Queen "B"s

Last Friday evening, I attended an author event at the nearest Barnes and Noble bookstore. It featured three awesome women YA authors whose last names all happened to begin with the letter B:

I'm not sure what they're looking at but from left to right: Sarah Rees Brennan, Holly Black, and Libba Bray

Cassandra Clare was scheduled to appear on the panel but unfortunately she couldn't attend much to the disappointment of my teen posse. But then, her last name begins with "C" and I would have had to think of something more clever for a title to this post. So, I guess it evens out, right?

Anyway, back to the event. If you've ever been to a panel event or a single author signing (single as in "the only one" not their marital status) and you love books, and especially if you dream of the day when you might be the featured author, that moment when you see the author is thrilling. At least for me it is.

We were cramped into an area which was much too small for the number attending. I mean, seriously. Four YA authors were supposed to speak, there were about 4 rows of chairs (maybe 24 chairs total), along with about 6 comfy chairs against the window (I'm thinking those people must have camped out or bribed the staff to get those). If you didn't get a seat, you stood cramped together or sat on the floor at the bottom of the table - not much room. I stood behind the chairs, but got to lean against a bookshelf. It was on the warm side, I was tired, and they were late due to traffic. However, those feelings melted away when I spotted Libba, followed by Holly, and then Sarah walking down the aisle opposite me toward the gathering. There's something almost magical about seeing someone in person who has contributed something so creative to the world - whether it be a book, music, art...I don't know, call me crazy.

The night began with the trio humorously bantering back and forth, and chatting about each other's latest books: Sarah Rees Brennan's Unspoken, Holly Black is between books (Black Heart, the last book in her trilogy, was released a few months ago and  Doll Bones, an MG novel will be released in 2013), and Libba Bray's The Diviners. The highlight had to be Brennan's spontaneous "interpretive dance" version of The Diviners. 

Sarah brings Kami, Angela, and Jared to life during her reading from her novel, Unspoken.

Then each author read an excerpt from her own novel. When Bray read from her prologue from The Diviners not a sound could be heard from the audience. Brennan's read was highly entertaining and was complete with accents and a little disrobing...ahem. Holly could have promoted from her latest book, Black Heart or from Doll Bones. But did she? NO! (that's a surprised no not an angry no, people). Instead, she pulled out the stapled pages from a portion of her unfinished manuscript, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. How awesome is that? Can I say how that spoke volumes to me? Trusting her audience with the beginnings of a new work. And the excerpt was wonderfully creepy!

Next was the question and answer session. My favorite question that was asked was, When did you know that you wanted to be a writer? Sarah knew at 7, Holly knew at around 9, Libba at 18. Although each shared a personal story related to that moment when she knew, Libba's story was very moving. Holly spoke about how finishing a first draft was the hardest part of writing for her, and about how difficult it was to take an idea that's inside her head and getting it down on paper the way she imagines it.

In the end I was glad that I went even though I didn't wait around for the signing portion. It had been the end to a long week and I wasn't feeling that great (the beginnings of a cold), there was a big crowd, and the girls were anxious to leave. These women were a class act.

Have you read any books from these authors?

The Signing That Almost Wasn't - Part II

Part II will also be my post for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. Keep reading. I promise it ties in. If you missed Part I and would like to read it, it’s here.

I continued driving and at one point thought I missed a turn. Glancing at the clock - 6:57pm - I started to panic but knew I was close to the bookstore. “Just keep going and hope for the best.” Maybe I could turn around up ahead. As I passed the library where I listened to Laurie Halse Anderson speak last year I realized that I hadn’t made a wrong turn after all. The bookstore was only a couple of blocks further. I found a parking space across from the store, and thanks to my weird but awesome ability to parallel park in one swipe, I entered Wellesley Books at 7:05pm. I quietly headed downstairs and around the corner to a small, cozy gathering. The organizer for the night's event had just finished speaking and Laini was introduced as I sat down in my seat (and said a silent ‘thank you’ inside).

There were maybe 40 people in attendance, mostly teens and young adults. Laini stood behind a table with a small podium on top. Three walls lined with books framed her – the perfect backdrop. Laini’s lovely smile and pink hair lit up the room as she talked about her new book, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and how it came to be. She had been writing a novel and working on it a long time, but it wasn’t going well. (familiar) A new novel idea came into her head and she gave herself permission to cheat on the ms she had been working on for one day. (familiar) This new and intriguing story started pouring out as she wrote but it was important for her to complete the novel she was working on. So she went back to the former ms and finished writing it before continuing her new ms. (also familiar) The previous novel she told us, “never saw the light of day,” but she didn’t feel like it was a wasted effort. She went back to working on Daughter, turned the first 6 chapters in to her publisher (they loved it), and finished writing it.

Laini then read an exerpt from her novel. There’s something special, magical about listening to an author read from her own novel, and if you ever get the chance to go to an author event, I’d highly recommend it. The scene started out humorous but ended with an emotional ache that is written beautifully. I instantly fell in love with the MC, Karou, and I’m really looking forward to reading her story.

How does this tie in to the Insecure Writer’s Support Group? I mentioned in Part I that I really felt like I needed to get to this signing – to listen to a writer who has made it. I’ve been having some serious doubts about whether or not to continue with pursuing publication. I don’t think I could ever give up writing, but at this time in my life, actively working daily towards writing – blogging, commenting, finding time to write – is taking its toll on me. I suppose if I felt confident about my current ms, I could handle the exhausting schedule of daily life plus writing life; in other words, if I felt like I was making progress.

Did you notice all the times I wrote "familiar" up above? My experience with writing my ms is eerily similar to Laini’s. I’ve worked on my current ms for almost 2 years now. I started out strong but I’m losing my momentum and am having a lot of doubts about it. Last year, I took a break during Nanowrimo and started writing a YA that I was really excited about. However, I promised myself that this time I would finish a novel, the one I'm working on - Nitpicky. That’s where I am now, trying to finish it so that I can turn my attention back to the YA project. I can’t tell you how consoling it was to know that a struggling writer like me can share a similar experience with an incredibly talented author – and it’s okay.

(Laini and me)
After Laini’s presentation, we went upstairs to have our books signed. I thanked her for coming so far from home to speak to us (she’s from Oregon) and told her that I also write for teens. When I shared with her that sometimes I wonder if I had started too late in life to become an author for teens, she gave me some advice. I’d like to pass that along to all of you, especially if like me you’re in a stage of your life where you’re thinking it’s too late.

There are two perfect times to plant a tree. The first time was 20 years ago. The second time is now.

and don't forget: "Just keep going and hope for the best."

The Signing That Almost Wasn't: Part I

Before I begin, I made it.
I met Laini Taylor.
I never give away the endings to books or movies, but you may want to skip through my misadventures on the afternoon and evening leading up to the signing. So yes, there is a happy ending which will be part of my next post. This one was getting extremely long, so I'm splitting into Part I (today) and Part II (Tues. or Wed.).

When you have 4 kids who attend 3 different schools, throw in after school activities, and the inevitable last minute change of plans, you never know what the day will bring. All the planning in the world doesn’t guarantee that the day will go as expected. And so when I learned of Laini’s signing earlier in the week and checked my schedule, I knew the timing of getting there would be tight, and there was a good chance I might not get there at all.

Enter change of plans: My daughter’s game was cancelled. At first, Aw (sad face) but then, yay (happy face) I could pick her up earlier. This meant I could go to a wake I needed to attend earlier. Then there was dinner. Friday is takeout night at our house. Easy, right? I had just enough time to go to McDonald’s for the kids and pick up a pizza for my husband and I.

No problem, until we hit traffic. Okay. It’s okay, I murmured to myself. I just needed to leave to my house by 6:15. I arrived at McD’s and there were 10...TEN cars in the drive thru! Were they giving away burgers? I’d never seen the drive thru backed up that much. Plan B: I pulled into a space and directed the 2 girls who were with me to RUN TO THE DOOR! WE’RE ORDERING INSIDE! I got to the counter, ordered, then reached into my purse when I realized, I left all my money at home. NOOOOOO! I died just a little bit inside at that point as I saw in a flash what the next half hour would be like and how my chances of getting to the signing were slim to none.

So I did what any self-respecting person would do in my situation. I shouted, GIRLS, RUN! Thankfully my girls know that Mom can be kind of a maniac at times. This was about when I started talking myself down from a frantic state. This may sound corny, but I use little mantras to calm myself down when I feel myself starting to tense up. “Just keep going and hope for the best,” popped into my head and was repeated over and over again. I really, really , really wanted to go to this signing, I needed to go to this signing (will get into that in my next post), but knew safety and staying calm were top priority. So we got back into the car and crawled through traffic back home. I grabbed my wallet which was thankfully where I thought it would be (after giving older daughter cash to go out with friends). Then we crawwwwwled to the pizza place, crawwwwled back to McDonald’s (but no cars in the drive thru this time – Woot! Small victory!), and made our way home.

I got the kids settled, grabbed my sweater and camera, and left without eating supper – it was now 6:30. Getting to Wellesley on a good day is about 20-25 minutes. I was definitely going to sweat this ride out. By now it was getting dark and I was so afraid I’d miss a turn; the timing was going to be right down to the minute. As I approached the long lines of traffic at the red lights tense as can be, I purposely diverted my eyes from the dashboard clock and whispered, “Just keep going and hope for the best.”

to be continued...

Discovering Laini Taylor

Don’t you love when you discover an author so talented that you devour her/his work and want to tell everyone you know about it?

Two words. Laini Taylor.

The story of how I discovered Laini isn’t extraordinary. I had heard her name before, seen pictures of her distinctive pink hair, and read rave reviews of her novel Lips Touch: Three Times on some of the blogs that I visit. I’ll admit, sometimes it takes me a while to catch on and picking up this book to read was no exception. In fact, I knew that my library owned it. As I browsed the YA shelves seeking new reading material, many times I’d find Laini’s book, slide it off the shelf, gaze at the beautiful cover and put it back. “Maybe another day,” I’d say. Why? Sometimes because I already had 3 books in my arms, but mostly because of my own preconceived judgments, I’m embarrassed to admit.

Preconceived judgment #1 – It’s 3 separate short stories, not one novel, so I won’t really get into it. I’m not really in the mood for YA short stories. I want to get completely drawn into a novel and really get to know the main character. I just can’t do that with a short story.

Wrong. There are 3 separate stories but they have a common theme. And Laini’s gorgeous prose pulls you right in from the introduction of each story. Here’s an excerpt from the first page:

"There is a certain kind of girl the goblins crave. You could walk across a high school campus and point them out: not her, not her, her. The pert, lovely ones with butterfly tattoos in secret places, sitting on their boyfriends’ laps? No, not them. The girls watching the lovely ones sitting on their boyfriends’ laps?
Yes.

Them.” (Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor, p. 13)

Preconceived judgment #2 – The cover is intriguing but with a title like Lips Touch, it must be about kissing and I’m not really into novels heavy in the romance department.

Wrong, again (except for the cover and inside illustrations being gorgeous). Each story has a supernatural element and involves a kiss that is pivotal to the main character and the dilemma/consequences that may occur.

So why did I finally decide to stop in the middle of reading Going Bovine to check Lips Touch from the library? Laini's latest novel, Daughter of Smoke and Bone was released this week. It has received terrific reviews from bloggers who have read Advanced Copies and my curiosity started getting the best of me. But that’s not what made me jump in my car on a busy Saturday soccer morning to check the book out from my library [which was totally worth it for 2 reasons. 1 –They had the book, and 2 – I had a great conversation w/ the YA librarian about teen lit and authors we liked].

The night before, I visited the website of an independent bookstore in my area, Wellesley Books, to see if there were any upcoming author visits. It's been a while since I checked. Last year, I was lucky enough to meet Laurie Halse Anderson here. Guess who’s coming there this Friday? Laini! I decided right then and there to check out her book so I'd be familiar with her work. If all goes well, I'll be at Laini's book signing Friday night *crosses fingers*.

Simply put, Laini is an incredible storyteller. She weaves imaginative descriptions, intriguing characters, fantasy, and emotion together to create stories that you won’t want to put down. I'm really looking forward to Daughter of Smoke and Bone and plan to read her other works.

Have you read any of Laini Taylor's books? Are there any other books you can't wait to read?

Laurie

How do you condense an incredible experience in one post?
I’m not sure, but I’ll give it a try.

My birthday present to myself was to buy Laurie Halse Anderson’s newly released historical fiction novel, Forge. It’s the second book in a trilogy for kids. My husband left work early so that my 14-year-old daughter and I could attend a presentation/book signing that Laurie was giving in Wellesley.

After overcoming various obstacles – slow traffic, trying to locate the bookstore while driving behind a large truck, driving past the bookstore and having to turn around at Wellesley College, my uptightness (though honestly, my poor daughter had to endure that more than me), arriving at the WRONG location, driving to the LIBRARY instead – we managed to make it with 10 minutes to spare (whew!).

Wellesley has a gorgeous library and the presentation was held in a beautiful, intimate room. When we arrived there were maybe 25 people present at the time and we sat in the front row – less than 10 ft. from the podium. As I waited I felt relief, excitement, and gratefulness all rolled up together. I enjoyed listening to 2 boys sitting behind me. “I’m here ‘cause my teacher said I’d get extra credit if I came.” The other boy replied, “My mother made me go.” I smiled to myself thinking, “They are in for a real treat.”

Although I felt like I might burst with excitement sitting there, fortunately I didn’t have to wait long before Laurie was introduced. She started with a brief bio: how school was a struggle for her, how she sat in the back row because she was tall and shy, how she made “picture movies” in her head as she lay in bed trying to get to sleep, how 9th grade was difficult and she was often depressed, how she never planned to go to college and why/where she did, how she never dreamed of being an author and why she did, and about her love for history and historical fiction. She spoke about her first historical fiction book, Chains (which I’m currently reading) and its sequel, the newly released, Forge, and how she researches using primary sources for her factual information.

Laurie was warm, funny, passionate about her love of history and bringing that to kids through her writing - a dynamic speaker. I sat there grinning - savoring this special time. Then came the Q&A. I held back because there were quite a few kids with questions, mostly related to Chains and Forge. Then my daughter nudged me and whispered, "Go ahead," and I timidly raised my hand.

Moment #1 that I’ll never forget:
With her full attention and eyes on me, I asked, “Are you currently working on a young adult contemporary novel?” She is. *big grin*

A couple of questions followed about her YA novels, Speak and Wintergirls, and then it was time for the signing. There were about 20 people in front of J and me. She brought her copy of Speak, I brought Forge. We were given a post-it to write our names on so Laurie would know the spelling ahead of time. Can I tell you how impressed I was with her? She took the time to speak to each child as she signed, asked if they had a question for her, and posed for pictures.

Moment #2 that I’ll never forget:
Then we approached the table; it was our turn. My daughter went first, asked a question about Speak, and then posed for a pic. Then she took my book and asked if I was a teacher. I swallowed and willed myself not to gush. I told her that I once taught but am now raising 4 kids of my own (she’s a mom of 4 too), and that now I’m writing for teens and hoping to be published some day. She asked if I belong to SCBWI. I confessed that I had thought of joining but how I decided to wait until I finished a first draft to see if I was committed to writing. “You don’t have to finish to join,” she told me and that New England has a wonderful chapter. She then turned to J and said, “Make sure she signs up this weekend!” and wrote the link on my post-it. Grinning (and by this time a deep shade of red), I stood beside her and J took our pic. And then, because I knew this was my last moment with her, the gushing started. It went something like, “I admire you so much and thought it was great how the writing community backed you during the Speak controversy, it was an honor to meet you, thank you!”

Moment #3
I'm not sure how I got to my car but I think I floated out of the library to the parking lot. When we got in the car, J and I read our dedications to each other. Sorry, I can't share it with you - it's powerful but very personal. And I tear up every time I read it.

Laurie is on tour right now for Forge. If you have the opportunity to hear her and meet her, I encourage you to do so.

Something Special

I'm tired. I'm cranky.
But instead of subjecting you to a whiny post about my week, I'm going to tease you a bit.
Something has been getting me through the past week. I mean besides caffeine. Something that I'm looking forward to and very excited about. I'm not a superstitious person, but I'm keeping this a secret for a wee bit longer because I'm afraid I might jinx myself. That if I tell anyone too soon, it might not happen.

This something is happening at the end of the month. It's not Halloween and it's not my birthday, but it's right before both.
Want a hint?
I'm planning on meeting one of my author heroes at the end of October at a book signing. More hints to follow.