Annie McMahon

MG Book Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart

2012-02-08T13:41:00.000-05:00

General Information
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co
Year of publication: 2007
# of chapters: 39
# of pages: 485
Genre: Adventure/Mystery
Website: www.hachettebookgroup.com (...)
Plot summary: from kidzworld.com

Other books in the series:

#2: The Perilous Journey

(2008, 440 pages, 26 chapters)

#3: The Prisoner's Dilemma

(2009, 392 pages, 23 chapters)

Positive Points

If you love brain teasers, this book is for you. The plot is intriguing and contains a lot of puzzles to solve, especially in the first book. It kept me interested from beginning to end.

The four orphans have unique abilities that help them in solving problems or puzzles in their own way: Reynie is very logical and can read other people's emotions; Sticky has a photographic memory and speed-reading skills; Kate is extremely agile and carries a bucket of useful objects with her everywhere (including a bag of marbles and a spyglass disguised as a kaleidoscope); Constance is annoyingly stubborn and can write poems about any situation they find themselves in. What do stubbornness and poetry have to do with solving puzzles? Hmm... good point. I'll let you read the book and figure it out.

Negative Points

This story is written from an omniscient POV, which means the narrator knows everything about everyone. There are four children, and each plays a major role in the story, and sometimes we also get other minor characters' POV. I always prefer a story told uniquely from the main character's viewpoint. Although it's not wrong in itself, the omniscient POV is a lot less popular these days than it was back in the fairy tale era.

There was a lot of telling, including side notes in parentheses (which I found a bit weird) throughout the chapters. It slowed down the plot and distracted me from the story (just like my little note in parentheses above probably distracted you from the flow of my review, and is distracting you again now).

I don't want to spoil the ending, but I had a hard time believing who Constance Contraire really is. It just didn't seem realistic to me at all.

What makes this book unique
I enjoyed trying to resolve the puzzles along with the characters. I wish there were more puzzles in the other two books. The last one was a bit disappointing. I was expecting a similar amount of brain teasers and weird problems to solve, but there were a lot less than in the first book.

Overall Impression
I really loved the first book, the second one was okay, and I started losing interest in the third one, mid-way through. I wish the other two books had fulfilled my expectations for more puzzles. That's what I liked the most in the first book.

My Rating (for book 1):

MG Book Review: Truth Teller, by Kurt Chambers

2012-02-01T14:35:00.001-05:00

General Information
Publisher: UK Children's Publishing
Year of publication: 2012
# of chapters: 14
# of pages: (e-book)
Genre: Fantasy
Website: kurtchambers.net
Plot summary: (from Smashwords)
How could a modern day girl like Charlotte ever envisage that magic really exists? Even with her own vivid imagination, the place for other realms belonged in a child’s fairy tale. Or so she thought, until she stumbled across a hidden curio shop and an even stranger shopkeeper. He gives her a gift that resembles an antique snow dome, but this is not an ordinary globe. The world Charlotte has always known disappears as she’s spirited away into a mystical land.

This is the beginning of a lifelong friendship that changes Charlotte’s life forever. Discovered by a young elf alone in the forest, she embarks on a journey in search of a group of travelling Entertainers. She encounters heart-stopping dangers and real life monsters, but a far greater threat shadows her every move. Even the strength and skill of her new found companions cannot protect her against a ruthless druid assassin. But in this realm, Charlotte is not the vulnerable little girl she thought she was.

Other books in the series (not released yet):

#2: The Wrath of Siren

#3: Favian's Law

Positive Points

When I read this book for the first time on my online critique group's forum, my first thought was, Why is this book not published yet? It has everything a bestseller should have: engaging plot with surprising twists, cliffhangers at the end of almost every chapter, endearing characters I missed when I stopped reading, vivid settings, genuine emotions, and good values, such as friendship and telling the truth, woven into the story in a natural way. I got tired of waiting for an agent or a publisher to see its value and printed my own copy. I'm so happy this book is finally available for everyone else to read!

This novel is about a friendship between Charlotte, a ten-year-old girl, and Elderfield, a teenage elf. Their friendship transcends race, gender, age, and even realms. The bond between them is so strong, so pure, so beautiful. Now that's my kind of story.

The writing style is excellent. This book taught me how to eliminate most dialogue tags in my own novel by replacing them with action or description, which is a lot more pleasant to read than "he said" or "she said". A good balance between description, dialogue and action makes the story flow well and kept me interested from beginning to end.

The story is easy for children to read and understand and interesting enough for adults, like me, who like to read MG books. It has all the elements of a fantasy book without being heavy on world building and descriptions.

Negative Points
I have to find at least one thing to say here. The book has multiple POVs, which can be frowned upon by publishers who often prefer a single POV. But in this case, it works well. The sections are clearly delimited and each has a single POV. The book would lose a lot of its depth by being told in a single POV. It's interesting to learn more about Dagan, the assassin, for example, by having a glimpse of his world through his own viewpoint.

What makes this book unique
The characters are English, and they talk with a British accent. The book has many English expressions, which add a flavor to the story. I learned a little about the English culture through this book. When Charlotte's mom asks her to "get her skates on", she means for her to hurry up, not to actually put her Rollerblades on. Oh, and a jumper is a sweater, not a sleeveless dress.

Overall Impression
This book reminded me of The Wizard of Oz, a young girl finding herself in another realm and trying to find her way back home. It also reminded me of The Lord of the Rings because of the fantasy elements, but I found it so much simpler to read. I don't like working hard when I read, trying to remember a lot of characters and settings.

This book is a winner in every way. My thirteen-year-old son agrees. He read it twice over the last few years, and started reading it a third time on my Kindle now that it's been released. Must be good!

My Rating:

Bonus!
Since this review is part of the author's blog tour, he's offering a free Truth Teller e-book to a winner among whoever shares this post on Facebook or Twitter! Simply leave a comment below, including your e-mail address where to send the e-book if you win. To follow the rest of the blog tour, please visit Kurt Chamber's blog.

Thinking of purchasing this book? I'll make it easy for you:

Amazon UK: Click here to sample or buy
Amazon US: Click here to sample or buy
Smashwords: Click here to sample or buy
Goodreads: Click here to sample or buy
Shelfari: Click here to sample or buy

Treasure Chest of Quotes for Writers

2012-01-26T10:10:00.000-05:00

Quite a few gems, in here. All these quotes are short enough to be tweeted. In fact, many come from people I follow on Twitter. So go ahead, copy them, tweet them, steal them, spread them, or just simply enjoy reading them. That's what quotes are for. They're meant to be shared.

Which one is your favorite?

Quotes About Writing in General

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." ~ Jack London

"We don't write what we know. We write what we wonder about." ~ Richard Peck

"Manuscript: something submitted in haste and returned at leisure." ~ Oliver Herford

"If a book comes from the heart, it will continue to reach other hearts." ~ Thomas Carlyle

"Writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions." ~ James Michener

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." ~ Richard Bach

"For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can." ~ Ernest Hemingway

"A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." ~ Unknown

"Of course it's happening inside your head, Harry. Doesn't mean it isn't real." ~ Dumbledore

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." ~ Mark Twain

"It is perfectly okay to write garbage--as long as you edit brilliantly." ~ C.J. Cherryh

"Write what you like; there is no other rule." ~ O. Henry

"The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business." ~ John Steinbeck

"What is the ultimate insult? Getting a paper cut from a rejection letter!" ~ Amy McQuade

"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." ~ Anton Chekhov

"Correct my spelling if you want to. My love for u is unkondeeshiannnel! ?;^P" ~ Jim Carrey (on twitter)

"Sometimes if there's a book you really want to read, you have to write it yourself." ~ Ann Patchett

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip." ~ Elmore Leonard

"Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space." ~ Orson Scott Card

"To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music the words make." ~ Truman Capote

"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense." ~ Tom Clancy

“Writer’s block: when your imaginary friends won’t talk to you.” ~ Anonymous

"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." ~ E.L. Doctorow

"Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream." ~ Mark Twain

"Don't shy away from emotions, good or bad. They are a writer's engine." ~ Kurt Chambers

Quotes About Writing for Children

"You know how it is in the kid's book world: It's just bunny eat bunny." ~ anonymous

"The best children's book writers are not people who have kids, but people who write from the child within themselves." ~Andrea Brown

"You must write for children in the same way as you do for adults, only better." ~ Maxim Gorky

“Adults are only obsolete children.” ~ Dr. Seuss

"When you write for children, don't write for children. Write from the child in you." ~ Charles Ghigna

Quotes About Reading

"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." ~ Mark Twain

“To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.” ~ Andre Gide

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” ~ Groucho Marx

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” ~ Lemony Snicket

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” ~ Charles William Eliot

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” ~ Stephen King

“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.” ~ W. Somerset Maugham

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” ~ Emilie Buchwald

Motivational Quotes

"Just getting started generates an energy and excitement that helps push you forward!" ~Wayne Dyer

"Give a man a fish and he has food for a day; teach him how to fish and you can get rid of him for the entire weekend." ~Zenna Scha (And then you can write. ;-))

"How to determine social media value: Multiply your Klout score by zero, add 100. If you score 100, you matter." ~ @NovelDoctor

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” ~Rumi

"If life has robbed you of your love and passion ... steal it back!" ~ Rock Christopher

"The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. Those who walk alone are likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before." ~ Albert Einstein (This quote is too long for a tweet, but too beautiful to leave out.)

How to Write a Good Query Letter

2012-01-18T09:40:00.000-05:00

Now that my book is all revised and ready to go, it's time to start querying. But first I need to write a good query. *gulp* How do I do that?

Everyone can write a query, but how do we write a great one that will hook agents and make them want to read the book? During my research, I came across quite a few very useful articles, blogs, and websites about writing queries, some by well-known experts in the writing industry.

Step One: Write a Basic Query Letter

How to Write a Query Letter, by Nathan Bransford
Skip over the first two sections and go right over to the "Writing the Darn Thing" part, about three screens down. That's where the fun begins.

According to this post, a query should accomplish two things: make the plot of your book sound awesome, and show the agent that you write well.

Use the query letter mad lib and fill in your own information to get started. That's a great way to learn the basic elements of a query, but of course, it doesn't stop there. You need to personalize it and make it flow well. Luckily, there's a link to an example of a good query letter, along with links to many other articles about writing queries. The example is sprinkled with comments about what makes this query stand out.
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How to Write a Query, by AgentQuery.Com
According to this site, a query letter should have three concise paragraphs:

the hook
the mini-synopsis
your writer’s biography

Nothing more, nothing less. It then explains in details how to write each paragraph, with tons of examples, including hooks from well-known novels and a formula that works.

The site even has a Successful Query forum where members can post their successful queries and discuss about it. Wow, I don't have time to check it out in depth now, but I'm definitely coming back to explore this site.

Step Two: Learn From Success Stories

Query Shark Blog, by Janet Reid
Who could be better than the Query Shark herself to teach someone how to write an awesome query? Her whole blog is about queries. The subtitle says it all: "How To Write Query Letters ... or, really, how to revise query letters so they actually work".

For those of you that are not familiar with The Query Shark, here's how it works. People send their queries to her, and she basically shreds them to pieces, pointing out all the things that work or don't work, from her viewpoint as an agent. Sometimes people revise their query and re-send it for another round of comments. And sometimes, sometimes, they get a YES for an answer and they get to send their whole manuscript to her for consideration.

I'll have to take the time to read many of these queries and learn along the way. So many queries (over 200) and valuable comments in there! A good place to start would be the section titled "Queries that Got to Yes" in the right column. Those are shining examples of what a good query looks like.
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Successful Queries, by Chuck Sambuchino
Another big name in the writing industry, Chuck Sambuchino (famous for his Guide to Literary Agents blog on Writer's Digest), offers a series of posts about successful queries. In this series, he posts query letters that succeeded in getting writers signed with agents, along with comments from the agent about why it worked for them.

Keep in mind that no two agents are the same, and what one might really love the other might reject. That's why it's good to look at many different queries and read comments from many different agents. This website is a gold mine for anyone working on a query.

Step Three: Avoid Common Mistakes

Query Tips, by SM Blooding
Written by someone who's made mistakes and learned from them, this article is full of tips and friendly reminders of what NOT to do in a query.
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Do you have any other resources about queries I could add to my list? Let me know!

Blog Tour: Anastasia Pergakis - Fantasy Novels

2012-01-11T13:55:00.000-05:00

Today, I have the pleasure to welcome Anastasia Pergakis, who recently published her first novel, CLEANSE FIRE.

A little about the author:

Anastasia knew she always wanted to write. She began at a young age, writing those little stories about the apple tree in the yard. Though her love of stories stayed with her through her poetry stage in high school, she didn’t begin writing novels until she was almost an adult. That’s where she found her true passion.

Her characters visit her dreams – and sometimes during the day – to share their stories with her. Anastasia is merely the writer, but the characters are really the storytellers.

Anastasia lives in Columbus, Georgia with her husband and son. A stay at home Mom, she loves spending time with her son during the day, then writing furiously at night.

If you're like me and the only fantasy novels you've ever read are The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings #1, and Truth Teller, you'll learn a lot about this genre by reading Anastasia's answers to my first question. And if you're into fantasy, you'll be interested to know what makes her book stand out from the crowd, which she explains in her answer to my second question.

Read on, and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of her book!

~ * ~ * ~

Question #1: What are the basic characteristics of a fantasy novel?

Since fantasy as a genre has somany different sub-genres, it can be hard to just list the characteristics of"fantasy" and stay accurate. But I think I've figured out a fewthings during my research to classify fantasy as a whole, although some mightsay differently. Also, I want to keep in mind to the readers that I write highfantasy and fantasy adventure which might cloud some of my opinions here ofwhat fantasy actually is - don’t hate me for it! :)

Fantasy in general deals with"plausible impossibilities." Whatif questions are important in this genre. For example, asking "What ifdragons really existed?" or "What if elves were real but just inhiding?"

All fantasy books have anelement on magic or something magical in them. Without magic, most often,fantasy would turn into alternative historical fiction instead. Now magical, inthis sense, can also mean anything paranormal or supernatural.

World building is important inall fantasy books, even urban fantasy that happens in a modern setting, onEarth. Even those require a bit of world creation because of the"magical" creatures involved in the story. But of course, in highfantasy, world building is key. Theentire world must be created, as the story takes place somewhere other thanEarth.

A lot of fantasy books also havea sort of coming of age or rite of passage theme in them. No, this isn't alwaysthe case, but it is popular. Quests are often seen in fantasy stories, longjourneys that change the character in some drastic way - whether good or bad.This is where a lot of the world building comes into play, as the characterstravel great distances to complete their quest.

There is so much more to it, asI said, with so many sub-genres, but I think that explains fantasy in anutshell.

Question #2: What makes your book different than others in your genre?

My book is different because the"fantasy" element is not the forefront of the story. As in, whilethere is deep world building, the world comes through to the reader throughdirect character interaction. If it doesn't deal with the plot or thecharacters don’t think or act on it, I don't mention it. Many fantasy stories Ihave read – and yes there are exceptions – go into long prose about the land,the people, and where they came from that don't necessarily deal with theplot/characters directly. I hate to say it but when I read fantasy books, Ioften skip over those sections. I'm more interested in the plot and thecharacters - which is why I write very character driven novels myself.

So in my book, we are in Derac'spoint of view throughout most of the story, and since he is not the type tothink about anything other than the current mission, I don't go into the normalfantasy prose of describing my world.

Yes, I have had some reviewersnot like this, but there are plenty of others who love the way I wrote thebook. But, since Cleanse Fire is the start of a series, more and more of theworld will come out as more books are released. I think it works nicely thatway, balancing out the world building with the plot.

Question #3: Who's your target audience?

My book not only is fantasy butis also has a bit of mystery, romance, suspense, and of course military genres.I want to say that anyone can enjoy my story – doesn't every writer? – buthonestly, I think my book is for those who love fantasy, military fiction, andlots of action. I guess that appeals more to men sometimes, but the romanceelement in the story pulls the ladies in too, I think. And hey, you can't go wrongwith hot elves either way!

Cleanse Fire is a fantasy adventure novel, withedge-of-your-seat action. Epic battles, suspense, and a bit of romance too! Followthe Kinir Elite as they track down a traitor and find more than they bargainedfor.

**Portions of profits for this book are given to the WoundedWarrior Project**

Complete the mission,no matter what…

Captain Derac Vidor has served Kinir for nearly twentyyears. It’s his life, his blood. And then his Commander betrays everythingDerac holds dear. Now he has to focus on his own life and his team instead ofsaving the citizens of Kinir.

Treason is only thebeginning…

Fueled by rage, the team chases the source to theirCommander’s betrayal – a powerful wizard bent on revenge. The wizard seeks to destroythe Kinir Elite, in both mind and body. No place is safe, even among theirallies.

The past holds thekey…

Derac’s tragic past may be the key to saving the team. Butcan he face the gruesome nightmare in time?

Purchase Cleanse Fire

Join the Kinir Brigade by signing up for our newsletter! Getexclusive deals, access to special giveaways, and inside information about theseries!Join the Kinir Brigade now and receive the first five chapters in youremail! And don't forget to visit our Facebook Page and Website too!

~ * ~ * ~

GIVEAWAY

I’m giving away an e-copy of Cleanse Fire! Leave a comment on this post to enter into the randomdrawing. I'll draw the names at the end of my tour, January 31, 2012. If you want more chances towin a copy, visit our website to follow our tour! The more comments you leave,the more chances you have to win!

All commenters will also be added to the drawing for achance to win a signed hard cover. Drawing for the hardcover will be on January 31, 2012, the endof my tour.

You can also get more chances to win by tweeting or postingon facebook! Just leave a link to the tweet or post in a comment below!

**All Winners will be announced on the Kinir Elite Websiteon February 1st**

MG Book Review: Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli

2012-01-04T09:08:00.000-05:00

General Information
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopfs (Random House) / Scholastic
Year of publication: 2000
# of chapters: 33
# of pages: 186
Genre: Contemporary
Website: http://www.jerryspinelli.com
Plot summary: from enotes

Positive Points

Stargirl is a fascinating character! I couldn't stop reading to find out what she'd do next. Totally unpredictable. She reminded me of a friend of mine in high school who was very unique, and so much fun to be with.

The theme is about being true to yourself, as opposed to following the crowd. Love it! Each one of us had to deal with that as a kid, at some point. Should I be unique or try hard to fit in? Will they like me if I'm really "me"? The two extremes are shown in this book: most students do everything like people normally do, like they've always done, and Stargirl doesn't care what people think and dares to be unique. People's reactions to her are just as interesting. They go through different stages: they can't believe what they're seeing at first, then they like her, then they don't.

Stargirl is selfless. She has no ego. That's another thing I found fascinating about her. She doesn't care what people think of her, but she does care about people. She gives of herself to others, regardless of whether they like her or not, totally unconditionally, and often anonymously.

I love the writing style. The plot flows smoothly and there's a good balance between description and action. Great writing overall.

Negative Points
Hmm... I wonder what would happen if everyone followed Stargirl's path and started dressing up in unusual clothes and play ukulele during lunch. We might have to rethink the current school system a little. Stargirl kind of pushes this "uniqueness" theme to an extreme. But that's what made this book so fascinating in the first place. The chances of crossing paths with someone like her in real life are very slim, but in a book, everything is possible. So it's not really a negative point, but I really couldn't find anything else to say in this section.

What makes this book unique
Well, the main character, obviously! The POV is from a secondary character, Leo, observing Stargirl. Kind of like Dr. Watson relating Sherlock Holmes' adventures and playing a minor role in the story. Leo sounds like a regular kid, preoccupied about what people think of him, but intrigued enough to become close friends with Stargirl regardless. I wonder how Stargirl would have told the story. Probably in a totally different way.

Overall Impression
Great read! I would say this book is for older MG (10-12) because of some mild romantic elements and the theme, which tweens and teens could relate with more easily. The story takes place in high school, and Amazon has it classified as YA (12 and up), but I found it in the MG section of the library. Hmm... Kind of on the border between MG and YA.

I just found out there's a sequel, LOVE, STARGIRL (2007), which is a very long letter from her relating her life after she left Mica High School.

My Rating:

Thinking of purchasing this book? I'll make it easy for you:

40 MG Books I've Read in 2011

2011-12-18T18:44:00.000-05:00

One of my goals for 2011 was to read 20 MG books (books intended for children 8-12 years old), because that's what I write. I needed to see what was out there, and learn from published authors about what works and what doesn't.

I've exceeded my goal by reading twice as many books as I had planned! That's a great feeling. I wish I could say the same thing about my goal to post on my blog once a week. *ahem* Enough said.

Follow the links to find out more about each book or series, a link to the author's website, and my review of each book. More reviews coming in 2012!

Series
1-13 A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket (13 books)
14-16 Toad Rage, by Morris Gleitzman (3 books)
17-21 The Spiderwick Chronicles, by Toni DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (5 books)
22-24 The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart (3 books)
25-26 39 Clues, by various authors (2 books out of 11)
27 Sisters Grimm, by Michael Buckley (1 book out of 7)

Stand Alone Books
28. James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
29. How to Train your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell
30. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
31. When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead
32. Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech
33. Skellig, by David Almond
34. Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
35. The Cay, by Theodore Taylor
36. Slob, by Ellen Potter
37. The Magic Thief, by Sarah Prineas
38. Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale
39. Saltwater Taffy, by Eric Delabarre
40. Truth Teller, by Kurt Chambers (soon to be published!!)

My favorites? Hmm... Hard to tell!

I really loved Slob, by Ellen Potter, Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli, and of course, Truth Teller, by my dear friend Kurt Chambers, which you will all be able to read after its release date, January 25th, 2012. So excited!! Kurt has been one of my critique partners for the last two years, and has helped me tremendously with my own book. I'm so happy that his book is getting published. I have read and reviewed every chapter, and I'm now doing a final read through. I have to say, this book is very special to me. But enough about that for now. I'll review this book as part of Kurt's blog tour, in an upcoming post. Stay tuned!

Tim Tams, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Snickerpoodles

2011-11-25T17:55:00.001-05:00

As promised, here is my long awaited post about Tim Tams. I tasted these wonderful Australian cookies for the first time during the holidays last year, when Tania (one of my awesome critique partners) sent me several flavors of them for Christmas. They were amazing!! A Tim Tam is made of two chocolate cookies with cream filling in between and coated in chocolate. There are many different flavors, Chewy Caramel, Classic Dark, and White being my favorites.

I learned to do the Tim Tam Slam, which means biting off one small part at each end of the cookie, and using it as a straw to sip coffee or any other hot beverage of your choice. The cookie gets all warm and soggy and practically disintegrates in your mouth when you eat it. Mmmmm! Getting hungry just thinking about it. The trick is to sip coffee until some of it goes all the way through to your mouth, and then stuff the whole cookie in your mouth at once. Very messy, but so good!

I was so happy about my Tim Tams that I let my whole critique group online know how much I loved them. As a result, Louisa (another one of my amazing critique partners) sent me some more for my birthday in January! I have the best friends in the world. And now I just found out Pepperidge Farm is starting to sell them in the U.S.! I haven't seen any in stores yet, but I'll keep my eyes open.

As another result of my love of Tim Tams, I recently won a cookie recipe book on @MGMafioso's blog, by tweeting about what my favorite cookies were. The Cookiepedia became a family favorite recipe book in no time. It has recipes for 50 classic cookies, all illustrated in color, and many ideas for variations. Love it!

The kids tried a chocolate chip recipe yesterday, while I cooked my turkey, pumpkin pies, and too many side dishes. They made them a little too big, so they spread into a huge cookie rectangle as they cooked. I had to cut them into squares. But they were gooooood! And as we speak, my eldest daughter and her friend are trying out a blondie recipe. Can't wait to see how it turns out! Stay tuned on Twitter for some pictures of their masterpiece.

I love baking during the holidays. Last year, we tried a Snickerdoodle recipe for a contest and we won! We shaped it as a poodle and called it Snickerpoodle.

What's your favorite cookie?

Letting Go of All Expectations

2011-11-16T13:32:00.000-05:00

I came to understand that unhappiness is mainly due to our expectations not being met. That's an important aspect of customer service in business: under-promise and over-deliver to keep customers happy. If I order a book online and expect to receive it in two days and it takes four, I'm aggravated. But if it was supposed to take ten days and I get in in only four days, I'm delighted it came so early. It's all a matter of setting the right expectations.

One thing I learned years ago from famous motivational speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer is to let go of the results. Do what you have to do, offer what you have to offer, be the best you can be, and detach yourself from the outcome. In other words, let go of your ego. Sounds simple, but it's not an easy thing to do.

We all want to feel appreciated. We all need validation. We crave for someone to recognize and appreciate our talents, our efforts, our investment. To keep giving the best we have without expecting anything in return is the hardest thing to do, but it's the key to happiness and living a fulfilling life.

So, should you just keep doing the same thing, even after getting no result? Absolutely not. It would be foolish to do so.

Sometimes it's good to stop and reassess our goals, to take an objective look at what we've done so far, and analyze why it may not have brought the results we wanted. Time to try something different, to be creative. Most of the time, we instinctively know what went wrong, but we're not always ready to put in the time and effort it would take to make it better. Is your goal important enough to justify the effort? Is it worth it? Only you have the answer to that. Sometimes all we have to do is readjust our expectations and be more realistic in our goals, and keep trying.

Guest Post: Costs of Self Publishing, by Anastasia Pergakis

2011-11-03T14:13:00.001-04:00

I had the pleasure to interview Anastasia Pergakis on a recent blog post. The information she gave me about her self-publishing experience was so detailed and valuable that I decided to break it down into three blog posts: the interview itself, the steps to self-publishing, and this post about costs. If you haven't already, I strongly recommend you read the other two parts of the interview.

And now, here is Part 3 of Anastasia's interview, Costs to Self Publishing.

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E-book Options

It is entirely possible to publish your book for free.Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble do not require your e-book to have anISBN number. In fact, Amazon gives your book an ASIN number, which is justAmazon's unique identifier system. If you do your own editing, your own coverart, and format yourself, you have no cost.

Also know that Smashwords is the place where people withalmost any e-reader out there can buy your book and have the exact format theyneed. So, even if you want to appeal to Sony and Apple customers, Smashwords isthe place where they can get the format they need.

About ISBNs

If you want to distribute to more places – like Appleor Sony – you must have an ISBN. The ISBN will allow your book to be listed onthe Apple or Sony sites, even though readers can get any format they want atSmashwords. This could mean more exposure for your book!

If you want to have your book in print, you need an ISBN(a different one than the e-book!) for each print version (one for paperbackand one for hardcover). Note that onBowker.com, the place where you buy your ISBN numbers, you can buy 1 for$125.00 or 10 for $250.00. Yeah, I know.

That is a total of 3 separate ISBNs. You might end upneeding 4 if you upload your book to Apple and Sony yourself, rather thanrelying on Smashwords to distribute it for you. According to other selfpublished authors I've talked to, their sales on Sony and Apple are good, butnot good enough for me to really recommend uploading to them yourself.Smashwords can handle it for you and all your sales are tracked through yourSmashwords account. But it's entirely up to you.

Detailed List of Costs

Here is a list of costs that you might have to deal withas a self published author. Remember, the more you do yourself, the more moneyyou save!

Editing: Between $200 and $800 dependingon book length
Cover Art: Between $50 and $200
Formatting: Between $100 and $500
ISBN: 10 for $250.00
Print: Each time you order copies of yourbook, you have to pay for them - cost to print plus shipping. Some say youshould have between 25 and 50 copies on hand at all times. Others say youshould only keep 10 to 20. (Note: LightningSource also has set up fees!Remember, I'll be posting on my blog this week about what to expect with usingLightningSource, and I'll explain all those set up fees in depth! CreateSpacedoes not have any set up fees.)
Warehousing: Now, I didn't explain thedifference between POD (print on demand) and off-set printing places. Just knowthat POD requires NO warehousing/storage cost. But if you go with an off-sentprinting place (where they spit out 1,000 copies of your book and then storethem until they sell), you'll have to pay the upfront cost to print and thenstore all those books.
Marketing: Yes, some promotion andmarketing options out there cost money, so see if you can budget in some ofthem to get the word out about your book.

My cost to date for publishing my book: $100.00 for thecover art. And my book is available right now for e-readers. By the time mybook comes out in print in December, I'll add probably another $500.00 to that.So, grand total, to publish my book, is around $600.00. That does not includeany marketing options. I remember researching self publishing just 10 years agoand it was around $10,000 to publish. But now you can do it for free or forless than $1,000.00 and still get world wide distribution!

Here's another thought for your regarding ISBN numbers.You buy 10 at a time at the $250.00 price and then you only use 3 of them toget your book out. Guess what? Those other 7 you didn't use, you still own!Which means, your next book already has 3 ISBNs waiting for it! (And the thirdbook too!) So, when your second and third books come out, you will not havethat cost to worry about.

Useful Links

And as a reminder, I posted three otherposts on my blog about self publishing, in more detail: Things to Think about When Formatting for Print, Using LightningSource, and Pricing Your Book.

Thanks so much for having me Annie! It was fun to be apart of your blog here for three days. I'm sorry these ended up so long, buteven then, I only scratched the surface. So, head over to my blog for moreinformation in the next few days!

And, to the blog visitors, please don't hesitate to leaveme a comment or questions. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have aboutself publishing.

Author Site: http://avpergakis.com

Author Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAVPergakis

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AVPergakis

Series Site: http://kinirelite.com

Series Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/TheKinirElite

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Guest Post: Steps to Self Publishing, by Anastasia Pergakis

2011-10-24T14:12:00.000-04:00

There is so much involved in self publishing. Asthe self published author, you are also required to be the publisher, editor,cover artist, and more.

The general steps to selfpublish your novel are pretty the same for e-book or print. After you write it,there is editing, cover art, purchasing your own ISBNs and making yourpublishing company, formatting, uploading to distributors, and marketing. Buteach step itself is done a little differently.

Okay, I left out a step. Firstthing is deciding on your release date! Yes, as the self published author, YOUget to choose. Just keep in mind the time it will take you to edit, format,etc. and make sure you have plenty of play room in case of emergencies. I gavemyself four months. The ebook was out in two months and the print book will bereleased in another two, so I was ahead of schedule!

So, you have your release datea few months away. Time to get to work. And I do mean work.

Editing

Hire a professional editor ordo it yourself. Now this where self published authors disagree. If, and Istress the if, you have top notch critique partners, access to a teacher(preferably a literary or English one), you can get away with not hiring aprofessional editor, some authors say. Many others will tell you that it is arequirement. Also keep in mind that the handful of book reviewers willing toreview self published book still won't review yours without a professionaleditor in the picture. I will tell you now that I did not hire a professionaleditor and I know other authors who didn't either, and their books are sellingfast. Again, do your research here.

Cover Art

Again, even in the Indieauthor world, the writers are split between whether you should make thisyourself or hire someone. Here's my thoughts on it. In order to compete withthe professional level of traditional published authors, you want to have acover that stands out, right? If you don't have skills with graphic design,then yes, I say hire a cover artist. If you have some skills in it, give it atry. You can save a little bit of money designing it yourself.

I know graphic design due tomy website building business. However, I decided to hire an artist too. Why?Well, I did make some covers - and they did look good and professional.However, even as the author, I couldn't capture the feel of the story the way Iwanted to. I had my cover art for my book Cleanse Fire hand-drawn by anartist. My cover was the first one she's ever made. Here's a tip: Don't spendmore than $200.00 on your cover art. Most cover artists I've found chargearound $50 to $75 dollars. I spent $100.00 on mine, but it was hand-drawn andcompletely original.

Now, to prepare for formattingyour cover later – professional cover artists know the following information,but other digital artists may not. So even if you do not understand the numbershere, the artist will. Make sure theimage is at least 300 dpi although I've found that having it in 600 dpi isbetter. Also, make sure your image is a big one, as it is easier to make itsmaller, but not bigger. And that worked perfectly for me to resize to thedifferent sizes I needed for websites and uploading to places like GoodReads.

Making Your Own PublishingCompany (And ISBNs)

Yes! You get to make your ownpublishing company! Come up with a name, and a logo if you like! And no, you donot need a business license or anything like that. You are considered by the IRS as a "Sole Proprietor" so everythingincome and tax related is handled through your personal information, just underanother name so to speak.

Now, in the publishing world,once you own 10 ISBN numbers, you are considered a real publisher. Plain andsimple!

For those that don't know,ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It uniquely identifies abook. This allows efficient marketing and easier finding for readers as thebook - no matter if the cover art, price, etc. changes, still has this number.

Interesting note: The UnitedStates is the only country (or one of a very few) in the world that makes anauthor/publisher pay for an ISBN. Any other place you can get them for free!

Formatting & Publishing

Now, here is where many selfpublished authors take the most time when getting their book ready. You CANhire a professional here to do it for you. However, you can save a few hundreddollars by doing it yourself.

E-books

Many guides for formattingyour book tell you use OpenOffice rather than Microsoft Word or Word Perfect.However, I used Microsoft Word for all my books and they came out fine. In theend, you might need to upload your book, then fix any problems, and uploadagain. Just because it looks good on your computer doesn't meant it actuallywill on a Kindle or Nook or other e-reader. Find friends that have a Kindle orNook. You're pretty safe that if you book looks good on those devices, it willlook good on others.

I won't explain to you how toformat it exactly. That would take way too long. Smashwords.com has a wonderfuland easy to follow step-by-step guide for formatting for e-book. It took meabout three hours to format my 60K long manuscript. And the next time I do it,I'll get faster as I can plan ahead while I’m writing and editing.

Once I had the manuscriptformatted for e-book using the Smashwords guide, I uploaded it toSmashwords.com. When it came back with no errors – as in their automated systemfound no major mistakes in the formatting – I turned my attention to Kindleformat.

You'll need MobiPocket Creatorfor this. It's a free program to download and extremely easy to use. I uploadedmy word document that I formatted with the Smashwords guide, uploaded the coverart, filled in the information about my book and pressed the button. A fewseconds later – tada! – my book in Kindle format! Then I went to the KindleDirect Publishing and uploaded the file to their system. It took two days forthe book to be fully on their site for sale.

With Barnes & Noble, Iwent to PubIt.com and uploaded my formatted Word Document into their system,uploaded the cover art, entered the information and bam – three days later,Nook format for sale!

Overall, formatting anduploading, I did this in about four to five hours.

That was just for e-books!Print books have their own set of rules but the concept is still the same. Thedifference here is that you have to decide on a printer, which is a discussionfor a later date.

Printed Books

My research tells me that ifyou use CreateSpace (part of Amazon), you can use your Word document to uploadinto their system. And they have a nifty little cover art design wizard thatyou can use as well. But I went with LightningSource, which is more complicatedto use. (And my research says that they have better quality of print, but Idon't know this for certain.)

Okay, LightningSource willtell you to download a program called InDesign made by Adobe. It costs $200.00!Luckily there is a "free" version of the same program called Scribus.Scribus is not easy to use, you have to literally do every single thing byhand. Without going into too much detail, it took me seven days (with many latenights!) to format Cleanse Fire for paperback and hardcover. Next timewon't take me as long, as I'm now familiar with the program. It will still takea few days however, as there is a lot to consider in formatting for print. Infact, I think I'll write a post about it on my blog this week. So head over to Labotomy of a Writer and look forthat.

For the cover art formatting,LightningSource has a template you can download – and then use in Scribus – todo this. You'll need your ISBN number first, as their template creatorautomatically puts the barcode on the back for you – which include the ISBNnumber for your book. I recommend you format the inside of your book beforedesigning the cover. This is because you don't know how many pages your bookwith be in paperback/hardcover size until you format it. This is importantbecause the number of pages determine the width of the spine for your book. Ifyou format a cover with a spine of say 1 inch, but you really need a spine of1.5 inch or even .5 an inch, it won't work!

Now, like I said before,CreateSpace has this little wizard on their site where you can design yourcover art through them. Just upload and insert your own images or you can useone of the pre-made designs they have.

Okay, this is where I can onlytell you about how LightningSource works. I'm sure CreateSpace is similar intheir upload process, but LightningSource has many extra steps you must do first.But again, in order to keep this post from getting far too long, head over tomy blog this week for a detailed post about using LightningSource.

Once you have the file of thebook and the file for the cover art, you upload it into LightningSource or CreateSpaceand order a "proof copy". As the author, you'll only have to pay forthe cost to print it (my book is around $4.50) and shipping. When you get theproof copy, make sure everything is correct – spacing, page numbers, order ofinformation, etc. If it's good to go, you log in and officially published thebook. If not, reformat and try again.

LightningSource, when youofficially publish, distributes to Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and a few otherplaces automatically for you. They will handle all your sales for everything. Also,LightningSource will also distribute to places in the UK and Australia ifyou choose those options.

Final Words and Links

Whew, did I cover everything?Sorry it was so long! Like I said, so much information! Oh, I left outmarketing, but I'll save that for later.

Oh, forgot another thing.Setting your own price. This again would require a whole nother post on how todecide what price is right for your book. You can visit my blog to learn aboutthis as I'm putting together a post about it right now.

So that's three other blogposts on my blog for you: Things to Think about In Formatting for Print, UsingLightningSource, and Setting your Price.

Thanks again for having me, Annie!

Interview with Anastasia (which triggered this second post out of three)

Author Site: http://avpergakis.com

Author Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAVPergakis

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AVPergakis

Series Site: http://kinirelite.com

Series Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/TheKinirElite

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Interview with Anastasia Pergakis about Self Publishing

2011-10-17T22:23:00.000-04:00

Anastasia is a high fantasy writer I’ve known for a fewyears. She recently decided toself-publish her book, Cleanse Fire. Sheaccepted to be my guest today and answer the questions I have about self-publishing,which I’m sure many of you have as well.

Two of the questions I had for her will be posted asstand-alone articles. She provided mewith SO MUCH valuable information, I decided to give them their own space. Be on the look-out for these upcoming postsfrom Anastasia: Steps to take in orderto self-publish a novel, and the costs involved.

Welcome to my blog, Anastasia. It’s a great pleasure tohave you here.

I'm glad to be here Annie!Thank you for having me.

Let’s begin with a general question. What made you decide to self-publish, asopposed to going with a traditional publisher?

This is not an easy answer. Ithought about it for months before making my decision. There are many factorsthat I thought about to make this decision. Money (profit and cost) and timebeing just two of them.

Now, money was an importantfactor in my decision to self-publish, but it was not the most important. Indoing my research I discovered that the majority of traditionally publishedauthors make anywhere between 10% to 30% of their cover price. (Meaning theyget only 10% of the cost of the book). Amazon and other distributors take a cut as do the publisher and agent.So by the time it's all said and done, the author is left with a smallpercentage. Now, please understand, I'm not saying that traditional publishingis a bad way to go. It's a very good option out there for authors. I'm justexplaining to you what I found - and how I made my decision.

Consider the other side. Indie(or self) published authors only have to pay for the distributor fee, as theyare the publisher too. In the end, the self published author gets between 60%and 80% in royalties. Big difference, right?

Time was a huge factor aswell, for two different reasons. One, by going with a traditional publisher, anauthor has a lot of "waiting" time. Wait to hear from the agent, waitto hear from the publisher, wait to hear from the editor, cover artist, etc.Traditional publishers have many authors, and books, they work with and this oftenmeans even if an author is accepted, it is often a year or more until theirbook is released. But, with self published, the "publisher" only hasto worry about one author. This means that the book can be released in a muchsooner time (if the author does the work that is).

Now, the other side of the"time" situation is that I would have to take the time to learn howto format my book, possibly make my own cover art, then upload the book to thedistributors. This can be a steep learning curve for some as you do need todownload a few programs in order to do all this, especially if you areformatting for e-book and print. I think at this point I've already downloaded4 new programs.

And then the final - andbiggest reason - for me to self publish was the fact that my book was toopersonal to me. I know that every book is personal to a writer, but thisparticular one…I just didn't feel comfortable with a publisher owning partialrights to my book. Also, since I wanted to donate to charity, I felt being witha publisher would deter my ability to do that - or at least make it moredifficult for me to do so.

Again, I want to stress that Idon't think traditional publishing is bad or that they are cheating people.That's not the case at all. The major thing for authors is to do what feelsbest for YOU. Just because it was right for me, doesn't mean it'll be the rightchoice for everyone. If you are considering self publishing, do the research. Ispent months researching self publishing, discussing it over with my husband,and getting the opinions of other writers - both indie and self published. Onlyafter that did I sit down and make my decision.

These are all very good points to consider for anyone thinkingof self-publishing. How are you planning to promote your book?

Well - the simple answer isjust like traditionally published authors. But there is more involved thanthat. Since I also act as my publisher, it is my responsibility to make surethe book is available in as many places as I can for purchase. This means I haveto contact book stores myself about having my book on their shelves, etc.

But for the actual promotion -telling people about it - it's the same as traditional published authors.Spread the word through my Twitter followers, Facebook friends and their friends, word ofmouth, blog tours, getting reviews, etc.

Now, I will say that it can bea little harder for me as many book reviewers won't read self published authorsat all. The ones that do might require a professional editor. But the steps arestill the same. I have to stay in constant contact with my followers, keepgiving them incentives to buy, and keep growing my fan base.

Oh look at that! A shortanswer! LOL

Haha!! Very untypical of you. Would you considerself-publishing your next book? Why or why not?

Yes. Definitely. In fact atthis point, I'm thinking that I'll always self publish. Again, not because Ihate traditional publishers or anything like that. I just ENJOY it so much.Having my hands in the process of my book from initial idea all the way to seeit on sale is just…overwhelming. I feela great sense of pride in it. And sure, it was hard to learn all the newprograms I had to use, but over all, I had so much fun doing it. So, since Ilike it so much, I might as well keep doing it, right?

Sounds like a plan! Thank you, Anastasia, for thisvaluable information. I wish you all thebest with your book! Andcongratulations, you’re now a published author!

Thanks so much Annie! I'msorry the post ended up so long, but there is just so much involved. And Ibarely scratched the surface honestly!

No, thank YOU! This is such valuable information. I can tell you did your research. Now we know where to go if we everhave questions about self-publishing. ;)

Author Site: http://avpergakis.com

Author Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAVPergakis

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AVPergakis

Series Site: http://kinirelite.com

Series Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/TheKinirElite

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New Goals, New Possibilities

2011-10-06T22:01:00.000-04:00

I finally decided what I want to be when I grow up! Never too late, right? I want to write novels for children, yes, but I also want to do other things. Publishing my MG* novel will take a long time. Meanwhile, I want to be able to focus my time and energy on something productive and immediate, and at the same time, build a platform for when I'm ready to launch my book.

What I want to do is encourage other MG writers in their paths to publication, and help them promote their books once they're published.

I'm already doing MG book reviews, and I'll keep doing that, only more regularly. I want to look for ways to bring more traffic to my blog, and maybe even post my book reviews on other sites, such as on Squidoo, so more people can read them. With each review, I'll include an Amazon.com link to the book I reviewed. My book reviews are done from a writer's perspective, analyzing what works or doesn't work in a novel, and exploring different writing styles. I know how hard it is for writers to promote their own books, so the least I can do is promote other books I like, kind of giving a cyber pat in the back to my fellow hard working writers.

Besides book reviews, I'll continue posting articles about creative writing, useful links to websites and blogs, interview with authors or agents, exploring ways to earn money as a writer other than with royalties, and any other topics helpful to writers who, like me, are seeking publication. Basically, I'll just be passing along whatever I learn and come across as a writer.

Occasionally, I'll post something about my personal life, so we can get to know each other better. Oh, and that post about Tim Tams I've been promising to do since centuries ago.

I don't have big chunks of time to invest in my writing life, being a mother with a full time job, but I need a project I'm passionate about to keep me motivated.

What's in it for me? Reading and reviewing MG novels helps me become a better writer and become knowledgeable in my field. As an Amazon.com associate, I earn a (very small) commission with each sale. Not much, I know, but every little bit helps. And doing all this helps me build my platform and network with people in my field.

Everyone wins!

*MG stands for Middle Grade, which means aimed for kids 8-12 years old. Kind of in between chapter books and teen novels.

WriteOnCon Notes about Voice - Part Three

2011-07-27T01:00:00.000-04:00

In August 2010, I attended the Live Industry Professional Panel (Mary Kole, Anica Rissi, Joanna Volpe, Suzie Townsend) about voice on WriteOnCon. (Click on the link above to see the whole chat transcript.) Here's the third and last part of my notes (click here for Part One and Part Two):

Stories with appealing voices often have quirky titles. Do you think title needs to reflect main character's voice?

Suzie Townsend: Quirky titles are cool. But titles change. The voice and a story is what's so much more important.

Anica Rissi: The title almost always changes. I don't really care what the title is when I acquire it. Though a great title can make me read that submission first.

Joanna Volpe: No. But the title should reflect the overall tone of the story.

Mary Kole: Title love lasts five seconds (or long enough to get you to the cash register). Prose/voice love must last four hours or more while you devour the book!

What about dialect/accents? I see a lot of writers adding the dialectical spelling to the MS.

Anica Rissi: If you're not Faulkner, you're probably not writing dialect well.

Suzie Townsend: Dialects and accents if done right are awesome, but it can't get in the way of the story. Sometimes if it's too heavy, it's distracting and even annoying. Please. I love Faulkner, but even Oprah had a hard time selling him to the masses.

Mary Kole: Dialect annoys me. I'd much rather have a hint of the regional flavor than dialogue that I have to sound out as I read it. It makes my eyes automatically gloss over the heavily-accented words.

Joanna Volpe: Agreed--dialect can be distracting...if used, use it sparsely. Unless, of course, you're Faulkner.

Anica Rissi: TRUST YOUR READER. If you're writing your character well, if the voice rings true, we'll hear that southern accent (or whatever) in our heads.

Joanna Volpe: Yes, Anica! Think of GIRLS IN TRUCKS--no dialect, but I heard that southern accent all right!

In terms of multiple POVs: The voice isn't equivalent just to different personalities, right? Should there should also be differences in terms of syntax and diction?

Suzie Townsend: YES. Different syntax, diction, style, personality, completely different voice.

Mary Kole: OF COURSE. You and I could be walking down the same exact street, but I could see gross, sweating garbage, and you could see the rays of heaven shining down on the glistening cobblestones as the pigeons wing o'erhead...etc. Every person/character has their own rhythm and style and way of putting things.

If voice can't be taught, and someone's voice has been developed over the years, can age be a disadvantage? Can your voice outgrow your audience?

Anica Rissi: One of my bestselling authors is over 50.

Suzie Townsend: Laurie Halse Anderson said at Brooklyn Book Festival last year that she'll always be 15 at heart, no matter how old she really is. Read. Your. Genre.

Anica Rissi: And plenty of teen authors can't write an authentic teen voice.

Joanna Volpe: Well. Yes and no. It depends on the author. But I've seen some experienced authors lose track of today's YA voice. I've also seen some debut authors over 50 totally NAIL it.

Mary Kole: If you find your voice outgrowing the teen sphere or somehow going outside of it, I'd follow your natural voice. As I said before..teens have their bs-o-meter. But I agree with everyone...voice and age are completely disconnected. There are plenty of grown-ups who still wake up every day feeling 16 years old.

I've heard a few people talking about sarcasm NOT working. When DOES it work?

Anica Rissi: It works when it's true to the character, true to the story, true to the moment. GETTING REVENGE ON LAUREN WOOD is a great mixture of sarcasm, snark, AND earnest, genuine emotion. Much of the snark comes from true pain/fear/insecurity. So it feels real and right, and isn't overused.

Mary Kole: Sarcasm works when it's just part of the character, not something that you put on your character like an ill-fitting coat to indicate: This is a teenager in their natural habitat. They are drinking coffee and hating the world. Death Cab for Cutie plays in the background. This is authentic, people!

Do you see a lot of books with a boy MC whose voice is unauthentic? (More so than female POVs?)

Suzie Townsend: Yes. A lot of times you can tell when it's a female writer. Boys really don't go on and on about how beautiful a girl's makeup is. They say she's hot.

Joanna Volpe: No, actually. I think it's pretty even for boys and girls on the authentic voice front. Well, Suzie's point is one of the more common mistakes. The author lets their girl-side show.

Anica Rissi: Nope, I see plenty of authentic boy MC voices. I think boys, like girls, are individuals. Your boy MC should be distinctly himself. So his voice should ring true to who he is, not to who boys in general are supposed to stereotypically be. That said, if he's not at all interested in sex, I don't believe he's a teenage boy. (Same for girls, btw.) Look, publishers do think of things in terms of "girl book" or "boy book" or "appeals to both" and we package them accordingly. Sometimes a girl book has a boy MC, and that's probably a diff kind of story than a boy MC boy book. And yes, this is something that drives me crazy, but I see the necessary in the evil.

Mary Kole: Umm...I don't want to say anything totally controversial and get put in the bad girl seat, but I almost feel like the focus in a lot of boy-driven books is more on plot and adventure and action and scene, and less on voice and interiority. That's not to say that you can get away with crappy voice, but for boy MCs the voice is sometimes...simpler. I want great strong voices in MG "boy books"!!!! I do!!! I feel like, though, sometimes, and I don't think I'm totally wrong here, but plot may eclipse the need for a really strong voice-driven narrative, especially in MG. But it has to have voice, too, of course.

Elana Johnson: (total sidenote, but The Replacement is a brilliant male MC book.)

Hannah Moskowitz: Definitely depends on the book for me. I just have a VERY voicey boy MG coming out in Fall 2011, and I've been frustrated by some people's responses to that...the "Boy MG panel" at SCBWI was especially frustrating. "Boys don't like to think! Boys want lions and spies!" You generalize girls like that, you get shot, you know? But that's a whole different story haha.

What makes a voice teenish? Teens themselves are pretty varied people.

Joanna Volpe: It's the sensibility of the overall story and character that makes something a TEEN book vs an ADULT book with a teen character.

Mary Kole: The teen part of teen literature isn't about having a teen voice, per se, it's about having a story and character that are authentic to the teen experience...something teens can resonate with.

Anica Rissi: Often it's not what makes the voice teen so much as what makes the voice so clearly NOT teen.
But if it's teen, it's all about the intensity of the moment. Teens don't have a ton of perspective on what's going to matter in five years, five minutes. It's all about NOW. I don't mean to be condescending here. There's something amazing/wonderful about that, and I think one of the reason adults read YA is to reconnect to that intensity.

Does voice make up for the general cliche of that "powers-at-16-and-oh-no-it's-the-apocalypse" storyline? Because when I was a teen, that's what I wanted to read, so now it's what I want to write.

Mary Kole: The perfect book is a mix of a great premise and great execution. If you have a familiar-sounding premise, you can always make up for that with unique execution (which includes voice).

Joanna Volpe: ABSOLUTELY. Voice trumps all. Heck, if there were another angel book with a completely compelling, fresh, exquisite voice that we've never heard before, it certainly has a good chance at selling. Good writing is good writing.

Anica Rissi: depends what you mean by cliche. Most of the books we love have familiar storylines at their hearts. That's part of what makes the book relatable--the core is universal. It's what makes that story different that's the hook, and that makes it fun to read.

Suzie Townsend: Yes. For a while I was going on and on about being over paranormal and then I read a great query and first 10 pages with an awesome voice, and I definitely want to see it. That said if the manuscript is going to compete with a title on my list then I might have to pass - so it depends how similar the concepts are.

Will you take a book with great voice over a book with great plot (because plot can be worked on easier than voice)?

Mary Kole: YES.

Suzie Townsend: YES. But I have to love love *love* the voice.

Joanna Volpe: Yup. Plot is fixable...voice is much harder to fix.

Anica Rissi: Yup. I can fix your plot. But if there's NO plot. No.

Is it possible to have the character's voice grow as the character develops in the story?
Anica Rissi: Your main character should grow/develop over the course of her plot arc. What she learns might influence her voice slightly, I suppose. Like a character who starts out snooty might become less so. "It should be authentic to the character" (and story, and plot) could really be applied as the answer to almost any other questions you have for us. Subtle is key. We want our characters to experience huge things on the page, but remember that most humans change very little.

Suzie Townsend: YES. Some of my favorite stories have ones where the character changes and develops of the course of the story and as a result their voice shifts and changes with them, but again it has to be subtle and authentic to the character.

Lisa and Laura Roecker: I think BEFORE I FALL is a great example of a voice that grows and changes slightly as the MC develops.

Mary Kole: To that, I say, the character has to be there from page one, and the voice has to be there. The character can grow and change and their voice might grow and change a little bit as they progress through the story, but the voice must still be present immediately and completely recognizable. You can't use character "growth" to justify it taking you an entire manuscript to develop voice. I guess I'm saying that...even if your character grows and changes, the voice has to be there from the first moment and it still needs to be the same voice...only with new shades and layers...by the last moment.

Twitter Links

Anica Rissi: @editrixanica

Mary Kole: @kid_lit

Suzie Townsend: @sztownsend81

Joanna Volpe: @JoSVolpe

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Whew! I finished posting all my notes just in time for the NEXT WriteOnCon coming up, August 16th - 18th. Mark your calendars!

And I JUST found out that registrations are now OPEN!! Register here. See you there! :)

To Blog Or Not To Blog

2011-07-24T15:26:00.000-04:00

Do you sometimes find yourself so busy that you hardly have time to write a new blog post?

Well, now is one of those times for me.

I'll start blogging regularly soon. But sometimes, other things are just more important. I don't know how people who blog every day do it. I can hardly find the time to blog once a week!

Enough said.

*Going back to revising my novel, building my new Google+ account, and recovering from getting two of my three kids ready and packed for their summer camp.*

Four MG Books I Didn't Like And Why

2011-06-30T00:23:00.000-04:00

I don't enjoy reviewing books that didn't hook me. Still, I think it's important to identify what doesn't work for me in these stories, as it helps me avoid the same mistakes when I write my own books. So I'm bunching four of them together for a flash review of each, to make it quick and relatively painless.

Before we start, I'd like to refer to my blog post about what I'm looking for in a novel, which I'm sure is different for each reader. It applies not only to novels I read for pleasure, but also to children's books I'm reading to develop my writing skills. To me, a book for children should be of such quality that it also appeals to me as a children's writer.

#1: How To Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell
Publisher: Little, Brown and Co.
Year of publication: 2003
(1st U.S. edition: 2004)
# of chapters: 19 + epilogue
# of pages: 214
Genre: Fantasy

What I didn't like:

In short, the bathroom humor, overdone insults, and gross factor might appeal to a young boy, but it wasn't really my thing. The writing could have been better, to my humble opinion. There was a lot of telling and the plot was predictable at times.

One Positive Point:
The setting and characters were original: a Viking boy training a pet dragon. Now that's a first!

#2: 39 Clues #2: One False Note, by Gordon Korman

Publisher: Scholastic

Year of publication: 2008

# of chapters: 21

# of pages: 174

Genre: Adventure/Mystery

What I didn't like:

I felt like I was reading someone's very first book. The POV shifts around from one character to another constantly within the same scene, which makes it hard for the reader to connect with any of them. Using a variety of dialogue tags seems like a good idea for a beginning writer, but it can be quite distracting for the reader. I counted eight different ones in one random page I picked ("Nellie translated in a whisper", "Amy hissed in surprise", "she replied with a shrug", "Nellie guessed", "she added," Amy suggested timidly", ...) The characters are not consistent with the first book. Amy is no longer insecure and stuttering, all of a sudden. But the cat is still just as annoying as in the first book. (See my review of 39 Clues # 1 for details.) I'd be very surprised if the historical elements about Mozart and Marie-Antoinette were accurate. To my opinion, a book is either historical fiction or it's not; it can't be somewhere in between.

One Positive Point:

The plot was intriguing, and looking for clues is always fun. As a bonus, kids can go online and search for more clues by solving puzzles. I couldn't access the games, because whoever read the book before us at the library had already created an account using the unique passcodes included in the book.

#3: Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech

Publisher: Harper Collins

Year of publication: 1994

# of chapters: 44

# of pages: 280

Genre: Realistic Fiction

What I didn't like:

The characters were not likable to me, especially Phoebe, the main character's friend, which I found very annoying. Even the main character was hard for me to relate with. All the adults in this book had major flaws and no strong moral values. The plot was slow, filled with unnecessary mystery, and didn't make sense to me at all (for example: a teen girl telling her story about her friend to her grandparents almost nonstop for a six-hour car ride, Grandpa letting his inexperienced granddaughter drive his truck on a dangerous mountain road, a teacher reading the students' journals in front of the class, ...). The ending disappointed me. I feel I've been cheated, led to believe one thing when the narrator knew all along it was something different. I found this book in the MG section of the library, but it had a YA feel to it, with heavy themes such as a mother leaving her family, death, betrayal, and the mention of Grandma running away with the milkman for three days because Grandpa was swearing too much. Um... Okay! Sorry, not for me.

One Positive Point:

The writing itself was good, and I felt like I was in the hands of an experienced writer.

#4: Skellig, by David Almond

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Year of publication: 1998

# of chapters: 46

# of pages: 182

Genre: Fantasy

What I didn't like:

I found the plot very strange, and the characters even stranger. The book is about a very untypical angel who eats Chinese food, drinks beer, and never smiles. The little girl doesn't sound like a child, more like a mature adult, but I suppose that's part of her personality. Still, I found it hard to believe she could talk like she did. The main character, a young boy, was so affected by his baby sister's health problems that he couldn't go to school and was kept home for several weeks. I felt everything was a little overdone, hard to believe. There is a lot of repeated mannerisms, such as "He laughed but didn't smile" told the same exact way several times throughout the book. Maybe it's supposed to be there for effect, but I found it irritating.

One Positive Point:

I learned something about owls and birds. Oh, and there was something about listening deep inside that caught my attention at some point, and left me feeling this wasn't such a bad book after all.

MG Book Review: A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket

2011-06-20T13:37:00.001-04:00

General Information
Publisher: Harper Collins / Scholastic
Year of publication: 1999-2006 (see list below)
# of books in the series: 13
# of chapters: 13 (except the last book: 14)
# of pages: 162-337 (see below)
Genre: Adventure
Website: www.lemonysnicket.com/books
Plot summary: from Wikipedia

Books in the Series
# 1: The Bad Beginning (1999; 162 pages)
# 2: The Reptile Room (1999; 190 pages)
# 3: The Wide Window (2000; 214 pages)
# 4: The Miserable Mill (2000; 194 pages)
# 5: The Austere Academy (2000; 221 pages)
# 6: The Ersatz Elevator (2001; 259 pages)
#7: The Vile Village (2001; 256 pages)
#8: The Hostile Hospital (2001; 255 pages)
#9: The Carnivorous Carnival (2002; 286 pages)
#10: The Slippery Slope (2003; 337 pages)
#11: The Grim Grotto (2004; 323 pages)
#12: The Penultimate Peril (2005; 353 pages)
#13: The End (2006; 337 pages)

Positive Points

The author found a creative way to introduce complicated words and expressions to young children. Even the titles contain difficult words, such as penultimate and ersatz. The words are explained either by the characters or by the narrator (often in a humorous way), and repeated several times throughout the story, which makes them easier to absorb.

The three main characters each have one special ability: Violet invents useful things, Klaus reads many books and has a lot of knowledge on just about anything, and Sunny likes to bite things with her sharp teeth, and later becomes an excellent cook. Other characters also have distinct personality traits: Count Olaf is always developing schemes to snatch the three orphans' fortune. Mr. Poe, the banker in charge of the orphans, is constantly coughing, and so on. It's easy to connect with the characters because they each have unique, specific mannerisms.

Negative Points

The plot gets repetitive after a few books. In each book, the Beaudelaire orphans move in with a distant relative, and they find themselves in a miserable situation. Count Olaf disguises himself, but only the orphans recognize him. Everyone else is oblivious to his true identity and doesn't take the kids seriously. The three children use their unique qualities to uncover him, and he escapes just as the adults finally recognize him. The plot varies a little more with the last few books, however, and there are quite a few surprises along the way. It gets interesting in book # 12 when several characters from previous books all meet in one same place.

Some mannerisms are very repetitive. The Beaudelaire orphans look at one another at least three or four times throughout each book. Or an adult tries to explain a complicated word to them and they say "We know what that word means." A little variation would be good.

Certain scenes are quite violent, like lions eating someone alive, or one of the minor characters getting shot by a harpoon by mistake. I thought it was a bit too shocking for young children, even if there are no gruesome descriptions.

Many loose ends and unresolved mysteries by the end of the last book left me unsatisfied. What happened to the triplets that had become good friends with the Beaudelaires? Where did the submarine captain go and what was the question mark symbol spotted by the radar? I'm still not sure who Lemony Snicket was. I guess I'll have to read Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography and get more answers.

Some parts have a lot of telling and long paragraphs enumerating things, which I skipped at times. It gets boring to read through them.

What makes these books unique
I would say the most unique point about this series is the POV. The story is narrated by Lemony Snicket, who is also one of the characters in the books. He hardly plays any role in the plot, but his name is mentioned and he appears on a photo at some point in the story. Sometimes, he talks about an event in his life or gives examples from his own experience to explain a point, addressing the readers directly, using the 2nd person POV. Other than that, the whole story is told in the 3rd person as he simply narrates the orphans' adventures. So in a sense, Lemony Snicket is both a fictive character and a real person (Daniel Handler's pen name).

Overall Impression
Despite the negative points, I enjoyed the series and found it entertaining enough to recommend it.

I would suggest reading each book from first to last. It's possible to read them in a random order and still follow the story, but some important details would be missed. Some of the books end with a cliffhanger, the next book picking up exactly where the last one ended.

My Rating:

Thinking of purchasing these books? I'll make it easy for you:

I Got Tagged!

2011-06-11T14:30:00.000-04:00

Kate tagged me on her blog! How nice of her. Now I have to answer ALL these questions and tag eight more bloggers. Sounds like a lot of work! *rolling sleeves* Okay, here we go!

Do you think you're hot?
Haha!! Let me guess... This questionnaire was written by a young, single person? I've been married for 18 years, so I don't really care whether I'm hot or not. I'd rather not be, honestly. Less trouble. I think friendliness and kindness are more important than "hotness."

Upload a picture or wallpaper that you're using at the moment.
At home, I'm using a picture of Fallingwater, a famous building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Being an architect, my husband was really interested in visiting this amazing house built on a waterfall. He took this picture during our visit.

For my work computer, I'm using a picture of a stunning galaxy I found online. I find it impressive, for some reason, and indigo is one of my favorite colors.

When was the last time you ate chicken meat?
A few days ago. I cook a lot of meals using chicken.

The song(s) you listened to recently.
Feeling Good, by Muse. Somehow the lyrics are a good fit for how I feel at the moment. :) I hope it lasts! If you had asked me about a month ago, I would have said this song. Glad the storm is over! I also listen to Coming Back to Life, by Pink Floyd, a lot recently. Can't get enough of this song!

What were you thinking as you were doing this?
I'm thinking about who I'm going to tag, and what they might answer. LOL

Do you have nicknames? What are they?
On certain writing websites, my nickname is Dutch Hill Girl, hence the name of my blog.

Tag 8 blogger friends.
Okay! The fun part. *grin*
#1 Ralene Burke
#2 Louisa Clarkson
#3 Frankie (S.M. Blooding)
#4 Jay Eckert
#5 Anastasia Pergakis
#6 Cyndi Tefft
#7 Kurt Chambers
#8 Tania Walsh

(I know some of you have been tagged already, but I'm running out of names.)

Who's listed as #1?
Ralene is an awesome Christian fiction writer, who until very recently was the moderator of the online review forum I've been part of for the last two years, and that I'm now co-moderating with Kurt, listed on #7. Ralene is a real life angel, performs miracles, and loves absolutely everyone. Well... I'm exaggerating a little, but not much. ;-)

Say something about #5.
Ah! I have a LOT to say about #5. Anastasia was once my creative writing teacher. She founded the Inkwell University, which used to be housed on writing.com under the name of Writer's Academy. I was one of her first student and used to call her Professor. :-) I have a lot more to say, but it would take a whole page. Basically, she's a wonderful person who's always ready to help others and is an excellent web designer. In fact, she now has her own business, Anastasia Creatives, and offers her services to writers at a very affordable price. Check her out!

How did you get to know #3?
I practically owe Frankie my writing career. She's the founder of the critique group I belong to, mentioned above (see #1), which is what helped me most so far in developing my writing skills and improving my novel. The BEST critique group/review forum in the WORLD! I'm quite sure of that. She taught several workshops about creative writing at the YA Novel Workshop on writing.com, and is now a teacher at Inkwell University (see #5). She's also a very talented writer, who will soon be published by TLT Publishing. In her own words: Eeeeeek! :D So happy for her. I know she worked hard on these novels. She's one of the few people I met online that I actually had a chance to also meet in person.

How about #4?
Jay is a fellow New Jerseyan who's also part of my critique group... although now he's very busy studying and working and raising his kids, so I doubt he'll even have time to answer these questions, but I tagged him anyway because he's just too awesome to ignore. He's a very skilled writer with an interesting sense of humor, judging by the few chapters of his novel I've read. He helps other writers by keeping a list of middle grade and young adult publishers and agents on his blog, which he updates regularly. He's also very helpful in giving feedback and suggestions on everyone's chapters. In other words, a great guy to know if you're serious about writing.

Leave a message for #6.
Hi, Cyndi! *waves* So happy your book is now in print! You're so much fun to chat with on Twitter, and I'm looking forward to see you around the next WriteOnCon in August. You'll be there, right? Right? Don't forget us little people once you're rich and famous selling your book. :D

Leave a lovey dovey message for #2.
Louisa, you're wonderful. You're the best, and I'm so lucky to have you as a friend. Um... Can you please send me some more Tim Tams? ;-) Just kidding. They were SO delicious, but that's not why I appreciate you as a friend. You're a fun person to be with, a great reviewer that gave me very helpful comments on my novel, and just an interesting person in every way. Can't wait to finish reading and reviewing your book and to hang out with Isabelle, Boldrick and Mozzy again. When are you coming back on the forum? Miss you! P.S. Here's your chance to update your blog, which is looooong overdue. Hum! Hum! Your fans are waiting!

Do #7 and #8 have any similarities?
Oh, yes, they do! Kurt and Tania are both part of my critique group (yeah, most bloggers on my list are, as you can see), they both write for children, and they are both friendly, fun loving people I had a chance to chat with on Skype a few times. Oh, and they both have foreign accent, Kurt being from England, and Tania from Australia.

Whew! I made it! I answered every single question. Now your turn!

And I just remembered that I promised to write a blog post about the Tim Tams Louisa and Tania sent me. In case you're wondering what Tim Tams are, they're ... wait - I'll explain it in a future blog post.

Interview with Children’s Fantasy Writer, Kurt Chambers

2011-06-01T15:44:00.000-04:00

I’ve been thinking about interviewing Kurt, a good friend of mine who happens to be a wonderful writer and my critique partner, since a long time. The problem is, I know him too well and I couldn’t think of any good questions to ask. So I turned to my youngest daughter Tara for help.

Being in Kurt’s target age group, Tara enjoyed reading his books (and bugging him to write new chapters), and took great pleasure in coming up with awesome questions.

I hope you enjoy reading her very first interview as much as I did. She sounds very professional for a nine-year-old interviewer, doesn’t she?

Oh, and let me know if you need me to translate Kurt's British expressions.

********************************************************

Hi, Kurt. I read your books and I think they are great. I would publish them if I could, but I have some questions that I want you to answer.

That is very kind of you, Tara. :) I'm so glad you enjoyed reading them. I'll try and get some more written for you to read.

Why did you start writing?

I always fancied the idea of writing my own book. I used to struggle with reading as a child, but loved reading fantasy books like Lord of the Rings. I thought it would be great if someone wrote a book like this, but that was aimed at children like me to make it easier to read. I kept this idea in my head for years and years, but never put in into practice until I reached my mid 30s. Working with children inspired me to start writing. That's how Truth Teller was created, an idea I had from way back in my childhood.

I hope you get published some day.

Thanks! You need to become a publishing agent for me. Haha!!

How did you get your ideas for books?

All the books I've written so far have kind of started the same way. I think of a good opening hook to start the story with, then a rough story line of what I want to happen in the story. Finally, I picture the final scene on how I want it to end. Then I just start writing and make it up as I go along. Each chapter I write gives me new ideas on how the story will pan out, and my characters play a major role in this. Who knows what they will do next?

If you had one million dollars, what would you do with it?

If only! LOL With a million dollars, I could retire. I would use the money so I never had to work on a building site ever again. I wouldn't waste it on a big house of a flash car. I'd be quite happy to live the way I do now, but have the option to stay at home and do the things I enjoy, like writing more books. :)

I would buy a mansion or a big house.

Haha!! Go you! Don't forget you would have to clean it! :D

If you wrote a fifth book, what would you name it?

Interesting question! I have been considering a new book called TEDDY. That's the working title I have so far. It's about a youngster who saves a teddy bear that used to belong to their dad from the loft, only to discover the teddy can talk! I think all kids would have loved to be able to talk to their teddy. I'm just thinking of ideas on what adventures they can go on together. The main theme of the story will be about growing up and not believing in things anymore.

If you write it, I want to read it! It sounds interesting.

Of course! I'll make sure your mum gives you a copy. :)

What is your favorite color?

Well, it's not pink, contrary to what your mum might have told you. LOL Close, though. I seem to be attracted to purple for some strange reason, don't ask me why.

Me too. Purple is one of my favorite colors.

Really? Only cool people like purple. LOL

What is your favorite book you wrote and why?

That is a very difficult question. I love all my books for different reasons. If I had to choose one, it would have to be THE WRATH OF SIREN, the second book in my Truth Teller series. I love characters in this story, and all the action. This series has always meant a lot to me. Some parts still make me cry when I read them. Haha!! I know, I'm a big girl. :D

How would you describe yourself?

Haha!! That's a great question to ask an egomaniac! I like to think of myself as a jolly person (most of the time). I'm incredibly childish and like to laugh at everything. I'm very honest, too honest for my own good. I always say the first thing that pops into my head without thinking about it. That often gets me into trouble. I try my hardest to be kind, and get a lot of pleasure in helping people whenever I can. I pride myself on being as good as I can be. Wow, I make myself sound well good. LOL

You’re just bragging.

:D I did tell you I was an egomaniac.

What hobbies do you have besides writing?

I have had tons of hobbies over the years. Okay, are you ready for this? I played bass guitar since I was about fifteen, and played in quite a few rock bands over the years. I made homebrew wine since I was about twelve years old. I spent a few years building a big telescope which I called Exit. I designed and built my own water rockets and rocket launcher. I rebuilt an old 1958 Lambretta scooter. I love things that fly. I have a selection of kites, a remote control helicopter, and a hot air balloon. I created quite a few websites over the years, and once made my own website business. I built a mini barn conversion in my back garden with an upstairs gallery and a handmade staircase. I used to use it as my office. I have always had green fingers, and like to grow things. I grew a tree in my garden once when I was a child, and climbed it when I was an adult. I thought that was very cool. :) I'm sure there are more things, but I can't quite think of any more off the top of my head.

Wow! That’s a lot! I have three – riding my bike, making bracelets, and reading.

They are cool hobbies. You'll have to show me your bracelets one day as you've read my books.

Were your characters inspired by real people?

Yes, I think most writers’ characters are somehow indirectly based on the real people they meet in their lives, even if they are fictional characters. All my characters are fictional except one. I based the main character, Charlotte, in my Truth Teller series on a real life person. She was one of my Brownies when I used to help run the Stevenage 17th Brownie pack and was just perfect for the role.

What would change in your life if one of your books got published?

I'm not really sure until it happens. It's not something I've experienced yet. I'd like to think that once I'm published, the publishing industry will take me seriously as a children's author and want to publish all my books. It would be so awesome if I could make enough money so I could write novels for a living. That would make a big change to my life.

What was the most embarrassing moment of your life?

Man! What kind of question is that? LOL I have one such story, though I'm not sure I should tell you this. When I was in junior school, I once got caught for skipping school. I got into a lot of trouble. Schools were very different in my days. The headmistress was an evil woman. She didn't like me one little bit, I don't know why. LOL I ended up being canned as well as being humiliated by this lady as a punishment. I was so upset afterwards that my mum told me I could go home with her. The next day, I was sitting in class when the headmistress came storming in. She made me stand up in front of the whole class while she grilled me in front of everyone as to why I hadn't been back to class after my punishment. She was very intimidating while she stood over me smoking a cigar and blowing smoke in my face. I told her my mum had taken me home because I was upset, but she didn't believe me, and accused me of skipping school again. She wasn't satisfied until she reduced me to tears again in front of the whole class before she stopped screaming in my face. That was probably one on the most embarrassing times of my life. How things have changed since I went to school! LOL These days, that would be classed as child abuse.

Thank you for answering all the questions. The answers were great, especially the last one! I hope I get to interview you again.

Awww, thank you, Tara. This was a great interview and a lot of fun. You're the best! :)

********************************************************

To find out more about Kurt:

Visit his website: kurtchambers.net

Read his blog: Genius Bordering Insanity (and don't forget to leave him a comment!)

Sample his short story: The World in Johnny's Back Garden (and while you're there, visit his other Squidoo lenses as well.)

Follow him on Twitter: @emailmanROCKS

MG Book Review: Slob, by Ellen Potter

2011-03-28T23:28:00.002-04:00

General Information
Publisher: Penguin Group
Year of publication: 2009
# of chapters: 17
# of pages: 199
Genre: Contemporary
Website: www.ellenpotter.com

Plot summary: (from inside flap)
Twelve-year-old Owen Birnbaum is the fattest kid in school. But he’s also a genius who invents cool contraptions— like a TV that shows the past. Something happened two years ago that he needs to see. But genius or not, there is much Owen can’t outthink. Like his gym coach, who’s on a mission to humiliate him. Or the way his Oreos keep disappearing from his lunch. He’s sure that if he can only get the TV to work, things will start to make sense. But it will take a revelation for Owen, not science, to see the answer’s not in the past, but the present. That no matter how large he is on the outside, he doesn’t have to feel small on the inside.

With her trademark humor, Ellen Potter has created a larger-than-life character and story whose weight is immense when measured in heart.

Positive Points

I love the voice! This book is told from the POV of an overweight twelve-year-old boy. I would have found it a bit offensive, maybe, if the POV had been from anyone else, but Owen's comments about his large size and how he deals with it is sometimes funny, sometimes deep, always interesting. After reading the first few pages, I immediately decided I liked that kid. He made me laugh out loud several times, and he also made me think. He doesn't deny or try to hide the cruel way people treat him because he's fat. His honesty is refreshing, and also very moving at times. Kids (and even teachers) can be so cruel, sometimes.

The plot is intriguing from beginning to end. First, there is the mystery of the Oreo cookies disappearing from Owen's lunch bag. Then he mentions about an invention he's working on, but we don't find out until later what it's supposed to do. We learn about it little by little. He also refers to the event two years before that made him become fat, gradually revealing what it was. He wasn't always that way. All these mini-mysteries had me keep reading to figure things out.

The characters are unique and each have a distinct voice. Owen's voice is awesome. By the end of the book, I felt like he was someone I knew. A real kid. His younger sister insists on being called a boy's name, Jeremy. I found Nima, his young Buddhist friend from India, particularly interesting, adding a touch of spirituality in Owen's life.

Negative Points
I couldn't find any! I give this book five stars.

What makes this book unique
The voice, definitely! Here are a few samples, from chapter one:

   I've had three Oreos in my lunch ever since. It's a ritual for me. I look forward to them. I really do. It's like a spiritual thing. No matter how lousy my morning was, those three Oreo cookies remind me that life also has its high points. Its moments of bliss.
   If there was any day I needed a moment of bliss, it was that day.

(...)

   One really skinny kid named Justin Esposito was actually clutching at his stomach as though he were going to be sick. I felt so bad for him that I almost forgot to feel bad for me. Nima would have liked that. He would have thought it was very Buddhist of me.
   I'll tell you more about Nima later.

These two excerpts made me want to turn the page and continue reading to find out what dreadful thing will happen and who Nima is. The conversational tone makes the readers feel Owen is talking to them, telling them his story in a very casual way.

Overall Impression
Loved this book! This is the first time I read a book by Ellen Potter. I had The Kneebone Boy on my to-read list, but it was already checked out at the library. My son took this one out instead, and recommended I read it. I'm so glad he did! Very well written.

My Rating:

Thinking of purchasing this book? I'll make it easy for you:

MG Book Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles, by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

2011-03-15T13:35:00.003-04:00

General Information
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Year of publication: 2003-2004
# of chapters: 7 per book (5 books)
# of pages: 108 per book (book 5: 136)
Genre: Fantasy
Website: promo.simonandschuster.com/Spiderwick
Plot summary: from Wikipedia
Books in the series:

Book 1: The Field Guide

Book 2: The Seeing Stone

Book 3: Lucinda's Secret

Book 4: The Ironwood Tree

Book 5: The Wrath of Mulgarath

There's also a second series, which I haven't read yet, and which is not covered in this review:
Book 1: The Nixie's Song
Book 2: A Giant Problem
Book 3: The Wyrm King

Positive Points

This series introduces the reader to different faeries, such as brownies, goblins, sprites, elves, griffins, and many more. With each book, we discover new creatures, their unique characteristics, and the settings where they dwell. Everything is simple and described in such a way that even a beginner fantasy reader can understand.

The story is written through Jared's POV, one of the nine-year-old twin brothers. Even though they are twins, they have their own unique personalities. Jared loves drawing, and seems to be more affected than his siblings about their parents' recent divorce, sometimes reacting in an aggressive way and getting in trouble at school. His brother, Simon, loves animals and owns a wide variety of pets. Mallory, their thirteen-year-old sister, is into fencing. Their personalities come out very naturally, without feeling forced or exaggerated.

Negative Points
I noticed the author used a lot of unnecessary dialogue tags (he said, she said, ...), almost at every line of dialogue. This slowed down the plot and distracted me at some point. Many of them could have easily been eliminated or replaced by some action.

The last book felt a bit rushed, even though it was longer than the others, as if the author tried to wrap up all the loose ends as much as possible without going in depth and developing a whole scene.

What makes these books unique
For someone like me who doesn't read fantasy a lot, this is a good place to start. I learned about some creatures I wasn't familiar with, and re-discovered some others I had heard about before. The variety of creatures and settings make for a good, entertaining story. The books are very short and easy to read. There is an accompanying field guide, which is the same as the one Jared owns in the story.

Overall Impression
I would recommend this series for children who are interested in reading fantasy, but are not quite ready yet for something more advanced, such as The Lord of the Rings.

My Rating:

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Online Body Language

2011-03-07T12:40:00.000-05:00

Times have changed. We interact with people via e-mail and internet more than ever before. Nothing new, here, but how about body language?

When we talk to someone face to face, we can easily gauge whether the person is interested, offended, or bored to death. The tone of voice, the facial expression, even a pause in the conversation hints us about how someone is feeling.

We don't have any of these clues when we interact on the internet, but a lot can be express through the written word, in many other ways. We use symbols and expressions to convey our moods, such as *roll eyes*, Hahaha!, :), :'(, and so on. The timeliness of reply also gives a hint on how interested the other person is.

Sometimes, these clues can be misleading.

For example, if I send an e-mail expressing my thoughts, and the person doesn't reply for three days, I tend to speculate. Maybe she's very busy, or going through some struggle and doesn't feel like talking right now. Or maybe my e-mail made her mad. Maybe she thinks my ideas were so silly she won't even bother responding. *gasp* Maybe I offended her in some ways. Most of the time, I'm wrong. It has nothing to do with me.

Sometimes, someone responds with "LOL" but I know they're not actually laughing. They might even be close to tears. It's just something you say when you can't think of anything else, at times. We can hide our real mood very easily when interacting online.

Another thing that happened to me a few times is interpreting someone's words differently than how they were intended. For example, someone replied to my views on a delicate subject with, "Oh, I see." I thought the person was offended by what I said and meant, "Oh, I see what you're like, now." I was so wrong. It was nothing like that.

My point? It's important to be honest and straight forward when dealing with each other online, and we should not assume someone else's intentions without verifying with them.

I've witnessed many misunderstandings based on someone not replying, or even worse, replying to everybody except one. Was it intentional? I did that once, replying to two people who reviewed my chapters and forgetting to reply to one I had received earlier. I'm glad she asked me about it, and I explained I thought I had responded but didn't. An honest mistake. How would she have known if she hadn't asked me?

I've seen someone being blocked from following an agent on Twitter. She was crushed! She thought maybe that agent had something personal against her. Luckily, she asked the agent (politely) why she had been blocked. It was a Twitter glitch! If she didn't ask, she would have stayed under the impression that the agent really didn't like her, for some reason. How sad is that!

The moral of this story? Relax! Don't take it personally if someone doesn't reply. If something is not clear, just ask. Most people aren't mean to each other intentionally. In fact, I found more friendly people online than I ever thought possible. Be aware of the limitations of the written words. And smile! It shows in your writing, somehow. :-)

MG Book Review: Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson

2011-03-03T13:51:00.001-05:00

General Information
Publisher: Harper Collins
Year of publication: 1977
# of chapters: 13
# of pages: 128
Genre: Adventure
Website: www.terabithia.com
Plot summary: (see above link)

Positive Points

This story is about an unconventional friendship between Jess, a ten-year-old boy, and his new classmate Leslie, a girl who can outrun boys and create a fantastic made-up world in a forest. What I mean by unconventional is that boys that age normally prefer to play with other boys, doing boy stuff, and don't hang out with girls by fear of being teased. This friendship has no romantic element whatsoever, which is refreshing.

The author captures a boy's thoughts and reactions very well, through Jess's POV. I can picture my son or my brother as a kid having similar reactions and thoughts. If it had been written by a man, I would have thought this book was autobiographical. It had a "real" feel to it. ... Doing some research, I'm just now finding out that it is based on a true story, inspired by the author's son. No wonder it felt so real!

Negative Points
I know this book has been challenged for several reasons: language, religious and/or social concerns, and the book’s ending (according to The Lizard Queen).

Language: It's true that there is a mild use of profanity, but it didn't bother me much, even though I dislike swear words. These words were very mild, infrequent, and consistent with the characters and setting. Still, it may be a concern for parents, depending how strict they are about language.

Religious and/or social concerns: As for the book promoting witchcraft and violence, um... I think it's a bit far fetched. I didn't see any of this. We're talking about two kids' imaginary world where everything can happen. Shouldn't there be a bit of magic and some invisible defeating of strange creatures in this made-up world?

Book's ending: The ending is very sad, I must agree. I'm not sure if young children can absorb it and understand Jess's reactions to it. That may be my only negative point for this book. But then again, some people love sad endings, and the terrible event (I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read it yet) does trigger a whole lot of character growth for Jess.

What makes this book unique
At first, I thought the story had an interesting time setting. From what I could gather, it took place in the 1970s, judging by references to technology back then and kids playing in the woods rather than in a living room with a controller. I later realized that the book was written in the 70s. So when it got published, it was contemporary, but now it could almost be considered as historical fiction. (Boy, am I that old?)

It made me realize one thing about my own novel. I was hesitating to add any details about things that would be obsolete a few years from now, like a DS game, for example. Now I know what to do. These details add flavor to the story and set the scene in a particular time period, which is good.

Overall Impression
Great read, but the ending is just so sad!

My Rating:

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MG Book Review: When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

2011-02-23T12:10:00.001-05:00

General Information
Publisher: Random House
Year of publication: 2009
# of chapters: 55
# of pages: 197
Genre: Science Fiction / Mystery
Website: www.rebeccasteadbooks.com/books
Plot summary: (see link above)

Positive Points

This book has a unique, second person POV. I don't remember ever reading a book with this kind of POV before. It's mainly told in the first person, from Miranda's POV, but once in a while there's a sentence where she addresses someone else, as in a letter, such as "And that's when I found your first note." I've read books in which the narrator talked to the reader, but this is different. Miranda is telling her story to one of the characters in the book, actually. Loved it! Very original, and it works well for this story.

The story is intriguing from the very start, and it gets better as the plot advances and more details are revealed. The chapters are very short, which made me want to keep reading, especially to figure out why Sal seemed to have abandoned his best friend Miranda for no apparent reason. That bothered me a lot. Why did such a beautiful friendship suddenly end? And who was sending these mysterious notes to Miranda? I really wanted to know!

The story involves many different kinds of friendships, and shows character growth not only for the main character but also for several minor ones as well. I loved the themes behind this book, which are conveyed through the plot in a natural way, without being forced on the reader. I always like books that make me think.

Negative Points

I had no clue what was happening for the first third of the book. It took me a while to assemble enough information to figure out what the story was about. I would say it's a negative point only because it was a little too "mysterious" for a while, like the narrator knew things the reader should know, but didn't reveal them until later.

Sal's reason for letting Miranda down didn't make sense to me. I wish there had been a few clues ahead of time leading to that. Maybe there were, and I missed them? Hmm... I'll have to read the book again. As of now, I'm kind of disappointed.

What makes this book unique
Time travel elements woven into the story reminded me of the 1980s movie Back to the Future a little. (Am I revealing my age?) The narrator refers to Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle of Time on several occasions, which I read a while ago. Now I want to re-read it to fully understand what the narrator was talking about.

Overall Impression
This is the kind of book we have to read twice to fully understand it and appreciate all the details. I liked that book enough to read it a second time. I think I will!

My Rating:

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MG Book Review: James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl

2011-02-07T13:58:00.003-05:00

General Information
Publisher: Penguin Group
(first published by Alfred A. Knopf, 1961)
Year of publication: 2007
# of chapters: 39
# of pages: 146
Genre: Adventure
Website: http://www.roalddahlfans.com/
Plot summary: from Wikipedia

Positive Points

Roald Dahl has an engaging and interesting voice. Definitely a born storyteller! Must I say more?

At first, I thought a book about a giant peach would be extremely boring, but I was pleasantly surprised. Anything is possible in this story, so the reader has no idea what will happen next. The story is filled with surprising twists and turns, adventure and drama.

The dialogues between the giant bugs are priceless, especially the rivalry between the proud-to-be-a-pest centipede and the pessimistic earthworm.

Each chapter has a great cliffhanger, enticing the reader to turn the page and keep reading. The chapters being very short, it's easy to keep reading and reading until the end, without stopping... much like I did.

Negative Points
This book contains many little rhyming songs children will enjoy, but it may be hard for an adult to read the book aloud. As a parent, I always dreaded reading books that contain songs to my kids. I could either just read the songs and pretend they were poems, or make up a melody that didn't made any sense.

What makes this book unique
The author, of course! No one else could have written such an interesting story about a giant fruit in someone's backyard.

Overall Impression
This book will appeal to very young children (if read aloud by an imaginative parent who can make up song melodies instantly), and to independent readers as well. The title is not very interesting to me, and maybe that's the reason it took me so long to decide to read it. Don't judge a book by its title! I enjoyed reading it, and I definitely want to learn how to write better by studying successful children's authors such as Roald Dahl. His writing style is priceless.

This book reminded me of Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins, because of the giant bugs interacting with humans and the protagonist being a young boy.

My Rating:

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Speechless!

2011-01-27T14:42:00.000-05:00

It was my birthday this week. I normally don't make a big deal out of it, but this one was so special, I just HAVE to mention it.

The day started with a birthday hug and kiss from hubby, and was filled with so many surprises, I still can't get over it.

I received many birthday messages by snail mail, e-mail, Facebook and phone from family and friends throughout the day. One e-mail included a story of my life my sister Jocelyne wrote, from the time I was born, complete with a made-up ending where I become rich and famous publishing my books, she wins the lottery, and we both travel and visit other countries. Hey, it's good to dream! ;)

My manager treated me to lunch at Toros, a turkish restaurant, and of course I ate too much.

When we got back to the office, flowers from my family in Canada were waiting for me! Aren't they beautiful?

My manager stepped out and came back with a cake. She and my co-worker sang Happy Birthday to me while I sat awkwardly at my desk, not knowing what to do with myself.

Then ANOTHER surprise came, a bouquet of pink roses from my dear husband. I nearly fainted!

I received a birthday review from Kurt in my critique group, giving me useful suggestions on how to improve my novel's first chapter. This was the first time someone commented on one of my chapters since I did my major revision, so I was really happy to get some feedback.

You'd think my birthday was pretty awesome already? There's more! Hubby treated me to dinner at Sakura-Bana, a Japanese restaurant. I loooooove sushi! It was nice to spend some time with him without kids squabbling and asking when we're going home every five minutes. And I'm sure they enjoyed their pizza a lot more than ("ewwww!") raw fish. We don't do that very often, so it was quite a treat.

How awesome is that! Everyone was so nice to me all day, and I continued receiving birthday wishes and more reviews from my critique group, from Kate and Emerin the following day.

There's more to come! Louisa asked me for my address to send me some more Tim Tams from Australia. Many of you probably don't know what Tim Tams are, and you're missing something! They are Australian cookies, and there's a special way to eat them, which I discovered when Tania sent me some for Christmas. I should write a blog post about that next.

My sister promised to celebrate my birthday next time I go visit them in Canada. According to her, it's never too late or too early to celebrate a birthday. Any time six months before or after a birthday is acceptable.

Thanks, everyone, for making my birthday so special! Can it be my birthday again today? And tomorrow? And the day after that?

MG Book Review: Toad Rage, by Morris Gleitzman

2011-01-17T23:20:00.011-05:00

(Toad Rage Series, #1 of 4)

General Information

Publisher: Random House

Year of publication: 2004 (U.S.)
Book 2: 2005; Book 3: 2006
(first published in Australia, 2001)

# of pages: 165 (Book 2 & 3: 190)
# of chapters: 30 per book

Genre: Adventure

Website: www.morrisgleitzman.com
Plot Summary: from Morris Gleitzman's website

Other books in the series:

Book 2: Toad Heaven

Book 3: Toad Away

Book 4: Toad Surprise

Positive Points

With a unique and entertaining writing style, a good mix of drama and humor sprinkled throughout, and endearing characters, this book is a winner!

Add to this a cliffhanger at almost every chapter and you get a page turner. The chapters are very short and easy to read. It was hard to put it down. I kept reading just one more short chapter, and one more, until I realized I had read the whole book. This story would appeal even to reluctant readers, boys and girls alike.

The characters are well developed and believable. The main character, Limpy, is a cane toad with a crooked leg that makes him go around in circles when he tries to hop too fast. He goes on a mission to make humans like toads rather than try to squish them. His sweet, lovable little sister, Charm, accompanies him in his journey, along with his oversized cousin, Goliath, who tries to get back at cars for flattening toads by throwing sticks at them as they pass by.

I learned some Australian expressions, thanks to the glossary at the end explaining each one of them. Glossaries are normally boring, but not this one. The definitions have a little funny twist, some of which made me laugh out loud.

Negative Points

I don't normally enjoy books written from an animal's POV. I guess this is an exception! I can't find anything negative to say about this book, really. Okay, a toad isn't the cute, cuddly character we're used to, but Limpy has its charms, and a good heart.

What makes this book unique

I had never read a book told from a cane toad's POV before. I learned something about toads: They can squirt poison from glands. Who knew? I'm not sure if a toad's warts really prickle when they sense danger, but it's fun to imagine they might. Who would have thought that a book about toads would be so interesting?

Overall Impression

Great read! I recommend it to anyone with a good sense of humor.

My Rating:

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WriteOnCon Notes about Voice (Part Two)

2011-01-10T15:07:00.000-05:00

In August, I attended the Live Industry Professional Panel (Mary Kole, Anica Rissi, Joanna Volpe, Suzie Townsend) about voice on WriteOnCon. (Click on the link above to see the whole chat transcript and Jamie's pink hair.) I have enough notes from this event only for about three or four blog posts. Here's Part Two (click here for Part One):

How quickly can you tell, when reading a submission, that the author has a voice/style that intrigues you? Is it something that has to capture you from that first line, or do you let manuscripts unfold a little bit in the hope that a voice develops with the progression of the book?

Anica Rissi: Well, there's certainly such a thing as over-writing. And words such as "like," "totally," "you know," and "f**k"--these words we drop into conversation, constantly--stand out much more on the page, can slow down the eye, and quickly get annoying. I'm always looking for new writers, and a lot of first-timers take longer to hit their stride in a manuscript, so I give it a chapter--but if I'm not connecting with the voice after 10, 15 pages, I stop reading.

Mary Kole: I agree with Anica. It's very easy for voice to feel strained and affected... like the author feels like they have to swear or include dialogue quirks to somehow pump more voice into their writing. I need to see some voice on the first page. If there's a glimmer, I get to page 10. But voice is usually working well when it's immediate and absorbing. If I'm not feeling grabbed by it, I don't know if I'll wait around.

Suzie Townsend: Honestly, I've gotten to the point where I just don't have time to allow a manuscript to grab me on page 50. If I don't feel interested in the voice and the character by page 5, it's a pass.

Joanna Volpe: As readers, we know what kind of voices we are drawn to, even though we might not REALIZE that we know. It's the type of thing you read and think "Wow. I *love* this!" And usually that's right from the start. I might give a little leeway on a query, but like Anica said, once we get to page One, I need to be connected to that character.

What about books that are balancing two characters' voices in one story? How can you tell that it is working?

Anica Rissi: Do you mean alternating narrators? My BIGGEST pet peeve with those books is when both narrators have the same voice. Even if it's not alternating viewpoints/narration, you should also make sure that your characters don't all speak with the same mannerisms/inflections (usually that they don't speak like you). Each character's dialogue should be true to that character.

Mary Kole: YES, Anica. WHY have multiple POVs when you can't pull even one distinct POV off?

Suzie Townsend: You have to be able to read the different sections and not EVER wonder "wait, who's voice is this?" They have to be very distinctly different.

Mary Kole: Exactly, Suzie. If I'm reading a book with multiple POVs and I have to flip to the beginning of the chapter to see who's talking, I'm done.

Joanna Volpe: John Green's WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON has two distinct voices (and yes, in this case two distinct authors as well). You can tell that it's working when you're reading. Once a new section starts, you know who's narrating that section without having to look. The voices are distinct.

Is there a "type" of voice you see too much of?

Mary Kole: I see too much sarcastic/bitchy for the sake of sarcastic/bitchy. I was a hugely (ha! "was"!) sarcastic teen and I thought I was just the smartest thing in the world, and the funniest. There's a lot of depth to sarcasm and dark humor. If you're just giving your character an edge because you hear those young people today are so snarky, it's not going to ring true.

Suzie Townsend: I'm not sure of a "type" other than boring. Which sounds harsh, but if the voice doesn't make the character come off the page it just doesn't feel *real*.

Anica Rissi: Yes, "too much X for the sake of being X"--whatever X is, if you're doing it for the sake of doing it, you're forcing it, and as a reader, I'm not buying it.

Joanna Volpe: Snarky/chick-lit type voices and depressed angsty voices... I see much too much of both. I'm okay with more of these, but there needs to be something fresh in there too. (That probably doesn't help, eek!)

How is voice different from personality? Or are they the same?

Mary Kole: Personality comes through voice and dialogue and action. But voice also informs word choice. Syntax. Outlook on the world. The things your character notices. How they describe them, etc.

Can you recognize a less-experienced author--does her voice completely give away her level of experience and thus writing ability?

Anica Rissi: We certainly can recognize an author who reached the end of the first draft and sent it right out, without putting it away for a few months then coming back to revise, like she should have...

Suzie Townsend: Not necessarily. I know plenty of new authors that have a great voice. I'd say that I can usually tell if someone doesn't read their genre based on a lacking voice because it screams unauthentic.

Mary Kole: For me, the writing quality itself tips me off to a beginning writer. Sentences that run too long. Lots of cliches. Really dry, boring information. That's more of a dead giveaway. Some beginners have raw voice talent. Others have a hunk of prose that's pretty hard to read. INFO-DUMPING IS THE WORST THING EVER!!!!

MG Book Review: The Maze of Bones, by Rick Riordan

2011-01-03T23:24:00.004-05:00

(The 39 Clues series, #1 of 10)

General Information
Publisher: Scholastic
Year of publication: 2008
# of pages: 218
# of chapters: 20
Genre: Adventure
Website: http://www.the39clues.com/
Plot Summary: Link to Wikipedia
Next book in the series: ONE FALSE NOTE, by Gordon Korman

Positive Points
The characters were unique and believable, especially Dan, one of the main characters, who made me laugh a few times throughout the book. I wish the whole book had been written in his POV. His insecure sister wasn't quite as interesting.

The plot offers puzzles and riddles to solve along the way. It was sometimes hard to tell whether some characters were working for or against the MCs, which kept me turning the pages to figure them out.

The story is sprinkled with facts about Benjamin Franklin and French words, a good learning opportunity for children. I had no problem with the French words, having grown up speaking French. I assume they were easy to understand for non-French speakers as well, either by context or with the included definition for less obvious words.

Negative Points

I counted seven different POVs throughout the book. Each chapter alternates between the two main characters, Dan and his sister Amy. Once in a while, a chapter (or part of a chapter) is written from a minor character's POV. Normally, alternating POVs work well when the setting is in two different locations or two different time frames. It's not the case in this book. Both children go through the same adventure at the same time. I didn't see the advantage of having both POVs. It took me longer to connect with the MCs for this reason.

Too many characters come into play all at once in the second chapter, about 20 of them. The main characters are introduced along with so many others, it's very difficult to remember them all and to figure out which ones will play a major role in the story. I would have liked to get to know the two children better before everyone else gets introduced. If it were my book, I would have created fewer characters and developed each one more in depth.

The cat really got on my nerves. I don't know any cat that says "Mrrrp" when it meows or purrs. The narrator translating its thoughts every time it made that noise was equally irritating. It reminded me of Sunny, the baby in A Series of Unfortunate Events, but it was done in an unrealistic way. If the narrator can guess what the cat is saying, shouldn't the reader be smart enough to figure it out as well, without being told? At least Sunny was funny. The cat isn't. Just plain annoying.

What makes this book unique
I'm not sure about the format of the book yet. There are supposed to be 39 clues and only 10 books. So far, I've only come across the second clue, after reading the entire first book. Hmm... After some research, I found out that each book unlocks only one clue. The other 29 are found online. A bit disappointing. I was expecting to find clues throughout the book. One clue per book? Oh, well!

The six cards that come with the book have nothing to do with the story. I thought it would be an interactive story where the reader could discover clues on their own using the cards. The cards are something separate, helping kids solve some online games to possibly win a prize. I didn't look into it. I think I'll just stick with the books... Seems like some kind of marketing scheme to me.

Each book in the series is written by a different author, which I found unusual. I'll have to read some more books of the series and see if there are any notable differences in writing styles.

Overall Impression

I wasn't not too impressed by this book, which surprised me because Rick Riordan also wrote several bestsellers (such as the Percy Jackson series, which is on my to-read list). I was expecting a better writer's voice. Still, I'm looking forward to read the next book in the series. Hopefully, now that I know the characters and I'm familiar with the plot, it will be easier to dive into the next book. Who knows? Maybe that annoying cat won't even be there.

My Rating:

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My Writing Goals for 2011

2010-12-30T12:20:00.001-05:00

I can't believe there are only two days left in 2010. It's been a productive year, but now it's time to set new goals for 2011. I have the feeling it will be a fantastic year!

I have five writing-related goals for 2011.

1) Finalize Meredith Mountain Miracle (my MG novel) and start submitting
I've been working on that book for over a year now, with the help of my online critique group. I've learned a lot in the past year and did several major revisions. My book started at 7,000 words and doubled in size since then, to about 14,000 words now. I still have to add more to it and bring it to a publishable standard.

My goal is to have a 20,000-word book ready for submission by summer, then spend the other half of the year querying. This involves writing a query and a synopsis, researching agents, and submitting.

My plan of action:

Finish revising based on all the reviews I've received so far (3 more chapters to go!)
Work on bringing each chapter to a decent word count (about 2,000 words each)
Go through a final revision, using new reviews received
Write a query and a synopsis, get feedback and revise until they're both perfect
Research possible agents and start submitting

2) Review two chapters per week for my online critique group
The group I'm part of requires us to do one review per week to remain on the boards. I'm planning to do two reviews per week this year, because there are so many great books I want to read, so many wonderful aspiring writers I want to help. I learn a lot by reviewing other people's work, and ultimately it helps me improve my book. And best of all, I get to read future bestsellers before the rest of the world does.

My critique group has all kinds of books, but mainly MG and YA. I'm planning to focus on MG books first, since that's what I'm writing. One exception: Ralene's book is Christian fiction, but I reviewed a few chapters already and I just have to find out what happens next!

Some of the books I'm planning to review:

Unknown Reality, by Kurt Chambers
The Silver Strand, by Louisa Clark
Dividing Spirit, by Ralene Burke
Jack, Sally and Mr. Goode, by Christopher Roy Denton
Morning Magic, by Laura

I really, really want to read and review all the other books on the boards, but my time is so limited. I'll be happy if I can get through all five books in one year.

3) Post in my blog once a week
I've been very inconsistent in posting this year. I'm planning to keep a more regular schedule and post once a week. Writing and reviewing are always a priority over blogging, and I don't want to drive myself crazy trying to find something to post if I don't have anything to say, but I'll do my best.

I also need to limit my time to one hour per post, rather than spending a whole evening tweaking before publishing it. That might help.

Topics I want to cover in 2011:

MG book reviews (see Goal # 5)
Writing tips and procedures
Writer interviews
Personal life
Useful resources: highlighting other blogs, websites, and tools for writers

4) Participate in WriteOnCon
I've already raved about WriteOnCon in previous posts, so I won't repeat myself. Let's just say that I loved my experience and gained so much out of it that I definitely want to sign up for the next one. It's online, it's free, and it's accessible to everyone throughout the world. What could be better than that? Hopefully, by then, I'll have a query ready to enter in the contests this time around.

5) Read 20 MG books
I made a list of recommendations in a previous post, and I've already read seven of them. Couldn't wait for 2011!

Part of being a writer is knowing what's out there, analyzing books that have already been published and learning from them. I've been reading on and off all year, but this time, I want to also post a review on my blog as I finish each book.

Writing a review forces me to look into each book more in depth to determine what I liked or didn't like, what worked for me and what might have needed improvement. I'm also looking at the number of pages, number of chapters, and genre, to figure out where my book would fit in.

Some series I've already started reading and planning to continue:

39 Clues, by multiple authors (first one by Rick Riordan)
A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney
Toad Rage, by Morris Glertzman

Making new goals is exciting! Even if I don't accomplish all that, the fact that I have written goals helps me focus and accomplish more than if I only have a vague idea in my mind of what I want to do.

What are your goals for this coming year?

Holiday Baking

2010-12-27T15:07:00.000-05:00

I spent a lot of time baking with the kids during the holidays. There's something special about mixing cookie ingredients, sampling it while no one is looking, shaping the soft, sticky dough with our hands, and smelling the wonderful aroma coming from the oven and slowly filling the whole house. Not to mention the taste of freshly baked cookie when they are still warm from the oven. Mmm!

My online critique group held a snickerdoodle baking contest, and mine won first prize! :) Lucky I had the help of my very creative daughters. Tara came up with the name - snickerpoodle (which triggered the idea of shaping it like a poodle), and Elissa helped me make it. Turned out pretty good, didn't it?

This cherry cheesecake is my specialty. It's always the first thing I think of when I need to bring something to a pot luck dinner. And best of all, it only has six ingredients! Yeah, okay, it has a lot of calories, but it's the holidays! We're allowed to cheat. ;)

I used to make these cheesecakes long ago, when I worked in a boat sales office, and sell them at the seafood restaurant on the same property.

Don't ask me what this cookie is supposed to be. A bear? A mouse? I'm still not sure. I shaped the head and the ears and Tara made the face all by herself. It was my son's idea years ago to make peanut butter jelly cookies. The idea stuck and now every time I make peanut butter cookies, I have to add a touch of jelly to them, to follow our tradition.

There was still some extra dough left, after two trays of regular cookies and the... bear? mouse? ... the other one. So we made dominoes with it!

They didn't end up as square as they were originally, though. And there weren't enough of them to play a game, so we just ate them.

Our next project? Making a gingerbread house, from scratch! We do it every year, some time between Christmas and New Year. The best part is decorating it with all the candies. I suspect more candies end up in my kids' mouths than on the house itself, but it's all part of the fun.

Reading Middle Grade Books

2010-12-08T13:17:00.004-05:00

Since the novel I'm writing is MG (target audience: 8 to 12 years old), one of my goals for 2011 is to read at least 20 MG books.

In 2010, I read (among others):
- The entire Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowlings)
- Gregor the Overlander (Suzanne Collins)
- Several books from the Sammy Keyes series (Wendelin Van Draanen)

I made a list of recommendations from other writers' blogs, websites, and my kids. Here's my list so far:

1. A Series of Unfortunate Events series (Lemony Snicket)
2. Princess Academy (Shannon Hale)
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (Jeff Kinney)
4. Artemis Fowl series (Eoin Colfer)
5. The Sisters Grimm series (Michael Buckley)
6. The Softwire series (P. J. Haarsma)
7. The Mysterious Benedict Society series (Trenton Lee Stewart)
8. The Healing Wars trilogy (The Shifter, Blue Fire, Book 3 - Fall 2011) (Janice Hardy)
9. Ramona series (Beverly Cleary)
10. Mockingbird (Kathryn Erskine)
11. The Cay (Theodore Taylor)
12. The Kneebone Boy (Ellen Potter)
13. Inkheart trilogy (Cornelia Funke)
14. Toad Rage series (Morris Glertzman)
15. Zorgamazoo (Robert Paul Weston)
16. Moon Over Manifest (Clare Vanderpool)
17. Silver Wing (Kenneth Oppel)
18. Skellig (David Almond)
19. Bridge of Terabithia (Katherine Paterson)
20. James and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl)
21. How to Train your Dragon series (Cressida Cowell)
22. Percy Jackson series (Rick Riordan)
23. A Season of Gifts (Richard Peck)
24. When You Reach Me (Rebecca Stead)
25. Hatchet (Gary Paulsen)
26. The Magic Thief (Sarah Prineas)
27. A Mango Shaped Space (Wendy Maas)
28. The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. (Kate Messner)
29. Skinnybones (Barbara Park)
30. 39 Clues series (Rick Riordan)
31. His Dark Materials trilogy (starts with The Golden Compass) (Phillip Pullman)
32. Goosebump series (R. L. Stine)
33. Walk Two Moons (Sharon Creech)
34. Stargirl (Jerry Spinelli)
35. Fudge series (starts with Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing) (Judy Blume)
36. Sugar and Ice (Kate Messner)

That's a whole lot of books! I'll have to choose only some of them to read, or I won't have any writing time.

What's your favorite MG book or series? Which one should I start reading first?

2010 in Review

2010-11-22T00:06:00.003-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

November is always a time when I stop working on my goals for a while and look back at what I've accomplished so far. So many wonderful things happened in 2010:

My middle grade novel doubled in size!
When I joined the critique group at the end of 2009, my novel had 7,000 words, about the size of a chapter book. It has now 14,000 words, and I'm still working on it. My goal is to bring it to a middle grade novel size of at least 20,000 words. Making progress, thanks to my wonderful reviewers!

I received 177 reviews and gave 82 reviews.
My novels and short stories are posted on writing.com for people to comment on. I've been focusing on reviewing chapters of my critique group, and most reviews I received are detailed, helpful reviews from that group. I'm still occasionally receiving random reviews for my short stories I wrote over a year ago. I'll work on those once my novel is ready for publication.

My kids now have their own computer.
I used to have to share my laptop with my kids every time they had homework requiring internet access. Not anymore! My laptop is all mine now. Muahaha!

My social network grew:
Facebook: I now have 121 friends. Not much compared to my daughter, but good enough for me! I never knew I had that many friends before Facebook. Haha!
Twitter: I have 490 followers and I'm following 421. Whew! Where did they all come from?
Blog: I have 46 followers, I'm following 82 blogs, and my blog was viewed 3366 times;
MySpace died. R.I.P. Everyone migrated to Facebook.

I read the whole Harry Potter series.
I had read random books from the series a while ago, but I decided to read them all from book 1 to book 7. I'm glad I did. Enough said.

I participated in WriteOnCon.
This event was a free online conference for children's writers in August, that turned out to be HUGE! Over 11,000 people attended, worldwide. The conference included live chats with agents, query critiques, a forum where people could post the first few pages of their novel and receive feedback from other writers, raffles, and much more! I learned a lot, made new friends, and got to know several agents. Priceless!

One of my short stories has been published!!
I can now say that I am a published author. *grin* One of my flash fiction stories, Paradoxical Neighbor, was published in an educational e-book for 10th graders by Nelson Literacy. This is my first paid publication. Yay!

I published one short story on Squidoo...
... and made $24 with my other nine pages I had put together in 2009. One of them displays all my flash fiction stories. This is how Nelson Literacy discovered my story and asked me for the right to reprint. Squidoo is completely free, by the way, and it only takes a few minutes to create a new page. Just saying. Great tool! Love it.

I wrote 25 blog posts.
Well... 26, counting this one. I know it's not much compared to other bloggers I know that blog EVERY SINGLE DAY, but for me, considering my busy schedule, it's quite an accomplishment that I find the time to blog at all.

My team won the Review Frenzy organized by Ralene on WDC.
Team A9 rules!! We had to review as many chapters as possible in one week, three chapters per review. My team won against two other teams. *beam* It was great fun, and I enjoyed reading so many chapters in such a short time. I normally review one chapter per week. I reviewed 18 chapters that week.

I chatted live with my critique group on Skype.
It was awesome to hear everyone's voice, after communicating only in writing for over a year. I also spoke with a few individual writers a couple times, which was great. There's nothing like hearing someone's real voice, and it saves a lot of typing time. And best of all, it's completely free! I can talk to someone in Australia for an hour, or to a whole group of people around the world for the whole evening, and it doesn't cost me a penny. How cool is that!

I took two trips with my family.
We went to Canada in July to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday, and we went to Maine in October to attend my brother-in-law's wedding. Ahhh! So good to get out of the house once in a while! We had a great time, and it was good to see everyone again.

Things I'm grateful for
Even though there's still one month left in 2010, it's the Holidays, and I'm not planning to go crazy working on my writing goals. This is a time to enjoy my family and friends, make new goals for 2011, write whenever I feel like it, and eat too much turkey and pumpkin pie.

I have so much to be thankful for. All the regular things, of course, having a family I love and that loves me, having a roof over my head, being healthy, having parents that are still together after nearly 50 years of marriage, and all that... but I don't want to state the obvious and bore you with the same old stuff everyone else always mentions. LOL

One thing I'm grateful for this year particularly is for the chance I had of networking with so many wonderful writers. The writer's community I've discovered is amazing, and particularly children's writers. I found that in general, children's writers are supporting and encouraging each other freely, regardless of race, nationality, age, background, social status, or writing style. Friendship is made possible despite all our differences, based on our common passion for writing. To me, this is amazing. Now if the rest of the world could do that, focus on what we have in common instead of what divides us, the Earth would be a better place to live.

Thank you for all of you who helped me in so many ways, by giving me feedback on my stories, by leaving a comment on my blog, or by simply being there with a word of encouragement when I needed it. Thank you!!

Editing Mode

2010-10-21T23:26:00.002-04:00

Used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com.

I haven't forgotten about this blog. It's just that revising my novel took over my life these last few months. That, and the whole back-to-school craziness that goes with having three school-aged kids.

I've been receiving constructive feedback from my online critique group for over a year now. So far, six people have reviewed every single chapter of my MG novel (thanks Richard, Dezzie, Cheree, Tania, Laura and Kurt!), some others haven't gone through the whole book yet, but have given me many useful reviews and I hope they keep them coming (thanks Louisa, Chris and Ralene!).

I decided that now was a good time for another major revision, before the end of the year. So! I've been combining chapters, adding a brand new one, rewording, expanding, tweaking...

I'm also busy eliminating some of the "as" sentence structures, which I greatly overused throughout the novel. I realized it just recently, thanks to Ralene, who pointed out that I've used it 25 times in one short chapter!

I'm in editing mode. I won't blog much until I'm done. Meanwhile, you can read my Halloween short story to pass the time: Masquerade Ball.

Question for you: What sentence structure or word do you tend to overuse in your writing?

More Than a Feeling

2010-09-09T13:00:00.001-04:00

Several of my reviewers asked me to put more emotion in my stories. "Emotion is good!" they told me. It got me thinking about the many ways we show emotion in real life and in writing. It got me thinking about love. Is love merely another emotion, or is it more than just a feeling?

This morning, I read an interview with Larry Dossey, MD about the scientific evidence that love can heal. Dr. Dossey is the executive editor of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine journal, and the author of nine books on health and healing.

I found the interview so interesting, I thought I'd share one section of it with you. Here's what Dr. Dossey has to say about love and healing:

In the 1980s, I began to look at all the studies I could find that had to do with intention in healing -- that is, the deliberate attempt of physicians and healers to use their wishes and desires to help a patient get better. This often takes the form of prayer. As I explored this area, it became clear to me that the bottom line of intention and prayer was love and caring. According to the studies I was reviewing, it didn't seem to matter what religion people belonged to. What was important in effecting healing through prayer was the love and compassion the healer felt for the person being healed.

So I started going into the office earlier and created a healing ritual, in which I entered into a meditative state, thought about each of the patients I would see that day and sent them healing, loving and compassionate thoughts. I got to the point where if I didn't do this ritual, I felt it constituted an ethical breach -- like withholding a needed surgical procedure. I get many letters from doctors who have had the same type of experience and found it has had a positive effect on their patients' health.

Amazing, isn't it? Don't we all wish we had a doctor who cares that much about our health? I think just knowing my doctor prayed for me would help me heal faster. :D

Dr. Dossey was talking about physical healing, but I believe love can do more than that. It can heal emotional scars as well. And there are many other ways, besides prayer, that love can heal. Sometimes a simple smile or a few words said at the right time can make a world of difference in someone else's life.

The interview reminded me of the title of a song I love:

What are your thoughts on this? Can love heal? Have you ever prayed for someone, out of love and compassion, and seen a concrete result?

WriteOnCon Notes about Voice (Part One)

2010-08-23T00:10:00.000-04:00

WriteOnCon turned out to be a HUGE event. Over 11,000 people attended, from all over the world. Being online and free made it easier for many writers to attend. I'm so glad I did. It was AMAZING!

The lectures and chat transcripts are still up on the main website. Here's a link to the schedule, including links to each event.

On the first day of the conference, I attended the Live Industry Professional Panel (Mary Kole, Anica Rissi, Joanna Volpe, Suzie Townsend) about voice. Being the model student that I am, I took some notes. (Click on the link to see the whole chat transcript.) I have enough notes from this event only for about three or four blog posts. Here's the first part.

What's the difference between character's voice and author's voice?
Mary Kole: Character voice does blend with your authorial voice. Both deal with word choice and narration style. In YA, a lot of it is first person, so the lines do get crossed. But on the authorial end of things, voice is also about your structure and your sentence structure and how you tell the larger story, not just the voice your character has.

Joanna Volpe: Just like every person on this panel has a different voice, because we're different people, your characters should also have different voices... because they're different people. I think for an author, it's more about STYLE than voice.

Are voice archetypes in YA a good thing or a bad thing?
Anica Rissi: We certainly see a lot of the same voices over and over in the submissions pile. The ones that stand out are distinct. But yes, there's room for many main characters with sass, snark, shyness, whatever traits in common.

Mary Kole: Because archetypal voices in YA are getting so familiar, writers have to work extra hard to show me voices I haven't heard before. I've seen enough snarky teen (and been a snarky teen for long enough) that just snarky humor isn't going to be a completely, fleshed-out character to me. It has to go deeper than that.

Can each of you give an example of a book with the type of voice you love?
Mary Kole: FEED by M.T. Anderson is a book I always read from when talking about voice.

Anica Rissi: Two of my favorites for voice: Eileen Cook's GETTING REVENGE ON LAUREN WOOD and Lauren Stransick's NOTHING LIKE YOU.

Suzie Townsend: HOW I LIVE NOW by Meg Rosoff

Mary Kole: I also love, in the middle grade sphere, VIOLET RAINES ALMOST GOT STRUCK BY LIGHTNING by Danette Haworth.

Suzie Townsend: A great example of a recent book I read where the voice is subtle, unique, and so freaking real, is Lennie's voice is THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE.

When speaking of voice, are we talking about the feel of the writing or the feel of the character? Or a mixture of both?
Joanna Volpe: Style is the author's unique way of expressing themselves (essentially, their voice in a way), but since the actual voice of the story changes book per book, character per character... what keeps bringing you back to that particular author? Their writing style. Think of John Green--all of his characters have distinctly different voices, but John's style is raw and honest in an awkward-no-holding-back teen kind of way. He never disappoints when it comes to that.

Suzie Townsend: When I was teaching, I used to tell my students, Voice = Tone + Style + Audience, which is why it's so hard to define

How important is voice in the query letter?
Suzie Townsend: Very. It's what makes a query stand out, just like in a manuscript

Mary Kole: I like some voice and personality in a query but I find that too much feels like schtick to me. I want to make sure that story info is getting the spotlight too.

Anica Rissi: I only read queries from agents (S&S doesn't accept unagented manuscripts), but to me, being grabbed by the voice on page one matters MUCH more.

Joanna Volpe: I think voice is very important in a query letter. So many stories start to sound the same when you take all the elements piece by piece. Girl meets boy. Boy has magical power. Girl has magical power too and must destroy boy. Girl and boy find a way around this and live happily ever after. Right? What makes THAT storyline stand out. Who the characters ARE... their voices.

Suzie Townsend: A recent query described a story about a girl getting texts from her dead boyfriend's phone. She goes on a road trip to find out who's sending the texts "mostly so she can punch that jerk in the face." Just the mention of that gives voice to the character in the query. I know who that character is.

What's In My Handbag?

2010-08-14T21:10:00.000-04:00

Ever wondered what I'm carrying in my handbag? No? Well, I'll tell you anyway.

Frankie tagged me and four others with this What's In My Handbag post, so now I have to list everything that's currently in my bag.

Okay, I have:

1) My wallet, filled with the usual stuff: cards and more cards, receipts, money, driver's license, pictures of my kids, autograph, ... The usual stuff.

2) My planner, including address book, calendar, and business cards.

3) Three notebooks: one to keep track of my writing goals, one to actually write, and one for everything else.

4) Black pens. I had seven at my last count. I'm so terrified of leaving without a pen, I always add one for good measure before I go anywhere... until I can't find a single pen in the house and empty my purse to find out where they all went.

5) My cell phone. Ahh, I love my cell phone. I had an ancient one for so long, and this one I just got has internet access and a little keyboard for texting and EVERYTHING! I know, I'm behind my time.

6) BJ's coupon book (which I always forget to use, until they're all expired).

7) A pack of gum (leftover from our trip to Canada - I don't chew gum usually).

8) Nail clipper, tweezers, mirror, lipstick, tissues, and... eyeglass repair kit. Huh?! I wear contacts. How long has this been in there?

9) A train ticket to NYC (already used - throwing it away).

10) Some loose change.

11) Two sets of keys - one for the office with a memory stick attached to it, and one for car/home.

12) Um... women stuff.

That's it!

Now I'm tagging...

Louisa, who just started a blog. Big welcome to blogger's world!
Tamara, who just got a new baby girl. Congrats!
Cheree, who reviewed every single chapter of my novel. Big thanks!

Rachel, who hasn't posted on her blog since her trip to Europe. Now's your chance!

100-Followers Contest at the Crew!

2010-08-13T11:47:00.002-04:00

The Crew, one of my favorite blogs, is getting very close to having one hundred followers and is holding a contest to celebrate!

You can win:

(2) fabulous journals with a personal note from Frankie
(1) tarot deck, Easy Tarot

So if you're already following, click here and post a comment with your e-mail address to enter. If you're NOT already following, what are you waiting for? Click the Follow button and THEN leave a comment. Simple, right?

Oh, and while you're there, post your query for critique. That's a new feature on The Crew blog, which I'm looking forward to read.

And if you have time in your hands, browse through the true stories. You may run across a REAL vampire, The Curse of the 12th Century Monk, and other creepy, funny, witty stories.

WriteOnCon!

2010-08-05T00:10:00.000-04:00

This month, I'm participating in WriteOnCon, a free online conference for children's writers, founded by seven lovely ladies: Jamie Harrington, Elana Johnson, Casey McCormick, Shannon Messenger, Lisa and Laura Roecker, and Jennifer Stayrook. The conference will be from August 10-12, but forums are already open for participants to introduce themselves and post samples of their writing and queries for critique.

The best thing about this conference (apart from the fact that it's free) is that the topics will stay posted even after the conference, so there's no need to physically be there at the time the event takes place, apart from the evening panels and live workshops. I'll be at work, peeking whenever I have a chance, and saving the links for future reference. Hopefully, I can participate in most of the evening sessions from home.

I'm already starting to see the benefits of this conference, and it hasn't officially started yet! Apart from being a wonderful source of information, I see it as an excellent networking opportunity. I've discovered great blogs, got feedback on the first five pages of my MG novel, made new friends (many of whom are on Twitter, so we can keep in touch), and enjoyed reading all the posts. People can participate from anywhere in the world, which is awesome.

The schedule for August 10 (Tuesday) is already posted. All the topics are interesting, but I've highlighted the topics I really don't want to miss:

6:00 AM: Keynote Vlog Address by author Josh Berk
7:00 AM: Refining Your Craft with Each Book by author Janette Rallison
8:00 AM: Making the Most of Your Advance (no matter its size) by literary agent Michelle Wolfson
9:00 AM: Myths and Misconceptions by literary agent Holly Root, and editors Molly O’Neill and Martha Mihalick
10:00 AM: Illustrating Children’s Books by J.H. Everett and studio
11:00 AM: Bringing the Funny by author Rachel Hawkins
12:00 PM: Becoming a Career Author by literary agent Catherine Drayton
1:00 PM: Writing Middle Grade by author Jon Lewis
2:00 PM: Voice by literary agent Elana Roth
3:00 PM: Writing a Query Letter by author Jodi Meadows
4:00 PM: Author Branding by author Shelli Wells
5:00 PM: Questions to Ask Yourself Before a Revision by editor Kendra Levin
6:00 PM: Pizza in the Face (how characters react to situations) by author Rosemary Clement-Moore

9:00 PM: Panel of Professionals (Elana Roth, Kathleen Ortiz, Dan Ehrenhaft, Martha Mihalick)
TOPIC: Online platform

10:30 PM: Working with Agents and Editors, a live Workshop with literary agent Mark McVeigh

There will also be daily contests where participants can win books, personalized critiques from agents, and other prizes.

Can you tell I'm excited about this?

So don't look for me on August 10-12, I'll be hanging out with agents, publishers, authors, and a lot of other aspiring writers. Hope to see you there! Oh, and if you're on Twitter, the hashtag is #writeoncon.

Trip to Canada

2010-07-28T13:20:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy summer so far, and I haven't had much time to blog. I thought I'd keep it light and simple by sharing some pictures of our recent trip to Canada.

How to survive a ten-hour car trip with three kids and a dog:
1) Go to the craft store and buy a bunch of little surprises.
2) Wrap them individually and number them from 1 to 10.
3) Print a map and mark numbers from 1 to 10 at regular intervals.
4) During the trip, let them open one surprise at a time as you pass each number on the map, and enjoy some peace and quiet as they create masterpieces.

Two of their favorite surprises were plain metal lunchboxes they decorated with scrapbook stickers, foam letters and glitter glue, and a Mad Lib story pad.

Happy 70th Birthday!
The reason for our trip was to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. Doesn't he look young and healthy like a young man? I'm so proud of my dad. He has always been a source of inspiration for me. I have fond memories of my youth, where he took us camping, taught us how to ride a bike, or just spent quality time with us. If I could describe him in a few words, I would say he's kind, trustworthy, and he has a heart as deep as the ocean. I took it for granted back then, but now I realize as an adult that not everyone had that chance of having caring parents raising them with good values.

I love you, Dad!

A home away from home
My mom rented a cottage for the occasion. To spend the whole weekend with my parents, my brother and sister and their partners, and my lovely niece who will soon be 19, was priceless.

The cottage was right next to a river, with plenty of wooded area where the kids had fun doing a treasure hunt, looking for dinosaurs and other toys my mom had hidden. At night, we had a camp fire and roasted marshmallows. I miss the Canadian fresh nights, when we slept with the windows open. No need for A/C. Ahhh! How refreshing!

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth
On the way back, we stopped for a barbecue dinner at my husband's sister's house near Albany, NY. It was a good break from all this driving, and it was great to see my in-laws again.

While we ate scallops wrapped in bacon (hmmm!), hot dogs and hamburgers, a huge bug started hovering around the flowers next to the porch. At first, my kids thought it was a humongous bee, but it had a feeding tube, much like a hummingbird. I looked it up when I got back and found out it was a hummingbird clearwing moth. A very big name for a very strange bug! I had never seen anything like that in my life.

The Power of Reviews

2010-06-24T12:57:00.000-04:00

Every writer has strengths and weaknesses. Some are very good at developing characters, but terrible in grammar. Others can pinpoint every missing comma and repeated word, but aren't so good at describing a scene. What happens when you combine these strengths? What if you could take advantage of other writers' skills to make up for your own weaknesses? That's what a review forum, or critique group, can accomplish.

Every single review I've received has helped me in one way or another. I don't always agree with every comment, and I don't follow every single suggestion, but if more than one reviewer mentions the same thing, I know I need to give it some thought.

I hesitated a long time to join an online review forum, because I didn't feel confident enough in my writing skills. I love getting reviews, but how about reviewing other people's chapters? Am I savvy enough in writing to offer any help?

Now I realize that even if I review someone who knows a lot more than I do, I can still offer helpful feedback. Every little bit helps. I can concentrate on what I'm good at, and leave the rest to another reviewer. I don't need to be perfect in every aspect, or know everything there is to know in order to give good reviews.

When reviewing. I have to think about what works, what doesn't, and how the story could be improved. This helps me revise my own chapters as well. As an added bonus, by reading and reviewing many different styles of writing, I pick up new skills along the way.

Here's the beginning of my MG novel as it was when I joined a review forum last September:

“Hey, Emilio!” Hans cried across the school yard.  Emilio tried to ignore him.  He was searching for a rare nine spotted ladybug he thought he had seen, in the bush along the stone wall.  

“Emilio!” Hans called again.  “I don’t want you to cry, but… I think I just squished a bug!”

Emilio frowned behind his glasses and the girls laughed.  He was used to Hans’ teasing.  This had been going on since the beginning of fifth grade, and it was now end of May.  Emilio shrugged.  Soon, summer would be there.  He was looking forward to expanding his butterfly picture collection, doing some bird watching, and getting Hans off his back for a good two months.  As he turned back to his ladybug search, he heard the girls laugh again.  Hans was probably imitating him – as usual.

And here's what I have now:

Kneeling on a patch of grass by the mulberry bush, Emilio searched for a rare nine-spotted ladybug he thought he had spied. His concentration blocked out the usual lunch recess sounds of children screeching and balls bouncing throughout the schoolyard. With a careful hand, he parted the branches, scanning tender green leaves for a crawling red dot. His nature journal crunched underneath him as he walked on his knees to the other side of the bush, a magnifier in hand.

A familiar voice echoed across the play area, interrupting his mission.

“Hey, Bug Boy!”

He wrinkled his nose, pretending not to hear.

“I don’t want you to cry, but… I think I just squished an ant.”

Emilio frowned behind his glasses as he heard the girls giggling. He turned in time to see Hans make a twisting motion with his foot, his untied shoelaces whirling around in the sand. Emilio shrugged and ignored Hans’ sneer.

Returning to his search, he couldn’t help daydreaming about his summer plans: expanding his butterfly picture collection, bird watching, and getting Hans off his back for a good two months. He smiled at the thought. No Hans for two months. Maybe he won’t even be in my class in sixth grade.

A roar of laughter brought him back to reality. He didn’t bother to look. Hans was probably imitating him, as usual. He took a deep breath and blinked, refusing to let the tears swell to his eyes.

Which version is better? You tell me!

This last version will change again, as I'm still pondering on some comments I recently received. Should I use the phrase "brought him back to reality"? If not, what should I replace it with? Is this a good enough hook, or should I change the first sentence for something more catchy? It is what it is, a work in progress. Progress is good.

If you haven't already, I strongly recommend you join a review group. Not only will your skills improve, but you will also find the support you need to keep you going and get you through tough times we all face at one point or another in our writing life.

Baby Bird Rescue

2010-05-31T21:17:00.005-04:00

We heard chirping in the attic one morning, a few weeks ago. A family of grackles had made a nest in our attic, going through the vent trap. It was a very hot day, and we knew we had to do something or the birds would die of dehydration. My husband climbed up there and rescued four baby birds. Some were stuck behind a beam and he had to make a hole our bedroom ceiling in order to get them out.

They had no feathers, just a little black fuzz. Their eyes weren't even open yet. We fed them water with a spoon, one drop at a time, being careful not to touch them. They were starving, poor things!

We kept them in a box, using some of the straw they had used for their attic nest as a liner. While my husband and the kids went shopping for material to make a bird house, I looked online to find out how to take care of newborn baby birds. I found out they have to eat every twenty minutes throughout the day. There was a recipe with boiled eggs and milk, supposedly the best food for baby birds. I ended up feeding them tiny pieces of wet bread, using chopsticks.

Shadow barked every time someone came close to the box, which was placed on a high, cat-proof shelf. He was so eager to see what was in the box, but I couldn't let him get too close.

I was in charge of feeding them every time the timer beeped, while the rest of my family built a bird house. It helps to have a handyman as a husband. He had a custom designed bird house ready in no time.

We transferred the babies into a bowl to be able to use the same straw as a liner for their new home.

My husband installed the bird house on the side of our house, near the trap where their old nest used to be, accessible through our bedroom window. Mommy Grackle found her babies and busied herself going back and forth bringing them food. My job as a baby bird nurse was over!

Three days later, the babies are settled in their new home. Don't they look comfy in there?

A week later, they're starting to have feathers. Their eyes are open! Sadly, one of the babies died. But three survived. That's very good news. Sometimes none of them survive after being handled by humans.

Two weeks later, their feathers are fully grown. Aren't they much cuter than when they were just born?

Three weeks later, we found no birds in the house. They learned how to fly! Mission accomplished!

Top Five Picture Book Writers/Illustrators

2010-05-18T00:18:00.001-04:00

I read hundreds of picture books to my kids, from the time they were born until they became independent readers. Some of them were plain boring. Others were okay, but forgettable. A select few stood out from the crowd. Below is a list of my top five picture book writers/illustrators.

Stan and Jan Berenstain
The Berenstain Bears books address many issues kids face. As a mother of three, I was always curious to see how Mama Bear would deal with each situation. I read it as much for my kids' enjoyment as for my own, discovering some parenting tips along the way. The books are written and illustrated by a couple, Stan and Jan, who obviously know a thing or two about parenting, having raised two sons. Visit their website for more information, videos, and fun games for kids.

Jan Brett
The illustrations in Jan Brett's books fascinate me. In some of her books, each page has a main picture illustrating the main story, and a side picture giving clues of what's coming next or showing a side story. In her books, she re-tells European folk tales in an engaging way. I especially like her Christmas books, some about trolls, other about reindeer or polar bears. I guess I'm not the only one who likes her. According to her website, she has over thirty-five million books in print.

Keiko Kasza
I absolutely love the way this author takes a familiar story and gives it a unique twist. In A Mother for Choco, I was expecting to read the typical "Are you my mommy" book where the baby bird finds Mama Bird at the end, but I was pleasantly surprised by its different, heartwarming ending. I won't give it away. It's worth reading. The Dog Who Cried Wolf is also one of my favorites from Keiko Kasza. Visit her website for a complete list of her books.

Helen Lester (author) / Lynn Munsinger (illustrator)
This book made me laugh, and so did many of Helen Lester's books, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. What a great team! The pictures complement the story perfectly. They are known for their Tacky the Penguin series, which my kids and I also read and loved. But Me First is the best of all, to my opinion. Here is more information about both the author and the illustrator.

Walter Wick
Things aren't always what they seem in these intriguing books filled with fun pictures of everyday objects. Parents can identify familiar toys from their childhood, while kids have fun looking for specific items hidden somewhere in the picture. We spent hours scrutinizing these images, challenging each other to find certain things and just enjoying the wonderful details. Some books also contain optical illusions, which always fascinate me. Unlike other picture books, these will keep everyone, big and small, entertained for hours. Walter Wick reveals some of his picture secrets on his website.

I'm telling the truth, this time!

2010-05-05T00:32:00.003-04:00

In my last post, I listed seven facts. Six of them were lies and only one of them was true. I know, I was raised in a good family and taught to always tell the truth, but I made an exception. I had to follow the rules that came with the blog award I received. Mmm... What's worse, lying, or not following the rules? I'll let you decide.

But NOW I'm going to make it right and tell you the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

1. I've been writing stories since I was in high school. I've always wanted to be a writer.

WRONG! I only started writing in my early 30s, when I became a stay-at-home mom for a few years. I read picture books to my three kids every night. At some point, I started thinking, "I bet I can write a book." And I did. I sat down with a notebook, and a story came pouring out of my pen. I've been writing ever since.

2. I've been a big fan of Pink Floyd since college.
WRONG! This could have been true, though. I did listen to some Floyd in my college years, but I wasn't a big fan. It's not until recently when a friend of mine introduced me to some of their more recent songs that I really got into it. What, it's never too late to become a Pink Floyd fan. They ARE good!! My favorite is Coming Back to Life, followed closely by Wish You Were Here and On the Turning Away.

3. I can't stand rap music.
RIGHT! I listened to many types of music throughout the years, ranging from soft rock to hard rock to smooth jazz. There are even a few country-ish songs I like, and one or two opera singers I listened to at some point in time. But rap? Never! Well... there is this one tithe rap song they played at church that I thought was very amusing, but other than that, no rap for me!

4. I hate cats, but I love dogs.
WRONG! I love both cats AND dogs. In fact, I own one of each. Tiger warms up my spot before bed, and Shadow makes a big fuss every time I come back home, even when I was gone for only five minutes. It's great to have pets who care. Well... I don't know if Tiger cares that much, but he does his share of affectionate purring when I rub him under the chin.

5. I grew up in a city.
WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!! I grew up in the most rural area imaginable. Fields all around, the next neighbor a quarter mile away, dirt road. Rural. The village consisted of a school, a convenience store, a church, a covered bridge, and a bunch of houses, far apart from each other. Oh, and a gas station. I lived in a town until six and during my teen years, but I don't think a town of 35,000 population in the middle of nowhere can be called a city. I did go to college in Quebec City, though, but by then I was all grown up.
* Photo from www.panoramio.com.

6. I don't like being alone. I need company all the time.
WRONG! I enjoy having company, but I'm very happy to have some time alone. In fact, I wish I had more time alone so I could write more.

7. My dream is to some day be a celebrity.
WRONG! I never wanted to be a celebrity. I like my simple life, away from the crowds.

Whew! I'm glad I got it out of my chest. From now on, I shall tell the truth. : )

Charmaine is the only one who guessed it right. How did you know?? My sister also guessed it right, but she knows me too well, so that doesn't count. ;-)

Creative Writer Award

2010-04-28T13:57:00.001-04:00

I received this award from three awesome bloggers: *drum roll*

Cheree at Justified Lunacy
Rachel (Em on WDC) at Startle Me
Harley at Labotomy of a Writer

Thank you!! Follow the link to read their post about this award. Don't believe everything they say, though. They're very good at lying (no offense).

Now I bet they already passed it along to everyone else I know, since I'm so slow at re-posting my awards. Oh, well!

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who tagged me.
2. Copy and Paste the award on my blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated me.
4. Tell up to 6 lies and 1 truth about myself.
5. Tag at least 7 people for this award.
6. Post links to their blogs.
7. Comment on each of their blogs to inform them of the nomination.

Mmm... I'm not so good at lying, but I'll try. Let's see if you're better at guessing than I am at telling lies. If you've been reading my blog, you probably know some of the answers already.

Here are the lies (Just remember one of them is the truth):

1. I've been writing stories since I was in high school. I've always wanted to be a writer.

2. I've been a big fan of Pink Floyd since college.
3. I can't stand rap music.
4. I hate cats, but I love dogs.
5. I grew up in a city.
6. I don't like being alone. I need company all the time.
7. My dream is to some day be a celebrity.

Uh-oh! I feel my nose getting longer. What's with this award? Make it stop!! Guess which one is the truth. Quick!

Now I'm passing this award to seven fabulous bloggers. Check them out!

1. Frankie
2. Ralene
3. Jen
4. Richard
5. Jim
6. Charmaine
7. Wendy

(If you never got an award before, click here for detailed instructions.)

Me throughout the years

2010-04-18T16:46:00.002-04:00

My first birthday
This picture was taken in the house where I was born, in a small town called Val-d'Or, in Quebec, Canada. My first words were in French. I only learned English much later, as a second language in school.

I was fascinated by the candle. I eventually tried to eat it, but the wax didn't taste as yummy as it looked.

Pig tails and a grin
I didn't change much, did I? Except for the pig tails.

Don't I look like a little angel? I was, actually, although my brother and sister would tell you that I was very bossy and sometimes extremely cranky. Don't listen to them. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Lion heads
The wider, the better, according to the mid-1980s style. A perm, a little teasing, and a LOT of hairspray will do the trick.

Do I look like my elder sister (right)? Some people used to ask us if we were twins, although we're six years apart. We used to fight like cats and dogs as kids, but we became best friends when I joined her in Quebec City to go to college. Here we are, in a retro cafe, having our favorite dessert: brownie with ice cream and hot fudge. Mmm!

Be fruitful, multiply...
... and be busy for the rest of your life. They are my pride, my inspiration, and my reason for living.

There's nothing like a pile of Christmas presents to get everyone to grin on a picture.

About Blog Awards

2010-04-14T14:12:00.001-04:00

When I received my first blog award, I was flattered, but clueless. I had to ask the person who gave it to me what to do next. I received many others since then, and figured out a few things on my own. Here are my thoughts about blog awards.

What's a blog award?
A blog award comes as a picture accompanied with instructions. It's a token of appreciation that's passed from one blogger to another.

What do I do when I'm a lucky recipient?
1. Thank the person who gave it to you by leaving a comment on their blog.
2. Save the picture (right-click and save as...) onto your computer.
3. Create a new picture gadget* to display the award on your blog's side bar.
4. Insert the picture on a new blog post and follow the instructions that came with the award.
5. Pass it on to other bloggers by typing their names, linking back to their blog, on the same post.
6. Let them know they got an award by posting a comment on their blogs, including a link back to yours.

*To create a picture gadget (if you're using Blogger/Blogspot):
1. Go on your dashboard and click on Layout.
2. Click on Add a Gadget.
3. Click on Picture.
4. Title: [blog award name]
5. Caption: Thanks, [name]!
6. Link: [link to the blog where the award came from]
7. Image: upload image from your computer.
8. Drag the newly created gadget where you want it to be.

What's the point?
An award is fun to receive. It means your followers enjoy reading your blog, which is always a good sign.

It's sometimes hard to find things to blog about. An award can trigger interesting posts, especially when they come with questions to answer or other wacky instructions. The award doesn't have to be posted right away. I keep mine for when I'm short of ideas.

It's a way of networking and letting other bloggers know you appreciate their blogs. I sometimes find new followers that way.

Here's an example
Thanks, Mireyah for giving me this award!

The instructions with this award are simple. I only have to pass it on to three people I like.

Since everyone I like already has numerous awards, this award will go to my next three followers, in appreciation for their support. I will add their names as they start following this blog.

(The fun thing about blog awards is you can flex the rules. LOL)

New Follower #1: Karen Jones Gowen
New Follower #2: Roland Yeomans
New Follower #3: Jennifer Shirk

Other examples
Superior Scribbler Award
Circle of Friends Award
Honest Scrap Award
From Me to You Award

What are your thoughts about blog awards? If you're new at blogging, tell me if this explanation works for you. If you're a long timer, let me know what I can add or change to make this post better. I'm planning to direct new bloggers to this post whenever I give them an award.

What Turns me Off in a Novel

2010-04-05T23:15:00.002-04:00

In my last post, I talked about what I was looking for in a novel. There are also negative points that would cause me to stop reading or to have a negative opinion of a book. Here are my top five turnoffs.

1. Story written in present tense
The only exception is if the book is written in first person POV and that's the way the narrator's usual way of talking. A story written in third person POV in present tense irritates me tremendously, for some reason. Stories have been told in past time for hundreds of years, so why change now? I once read a children's book written in present tense and my kids commented on it. It bothered them as well.

2. Too many flashbacks / back story
I like to read scenes as they happen, not be told what has already happened that I should know about. One exception is if the flashback is absolutely necessary to the story and is written as an actual scene. I like to learn the back story little by little, through scenes, rather than in big chunks of information. Show me the present and let me figure out the past.

3. Added sex/violence scene to sell more
Swear words and foul language also fall in this category. If it's necessary to the plot or one character is particularly low grade, that's okay. Other than that, it irritates me. But that's just me. Some other people love it, and that's why some authors specifically add these scenes to sell more.

4. Complicated plot or too many characters
I don't like having to go back to earlier chapters, trying to remember who a character is or to remind myself of what happened. I don't want to work that hard when I read. Simple is better. Give me a few well-developed characters and a straight forward plot and I'll be happy.

5. Poor writing
Certain things didn't bother me before like they do now, especially since I joined a review forum. I notice things my reviewers tell me not to do in my own stories and they jump at me when I see them in a novel I'm reading. Some of these things are: too many adverbs, run-on sentences, POV shifts, unnecessary dialogue tags, repeated words, fragments. I can no longer just relax and enjoy a good book without having my internal editor say a few words. I try to silence him, but it's not always easy. He loves to show off.

Top Five Things I'm Looking For in a Novel

2010-03-30T12:19:00.002-04:00

I was making a list of my favorite books from different categories for future blog posts, and it got me thinking about what determines whether I like a book or not.

Each one of us is different in what they like or dislike. What I can't stand someone else might love, and vice versa. What are you looking for in a book? Let's compare notes!

Here are the top five things I'm looking for in a novel.

1. Unique characters I will miss when I stop reading
I enjoy reading about characters that are similar to me in certain ways, or that go through similar experiences. I also like stories with characters that are totally different than me, as long as I can connect with them emotionally.

Characters often make me see things under a different perspective. For example, reading about a character going through a hardship I may never encounter allows me to experience what it's like without going through it myself. How great is that!

Characters should have unique strengths, flaws, and personality traits. By the end of the book, I want to feel like I know them personally. I once re-read a book because I missed the characters. I wanted to hang out with them some more, because they were so awesome.

2. Engaging plot that leaves me with questions
A good plot causes me to think about the book between reading sessions. If my mind won't rest easy until I'm finished reading it, that means it's a great book.

Each chapter should hook me from the start and leave me with questions, enticing me to read more and find the answers. Here's a great blog post by Kurt Chambers about hooks and cliffhangers with examples and everything. Thanks, Kurt! Very timely.

3. Believable settings (even if totally made up)
I like novels with settings so clear, consistent, and well developed that I'm willing to suspend my disbelief and accept them as real. Through reading, I can visit wonderful places in my mind, without ever leaving my comfy chair. What a great way to relieve stress! And it costs much less than a plane ticket.

4. Strong moral values
Some of my favorites: courage, integrity, self-sacrifice, enduring friendship, inner strength, love that goes beyond race, age, religious beliefs, appearances, or social status. When a scene makes me tear up, I can usually identify one of these values in it.

5. A touch of spirituality
What I mean by spirituality is anything supernatural or that cannot be perceived by physical senses: dreams, premonitions, special connections, coincidences, spirit world, angels. Some books have spirituality as a theme, but I prefer when it's naturally woven into the story without necessarly being the main theme.

What I've Learned About Blog Layouts

2010-03-20T15:07:00.001-04:00

On my last post, I asked several questions to help me choose a new blog layout. I promised to highlight the most useful answer on my next post, and the winner is... Harley! She answered all five of my questions and gave me valuable tips. You can read her entire comment on my previous blog post or by clicking here.

I summarized her answers and added other feedback I received in my search for the ideal blog layout.

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Layout Preferences
Harley doesn't like blogs that are full of ads and other things that draw attention away from the main content, and blogs that use too many font sizes and colors.

Personally, I like blogs that are not too simple, and not too loaded and complicated. Anything balanced and pleasing to the eye works for me. I prefer layouts that have a theme.

Customized Banner
Harley offered to make me a custom image for my top banner. (How kind!) She explained two ways of inserting the image into the header area: by adding the code for the image directly into the template, or by inserting the image into the header area, straight from the Customize Layout page.

For now, I like the one provided with the template I chose, but I'll know where to go if I want a customized one later on. Thanks, Harley!

Templates
Harley recommended btemplates.com where her two blog templates came from, and www.eblogtemplates.com, which also has WordPress blog themes.

Cheree recommended www.pyzam.com. I looked it up and it also has Twitter and MySpace layouts. I'll be back to look into it further.

I didn't have to research many sites. I found great templates in the first one I tried, btemplates.com. I browsed around by number of columns, colors, and themes, and downloaded a template for free. Following the easy steps on the site, I had it up and running within minutes.

Font Colors and Background Colors
Harley's comment: " The obvious rule of thumb is if you have a dark background use light font and a light background use dark font. I will say that yellow, orange and anything in neon (like pink or lime green) to me is just - distracting and blinding." Good advice! I totally agree.

For Cheree, any color scheme is good, as long as it's not too contrasting and hard to read.

In general, people I talked to prefer dark characters on a light background, something that's easy to read and not a strain for the eyes. I tried several font colors and backgrounds, and the ones I found the most attractive were light on dark.

Favorite Layout
Harley loves the three-column layout (side bar - main content - side bar) because she finds it easy to organize widgets and such. For two columns, she prefers the sidebar on the right side.

Her comment helped me decide to get a three-column layout. I couldn't find a template I liked with a side bar each side of the main content, but I found one with two sidebars on the right side. It does make it easier to organize things around. And now I don't have to scroll down as much to see my visitor counter!

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Thanks for all your help! I learned a lot by doing this. What do you think of my new blog layout? Kurt and Harley like it, according to their comments on my previous post. Any other feedback? Don't be shy!

Experimenting with blog layouts

2010-03-17T23:47:00.007-04:00

Don't be alarmed if you see strange things on my blog in the next few days. I'm experimenting with different layouts to find out what works best.

So if the colors don't match, if the header is too large and out of shape (and ugly), or if you can hardly see the text on a similar color background, you'll know why. No worry. It will come out right in the end, I promise.

Any suggestions welcome.

I have a few questions for you, dear followers (and anyone happening to just pass by):

1) Is there any blog layout elements you like to see or you can't stand?
2) How do I create an awesome banner for the top of my blog?
3) How do I find free layouts, other than the ones provided on Blogspot?
4) Are there colors that are more attractive than others for backgrounds and for fonts?
5) What's your favorite blog layout? Any example I can check out?

Thanks! The most useful answer will be highlighted in my next post.

Blog Award: From Me to You

2010-03-15T00:22:00.009-04:00

I received this blog award a while ago from Mireyah. With this award, I apparently have to tell 7 truths and pass it on to 7 people.

I chose a theme for my seven truths: music!

Truth #1: As a teenager, I once recorded the same song on a whole side of a tape so that I could listen to it over and over again.

I don't remember what the song was. I think it was Heaven, by Bryan Adams. I'm still the same way. If I really like a song, I can listen to it ten times in a row and never get tired of it. It's easier now with CDs. I don't have to rewind, guessing where the beginning of the song is.

Truth #2: All my CDs are from male singers, with a few exceptions.

I don't like listening to female singers, in general. The only tapes I had long ago from female singers were from Pat Benatar and Bonnie Tyler. Oh, and Cyndi Lauper. Yeah, that was long ago. Am I revealing my age?

Truth #3: I don't generally like country music.

One exception: a song called Tennessee Line on Daughtry's latest CD (song #11 if you follow the link). Don't tell my dad; he'll make fun of me. I just really love this song for some reason, even though it sounds country-ish.

*** WOW! I was just listening to the CD online following the link above, and I just found out it has a SIDE B! There are six more songs on the CD I didn't even know I had. ***

Truth #4: Among my very favorites currently: U2, Rob Thomas, Daughtry, and Coldplay.

I like many others, but these are the ones I listen to all the time. My favorite song from each? Hmm... Hard to choose! Okay, Walk On by U2, All That I Am by Rob Thomas, Call Your Name by Daughtry, and Speed of Sound by Coldplay.

Truth #5: I used to be a big fan of Duran Duran as a teen.

I had a huge poster of them on my wall. I got mad when the band dissolved. I didn't like the new bands they formed. My favorite song from them is probably Save a Prayer or New Moon on Monday.

Truth #6: For a very short period of my life, I listened only to smooth jazz.

Kenny G. was my favorite. He can convey so much emotion through his saxophone. I got tired after a while. A song isn't complete without lyrics!

Truth #7: I love songs of the '80s. They were THE BEST!!

Maybe because I was a teen at the time, and music had a great impact on me. My favorite of all times? Don't ask, there are too many. Probably The Final Countdown by Europe.

Okay, now the fun part. Who should I pass this award to?

(For new bloggers, all you have to do is right-click on the award picture, save it on your computer, and upload it on a new blog post. The seven truths don't have to have a theme. I just chose music because I felt like it. Then you post a comment on seven blogs you want to pass it to, with a link back to your blog for them to know what it's about.)

Jim at View from the Cheap Seats: The best flash fiction writer I know!
Rachel at Startle Me: We share a love for Korean food.
Vicky at Notes from an Aspiring Writer: who, like me, seems to have a hard time finding the time to write. At least your next blog post is taken care of. LOL
Richard at MoW's Musings: because he needs something to blog about and he loves to talk about himself. Haha! Sorry, Richard, couldn't resist.
Ralene at Faith, Hope and Suspense: An expecting mother always deserves an award. : )
Harley at Abyss of My Soul: Should I call you Professor, Your Majesty, or just Harley? (inside joke)
Kurt at Genius Bordering Insanity: The best not-yet-published children's writer I know! I know you have many awards to catch up with already, but I just couldn't leave you out.

Networking v/s Writing

2010-03-08T00:57:00.004-05:00

I got frustrated a few weeks ago when I noticed I was spending nearly all my writing time doing other things than actually working on my novels. Sounds familiar?

On a typical evening, I check updates on Twitter, follow a few links, retweet a few tweets, then check the review forum's posts -- pages of them, and respond to some of them, then read a few blogs and comment on them, then find something to write in MY blog, then do a review, ... and one and on and on.

Weeks passed by and I wasn't making much progress with my books. My mind was so scattered, between finding something to tweet about, blog about, comment about. Other things also interfered: the kids, the dog, supervising homework, ... It never stopped!

The idea crossed my mind of isolating myself for a few weeks and just work on my novel. So many distractions! Networking is good, and I'm all for it, but this was becoming a bit overwhelming. The idea behind networking is to create a platform to promote myself once I'm ready to publish, but what's the point of all that if I never work on my book? An overload of information about publishing tips, writing tips, promoting tips. How about just actually writing? I won't have any use for publishing tips if I never get my books ready for publication.

But then again, I need the interaction. What would I do with nobody to talk to all day? Mireyah tried to go offline for a month and gave up after a day. I would probably do the same. It's nice to get feedback and acknowledgment. Give and take. Friendship. I've gotten used to it and I would miss it tremendously if I decided to stop networking.

I guess it's all a matter of finding a balance.

One night, I just grabbed my notebook and a handful of reviews I printed, and I disappeared in my room and worked on a chapter. No computer anywhere near me. I actually accomplished quite a lot by focusing only on writing. Pen and paper work best!

I need to do this more often.

Honest Scrap Award

2010-02-21T14:09:00.004-05:00

I received this award from Mireyah when I first started this blog a few months ago. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with it, other than forwarding it to five people. I only learned much later I was supposed to post ten truths about myself, but I never did. Back then, I didn't know any other bloggers who hadn't already received this award so I never forwarded it either. I just received this same award again last week, from Harley. I guess it's time I catch up with my blog awards! Here they are, my dear followers, ten truths about myself most of you probably don't know.

Truth #1: I always write my new stories longhand before typing them.
I seem to have more inspiration using a pen and a cheap notebook than using a keyboard, for some reason. It's also more portable. I can write from any location: in my car, at the pool between my daughter's swim events, in the comfort of my own bedroom before sleeping, or at a deli during my lunch hour. I do my first revision when I type my handwritten notes.

Truth #2: I studied computer programming in college in the 1980s, but I never worked as a programmer.
My life took a different course than what I had planned, somehow. Computer languages changed since then, but I find it easier to learn HTML, Excel macros, or other current programming languages because of my background. The essence is the same.

Truth #3: I prefer to read (and write) children's novels (MG/YA) than adult novels.
I'm too sensitive to read dark/horror, and I'm not into romance so much.

Truth #4: I hardly ever watch TV.
I'd rather read a good book. I'm not into sports or politics, although I do watch the Olympics and the presidential elections. So I can say I watch TV every four years, in average. Haha!

Truth #5: I followed the same pattern as my parents, as far as kids are concerned: girl, boy, girl, about the same distance apart.
I'm the baby! I hope my kids will be as sweet as I was as a teenager. *angelic face*

Truth #6: I'm left-handed, and proud of it!
My husband is left-handed too. Our three kids are right-handed. Conclusion? Left-handedness is not hereditary.

Truth #7: I started writing in 2003, without ever taking a class or a seminar about creative writing.
I wrote because I had a story in mind that needed to be told. I blush now when I read my first manuscript. I learned a lot since then, especially during the last five months I've been part of a review forum.

Truth #8: My husband hardly ever reads anything I write.
Fine with me! He would be too harsh of a critic anyway. I doubt he even reads my blog. I guess I'll find out if he leaves a comment or not. ;-)

Truth #9: I've been married with my husband for many many years, and still going strong.
Seventeen years, to be exact. We have ups and downs, but we made a lot of progress in our relationship since we've been together. We know which buttons not to push.

Truth #10: My reviewers sometimes comment on awkward expressions in my stories as I didn't grow up in America.
I'm French Canadian. I learned a lot since I came to New Jersey fourteen years ago with my very basic English I had learned in high school. I continue to learn with the help of my reviewers and my kids, correcting me when I say something odd or when I mispronounce a word. I still feel my vocabulary is not where it should be, and I'm terrified of making mistakes when I post a comment on a blog or in a forum. I re-read myself several times before finally posting.

Okay, now I'm passing this award on to five awesome writers/bloggers:

Mary at The Entrepreneur's Wife
Kurt at Genius Bordering Insanity
Richard at MoW's Musings
Frankie at Ramblings of Frankie
Cheree at Justified Lunacy

Bugsy Malone School Play!

2010-02-08T23:12:00.001-05:00

I went to see my thirteen-year-old daughter perform on stage tonight, in a school play: Bugsy Malone, based on the 1970's musical film. She was one of the dancers/singers. I was impressed at how well these kids performed on stage! I was very shy at her age, but she wasn't even nervous.

They had been practicing since January, and every day for the last two weeks. She slept with rollers all night and woke up with curly hair. It's hard work being a star! They got rewarded for all their efforts tonight, by an very lively audience clapping and cheering, including a standing ovation at the end. As a bonus, my daughter enjoyed doing all the things I usually don't allow her to do: wearing make-up, nail polish, and a short skirt. Hmm... Just for this one time.

The actors had a lot of interaction with the audience. Bugsy, a tiny sixth-grader with a suit and a hat, came from the back and shook hands with people on the way to the front, complimenting ladies on their hair and introducing himself. The news girl threw rolled-up gazettes to the audience every time there were breaking news. Instead of cream-shooting guns as in the original movie, they used silly string. They shot the audience at the end, to the delight of my two younger kids.

My eight-year-old daugher went around during intermission and got everyone's autographs, as you can see on the picture above. She was very excited to meet all these "famous" people and ask them to sign her program!

These kids must have felt like superstars tonight, wearing make-up and costumes and signing autographs. It was awesome!! *beam* And I'm so proud of my daughter, I can't help bragging a little.

One Word

2010-02-01T23:54:00.011-05:00

Little questionnaire that got passed onto me by Kurt Chambers. Thanks, Kurt! I was looking for something to post on my blog, and this questionnaire comes in handy.

Rules: Answer the following questions with Single Word answers then pass this along to 5 other bloggers. Make sure you let them know about it.

Your Cell Phone? ancient
Your Hair? need-a-trim (that was only one word, wasn't it?)
Your Mother? positive
Your Father? helpful
Your Favorite Food? Korean
Your Dream Last Night? *blank*
Your Favorite Drink? latte
Your Dream/Goal? published
What Room Are You In? living-room
Your Hobby? writing
Your Fear? unloved
Where Do You See Yourself In Six Years? hmmm...
Where Were You Last Night? home
Something That You Aren't? judgmental
Muffins? banana
Wish List Item? TIME!!
Where Did You Grow Up? Quebec
Last Thing You Did? e-mail
What Are You Wearing? slippers
Your TV? boring
Your Pets? fuzzy
Friends? worldwide
Your Life? exciting!
Your Mood? pensive
Missing Someone? kinda
Vehicle? Jeep
Something You Aren't Wearing? hats
Your Favorite Store? JCPenney
Your Favorite Color? indigo
When Was The Last Time You Laughed? today
Last Time You Cried? today
Your Best Friend? Shadow lol!
One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? writing.com
Facebook? sometimes
Favorite Place To Eat? Mom's

And I pass this on to... *drumroll*

Hailey because she's new at blogging. Welcome to blogger's world, Hailey!
Harley because she was my teacher on a class I took on WDC. Hi, Professor! *
Richard to entice him to start a "real" blog LOL**
Dawn because she's one of the moderators of my favorite review forum and a wonderful person to be around
Frankie because she rocks! Oh, and she FOUNDED my favorite review forum.

* Harley has two blogs. This is her personal blog where she posted her answers.
* *It worked!! Richard now has a REAL blog. Haha! I wish I always had that kind of influence.