Welcome to the New Cloud.

Who doesn’t love being able to retrieve documents from the ether whenever and wherever you need them?

The problem is, you’ve got to make choices about what you’ll throw up there, because Google Docs, iCloud, Box, SkyDrive, etc., all have storage limits.

And you have to plan ahead. Will you work on your YA manuscript today or your business proposal? Your CV or your blackmail letter?

WORRY NO LONGER.

Younity gives you access to everything on all your devices.

Srsly.

Younity calls itself  “Your Personal Cloud”, because no one has access to your files, documents, photos, videos, music, etc., except you–and whoever you wish to share them with. Your files are not stored on a remote computer, they stay put on your personal machines.

All you have to do is install the app on your desktop, laptop, iPhone, iPad, iPod and now, external hard drive. The settings let you choose whether everything on your device will be included in the scan, or only certain files. For instance, if more than one person uses the desktop, you can restrict the scan to your documents.

Younity checks for changes to the files every time each device is turned on, so you’ll get the latest iterations.

THEN. When you get where you’re going, you can look through your stuff, choose your weapon, and get to work.

BUT LISHA. MY IPHONE WON’T CARRY 100M GIGAWATTS OF INFO. THAT’S WHY I HAVE A DESKTOP.

Of course it won’t, silly. Your files aren’t actually ON your iPhone, it’s just a list. You only download the files you need.

THAT’S FRICKIN’ MAGIC, LISHA. WHAT’S THE CATCH?

You got me. There is a catch. This isn’t Hogwarts, you know.

I’m sorry. They. Are. Adorable.

Anyway.

To access files remotely, your iPhone as well as the device you’re trying to access must be connected to the internet. It only makes sense. If you are your own Cloud, that means you are your own remote storage unit. Sure, your desktop or laptop has to run all day, but you’ll have access to all your files, and your security is 100%.

I am loving Younity. Give it a try. Let me know what you think.

If if isn’t personal what the heck is it?

Author Interviews That Rock

Kimberley Griffiths Little

WHEN
THE BUTTERFLIES CAME

Here’s to Kimberley’s brand new, beautiful, bayou book! Keep on rocking, girl!

Click the pics for awesome Kimberley links!

Okay, Kimberley, tell the readers a little bit about  your book.

 My darling editor wrote this for the jacket flap, Goodreads and Amazon, and I think it’s terrific:

“Everybody thinks Tara Doucet has the perfect life. But Tara’s life is anything but perfect: Her dear Grammy Claire has just passed away, her mom is depressed and distant, and she and her sister, Riley, can’t agree on anything. But when mysterious and dazzling butterflies begin to follow her around after Grammy Claire’s funeral, Tara knows in her heart that her grandmother has left her one final mystery to solve. Tara finds a stack of keys and detailed letters from Grammy Claire. Note by note, Tara learns unexpected truths about her grandmother’s life. As the letters grow more ominous and the clues harder to decipher, Tara realizes that the secrets she must uncover could lead to grave danger. And when Tara and Riley are swept away to the beautiful islands of Chuuk to hear their grandmother’s will, Tara discovers the most shocking truth of all, one that will change her life forever.

Just to get us started, how old are you?

You can’t trick me into revealing secret, coded information! *wagging my finger* Let’s just say that I’m a few years older than most people think I am . . . which is niiice. I credit Mary Kay skin care products all the way.

What inspired you to write WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME?

I/We have a cultural fascination with butterflies. I think that’s because butterflies are beautiful and extraordinary creatures. Butterflies have this magical ability to “sleep/die” when a caterpillar becomes a chrysalis and then “resurrect” into a flying flower. I also wanted to know more about my character Tara Doucet from my book Circle of Secrets. She’s a modern day Scarlett O’Hara whose family still lives in their crumbling Doucet Mansion in the South along the bayou—and who hasn’t dreamed of being Scarlett! But she’s Scarlett with a touch of OCD and a bratty older sister—and a grandmother who’s a research scientist on an island in Micronesia.

 

 

Do you have a special affinity for the bayou and its rich culture?

I’ve been visiting the bayous of Louisiana for nearly 15 years. I love the people there as well as venturing into the wild and otherworldly swamp with the local fisherman. The people have such a fascinating history, too. Combine my love of history and the setting which spoke to me so powerfully from the very first visit, I’m now an adopted daughter of Miss Olive and Mister Elward Stephens, the most darling elderly couple outside of Morgan City. It was during my very first boat trip in the swamps, that I instantly began picturing Livie Mouton, a girl who grew up there with her own pirogue and baby alligator. I worked on that book for 8 years, a labor of love, until it finally sold to Scholastic in a huge MG deal. And even then, I never dreamed I’d end up writing three more novels about the swamps. It all happened quite accidently by my Muse.

How did you get into Cajun magic?

There was a tiny mention of traiteurs (French Cajun healers) in a history of Louisiana written by a professor at the University of Louisiana. It wasn’t more than a couple of sentences about healers who used herbal medicine back in the 1600-1700s—along with prayer to heal folks. As a person of strong faith, it fascinated me. I spent months/years digging and digging to find out more. Turns out it’s not a lost art confined to that time period when there weren’t doctors and hospitals out in the wilds, but still a living breathing skill used by many trained traiteurs today. I got to meet several of them in their homes as well as meet dozens of people who have been healed by them—people I’d talk to at hotels or museums or gas stations. It seemed that everybody knew a traiteur in the local neighborhood, or was related to one.

You often write about the love between mothers and daughters, why is that topic close to your heart?

Mother, daughter relationships are difficult to explain, difficult to quantify and they are usually complicated. But full of unconditional love, too. We want our mothers to know us and love us and understand us, but we also don’t want them reading our locked and hidden diary!

What about the theme of childhood guilt and its consequences calls to you?

All good books and stories are about change of some kind for the characters. Guilt can be a powerful motivator for ill—or good. It can also be a great catalyst for change in our lives. We all feel guilty about the mistakes or trespasses we’ve made, whether we’re children or adults, and yet we also desperately need to know that we’re still valued and that we’re loved. I believe it’s a universal theme for every age and every person. Forgiveness of one’s self and forgiveness of others is crucial for self-worth and peace and good relationships, and often is the hardest thing we ever have to do.

Do you have a favorite butterfly item, token, belonging?

Oh, my, I have lots. Butterfly blouses, necklaces, candles, charms . . . Here’s a picture!

 

 

How do you get into your characters heads?

I spend a LOT of time thinking about them. I try to get to know them from many different angles; their personality quirks, habits, their relationships with friends and family, their secrets, their motivations, and their problems, big and small. Many writers find it helpful to write diary entries or letters in their character’s voice—I’ve done that, too!—which helps the author get to know them better. It takes time to create a fully rounded character that feels like a real person. For me, it’s THE hardest writing skill and one I’ve spend years learning and honing.

What is most special about your protagonist in WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME?

Tara Doucet’s life is falling apart in so many ways, a life her mother has carefully crafted so nobody knows the family’s “dirty laundry”. And yet, Tara (a modern day Scarlett O’Hara) is stronger than she realizes. Her Grammy Claire is also a strong force in Tara’s life. Grammy Claire loves Tara unconditionally, she’s a smart research scientist, and she has a great sense of humor and vivacity for life. These characteristics have a great impact on Tara and she learns that she is stronger and tougher than she ever knew she could be as a pampered Southern plantation girl.

What made you want to write in the first place?

Great books were a powerful influence on me as a child. They often substituted as my “best friends” and instilled the dream from an early age.

What keeps you writing?

I have good writing days and bad ones and some days I don’t write at all because I’m lazy and the work can be daunting and hard, especially revision. Usually, it’s my characters clamoring for my attention, pushing me to write and bring them to life that keeps me going.

What is the best piece of writing advice you wish you were given?

Writing a LOT (thousands of pages) is the best factor in becoming a better writer. That 10,000 hour rule? Um, it really seems to be the main factor in seeing success. Some writers cram their 10,000 hours into 3-4 years while other writers take 10 years or more. I fall into the latter category, endlessly revising the same manuscripts at the beginning of my writing (self-taught education) – long before I knew other writers or the internet existed. I just wish I’d heard this advice or realized this fact twenty years ago! It would have saved me lots of frustration and head-banging sessions. 

How do you discipline yourself to keep at the writing?

Deadlines are strong motivators, ha! It’s true, but most of the time the disciplines come because I’m eager to see my imagined world and characters come to life on the page.

When did you decide, this is what I really want to do? I want to be a writer! Was there a particular ah-ha moment?

When I was a child. Books were so magical and powerful to me, I wanted to try to create that same magic one day. I also wanted to see my name in the card catalog at the library!

What is the most important thing for a writer to remember?

We’re all born with talent and ability to write, but spend time learning the craft of a publishable novel. There’s so many elements that need to come together to make it work. Don’t be in a rush to get published, it can only make you frustrated. Find a mentor to help you, go to conferences, take classes—and write a LOT. Write a book, do your best work, then write the next book, and then the next. I would say 95% of published novelists out there did not sell their first book, but their 3rd or their 4th. It’s like going to medical school. It takes time to learn to write a publishable book. Never stop learning and trying to improve. And, I guess, the *most* important thing is to enjoy the journey.

If you were to mentor other writers what wisdom would you find most helpful.

I think I may have answered this above. Writers today are very blessed with such a terrific online community of writers and agents and editors who are so accessible to help you along the way. Go find them (Google is your BF) and make friends and have fun. And be flexible. Many writers have to reinvent themselves at various times in their careers—even the bestselling writers! This “dirty little secret” is not talked about much and when I went through a terrible 7 year slump when I couldn’t seem to sell any of my novels (even though I was selling short stories to Cricket magazine) I was so alone and discouraged. Then I discovered other writers in various writing groups that had gone through the exact same *famine*. Every career has lots of ups and downs. Keep going despite all that, if you really want to write.

Do you belong to any cool writerly groups on or off line?

I used to belong to an online critique group and I’ve had live critique groups. Most come and go, depending on the other writer’s in the group commitment, but my one constant writer friend Carolee Dean and I have been critiquing and mentoring each other and giving each other encouragement for more than 10 years now—through many ups and downs. Barbara O’Connor, an extraordinary MG writer from Boston, is also a LONG time “pen- pal”. We’ve been corresponding regularly for 15 years and have never actually met in person. I helped launch the huge MG website “From the Mixed-Up Files . . . of Middle-Grade Authors” and I co-founded SPELLBINDERS, a weekly email newsletter geared to teachers/librarians/parents/homeschoolers. I also hang out a lot on Facebook!

Just for kicks… What are some of your favorite TV shows, movies?

I confess I have a guilty pleasure for HART OF DIXIE. It’s the only TV show I’ve watched in years. But my daughter has been dragging me onto the couch to watch ONCE UPON A TIME the last couple of months. Fun stuff!

If you could be a character from a book who would you be?

Maria Merryweather from Little White Horse because I *covet* her very cool bedroom. (Another favorite from childhood.) or Elizabeth Bennet from Pride &Prejudice because I think I’m just as in love with the Pemberly Estate as I am Mr. Darcy. I definitely have a *thing* for mansion houses, ever since I was very small.

As a child what was your favorite book?

HARRIET THE SPY – and it’s a true fact that my BFF Starr and I got notebooks and ran around spying on people and writing things down. I’m not sure we fooled anybody though.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A writer or a librarian. I NEEDED to be near books 24/7.

If your protagonist could give one piece of advice to your readers, what would it be?

Follow the butterflies . . . and your heart.

Is there a special Cajun spell you’d like to share with us?

Those are well-guarded secrets, actually. Information about the prayers (in old French, mind you) and herbal remedies are passed from one traiteur to another. So, since we don’t have that, I suggest using some essential oils, say a prayer or meditate, and you’ll feel a whole lot better – whatever ails you!

 

Other than writing, what do you like to do for fun? Hobbies?

I adore baking all kinds of goodies. Brownies, cookies, cinnamon rolls, pies, cakes. And I can eat them all day long. Used to be able to get away with it in my 20s – not anymore! I’m also a pianist and a belly-dancer. I love research trips and recently returned from Jordan and Israel, research for my upcoming YA trilogy which will debut from Harpercollins Fall of 2014, a delicious story about belly dance, the goddess Temple of Ashtoreth and tribal warfare in the ancient Middle East. (No firm title yet).

Any closing words of wisdom for other author-wannabees out there?

Read what you love. Write what you love. Share the love. And treasure your supportive writing friends.

Leave a comment on butterflies, Cajun magic, the bayou, or anything Kimberley to win a signed copy of WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME!

And there you have it! Personal and Real with Kimberley Griffiths Little!

“Thank you so much for this terrific interview, Pam, and to Ink & Angst for having me!” Any time Kimberley

Those two words inspire fear loathing in the hearts and minds of nearly all writers and teachers.

But here we are. It is happening, and we must deal with it.

If you’re writing non-fiction for YA peeps, then you already sure as heck know about it. But even fiction writers might want to find ways to write a common core tie-in guide to go with your manuscript. Teachers will be most grateful to have a reason to use your novel in their lesson plan.

Which makes you more salable.

History, science, math, language skills. The more common core standards you can tie into your novel the more chances you have to sell it to a room of 25 kids.

There are several apps out there about the standards and I vetted each of them. The only one worth your time is…drum roll please…

CORE TALK

This app doesn’t just link to Common Core Standards, it links to them by state. It also keeps up-to-date with news concerning the standards, as well as opportunities to learn more about them. Some of the workshops, lectures, and seminars are even online. Of course they’re mostly geared toward teachers and librarians, but as a fly on the wall, you might get a few ideas how to slant your teacher guide.

And also come away with loads of sympathy for teachers and librarians.

I hear this a lot. It’s sound advice—the more you do anything the more you’ll improve—but it sounds like one of those throwaway phrases. Mind over matter, an apple a day, what doesn’t kill you, yadda yadda. All true in the general hey-grass-is-green! kind of true—quaint, cute, and not particularly helpful. It doesn’t help sentence structure or map how to overcome plot holes or write about characters a reader wants to spend a book with. It doesn’t detail how to juggle the limited daylight hours, or improve voice. It just smiles and floats with cheshire superiority, while we wonder why it can’t go be helpful somewhere else.

There’s a similar mantra in the running world: run more. The advice varies on the definition of “more”—more miles, more hills, more intervals (speed work)—and there are whole debates on “quality miles” vs “junk miles,” but the principle is the same. Running feeds running.

I run a lot. (Well, a lot for a Joe Schmo as apposed to a professional athlete). My standard is ten miles, and I rarely do less than six. Which may sound impressive to non-runners, but in the community most of those would be considered “junk miles.” Slow and steady, without speed work or tempos, little (if any) attention paid to pace. I just run.

A couple weeks ago, I ran a relay. A very hilly 12.9mi relay I meant to treat as a training run. Except I was scattered at the start, took off too fast (the ultimate sin), and kept going. The last time I’d tried that, in a 10k, I had to walk the last mile. This time I just…kept going.

I finished at a pace over a minute faster than what I usually run without even trying. A pace that’d put me at a sub-two hour half marathon—one of my goals for 2013. A goal I wasn’t too confident I’d reach. But now…

My next race was the next weekend. I prepared. The right pre-race nutrition, the right gels, the right timing and focus. The race’s pace groups were locked in, and mine was in the 2:30 range, but no matter. I’d be my own pace group.

By mile 10, I’d caught up with my target 2:00 pace group. By mile 11, I’d passed them. I finished my second ever half marathon at a pace 17s faster than my fastest 5k. Maintained a speed for 13.1 miles that before had nearly killed me for 3.1—without feeling like I was going to die.

The difference? 722 miles logged. That’s it. No speedwork, no thought to lactate thresholds or heat rate zones. Simply feet-on-road.

Or butt-in-chair.

Author Interviews That Rock

Julie Cross

TEMPEST
& VORTEX

Click the pics for awesome Julie links!

Okay Julie, tell the readers a little bit about  your books.

Tempest is the first book in a young adult trilogy that follows my main character, 19 year old Jackson Meyer, as he jumps through time (literally), to learn about his past and to try and save the his girlfriend, Holly. Vortex is the sequel to Tempest and it releases in the US on January 15, 2013.

Just to get us started, how old are you?

I’m 32.5 years old

What inspired you to write TEMPEST & VORTEX?

The concept for Tempest came in layers as I worked with my now editor, Brendan Deneen. My idea started with a sort of time travel story that was also about aliens and gymnastics. His idea was to acquire a teen version of The Time Traveler’s Wife. Tempest is a story that emerged from both our creative brains.

Why time travel?

The type of time travel is Tempest appealed to me as writer because I love the idea of having a character revisit moments of his or her own past. The scenes where Jackson visits years that his twin sister, who died of cancer at 14, was still alive were so emotionally powerful to write. That’s probably what made me fall in love with writing time travel.

What made you want to write in the first place?

I started writing in May of 2009. I think I was mostly looking for an escape from everyday life. The kind of escape you get from an amazing book. I read a lot and there were moments when I wanted to change the course of a book. It dawned on me that I could write my own story.

What keeps you writing?

I wish I knew the answer to that question. Once I started, I just could stop. In fact, I waited to get bored with it, to quit, but so far that hasn’t happened. It’s challenging and stimulating in a way that I hadn’t experienced before and I feel like there’s always something more to learn. It’s amazing to discover your passion, even at 29 years old. Truly amazing.

What is the best piece of writing advice you were ever given?

My first instinct is to say, Read a lot. But that’s the piece of advice I often give to writers who ask me this question, but I already read a lot so I didn’t need to hear that particular advice myself. I’d have to say reading Stephen King’s book, On Writing and the part (don’t quote me or anything) where he says something along the lines of, most importantly, you have to write a good story. It just meant that I didn’t need to feel intimidated by the idea of finding big words and creating mind-blowing symbolism and metaphors. Or even understand contracts and the publishing industry before beginning a novel. I just needed to write a good story. 

How do you discipline yourself to keep at the writing?

I only have to discipline myself to up with other aspects of my life…laundry, exercise, grocery shopping, cleaning, my kids’ homework and activities. The writing part so far doesn’t require discipline. 

When did you decide, this is what I really want to do? I want to be a writer! Was there a particutlar ah-ha moment?

When I was offered a three book deal with St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne Books, all I had were questions and confusion and many of them my editor couldn’t answer right away as I searched for an agent, but he sent me an email that said basically, “Just keep in mind, from this day on YOU. ARE. GOING. TO. BE. A. PUBLISHED. AUTHOR” and he wrote it just like that and it hit me that no matter what, whether I wrote forever or not, I’d be known as a published author. That was truly my aha moment.

What is the most important thing for a writer to remember?

There is almost never one clear answer, one clear path, one right way to do anything, to tell any story, and to interpret any story. Open your mind to the realm of possibilities and don’t dwell on the impossibilities and improbabilities and all things that begin with a negative.

Do you belong to any cool writerly groups on or off line?

I’ve recently been emailing with some YA authors that I’ve met at events and doing some beta reading and critique.

If you were to mentor other writers what wisdom would you find most helpful.

I like honest critique, even brutally honest. I’m one who can handle it just fine. But I realize others need to work in phases. I think the idea of being able to pitch a story in a sentence is so helpful to new writers. Even if you figure everything out in your story and it doesn’t quite fit into a one-line mold, chances are you’ve worked out some issues while trying to get it narrowed a bit. It took me such a long time to figure out what it meant to be able to summarize a story in a short statement. Whenever I couldn’t do this, there was always something wrong with my plot. If you can address this even before you begin writing, it could be a huge factor in getting a finished product that can actually be sold.

Just for kicks… What are some of your favorite TV shows, movies?

My current favorite shows are GLEE, Dance Moms, The Voice, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, Falling Skies. My movie favorites are very all over the place, I almost never go to the theater (just for the big ones like Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Twilight, ect…). I love comedies and I’ll watch any cheesy romantic comedy, even the DCOM and ABC Family ones. I typically write/read edgy, emotionally heavy and sometimes intense thrillerish stuff so that must be why I choose the lighter movie/TV options.

If you could be a character from a book who would you be?

Katniss Everdeen. Hands down. I need her survival skills. I’m assuming while taking over her body, I’d also be allowed to acquire the knowledge stored up in her brain?

Last movie you saw at the theater?

Hunger Games

What is your favorite board game?

Monopoly.

How do you get into your characters heads?

Good question. I’m not sure, but I’m sure that I do get in their heads and become them. I leave myself and my views and opinions completely in the dust.  

What is most special about your protagonist?

For Jackson, it’s his potential to be great, however sometimes I’d have to say that comes in second to watching him fail in the process of reaching his potential. It took me a while to realize how much I wanted him to experience the struggle to be great just as much as I wanted to see him get there.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so what gets you motivated?

I usually don’t listen to music, but I could if I wanted to. I’m pretty relaxed about my writing place and time. I can shut out the world around me even if it’s quite hectic.

Other than writing, what do you like to do for fun? Hobbies?

Reading. I also love running. I’m really great at it but it brings a different challenge and a lot of clarity within the creative part of my brain.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A teacher. Always a teacher. But the type of teacher changed constantly.

If your protagonist could give one piece of advice to your readers what would it be?

Always prepare for the worst. Write everything important down in notebook that you always have on you.

What would your villain/villains have to say about that?

Well…I suppose they would support this advice fully. They are very intelligent and capable people. Unfortunately.

Any closing words of wisdom for other author-wannabees out there?

Enjoy the freedom of writing just for you even if publication is your end goal. If you enjoy reading books in your genre and you create a story that you enjoy reading there’s a good chance other people will like it, too.

And there you have it! Personal and Real with Julie Cross!

Check out Tempest & Vortex on Goodreads-http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13364300-vortex

Since last Thursday there have been three deaths of young people that I had either known since childhood or knew through association. The first was a boy I’ve known since we were kids who passed away after a long battle with Muscular Dystrophy. The second was the husband of a former coworker, a state trooper killed on duty. The third, a son of my mom’s coworker, died in a pool accident at the tender age of three. A lot of sadness in a short period of time.

At the same time, teen suicides in our area have spiked (three in three weeks), and we’ve been instructed to be extra diligent in watching for the signs of depression in our students.

As I was dressing for a funeral this morning, I was thinking about how a person deals with the death of a loved one, especially one they expected to have more time with. How does a young widow deal with the sudden violent loss of her husband, or a parent explain the loss of a son to a surviving child?

These thoughts led me to really examine the responsibility we have as writers for children. It often falls to us to tackle tough subjects. Divorce. Heartbreak. Drugs.

Death.

We walk the fine line of being realistic, but not so upsetting as to traumatize. We want kids going through something tough to relate but find hope, because in the end you aren’t writing about death. You are writing about life, and how to keep living it in the face of such pain.

What do you think? How do you feel about the responsibility of children’s book authors? Do you feel the weight of it when you write?

Odette is a young Jewish girl living in Paris during a dangerous time. The Nazis have invaded the city, and every day brings new threats.

After Odette’s father enlists in the French army and her mother joins the Resistance, Odette is sent to the countryside until it is safe to return.

On the surface, she leads the life of a regular girl—going to school, doing chores, and even attending Catholic Mass with other children. But inside, she is burning with secrets about the life she left behind and her true identity.

Inspired by the life of the real Odette Meyers—and written in moving free-verse poetry—this is a story of courage, of determination to survive, and of a young girl forced to hide in plain sight.

Now, welcome Maryann!

When rewriting the story to historical fiction, what about the blank verse format grabbed you the most as a way to tell the story?

I was trying to tell the story in Odette’s childhood voice, from her point-of-view. I knew that she loved poetry and thought it’s beauty was one of the things that helped her survive her ordeal in the Vendee. She also married a poet in later life, and wrote poetry herself. So I decided to try to tell Odette’s story in the voice of a little girl with poetic sensibility.

Odette’s Secrets is full of fascinating details of daily life at the time. Did much of those come from Odette’s life in particular?

Yes, absolutely! All of the details about the food they ate, the toys Odette had and the games she played and the things her family did, such as visiting the public baths on a weekly basis, are taken from her memoir.

The picture of Papa Odette kept throughout the war.

I found photographs to go with every section of the book…wonderful images of rural life in the Vendee in the 1940′s, of a merry go round in Paris during the occupation…even of toy soldiers wearing German and French uniforms from the period! I would like to have included all of these because I think readers would have enjoyed them…but there just wasn’t room. Also, my editor and I were unsure about using any photographs, since the book is classed as historical fiction, although based very closely on a true story. So in the end, we decided to use just a few because we loved them and thought readers would, too.

I really love the questions of identity raised throughout, especially after the war. What drew you to this thread, and what did you think about when pulling it through the story?

Many years ago I read a book called The Informed Heart by the psychiatrist Bruno Bettleheim, who had survived life in a concentration camp. In the book, he talks about the different kinds of people in the camps, and those who were most likely to survive. It was his conclusion that people who felt they were being persecuted for a reason were much hardier. Jewish people who didn’t feel Jewish had an extremely difficult time.

This was Odette’s predicament, and the predicament of many of the secular Jews living in France at that time. Often, they just didn’t identify themselves strongly as Jews. So I thought it was fascinating to follow Odette’s evolving awareness of her identity and to see how she “found” herself.

Most of your stories are picture books. What drew you to Odette’s as a middle grade?

It would be difficult to tell Odette’s story for a picture book audience, since it’s quite complex and there are some very dark moments. But middle grade readers are beginning to learn about the Holocaust, and I think this particular story has enough hopeful elements, such as the fact that Odette and her immediate family survive, to make it appropriate for that audience.

Odette’s Secrets is not my first middle grade novel, however. That was FATSO JEAN, THE ICE CREAM QUEEN, a book about an imaginary child whose suffering comes from being overweight. I’ve written four or five chapter books as well, and have recently written a YA.

Odette is sweater knit by Mama and jumper made by Madame Marie.

The most exciting moment was meeting Jacques Raffin, one of the members of Odette’s adopted family in the Vendee! When my husband and I made the trip there, we didn’t expect to even find the exact house she lived in in Chavagnes-en-Pailliers, but we did, and still living there was Jacques, one of the family members. He invited us in and showed us the kitchen where Odette smelled the delicious soup cooking on the stove and the garden where the children played with the pigeons. It was thrilling for me!

But the place that spoke to me the most deeply was the apartment building where Odette lived, which is still standing on the rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud in the 11th arrondissment in Paris. The window Odette leaned out of each morning is still there, and so is the cobblestoned square with the splashing fountain and the statue of the Thinker. I loved going there and imagining the events that took place there.

What do you hope readers will cling to most (the images/ideas they can’t get out of their heads)?

I hope young readers will understand and be touched by Odette’s struggle to find herself, body and soul, in such a difficult and dangerous time.

How was writing this story different from your other books?

It was different in that I felt such a great responsibility to be true to Odette and her real thoughts and feelings. Most of my other protagonists have been imaginary, except for Mary Lou Williams, the jazz musician my sister Ann Ingalls and I wrote about in The Little Piano Girl some years ago.

Which was your favorite scene/moment/poem from Odette’s life?
There are so many! I love the scene between Madame Marie and Odette after she plays hooky, and I love the tense broom closet scene with Mama. But most of all, I guess, I love the scene at the Pere LaChaise Cemetery when Odette embraces the grieving woman:

My heart tells me what to do…
it’s so simple.
Let this woman be your mother.
Be her daughter.
So I hug her.
I stroke her back as a lost-and-found daughter would.
I am every Jewish daughter who has died.
She is every Jewish mother who has lost a child.

What books/projects are you working on now?

I always have some ideas simmering, and have recently written a YA novel that takes place in Paris. It’s about a young fashionista who finds herself time-travelling when she wears vintage clothing.

I also have a picture book called The Christmas Cat coming out with Dial next autumn. It’s based on a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, one that I saw at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In the drawing, Mary is holding Jesus, who is playing with a fat, squirming cat. When I saw this drawing, I wondered if Jesus had ever had a pet and, if so, what might their relationship have been like?

That’s the fun of writing…there’s always something else to wonder about, always something new to explore!

Pick up Odette’s Secrets from Indiebound, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble!

Visit Maryann at maryannmacdonald.com

Ahhh… you may be surprised.

After being copyedited, here are some of the brilliant contributions and observations made by my copyeditor. As you’ll see, her job is a whole lot more than patrolling my manuscript for misuse of commas!

Fact checking: Would my heroine actually be able see the traffic light at the intersection from her front porch? Where is her house situated within the neighborhood, and what might obstruct that view? Does the Honda Civic actually have four doors or would the person in the front seat have to get out to let someone in the backseat? Does this make/model have a handbrake, or is it located on the floor? Would planes be landing or taking off from the north end of the runway at airport X at this time of year? What landmarks would the MC be able to see from this vantage point? A copyeditor will take a fine tooth comb to these kinds of details, to make sure the logic is tight, and keep a savvy reader from tripping up on factual inconsistencies.

Consistency:  It’s the middle of June in Washington, DC and it’s HOT! Why is this character wearing a jacket? We changed the year of the story from 2012 to 2014. Did the days of the week also change to reflect the change in year? The MC was standing in a grassy field. Why did the bat clatter when she dropped it? Basically, the copyeditor is looking at every detail through a microscope to make sure the transitions, descriptions, characterizations, and setting details are consistent throughout the book.

Redundancy: I was amazed by the phrases and words that repeatedly surfaced in my story. Sometimes, it takes someone pointing out that you’ve used the word “tingled” twelve times in the book, or “eyes” three times in one paragraph, to make these echoes clear. While these might be simple catches for a copyeditor, some redundancies are tougher to spot. For instance, did this character frown and scratch their head three pages ago? If so, which of these can be omitted or replaced?

Punctuation/Grammar: Punctuation is what most people probably think of when they think of editing. Italics, hyphens, and commas… oh my! But there’s more to this process than most people assume. For instance, a great copyeditor will identify grammar and punctuation issues within the context of the authorial or character voice. For instance, if your character speaks vernacular, or thinks in fragmented sentences, the editor can help decipher which grammar and punctuation errors were likely to be intentional and contribute to the authenticity of the voice, versus those that detract from the flow of the story.

Dialog: Sometimes, the trickiest part of writing dialog is tagging it. Who’s speaking? Who’s responding? Is it clear? The copyeditor will identify any hiccups in the dialog, and point out ways to clarify tags to keep the reader immersed in the story.

So here you have it… copyediting in a nutshell. Next stop, design, launch, and first pass pages! More on all that soon.

Then it was absolutely true. Now it isn’t.

I used to say I could never listen to an audiobook while running, because books didn’t drown out my breath like music did. If I heard myself breathe I’d panic. A nifty little fact I’d discovered the hard way. I even had problems in the pauses between songs.

Now I can’t remember when I listened to music during a run. Are you kidding? That’s my reading time.

Yesterday at the running store, I chatted with one of the employees while buying new shoes. “I need to run in the morning,” I said. “So I’m only half awake for the first few miles.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I used to be that way, but now I run whenever.”
And I thought, hey, I’m doing it again.

Running early suits me, I hate being too awake on training days—all the afternoon/evening/pop-an-energy-gel-before-hand runs to date haven’t been my best or most enjoyed. “I need to run in the morning” is a true statement.

It just may not be true next year.

Too often we back ourselves into corners. Assume that what worked for us or our writing with this book this month is the one and only thing that will work with all our books ever. Which assumes we won’t grow. That our capabilities won’t expand as our training increases and improves. It doesn’t take age or experience gained into account.

But life isn’t static. Neither are we.