Because I believe that #YAsaves I thought my very first contest should help the awesome darkness of YA to become visible. All you have to do to enter is…
1. Follow this blog
2. Tell me which edgy young adult novel you’d like to read and why. As long as I have the ability to get my sticky little hands on the book–the winner of the contest will get that book sent right to them.
3. Please be sure leave an email address with your entry so I can contact you if you’re the winner.
Being a part of the debut author’s group, the Class of 2k12, has allowed me the chance to start working on some blog interviews for the future. I must admit, I find the whole interview thing very fun, it makes the impending, but still so far away debut seem real. It also makes me think. Yesterday I prepared a response for a blogger and I found myself talking about dreaming big. I think the topic of dreaming big hit a nerve, sticking with me while I watched last night’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance.
My first thoughts went to Natalia Mallory who has done what I’ve never done–danced right past conventional body stereo types and kicked ass on the dance floor. I love this girl and while I think it was the right decision not to put her through to the top 20. I can’t help but wish that they had. This girl dreams big and I’m in awe of that. I hope to see her and her dancing EVERYWHERE in the future.
Second, as I watched the dancers make the long trek down the walkway to discover their fate, I noticed that the contestants who knew that they were going to make it didn’t. Then ironically, the ones I knew were going to nail it were unsure nervous wrecks–but they made it.
So I’m thinking that dreaming big is less about overt confidence and more about persistence. I think the secret is not to be confident that you’re a winner, but rather to be confident that you won’t stop until you are.
After viewing Lauren’s tips on popularity I was beginning to feel a little paranoid, but then I remembered–hardly anyone reads my blog. Why is popularity sooo hard?
If you’re one of my awesome readers, you get a big smooch, cyber chocolate and a push in the direction of the bookstore of your choice. Go pick up Eileen Cook’s GETTING REVENGE ON LAUREN WOOD. I hate being the only one who yells at her kids because she’s grouchy from lack of sleep. If you read the book, get overtired and grump at your kids or loved ones for no good reason–we can get matching T-shirts and form a club. If we get enough people to join us–heck–we just might become popular.
I’m sure you’ve seen the article in the Wall Street Journal–Darkness too Visible. Everyone is commenting on it and I don’t want to be redundant. In short, the YA community is up in arms. We had a visceral response to what was written and for multiple reasons. Here are my favorite responses–Libba Bray, Laurie Halse Anderson and the voices of everyone on twitter who commented on #YAsaves.
What I want to talk about is heroes. YA is filled with them and I don’t mean the ones that are created in between the pages of books. (Although they can be pretty awesome too.) I’m talking about the real heroes. I have been a member, in some capacity, of the YA community for a long time. I’ve been a teenager, a reader, an aspiring author, a friend and I will be a debut novelist in the Fall of 2012. Never, in all my different interactions with those in YA, have I ever met an author, publisher, editor or agent who wasn’t ultimately driven by their love of writing and their desire to bring something good into the world.
Yes, yes, yes–I know, publishing is a business and ugly things happen just like in any slice of life. I’m not naive. But I believe, that at the end of the day, most of what we do is driven by that insecure, bruised, shamed, lonely teenager in all of us. We work as a team to bring these books into the world because we are trying to fill the void that was there when our book wasn’t. This means something to us. The person we are today and the one who never got past some really hard and ugly things.
In my opinion, the Wall Street Journal article opinion piece, will end up having done way more good than damage. It has reminded everyone that we have real heroes that walk among us. I have K.L. Going’s slogan pinned right next to my desk where I can see it every day. “Be yourself. Have an opinion. Tell the World.” Our heroes don’t just write the books, they step up and they stand out. And while their words are a powerful tool–they almost don’t need to use them–they’ve mastered the art of “show don’t tell.”
I once told Laurie Halse Anderson that she changed my life by her ability to be so real, human and honest to me during those fragile times when I was just beginning to write. She told me that she had once stood in the same place and others had done the same thing for her. She told me…”This is what we do, we support each other and one day you will do it for the ones coming behind you.” If I ever get lost, on my journey as an author–have no fear–I know where to turn. I’ll be looking towards my heroes…
While my list of heroes in YA is longer than my left arm, today I would like to tip my hat to Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Ellen Hopkins, Laurie Halse Anderson and Jay Asher for being brave and reminding us of the value of having a powerful and unique voice–on and off the page.
I’m a huge fan girl of audiobooks. My very first teaching job was an hour and a half away from home and I never hated the ride because I was reading. When I was getting my Masters in Special Education I was also traveling an hour and a half each way to the U of A and once again–I enjoyed the ride. I looked forward to it.
I’m no longer a commuter. The walk from any room in my house to my desk doesn’t burn enough calories to warrant the consumption of an extra M & M. But that hasn’t stopped me from continuing my love affair with the audio book. I’d like to introduce you to my little buddy Bob. (I’ve named him Bob because he just looks like a Bob to me.)
Bob is my tiny, yet powerful portable Altec Lansing speaker. He’s my best buddy when I’m folding mountains of laundry–I could only like him more if he was actually folding and putting stuff away. In fact, Bob even keeps me company in the shower. He’s a gentleman and always averts his eyes–at least I think he does.
Audiobooks are not just a pleasure in my house–they are vital. My 10 year old son is dyslexic and audiobooks allow his intelligence to be accurately reflected in his reading material. He devours novels on audiobooks that he would never have access to unless I was reading to him aloud. I read to him all the time, but an audiobook allows him to have his own independence. He can read books I may not like, that he loves and he can have access to them whenever he wants to pull out a book. When he describes himself as a reader he tells me…”I’m just like my mom–I have a passion for books.” I am certain he would not feel that way without audiobooks in his life.
I’m also looking forward to hearing TOUCHING THE SURFACE in an audio format someday. I’m just as excited for my ears as I am for my hands and eyes. Both versions are special to me. There’s just something powerful about an audiobook, when the voices come alive and allow me the opportunity to let my mind wander and discover right along with the author. I want to do that with my own words…it’s on my bucket list.
And lastly, if I haven’t sold you yet, some books with tricky names or accents are just amazing to listen to in an audio format. Some of my favorites being THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, HARRY POTTER and THE HELP.
Last night I finished PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ. It was an amazing book–period. But let me tell you, listening to all the voices was the icing on the cake. It was amazing and now I’m hungry.
