DIFFERENT

It's Monday and what am I reading?
I've been re-reading a review copy of my friend Janet McLaughlin's new book. It's available for pre-order (see link below) now and will be published in August.

I think middle-grade readers will find this novel so very appealing. 
What's inside may surprise you-- and them. I don't know of many books for kids this age about Tourette Syndrome.

This is such an important book. But it's also fun and complicated and beautifully written in Izzy's appealing and spot-on voice.  

Books written from the heart can take a long time to percolate, get written and revised many times over!- and find a home. Janet was not about to give up on this book. I'm so happy that DIFFERENT is now ready for the world.

Here's a little of what she says in her very helpful Author's Note about what inspired her to write about Tourette Syndrome-- a family member she's calling Madison:

What was going on in Madison’s head when she couldn’t walk down the street without stopping and touching the ground every few minutes? When she couldn’t leave a room unless she flicked the light switch on and off at least three times. How did she feel when she lost control and went into a screaming rage? I could only guess.

And that’s what I wanted to contribute to the world with this book. I wanted to let the world know about this neurological condition on an intimate level— what it’s like to actually live with the condition.

This is the link to the publisher's website. You can order the book, read more about it, and see this great endorsement from a long-time educator:

“As an educator for more than thirty years, it is wonderful to find a text that promotes an understanding of differences. I have had several students with Tourette Syndrome... This book lends itself to class discussions about what it means to be ‘Different.'”
Lora Netherland

M.ED Special Education Teacher

You can contact Janet for Author Visits, Skype sessions, or to ask her about her this excellent novel, via her website HERE. 

(I love the It's Monday! What Are You Reading? meme, and I usually am reading a ton of middle-grade books. But now I'm on vacation in a very quiet place and I've also been reading a bunch of grownup books for a change. I'm particularly loving Anne Tyler's newest novel, hot off the press, CLOCK DANCE.)

UNworkshopping

I'm not even going to attempt to describe what it's like to spend three (or more!) days at a Highlights Foundation UNWorkshop. 

Your very own room to create.
http://www.highlightsfoundation.org/workshops/unworkshop-aug-2014/

Instead, I'll show it in pictures.

 Day One. Arrival. Showing off my cabin. There's a sign in the window with my name on it. And it says Welcome BACK, Augusta. When you're a repeater, you get that Welcome Back thing. 
Sigh.

I thought it was appropriate that this hung in my cabin. I won't show you the top of the calendar. Just know it was a blond who resembles me in no way. But the date is approximately the time I was going to be writing about during my days UNWorkshopping.

The last time I was here, it was November and a light snow fell. This time the flowers were breathtaking.

I love the lavender!
And the sky!

Jo suggested Teddie, Janet and I sit on the porch, or inside the Lodge, if we wanted to talk about what we'd written.
We did.

  

Here are my writing buds, Janet McLaughlin and Teddie Aggeles. They loved it as much as I did.
Whew.









One of my favorite places is the rock garden. Serenity.

Also fun to see what others have to say.

 We walked this long and winding road. Mostly at the end of one of the fabulous meals prepared by Chef Joseph.

Friends have written about their own experiences.

Stacey was also UNWorkshopping with us. She pretty much tells it all HERE.

My friend Joyce has also been to a Highlights UnWorkshop and blogged about it HERE.  She calls it Writer Heaven. I have to agree.

First Pass Pages

For those of you who might not know how the editing process goes (I sure didn't!), I'll tell you what I'm doing to my new novel right now. Novel-to-be. Coming, January, 2015.

We've been through copyediting. That was about a month or two ago. Time flies. 

During that stage of the process, I changed sentences, checked time frames, made sure my characters' names, hair colors, etc, were consistent. Answered all the copyeditor's questions. There were a few. Okay more than a few.

 

Now I have in front of me an actual printed copy, sent by Scholastic, of what the book's pages will look like. FIRST PASS PAGES.
Chapter headings, italics, the "handwritten" notes set off in different fonts, etc.

TA-DA!

(No, that's not what the actual cover art will look like. Stay tuned for that as soon as I can share.)

Now this is our chance to fix tiny things. Like whether a question mark might be better than that period I originally thought worked.

Or whether it's possible that a bucket of night crawlers would cost $.50 in 1974.
(Yes, because my brother and his fishing buddy Galen told me so. It's a big bucket.)

This time I didn't get as many Stets as before. 
That means should we leave it as is, for voice? 
For example, "I swan"-- which we all recognize as a real word, right?
Maybe because this novel isn't as southern as GLORY BE was. 
Or maybe this editor grew up in the South and has a southern granny in her family. 

Tomorrow, off it goes. Back to my editor. 

All 170-plus pages of THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY!

PS If you're still reading...
After meticulously going over the entire manuscript for the zillionth time this weekend, I decided I could finally toss out some of the old printed chapters I'd saved during revision. And I discovered some interesting (to me! Possibly to no one else!) things. 


1. The first time I showed it to a professional in the book business was in 2004 at a Rutgers One-on-One conference when my mentor was Sally Keehn. 
My agent, Linda Pratt, was also there. Fun to imagine what would have happened if our paths had crossed way back then. 

2. One of my longest critiquing friendships has been with my buddy Janet McLaughlin. She's now in my actual Florida writers group (Go, Skyway Writers!). But I bet she doesn't remember seeing THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY when we were in that now defunct online group, many moons ago. Many titles ago. Many character deletions and renamings ago.
The group didn't last long for us, but I continued to tap away at this book and Janet continued to comment.

I also smiled to see other familiar names critiquing my early versions. 
When Sue Laneve organized a new Pinellas County Florida group, I found my people.
My very first SCBWI Critique group. 

Hello, Denis, Sylvia, Lenore et al.
Thanks, Sue.

(Old chapters, ready for recycling!)

 

Writer Friends

Today I'm inspired by Barbara O'Connor's blog about Writer Friends.
And specifically her friend Kirby Larson.

Although I've never written a fan letter to Barbara (or to Kirby either, come to think about it), I count them both as friends. And let me tell you, as a writer you can't do much better than to have a friend who gets it. 

Because I'm still in Florida for a little while and because the Florida writing tribe is about to host their 

great big fabulous SCBWI conference in Orlando,
this is a shout-out to my Florida writing friends. 
 
(You may still have time to sign up. New writers, this is a great way to dip your toes into the water. Not to mention find a writer friend.)

When you move to a place and know no one, what's a writer to do? Of course, join SCBWI and get yourself into a critique group. I have Sue Laneve to thank for that. Way back when I was new in town, she invited me into a new group. Then into her own group.


 

 Here we are last summer at Books of Wonder where we met (for tea and crumpets and book talk and obviously decided to coordinate our outfits).

The writing buddy I've known the longest here in Florida, Janet McLaughlin, and I met in an online critique group. Although that didn't last long, our friendship did. 
Seven years later and we're still writing buddies. 

(Check out Janet's reviews on this new site. Raves from her kid reviewers.)

Here we are, a few Tampa Bay writers!

And our fearless leader, Rob Sanders, serving his lemon cookies when I visited his school.

 

 Are you new to Florida, have you lived here forever but just thinking of writing, or perhaps considering relocating, whatever. Find your tribe. 

Maybe at a regional conference. Perhaps at a different event.

 

 I met Donna Gephart at my first Miami SCBWI conference. Just walked into Books and Books and she came right up and said hello. And that she liked my book. The feeling was mutual.

Ditto with Danette.
She and I finally met this April, though we've been Facebook best friends a long time.
And I totally love Danette Haworth's books. So much.

I don't even know what to say about this picture. See, we're a wild and crazy bunch.
Well, Ed Masessa is anyhow...

 

Florida writers are pretty much fun people.

Some of us even wear yellow socks, in public...

Welcome, JANET McLAUGHLIN and a giveaway!

(I am reposting this because I think there was a glitch for some PC users yesterday. And hey, it never hurts to share something twice, if it's about a good book.  :)  )

 Okay, everybody knows I love giving away books. And I love chatting with author friends. Today I get to do both!

Janet McLaughlin and I have been writing buddies for quite a while. We stumbled upon each other in an online group and when that group disappeared, our friendship didn't. She's policed my novels (She's fondly known as the Logic Police because she can catch that door open in one scene and locked soon after). Now I get to share her fabulous novel.

And just in time for summer reading, summer camp care packages, end-of-the-school-year read-alouds, her second book in the series has been published. Janet likes to call her books "Tween" novels. I recommend them for middle-grade, young Young Adult, Teen, even grownup readers.

One lucky reader will get a copy of her first book, GET PSYCHED.
(See below for details.)

Welcome to my blog, Janet.

Augusta: Tell us a little about how you got the idea for this series. 

JANET:  It’s actually a combination of two ideas. The setting, a Cheerleading Competition, takes place at a hotel/convention center near Disney World. I chose this particular place because I’d been there to watch my granddaughter, Lauren, compete. Everything about the place is over the top. I couldn’t not use it. I’ve followed Lauren’s cheerleading “career” since she was seven. She’s now nineteen and a member of the Indiana University All-Girl National Cheerleading Champions 2012. 

 (Okay, Wow. This is Lauren cheering in high school. Inspirational for sure!)

The idea for making my protagonist, Zoey, an intuitive or psychic came from my association through the years with women (and one young man) who had these very abilities. In interviewing them for my magazine, one theme kept recurring. They had this gift as teens and they hated it! Didn’t want anyone to know about it.

The thought of combining the two was irresistible.

Augusta: Do you have any tips for making one book flow seamlessly into the next? Do you keep charts or lists to be sure there's consistency?                                                                 

         JANET: Every writer has his or her own way of doing this. I open a separate word document and list the characters, locations, and time lines. I add them as I write. I can always refer back to them when needed. I also like to lead into the next book at the end of the current one. Zoey makes it easy. She simply has a vision or dream that hints at what’s to come.

Augusta: What's your writing routine? At home? Desk? Starbucks? Pen and paper or computer?                                                                                                                                                                          

       JANET: Home office and computer for sure. I would love to say that I write every morning for, oh, three or four hours, but that’s not possible. Life does get in the way. When I do sit down to write, I get lost in the story.

Augusta: Do your characters spring full-blown onto the page? Are they based on real people? How do you manage to have them speak and act so authentically?

       JANET: I wish they sprung full-blown! As you know, Augusta, I have a deep admiration of your incredible ability for writing memorable characters. In the beginning, I concentrated more on the plot/story. But as I mature in my writing process, so have my characters and characterization. In other words, as I grow, they grow.

       My characters are pure fiction. When I first started writing novels, I used the names of my grandkids for inspiration. The problem was, their personalities kept getting in the way. When I changed the names, that obstacle went away.

       As for their speaking and acting authentically—this is me shrugging my shoulders. Maybe I never really grew up?

Augusta: I guess that's true of a lot of writers!
Tell us a little about your road to publication.

      

       JANET: Getting published took some time.  Skipping over the years of queries, rejections, getting an NYC agent (that was a thrill) who, for many reasons, couldn’t place the book, putting it back in the proverbial drawer and starting another book—skipping all that, it took about four months to get published.

       Another granddaughter, Sami, decided to try cheerleading. In December, 2011, my husband and I went to Disney World (yes, Disney again!) to watch her compete. While there I met a woman who had a display booth and was handing out cheer magazines. She was looking for a book to launch her new business—book publishing. I sent her the book; she and her partner loved it; we signed a contract; and Voila! Overnight success.

Augusta: What's next for Zoey and the gang?

     JANET: The first book, Get Psyched, takes place at a cheerleading convention. The second book, Psyched Out, takes place on a Caribbean Island where Zoey and her best friend, Becca, encounter a ghost. The third book, which I am working on now is tentatively called “Fireworks,” and will (again tentatively) be available in Summer of 2013. There will be a new guy in Zoey’s life and he’s pretty cool. Becca, of course, gets in trouble. You gotta have a sidekick to create problems!

Follow Janet's blog at http://getpsychedbooks.wordpress.com/  

Here's a link to buy it on Amazon, Kindle and paperback. Be sure to read the reviews. Some great comments from kids.

And all you have to do is leave me a comment here or on Facebook and you'll be entered to win a SIGNED copy of GET PSYCHED. 

(Feel free to share this post. We love to spread the word!)

Welcome, JANET McLAUGHLIN and A Giveaway!

 

 Okay, everybody knows I love giving away books. And I love chatting with author friends. Today I get to do both!

Janet McLaughlin and I have been writing buddies for quite a while. We stumbled upon each other in an online group and when that group disappeared, our friendship didn't. She's policed my novels (She's fondly known as the Logic Police because she can catch that door open in one scene and locked soon after). Now I get to share her fabulous novel.

And just in time for summer reading, summer camp care packages, end-of-the-school-year read-alouds, her second book in the series has been published. Janet likes to call her books "Tween" novels. I recommend them for middle-grade, young Young Adult, Teen, even grownup readers.

One lucky reader will get a copy of her first book, GET PSYCHED.
(See below for details.)

Welcome to my blog, Janet.

Augusta: Tell us a little about how you got the idea for this series. 

JANET:  It’s actually a combination of two ideas. The setting, a Cheerleading Competition, takes place at a hotel/convention center near Disney World. I chose this particular place because I’d been there to watch my granddaughter, Lauren, compete. Everything about the place is over the top. I couldn’t not use it. I’ve followed Lauren’s cheerleading “career” since she was seven. She’s now nineteen and a member of the Indiana University All-Girl National Cheerleading Champions 2012. 

 (Okay, Wow. This is Lauren cheering in high school. Inspirational for sure!)

The idea for making my protagonist, Zoey, an intuitive or psychic came from my association through the years with women (and one young man) who had these very abilities. In interviewing them for my magazine, one theme kept recurring. They had this gift as teens and they hated it! Didn’t want anyone to know about it.

The thought of combining the two was irresistible.

Augusta: Do you have any tips for making one book flow seamlessly into the next? Do you keep charts or lists to be sure there's consistency?                                                                 

         JANET: Every writer has his or her own way of doing this. I open a separate word document and list the characters, locations, and time lines. I add them as I write. I can always refer back to them when needed. I also like to lead into the next book at the end of the current one. Zoey makes it easy. She simply has a vision or dream that hints at what’s to come.

Augusta: What's your writing routine? At home? Desk? Starbucks? Pen and paper or computer?                                                                                                                                                                          

       JANET: Home office and computer for sure. I would love to say that I write every morning for, oh, three or four hours, but that’s not possible. Life does get in the way. When I do sit down to write, I get lost in the story.

Augusta: Do your characters spring full-blown onto the page? Are they based on real people? How do you manage to have them speak and act so authentically?

       JANET: I wish they sprung full-blown! As you know, Augusta, I have a deep admiration of your incredible ability for writing memorable characters. In the beginning, I concentrated more on the plot/story. But as I mature in my writing process, so have my characters and characterization. In other words, as I grow, they grow.

       My characters are pure fiction. When I first started writing novels, I used the names of my grandkids for inspiration. The problem was, their personalities kept getting in the way. When I changed the names, that obstacle went away.

       As for their speaking and acting authentically—this is me shrugging my shoulders. Maybe I never really grew up?

Augusta: I guess that's true of a lot of writers!
Tell us a little about your road to publication.

      

       JANET: Getting published took some time.  Skipping over the years of queries, rejections, getting an NYC agent (that was a thrill) who, for many reasons, couldn’t place the book, putting it back in the proverbial drawer and starting another book—skipping all that, it took about four months to get published.

       Another granddaughter, Sami, decided to try cheerleading. In December, 2011, my husband and I went to Disney World (yes, Disney again!) to watch her compete. While there I met a woman who had a display booth and was handing out cheer magazines. She was looking for a book to launch her new business—book publishing. I sent her the book; she and her partner loved it; we signed a contract; and Voila! Overnight success.

Augusta: What's next for Zoey and the gang?

     JANET: The first book, Get Psyched, takes place at a cheerleading convention. The second book, Psyched Out, takes place on a Caribbean Island where Zoey and her best friend, Becca, encounter a ghost. The third book, which I am working on now is tentatively called “Fireworks,” and will (again tentatively) be available in Summer of 2013. There will be a new guy in Zoey’s life and he’s pretty cool. Becca, of course, gets in trouble. You gotta have a sidekick to create problems!

Follow Janet's blog at http://getpsychedbooks.wordpress.com/  

Here's a link to buy it on Amazon, Kindle and paperback. Be sure to read the reviews. Some great comments from kids.

And all you have to do is leave me a comment here or on Facebook and you'll be entered to win a SIGNED copy of GET PSYCHED.  Contest ends on Tuesday, April 16.

(Feel free to share this post. We love to spread the word!)

Things I Miss

Which, yes, could also be labeled Things I Love.

My favorite bridge. It's breathtakingly beautiful. At the end of my journey across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, I'm greeted by my friend Janet. We meet often, eat a mostly healthy lunch and discuss our writing projects. She tells me when I'm being illogical (in my writing, of course) and I tell her when she needs more description. We are two sides of the writing craft puzzle.

It helps to have a writing buddy who complements your style. She even reads Tarot cards! And best of all, she lives on the other side of this structure.

Do you have a writing partner? A critique buddy? A bridge this beautiful to pass over occasionally?

My Meme

I've been tagged by Barbara O'Connor, for the following meme:


1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.

4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing ten years ago?
Hard at work at my library at the Kent Place School.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
1. Finish the review I'mwriting for the Christian Science Monitor on a wonderful book: HUNGRY FOR PARIS.

2. Take a walk.

3. Go to my Writers' Group.

4. Fly to Tampa.

5. Pack for my friend Patty's daughter's wedding.

What are some snacks you enjoy?
Pita sea salt crackers
Nuts
Greek yogurt

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Wow. Give me a minute.

What are three of your bad habits?
Bossing people around (Hey, I'm a Leo.)
No tolerance for people who are habitually late.
Reading in bed with a bag of pita chips.

What are five places where you have lived?
Cleveland, Mississippi
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Newport, R.I.
Baltimore, MD
Chatham, NJ
St. Petersburg, FL

(whoops, that was six. And I had to leave out a few.)

What are five jobs you have had?
Lifeguard/ swimming instructor
Camp Counselor
Library assistant at the Harvard Medical School library
School librarian
Writer

What people do you want to tag?
Wendy Mass, Greg Neri, Janet McLaughlin