SETTING: 101

Today I'm thinking about setting. 

(I'll be musing even more about this topic when I share my new book on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7 PM at INKWOOD BOOKS in Tampa. I'd love to see you there!)

When I started writing THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY, I had just moved to Florida. I was a total Fish Out of Water. The flora and fauna mystified me!

Can you-- should you-- write about a place you've never visited, never lived, know nothing about? Well, here I was. Surrounded by setting.

I took a lot of walks and lots of pictures. I felt the Spanish moss, the prickly aloe plants, the fat green leaves where tiny lizards hid.

There were many houses that looked just like the Rest Easy Rooming House and Dance Studio!

And there were flowers everywhere.
Take bougainvillea.
On a walk near the library where I was writing, there it was. Gorgeous.

Look at those tiny white centers. Perfect- I'd never noticed them before.

There's a DO NOT ENTER sign at the footpath to this garden.
So at first I didn't see the fig tree. 
Just like the one I grew up playing under, low and bushy. 
Mine was a great hiding place.

But that day I saw figs. Not ripe figs, but figs.

Which reminded me to put a fig tree in something new I'm noodling.
There's already a garden in that story.
Where of course, there would be pots for raising cuttings, starting seeds, Pass-a-long Plants. 
This one's not set in Florida, but in the South where everybody had a garden, many started from plants shared with neighbors.
Perfect.

So work on your settings, writers young and old. 
Add that layer of richness, the color and the smells.

 

And for anyone freezing all over the country today, here's a beautiful Poinciana tree that will bloom in late spring near my house.

I love this picture.When I took it last year, there was a sign next to it saying what kind of tree it was and Please Do Not Pick the Branches or the Blooms.

Shared Links, about setting:

Barbara O'Connor quoting Elizabeth George. What could be better?

http://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2008/09/writing-tip-tuesday_16.html

A reminder of how the setting can change your character in this review of a book by Kimberley Griffiths Little, set in Louisiana:

http://www.shalleemcarthur.com/2011/05/book-reviews-for-writers-deepening.html

And okay, I know you can't travel everywhere. 

Or even find pictures of everything. (Hogwarts, anyone?) 

So here are some tips for figuring out setting in Fantasy and Science Fiction. 

http://marissameyer.livejournal.com/244238.html

A SNICKER OF MAGIC

When Scholastic sent a review copy of this, I knew I'd love it. 
That cover! That title!

And then I opened the book and fell inside.

Such a terrific book.
My review from the Christian Science Monitor. 

If you don't believe me, check out what the  
New York Times Book Review said.

I mean, that's some serious praise going on.


In a recent discussion among some kids' book writers I know, the topic of 
MAGICAL REALISM popped up.
Check out this very clear, cut-to-the-chase explanation from Kimberley G. Little, who knows what she's talking about.
See that list of books at the end of the blogpost? Yep, Snicker of Magic, right there. A perfect example.


CLICK HERE for a look at Natalie's own blog. 

Natalie's done a ton of interviews for other blogs. This is one of my favorite. And not just because of the ice cream...
http://www.foodiebibliophile.com/2014/02/author-interview-natalie-lloyd.html


So, what do you think? Does a "snicker" of magic make for magical realism? Does a cover like this and a great title tempt you, or do you open right up to page one and jump in?

When the Butterflies Came

I'm so excited to hear that my friend Kimberley Griffiths Little's new book has been chosen for Scholastic's Mother Daughter Book Club.

Here's the link to the Discussion Guide. Great questions!
(And wow on the recipe, too.)

http://www.scholastic.com/MotherDaughterBookClub/pdf/Scholastic_MDBC_butterflies.pdf



If your daughter's in a Book Club, or if she just loves a good book, check it out.
(Ages 8-12) Here's a little about the book:

When mysterious butterflies begin to arrive shortly after Grammy Claire’s funeral, Tara just knows her grandmother has left her a final mystery to solve. A stack of keys, notes from the beyond, and an ominous secret allow Tara to come to terms with her grandmother’s death, the complexities of her family, and the powers of love and redemption.

PS- Don't you love how we refer to our Facebook and emailing friends as if they are lifelong friends? It's kind of like my penpals of yore. Maybe there should be a different category, but Kimberley feels exactly like a real friend. And I'm very impressed with her ability to write so many books, so well.

Good call, Scholastic! Perfect book for your Mother Daughter Book Club.

Butterflies!

Wow!
Check out the cover of my friend Kimberley Griffiths Little's forthcoming book, WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME. Then click over to her own blog for all sorts of book giveways.

Can't wait to read this one. (Hint, hint, Scholastic people!)

Here's what I wrote about her very first novel, when I first "met" Kimberley:
CLICK HERE FOR THAT BLOG POST.

I've since come to know Kimberley, via all the ways possible to connect except in person (surely we'll remedy that one day soon. After all, we do share a publisher!). Her publication journey is amazing and encouraging. As her books mount up, so do the praises. Way to go, Kimberley!

Two "sisters" just chatting away our day...

Writers love connections. Connecting places, characters, sentences, paragraphs, themes-- you name it! But when I met fellow middle-grade novelist Kimberley Griffiths Little online, via a mutual writer friend, I never dreamed what a treat I was in for. 

If I had a question about publishing that was just too silly/ clueless/ embarrassing to ask aloud (although now I've learned there's no such thing), Kimberley showed me the ropes.

She's always at the other end of a panicked email question. Oh, and I really enjoy her books. They're set in Louisiana and truly, I challenge a native Louisianian to write more authentically about the region than Kimberley does. And she's from New Mexico of all places.

Today we're blogging together. 

She asks the greatest questions!

Click on over and read our interview. It's short and sweet and comes with an opportunity to win a copy of GLORY BE. 

What have you got to lose?

Here it is!

http://kimberleygriffithslittle.blogspot.com/2012/03/glory-be-giveaway-and-im-chattin-it-up.html



And here's the new paperback cover for her book.
Don't you love it?

Happy 2012! No Resolutions!

 

Taking down decorations and thinking of all the exciting things to come in 2012!

Today marks the beginning of a new year, and I'm inspired by writer friends, Kimberley Griffiths Little and Caroline Starr Rose --and probably a ton more of you who make these lists--  to start keeping track of what I'm reading. Their lists are impressive. But I'd have to dig deep to recall The Books I Read in 2011. 

So from now on, I resolve (whoops, I used the R word!) to keep better track of what I read.

                                                        

What I'm Reading Now: 

1. Review copy, via Kindle, of Elizabeth George's forthcoming mystery: BELIEVING THE LIE

2. A Teen/ YA novel I can't put down, a page-turner,  that is nothing like anything I normally read:

UNLEASHED by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie

3. Rereading The Liberation of Gabriel King and also When You Reach Me. Because I love the voices so much.

(These notes will be at the bottom of some blog posts. Feel free to ignore. If I keep up with this task, I will be able to remember what I read come next December. Or at least, that's my goal. And everybody knows goals are way better than resolutions, right?)

Just another ordinary day...

(I wish!)

Lunch with my editor today, a special treat. I got there early and popped in the Scholastic bookstore downstairs. Kids everywhere! Loving the books!
Now keep in mind, I'm trying to be Cool Author Lady. Not starstruck tourist.

But it does kind of take your breath away.

First stop? I'm drooling over Brian Selznick's new fabulous book, WONDERSTRUCK --smack dab in front. Which by the way I'm totally dying to read.

(Sorry about the photos. As I said above, trying to be C.A.L. and didn't want to be so obvious in my photo-snapping.)

Then I moseyed over to another enticing shelf. All sorts of familiar faces and names on these books.

Yep! There you are Kimberley! Front and center!

And then I had to pinch myself. Will my very own book be in the S section come January?!
Swooned all the way upstairs. Awestruck, starstruck, AND Thunderstruck.

Circle of Secrets

 Since Kimberley Griffiths Little and I now share a publisher (Scholastic), I was able to score an advanced reader copy of her new middle-grade novel,  
CIRCLE OF SECRETS,
coming in October.

Once again, she's nailed the Louisiana bayou setting. This time, in addition to the magic surrounding the story, there's time travel, or is it a ghost? Or maybe it's just the imagination of a young girl who's trying to figure out why her life is falling apart.

Shelby Jayne's mother walked out on her and her dad, but when Dad is sent overseas for work and Grandmother is not well enough to care for the 11-year-old, she must move to her mom's house on the bayou.

 There were many things I loved about this story.
I can never resist a mysterious bottle tree. And a new girl in school who's figuring out how to put the class bullies in their place? Good for her!
I predict this companion book will garner as many fans as The Healing Spell.

Related Post: The Healing Spell

Southern Living and Southern Talking

I don't usually pay much attention to the magazine, true confessions, but this month's "Southern Journal" essay in Southern Living really struck a chord with me. I so totally think Hollywood needs to pay attention. Much as I love The Closer, Kyra Sedgewick and her Thank you so mu-uch and those endless Lew-ten-unts is beginning to wear thin.

And don't people realize there's a difference between the way people in New Orleans and people in Nashville talk? If you've lived in Mississippi, you even know there's a speech variation between Deltans and Coast residents. I know Hollywood (and literature!) can't always re-create such nuances, but please- surely they can figure out something better than stupid Yankees mimicking dumb Southerners.

And while I'm ranting, there's nothing worse than bad Southern speech in books-- dare I say especially kids' books-- Nah, it's any book that crosses that line.

Maybe it's not possible to distinguish between regions in kids' books. (Although, when it counts, a few good writers do manage to get the flavor of certain sections of the country just fine, better than fine- perfect: Thank you very much, Kerry, Barbara, Kimberley, Phyllis- to name a few.)

So I know you do not have to be completely idiotic about it. I mean do all Southerners really sound like they're saying SHOULDA and COULDA all the time? Not to mention writing every other sentence with a dropped final G.

Enough already!

OK, now I got that off my chest. I can get back to work.

If you're interested in a much more articulate rant than mine, pick up the September issue of Southern Living and read Amy Bickers' backpage essay. Or you can click here and read it.
And if you'd like to read something I wrote for the Southern Writers' Blog, way back when I first started over there, on a related topic, click here for South Speak. You can leave me a comment about your favorite Southern expressions and words. And those we'd just never, ever use. Or at least we'd never mispronounce.

I hope Kyra's listening.

The Healing Spell

I've been thinking a lot about Louisiana lately. Haven't we all? Growing up in Mississippi, I often visited New Orleans and southern Louisiana with my family. Later, my daughter lived there, married a native, and we visited even more. Once New Orleans speaks to you, it doesn't shut up.

When I was a working school librarian, in at least five schools over my career (hey, what can I tell you? We moved a lot...), I tried to help teachers find relevant books to share with their students. A big part of a school librarian's job is to match books with kid readers. Maybe that's the most satisfying thing we do. And it's something I can't let go of as a writer and a book reviewer. I keep thinking about whether what I'm reading and writing would appeal to actual kids, would help them understand the world, would entertain them, introduce a place they might not know. All those good things.

I especially love it when a book helps readers make sense of what's going on in the larger community. What better way to do that than through a good story.

That's why Kimberley Griffiths Little's new novel touched me so.

The Healing Spell centers around young Livie and her family who live in what we always thought of as Cajun country. Her father makes his living fishing. Her relationship with her mother has always been strained. Livie is what was once called a tomboy-- she likes fishing with her daddy a lot better than she likes shopping for Sunday School shoes with her mama. When an accident sends her mother into a coma, her dad insists on bringing her home, hoping for a miracle recovery. The entire family is impacted, but especially Livie who fears she was somehow responsible.

There's a lot for young readers to wrap their minds around in this novel. The magical realism near the end presents a good talking point that an adult might want to explore, or perhaps that kids will accept with the thrill of a shiver up their spines.

Kimberley Griffiths Little has done an amazing job making her characters believable. They are complicated and confused. Just like a lot of real kids we all know and love. Livie's guilt, her relationship with her sisters, her love for her dad, her ambiguous feelings for the aunt who moves in to help and sets the family off kilter-- all great characters, well done.

But truly the amazing thing about this story is the setting, the Louisiana it evokes. There's a little bit of voodoo magic, there's music and dancing, there's the swamp. After reading The Healing Spell, you understand how wrecking this one very important part of our environment will change so many lives.

Right now over at A Good Blog is Hard to Find, where I congregate with a whole bunch of really excellent southern writers, the optional blog topic is setting. A lot has been said by greater authorities than I on the topic of setting as character, and I really can't add much to that subject except to say how true it is.

But I like the way Man Martin ended his blog post over there last week:

I’m thinking of a line from C S Lewis or somebody that a fish does not believe in water until it’s pulled out of it. Lewis meant to suggest by analogy the existence of God, but I wanted to apply it to the concept of setting, that setting is not only background, but foreground, above-ground, and underground. That it envelopes, surrounds, and infuses us.

That's exactly how I feel about this new middle grade/ young YA novel: the setting surrounds, envelopes and infuses. Which brings me right back to how important, right now, this book should be to teachers and librarians trying to help their readers make sense of southern Louisiana, the Gulf Coast, life in a fisherman's family.

And what an unexpected treat- it has one of the best trailers I've ever seen in a book for young readers. Great music, well done. Check it out: