Cheryl Rainfield

LOVE YA author Beth Revis’ post on how to respond to negative reviews

2012-05-31T22:32:42Z

I’ve seen some posts lately about YA authors and/or their supporters flipping out on reviewers online. It makes me curl my toes up. It’s just…not professional, you know? But it’s also not feel-good. It can bring a negative feeling for others watching the author flip out, especially if they’re mean or ill-behaved or rude.

I get hurt feelings over reviews. I SO get it. We bare our souls, we put SO much of ourselves into our books, and to have someone not like our books can feel like they don’t like us. And that hurts. Or to have someone really, *really* not get something that seems so basic or true to us can feel really hard. But that’s when you go rant privately to your friends, or write a letter and burn it, or go eat a piece of chocolate, have a cry, or immerse yourself into one of your favorite feel-good books that always makes things better. You don’t, if you can help it, flip out on the reviewer. We all have books that just don’t work for us, and what is good writing is always, always subjective any way.

I just read a post by Beth Revis on how to deal with negative reviews, and I gotta say–I LOVE it. (She was already one of my favorite authors just for the quality of her books, but this post nudged her up a bit.) She reminds us that there are people out there who hate chocolate, and puppies, and things that most of us would love–AND there are people who hate your very favorite books (she tells you how to get proof) and so, if they hate those things, then of course there are people who hate your books. But there are also people who love them!

She says it much better than me, so go on over and check out her post.

What do you think? How do you deal with negative reviews? (Or with rejection, if you don’t have a book out.)

Dr Seuss political cartoons from WW II period show his voice so well

2012-05-31T21:18:03Z

The Mandeville Special Collections Library has scans of more than 400 cartoons that Dr. Seuss drew during WW II.
It’s cool to see cartoons that Dr Seuss drew, not from his books but in newspapers during wartime. You can clearly see his style–it’s so vivid–which to me is also like an author’s voice. If an artist or an author has a strong enough voice, you can pick it out anywhere. And that’s one of the things (in my opinion) that make a great writer or artist.

Found via Huff Post

Books Save Us

2012-05-28T17:12:00Z

Did you read the recent news story where a teen who was swept away into whitewater towards a waterfall used what he’d learned from a YA fantasy book–The Merchant of Death (a Pendragon book by D. J. McHale)– to save himself? No? Go check it out, then come back. Or better yet, stick with me for a bit, then go back and check it out.

It felt good to read that news story, and affirming. But it wasn’t surprising to me. I think books have been saving people for a long time, and in many different ways. Books can help us for hard things in life without having yet experienced them, help give us tools to cope when hard things do happen. They can also help us realize just how bad a decision we could make might be, like taking drugs or turning to prostitution–Ellen Hopkins’ books vividly show that, and I’ll bet many teens on reading her books are warned away from those choices on a deep level. And books can show us other options, other ways of coping with problems, other solutions.

I think children’s and teen books especially save people. Children and teens may not have anyone else to turn to but an author’s words in a book, especially for trauma such as abuse, but even without trauma. And children and teens are learning, growing, finding out about the world, hungry to know more. Books help guide and arm them. And most children’s and teen books have strong protagonists who are heroes, who make mistakes but who fight for good. And many children’s and YA books have hopeful or uplifting endings, inspiring the reader.

Books sure saved me as a child and teen being abused. Books were my escape from my life; they helped me dream and hope. But they also helped me believe that people could be good, kind, and caring, even when I saw no evidence of that in my life. I’ve heard similar things from many people–that books helped them survive, helped them get through rough times. Finding out you’re not alone, say, with a parent dying or killing themselves, or a sibling doing drugs.

Some of my own readers have written me, telling me that Scars helped them stop cutting, get help, or even keep from killing themselves. That’s incredible to me–something I’d hoped for! Books are powerful. They can help us know we’re not alone on a very deep level, sometimes for the first time in our lives. They can help us believe in other people, trust them, believe in ourselves.

And they can help us navigate in this world, make better choices, and know what to do in a crisis where we might not have known what to do otherwise. (I once helped a diabetic girl who would have gone into a coma if I hadn’t known how to respond–and I only understood because of all the books I’d read.) We absorb books, we take in the knowledge, the learned experiences, the wisdom, and we use it to build onto our selves.

Books are powerful tools. And they help save lives every day.

#YASaves

YA & children’s ebooks on sale on Amazon (until May 31st) All $2.99 & under

2012-05-26T15:44:44Z

Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman, $1.99 (89% off)

Lucien is very sick with cancer and struggles with his parents’ worry every day. But each night, through a magical gift from his father, his mind is transported to an enchanting city, Bellezza, a parallel city to Venice of our world. In Bellezza, Lucien discovers that he is a Stravagante, a rare person able to travel through worlds while sleeping.

Befriended by a local girl and protected by an older Stravagante, Lucien uncovers a plot to murder the city’s beloved ruler, the Duchessa. But to save the Duchessa and the city Lucien risks his only chance to return home to family and his real life.

The well-paced, thick-with-plot story will hook the reader immediately and not let go until the superb, unexpected end. City of Masks is the first in the acclaimed Stravaganza series from the gifted Mary Hoffman.

Ruling Passion (Drake Chronicles) by Alyxandra Harvey, $1.99 (80% off). With 3 books it’s about $0.66 a book.

Includes 3 books, the first 3 in the Drake series: Hearts at Stake, Blood Feud, and Out for Blood.

Readers will meet Solange Drake, her best friend Lucy, and the irresistible Drake brothers–the royal family of vampires whose matriarch is next in line for the throne. The Drakes must keep peace in their town of Violet Hill as warring vampire factions vie for power, and as Solange falls in love with Kieran Black a handsome vampire hunter and Lucy falls for Nicolas Drake. The hot romance and kick-butt action will keep readers coming back for more.

Ship of Souls by Zetta Elliott (80% off)

When Dmitri, an eleven-year-old bird-watcher and math whiz, loses his mother to breast cancer, he is taken in by Mrs. Martin, an elderly white woman. Unaccustomed to the company of kids his own age, D struggles at school and feels like an outcast until a series of unexpected events changes the course of his life.
First, D is asked to tutor the school’s basketball star, Hakeem, who will get benched unless his grades improve. Against the odds, the two boys soon realize they have something in common: they are both taunted by kids at school, and they both have a crush on Nyla, a beautiful but fierce eighth-grade girl. Then Nyla adopts D and invites him to join her entourage of “freaks.” Finally, D discovers an injured bird and brings it home from the park.

D is stunned when the strange bird speaks to him and reveals that she is really a guiding spirit that has been held hostage by ghost soldiers who died in Brooklyn at the start of the American Revolution. As Nuru’s chosen host, D must carry her from Brooklyn to the African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan, but the ghost soldiers won’t surrender their prize without a fight.

With the help of Hakeem and Nyla, D battles the Nether Beings who lurk underground, feeding off centuries of rage and pain. But it takes an unexpected ally to help the trio reach the ship that will deliver the innocent souls of the dead back to Nuru’s realm. An urban fantasy infused with contemporary issues and historical facts, Ship of Souls by Zetta Elliott will keep teen readers gripped until the very end.

Dead Girl in Love by Linda Joy Singleton, $1.99 (80% off)

Oh, wow—I’m my own best friend.
Or at least, I’m in her body!

Okay, this assignment will be quick and easy. Thanks, Grammy! See, my dead grandmother keeps finding people who have big problems and then I have the freaky experience of stepping into their life—and their body!—to provide help. This time, I’m in the body of my BFF, Alyce.

Since Alyce and I know everything about each other, I won’t have to do a lot of detective work, which is a definite plus. But, as Alyce, I’ve got some really pressing questions to answer—starting with, What am I doing in this coffin?

Witch Ball (The Seer Series) by Linda Joy Singleton, $1.99 (80% off)

Sabine is finally starting to feel accepted at her new high school. She’s friends with the popular girls and even has a cute boyfriend. But Sabine also has a dark secret-she’s psychic, and was forced to leave her old school after she accurately predicted the death of a football player.

Volunteering with her friends to help run the psychic booth at their school’s fundraising carnival, Sabine discovers too late that the fake crystal ball she meant to bring has been mysteriously switched. In its place is the strange “witch ball” she locked away after her grandmother refused to have it in the house. Now the haunted witch ball’s predictions are coming true, and Sabine must solve the mystery before its final prediction-her own death-becomes a deadly reality.

Finalist for the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Visionary Fiction Book

The Latte Rebellion by $1.99

Hoping to raise money for a post-graduation trip to London, Asha Jamison and her best friend Carey decide to sell T-shirts promoting the Latte Rebellion, a club that raises awareness of mixed-race students.

But seemingly overnight, their “cause” goes viral and the T-shirts become a nationwide social movement. As new chapters spring up from coast to coast, Asha realizes that her simple marketing plan has taken on a life of its own—and it’s starting to ruin hers. Asha’s once-stellar grades begin to slip, threatening her Ivy League dreams, while her friendship with Carey hangs by a thread. And when the peaceful underground movement spins out of control, Asha’s school launches a disciplinary hearing. Facing expulsion, Asha must decide how much she’s willing to risk for something she truly believes in.

Unforgettable by Loretta Ellsworth, $1.99, (88% off)

Baxter Green isn’t like everyone else. While most people would forget about the little details of everyday life, Baxter never forgets—not pain, not hurt, not embarrassment. In fact, Baxter never forgets anything—not even a string of account numbers, flashed before his eyes by his mother’s criminal boyfriend, Dink, for use in a credit card scam. Years after his testimony has locked Dink away, Baxter and his mother are in a new town, trying to forget the danger Dink brought into their lives. Baxter wants to hide his unique ability, but it becomes increasingly more difficult when he reconnects with Hallie, a girl from his childhood who has lived on in his memory long after she has forgotten him. Can Baxter win Hallie’s heart? Loretta Ellsworth’s newest novel is one readers will never forget.

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers, $2.99 (84% off)

Perfect Parker Fadley isn’t so perfect anymore. She’s quit the cheerleading squad, she’s dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she’s failing school. Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she’s playing games…but what they don’t know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn’t something she can say out loud. It isn’t even something she can say to herself. A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault. If she can just remove herself from everybody–be totally alone–then everything will be okay…The problem is, nobody will let her.

Before, After, and Somebody In Between by Jeannine Garsee, $1.99, 78% off

Martha Kowalski is a quick-witted girl stuck in a bad situation. She’s just moved to the slums of Cleveland with an alcoholic mother and Momma’s new gun-loving, redneck boyfriend. Yes, there are pockets of goodness in her new life–a friend at school, a boy who lives upstairs, and cello lessons–but every day is filled with abuse from the unrelenting life of the ghetto. One day, Martha finds herself out on the street, and that’s when her luck changes. A wealthy family invites her to live with them and within days she is enrolled in private school, is outfitted in the perfect new wardrobe, and is falling for the cutest guy she’s ever seen! But life isn’t so simple, and soon Martha realizes that she’s not the only one with a past.

Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein, $1.99 (80% off)

Lady Catherine is one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite court maidens—until her forbidden romance with Sir Walter Ralegh is discovered. In a bitter twist of irony, the jealous queen banishes Cate to Ralegh’s colony of Roanoke, in the New World. Ralegh pledges to come for Cate, but as the months stretch out, Cate begins to doubt his promise and his love. Instead it is Manteo, a Croatoan Indian, whom the colonists—and Cate—increasingly turn to. Yet just as Cate’s longings for England and Ralegh fade and she discovers a new love in Manteo, Ralegh will finally set sail for the New World. Seamlessly weaving together fact with fiction, Lisa Klein’s newest historical drama is an engrossing tale of adventure and forbidden love—kindled by one of the most famous mysteries in American history: the fate of the settlers at Roanoke, who disappeared without a trace forty years before the Pilgrims would set foot in Plymouth.

The Twin’s Daughter, $1.99 (88% off)

Lucy Sexton is stunned when her mother’s identical twin sister shows up at the family’s front door one day. Separated at birth, the two women have had dramatically different upbringings, and Lucy’s mother, Aliese, will do anything to make it up to Helen-including taking Helen into their home and turning her into a lady that all of society will admire. Aunt Helen’s transformation is remarkable. But is it just Lucy’s imagination, or does Helen seem to enjoy being mistaken for Lucy’s mother? Then, on New Year’s Day, Lucy is horrified to find her aunt and mother tied to chairs in the parlor. One of them has been brutally murdered-but which twin has died? Surely her daughter will know…

Filled with shocking twists and turns, The Twin’s Daughter is an engrossing gothic novel of betrayals and secrets that will keep readers guessing until the end.

Writer Duane Lester challenged those who violated his copyright

2012-05-24T15:27:38Z

Have you had your copyright violated, your work reprinted without your permission? Writer/blogger Duane Lester did–a Missouri newspaper reprinted one of his blog posts from All American Blogger without his permission. Watch the video below to see what he did about it.

I love that Duane Lester stood up for his rights as a writer. What do you think?

found via GalleyCat

New graphic novel on teen bullying and suicide, with a superhero bent

2012-05-24T00:17:38Z

Okay–this looks exciting to me–a graphic novel about a teen who’s being bullied, who tries to escape into a superhero alter ego, and who also contemplates suicide. I SO identify with all of those things! It’s called The Power Within, and it’s written by Charles “Zan” Christensen and drawn by Mark Brill, and published by NorthWest Press.

There are also bonus pages by some big names in the comic business: including Gail Simone (Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey), Phil Jimenez (New X-Men, Wonder Woman), Greg Rucka (Detective Comics, Gotham Central), Matthew Clark (Outsiders, Wonder Woman), Stephen Sadowski (JSA, Warlord of Mars), Dan Parent (Archie, Kevin Keller), Donna Barr (The Desert Peach), Andy Mangels (Gay Comics, Iron Man: Beneath the Armor) and Carla Speed McNeil (FINDER).

Teachers, librarians, and youth services can get copies of this by writing the publisher at this link.

I think good books and comics are needed about bullying and suicide, and I also think the superhero and comic element can help make it appealing to teens. What do you think? Would this appeal to you/have appealed to you? It would have to me.

I wish there was ONE open-format platform for all ebooks without DRM

2012-05-18T15:51:54Z

I LOVE my Kindle, don’t get me wrong. Being able to instantly download books, no matter where I am, having access to a huge library, being able to carry so many books without adding to the weight. It’s a delight. BUT I’ve bought ebooks from various platforms over time, and I find it really irritating that I can’t easily transfer ebooks from other platforms to my Kindle, or from my Kindle to other ebook readers, without using third-party software.

I don’t think it should be like that. A book should be a book. Once you buy it, it should be yours to enjoy on any device you want to, and lend to who you want. I am probably in the minority of authors who think like that, but it just seems wrong to me to have closed-formats for ebooks. It’s frustrating for the consumer, because you can get locked in to the specific ebook reader you buy, or you can’t easily lend a book, the way you can when you buy paper books. And you can’t easily comparison shop, like say between B&N and Amazon, for the same ebook, without running into problems if you have only one ebook reading device.

I understand wanting some restrictions, but I think if we made it easier for people to read ebooks, no matter what ebook reader they have, and easier for people to lend their ebooks (and then get them back), we might find people buying and sharing and getting excited about books even more.

Some publishers have already put this into practice, like Baen, but they are in the minority.

What are your thoughts on this?

Tamora Pierce loves Scars!

2012-05-18T00:23:37Z

Oh my GOSH! Tamora Pierce, one of my favorite authors, named SCARS as one of her favorite YA books of 2011! (beaming and beaming) It’s such a thrill when an author whose work you love, loves your work as well! I am floored. Thrilled!

And I’m also in a list with a bunch of other authors I love and admire, including Laurie Halse Anderson, Gail Giles, Nancy Garden, Pam Bachorz, Eva Ibbotson, Jackie Morse Kessler, Melinda Metz, and, and, and!

WOWza.

By the way, if you like strong girl characters and fantasy, and you’ve never read Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series with Alanna, or The Immortals series with Daine, you need to pick them up. They rock.

Packaging Your Imagination (writer & illustrator) conference registration now open in Toronto

2012-05-17T21:23:49Z

Are you a children’s or YA writer (or illustrator) in Toronto? Check out CANSCAIP’s Packaging Your Imagination conference. Registration is now open. Lots of fantastic authors giving workshops, including Tim Wynne-Jones, Lena Coakley, Carolyn Beck, Allan Stratton, Richard Scrimger, and more.

New lesbian superhero (comic book) on the scene!

2012-05-16T16:05:18Z

I love comics. I always have. I love the way they help me dream and believe in good winning, in cruelty being stopped, in wrongs being righted. I love the strength, the courage, the bravery of superheroes, and their desire to make things right–something that I think is also often true in YA protagonists, especially in YA fantasy (and I cover a broad spectrum there) but also in realistic YA. But comics…they have a special, separate place in my heart.

So I was so excited and happy to read DC’s new Batwoman comic which won this year’s GLAAD award for an outstanding comic book. I can’t remember reading another mainstream lesbian superhero–or ANY, actually. Catwoman was lesbian (before the newest reincarnation), but she wasn’t exactly a hero (or exactly a villain). Batwoman (aka Kate Kane) is pure hero–trying to protect kids, people, and do the right thing–AND she’s dating (Detective Sawyer). An active lesbian, not just a token character, with her own book, and a character I really like so far? It feels like treasure!

I think it’s so important that there are good queer characters in books, comics, TV, and movies that we can relate to. We need reflections of our own experiences, and I also think that it helps to normalize us for people who aren’t queer. It also gives a more accurate reflection of our world and is more inclusive. And when I think of all the readers it could help, teens and adults who may feel so alone in being queer, or are facing homophobia–I am so grateful for this series! Comics can be a great escape, and they can also be a great inspiration.

Comics have long been missing queer characters, and not many have had their own books. So this is very, very cool. I have waited SO long for a lesbian superhero, and one I could relate to–and so far, I have NOT been disappointed! Thank you DC!

Missed out on this series? There’s a hardcover edition coming out in June that collects issues 0-5. Your local comic store (or online store) may also have copies. Or if you’re lucky, maybe your library will have copies.

Know of any lesbian superheroes I missed? Especially mainstream ones? Let me know. I’d also love to know about gay superheros.