Selling Books is Fun!

Not to mention, hard work

Here I am with Lisa Unger, my fellow Author Bookseller today at INKWOOD BOOKS in Tampa. 

A few favorite books Lisa recommends. And a couple of her own!

 Inkwood was very busy! 

I'll be visiting Melinda's school soon, and she came by to say hello!

Thank you to the kids who came to meet me. And to eat cupcakes. And buy lots of books.

Thanks, INKWOOD, for inviting me to share your Small Business Saturday. I had a blast!

Giving Thanks

 

Today seems like a good day to think about all the things we're grateful for. 

And what better place to begin than the Acknowledgments in some of your favorite books.

The Acknowledgments of one of my top-ten books, HOUND DOG TRUE, begins

"This novel, like my first, began as a picture book..." 

And then Linda Urban goes on to thank the real friends who steered her in the right direction.

If you love a book and are yourself searching for an agent, check to see for whom that author's most thankful. 

(I can bet, we all thank our agents, big time.)

Click here for a few funny, poignant, interesting acknowledgments. 

Including this one:

Franny & Zooey, by J.D. Salinger
“As nearly as possible in the spirit of Matthew Salinger, age one, urging a luncheon companion to accept a cool lima bean, I urge my editor, mentor and (heaven help him) closest friend, William Shawn, genius domus of The New Yorker, lover of the long shot, protector of the unprolific, defender of the hopelessly flamboyant, most unreasonably modest of born great artist-editors to accept this pretty skimpy-looking book.”

And sometimes, it's worth reading the comments on posts. 

That's where I found this:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

"The dedication of this book is split in seven ways: to Jessica, to David, to Kenzie, to Di, to Anne, and to you, if you have stuck with Harry until the very end."

Indies First!

Where better to hang out for a few hours on a Saturday morning 

than your local independent bookstore?

If you're in the Tampa Bay area, that would be INKWOOD BOOKS.

If you haven't been in a while, you may be surprised. 

Lots of fun, new stuff there.

And me. I'll be there on Saturday, November 30th, 11 til 1:00 for 

INDIES FIRST.

Here's a link to all the Inkwood authors, the who, what, where and when. 

Here's a link to check any bookstore, anywhere! 

(All the authors coming to your local indie.)

It all started with Sherman Alexie:

Small business Saturday was founded by American Express in 2010 and is celebrated every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Show your support for the businesses in your community and SHOP SMALL on Small Biz Saturday.

Indies First is a grassroots campaign spearheaded
by author Sherman Alexie.

Alexie has rallied authors around the U.S. to become booksellers for a day at their local independent bookshop. He'll be spending the day at his local indie in Seattle.

BROTHERHOOD by A.B. Westrick

The post-Civil War Reconstruction Period fascinates me.

You'd think I'd know a lot about this sad, turbulent time in our country's history. I studied Mississippi history at least twice before graduating from junior high school, and we usually made it through the ill-fated reconstruction. Then there was American History with Mrs. Brown and a college class in Southern History and one on the Civil War.

Now I don't miss an episode of HELL ON WHEELS.

Even as a seventh grader studying the Reconstruction, I loved the sound of Scalawag and Carpetbagger.
Oh, and I loved that we were allowed to say Damn Yankees in our classroom. Outloud. Even the teacher said it. In context, of course.

My grandmother recalled stories passed down from her own parents. How her grandfather was pardoned by President Johnson for fighting, so that he could vote and own land.
That's how fresh the history was to Southerners of her generation.

But I can't think of a lot of well-written, gripping stories written for Middle Grade, set during this time period.

Now there's a new one, just out, that I couldn't put down.

My latest fascinating read is BROTHERHOOD, a debut novel set in Richmond, Virginia right after the War Between The States.

(Okay, call it what you will. The War of Northern Aggression was a particular favorite in that Mississippi history class.)

But back to BROTHERHOOD, a novel I truly loved.
Westrick does an admirable job of portraying the period and the city. I felt like I was right there with the brothers. The character of Shadrack was so well written--conflicted and tortured by his older brother and by his allegiance to his family.


(ages 10 and up, though it's one adult readers will appreciate)


Be sure to read the Author's Note, especially the information about the Ku Klux Klan.

My ties to Virginia go way back. I recently spent time reading and writing there.
Can you imagine watching this sunset every evening?

Or being surrounded by old books? Lots and lots of old books. I can't keep my hands off.
Wouldn't you be inspired?

And I love the city of Richmond, walking the streets, hearing the sounds, visiting the museums.
Now I'll look at that city with fresh eyes.

BROTHERHOOD recreates it so vividly.
Isn't that what you want a good book to do?

Here's a link to the author's webpage:
http://abwestrick.com

For an excellent interview with A.B. Westrick, click HERE. 

(Thank you to the publisher for an Advanced Reading Copy. )

Revision: Quote of the Day

A writer's best friend is a wastepaper basket.
Isaac B. Singer. 

Mine's been emptied five times today.
Revision, I love it.

Pretty much everything you need to know about a great way to revise, via Laurie Halse Anderson:

http://madwomanintheforest.com/wfmad-day-18-revision-roadmap/

Come say hello!

 You’re invited

to

The Children’s Authors Panel

at

Discovery Night

Barnes & Noble

213 North Dale Mabry

Tampa, Florida

Friday, November 22

7:00-9:00 p.m.

Featuring:

Augusta Scattergood

GLORY BE

Shannon Hitchcock

THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL

Nancy Cavanaugh

THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET

Rob Sanders

COWBOY CHRISTMAS

< Hear from the authors >

<Learn about writing for children >

< Get answers to your questions >

< And get your hands on some great books >

The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya

 Hot off the presses, THE DESPERATE ADVENTURES OF ZENO AND ALYA, 
just out this month.
Such a good book! 
An adventure, a talking animal story, a family who loves being a family, a parrot separated from his owner, a girl who's close to giving up, a brother who loves her, a worried mom, and a lot of appealing animal characters to lighten things up.




Two of my favorite quotes-
From Alya, upon reading The Secret Garden:

She opened the book, grateful to enter its world again. She knew she was too old to believe in magic. She wished she still could.

And Zeno, the grey parrot who speaks 127 words:

"Home! Home! Home!" he said it several more times. He was always proud to have learned a new word, particularly one as important as this.

Kirby Larson loves the book, too. Here's what she blurbed for the book:

“From the moment Zeno, the African grey parrot, strutted onto the scene, I was captivated. His sense of self— ‘Zeno wants’—is battered by uncertain freedom, inferior birds, and a devastating lack of banana-nut muffins, yet he perseveres. He believes he has this freedom thing down pat. It is not until he encounters Alya, a young girl limply falling deeper and deeper into a confinement triggered by her illness, that Zeno’s vocabulary of 127 words is increased by one of the most important of all: home. This story of Zeno, Bunny, and Alya flew straight into my heart. I will be thinking about these unlikely friends for a long, long time.”

    ––Kirby Larson Newbery Honor Winner, author of  Hattie Big Sky and Hattie Ever After

Yes, very unlikely friends. But I couldn't have said it any better. Perseverance! That's truly a lesson to take away from this little story.

 

 CLICK HERE for an excellent review from the Page 69 Blog. 

Page 69- an interesting concept:

"Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you." --Ford Madox Ford

But Page 69 it doesn't do this novel justice. 

Although I've known plenty of kids who ask their librarians for a "sad book," I'm not crazy about reading books featuring sick children. I'm sure there are plenty of great ones, but if you tell me that's the main focus of a novel, I may steer clear.

But I LOVED this new middle-grade novel. 
There's so much more than a sick child to this story.


HERE'S the author's website.
With a link to purchase the book. 

(Thank you to Feiwel and Friends, publisher, for the ARC of Jane Kelley's book.)

First Edition, First Printing

Thanks to Caroline Starr Rose's great blog, I've been trying to figure out the whole number of printings thing. I'm sure I knew this at some point in my librarian/ reader/ writer career. But only when Caroline blogged about it did I decide to read up on the whole Printing vs. Edition thing.

(Thank you, Caroline, for filling my afternoon with great googling and little writing. But it was fun!)

Here's a good explanation of how to find which printing a book's in:

http://www.travelinlibrarian.info/writing/editions/#prfa

And if you're a potential book collector, this might be helpful.
http://bookriot.com/2012/11/08/the-beginners-guide-to-identifying-first-editions-part-one/ 

I can't resist sharing an image from that link, above. 
I believe this is the copyright page from THE HELP. 
Do note how many printings that book's in...

 

That would be #56. And it was over a year ago. 
We should all be so lucky.

SPELLING WOES

Today I typed the word NICKLE into my manuscript.
What? say you. Nickle isn't a word.
Sadly, I know this.

It's NICKEL.
 

I learned this in 4th or 5th grade at the Hill Demonstration School where I spent my earliest elementary years. Considering myself a stand-out speller, I won the class spelling bee and moved on to the school bee. Where the word NICKEL tripped me up. I remember it like it was yesterday and it was a zillion yesterdays ago.

(And yes, as my friend Sylvia pointed out on Facebook, a nickel isn't all that important these days. That's what I love about writing historical fiction. Nickels still count. And Tangee lipstick. And bobby-sox. And 45 records. See I could go on and on. But this blog is about SPELLING. Kind of.)

Spelling.
Maybe that's why one of my absolute-favorite-of-all-times books is

FAME AND GLORY IN FREEDOM, GEORGIA, 
by Barbara O'Connor.

CLICK HERE for a very early review I wrote, before I really realized what a storyteller Barbara O'Connor is. It may have been the first book I read of hers. I love the southerness of the story and the characters. I love the twist near the end. I love how everything doesn't always end with Happily Ever After in Barbara's books.

And I love the Spelling Bee parts. How hard poor Bird works to get to Disney!
To make a friend our of Harlem.
Sigh. I think I need to read that book again right now.

If you've missed it, here are links to buy your own copy:

http://www.indiebound.org/search/apachesolr_search?family_id_filter=0818904

http://www.amazon.com/Glory-Freedom-Georgia-Barbara-OConnor/dp/0374400180


I thought I'd never forget how to spell Nickel.
I won't ever forget the day I misspelled it.


You might also be interested in these posts.
The Page 69 Test.
Writing Tip Tuesdays

Inspiration!

One of my favorite places, even in the cold.

Outside The Barn where we meet, eat, greet, write, think- at Highlights Foundation.

Of course, there's an LY rock.

Making History, the Fictional Kind

If you've never "done" a Highlights Foundation workshop, put this on your Wish List.
An amazing experience, and I don't just mean the food or the people. Your own cabin in the woods. Surrounded by writers. Your complete manuscript critiqued by professionals.

Check out the book I found on the shelf in the Lodge, where the faculty stays.
There are all sorts of old and odd books here!

Yesterday's sunset!

A walk to the end of the road and we discovered an office with all sorts of artifacts.
Including an original Highlights Magazine.

In anticipation of this week, I did a little Historical Fiction reading.

Thanks to Bobbi Miller, my brain is now thinking about what Avi had to say.
(Yes, I totally get the costume drama thing.)

Avi, an award-winning master of the genre, offers that some historical fiction stays close to the known facts, while others are little more than costume drama. “Ultimately, what is most important is the story, and the characters.” Facts, according to Avi, do not make a story. “Believable people do…Truth may be stranger than fiction, but fiction makes truth less a stranger.”

Check out Bobbi's article, Why is Historical Fiction Important, HERE.

Lots more quotes from authors you'll know and love. And links to other things historical!
Here's one example, re: Teaching with Historical Fiction.

And these writing tips, from Mary Sharratt, via Publisher's Weekly:
"The most innovative historical fiction, to my mind, draws obscure characters from the margins of history and sets them center stage."

And if you're interested, there's this, my previous thoughts on Historical Fiction:
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-heck-is-historical-about-it-anyway.html 


Stay tuned.  I hope to post a few quotes from our fabulous writers of Historical Fiction here this week at Highlights. Soon!






 

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK

Yeah, yeah, I know. Late to the party and all that.
But what better time consider graveyards than Halloween.

 The first time I started Neil Gaiman's THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, it had just won the Newbery. I had it from the library. I was busy and didn't finish. I couldn't renew it. I returned it, unfinished. Hate when that happens.

Recently, it came up in my Critique Group's meeting. A reminder I needed to read this book.

I thought it might creep me out. A lot of ghostly stuff does.
But I loved it even more than I expected. Reading it right through probably helped. And I'm a big fan of old cemeteries.



Two of my favorite quotes:

Silas, advising and teaching young Bod:

"It's like the people who believe they'll be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn't work that way. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you."


Nehemiah Trot, also to Bod:

"If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained."


In case you missed it, click HERE FOR GAIMAN ON LIBRARIES.

And because I do love wandering through old cemeteries, reading headstones, imagining the stories as much as Alan Gurganus does, check out this. Fun reading on Halloween!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/opinion/the-man-who-loved-cemeteries.html

Writerly Quote of the Day

Remember all those notebooks and files I was sorting through this summer?

Here's one from a conference near and dear to my heart. 
Maryland/ Delaware/ West Virginia SCBWI, July 2008.
Where I met my agent and friend, Linda Pratt.

And got to hear Cynthia Lord talk about writing RULES.

I wrote this down, but of course had forgotten it. 
Now any time I catch myself saying (only to myself!): I'm not a big fan of fantasy, science fiction, etc. I'm remembering this.

Cynthia Lord, quoting Sarah L. Thomson, author of Dragon's Egg: 

"Fantasy is just reality wearing cooler clothes."

Friday Favorites

Figs.

Love 'em or hate 'em. I love them. A lot.

So of course I had to check out the country's largest fig tree, located in Santa Barbara, California.
Where I just happened to be last week.

Click that link if you'd like to read more.

The tree looks like no other fig tree in my experience.
It's not the southern fig from my grandmother's backyard.

BUT there were figs on it.  They were terrible. 

Okay, yes, I picked a ripe one and opened it up and maybe I even kind of tasted it.

I've written about figs before.
Maybe some would say I've over-written on the topic.

But if you're a Fig Freak also, here are a few things I've said on the topic.

FIGS, on my own blog, here: http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2012/07/figs.html

A FIG recipe, here: http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2012/07/fig-recipe.html

And another FIG recipe, from my friend and food blogger, Lee Hilton.
I'd love to make preserves like this.
If I could get enough figs and if I could keep from eating them right out of the little baskets.
http://spoonandink.blogspot.com/2012/08/preserving-summer.html

And WAY back in 2008 when I first joined a great gang of Southern Writers on A GOOD BLOG IS HARD TO FIND, I wrote this about my Great Fig Fiasco. My failed attempt to break into NPR.
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2008/10/great-fig-fiasco-im-writer.html

And if you're still reading? Here's the essay that put the whole Fig Fiasco thing in motion:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0830/p18s02-hfes.html

I'll bet there are still a few figs out there just waiting to be turned into a Fig Garlic Pizza.
So easy and delish. (Recipe's on my Pinterest board.)

Thank you, Mississippi librarians

Last week I was honored to receive the Mississippi Author Award in the Children's Literature cagetory for my novel, GLORY BE.

I talked all night to such nice librarians and to my two fellow honorees, Julie Cantrell and Carolyn Brown.





I was especially flattered to be introduced by none other than Ellen Ruffin, curator of the deGrummond Children't Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Here we are, smiling after my speech. Note the fabulous Ellen decked out in some of our table decorations, Mardi Gras style. Librarians do know how to party, don't we...

 

My sister, Jane Carlson, and brother Jack Russel were my honored guests at the dinner. 

Jane and I wandered around the exhibits as only two geeky librarians would do. 

(Did I mention Jane's also a former librarian?)

At the dinner, I spoke about my inspiration for Miss Bloom-- LePoint Smith and Anise Powell.

Click HERE if you'd like to read my post about them. 

 

 

 

Did I mention that my celebration started at the New Orleans airport? 

Any day that begins with beignets is bound to turn out right. And this one certainly did.

THANK YOU, MISSISSIPPI LIBRARIANS!

Counting by 7s, POV

I wrote about this book in a Christian Science Monitor Middle-Grade Roundup. You can see my short review HERE.

But I want to say a few things about it from a writer's perspective.

And especially that dratted multi-character POV thing.

In this book, I love it and think it works perfectly.

Willow Chase tells most of the story, in first person chapters. She's the "highly gifted" --she says this herself-- multi-racial, adopted child of somewhat older parents who don't really appear except as Willow shares her memories of them. That's no spoiler. It's obvious from the very beginning of this novel. We're shown the tragic event that sets the story in motion and upsets Willow's world.

I loved everything about this young woman. From her name, to her outsider-ish personality and that she knows she's not the average middle-schooler surrounded by friends. Her attempts to fit in at the new school her parents have chosen are failures. Despite someone (Mom, for sure) leaving a Teen Vogue magazine on her bed, featuring a teenager with "hair the color of a banana" and a wide smile, Willow chooses her gardening outfit for her first day at Sequoia Middle School. Without the binoculars around her neck. She does wear her new glasses, with "frames that looked like what Gandhi wore." They were perfect "because I was going forward in the brave new world in peace."
Or so Willow believes.

Then there's her school counselor. Dell Duke, whose chapters are 3rd person, and I think mostly past tense. Chapters often shared with Willow's new friend Mai. A few chapters are in the voice of the cab driver, Jairo Hernandez, who thinks Willow must be some kind of shaman, not to mention an Alberta Einstein.

Can you see how complicated this sounds? You know what- it's not!
The writing flows seamlessly and beautifully. The story moves quickly.

Having recently read quite a few books told by different characters, I'm beginning to zero in on the difficulty of reading and of writing one. I agree with a reviewer of a different book who they can take on a drive-by quality. The literary equivalent of speed-dating. You just get settled in with one character and another begins telling a completely different, though usually interwoven side of the story.

In the case of Counting by 7s, this just isn't the case. You hardly notice that it's not Willow's story to tell because every character has something to say about her, some connection, an emotional bond being forged.

If you google Multi POV or some such, you'll find a lot of hates. Dreads and drats.
But I think it's being used a lot more in kids' books. Some work. Some don't.

I happen to think COUNTING BY 7s works in all the right ways.

If you're still reading and hope to go away with some helpful writing info re: POV, a few links--

Linda Urban's discussion, via her NESCBWI presentation-
http://lindaurbanbooks.com/2013/05/05/point-of-view-handout-nescbwi/ 

Janice Hardy spells it out HERE: http://blog.janicehardy.com/2010/02/first-through-third.html

Darcy Pattison. Always trustworthy. Especially like that Seedfolk comment, re: community-
http://www.darcypattison.com/revision/multiple-pov-2/

Not specifically about writing for Middle Graders or Young Adults, here are some big Do's and Don'ts (Dos and/or Don't's just didn't look right...)-

http://maybegenius.blogspot.com/2011/08/dreaded-multiple-pov-novel.html

Junk Poker

(Note, I'm reposting this from May, 2011, written as I prepared for the book's launch. I'm reposting because I just had the nicest comment from a reader, today, and can't resist sharing. Oh, and by the way, the actual wallpaper, deemed valuable, has been retired. But I now have a great facsimile supplied by the kids at one of the schools I visited last year. )

When I changed my Facebook profile picture this week, I had a few questions. Like what in the heck is that shoebox tied up with a big purple ribbon all about?

It's all about Junk Poker.

When we were very little and shared the Sleeping Porch as our bedroom, my sister and I created a game. I remember it vividly, so what if she doesn't?  I was older. I get to elaborate on the memories. So I'm telling the story: we played Blackjack with our "treasures." We hid the shoeboxes under our beds. We took them out during nap-times (every day of the summer to escape the heat and survive polio- but that's another story).

In my upcoming novel, Glory and her big sister play Junk Poker. In fact, I first titled the book Junk Poker, way back when I first began writing it. Back then, it was a short story narrated by an adult caregiver, who also happened to be  the organist/ wedding planner/ maker of tissue paper carnations for the First Baptist Church. What can I say? The story has evolved. Have you never started with one idea and come up with something completely different?

New title, new genre, new characters.
But Junk Poker and the shoebox survived.

Inside my box is my prized possession. I thought it was lost until I rediscovered a manila envelope tucked in the bottom of an old footlocker from Camp Skyline Ranch. The trunk had traveled many miles since my Mentone, Alabama days. When it finally fell apart in our last move, I salvaged the envelope.

I found corsages from old boyfriends, a photograph of my dad's Army jeep that I learned to drive on, and the best treasure of all: wallpaper from Elvis's house in Tupelo, Mississippi.

So that's what I shared in my Scholastic talk in New York. Green floral wallpaper from Elvis's childhood home, tucked into this Buster Brown shoebox just like Glory's, wrapped in a big purple ribbon. Why Elvis's wallpaper? You'll have to wait for Glory and her big sister to tell you...

Meanwhile, it's only fitting that my Junk Poker box serves as my new Facebook profile picture. 

The Name Game again

Looking for a name?

Turns out naming a child (or a book character!) after a place is nothing new.

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n426/Geovalue/16.jpg

 Check out this list of STATE NAMES given to children. 

http://mlcref.blogspot.com/2012/11/youre-named-where.html

Here's a little from that post, above. Doesn't it make you want to click over and read it all?

And because fiction can be more satisfying than real life, here are some fictional characters with US State names:
Alaska Young in John Green's Looking for Alaska
Nevada Smith in Harold Robbins' The Carpetbaggers
Montana Wildhack in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five
Wyoming Knott in Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Arizona Ames in Zane Grey's Arizona Ames.

The daughter named KIM in Edna Ferber's Showboat:
And as Kim Ravenal you doubtless are familiar with her. It is no secret that the absurd monosyllable which comprises her given name is made up of the first letters of three states - Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri - in all of which she was, incredibly enough, born - if she can be said to have been born in any state at all (Ferber 1).


And yes, I do obsess over names.
Can't seem to flesh out a character without the name fitting perfectly.
So I rejected Virginia, a state name?--not entirely, as a big sister.
She just wasn't a Virginia. Turns out, she was a Jesslyn.
Blogged about, here: http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2011/08/name-game.html

And for my current, in revision, manuscript, I blogged about my Main Character's elusive name, here:
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2008/05/naming-names.html

But I'm liking those state names. Great post. Thank you, Mississippi Library Commission!

P.S. Be Eleven

You know that thing about knowing somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody?
That's kind of how I feel about Rita Williams-Garcia. I've never met this writer, nor have I heard her speak, except on the occasional YouTube someone shares. But I know a few people who know her and probably know a lot of people who have heard her talk about how to write. I suspect she's brilliant.

I want some of her Writing Fairy Dust to spill my way.

And while I try very hard not to envy anybody's fabulous talent, Rita Williams-Garcia's books about those Gaither girls are truly enviable.

Three things I love about this new book, P.S. Be Eleven.

1. You get a sense of history without being banged over the head with it. The girls are funny in a way that a lot of kids will truly get. They constantly bicker. They laugh and swoon over the Jackson Five. Standing in Mr. Mack's Candy Store, they remember Power to the People from their One Crazy Summer in Oakland with their poet mother. But Fern chimes in- in a way that younger sisters even today might - with "Free candy," instead of Free Huey.
So funny.

Their Vietnam veteran uncle's serious story is interwoven with the girls' worry about seeing Michael Jackson. Beautifully and seamlessly told, this subplot is an important, yet kid-friendly discussion.

2. Those authentic character voices. Wow.
I love all three sisters. I love Big Ma, their grandmother.
But Delphine is wise way beyond her 12 years.

Here's her take on the 6th Grade Dance:

       For me, the sixth-grade dance meant trying to match steps with boys I'd slugged...For me, and me alone, it meant waiting to be asked to dance when no one would ask because they'd have to look way up at me...
       I surely didn't want to be the girl no one asked to dance. I didn't want to be the girl who swayed by the punch bowl and cookie table, pretending to enjoy watching everyone else dance. I didn't want to be Miss Merriam Webster's definition of a sixth-grade wallflower.

Oh, how I remember those days!

3. The sensory details and descriptions inspire author-envy, I'll admit.
Like the teacher's letter. "The smell of purple ink swirled up my nose when I unfolded the bright white paper."  
Yes, I know. That mimeograph machine smell!

And Big Ma dressed for church, "with a pinned-on hat, a shiny black purse, and black gloves that crawled past her wrists."

I've been thinking a lot about Historical Fiction lately. I love reading books with terrific and true tiny details.
I'm excited about my upcoming whole novel HIGHLIGHTS FOUNDERS WORKSHOP on Historical Fiction.
(There may be a couple of places left. Click that link up there for details.)

I could go on and on.
But I'll let you see for yourself. And feel free to let me know your thoughts.


For my thoughts on the first book about these fabulous characters and my review on Joyce Moyer Hostetter's history blog, CLICK RIGHT HERE, please.

October Quote to Remember

via LOREN EISELEY: All the Strange Hours

"October is a traveling month for both birds and men."

More on THE END

According to my scribbles in a notebook, this quote about ENDINGS came via Virginia Euwer Wolff.

(But since I can't verify it, please don't quote me.)

I love it, no matter who said it.

"It's not exactly a WOW! or an AHA! 

But it's a cross between them, a WHOA!"

Click here for a few more words about endings, via my week with Ann Hood et al at WRITERS IN PARADISE a while back. And guess what-- they're already accepting applications for the 2014 conference in St. Petersburg, in January, with great writers.

HERE's the link to that excellent conference:

http://writersinparadise.eckerd.edu

Speaking of Endings:

Wouldn't you like to spend a week in January, learning and writing, 

looking at this at the end of your day?

Lookaway, Lookaway

I rarely comment on books I don't finish reading. Or books I don't like much.
But I gave this one the "80-page Test" and am now returning it to the library.
And I'm only writing about it because before I even started reading this just-published novel-- set in Charlotte, NC according to the review and sounding quite intriguing-- I mentioned it to more than a few folks.

Sorry about that.

The New York Times review made me want to read it. Especially because I'm exploring and curious about what seems to be a proliferation of multi-viewpoint novels these days. (Kids' books included.)

Here's the last page of that otherwise positive review:

"My few complaints about this novel arise from my own greed. Because each character gets his or her own chapter, after a while the book takes on a drive-by quality. You settle in with Jerilyn and then, before you know it, you’re on to Gaston, then Jerene and so on. It’s the literary equivalent of speed dating, and it left me yearning for more, especially from Gaston and the ghastly Jerene, whose mysteries Barnhardt only begins to plumb. By the end, I felt like a starving man at a buffet — sated but still hungry. That’s not really a knock. 'Lookaway, Lookaway' is that rare thing: an excellent long novel that’s not long enough."

The cover also intrigued me. And the title! But that first chapter was pretty revolting, on many levels. And then we went into a second character, who at first seemed quite interesting. A writer! But man, talk about ruminating and pontificating way too long. Yep, that was my feeling about Gaston.


CLICK HERE for the entire review by Malcolm Jones. It's worth reading.

CLICK HERE for a link to the publisher's website where you can read an excerpt of the book.

Anybody else read LOOKAWAY, LOOKAWAY?
Some of the blurbers were my favorite writers! 
Maybe I should give it another shot? 
Maybe later. 
Today, it's due back at the library with a very long list of reserves. Others are waiting. I'll let them judge for themselves.

Seeing Red by Kathryn Erskine

On Sunday I attended my first ever National Book Festival, sponsored by the Library of Congress.
Beautiful day, lots of great authors, wandering hither and yon with little book lovers- what could be better?

Well, I got to meet Kathryn Erskine. And hear her speak about her new book. That was pretty cool.

I love what she said about writing the book, about her long journey to get this one just right. (I've read it and it's more than right. It's a terrific story, beautifully told.)

I love the double-entendred title. (Is that a verb? Is that even a word?) And that she endured so many title choices-- Facing Freedom, Deer Season, Freeman’s Phoenix, Cornerstone, Finding Truth, Finding Hope-- before deciding on the absolute perfect title: 

SEEING RED.

Here's her own blog, and the story of the book's publication journey:
https://kathyerskine.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/seeing-red-seeing-stars/

There's more! I just discovered this terrific interview.
If you hurry on over, there's a giveaway of the book. 
Quick! Ends tomorrow!

http://debtasticreads.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/welcome-to-the-spotlight-kathryn-erskine-and-seeing-red/