It’s Book Festival time and I am so excited to finally be returning to in-person events. One of my favorite places to hang out is the Poughkeepsie Book Festival and this year there will be over 40 authors and illustrators (covering reading ages from preschool to Young Adult), costumed book characters such as Elephant and Piggie, Esteban the Magnificent from The Day the Crayons Came Home, Curious George, and more! There will also be fun crafts and activities for the kids. Signed books will be available for purchase.
Where to go and when to be there…
Saturday, April 2, 10 am to 4 pm
Poughkeepsie High School–70 Forbus Street, Poughkeepsie, NY
I’ll be signing copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE and would love to hang out with you.
Cover of TOUCHING THE SURFACE by Kimberly Sabatini
Experience the afterlife in this lyrical, paranormal novel that will send your heart soaring.
When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.
Elliot just wants to move on, but first, she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.
As she pieces together thesecrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.
Everyone thinks that Dust Bunnies don’t like to read. In fact, because they blow all over the floor–a little to the left, then a little to the right–everyone assumes they only excel at dancing. And while they do have a particular fondness for the Cha-Cha and a good country line dance. I’m here to tell you they are also closet reader.
How do I know this? I have proof. They are the ones who’ve had all my old diaries and journals. I’d been looking for those so ling I thought for sure they’d gotten tossed.
Those sly little bunnies. Anyway, I’ve always told my readers that TOUCHING THE SURFACE was the first novel I’ve ever written. And I didn’t lie. Phew! But I’d forgotten that I’d started one in 9th grade. And now that the bunnies are done with it, I’m finding myself rather entertained. Part of me is cracking up and another piece is thinking–parts of this (small parts) are way better than I would’ve expected from my teenage self.
Since it is Throwback Thursday and I always take the advice of Dust Bunnies when it comes to reading recommendations, I thought I’d pull this untitled work back out again. Here’s my first “draft” of eleven, single spaced, handwritten (in cursive) pages.
It goes a little something like this…
(I have left in all typos for your entertainment)
Chapter 1
Here I Come
“Mom!” I wailed as we approached the school. “They left with out me!”
“Heidi, sweetheart, calm down” my mother replied. “There is practically a hurricane going on! “Do you expect everyone to be waiting outside with their luggage in a down pour?”
I gave it a good second thought and realized she must be right. As we drove up to the front doors of Franklin Jr. High I could see all my friends including my best friend, Amber Bates, sitting standing in the hallway and It was getting quite dark out but I could make out everyone quite clearly with every fresh bolt of lightening. I grabbed my suitcase and kissed my mother goodbye in one easymotion. As I dased to the doors which Amber was holding open for me. The one thing that stuck in my mind was “what a way to start our big 9th grade class trip
* * *
The Highlights:
Best 80’s Quote–“I had brown permed hair hair wich I blew out on top and left curly in the back.”
Best Dialogue– “That was quite and entrance Heidi”
“Don’t you know Tony. Its classy to come someplace fashionably late.”
“Sure it is but fashionably doesn’t mean like a seal in the hundred yard dash.”
“Well Tony, at least I don’t look (like) a seal all the time.”
Best Joke– “He was most famously known for his fig newton jokes. My favorite one was ‘What do you call a fig newton that just got out of the hospital? A: All figsed up!!'”
Best Cliffhanger– “Just as everyone was making a mad dash across the room everything went black and the only sound you could hear was clumsy Nancy Emory falling over someone’s suitcase in the dark.”
Are you still with me??? Because after a cliff hanger like that, I decided to skip that whole “write a complete first draft” step and go directly to my favorite part of writing–REVISION! I started all over again. This time with nineteen, single spaced, handwritten pages…
Above me the thunder crashed and with every fresh bolt of lightening my the feeling of anticipation grew inside me. I couldn’t really decide if I liked that feeling or not. As I continued to pack my clothes into the suitcase I finally decided I could sacrifice five minutes of my time to analyze it all again. I mean alot was at stake this weekend but the biggest risk I was going to take was with my feelings. If this last atempt on my part failed I was almost sure I would end up with a full fledge broken heart.
The Highlights:
Best Pep Talk–“If it was your different speaclness (specialness?) that attracted him to you in the first place then the only way you can ever get him back is by being different and special. If he really loved you inside as much as he had said he did then he won’t forget you very easy.”
Best Revised Sentence–DRAFT #1” I gave it a good second thought and realized she must be right.”
DRAFT #2“I gave it a good second thought and started to scold my imagination for being over active.”
Best Random Sentence–“Instead I followed him back to our group and silently watched listened to Craig Morris do tell us about how on his vacation he accidentally walked int a nudist camp while taking a hike.”
And since I can’t top that AND my kids need my attention AND the dust bunnies want their reading material back–I’ll stop torturing you now. LOL! Go look up some of the things your dust bunnies have been reading and don’t forget to share!
Can I just say, I was thrilled when I was asked to be part of The Official Blog Tour for WHEN YOU WERE HERE by the lovely and talented Daisy Whitney.
There is nothing I love more than promoting books and authors that I love.
Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man-death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity.
Danny’s mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see.
Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn’t know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore.
When he gets a letter from his mom’s property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother’s memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.
And because I love love you, dear blog reader, you get an exclusive (never before seen) video of Daisy in Japan!
And want the inside scoop on Laini, Danny’s sister? Here it is…
One of the things I really enjoy, as a reader and writer, is a character that is sometimes hard to love. I usually find these characters to have the most epic internal journeys and growth, which makes them really interesting to me. For me, Laini was that character in WHEN YOU WERE HERE. Yet, despite my frustration with her (and it got ugly at times LOL!) I couldn’t let her go. But I’m so glad i didn’t it. She had her own pain and she reminded me that I shouldn’t judge until I’ve walked two moons in someone else’s moccasins. Did you plan on having Laini turn out the way she did or was she a force of nature that simply took over when you were writing?
Yes! Thank you! Laini was always a bit cold, and she had her reasons. Being hard to love was a part of her character makeup from the start. She has a chip on her shoulder and she believes she has reasons for it. As such, she was a hell of a lot of fun to write with her sternness and self-righteousness! But I also think her relationship with Danny shows that while you might not ever be close with a sibling, you can at least respect and understand their choices. And though she’s nearer to brittle than not, I think Danny ultimately “gets” her.
If Laini could relive the last several years of her life, would she do anything differently?
She wouldn’t have left the family the way she did. She would have gone back and said the things she needed to say to their mom sooner. But she’s glad she eventually said them.
Family is a strong theme in WHEN YOU WERE HERE, the presence and the absence of it. What would Laini tell readers about family?
Embrace them. Love them. Don’t run from them. Don’t assume you know everything.
Daisy, you wrote a book that crosses cultural barriers in a wonderful way. As our world shrinks and becomes more and more interconnected, books like this become even more important. What do you think was Laini’s most important contribution to the cultural theme in WHEN YOU WERE HERE?
While I didn’t intend this as I wrote her, I would say she typifies how families today are created. She’d an adopted daughter from a foreign country, and the identity challenges she faces are ones other adopted children may confront. But she also feels an intense, deep-seated love for her homeland, and I think the depth of her love for China – a complex and fascinating country – is important to consider in our global world.
If WHEN YOU WERE HERE were a television series, Laini and Kana would be the characters I’d most like to see in a spin off series. Have you written the rest of their stories in your head? Would you ever consider giving us more Laini?
I have considered writing a story for Kana! I thinks she would be a fascinating main character. I often imagine a handsome British boy sweeps her off her feet. Perhaps that’s because I like British boys.
* * *
I know, I know–there can’t possibly be more to this awesomeness. But there is. I have FIVE copies of WHEN YOU WERE HERE to giveaway to some very lucky readers!!!!! *fist pump*
I’ll be honest, I’m not really a researcher in the traditional sense of the word. I hear about writers attacking mountains of data for non-fiction and historical fiction–and quite frankly–I start to hyperventilate. That stuff freaks me out!
I’m sucky at tasks with a high attention to detail and prefer to flit around like a butterfly, but I’ve also come to realize that I do have a Kim version of research. Like most people, I start with an idea. Usually a question–an itch that must be scratched. I spend a lot of time, while I’m revising my current WIP, tossing the new nugget of an idea around in my mind. I examine it from every angle. Usually I find, that while I have a starting point, I don’t have enough stuff to write a complete story. In essence, I’m lacking the threads to weave a full blanket. I’ve only got enough to do a half of a sweater. This idea tossing sounds like pretty typical behavior for most writers, but this is where I get a little weird. When I get stuck trying to find the rest of those threads, I go divining for inspiration in the book store the way this guy uses a dowsing stick to find water.
The first thing I do is wander around a book store. (One of my favorite things to do in the whole world. *sigh*) I keep my mind open and I touch books. I literally walk around trailing my fingers over spines and grabbing random books that have covers that pull me in. Then I read the jackets and see if anything resonates. If my mind and my fingers get a little jumpy with curiosity, the way that dowsing stick does over water, I add another book onto my pile of “research.” I usually come home with an eclectic pile of books and after I read them, I some how I find my answers. I’m not really sure how it works. On my more logical days, I believe that reading simply stimulates the mind and if you read enough, you’ll stumble across enough questions and answers to fill a book. Other days, I’m pretty damn sure that I was born to be an author and when you’re doing the thing you’re supposed to be doing, the universe is happy and rewards you with a little magic. Or maybe it’s a little bit of both. LOL!
Hey everyone, I have my friend Kai Strand writing a guest post today. I expect you guys to be on your best behavior while I’m off doing really fun stuff like cleaning and laundry. If I catch you acting up I’ll make you help just like I do with my kids LOL!
Kai is going to tell us a little bit about writing middle grade. Now I know that my blog mainly focuses on YA Lit, BUT I am a firm believer in the cross pollination of ideas and experiences. So, sit back and enjoy. Take it away, Kai…
The main character of my newly released book, SAVE THE LEMMINGS, is much like my host, Kimberly Sabatini. Happy, positive, uplifting and inspiring.
*Wait…I haven’t started cleaning yet. Okay, so maybe I wasn’t really going to clean. Maybe I was actually going to fart around on the internet. Sue me. If I’d been being domestic I would have missed this lovely compliment. Okay…I’m going…sorry Kai.*
8th grade inventor, Natalie Isabelle Cailean Edwards is the N.I.C.E. girl who finishes last with the kids in school. Sappy inspirational phrases and monochromatic outfits have all but her best friends wrinkling their nose at her. When Natalie’s invention, the Texty-Talky, goes nationwide, she becomes an overnight sensation. Suddenly her days consist of photo shoots and interviews with little time left for her friends. A local reporter shatters her good-girl image by reporting a graffiti incident and the media launches into a smear campaign. It is so bad, even her friends start to believe the stories. Will Natalie be able to overcome the lies being printed about her? Will she be able to SAVE THE LEMMINGS?
There are two rules in writing middle grade. 1.) Make sure the reader can relate. 2.) Exaggerate the heck out of everything. One common issue to a kid in middle school is feeling like they don’t fit in. Natalie Edwards is an incurable priss. She walks around spouting things like, “Be pleasant to your neighbor and they’ll water your garden when you’re out of town,” and “A task performed is most rewarding when it is in service to others.” Luckily for our main character, she doesn’t let the groans and eye rolls from her fellow 8th graders bother her. So even though Natalie should feel like an outcast, she has the security of her three close friends and the love of her parents to shelter her from the meanness of others.
However, when her Texty-Talky invention makes her an overnight sensation, nothing can protect her from the meanness of the headline hungry media. Being accused of things like stealing her invention from aliens and coming up with the invention in a drug induced stupor, Natalie finally knows what it feels like to be picked on – even though she has been her whole life.
How she overcomes the media bullying and takes control of her life again will inspire readers who might be struggling under similar circumstances. Though hopefully nothing involving aliens!
About the author: Kai Strand writes fiction for middle grade and young adult readers. Her debut novel, The Weaver, was a finalist in the 2012 EPIC eBook Awards. The Wishing Well: Another Weaver Tale is set in the same storytelling village as The Weaver. She is a (very lucky) wife and the mother of four amazing kids. The most common sound in her household is laughter. The second most common is, “Do your dishes!” She and her family hike, geocache, and canoe in beautiful Central Oregon, where they call home.
To find out more about Kai’s books, download companion documents, find links to her published short stories and discover all the places to find Kai both virtually and in person, visit her website: www.kaistrand.com. She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to send her an email or visit her facebook page, Kai Strand, Author.
Yes, I’m back? So now that you’ve had a mini lesson in MG I’m wondering what you think the biggest similarity between MG and YA is? What’s the difference? Are there any books out there that you think should be YA instead of MG or visa versa? What’s your favorite MG book? Does anyone write both? Any thing about MG that really makes you crazy? Come on…lets talk.
It’s your lucky day! I’m having a creepy giveaway. I’ve got two books here that will make your hands sweat while you’re reading them. First up is DISPIRITED by Luisa M. Perkins…
Cathy sees things that are invisible to everyone else. Her new stepbrother’s bizarre behavior. A ghostly little boy. An abandoned house in the woods. But she doesn’t see how they’re all connected. And what she doesn’t see might just kill her.
Luisa M. Perkins is the author of Dispirited, published by Zarahemla Books in March 2012, and co-author of the novel The Book of Jer3miah, forthcoming from Shadow Mountain in August 2012.
Past publications include the cookbook Comfortably Yum and the LDS YA novel Shannon’s Mirror. She has had numerous short stories and essays published in print and online. She has been a member of the Whitney Awards Committee for the past two years. She and her husband Patrick live with their six children in New York’s Hudson Highlands.
Kimberly Sabatini’s Review of DISPIRITED…
DISPIRITED is one little creeper of a book and I mean that in the very best of ways. What I loved about it was that Perkins made reality, myth and the paranormal seamlessly blend in a way that captured my attention and made me wonder if there was really a lot more going on under my day to day reality. If you’ve ever had a chill run down your spine for no reason–DISPIRITED will make you wonder if perhaps you weren’t just being perceptive.
Bonus love for this book because Perkins wrote this while living in my area and her writing was peppered with local references making the story even more believable and interesting for me. If you like IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma or a darker story that makes you think AND shiver…DISPIRITED is a perfect choice for you.
The second book you have a chance to win is WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND by Tracy Bilen.
“Don’t even think of leaving…I will find you,” he whispered. “Guaranteed.”
Sara and her mom have a plan to finally escape Sara’s abusive father. But when her mom doesn’t show up as expected, Sara’s terrified. Her father says that she’s on a business trip, but Sara knows he’s lying. Her mom is missing—and her dad had something to do with it. Each day that passes, Sara’s more on edge. Her friends know that something’s wrong, but she won’t endanger anyone else with her secret. And with her dad growing increasingly violent, Sara must figure out what happened to her mom before it’s too late…for them both.
Tracy Bilen is a high school French and Spanish teacher in Michigan where she lives with her husband and two children. Before moving to Michigan, Tracy taught at a ski school for high school students in Vermont (Spanish, not skiing!). In college she spent her junior year abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris where she lived in a dorm run by nuns (and where she had to run down four flights of stairs to take a phone call). She enjoys cross-country skiing and walks in the woods. Her debut young adult novel, What She Left Behind, will be released by Simon Pulse on May 1, 2012.Tracy Bilen is a high school French and Spanish teacher in Michigan where she lives with her husband and two children. Before moving to Michigan, Tracy taught at a ski school for high school students in Vermont (Spanish, not skiing!). In college she spent her junior year abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris where she lived in a dorm run by nuns (and where she had to run down four flights of stairs to take a phone call). She enjoys cross-country skiing and walks in the woods. Her debut young adult novel, What She Left Behind, will be released by Simon Pulse on May 1, 2012.
Kimberly Sabatini’s Review of WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND
If you like Elizabeth Scott, I think you’ll absolutely adore Tracy Bilen. WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND is one of those stories that is morbidly beautiful. It is the harsh reality of a less than ideal life, threaded with moments of love and hope. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from what was unfolding on the pages. I immediately connected with Sara and I adored the healthy relationships in her life. I read this story with a rapid pulse and sweaty palms–praying that the last page would be just as good as the build-up. I wasn’t disappointed.
Oh, and bonus–both books will be shipped to you directly from the authors so you’ll get to have them signed!! What do you have to do to enter this giveaway? Tell me what piece of reality you find scarier than fiction. Or you can tell me the creepiest thing that’s ever happened to you. Or you can just gush about how much you want both of these books. BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION IN THE COMMENT SO THAT YOU CAN WIN!
Thanks to the lovely and generous Daisy Whitney, author of THE MOCKING BIRDS and THE RIVALS, I was able to read an ARC of SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL by my fellow Apocalypsie–Trish Dollar. And because I *love* you, I’m going to have a contest and give someone else a chance to read it too. Before I explain how you can win this amazing book, let me tell you a little bit about the SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL, Trish and my response to her debut YA novel.
SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL by Trish Doller
When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.
It seems like every writer’s conference I attend, someone is always trying to pin down what is meant by that wonderful, but hard to define thing called VOICE. In my opinion, the best way to explain the magic of voice is to have a list of books that contain a distinct and powerful one. Trish Doller’s SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL would absolutely go on my “voice list.” I’m in awe of what she did here.
I’m not sure where to start, because this book has endless depth and layers, but what I do know is that it’s going to be one successful debut. Doller’s knowledge of the military, the amazing nuanced relationships between all the characters, the internal and external struggles, the friendships and the love–It’s all here and I adored every minute of it. There are certain books that I read, where I connect very deeply to the story and the characters because the author has stripped down to his or her vulnerable parts and risked a lot to put a kind of truth down on the page. This is one of those books and Trish Dollar is one of those authors. I am officially a fan-girl for life.
About Trish Doller…
I’ve been a writer as long as I’ve been able to write, but I didn’t make a conscious decision to “be” a writer until fairly recently. For that you should probably be thankful.
I was born in Germany, grew up in Ohio, went to college at Ohio State University, got married to someone really great, bounced from Maine to Michigan and back to Ohio for awhile. Now I live in Florida with my two mostly grown kids, two dogs, and a pirate. For real.
I’ve worked as a morning radio personality, a newspaper reporter, and spent all my summers in college working at an amusement park. There I gained valuable life skills, including counting money really fast, directing traffic, jumping off a moving train, and making cheese-on-a-stick. Also, I can still welcome you to Frontier Town. Ask me sometime.
These days I work as a bookseller at a Very Big Bookstore. And I write.
You can find out more about Trish Doller and SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL here…
Now that I’ve got your interest, I bet you’re wondering how to win this ARC. Easy-peasy! In the comments section, please tell me something about yourself that makes you feel less than normal. Don’t be shy, I’ve got a list of things as long as my right arm. Feel free to share them all or just tell me one. And remember… “like normal” is the new normal–so you’re in good company. Don’t forget to leave your contact information in your comment. You can’t win this amazing book if you I can’t reach you. And trust me, you want to win this book. Yup.
I just found out yesterday that TOUCHING THE SURFACE is now available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble and I’m crazy excited!!!! I thought that I’d celebrate by giving one lucky winner a pre-order of the book. I know–you won’t get your prize until October 30th, but I will send ahead some SURFACE swag along with your preorder confirmation.
What do you have to do to win?
1. Please check out my the book on Barnes & Nobel and click on the section that says… Nook Books: Want to read this on your NOOK? Request as NOOK Book from the publisher. And while you’re there feel free to hit any LIKE buttons that you come across.
2. Second, leave a comment telling me what has captured your attention about TOUCHING THE SURFACE. Is it the cover? Synopsis? Is it because we know each other? There’s no wrong answer–I’m just curious to know what has drawn you to the book.
*Please make sure that you leave a contact email address in your comment so I can get in touch with you if you are a winner.
Titles of books change all the time. It’s a fact. Period.
As an writer, I’m well aware that when a story is “adopted” by a publisher, they might want to change the name of their new child. Of course, their intent is to give each book the best life it can have. I was very lucky with TOUCHING THE SURFACE–Simon Pulse kept my original vision. This was a huge relief because I loved it–I was attached. But also because my titles play a very large role in the story I am trying to tell, in fact I can’t even begin to write a new book if I don’t have that key piece of information. I need a title to anchor my thoughts. Then it must grow and twist through the story like a vine, with the weaving of the theme being strong enough to support just about anything else I throw into the story…
Now that’s good weaving LOL!
But wait! I must have a reason for all this title talk, right? Of course I do. I’m approaching the end of my first draft to THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY which means 90% of my brain is in complete obsession mode. All I can think about is THAT STORY!!! But…the final 10% is thinking ahead, starting to mull over the next book. Getting to know new characters. Thinking about new questions that I need answers for. So, since book three is starting to tickle my brain, I thought I would share my title with you. Who knows if I’ll get to keep it, but for now…Book Three is called CHASING ADAPTATION. It just feels right.
How do you pick your titles? What are some of your favorites? What do you think makes a good title?
I’m a little lost in the ending of THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY right now–unable to even listen to audiobooks because I’m drowning in the songs that I associate with this WIP. I play them over and over and try to let my mind dance with the words and go to the place it needs to go in order to write it right. There are the songs that now remind me of the early chapters and there are the recent songs that have just helped the story take shape and now there are the songs that I’m running to get close to–so they can whisper in my ear. Here’s one of them…
http://youtu.be/C0Y2-9QUJnk
My wish? That I never stop being this vested in what I write. What are you chasing right now?
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