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I regret that I'm no photographer, but I attempted some shots over on the beach the other day when the ocean was wild and the wind wilder. And here's our foster buddy, Hobbs. I think he's going to find a good home this Thurs., which will hopefully be a happy end to his sad story. Apparently, his owner was sent to a nursing home and he and his brother were just left to starve by her sons. They wandered the refuge until they came upon a wolf trap, and of course went after the bait b/c they were starving. Hobbs dragged the trap around on his leg for two days before he was finally tracked down and taken to the vet. Poor dude. |
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I know it's usually Thursdays that get the "thankful" posts, but what the hey, I'm jumping ahead ;-). First, thanks to everyone who responded to my call out for music recommendations. I'm punching in the songs/bands on iTunes and coming up with a playlist for Cat and Bones, book five. I don't listen to the radio, which means I miss out on a lot of new bands/songs, plus I'm terrible at keeping up with knowing when bands I do like have new albums coming out. So, your recs are much appreciated! Getting everything off in the mail from the contests I ran for Halloween. Yes, I'm a little slow, so please forgive me. The total prizes ended up being 45 books and 10 cover flats given away. Thanks so much to everyone who participated! I feel sad when I get emails that say, "I never win in any of your contests!" but there are far more entrants than prizes available, so all I can do is continue to run contests and hope people's luck changes. Speaking of that, I'll have another contest in December for ARC's of FIRST DROP OF CRIMSON, which is Night Huntress World book one. Hey, maybe some of you have been saving up your luck for this one ;-). And speaking of thankful, I received an email from my editor that really made my day. She wrote to give me an update on reprints for my series. As it stands, HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is in its 10th printing, ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE is in its 8th printing, AT GRAVE'S END is in its 6th printing, and DESTINED FOR AN EARLY GRAVE is in its 4th printing (considering DESTINED has only been out for four months, I'm kinda speechless by that). Initial print runs reflect what a publisher expects to sell combined with what book stores preorder, but to me, reprints are all about reader word-of-mouth, which makes them extra awesome. So thank you SO MUCH, readers! Without you spreading the word about my series, none of these reprints would have happened. Please consider yourselves smooched! :D |
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Compliment of Steampunk Family. It was pleasure to renew and make new acquaintances it that lovely setting.
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 Michael Hemphill: "I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, but didn't know much about the Civil War until my wife and I moved to Virginia in 1997."Here in Virginia, I worked as a newspaper reporter (where I met Sam) until 2000 when the first of our three daughters was born. Since, I've been a stay-at-home dad, directed a nonprofit, worked in public relations at a local university, co-owned a Civil War battlefield tour company, and now have written--er, co-written--my first children's book." Sam Riddleburger: "I've been a weed boy, a scientist's assistant, a librarian, a prep cook, a lawnmower parts factory worker, a semi-pro juggler and a reporter. Now, I'm a newspaper columnist, a restaurant critic and a kids' book writer. "My first book is called The Qwikpick Adventure Society (Dial, 2007). No time travel, just three friends having the smelliest and best day of their lives." Visit Sam, and read Sam's blog. What led you to write for young readers? MH: I've always loved YA books--starting of course with The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (Harper, 1950-1956) and Tolkein but also the Walter Farley Black Stallion series (1941), Madeleine L'Engle, etc. For some reason, my writing projects have tended to be more Serious (capital S) and Adult (capital A). They were also quite Unsuccessful and, quite frankly, Unenjoyable. But then Sam and I got to talking, Stonewall came into being, and I loved every minute of the writing. SR: When I was in the fifth and sixth grade I was a reading maniac. The stuff inside the books by people like John Christopher, Daniel Pinkwater and Helen Cresswell was just blowing my mind. That's who I want to write for--kids like me. Could you tell us about your path to publication, any sprints or stumbles along the way? SR: Stumbles? More like plunges and freefalls. It was hard. Incredibly hard. I was going crazy and would have given up if Michael hadn’t gotten us an agent. A great agent. MH: The sprint was writing the first draft. We spent the first year trying to sell Stonewall directly to publishers, got some strong nibbles, but it never sold. So we spent some weeks revising and then began sending it to agents. Thankfully, one of those agents was Caryn Wiseman with Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She gave us hope in Stonewall again, and here we are. Looking back on your apprenticeship, what was most helpful to you in developing your craft? SR: Before writing my first book, I wrote hundreds and hundreds of news stories. You learn a lot about setting up a story, pacing, transitions and that sort of thing. And you get used to being edited. MH: Like Sam (whose daily antics I had to endure working on the other side of the cubicle wall in the newsroom), I learned a lot from writing news stories...particularly the importance of a strong lead and tight sentences and graphs. While at the newspaper I also took a screenwriting course at nearby Hollins University and came to appreciate the art of snappy dialogue and shifting perspectives in moving a story along. Congratulations on the release of Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run (Dial, 2009)! In your own words, what is the book about? MH: Stonewall Hinkleman is your typical 12-year-old kid who gets dragged along to all of his parents' Civil War reenactments. He hates reenactments, he hates the Civil War, and he's not too fond of his parents either. He's got a bad attitude and isn't afraid to show it...until at the reenactment of the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), he's magically transported back in time to the real battle. Suffice it to say, he gets an attitude adjustment and comes to a better appreciation of the war. Oh yeah, and he meets a girl along the way...and his great-great-great-great uncle, who turns out not to be the coward of family lore...and an evil Confederate reenactor who has also gone back in time to help the South win. SR: Civil War Time Travel Extravaganza! What was your initial inspiration for writing this book? SR: When I started, Michael already had the idea of writing about reenactors. The name popped into my head. The name brought forth the character almost instantly. What would a kid with a name like "Stonewall Hinkleman" be like? Sick to the gills of the Civil War, for starters. What was the timeline between spark and publication, and what were the major events along the way? MH: Five years from writing chapter one to the release of the book. SR: Spark. Email x 500. Book done. Everybody happy. Book rejected. Book rejected. Book rejected. Book revised for agent. Book sold to editor. Book revised for editor. Editor quits. New editor. Book revised for new editor. We’re talking about major revisions, too. And the book got better and better thanks to those people pushing us to make it better. What were the challenges (literary, research, psychological, and logistical) in bringing the story to life? MH: Having to convince Sam on a daily basis that I was right. SR: Excuse me? I loved the book's sense of fun, but also its sophistication. At the risk of stating the obvious, we don't see a lot of humorous boy-friendly adventure fantasies that also take the topics of real-life war and racism. What were the toughest decisions you had to make in framing the historical context? SR: Here in Virginia, you grow up thinking that Stonewall Jackson and Turner Ashby were heroes. Grant and Sherman? Bad guys. You learn about the battles, and there's a feeling that the South should have won. And somehow when you grow up you have to reconcile all that with the simple fact that the South was wrong as wrong can be. We stuck Stonewall Hinkleman--and ourselves--right in the middle of all that. Anything less would have been dodging the question. But I don't feel like we answered it, either. MH: The discussion of the Civil War in today's school goes something like this: "North good. South bad. North hated slavery. South loved slavery. North won. Hurray!" But the story is obviously so much more complicated and rich and compelling when you explore all the "grays" instead of looking at it in black-and-white terms. Sending Stonewall back in time to the Confederate army allows for this exploration. Giving kids a more nuanced racial and historical understanding of our past can only help them grasp the complexities of the America of today. Could you describe your collaborative process? SR: Ever see that "Wild Kingdom" episode where Marlin Perkins’s assistant waded into a river and wrestled a tapir? MH: All joking aside, Stonewall would not have come to life without the equal contribution of each of us. I must credit Sam, though, for setting the tone of the book and giving Stonewall his voice. SR: And I must credit Michael with actually knowing something about the Civil War. What advice do you have for writers of historical fantasy? MH: It's tough to strike the right balance between remaining historically accurate to an event while at the same time feeling free to shape the event to your own plot designs. You don't want to get bogged down with all the historical details, but I know I wanted our readers to know which moment--or which character--was indeed historically authentic. What special considerations must be taken into account with a time-travel story? MH: What we did not want was the novel to be a "Back to the Future" meets the Civil War. SR: Yes, we fought hard to get away from "Back to the Future," which is a masterpiece, after all. The tough thing about time travel is that if a character could really travel through time at will, they could solve all their problems too easily. So you have to make rules to keep them from doing that. The problem is you, the author, are stuck following those rules, too. Which can be very hard at revision time. There were times when I started to think things were hopeless. What do you hope young readers will take away from the story? MH: That the Civil War remains the most important event in American history and still informs the events of today--all the way to the White House. SR: There are all sorts of morals you can draw from the book -- most notably that war affects real people, real individuals--but honestly, I just hope kids find it to be a wild ride of a story. We sure worked hard to make it one. Other than your own, what's your favorite children's/tween novel of 2009 and why? SR: Right now I'm in the middle of Pinkwater's The Yggyssey: How Iggy Wondered What Happened to All the Ghosts, Found Out Where They Went, and Went There (Houghton Mifflin, 2009), his sequel to The Neddiad: How Neddie Took the Train, Went to Hollywood, and Saved Civilization (Houghton Mifflin, 2009).  What do you do when you're not reading or writing? MH: Nonprofit work in my community. Raising kids. SR: Lately I’ve been trying to build robots again. What can your fans look forward to next? MH: Hopefully the next installment of Stonewall Hinkleman. The Battle Bull Run/Manassas occurred on July 21, 1861. The war ended in April 1865. There's a lot more to cover. SR: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Amulet, 2010). Is there anything you'd like to add? SR: I'd like to point out that having a co-author is an amazing experience. Things happen in the book that neither of you ever would have come up with on your own. I recommend it! |
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Seattle Magazine has a story about a group of writers that dubbed themselves the Seattle Seven. The article says, “The group began in 2006, when writers and new friends Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain) and Jennie Shortridge (When She Flew) met for coffee to discuss issues pertinent to published authors—how better to promote their books, good and bad cover art, whether their editors are driving them nuts, etc. The meeting became monthly, and grew larger as they invited more local writers to talk shop. The original seven were Stein, Shortridge, Kit Bakke, Stephanie Kallos, Heather Barbieri, Randy Sue Coburn and Mary Guterson. The loose collective expanded to 10 (with Erica Bauermeister, Carol Cassella, and Maria Semple), then lost one (Barbieri is on sabbatical from the group), and has solidified into a nine-person steering committee (or as Stein jokes, “the tribal council”). They decided the Seattle 7 moniker had a nice enough ring that they wanted to keep it. “It sounds a little subversive,” winks Bakke (Miss Alcott’s E-mail), who, by the way, was a member of the Weather Underground and whose FBI file is 400 pages long.” I knew Jenny when she lived here in Portland. She’s got a new book out, When She Flew And Garth? I was a fan long before The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel Read the magazine article here. I’d like to start a Portland Seven, except there already was one. They were attempting to join Al Qaeda in its fight against the United States military, although they never actually accomplished much. My husband worked closely with one of the Portland Seven for years, and we knew his dad. It was a real shock. The days of the arrests, the neighborhood was filled with the sound of government helicopters hovering over the local mosque. Maybe I could start a Portland Five or a Portland Eight?
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o l y posted a photo:
let me introduce you my very new bookmark series ( only USD$3.3 for each set ) in my meri✦meri✧meri✦christmas✧special little online shop ( 11/10 - 11/27 ) |
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In GOOD news, I finished my grad school applications! In BAD news, I'm afraid to go to the NaNoWriMo site. I was doing so well! And then I needed to do some edits. No, not my OFFICIAL edits, but edits nonetheless. And I looked away for what I swear was only a few minutes, and suddenly a few DAYS have passed :\ So, a little suckage on that front. I just really want to get ATB all squared away before OFFICIAL edits, also known as NW Round Two (Ding Ding), arrive. So, in BAD news, I have to stop Book of Sparkly Stuff for a short time. Just until I get a few things in order, some feedback, etc. In GOOD news, I have another project I can work on, one I'm very excited about. I don't want to say much about it yet, since it might still fall apart, but I can't wait to get to work. This project has been bouncing around in my head awhile, and I have some groundwork, so that will help. In GOOD news, I have a small teaser! It’s just a rock. A sliver of the cliffs half a mile north from here, where the cold tide forces itself up against the walls of Maine. A piece of cliff, broken off and fastened on a leather string. But when it twirls, back and forth in a white-flecked haze, there is something utterly enchanting about it, lulling, just like his voice. In my dream he’s made of the sea. All water and waves and far off sounds. I’m running to him but when I throw my arms around his shoulders he splashes and falls apart at my feet. The tide sweeps in, then, so vile and quick, and takes him away with a rush and hiss, and I am left with the sand and the place where he had been, the memory already fading like footprints on the beach. I wake up and forget that he is gone.
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As I know from experience, my focus tends to narrow when I close in on a major milestone in my cancer journey. This illness induces all sorts of pathologies in me which I never enjoy in the course of my normal life — anxiety, panic attacks, crying, etc. It also invokes an old, old specter of depression, which I struggled with to severe clinical extremes in my teen years and young adulthood. Walking this morning, I found myself turning over my surgery fears. I don't actually have much of a negative reaction to the idea of the surgical procedures. In fact, they tend to fascinate me. But anesthesia... I have both a reasonable and an unreasoning fear of anesthesia. My true terror in surgery is that I simply will never wake up. And boy did that terror dog me this morning. Yesterday was a perfectly fine day. Day Jobbery, lunch with And that depressed me, for reasons it took me a while to unravel. What I finally realized was that exaggerated protection from being chilled is also part of the chemo experience, at least for the chemo I'm most likely to be on. Being ridiculously bundled up was like a pre-echo of that extended state of medical fragility into which I will be entering all too soon. The petulant part of me keeps crying that I don't want to do this, again, or ever. The stubborn part of me says fuck cancer, we will survive. Still, the focus narrows. |
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As previously noted, I am flying to Philadelphia on Wednesday, 11/11. I will be hosting an open dinner at the Philadelphia Airport Marriott at 7 pm that evening. If my plane is delayed, I will do my best to update here, but I will also notify |
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Your Tuesday moment of zen.
© 2009 by Joseph E. Lake, Jr.
This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. |
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The Dragon Page reviews Green [ Powell's | Amazon  | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] — (Thanks to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} brent_kellmer.)A reader reacts to Madness of Flowers [ Powell's | Amazon ] Jay Lake, Religion and a Benediction — Shlomi, on my cancer. TWA Mechanics from Outer Space — Hilarious photo, ca. 1941. Saturn After the Equinox — Another APOD image that will take your breath away. 1962 textbook, When You Marry — Check out the excerpted material on class differences in child rearing and sex. It's creepy. SMBC on the perils of evolutionists — Heh. Antihealthcare Reform Idiocy — Oh, wow. Money shot: "When I need health care, I pay for it out of pocket," he said, adding that he did not fear the possibility that an accident or illness would leave him with unaffordable bills. "I'm a Christian, so I'm not afraid of death," he said. Good luck with that. ?otD: How thick are you? 11/10/2009 Body movement: 90 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 234.0 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox |
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imagesdedanse posted a photo:
Stanislaw Wisniewski, Ghetto Girls, filage, CND de Pantin, 9 octobre 2009. |
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imagesdedanse posted a photo:
Stanislaw Wisniewski, Ghetto Girls, filage, CND de Pantin, 9 octobre 2009. |
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imagesdedanse posted a photo:
Stanislaw Wisniewski, Ghetto Girls, filage, CND de Pantin, 9 octobre 2009. |
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imagesdedanse posted a photo:
Stanislaw Wisniewski, Ghetto Girls, filage, CND de Pantin, 9 octobre 2009. |
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imagesdedanse posted a photo:
Stanislaw Wisniewski, Ghetto Girls, filage, CND de Pantin, 9 octobre 2009. |
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Christine Lebrasseur - NIPSA posted a photo:
Model : Chris |
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Christine Lebrasseur - NIPSA posted a photo:
www.france-adot.org/ |
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 School Library Journal continues it's coverage of book blogs with This Blog's For You: Ten of the best blogs for folks who take kids' lit seriously (but not too seriously) by Elizabeth Bird (aka Fuse #8 Production, a SLJ blog). As Bird's article notes, SLJ covered blogs as early as August 2005, with a cover story, Blogomania! Every day 12,000 new blogs are created. Here's how you can get in on the action. Two years later, in February 2007, I wrote Curl Up With a Cup of Tea and a Good Blog for SLJ. So now it's 2009; how do things look in the blog world? Bird's article is fabulous; it conveys much of what I think and believe about book blogging, especially blogging about children's and young adult literature. Disclaimer: not only do I appear in photos for the article, I also am quoted. But -- and this is important -- I am not one of the "ten of the best blogs" listed. It's important because it shows that those ten are independently judged; are best; and that Bird isn't defining "best" as "my friends, the people I know and talk with." Bird scores additional points by not saying "the ten best blogs"; saying ten of the best infers that there are more best blogs, this is ten of them. Back to the article. Bird addresses why people blog (and read blogs) and the role of book bloggers in the universe of authors, bloggers, publishers, librarians, etc. Bird wonders if this is all just an internal "you're so pretty" "no you're so pretty" group, i.e., an insular group. And explains why the answer to that is "no." There's talk of the usual to us bloggers -- transparency. Ethics. Just why one is blogging. But those who read SLJ may not be aware that in the "wild west" no rules of blogging, we ask those questions, and apply the answers to what we do. Anyway, enough about me and why I like it. Go, read it, think about it, and post, tweet, and comment away. People are already adding other "must read" blogs in the comment section. Links: Last week, I gave a behind the scenes look at the photoshoot. In More Meta, Roger Sutton at the Horn Book Blog considers what Bird wrote about blogs and collection development. Jen Robinson's Book Page points out how articles like Betsy's reach a broader, non-blogging audience. Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price. © Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy   |
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Dave Ward Photography posted a photo:
Tiffany is starting out as a model. I asked her to bring her flute, since orchestra instruments make excellent props. I'm very please with how this turned out. |
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Calling all music lovers who are also up for supporting a good cause: My friend, Liz Tonwsend, is in a band called The Floe. They're very good and are, this month, releasing their first single 'I Hope You Know'. To check out a message from the singer, Sarah, and to hear (and hopefully buy) the song from itunes, amazon or wotnot, head to this site. Get some bouncy music, and give money to The Transplant Trust...not a bad day's transaction, eh? Thanks all! |
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 What? Milo's favorite trick lately is to pull down any sweater or coat left on the back of the kitchen chairs. He takes the sleeve in his teeth and tugs. Then he makes a bed-pile on the floor. I'm constantly picking up that black wool coat, as it's his favorite. The bright Thanksgiving print is the edge of the kitchen tablecloth--please don't start pulling on that, Milo!!!
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I was in an antique shop* in Antwerp (Belgium) last Friday, and saw this GORGEOUS Victoriana wedding gown. So I HAD to get some pictures. I don't know what it costs, I was afraid I'd fall over backwards from hearing the price. * Don't ask me for the name of the shop, I totally forgot. ( photos be here )
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I was in an antique shop* in Antwerp (Belgium) last Friday, and saw this GORGEOUS Victoriana wedding gown. So I HAD to get some pictures. I don't know what it costs, I was afraid I'd fall over backwards from hearing the price. * Don't ask me for the name of the shop, I totally forgot. ( photos be here )
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, that Publishers Weekly compared to Barbara Kingsolver’s work. 
, which turned into the kind of book where you go on tour to Italy and it’s a bestseller in countries you’ve never heard of. 
okay
tired
tired
