It’s been a long time since I’ve run a contest for signed copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE.
Last weekend one of my dear friends and a fabulous children’s librarian, Cathy Nuding, volunteered her time to come speak to my local SCBWI Shop Talk. It was two hours of amazing. I’d like to recognize Cathy’s awesomeness and help out even more hard working librarians. I’ll be giving Cathy another signed copy of TTS for her library (along with some other goodies) but I’ll also be giving away SIX more signed copies. You don’t have to be a librarian to enter. Just tell me about the library you believe should have a copy of TOUCHING THE SURFACE. If Rafflecopter pulls your name–I’ll send a signed copy right to their front door.
“Soulful and inventive. A thoroughly original vision for what happens next.” –Daisy Whitney, author of The Mockingbirds
“This gorgeous, lyrical read will sweep you away.” –Jessica Verday, bestselling author of The Hollow trilogy
“Sabatini creates an exquisitely tangible alternate reality, ordering the cosmos with impressive authorial derring-do, crafting answers to ontological questions with grace, disarming simplicity, and nary a trace of dogma. All while believable teens–teen souls, that is–tangle with affection, selfishness, and doubt. Thought-provoking and romantic, Touching the Surface takes risks with narrative and form, and succeeds on multiple levels.” —RBW (Chronogram)
Can you believe it’s been almost a year since I became an author? And even longer since I sold my first book and got an agent. Here’s a little walk down memory lane. Humor me–I’m nostalgic today. So in no particular order because that would add a layer of organization I’m not capable of, here’s just a few of my most fabulous moments between finding my agent and birthing a paperback…
Standing outside the Simon & Schuster offices.
Apocalypsies at the LA SCBWI Conference!!!
Meeting my agent (Michelle Wolfson) and editor (Anica Rissi) for the first time. <3
Kimmiepoppins met Mary Poppins!!!! I met Julie Andrews!!!!
Signing my contract!!!!!! I AM GOING TO BE AN AUTHOR!!!
My book was at Bologna. Takes my breath away.
Wow!
My Yanni dance girls wearing TOUCHING THE SURFACE T-shirts. <3
Signing books at my book launch.
Good friends drove in from far away despite all the trouble with Hurricane Sandy.
Just an amazing experience.
Unable to thank my friends and family enough for their love and support on that special day.
More book launch at Oblong Books. I LOVE that bookstore and everyone in it. <3
Dad–there–even when he couldn’t be. The dedication.
On bookshelves in bookstores.
Kimmiepoppins finally gets a book launch in NYC after Hurricane Sandy delayed it. Mean Hurricane–awesome party.
Woo hoo!!! I got to speak at the NY Public Library.
I’m a fangirl–it’s A.S. King people!!!!!
I’m a fangirl–it’s Sharon Creech people!!!!
My first SCBWI faculty gig at the Eastern NY SCBWI Conference–where I got paid to talk with my hands about things I love.
Connecting with teen readers and making hedgehogs. *grin*
Loving on my writer mama, K.L. Going. <3 Wouldn’t be here without her.
And because you made it to the end of my reminiscing…you shall be rewarded with a chance to win a signed copy of the brand spanking new TOUCHING THE SURFACE paperback!!!!
Just this past weekend (September 21-22) I got the chance to sail into inspiration at the Eastern NY SCBWI Regional Conference. It was a fabulous event for multiple reasons…
*This is my local conference and I love supporting my local SCBWI in anyway I can. This was the very first SCBWI conference I ever attended (back in June of 2007) and it was a life changer for me. I am here to tell you I would not be a published author if it were not for the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators)
*Because this was a local conference, I had the good fortune of have more of my Eastern NY buddies able to attend than I do at most conferences. I seriously love this group of writers and I never get to spend as much time with them as I would like. This was a treat.
*The Faculty was INCREDIBLE! And no, I’m not just saying that because this was my first time as conference faculty. LOL! Although, it was an awesome experience. I’m saying that because it was an incredible line up with speakers who have or who need to grace the SCBWI international stage. But just so you know, this is absolutely an area where I’d like to see some personal growth on my part. I have proposals developed for future SCBWI events so keep your fingers crossed that I get selected.
So, let’s get to the conference recap…
After registration and a warm welcome from the ship’s captain (RA Nancy Castaldo) We had the honor of listening to a Children’s Literature legend–Jerry Pinkney. Seriously, I could stare at his art and listen to his thoughtful stories all day.
Here are some of Jerry’s best thoughts during his Keynote Speech about ENVIRONMENT, TOOLS AND PROCESS
*His mom read him Hans Christian Anderson and it informed his work.
*His parents supported his artistry–in fact he drew on his bedroom walls and when they became full, his dad would repaint them white.
*He uses poetry to interpret our history and to help bring to light the roll people of color played in our past.
*Jerry Pinkney is dyslexic and to compensate, he is very organized with his art. *fist pump* A big HUG going out to another awesome dyslexic!!!! Yes, you know I hugged him–I do that.
Here are some of the best take aways from this session…
*When you write a good query/pitch, it will get used in the publishing process.
*In most cases, titles change.
*When submitting a PB manuscript, use illustrator notes sparingly (to explain a visual joke that can not be understood through the text)
*It’s okay to break the querying rules if and only if your manuscript is so fantastic I’m obsessed with it. If it’s that good I’ll read it scribbled on a cocktail napkin. (But yours is not that good.) LOL! Jennifer Laughran
I’m a huge fan of Harold to start with. I’ve seen him speak before and he’s written The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Children’s Book Publishing. He’s a fabulous source of information on a broad swath of children’s literature topics and you can’t get better than picking his brain. Here are some great take-aways from his Saturday session…
*Platform: in children’s writing it is not a necessity to come with one–it will develop over time.
*Picture Book writers are going to have a hard time finding an agent. Kids commercial fiction needs an agent.
*Kids have different developmental needs and have diverse tastes. This is a wonderful thing but it makes writing for them challenging.
*Picture Books are not just ONE thing.
*Study what’s on the shelves now, not what is on your shelves–Books are always evolving.
*Study the books on award lists.
*On formatting a manuscript–ALWYAS FOLLOW THE RULES.
Lunch was YUMMY! I have no pictures, I was too busy inhaling it. There was soup and salad with chicken or beef. The rolls were warm and toasty and the cookies were scrumptious. In fact, they were so good, I wasn’t even focused on the DEBUT AUTHOR PANEL right after lunch!!!!!
Ummmm I have no notes for you LOL! I was doing double duty being moderator and panelist along with Lizzie Foley (REMARKABLE) and Lisa Amowitz (BREAKING GLASS) But I do have pictures (Thank you to everyone who shared them with me!!!!!)
All three agents gave a ton of insight into how they operate, what they’re looking for and the general ins and outs of working with an agent. Here are some of the highlights…
*Your query should leave out the “it’s a fast paced …” part of the cover flap. (AB)
*Don’t hand any paper (synopsis) to an agent at a conference. It will burn their hand. LOL! Follow submission guidelines and reference the conference. (JL)
*On contracts: Every little word id there because it happened to somebody. (AB)
*Good questions to ask an agent in an interview: What books do you like that you don’t represent? What books do you dislike? (JL)
*PB Writers or Author/Illustrators should query one MS but have 3 or 4 fleshed out MS’s in the wings.
Next there was a book signing!!!!!! I LOVE getting a chance to share TOUCHING THE SURFACE with new people and talking about their projects and aspirations. I made so many new friends this weekend.
Let me just tell you, I was blown away by Betsy’s Keynote and the dessert selection was the bonus!!! YUM!!! But I would have adored her talk even without a HUGE side of chocolate yumminess. But since it was there…BONUS!!!! I apologize because I didn’t take a lot of notes or tweet–I was simply a captive listener. But if you’d like a taste of what Betsy has to offer, I highly encourage you to check out her blog–Fuse #8. It’s amazing!
On a side note–Betsy incorporated Lois’ fabulous book Ick! Yuck! Eew!: Our Gross American History into her presentation and raved about it, not remembering that Lois would be in the audience. How cool is that??? All my teacher buds, be sure to check this one out because it’s got librarians cheering.
After such a fabulous day, I went home completely pumped, totally exhausted and full of too much chocolate. But I needed to get over it quickly because I still had the SUNDAY INTENSIVES!!!!!
There were three choices for the Sunday event…
*Harold Underdown: MANAGING YOUR CAREER IN A CHANGING MARKET
*Semadar Megged (Art Director, Philomel) PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION AND DISCUSSION
They all sound great, don’t they? I picked the session with Harold. It was a small intimate group and I learned a metric ton of stuff. I didn’t tweet or take pics because I was interactively engaged and that is a great thing. After two hours of intensive we finished off the conference with an amazing presentation from Steve Sheinkin, author of BOMB. Steve is a former text book writer with a passion for history and a drive to turn our past into really honest and interesting stories so that kids can remember and enjoy them. I was also very impressed with the idea that most of out history lives in gray area. The text book writers and those who influence them have created a world of black and white. Steve pointed out that no one wants to hear there is good and bad in everyone, particularly their heroes.But maybe that narrow way of thinking is in the past–because with the accolades that Steve is getting for his writing and research, I think history books are changing for the better.
Let’s face it, no matter how long an SCBWI conference is, it ends too soon. So, before I go, some candids proving how much everyone was enjoying it…
Kim and Linda–your neighborhood Shop Talk Coordinators!!
Jeannie and I met because she almost knows my brother LOL!
Some of our Shop Talkers doing a pile on. <3
I love being a mentor for talented young writers. Kim and Danielle. ((((hugs))))
Kim and Linda hugging on our awesome RA!!!! Thanks for everything, Nancy. <3
And that’s a wrap. Any questions about the conference? Want to know more about our Hudson Valley Shop Talk? We want YOU!!!! Anyone take notes for the debut author panel. I’d love it if you threw a highlight or two from the presentation in the comments. What conference are you planning on doing next? Want more info on the SCBWI??? Just let me know what you need to know. And plan on coming to #EastNYSCBWI next time. <3
Yesterday I wrote this whole post about how amazing it was that I’d remembered to write my post over the long holiday weekend. Usually I get all discombobulated and think that Monday is Sunday, but this time I didn’t. Yay for me! But the god of three-day-weekends had to mess with someone, so of course the server on my website went down and not only couldn’t I post the blog, but it didn’t autosave. *head thunk*
So, what did I write about? September. It’s September people–the beginning of my most favorite time of year. But I’m not going to write about that because even though you didn’t read the post, I’m bored with that now. That was yesterdays’ news. *grin* Instead, I’m going to tell you about my awesome writer friend, Lobsang Camacho, who translated the first chapter of TOUCHING THE SURFACE into Spanish for me. I thought you might like to see it. And although it’s been a really long time since I took my Spanish Regents, this is awesome and I love it…
TOCANDO LA SUPERFICIE
Por Kimberly Sabatini
(Traducción: Lobsang Camacho)
1
el otro lado de la superficie
Mi cuerpo golpeó el agua. Pensamientos se desperdigaron como un puñado de cuentas que han caído sobre un piso de madera. Jadie por aire y la corriente se precipito dentro de mí. Mi garganta ardía. Pánico, derrota, destellos de luz explotando en mi cabeza. Rendición. Me hundí suavemente… hasta que… dedos envolvieron mi muñeca, jalándome fuera del agua. En cuanto mi cabeza rompió la superficie, todo cobro sentido. Yo había muerto… otra vez.
***
Me encontraba al final del muelle que se internaba hacia el centro del lago, tocando con mis dedos mi amuleto de plata en forma de pluma de águila, colgando en el hueco debajo de mi cuello. La cadena estaba enredada en los cabellos cortos debajo de mi cola de caballo. Estaba aturdida e imágenes destellaban frente a mis ojos. Recuerdos de Mel y de mis visitas previas al Obmil se precipitaban hacia mí, pero cuando se trataba de saber quien era yo en mi vida pasada, todo lo que podía distinguir entre la neblina de mi confusión era el hecho de que yo era una muchacha. Una muchacha y un fracaso.
—¿Samantha? ¿Eres realmente tú? —Mel respiró profundamente y sonrió, confirmando que sabía exactamente quién era yo.
Comenzaba a recordar ahora. Todo a mi alrededor se veía tal y como estaba en mis ultimas dos visitas. Yo, por otro lado, estaba asegurada a lucir completamente diferente. Pero eso no era inusual o problemático. Un alma en la vida después de la muerte era reconocible. Cuando llegas al Obmil en el último cuerpo que has habitado, no es realmente muy diferente a aparecer en una reunión familiar usando un atuendo distinto. Todos tenemos una esencia, una feromona que se antepone a la ilusión óptica del cuerpo que se esta usando. Me han dicho que mi alma huele un poco a madera recién cortada y chocolate oscuro.
Mel tomo otro respiro profundo y me sonrío, su cara calida y acogedora. Lentamente, el nudo de información en mi cabeza empezaba a desbaratarse. Había sido la mano familiar de Mel quien me saco del agua, fuera de mi tercera vida. Eso tenia sentido. Después de todo, ella me recibió en mis ultimas dos llegadas al Centro de Progresión Obmil. ¡Me lleva!- eso significaba que era mi tercera vez. Estaba atrapada.
Mel me estudio por un momento, luego bajo la mirada para anotar mi llegada en su cuaderno. Ella era fanática del periodismo, pero sospechaba que me estaba dando tiempo de adaptarme a mi situación. Su bolígrafo volaba a través de la página mientras hacia anotaciones. Podía imaginar sus comentarios acerca de mi futuro. Alma perdida-rápidamente dirigiéndose hacia ningún lado.
Pensé en ello por un momento, dándome cuenta de que ya no era Samantha. Ese había sido mi nombre en mi segunda vida, la última vez que tome una desviación hacia el Obmil. Podía sentir la piel entre mis ojos arrugarse mientras hurgaba en mi memoria. ¿Quien era yo esta vez?
En mi primera visita al Obmil, mis recuerdos habían sido como queso suizo: Emmental, para ser exacta. Había mas información presente que ausente. Como una Secundiza, las lagunas eran más grandes. Los recuerdos tardaron un poco más en regresar, pero con el tiempo se llenaron todos los espacios vacíos. Honestamente, casi había sido sencillo. No se necesitaba Ahondar en Primerizos o Secundizos. Pero aún podía escuchar la voz de Mel advirtiéndome que recordar mi pasado no era mi primera prioridad. Se suponía que debía aprender algo mas profundo acerca de mi misma en el proceso para evitar terminar en el Obmil otra vez. ¿Por qué no lo había hecho entonces? Ser una Terceriza era humillante. Era como reprobar gimnasia por rehusar ponerse el uniforme. Pero así como me sentía tonta por estar en la vida después de la muerta de nuevo, también sabía que debía averiguar qué me trajo aquí.
La última vez, intenté hacer lo que Mel me recomendó, permitiendo profundizar aún más en uno de mis recuerdos, pero sentí como si frotar mi corazón contra un rallador de queso. En mi segunda vida, mi esposo me había engañado. Repetidamente. Recordarlo fue suficientemente doloroso, pero entonces descubrí mi reacción hacia sus engaños. Pensé que podría cambiarlo. Pensé que era yo. Estaba convencida de que si podía mi empeño en ello, podría convertirme en lo que él necesitaba. Así que me quedé—en un despliegue de comportamiento patético—y él me dejó. Quise quitarme la vida y tal vez lo hubiera hecho, de no ser por mi mejor amiga. Ella me había salvado de hacer algo imperdonable.
Lo que aprendí del ejercicio fue que la introspección duele. Me había quitado el aliento. Nunca quise hacerlo de nuevo. Las cosas eran mejor en la superficie.
Ahora, de pie en el muelle, los recuerdos de mi vida pasada como Samanta pasaron de largo apresuradamente, como un tren pasando por la estación. Estaba tan absorbida en la presentación de imágenes en mi cabeza, que me olvide de respirar cuando mi memoria se quedo súbitamente corta al final de mi segunda vida. ¿Quien era yo ahora?
La mano de Mel me sujetó del codo y supe sin lugar a dudas que esta vez las cosas eran distintas. Estaba vacía. No había recuerdos significativos acerca de mi tercera vida en mi memoria. Todo era un enorme agujero en blanco. No sabía mi propia historia. Era la manera que tenia el Obmil de forzar la jugada, subiendo las apuestas.
—¿Samantha?—Mel agitó su mano en frente de mi rostro.
Sentí un tintineo. Una pequeña fracción de mi memoria se disparo en mi mente, como el pestañeo de una luciérnaga.
—Mi nombre es Elliot. Elliot Turner—respondí.
—Elliot… —repitió mi nombre, mirándome de pies a cabeza—. Eres más joven de lo que eras en tu última visita.
Abracé mi cuerpo, intentando reconocerlo, y mas detalles empezaron a emerger. Apreté con más fuerza, tratando de reconciliar los cambios entre mi cuerpo como Samantha y la nueva yo: Elliot. Mis brazos y mis manos presionaron mi pecho y torso. Mi nueva figura no era una montaña rusa, eso era seguro. Asomándome al lago, encontré mi reflejo en la suave superficie del agua. Diecisiete años eran mucho menos que cuarenta. Estudie mi rostro. Era muy simple comparado con el de Samantha. Mi nueva apariencia era fácil de olvidar. Me di la vuelta y me alejé del agua.
Mel ladeó su cabeza.
—¿Qué tal tu viaje?
—Mojado.
¿Sarcasmo? No estaba segura de donde vino. Tal vez era una pista de mi personalidad.
Mel se detuvo un segundo, ajustó su encrespada melena fuera de su rostro y rió. Cualquiera que llegase al Obmil a través del agua estaría completamente seco al salir. Era una de las ventajas de estar muerto. Había otras maneras. La última vez que había estado aquí caí del cielo. Causa de la muerte: accidente de avión a causa de una falla mecánica. Afortunadamente, aterrizajes de alto impacto dolían tanto como entradas por agua mojaban.
Buscando la mirada solidaria de Mel, la realización de que era una Terceriza me golpeó como una ola. Sin pensarlo, me arrojé en sus brazos.
—No recuerdo nada en absoluto esta vez— los sollozos hacían brincar mis hombros. Recordaba mis primeras dos vidas, pero mi vida como Elliot parecía haber sido arrebatada, olvidada en algún lugar remoto, y nadie me había dado un mapa para encontrarla. Hundí mi cara en la curva del cuello de Mel, donde su olor a lavanda y menta era más fuerte.
—Sshh…— Mel me dijo al oído—. Todo está bien. No hay nada de que avergonzarse. Se que creíste haberlo resuelto la ultima vez, pero traté de advertírtelo. Se necesita más que solo tocar la superficie—. Me apretó el hombro y sonrió—. No te preocupes, no era tu tiempo. Además, si hubieses tenido éxito, no tendría la oportunidad de verte de nuevo.
Aspiré un par de veces, y me deje envolver en sus brazos, sintiéndome segura.
—La iluminación espiritual esta sobrevalorada— dije, separándome y encogiendo los hombros. Pensar en los recuerdos y emociones profundas dolía como si pasaran por un rallador de queso. Me estremecí—. No llevo prisa de todos modos. Estar aquí no es tan malo. Me quedaré contigo por un tiempo.
—Tú no quieres hacer eso —dijo Mel bruscamente.
La mire con sorpresa. Ella era normalmente muy calmada.
—Escucha, Elliot, se supone que no debo interferir mucho con la travesía personal de un alma. Soy simplemente una guía. Pero debes saber que hay consecuencias al quedarse por tiempo prolongado en el Obmil. Esta bien tomarte el tiempo que necesites al trabajar en tu plan de crecimiento espiritual, pero evasión eterna no es una opción.
—¿Que clase de consecuencias? —pregunté, notando como su tensa boca se estrechaba en una delgada línea.
—Digamos que las consecuencias serian infernales —dijo desviando la mirada.
—Acaso me estas diciendo que realmente existe el infier…—Mel me interrumpió lanzándome una mirada abrupta. Todos en el Obmil siempre especulaban. ¿Todas las almas avanzaban después de su tiempo aquí, o había otras opciones no tan agradables?
Mel se aclaro la garganta.
—Solo digo que la mejor manera de manejar ser una Terceriza es seguir el ejemplo de Julia.
—¿Quién es Julia?
Mel se dio un golpecito en la cabeza.
—Perdón. Julia es Emma.
Emma. Mi mejor amiga en la vida y en la muerte. Durante mi primera vida ella había sido un él. De hecho, las dos éramos unos gemelos solterones llamados Arty y Jim. Ambos morimos mientras dormíamos y despertamos en camas gemelas en el Obmil.
Durante mi segunda vida, Emma fue mi mejor amiga. Nos conocimos en el grupo de apoyo para divorciadas. Ella me encontró cuando había tocado fondo. Íbamos regresando de un retiro cuando nuestro avión se estrelló. Ambas veces habíamos estando en la misma vida y en la vida después de la muerte juntas.
—¿Cuándo llegó? ¿Tiene la misma edad que yo? ¿Cómo luce? ¿Acaso ella recuerda si vida pasada? ¿Ya empezó el taller?—Hubiese seguido con las preguntas pero Mel tenia una expresión rara en el rostro, como si estuviera saboreando algo muy amargo.
—¿Qué? ¿Qué pasa? —mis uñas se enterraban en la palma de mi mano, pero nada sucedía. Mire abajo, dándome cuenta de que ya no tenia los dedos perfectos de Samantha. Trate de resistir las ansias de usar mis dientes para arrancar un padrastro en la punta de mi dedo.
—Going… Julia Going —Mel se trabó al hablar—. Ese es su apellido. Y, bueno, ella no esta en mi taller en este momento. —sus labios adquirieron una sutil forma de “u” invertida.
—¿Qué quieres decir? ¿Por qué no la aceptaste en tu taller? —mis voz sonó mas fuerte de lo que esperaba, y resonó en las paredes rocosas.
—Intenté recibirla, —Mel cruzo y descruzo sus brazos—. Ella es quien no quiso estar en mi taller.
—¿Qué?
—Ven, siéntate conmigo —Mel indicó con su mano un lugar junto a ella en el muelle, el cual estaba tibio por el sol. El olor a cedro era irresistible.
Me senté junto a ella, y cuando estaba puto de lanzarle una pregunta que tenia en la punta de la lengua, ella presiono su dedo contra mis labios.
—Elliot… —ella quito el dedo de mis labios y empezó a tamborilear la madera—. Ella no quiso estar en el mismo taller que tú.
Estaba segura de que no había escuchado bien. Me dolió la quijada de apretar los dientes. No iba a permitirme llorar otra vez.
—Antes de que me preguntes, quiero que sepas que no se la respuesta. Ella no quiso decirme por que no quiere estar contigo. Vas a tener que preguntarle tu misma —ella esperó pero se me habían acabado las preguntas.
—¿Puedo ser egoísta por un momento? —me pidió Mel, dándome su mano.
Asentí, incapaz de decir algo.
—Te extrañé. Yo quiero a todos los que entran en mi vida en el Obmil. Estoy donde estoy porque soy buena encontrando una conexión con las almas perdidas, pero tú y yo tenemos un lazo especial, Elliot—, mi nombre se deslizaba fácilmente en su lengua, como si fuera el único nombre que yo haya tenido.
Yo sentía lo mismo que ella. Quise decirle a Mel lo especial que ella era para mí, sin egoísmo alguno, pero me sentía como una hoja flotando a la deriva. No podía dejar de pensar en Emma. Espera, ella era Julia ahora. Relajando mis dedos, los frote en mis pantalones. Podía sentir la mirada de Mel mientras me levantaba con las uña la cutícula de mis dedo pulgar.
—¿Acaso es ella mas vieja que yo o algo así? —necesitaba encontrar una explicación razonable.
Mel hizo una mueca.
—Tiene diecinueve años.
—Oh.
Mel se levanto y sacudió su colorida falda campesina.
—Vamos —dijo. Sus pulseras de cinco centímetros de ancho tintinaron. La recorrí con mi mirada, desde su cabello alborotado hacia la punta de los dedos de sus pies, cuyas uñas estaban pintadas con los colores del arco iris. Aunque Julia estuviese enojada conmigo por alguna estaña razón, ¿por qué ella no querría estar con Mel?
—Vayamos al Refugio para acomodarte en tu cuarto —Mel indico el camino inclinando su cabeza—. Será mejor irnos de aquí. David viene en camino al lago. Parece que va a recibir a alguien que no tardará en llegar.
Ella volteó a verme con una ceja levantada. David no me caía nada bien, y tampoco me gustaba mucho la manera en que Mel me estaba mirando. Yo no quería verme acorralada en el muelle con David, así que apresuré el paso para alcanzar a Mel. Ahora que ponía atención, pude percibir la ligera vibración en el aire que anunciaba una nueva llegada. Sigue el temblor y podrías tener una idea muy aproximada de donde iba a aparecer la siguiente alma perecida. Aunque la vibración parecía más fuerte en el lago, me di cuenta de que David caminaba hacia nosotras.
David también trabajaba en el Obmil, pero no era para nada como Mel. El irradiaba arrogancia. Abrí mi boca para decir algo desagradable acerca de el, pero Mel se llevo su dedo a sus labios. No estaba segura so fue porque David avanzaba hacia nosotras o porque ella no quería escucharme hablar mal de otra alma “dedicada” en el Obmil. Antes de que pudiera averiguarlo, David estaba parado diez centímetros demasiado cerca. Podía oler su concentrada colonia mientras su ancho cuerpo se erguía frente a mí, bloqueando el sol. Se inclino hacia nosotras y sorbió la nariz emitiendo un sonido mucoso.
—Samantha —su voz resonó—. Tan pronto y ya de vuelta.
Se peino su abundante bigote y empezó a contar con sus dedos.
—Es Elliot Turner ahora —dijo Mel.
Él encogió los hombros y continuo si nadie lo hubiese interrumpido.
—Señorita Turner, ¿acaso esto significa que esta es su tercera visita? Ya es tiempo de progresar. Cuando se es una Terceriza, se necesita realmente resolver los problemas antes de poder seguir adelante. Desafortunadamente, usted no parece ser muy entusiasta.
Mi garganta ahogó un grito. Él ladeó su cabeza.
—¿O tal vez usted tiene una razón para eludir la verdad?
Él hablaba más fuerte de lo necesario. Su sonrisa era excesivamente grande y brillante. A pesar de que él era un sobre-alimentado, exageradamente vestido, bocazas—quien lucia mas como una caricatura de un hombre poderoso que uno verdadero—, aun así me refugie detrás de Mel como si tuviese siete años en vez de dieciséis.
Abrí mi boca, pero no salió ningún sonido. El se despidió agitando la mano y caminó tranquilamente frente a nosotras.
—Me tengo que ir. Tengo que apresurarme a registrar a la nueva llegada pues es casi hora del Taller. No quiero hacer esperar a mi alumna favorita—se detuvo por un momento y guiño el ojo—. Sospecho que contrario a usted, Señorita Turner, Julia Going va por buen camino. Ella está realmente motivada y no puede esperar a dejar el Obmil.
Notes:
Limbo is the same word in Spanish and English, so Obmil still works.
Crappity-crap-crap has no translation. “¡Me lleva!” would be a standard way to say it in Mexico and some other Hispanic languages, and also the expression would come across in Spain. “Mierda” would be more common in Spain, but in Mexico would have a stronger meaning (shit) if that’s what you are aiming for. “Joder” or “Jolines” would also be used in Spanish (Spain) translations, but the term wouldn’t be familiar in Mexico.
There are no proper terms in Spanish for Second Timer or Third Timer. However, First Timer is translated as “Primerizo” or “Primeriza” (for a girl). Second Timer and Third Timer would be usually referred as doing something “For the second time”, “for the third time” as opposed of having their own term. However, many authors and texts apply the same grammar of First Timer = Primeriza and uses Second Timer (Secundiza) and Third Timer (Terceriza) the way I did in this translation.
Sinopsis
Errores que cambian la vida están destinados a cambiar vidas.
Cuando Elliot muere por tercera vez, se da cuenta de que ha cometido un grave error. Ella no recuerda como es que ha llegado a la vida después de la muerte otra vez, pero sabe que es su última oportunidad de hacer las cosas bien.
Elliot solo quiere seguir adelante, pero primero debe enfrentar su pasado y sumergirse en los dolorosos recuerdos que preferiría mantener enterrados. Recuerdos de las personas que ha lastimado, personas que ha traicionado… y personas que ha matado.
Mientras pone en orden los secretos y errores de su pasado, Elliot debe encontrar la manera de ganarse el perdón de la persona que mas ha lastimado, y revelar la verdad a los dos chicos que ella ama… aunque eso signifique perderlos para siempre.
Thank you so much, Lobsang. <3 And in honor of my September post that never was–what are you dreading now that the summer is almost over. What are you looking forward to the most? I HATE not being able to sleep late in the morning, but I love jeans and a sweater weather.
Today I’m cross-posting over at YA Outside the Lines and talking about The Truth About Sleep Away Camp. There may be 80’s permed hair for your amusement!
Just a reminder, you still have time to enter my write a review contest!
*I’ll be at Oblong Books and Musics HVYAS Birthday Party!! More info HERE!
*Children’s Writer or Illustrator and located in the Hudson Valley? Join us for our local SCBWI Shop Talk Meeting in August. For more information, feel free to contact me directly.
*I’ll also be faculty at my very first conference, which is also the very same conference I first attended as a newbie. Yea, pretty WOW! Registration is still open for the SCBWI Eastern NY Conference on September 21-22nd. Lots of amazing speakers and opportunities.
*September 28th I’ll be part of a fantastic line-up at the Warwick Children’s Book Festival. Details Here
And good news…finding me is not nearly as hard as finding a little unidog. So, come hang out and we’ll squee and hug and talk about books and maybe eat some chocolate. I usually have some stored in a bag or pocket somewhere.
Guess what? In one week I’ll be teaming up with Rockstar Book Tours!
The tour runs for two weeks – July 8th-12th and July 15th-19th. There are ten stops on the tour, which consist of reviews, guest posts and interviews.
The tour will also have a giveaway for five SIGNED copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE via a shared Rafflecopter.
I am in love with this gorgeous badge, designed by Parajunkee Design. Didn’t she do an amazing job? Feel free to check out more of her design work and to grab a copy of the badge to post in your sidebar! In fact–plaster it anywhere you’d like. I would love to have you help to spread the word.
You can find out more about Rockstar Book Tours HERE. And if you’d like more information and a schedule of the TOUCHING THE SURFACE tour, you can check that out HERE.
* * *
Don’t forget–all summer I’m running a Write-a-Review contest!!!!
As if that wasn’t already a whole bunch of awesome, I’m really looking forward to doing a book signing at Anderson’s Bookshop in Larchmont, NY on Saturday July 13th!
I’ll be there with Joanne Rock and Karen Rock aka JK Rock!
And Kimberly Ann Miller…
You can click on the covers to find out more about both books!
And of course it got me thinking. Reviews ARE important. Really important. We live in a media and statistical world, at least until the zombie apocalypse comes. This means that review are right behind the act buying the book in importance to an author’s success.
Kinda cool. Kinda scary. But here’s how I’ve been visualizing it. It’s like surface space…
In today’s social media age, a book without reviews is like a flat piece of paper. It’s there, but it has trouble standing out. Add reviews (positive or negative) and the book starts to become more visible and textured. It’s surface space appears to expand and it catches the eye. There are more options to touch the surface. Yeah, I went there LOL!
The truth is, authors need your reviews, just as much as we need your word-of-mouth recommendations.
This, of course, got me thinking about effective marketing strategies. The world is a busy place. Who has the time to write a review when there are a zillion other things we could be or should be doing. I’m guilty of this myself. In such a busy world, is there an incentive to get those fingers typing?
I didn’t have to look far for a great idea. My wolf pack sister, Jennifer Iacopelli (debut author of GAME. SET. MATCH.) and her publisher Coliloquy came up with this…
— Jennifer Iacopelli (@jennifercarolyn) May 14, 2013
I LOVE the idea! So here’s what I’m going to do…
I would love to increase the number of reviews on my Amazon TOUCHING THE SURFACE page and my Barnes & Noble TOUCHING THE SURFACE page. If you write a review of TOUCHING THE SURFACE for Amazon, you’ll entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card. If you write one for Barnes & Noble, you’ll be entered to win a $100 Barnes & Noble gift card. If you’ve written a review on Goodreads already, all you have to do is post it to Amazon and Barnes & Noble for two entries. If you write one review for Amazon, it can also be posted on Barnes & Noble or visa versa. One review (that you may have already written) gets you entered once or twice for a gift card.
In order to make sure I can reach the winner, use this Rafflecopter to record your entry. The contest will be open for the whole summer. And I’ll be posting it on my website home page so it’s easy to follow. a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. And if you have other authors that you love and you’d like to see them continue to put books on the shelf, help them out with a review. They will love you so much, they want to share their chocolate with you. I’m serious.
Hello Friday! What took you so long to get here??? Even though this week seemed endless, with very little sleep, it also simultaneously sped by at the speed of light. Yup. That’s exactly how it happened. Trust me. I’m feeling the need to recap, mash things up and write in bullets today. It may be the lack of sleep thing. Just go with it.
*Don’t forget you still have time to support a great film…PROMISE LAND…and earn yourself one of five signed copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE or a 10 page ms critique from me. GO HERE!!!!
I’m still chuckling about that one. <3 Beans loves a good mousey. Reeces on the other hand loves a good hair elastic. Cat diversity.
*I’ll be at BEA on Friday May 31st!!!! I’ll be having lunch with my spectacular agent and hunting down ARCs with my roomie from last year, Lisa Lueddecke. <3 It’s our friendship’s one year anniversary!!! I’m also hoping to finally see Rachel Simmons in person. We just miss each other every where we go. LOL! I’m also going to miss my girl, Grace Smith who made me smile every time I saw her last year. 🙁 Hoping to see a bunch of people who I connected with last year and of course make some new face to face friends. If you see me, don’t let me pass you by–I’m a little bit of a spaz when it comes to remembering names of cyber friends and then attaching them to real live people. HELP ME OUT!!!!
*On June 2nd I’ll be participating in the Chronogram Kids & Family Fun Day. When I have more information on the author panel, I’ll let you know.
*Interesting observation: I’ve been cleaning and prepping the house for sale and I’ve been writing and revising. One of those things burns a lot more calories than the other. Damn.
*On June 12th I’ll be a guest speaker at the Orange County Librarians Dinner. I’m super stoked about that!!!! Watch out Orange County Librarians, I’m giddy with excitement about hanging with you.
*And I’ll leave you with my very entertaining Goodreads review of…
“I’ll be honest. My boys and I LOVE Roald Dahl books. All of them. Rather than review this book in my predictably gushy manner, I thought I would tell you a funny story that happened during our nightly reading sessions…
For those unfamiliar with the story, a grandmother is instructing her grandson on the multiple ways one might recognize a witch in disguise. While giving this info to my eight year old, he checked me over to confirm that I was indeed, not a witch. When he heard they wore itchy wigs, he checked my hair line. He investigated my toes and fingers for cat like claws and block like feet without toes.I thought I’d passed inspection, but a few days later, I caught him staring deeply into my eyes. (There had been a mention of a witches pupils being multicolored.) After a good hard look, he pronounced that I was definitely not a witch–I didn’t have multicolored NIPPLES. I corrected him and indicated that he meant PUPILS. His response was…whatever…it’s the same thing.
And there you have folks.”
I figure I’ve given you enough information for the comments without having to light your way. ROTFL! Have a fabulous holiday weekend. I WILL NOT BE BLOGGING ON MONDAY (Memorial Day) I’ll be picnicking and celebrating my 12yo’s graduation and move up to middle school. I’ll also be very busy being proud to be an American. May the force be with you!
Not too long ago, my husband mentioned that a friend and colleague, Kevin Dalvi, had written and directed a movie and we were invited to the red carpet premier in NYC. Of course, there is nothing about this that doesn’t sound interesting to me. I love movies, red carpets and supporting underdog artists trying to put their vision out in to the world. I am so glad I went to see PROMISE LAND, a NEQUA Studios Production, because I really, really connected with the movie and it’s artists. Here’s a little bit about PROMISE LAND…
PROMISE LAND is relevant, heart wrenching, funny and hopeful. I know my sphere of influence is very limited, but I would really like to do something to help this film get the attention it deserves. So, there will be a contest!!!!!!
And here are some pics from the PROMISE LAND Premier…
If you get the chance to see PROMISED LAND on it’s Summer Tour, I highly encourage it. It was a wonderful movie!!!! A list of summer screening dates and information on how to buy tickets is available HERE. Information on how to turn your blog post comment into contest entries is available above with rafflecopter. Thanks so much for spreading the word. It really means a lot to me. Kevin Dalvi may not realize it, but he has all the makings of one of John Green’s Nerdfighters! *fist pump*
Yesterday was gorgeous!!! The most perfect weather ever. So I spent the day outside putting in my vegetable garden and starting a butterfly garden. I used to have one and it didn’t make it through the installation of the retaining wall and last year I missed my one gardening window (not too hot, not too buggy) plus the whole impending debut book launch thingy kept me preoccupied. So needless to say–the butterflies got the shaft last year. But this year, not only did I run across the most perfect spring day that just made me want to plant a vacation paradise for butterflies, but my fabulous nephew has been doing some yard work to help me get ready to put the house on the market. This means…I get to pick the flowers and plant them and tomorrow he will do all the unpleasant bed weeding and mulching around my creation. *sigh* Everyone should have a fabulous nephew. <3
But acting like Martha Stewart all day has left me with the need to shower and get acquainted with my couch this evening. Because of this, I have decided to enlist all of you with the job of blog-post-deep-thinking. Of course, there has to be a pay off for you firing your brain cells so mine can rest. So, as a reward for being creative and funny, (myself and the mystery judges) will pick one lucky winner to get a signed copy of TOUCHING THE SURFACE. Keep it for yourself, donate it to the library or use it as a gift. Just get it in the hands of a reader. How to win? Write a caption for this picture in the comments and you will be entered. Every caption is a separate entry. And just so you know, the cat in the picture is named Beans. This contest is open internationally. Have fun.