent me the ARC when the US office ran out of copies. Thank you Canada! Author photos were provided by Lesley Livingston - color portrait of Lesley by John Rait. I took the Central Park photos on Thanksgiving 2009, inspired by this series.

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Sunset on Bailey Island

2009-12-30T08:00:00.032-05:00

Mackerel Cove, Bailey Island, Maine 12/25/09

Endings are beginnings. As 2009 sinks below the horizon, a new year will dawn.

Lobster season ended on Christmas except for fishermen with offshore permits.

In June lobsters and tourists will return to coastal Maine.

In December the cliff paths are near empty, slippery in ice and snow.

The sea beats the jagged shore. The spray intensifies the chill.

The setting sun offers little warmth, and yet even the rocks reach for it.

Lichen is the only green.

Snow hides from the hungry sea in rock pockets.

Tidal flows freeze in motion, as if enchanted.

“O brave new world that has such people in’t!”

-Miranda, The Tempest by William Shakespeare

I wish you all a most Happy New Year.

Agent Appreciation Day: Jean Naggar

2009-12-12T13:32:00.004-05:00

Behind most authors is a hardworking literary agent. An agent can get thousands of queries in a year. Her decision to represent an author is a greater commitment than a publisher’s because it is usually a lifetime relationship. A reputable agent works off the commission from sold manuscripts and takes no money upfront. Reputable agents are registered at the Association or Authors’ Representatives. My agent, Jean V. Naggar, is a former president of AAR.

An agent is like an athlete’s coach. She guides an author through revisions before a manuscript is “shopped” to publishing houses. Then she becomes a matchmaker. The skill is finding the right “home” for the book. Every editor represents a particular taste, a slice of the market pie. Once an offer is made, the agent negotiates the contract and then remains the author’s advocate throughout the publishing process. By taking care of business, an agent allows the author to focus on writing and on book promotions. She protects a new author from exploitation and teaches her about the industry. These days most big publishing houses won't read unsolicited manuscripts so agents are necessary.

My agent established the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency in 1978 after discovering author Jean M. Auel and negotiating a record-breaking advance for The Clan of the Cave Bear. They are still working together on the international bestseller Earth Child Series. My agent has a full list of established authors so she is not taking on more authors, but the other agents at JVNLA are taking new clients. They are terrific too. All JVNLA agents represent children’s books as well as other genres for adults. Photo of Jean Naggar by Serge Naggar.

Why I love my agent and the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency:

1. Jean is my most loyal fan and sharpest critic. She spots the flaws but leaves me to fix them. She never curbs my creativity. Her encouragement and unflagging faith in my writing keep me going through the long process of finding a publisher.

2. Jean has decades of experience as an agent. It doesn’t matter that I’m out of the loop in Maine because she’s at the hub of the publishing industry in NYC.

3. Jean is accessible. She has regular author call times and responds to my emails promptly. In the early stage of a project, I bounce ideas off her. She advises me on my career and cheers me on.

4. Jean works with the 3 other agents at JVNLA as a team. They divide the work, like subsidiary rights, and offer second opinion critiques on manuscripts when fresh eyes are needed. They partner with other agents abroad for foreign rights. It’s like having several agents without being impersonal. The agency is small enough that new and unpublished authors feel as welcome as their award-winning and bestseller authors.

5. Jean has published her memoir, Sipping from the Nile, so she can see the process from an author’s perspective. She can also relate to the multicultural elements in my writing since she grew up in Egypt and was educated in England. Plus she has the most beautiful accent.

This post is part of the first Agent Day (December 11 - I’m a day late), which was Kody Keplinger's brilliant idea. Lisa and Laura Write have posted a link-list to other Agent Day posts. It’s a great place to go agent shopping if you’re an aspiring author. You can learn everything you need to know about submitting manuscripts at these two agent blogs: Miss Snark and Nathan Bransford. Good luck!

I usually post weekly on Wednesdays (so as not to cut into my novel writing time) but I’ve made an exception because agents deserve appreciation for their hard work behind the scenes. Don’t miss this week’s blog review of Marie Mutsuki Mocketts’s wonderful debut novel and photos of our first big snowfall in coastal Maine.

I’m taking a blog break over Hanukkah and Christmas at home.

Next post: Wednesday December 30.

Happy Holidays!

Snow Country: Picking Bones from Ash by Marie Mutsuki Mockett

2009-12-09T07:27:00.010-05:00

It snowed! Now it feels like December. Only last week it was in the 60's.

Check out the contrast:

Even my dog was confused.

Then Stella remembered snow angels.

Burning bush berries add festive color.

A major storm is coming today, the first school Snow Day.

If I’m not online later, you’ll know why.

It’s time to curl up by the fire with a good winter book. I’ve discovered a new author: Marie Mutsuki Mockett. Her debut novel, Picking Bones from Ash, follows Rumi’s search for her Japanese mother in snow country. Like her protagonist, the author has an American father, a Japanese mother and true talent.

“But when you are talented, you are special. You will have troubles, but they won’t be any of the ordinary ones.” So begins the narrative and sums up my review.

In the northern mountains of Japan, villagers welcome winter with hot sake and dancing devils. Buddhist priests exorcise lost souls, and Shinto spirits can occupy any object. Bridges to the Underworld appear over multi-colored hot springs. Reality vanishes in the sulfur mist of Japan and in the fog of San Francisco.

Mocket’s writing brings to mind other masters of mysticism, such as Isabel Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Amy Tan (whose endorsement is on the cover.) The ghosts of ancestors and past injustices haunt the present. Individuals belong to an extended family, including both the living and the deceased. Such literature drops us into another culture and its system of beliefs.

Mocket does not strand the reader in Wonderland. She explains Buddhism and Shintoism with the voice of a scholar. At times these long passages of exposition risk sounding didactic and slow the pace. More integration would have been better. Expository sections also introduce the reader to the world of Asian antiques and porcelain. Rumi is an antique dealer who listens to the voices of objects, which literally tell her of their past. I loved how this worked in the narrative.

The experience of reading Picking Bones from Ash is quite like soaking in a hot spring in the mountains of Japan (I did so a decade ago.) The heat and vapor rest the body but blur the vision. Time slows; outlines are unclear. There wasn’t much plot or narrative tension in the novel, and yet I kept reading. The writing was lovely and easy to follow. Mockett favors short paragraphs and lyrical descriptions (eg “Snowflakes the size of dandelions bloomed in the air.”) I felt totally immersed in another culture and its landscape. Mockett captures the bi-cultural experience of many Americans.

Although this debut novel was beautifully original and evocative, there were some novice glitches. Rumi and her mother had strong narrative voices, but the dialogue sounded unnaturally formal. None of the romantic relationships made much sense. The section set in Paris felt tacked onto the narrative and unnecessary; two countries would have been enough. The story felt intensely personal, like a memoir. There is definitely a first-novel feel to Picking Bones from Ash, like watching a young bird on its first flight. It can be awkward, but then it soars.

“Eventually the snow stopped falling, and the clouds parted. Moonlight hit the white earth and the air took on a silver quality. Now I could see the outline of trees, the shadows of forests on the snow-covered ground. Sometimes I looked ahead and saw the figure was trudging before me and I felt as though I were watching a negative of a film unfold in slow motion: white earth, black sky, blue trees. It was eerily beautiful and foreign.”

-Marie Mutsuki Mockett

i so don't do spooky by Barrie Summy: review & interview

2009-12-02T07:00:00.135-05:00

Not only is Barrie Summy the host of our monthly book review club, she is also a talented children's author. “i so don’t do spooky” is the second installment in her mystery series to be released December 8th, 2009.

On the surface Sherry Holmes Baldwin sounds a lot like Nancy Drew: mystery ace with a perfect boyfriend, nice friends and a widowed dad. Only Sherry has a most unusual sidekick, her police detective mother. Sounds lame? Far from it. Sherry’s mom is a ghost!

Sherry summons her mother with coffee, her token scent. [That's Barrie's favorite coffee mug pictured to the left.] Every ghost has a distinctive odor, a useful plot devise for invisible characters. One ghost reeks of dirty socks, another of cinnamon buns. It’s the familiar that makes the extraordinary feel (smell?) real.

Snappy writing and humor saves the story from sentimentality. Check out Sherry’s stepmother:

“Living with The Ruler is no Laffy Taffy. It’s like when you try on those strung-together shoes at Target. You can’t take big steps; you definitely can’t run; you can’t really tell how you feel about the footwear. Well, with the gazillion rules in our house, I only get to take teeny-tiny steps that don’t include TV on weekdays, MySpace anytime or unlimited texting. I won’t even start ragging on the health food I’m forced to eat.”

Talk about tough love, in "i so don’t do spooky" Sherry has to put aside her resentment and save the Ruler. Her stepmother has a stalker. Yikes! The mystery is spooky without being too scary for younger readers. There is a sweet innocence to it that feels classic, but all the pop culture references make it sound up-to-date. The Phoenix, Arizona setting is really fun.

Author Barrie Summy at age 16

Sherry is a real 13-year-old to a fault. She’s obsessed with shopping and prone to name-calling (eg. "Nerdy Nick.") Personally, I don’t like seeing this in children’s fiction. Although true to life, it reinforces stereotypes. Still, Sherry redeems herself by choosing mysteries over flirting, and kindness over selfishness. She’s a strong heroine, not a victim. Sherry grows a bit in this second book, realizing her faults.

Fans of "i so don’t do mysteries" will love "i so don’t do spooky." It has a similar feel, but the mystery holds together better. Even though "spooky" is full of ghosts, it’s more believable. The dead-grandfather-now-a-bird plays a smaller role. I’m hoping he’ll fly away in the next book, so we can focus more on the Ghost Academy. Reincarnation muddies this narrative. It’s just a little quibble about an otherwise strong storyline.

Barrie’s writing is fresh, funny and fast-paced. I can see this series becoming really popular with 8-12 year old girls, especially with kids who don’t usually like books. Barrie makes reading fun and easy without talking down. She gets kids and ghosts!

My Interview of Barrie Summy

(author photo by Ziegler Photography)

Sarah Laurence: You have a fun theory about dessert books – can you explain it?

Barrrie Summy: Well, actually it’s not my theory; it was my parents’. And, to be honest, I didn’t find it much fun when I was a kid! The Meat and Potato and Dessert Rule went like this: You could read as many Meat and Potato books in a row as you wanted. To read a Dessert book, you had to read at least one Meat and Potato book first. Much, to my chagrin, Nancy Drew fell into the Dessert book category.

Sarah: Who are your favorite authors?

Barrie: E.L. Konigsburg, Gordon Korman, Judy Blume, Jerry Spinelli, Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Elinor Lipman, Anita Shreve. (This list is in no particular order. And it’s a mere drop in the bucket.)

Sarah: Where did you get the inspiration for the Sherry and ghost-mother detective team?

Barrie: I have absolutely no idea. Seriously. I originally wrote "i so don't do mysteries" as a Nancy Drew with all the guidelines that entails. When I revamped the book for Sherry and could ditch the guidelines, my imagination went wild and crazy. Also, there's a part of me that would like to be in Sherry's shoes and having an unexpected reunion with my mother and the chance to solve a mystery together.

Sarah: How is writing a series different from writing a single freestanding novel?

Barrie: With a series, you get to know the characters super well. And you get a chance to see what they’ll do in variety of situations. I think, also, you have to work a little harder at keeping it fresh for the reader.

Sarah: Over the course of the series, do you see Sherry staying a constant character, like Nancy Drew, or are you planning to have her mature, like Harry Potter?

Barrie: Originally, I'd planned to have Sherry remain a constant character. However, she insists on growing up a little in each book. In some books, she grows up more than in others. I'm currently writing the fourth book, "i so don't do famous," and I can already tell she's going to make some big connections and come more into herself. It's exciting and a little like watching one of my own children start putting it all together. So, to answer your question, I'm basically, I'm just following Sherry's lead.

Sarah: What is your advice for debut authors?

Barrie: Enjoy the ride. You only debut once.

Sarah: What motivated you to start the blogger book review club?

Barrie: I love blog round-ups. I especially love regularly-scheduled blog round-ups. I love book recommendations. I especially love positive book recommendations. Marry all that together and, voila, our monthly Book Review Club!

Disclosure: Delacorte Press of Random House sent me the Advanced Reader’s Copy of "i so don’t do spooky." Barrie and I are blog buddies, but, hello FTC, I reviewed this book just the way I wanted.

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Blog Watch: interesting discussion on career and family @ A Cuban in London, focusing on the changing role of fathers. Cynthia @ Catching Days captured the change of seasons in song, image and prose. Prairie Rose's Garden explained the love of gardening. Reverie Book Reviews, The Story Siren and author Kami Garcia are helping a low income community in Virginia build a library; they need gently used children's books. I've just sent a box of picture books etc.

Thanksgiving Book: The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich

2009-11-25T07:00:00.055-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

On tomorrow’s Thanksgiving Americans (Canadians do so earlier) gather their extended families to show gratitude for nature’s bounty. We also thank Native Americans for sharing food with the new settlers, saving them from starvation. The Colonists repaid the Natives with smallpox.

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich tells the American story of survival from the Native perspective. It reads like the missing companion to Laura Ingall's Wilder's Little House books for young readers. Both feature lovely black and white drawings, fascinating descriptions of 19th century family life and harrowing tales with bright touches of humor. Who knew that Louise Erdrich was an artist too?

The protagonist, Omakayas, is not quite eight, but the story of surviving smallpox during a hard winter has broad age appeal. It could be read aloud to a younger child or read independently by a 9-12 year old. Omakayas’s special relationships with a crow and the bear cubs on her island would have made this book a favorite when I was younger. My daughter’s sixth grade class read it over the summer. She loved it and urged me to read it too.

Here's my daughter's review:

I very much did enjoy the Birchbark House. We read it for school, but I was introduced to it by my best friend in about third grade.

The protagonist is very interesting and thinks in a whimsical fashion, thinking very carefully and hopping about the woods, as she is only seven years old but very responsible. Omakayas is her name and throughout this lovely book she communicates with bears, picks berries and lives through the theme of the book which happens to be, in my opinion, seasons. However, there are various other sub-themes like stories, family, and nature.

The book was easily read, as I am twelve, and I read more difficult, complex books, but it was written well. The plot at some times kept you edging off your seat and biting your lip to see what happens next but at other times is very smooth and pleasant, as they collect wood to build their house and build it throughout each season.

As an adult, I appreciated Erdrich’s insight into native culture and the issue of encroachment. It’s rare that I can’t find a flaw in a novel, but The Birchbark House is flawless: beautifully written, lovable characters, emotionally charged and a worthy issue. It was a National Book Award finalist. It should be required reading for all Americans. Share it with your family over the holidays.

From Chapter 12 Maple Sugar Time:

“Omakayas grinned. Her smile was now whole - new teeth had grown in over the winter. She was older. Soon, spring plants would poke up through dead leaves. The curled head of ferns. Buds, roots, fresh new leaves. Fat lake trout would sleepily rise from the bottom, hungry to be caught. They would be able to think of something other than the next bite of food. They would live again, truly live.”

Author Louise Erdrich is part of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwa and has written many novels on the Native American experience. For adults, my two favorites were Tracks and Love Medicine. I also loved her memoir on writing and motherhood, The Blue Jay’s Dance. The Birchbark House is middle grade fiction, intended for children 8-12.

Speaking of talented middle grade authors, I had a lovely time with my neighbor, author Cynthia Lord. Last week we went out for the evening to talk about life and books. Cindy is the author of Newbury Honor winning Rules. Next week I’ll be interviewing another middle grade author Barrie Summy, who hosts the Book Review Club, and reviewing her soon to be released “i so don’t do spooky.” If you’re looking for good gift ideas for young readers….

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton: found for real in London

2009-11-18T07:00:00.116-05:00

Walking up Drayton Gardens, a residential road in London, we saw a little house, wedged between townhouses. Above the ancient door was a mural of the house’s pastoral grandeur. Like the shepherd at the gate, I stopped in my tracks. Tears welled up in my eyes.

Growing up in Manhattan, one of my favorite books was The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. My father saved it from his childhood collection. He would have been 6 and living in Manhattan too when it was released in 1942.

Sadly that first edition book did not survive my children. I cried the day I found the yellowed pages scattered in the nursery. I replaced it and supervised picture book reading after that.

The Little House is an American tale of a small pink house in the country. She sees the distant lights of the city and wonders what it would be like to live there. Over the years, the city sprawls towards her. Abandoned by the family who built her, she grows derelict and is trapped between skyscrapers, no longer able to see the stars at all.

“Then one fine morning in Spring along came the great-great-great-grandaughter of the man who built the Little House so well. She saw the shabby Little House, but didn’t hurry by.”

The Little House was published in 1942, but the story feels like a current tale of urban sprawl. Burton’s gorgeous illustrations remind me of another favorite artist, Grandma Moses. Her words are both poetic and visionary. The Little House won the Caldecott Medal in 1943.

Back in the 1970s, my family lived in a brownstone in a vanishing neighborhood of low-rise buildings. The old wood frame building next door, one of the last remaining in the city, was torn down to build a “pencil building” before laws banned them. Pencil buildings were mini-apartment buildings, built on a single lot.

On the avenues, rows of century old townhouses were razed to build luxury condominium high-rises. The Old World feeling of Yorkville became Upper East Side posh. Today there are no more children playing unattended on the sidewalks. Brownstones remain midblock, wedged between huge apartment buildings.

SPOILER ALERT

Living in small town Maine now, I feel like the Little House dug up from the city and transported:

“ As the Little House settled down

on her new foundation,

she smiled happily.

Once again she could watch

the moon and the stars.

Once again she could watch

Spring and Summer

and Fall and Winter

come and go.

Once again

she was lived in

and taken care of.”

Virginia Lee Burton passed away in 1968, when I was just learning how to turn pages without tearing them. Burton’s picture books are still in print today through Houghton Mifflin. The Little House would make a special holiday gift for your child or grandchild. Of the many books I passed onto other children when mine got older, this one remains on my shelf and in my heart.

Do you have a favorite picture book from your childhood?

Book Award Watch: Tonight is the National Book Award. I'm rooting for Maine author Phillip Hoose. Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice tells the true story of a teenaged girl who refused to give her seat to a white woman on the bus. Colvin was jailed 9 months before Rosa Parks and went on to testify in court against segregation. Hoose interviewed Colvin to tell this true heroic tale, for the first time giving it the attention it deserves. Hoose's guest tonight is Colvin. I dare you to watch the video above with dry eyes. Update: Phillip Hoose won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature - congratulations!

Shakespeare Watch: the Brunswick High School in Maine is performing Much Ado About Nothing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 7pm and 2pm matinee on Saturday. In addition to a ticket, bring one item of non-perishable food to contribute to the food drive. Ten percent of ticket sales are also going towards the hunger drive, once costume costs are paid. The kids are doing a great job with this delightful romantic comedy. I've been observing rehearsals to research my young adult novel as u like it.

Morse Mountain to Seawall Beach

2009-11-11T07:00:00.006-05:00

Nature is an artist.

She sculpts with driftwood and paints with seasons.

Her canvas is Morse Mountain in Maine.

The trail is a dirt road,

Traversing the marsh,

Climbing to a summit overlooking the ocean.

Nature draws a portrait with water.

She mixes ochre on her palette and drops splashes of cadmium red.

Pine trees transition to dune grass. Smell the ocean.

Clouds are brushstrokes on the sky. Feel the wind.

Waves weave an ocean blanket. Hear the surf.

Wet sand abstracts the sky. See infinity.

Driftwood is sculpture. Touch it.

Seawall Beach is her masterpiece.

I only leave my footprints on the sand,

My words upon a page,

And her images in memory.

Happy Birthday to my brother!

The Confessions of Edward Day by Valerie Martin

2009-11-04T07:00:00.020-05:00

I have been immersing myself in theater lately: auditing a Bowdoin class on Shakespeare, renting Shakespeare movies, watching the high school rehearse Much Ado About Nothing and reading books on acting.

The Confessions of Edward Day by Valerie Martin is a fictional memoir of an actor in the 1970s. Curtains open on a group of struggling young actors, who have escaped the heat of lower Manhattan to hang out at a beach house.

Our hero is a narcissistic actor, Edward Day, who owes his life to his doppelganger, Guy Margate. Literally owes his life. Edward almost drowned.

Guy expects something in return for his heroic rescue. His demands escalate. The stakes get raised whenever Madeleine Delavergne enters the picture. She’s a beautiful and talented actress but tainted by neurosis. Madeleine is attracted to both Edward and Guy, two handsome actors who resemble one another. They form a love triangle with a sharp apex.

Edward Day is a story about envy, jealousy and creative genius. It centers on the gap between artistic perfection and real life. Valerie Martin explored these subjects before in her brilliant short story collection, The Unfinished Novel. Now she turns her lens from authors and artists to focus on actors. Martin writes beautifully about the ugliness of human nature.

Despite the heavy psychological underpinnings, Edward Day moves at a good pace and is entertaining. Martin’s extensive research (down to high set costs vs. low actor wages) makes the off-off Broadway scene come to life. Being 20-something in 70’s NYC was good fun despite the hardships.

Fans of theater will appreciate the way Martin weaves the plays into the narrative. The actor-characters quote Shakespeare and discuss method acting. The themes of the plays echo in the characters’ lives offstage.

Sometimes the theater-narrative connection is overplayed. There is an obvious connection between Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and our characters. Martin describes those links scene by scene to the point of interrupting the narrative flow. Trust the reader.

Still, I very much enjoyed The Confessions of Edward Day. If you haven’t sampled Valerie Martin yet, you are in for a treat:

“These lines drop from her lips without intonation, like a bag of chips falling into a vending machine when the correct code has been punched.”

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@Barrie Summy

Blog Watch: Barrie sent me 2 useful links that explain how the new Federal and Trade Commission (FTC) rules effective December 1, 2009 apply to bloggers who accept free products (like ARCs and books) and endorse them:

Interview with the FTC's Richard Cleland @ Edward Champion's Reluctant Habits
Generate your own disclosure policy

For an example, see MY BOOK REVIEW POLICY in my sidebar. My disclosure policy has actually been there since last May when I blogged about Blog Ethics.

Here are some NYT articles on it:

"Soon, bloggers must give full disclosure" by Tim Arango (10/5/09)
"New F.T.C. Rules Have Bloggers and Twitterers Mulling" by Kayleen Schaeffer (10/14/09)

Shakespeare's Home and Gardens

2009-10-28T06:54:00.009-04:00

Last June to research my novel “as u like it,” I visited Shakespeare’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon. I wasn’t the first writer to do so. Many authors have scrawled their signatures like graffiti on the walls, as if they could tattoo their mild celebrity on his literary skin.

Shakespeare’s name is immortal, marked on our creative conscience. The visit to his home reminded me that he was a real person, the son of a possibly illiterate tanner/glover. His house was still impressively large, especially for his time.

The gardens were small but lovely, featuring blooms he'd mentioned in his writing. In the courtyard period-dressed actors performed scenes from his plays. Mid June is a good time to visit, before the big summer crowds. Only the Shakespeare museum and gift-shop were tacky-touristy.

The portrait gallery was worth the trip in itself. Hanging on the wall, was the most recently discovered (March 2009) painting of Shakespeare, perhaps the only to have been done during his lifetime. His hair is rich auburn and his expression bemused. The portrait is by an unknown artist and shows mixed mastery from the well-rendered beard to the clumsy ear. There was still an emotional liveliness to it, unusual for the period. Shakespeare was in his 40's, close to me in age. I stared into his eyes for close to an hour and felt a connection. A reproduction is pinned above my desk (blog image from the guardian.co.uk.)

We found the perfect place for lunch: the As You Like It Café. A good sign? It didn’t even rain on us in the courtyard. The café is conveniently on 20 Henley Street.

After lunch we walked across Henley Street to the Shakespeare Bookshop. Heaven. I could have spent hours browsing through all the books that ranged from academic volumes to manga Shakespeare. There would be room on the bookshelf for my “as u like it” in the children’s/young adult section. I didn’t see anything else like it there.

I bought The Arden Dictionary of Shakespeare Quotations and Bill Bryson’s short and entertaining biography, aimed at a general audience. Bryson explains in his usual droll tone:

“To answer the obvious question, this book was written not so much because the world needs another book on Shakespeare, as because this series [of biographies] does. The idea is a simple one: to see how much of Shakespeare we can know, really know, from the record. Which is one reason, of course, it’s so slender.”

With many amusing anecdotes, Bryson places Shakespeare in his historical context and dismisses the naysayers who claimed the parochially schooled actor couldn’t have written those most literary plays and sonnets. It’s a fun and easy read. I absolutely loved it.

For those looking for a more scholarly biography of Shakespeare, I'd strongly recommend Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt at Harvard University. I didn't include biographical material in my young adult novel, but both books added to my understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare's work. Call it character research as the Bard is a presence in my contemporary novel.

Shakespeare is so much more than his words on a page. No visit to Stratford-upon-Avon is complete without watching a Royal Shakespeare Company performance. Book ahead. In June they were performing As You Like it. A second good sign!

Over the three years that I’ve lived in England, I’ve seen many RSC performances in London. This is Shakespeare at its best with perfect elocution, emotional depth and attention to period detail. Every single actor is strong, working together as an ensemble. RSC alumni include Kenneth Branagh (I love his Shakespeare films,) Ralph Fiennes and Patrick Stewart.

As You Like It came to life on the stage with a strong Rosalind (Katy Stephens) and an amusingly melancholy Jaques. They had been banished from court to the northern woods. At the interval (intermission) an actor actually skinned a rabbit on stage. Shakespeare’s Arden Forest is a fallen Eden:

“Here feel we not the penalty of Adam,

The seasons’ difference, as the icy fang

And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind,

Which when it bites and blows on my body….”

And yet in this harsh, adverse setting, the true meaning of life is found:

“Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,

Sermons in stones, and good in everything.”

My pilgrimage to Shakespeare’s birthplace was well worth the journey.

Blog Watch: for the latest news on Shakespeare performances, books, movies, scholarships, blogs etc., check out The Shakespeare Post.

Snow Falling on Maples

2009-10-21T07:00:00.017-04:00

We awoke to snow falling on golden maples.

Sticky flakes clung to not yet fallen leaves.

The roads of Bethel shimmered like black rivers.

The sky was church white. Steeples disappeared into mist, pointing at nothingness.

The mountains obscured, the calendar forgotten. There is a reason they are called the White Mountains.

No Snow Day for the children of Bethel.

Would teacher care for a frozen apple?

Over Columbus Day weekend, we had hiked up gilded summits.

The sun was warm, the breeze gentle.

A beaver pond reflected the sky, one blue square in autumn’s quilt.

"Busy beavers" napped in their den. Did they know?

My dog was kitted out in orange,

not to be mistaken for a deer,

although that season hasn’t begun.

Rifle shots echoed across the valley.

It must be time to hunt something.

Waterfowl?

Many of the leaves hadn’t turned.

Even the early red maples still showed green veins.

We had been treated to a lingering summer.

August had stretched into September, and September into October.

Late summer and early winter: what have you done with autumn?

We drove downriver to the rainy coast.

Snow melted in our wake like a dream.

Blog Watch: This post is part of The Fall Color Project @The Home Garden. Dave will be posting links to peak fall foliage. Eternal autumn!

Up a Mountain

2009-10-14T07:00:00.089-04:00

Rainbow from my back door

I only just got home. We spent the long weekend through Tuesday hiking in the White Mountains of Maine, like we did last year. Look for a leaf peeping post next week, once I weed through the photos.

Good news: my watercolor sold in the first minute of the 10X10 Art Show. There were long lines outside all 3 venues. Plenty more paintings are still up and available for purchase through the end of the month to benefit Arts Are Elementary.

Blog Watch:

Check out the kitty fixing a printer @troutbirder. I’ve been having computer problems, does she do house calls?

On the funny animal theme, Cheffie Mom@Dishing with Debbie has frogs in her toilet. Life just hopped up: Debbie also landed a newspaper column. Congratulations, Debbie!

Each Little World posted a link to a site, the Book Depository, that allows you to order a book printed in the UK and will ship to anyplace in the world for free. I haven’t checked it out myself.

Bid a sad farewell and thank you to David@authorblog. His “Post of the Day” was like my “Blog Watch.” He shall be missed in the blogger community as he’s brought so many of us together. David is quitting blogging to write more novels. Good luck, David!

Google Blogger Posting Tip:

If you switch to the updated editor, as I recommended 2 weeks ago, you might also need to upgrade your template. My “Minima” template was cropping my photos. Switching to “Minima Stretch” kept a similar look but with full frame images. The other cool feature is the reader can stretch or condense the post width. You can preview a new template without changing your current settings:

Dashboard
Layout
Choose New Template
Minima Stretch
preview template

But Not For Long by Michelle Wildgen: Review & Interview

2009-10-07T07:00:00.054-04:00

But Not For Long by Michelle Wildgen is a most sensual novel; it engages all the senses, especially taste. Food plays a central role in the lives of three characters who live and dine together at a “sustainable food” co-op. It is also a story of this Great Recession, played out in a liberal university town in heartland USA. Gas stations are shutting and charity is strained. The story unravels over a three day blackout, a time of “almost festive frustration.”

Middle-aged Hal works for a non-profit that brings donated meals to elderly shut-ins. He grew up hunting deer in the woods but is now a vegetarian. His hippy-like existence and buying organic leaves him with few savings. After his mother dies, Hal lavishes attention on an elderly woman, whom he doesn’t even like. He fears he will be even worse off in his old age than this client, but taking extra time to help her might cost him his job.

Hal’s bisexual housemate, Karin, is as wholesome as fresh milk. She grew up in a trailer park and now writes a column on small farms for a dairy industry journal (once again the food motif.) She avoids makeup to win over the farmers but doesn’t know how to milk a cow. Karin does know a lot about artisan cheese. The descriptions will make your mouth water. There is humor too:

“Karin liked her farmer’s hands filthy, her cows named, and her cheese wrapped in limp chestnut leaves. Anything else was unnatural.”

The newest housemate, Greta, is more complicated and abrasive. She’s a fundraiser for a private college and thinks in monetary terms. As for the food connection, Greta wines and dines wealthy alumni in hopes of landing large donations. An aging beauty, Greta dresses in silk for work, and her idea of loosening up is not shaving her armpits on weekends. She is the least likely person to find in this bohemian community. Ironically, Hal is attracted to Greta and the luxury she represents.

In the opening scene, a dock has been cut loose, stranding a dog (the real Morrison St. dock by Michelle Wildgen is pictured above.) An empty chair indicates the owner may have drowned earlier. The dog swims toward shore but struggles to stay afloat. Who will play hero? This narrative device is a great way to test the three main characters. The story launches with momentum and a feeling of unease. The cut raft is a central metaphor of how adrift the three housemates are in life.

The narrative tension increases when Greta’s alcoholic husband shows up dangerously inebriated on their front porch. He is the reason Greta is living in the co-op. What are the housemates to do?

To read But Not For Long is a literary treat, but it requires patience. The author loves descriptive detail, and the pace suffers from too much back story and exposition. Yet these pictures Wildgen paints with words are well worth seeing. In one plotline, Karin visits a young farmer who has lost her husband and fears for the farm’s future. The images are ominous: an empty beehive of abandoned honey and a dark cave full of ripening cheese. Still, the fields are full of wildflowers, lavender and clover. The book begs analysis and slow reading. Satire makes it fun.

Michelle Wildgen is a master of metaphor and a champion of character. Irony rules. She has a message too: modern life is divorced from the sensual, earthiness of life and community. Eat local farm food and chew with care. Savor it.

Photo of Michelle Wildgen by Kate Huntington

My Interview of Michelle Wildgen

In addition to being an author, Michelle Wildgen is senior editor of the literary magazine Tin House. She has recently moved from NYC back to Wisconsin where both of her novels are set. Wildgen is a frequent farmer market shopper.

Sarah Laurence: The economic malaise in But Not For Long feels so current. I recall that you were writing this novel back in spring of 2008, when I reviewed You’re Not You, your first novel. Did you change the narrative in response to last year’s stock market crash or was this a coincidence?

Michelle Wildgen: Let’s see—I was about to say I didn’t revise it in response at all, but come to think of it, it was last fall that I was adding some last pieces about Hal and his nonprofit’s crisis, which does stem from economic fallout, so that facet was at least partially in response. But at the same time, the entire book and its fears about the general infrastructure, the faltering natural world, and the nagging fear that the people supposedly in charge are not really paying attention, was already in place well before that—for the book as well as for quite a few people, I’d guess.

SL: But Not For Long appears to reference indirectly the nonfiction book The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan and also the Slow Food Movement. What was your inspiration?

MW: In researching co-ops, I found that many were organized according to some principle, and I thought this might be a good one for my co-op. Once I follow that thread it often takes me somewhere interesting, as with the sections at the cheesemaker’s farm, which are some of my favorites. I wouldn’t say either book or organization was a direct inspiration, though absolutely I drew on both for research, because the ideas felt appropriate to this world and pique my interest.

SL: Food, especially from local organic farms, features in both of your novels. You are also a food writer. Where did you develop this passion?

MW: I just started cooking in high school because I had read a few recipes or descriptions of dishes that I’d never had; I wanted to taste them, so I learned how to make them. This was before grocery stores improved so much, and I remember arguing with my mother over what a “shitake” was and whether the Acme Click would have one.

Food appeals to me in the same way literature does—in some ingrained way I respond to this, want to know it and experience it in as many ways as I can. It just gives me pleasure to write about food, talk about food, look at photos of food. I’m really very greedy.

SL: Family background haunts the characters in But Not For Long. What was your family and hometown like?

MW: It’s a curse for a writer in some ways, especially a food-obsessed writer who suspects she really should have been Italian, but I grew up smack in the middle of the middle class in a perfectly pleasant suburb in northeastern Ohio. There wasn’t a lot of drama. And actually that may be part of why I often like to write about people and families whose lives don’t look crazily turned upside down—instead I tend to write about mundane life just as it starts to slip off the edges.

SL: Name some of your favorite novelists.

MW: I love Alice Munro, Antonya Nelson, Laurie Colwin, Lorrie Moore, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, off the top of my head.

SL: What is the best writing advice you’ve received?

MW: Once my teacher, Mary Morris, was just baffled by all of us grad students fretting over making changes to our stories—Because what if it didn’t make it better?—and she said, So what? You save a new copy and number them—Deathless Prose No. 1, Deathless Prose No. 2—and you try out different versions. You don’t like it, you go back. It’s mortifying that I had to have this explained to me, but it totally freed me up, and if you dig around my computer you’ll see endless folders of Novel 1, Novel 2, Novel 20….

SL: What is your next book project?

MW: I know it will be a novel, but I’m still in the pondering stages and it’s hard to say what shape it will take. Things may change, but at the moment I’m thinking I would love to stay funny and satirical, something sharp but light.

But Not For Long by Michelle Wildgen

will be released on October 13, 2009.

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@Barrie Summy

Blog Watch: Through blogging we share our triumphs and our losses. Congratulations to Donna @ The Doll Sweet Journal on the birth of her baby boy! My thoughts are with Barrie Summy from our book review club and with Jane Green. Both lost a dear friend recently.

Note: I'll be offline this morning while my new computer is being serviced (missing/corrupted fonts.)

10X10 Art Show in Brunswick, Maine

2009-09-30T07:00:00.140-04:00

Can you believe that tomorrow is October? It’s almost time for the10X10 Art Exhibit and Sale to benefit Arts Are Elementary. AAE is a non-profit organization that brings artists to Brunswick public elementary schools. The show opens on Friday October 9th at 5pm and will be up until the end of the month. Poster art "Circles" embroidered by Kimberly Christensen at Spindleworks.

When my daughter was in 4th grade, visiting artists helped the kids create unique claymation movies. My friend Charlotte Agell, an author-illustrator, works with first graders to make picture books and also contributes to the AAE show. There are many other artists participating. It’s a wonderful supplement to the curriculum.

I blogged about the first annual 10X10 Art Show last year. Despite opening in the wake of the stock market crash, the townspeople showed strong support. I sold a painting last year and have a new one in this year’s exhibit. All works are 10 by 10 inches, come framed and priced at $200.

Artists include a statement with their work. Here's mine for this year:

“Lookout Point, Harpswell” watercolor by Sarah Laurence

Rain made this a challenging summer to paint "en plein air." One evening in late August, the light was perfect. I drove to Harpswell because it was close to my home. I’d visited Lookout Point three years ago while researching lobstering for my novel S.A.D..

It was indeed a perfect spot to paint. The goldenrod was blooming and lobster pots were bobbing as the high tide reversed. I had to work quickly in the fading light. As the setting sun shot rays under thick clouds, my palette shifted to pinks, golds and purples. The colors truly were that amazing.

A painting on location captures a protracted moment in time (eg. the full sunset) whereas a photo would only capture an instant. This is why I work from life.

Above is my photo of the same island (to right) at a different angle and time of day. The camera sees differently than the eye. The wide angle lens flattens out the coastal landscape. The water appears more stagnant. The light is flat. Some images are better captured with watercolor, some with the camera. I prefer to keep them separate, as opposed to painting from a photograph.

Every artist has a unique vision, and the 10X10 captures this diversity so well. The aquatic theme on my blog is a coincidence - Brunswick is a coastal town. Here's a sneak preview from 2 more artists:

"Red Reflection" gouache on wood pannel by Will Wilkoff

"Red Drum" textile art by Catherine Worthington

10X10
Benefit Art Exhibit and Sale
Friday Oct. 9, 5pm-8pm
and Saturday Oct. 10, 10am-4pm
Brunswick, Maine
3 venues:

1. Morrell Meeting Room at Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St.
2. Points of View Gallery in Brunswick Business Center, 18 Pleasant St.
3. Gallery Framing, 12 Pleasant St

All artwork priced $200 and ready to hang to benefit AAE

There are 300 pieces by 130 Maine artists. My art is in venue #1.

Press: 10X10 Art Show in the Times Record newspaper.
My painting is there too!

Blog Watch:

Dreams can come true. Congratulations to Steph Bowe @ Hey! Teenager of the Year for landing a literary agent. Fifteen-year-old Steph is being home-schooled in Australia. She has a fun Young Adult book blog (in my sidebar) that is definitely worth checking out. Her novel is YA fiction too. Good luck, Steph!

If you are a Google blogger, check out the updated post editor. From your dashboard, select “settings” and then the “basics” tab. Down at the bottom is “Global Settings.” If you have “old editor,” try “updated editor.” It makes adding multiple photos to your blog much easier. From the preview box, you can place the photo exactly where you want in the text, resize and change alignment easily. It also gives a post preview that looks exactly like it will when published. Finally!

Note: images reproduced by permission of the artists and under copyright.

as u like it

2009-09-23T07:00:00.040-04:00

Ready for a revelation? I just finished writing my first young adult novel. In “as u like it” the themes of a Shakespeare play echo in the teen actors’ lives. The plot and characters are original, and the story is set now in NYC. The tone is light and entertaining.

For “as u like it” I drew on my experience growing up in Manhattan. My twelve-year-old daughter helped me make the characters sound up to date. I have tons of material with a tween girl and a teenaged boy living in my house. It was so much fun being able to work on a book with my daughter.

My children introduced me to the fabulous world of young adult literature that has blossomed since Harry Potter. Even though my kids have outgrown bedtime stories, I still like to read along with them occasionally. I’ve learned more about young adult fiction from book bloggers, like The Story Siren . The quality of the writing was a pleasant surprise. Fabulous authors, such as Laurie Halse Anderson, inspired me to try my hand at this genre.

Like any big production, there is a stage crew in the wings. My friend Marika Josephson (pictured at right), an assistant editor of KidSpirit Magazine, offered to be my first reader after my husband. Her experience working with 11-15 year olds was a big help as was her keen editorial eye.

Two of my friends in Maine are young adult authors who encouraged me. Charlotte Agell (pictured at left) was a reader for “as u like it.” I was a reader of her latest novel, Shift. On dog walks Maria Padian and I discuss our works in progress. Her teenaged daughter was interested in my story and had experience at reading manuscripts critically. Maria’s daughter and my daughter are fans of Shakespeare.

The manuscript needed several test drives. I purposely tried the story on a neighbor’s daughter who didn’t like Shakespeare. I wanted yet another reader who didn’t know me personally so Adrian (pictured below with me), who was a high school sophomore like the protagonist, was a great addition to my critique team. My young readers were really helpful, honestly critical and enthusiastic.

Writing for young adults is different than writing for older readers. Tweens and teens look for an emotional connection with the characters and demand a fast pace. YA books tend to be a bit shorter, 60K words instead of the 90K words norm for adult fiction. The author should avoid too much descriptive detail that can make the book drag. The story must be easy to follow.

Part of the reason I chose As You Like It was because it is one of the easiest of Shakespeare’s plays to read. It is written more in prose than in verse, and the main characters are teenagers in love. A central theme is the fickleness of reputation, one that resonates with teens today too. Shakespeare’s protagonist, Rosalind, kicks back when treated unfairly. She pulls the strings of love like a puppeteer. As You Like It was the first Shakespeare play I read for fun; I was 14 and taking acting at camp.

My aim is to make Shakespeare fun and understandable to anyone. A Bowdoin College professor of Renaissance Literature, Aaron Kitch (pictured at right) checked my Shakespeare and loved how it worked in the story. My cousin Gabrielle Savoldelli checked the acting scenes and showed me teenaged hangouts in Manhattan, where she lives and teaches school.

Blog buddies helped too: Mama Shujaa (pictured at left) filled in Kenyan expat details, and Cynthia@Oasis Writing Link and her family proofed my Spanish. My book is fiction, but I wanted it to ring true.

While my literary agent has “as u like it,” I will get back to work on my next book. Like any mom, I’m used to multi-tasking. Looking back through my blog archives, I can trace the birth of this latest novel.

Some of you may remember that I got struck by a new book idea last December during an ice storm. I tried to ignore it so I could finish another work in progress first, but the new book wouldn’t leave me alone.

Remember that beach walk in February when I pondered the new book idea? By the end of that month, I had turned my full attention to writing “as u like it.” Now, while I wait to see if “as u like it” is ready to go out to publishers, I’ll get back to work on the next book. I try to have several projects going on at once to avoid downtime. Book publishing is a slow industry.

You shouldn’t see a change in my blog since I’ve always posted content suitable for all ages. My kids read my blog. I’ll continue to read and to review both fiction and young adult fiction. But maybe I won’t post another cocktail recipe!

You can click on the “as u like it” label below to follow the blog string. Photo of Aaron by Bowdoin College, of Mama Shujaa by Corey McGriff, of Marika by Wayne Kao, and photo of Adrian and me by Charlotte Agell. All other photos taken by me.

Visit my website for an as u like it jacket blurb.

Sea Change

2009-09-16T07:00:00.007-04:00

Wolfe's Neck Park, Freeport in September

I've been looking after a loved one who spent two days in the hospital. It's a big relief to be through it. This photo says it all.

Blog Watch:

Interested in healing the planet? Read this fine book review @ Plant Whatever Brings You Joy. Sounds like a must read for gardeners.
Bee Drunken has become a steward at Jane Austen's house and takes us on an engaging tour. Talk about a literary dream job.
Congratulations to Mary Ellen @ Adopting ME - she searched for a year in a tough economy and just found a job!
Welcome a brand new blog: She Brews Good Ale, named after a Shakespeare quotation. The blogger is starting a brewery to help fund her PhD in Philosophy. She brews good humor too. Cheers!
Feel free to borrow this "blog watch" meme for your blog, just link back to me.