The slightly blurry (and beautifully mossy) world of WILD AWAKE author & former INTERN, Hilary Smith

Author and avid woodswoman, Hilary T. Smith

Four years ago, a publishing industry intern (who went by the clever moniker, "INTERN"), started a blog to share what she learned behind the scenes at the offices of Big Fancy Publishing House and the smaller Venerable McPulitzer. To those of us trying to understand that puzzling world and how to break into it, INTERN's posts were like manna from the gods. (Really funny manna, that is, from the kind of god you want for your best friend.) 

When I discovered that my new anonymous best friend also offered manuscript critiques, I asked my husband to get me one for Christmas. He obliged, and I handed my first YA novel to this mysterious young woman who appeared only as a blur of shaggy hair in her blogger photo. Somehow, I knew to trust her. And it was the best instinct I ever had. Her critique was the "aha!" moment I desperately needed—a turning point in my growth as a writer that ultimately led to my success in finding an agent and publisher. 

In November 2011, INTERN's YA debut sold to Harper Collins' Katherine Tegen Books, and real actual hilary (Hilary T. Smith) was unmasked. She continues to blog about her experiences as a writer and nomad. Her novel WILD AWAKE will be released into the wild on May 28, with much anticipation from her fans, friends and one very grateful pen pal.

Hilary kindly agreed to answer a few questions here on my humble blog: 

Q. What is the kernel of an idea that led to WILD AWAKE?

A: 

I had a conversation with a friend about halfway through the writing
 process that sums it up nicely. The conversation boiled down to this:
 Most if not all creative people undergo at least one major alienation 
experience in their formative years that permanently thrusts them off
 a mainstream path. Whether it's mental illness, psychedelic drugs, 
meditation, a wilderness encounter, or a traumatic event like the
 death of a friend, it causes you to see reality in a sharply different
 light and feel "apart" from society in some profound way. Another term
 for "alienation experience" might be "underworld journey." 

What I set out to do with WILD AWAKE was to show how one such 
underworld journey could take place—how a teen headed in a more or less mainstream direction could have her entire reality shaken in a 
terrible, but ultimately beautiful, way.



Q: What was your favorite part of the novel writing process? What was your least favorite?



A: My favorite part of the writing process is definitely line editing. I 
love poring over each sentence, tinkering with words—how the tiniest 
change can illuminate a sentence or revive a wilted paragraph.

The hardest part was despairing over the ending. There was a horrible 
month-long period where I started to wonder if I was even capable of
 finishing the book—I felt so ashamed, and so afraid. It wasn't that I
 couldn't write an ending—I wrote dozens—but there was something 
eluding me. Luckily, I have an editor with a knack for exuding supreme
 calm. Her quiet certainty that the right ending would bubble up in its 
own time was proved correct a few months later, when for no apparent
 reason, it did.



Q. Of the places you visited on your travels, which would make the 
best setting for a novel?



A: In Morocco, my boyfriend and I stumbled on a tiny village one day when
 we were were hiking around. It's not on the map and cannot be Googled, 
and the only outsiders who normally go there are surfers who keep its 
location a closely guarded secret. In recent years, a few of the 
village families have started renting rooms to surfers on an
 unofficial, bare-mattress-on-the-floor basis. We ended up staying with 
one of these families for a month. It reminded me very much of a
 Virkram Seth novel—"change comes to the village.” Here is this place 
where most families are still raising chickens and goats and getting 
their water from a communal well, but now some people are putting
 plastic chairs outside their houses to create "restaurants" or
 painting the word "Hotel" on their front wall. The village is very 
traditional, but now these "hotels" are harboring young Westerners who 
like to drink beer, smoke hash, engage in premarital romances, and do 
other un-Islamic things. Travelers also consume water and electricity,
 and create garbage—none of which the village was equipped to deal
 with. You could practically see the lines of tension forming—money and 
jobs on one hand, and the breakdown of the cultural and environmental 
ecosystem on the other. It's great novel material—conflict, drama,
 emotional impact, romance, tough questions...



Q. Favorite books of the year?



A: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain — I had never actually read Huck Finn—I know, I know—but I picked it up 
in Portugal because it was one of the only English-language books I
 could find, and fell in love.



The Way of Zen by Alan Watts — 

I tend to be high-strung and nervous. Alan Watts has a way of
 convincing me that everything is actually okay. *deep breath*



I and Thou by Martin Buber

 — Martin Buber is Techie Boyfriend's favorite philosopher. I and Thou is
 a surprisingly readable book about...well...existence?



Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell 

— Favorite YA read of the year! I howled with tears for hours after 
finishing it, which literally never happens.



Q: How will you spend book release day?



A: I don't even know which part of the country I'll be in on May 28th,
 but my fantasy book launch for WILD AWAKE would involve a midnight
 bike ride around Vancouver, followed by yam fries with miso gravy at 
the Naam, and perhaps a bonfire and skinny dipping at Wreck Beach.

Thank you, Hilary. I hope you get your WILD AWAKE dream date!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

ABOUT WILD AWAKE:

In Wild Awake, Hilary T. Smith’s exhilarating and heart-wrenching YA debut novel, seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd has big plans for her summer without parents. She intends to devote herself to her music and win the Battle of the Bands with her bandmate and best friend, Lukas. Perhaps then, in the excitement of victory, he will finally realize she’s the girl of his dreams.

But a phone call from a stranger shatters Kiri’s plans. He says he has her sister Suki’s stuff—her sister Suki, who died five years ago. This call throws Kiri into a spiral of chaos that opens old wounds and new mysteries.

Like If I Stay and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Wild Awake explores loss, love, and what it means to be alive.

Book Description

Things you earnestly believe will happen while your parents are away:

1. You will remember to water the azaleas.
2. You will take detailed, accurate messages.
3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest thing goes wrong.
4. You and your best friend/bandmate, Lukas, will win Battle of the Bands.
5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams.

Things that actually happen:

1. A stranger calls who says he knew your sister.
2. He says he has her stuff.
3. What stuff? Her stuff.
4. You tell him your parents won't be able to—
5. Sukey died five years ago; can't he—
6. You pick up a pen.
7. You scribble down the address.
8. You get on your bike and go.
9. Things . . . get a little crazy after that.*

*Also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas.

Both exhilarating and wrenching, Hilary T. Smith's debut novel captures the messy glory of being alive, as seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd discovers love, loss, chaos, and murder woven into a summer of music, madness, piercing heartbreak, and intoxicating joy.

Diana Peterfreund on Publishing, Prequels, and the Puzzle Pieces of a Post-Apocalyptic Persuasion

A few weeks ago, I treated myself to train fare and two nights in New York to attend the NYC Teen Authors Festival, which was awesome. Dozens of YA authors gathered for panels, readings and even theatrical interpretation! Among those featured was the lovely and talented Diana Peterfreund, author of eight novels including the Secret Society Girl series and the “killer unicorn novels” RAMPANT and ASCENDANT.

Diana Peterfreund

Diana gave a beautiful reading from her latest book, FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS, and I was hooked! I had a chance to read this post-apocalyptic retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion while on spring break with my daughter. Days later, the characters were still on my mind and I didn't quite feel like banishing them with a new read. So, I asked Diana if I could interview her. She said "absolutely!" And here we are...

Q: Diana, I'm always curious about how a kernel of an idea evolves and grows during the course of writing a book. Could you share a little bit about the journey you took with FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS, from that first little kernel to the novel it grew into?

A: Like many writers, I keep an "idea file" where I squirrel away all the fancies that come to mind. I'm a big fan of retellings, especially Austen retellings like Bridget Jones and Clueless. Since Persuasion is my favorite Austen, and also a really under-appreciated one, I had "write a Persuasion retelling" in there for years. I also had "write something post-apocalyptic" in there because it was one of my favorite kinds of books when I was a teen. One day, I was looking in the file and the two phrases combined in my head: "post apocalyptic Persuasion." Once it was there, I couldn't get it out, so from there it was about finding what would create a society that would form the backdrop to this timeless story. I went through lots and lots of ideas before I decided on the Reduction and the world of Luddites and Posts. Another big chunk of the puzzle fell into place when I was trying to consider how to make this story of reunited lovers work for teens -- so I made them childhood friends. And then another big piece was when I was trying to do justice to Captain Wentworth's beautiful letter to Anne, and I thought how making the story at least partially epistolary would make letters into an organic and integral part of the whole. 

Q: I'm enjoying the prequel to FDSTS you posted on your website. Can you tell us about the writing of it, and the decision to share it as a free PDF? (I'm interested in authors' use of free and additional content to develop their readership, and sustain interest between book releases in a series.)

A: I'm glad you like it! Providing free supplementary content is something I have always done for my books -- so seven and counting. I'm really glad that the trend has caught on in a big way. There's a whole series of "secret stories" on my website for my Secret Society Girl series. When Rampant came out, I made special websites filled with supplementary material and fun extras, and then later, I put up free short stories set in the world ("On a Field, Sable" and "Errant"). So this was just another opportunity. The PDF was my publisher's idea. They had it up on their site for a limited time. In addition to it being available from PDF on my site, you can also download it for free for your ereader from any platform: Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords... you name it. There is a connecting short story included in the back of the FDSTS paperback, and there will be a prequel available for ACROSS A STAR SWEPT SEA, as well. 

Q: How do you balance your writing with related activities and promotion (author appearances, Twitter, Facebook, blogging...)? 

A: Not very well! I definitely have to do a lot of reminding of myself that my main job is writing (for instance, I should be doing page proofs right now instead of answering these questions).

Q: If you were Queen of All Publishing, what would you change? (Would it be the way YA series are named, perhaps...?)

A: I have no problem with the way YA series are named. I have a problem with the insistence of one reader database, Goodreads, insisting that a) series must have a title and default to the title of the first book in that series, and b) that series must be numbered according to their system. Writers should not be forced to write according to Goodreads rules. In terms of publishing, I'd love to get rid of some of the dinosaur "slow to turn the boat around" policies on ebook pricing and scheduling. There are a lot of dynamic things being done with pricing and scheduling these days and I'd love it if NY got in the game. I'd also love it if we got a bit away from the blind following of trends, but it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle, especially since that seems to work so well with so many consumers. 

Q: Finally, your first novel SECRET SOCIETY GIRL was published in 2006. Looking back on your debut author experience, was there a particular moment, event or decision that influenced the direction of your writing career?

A: Well, the collapse of the chick lit market wasn't so fun. I was lucky enough to be able to finish my series and all my books are still in print, but a lot of my fellow chick lit writers were not so fortunate. There were a few years there where contemporary women's fiction was a really, really tough sell. (Another thing that seems to be changing, thank you, self pub trends!) I was lucky then that I was also writing YA. But beyond the obvious constrictions of what a publisher is willing to buy, I'm a writer that really follows my interests -- I am deeply fascinated by the topics of all my books, as my extensive collection of unicorn paraphernalia and Austen editions proves. 

Thank you, Diana! And readers... here's more on FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS:

For Darkness Shows the Stars

Generations ago, a genetic experiment gone wrong—the Reduction—decimated humanity, giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology. Eighteen-year-old Luddite Elliot North has always known her place in this caste system. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. But now the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress and threatening Luddite control; Elliot’s estate is floundering; and she’s forced to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliott wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she abandoned him.

But Elliot soon discovers her childhood friend carries a secret—one that could change the society in which they live…or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she has lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen’s PERSUASION, FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

Three Quick Questions for Elsie Chapman (DUALED)

Newsflash! I have discovered that busy authors don't always have time to do in-depth blog interviews (surprise, surprise). But they also hate to say no to opportunities to connect with new readers. So, I've come up with solution makes everyone happy (I hope): Three Quick Questions, a mini interview! 

Elsie Chapman

My first guest is Elsie Chapman. Her debut novel, DUALED, was published on February 26 by Random House Books for Young Readers. A sequel, DIVIDED, will be released in February 2014.

Q: Hi, Elsie! How did you spend the release day for DUALED? 

A: I spent the morning catching up on twitter and tumblr, actually! The publication process is a long one, and you end up making a lot of friends during the course of it. And release day isn't really about you as it is about your book! So it's nice to just spend some time talking to the fellow authors and bloggers who have supported you, to say thanks for the congrats and for loving your work. Then in the afternoon, my daughter had a Science Jam event at the mall, which was actually great because it forced me to go offline for a bit. After that, my in-laws met up with us and had me sign their copies of DUALED. It was a very good day.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: A brand new book idea! I'm very excited about it :)

Q: What are the last three YA novels you read and loved?

A: I haven't been able to read anything in months, but I can tell you the last three YA I bought: Ellen Oh's PROPHECY, Kasie West's PIVOT POINT, and Megan Shepherd's THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER. I read these a while ago in either ARC or ms form, and I absolutely loved them. 

Thank you, Elsie!

DUALED by Elsie Chapman

Two of you exist. Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

Elsie Chapman’s suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE Author Joanne Levy on the "awesome whirlwind" of publishing

Welcome to YA Q&A, today featuring Joanne Levy. Joanne's debut novel, SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE, was published by Bloomsbury in July 2012. It's the story of twelve-year-old Lilah Bloom, who is struck by lightening and develops a new talent: she can hear dead people. Among them, there’s her over-opinionated Bubby Dora; a prissy fashion designer; and an approval-seeking clown who livens up a séance. With Bubby Dora leading the way, these and other sweetly imperfect ghosts haunt Lilah through seventh grade, and help her face her one big fear: talking to—and possibly going to the seventh-grade dance with—her crush, Andrew Finkel.

Joanne has kindly agreed to answer a few questions about her writing and publishing experiences. So I'll jump right in!

Q: Joanne, you won a number of writing contests prior to your debut novel's publication, including RWA Chick Lit and Backspace contests. Can you tell us about those contests, how they helped you on your path to publishing?

Joanne Levy

A: The contests didn’t have a direct effect on my getting published, but they did help me with my craft along the way. They taught me important lessons about writing great, hooky beginnings (because that’s generally all you can submit for contests) and also what it’s like to wait for feedback. Waiting is hard and getting feedback can be hard and very scary, especially for newbies, so I think entering contests is a great way to start out and get used to the anxiety of these terrifying, but unavoidable realities of publishing. Usually the judges are kind, but honest and they aren’t your mom. In other words, they’re not going to tell you your work is perfect and they love you and why don’t you come over for dinner Sunday—contest judges will give you useful feedback, which is what you need if you’re serious about getting published. And contests are a great way to get objective feedback before you send to agents and editors—many writers (myself included) send out their early work too soon and contests are a great buffer, especially if you get agent/editor judges to give feedback. And you never know—an agent or editor might just request after reading your work.

Q: SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE is one of my favorite book titles ever. So clever and descriptive. I find titles to be one of the most challenging aspects of writing. Did yours come to you easily? In a dream? After many months of "meh" titles? Or in collaboration with your publisher? Tell us your title story! 

A: Thank you! I actually woke up with this title in my head one day. I was working on other projects at the time, so I put it aside for a while, but it nagged at me for about a year until I figured I’d better write the book. I wish all other titles have been so easy, but typically, they come to me through writing the story.

Q: Now that your "baby" has been out there in the world for a few months, can you tell us what your debut author experience has been like? 

A: It has been a whirlwind! But an awesome whirlwind. My launch was like a second wedding, but without the expensive dress! I had a great time and for only the second time, I enjoyed being the center of attention (as a somewhat shy introvert, I try to hug the walls at most parties, if I can bring myself to attend at all). So far, the feedback on my book has been wonderful—it got good reviews from the trades and most recently was named as a Sydney Taylor Notable Book by the Association of Jewish Libraries. That was quite an honor which my mother was VERY happy about. But even more amazing is the feedback from kids. I actually just received a package of artwork from a class, each piece depicting the student’s favourite scene in the book. How cool is that? And I especially love that their favorite scenes are mine, too. That tells me I’m doing something right. And on a different level, this past year has been amazing for me because it’s made me stretch and grow as a human. I’ve done things I never would have dreamed of doing before, like public speaking, making videos of myself singing (I am NOT a good singer) and doing other ridiculous things. In my efforts to get the word out about me and my book, I say yes to just about everything I’m asked to do, and in the end, I’m a better person for all the scary things I’ve done. Also, I’ve met a ton of amazing people along the way that I now count as friends, so I have to say the experience of being published has been so much more than having a book on bookstore shelves. It really has been a dream come true in more ways than I could have imagined (with some nightmarish moments—not every part of it has been a bowl of cherries, but the good has far outweighed the bad).

Q: What's your writing process like, and what are you working on now?

A: My writing process is very linear and simple. I sit down and write a story pretty much from beginning to end. I almost never outline or draw up character sketeches, because for me, the joy of writing is in the drafting. That’s where I learn who the characters are, what they want/need and where they need to go to get it and also the challenges and pitfalls they’ll face along the way. Of course this means a lot of editing is required to fix details and layer stuff in later, but it’s the best (and most enjoyable, because if I’m not enjoying myself, why on earth would I do this?) way for me to work. I have a day job, so I do most of my writing in big chunks on the weekends. Some evenings I edit, but I need sizable time slots to get into a creative groove. As for what I’m working on now, I’ve just finished the first draft of a sweet and funny MG summer camp book that I think will be a good follow up to SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE and am digging into the edits as soon as I finish this interview!

Q: Saving the big question for last. I was absolutely blown away by your effort, along with Kate Messner, on the KidLit Cares fundraiser for Superstorm Sandy relief. You raised more than $60,000! Can you tell us a little bit about that experience and how the KidLit community came together? I was particularly awed to see some of the author/agent/editor victims of the storm donating their time as well, even as they were without power and heat! 

A: The KidLit Cares effort was amazing in so many ways! I am in amazed by Kate who is involved in so much (on top of writing and having a family!), but still finds time for more projects, including important ones like this. She was so quick to respond to the need and got the ball rolling with some amazing talent auctions just days after Sandy hit. When I saw what she was doing, I really wanted to help; I’m an executive assistant by day, so I’m organized and good with putting things together, so it was a natural thing for me to help with the auctions. I asked Kate what I could do and she said she had too much on her plate to continue after round one and would I be interested in taking over for a round two. It didn’t take much convincing on her part since it seemed like a great way to raise funds quickly and do something I enjoy doing anyway.

I, too was awed by how many people came forward to donate their time/expertise/artwork in the efforts--so much that even with 71 auctions (just for my round!) I had to start turning people away. It was a win/win/win situation where much-needed money was raised, people got great stuff from the auctions, and I think everyone felt great about the efforts. I myself made great contacts with industry people and was able to connect with Kate on a new level and we even had the chance to get together (and meet for the first time) at NCTE in Las Vegas, which was a true highlight. So although it was a huge amount of time and work, I got way more out of the experience than I put in. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, though I think I’d take time off work and completely clear my schedule first!

Thank you, Joanne (for answering my questions and for all that you do!). Keep us posted on the new book!

Author/Librarian Megan Frazer Blakemore on writing, reviews, and how kids choose books

First interview of 2013! Say hello to Megan Frazer Blakemore, author of the Young Adult novel SECRETS OF TRUTH & BEAUTY (Disney-Hyperion, July 2009) and a new Middle Grade novel, THE WATER CASTLE (Walker Books for Young Readers, January 2013). Megan lives in Maine where she's a school librarian by day and writer by night. You can learn more about her on her website or Facebook page. 

Q: Hi, Megan! Can you briefly tell us about your path to publishing? How long were you writing before your debut in 2009, and how did you find your agent and/or publisher?

Megan Frazer Blakemore

A: This is a complicated to answer. I knew I wanted to be a writer in 6th grade, and I pursued it diligently through college. Interestingly, I started the writing program at my college wanting to write YA, but was subtly discouraged. So, I was writing for adults, but nearly every story or novel had teenage characters. I was at the stage of getting a lot of positive rejections from magazines for my stories, and agents for a novel. Someone in the business suggested I try writing YA, and I started by trying to rework part of a long, messy manuscript that included flashbacks to the teen years -- essentially pulling out the past and restructuring it into a standalone novel. While doing that, I had the idea for Secrets of Truth & Beauty. Here's where things pick up in pace (this is about 8 years post college). I wrote and revised that novel quickly, and then started sending it to agents (within a year!). I always tell people the best way to make it through an agent search is to simultaneously be planning a wedding. It kept me from checking my email every five minutes. I used AgentQuery to find suitable matches. I sent out five query letters at a time. If I got a rejection, I sent a new one. My agent, Sara Crowe, was in that first set of five, and she actually called the Thursday before my wedding. We revised together, and she sent it out to publishers. This was in late 2007, so before things went really sour in the economy. It sold quickly and I was on my way. Like a lot of writers, I thought that meant things would be easy from then on out, but I really struggled to find a second successful project. That project is a middle grade, The Water Castle, which came out earlier this month from Walker Books.

Q: You also work as a high school librarian, which I imagine gives you some helpful insights into how teens choose and read books. For instance, how much are teens influenced by their peers? How important is a book's cover? Librarian recommendation? Other factors we may find surprising?

A: I worked as a high school librarian for seven years, and now I am in a middle school. For both groups, you've hit upon the biggies: peer recommendations (or perceived popularity of a book), cover, and librarian and teacher recommendations. Actually the other day I had a group of kids looking for books, and one boy said, "Don't judge a book by it's cover!" And a girl responded, "Why not? That's what it's there for. They design it to tell you what the book is about." So, yes, cover matters. Kids tend to pick up based on cover, then they read the description on back. Honestly, if I know one student has read a book, and I'm trying to recommend it to a second, I ask the first to describe the book to the second because I think peer to peer recommendations carry more weight. Another interesting piece is book trailers. My fifth graders love, love, love making them, and if I show them a trailer for a book, it gets them excited to read it, but I haven't yet seen them seek out the trailers on their own. So, if you make a trailer, you need to think about how you're going to get it in front of your audience.

Q: How has your work as a librarian informed your own writing?

A: The biggest benefit of working with kids and teens is that when I am writing about them, I can't underestimate them. Plus, I see their multitudes, as it were. The Water Castle tackles some fairly complex topics in terms of science and big life questions like, if you could live forever, would you? I never doubted that kids could handle this material because every day I go to work with smart kids who are looking to grapple with just this sort of thing.

Q: You write both YA and MG. How does your approach to the two differ?

A: The Water Castle actually started out as a YA with sort of magical elements, but I couldn't make it work. As I kept pecking at it, I realized the characters needed to be younger, and that opened it up to me. The initial writing process is probably the same -- I don't outline, I know where I want to end up and a vague idea of how I want to get there, and then I just write, write, write. I find revising MG easier than YA and that, for me, mostly has to do with length. When I'm revising my YA novels -- as I'm doing right now -- I feel like Mother Ginger in the Nutcracker trying to get all the kids back under her skirt. It's a lot of work to bring all the strands together. I use Srivener, and the outlining feature has saved me on more than one occasion.

Q: THE WATER CASTLE received a starred review from Kirkus. I've always wondered how that coveted star affects a book's success. Does it help in marketing and sales efforts? How important are favorable advance reviews?

A: I am so grateful for the starred review from Kirkus. I also was able to do an interview with Vicky Smith, children's book editor. That kind of support is really helpful, especially in the library community. The star went straight onto the back of the book, so certainly it helps with marketing. As for advance reviews, maybe that depends on the kind of book, but I think books can still build a slow buzz. It doesn't need to be a big splash.

Q: What are you working on now/next?

A: My next MG will be published in 2014, also by Walker. It doesn't have a title yet. It's set during the height of the Red Scare and it's about a girl, Hazel Kaplansky, whose family runs the town graveyard. She becomes convinced that the new gravedigger is a Soviet spy, and enlists Samuel, the new boy in town with his own secret history, to help her to prove it. As I mentioned above, I'm also revising a YA that I hope to send to my agent for feedback in the next week or two.

Thank you, Megan! The historical aspects of your MG novels sound fascinating... can't wait to check them out and I know my kids will love them, too. (And I'm very curious to see what the new YA is about... keep me posted!)

Sarah Tregay looks back on a year of LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, her debut novel in verse

Welcome to YA Q&A! Today's featured author is Sarah Tregay, whose debut novel, LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, was published by Katherine Tegen Books in December... of 2011. Yes, Sarah's book has been out there in the world for a whole year (hanging out on the YA shelves, cuddling up with readers, feelin' the love...). She's been kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about her work, and share some insights into her past year. 

Q: Hey, Sarah! Tell us a little bit about your journey as a writer... how long have you been writing, what have you written, and how did you find your way to the wonderful world of YA? 

A: I was one of those teens who scribbled her heart out in spiral-bound notebooks, but I knew that writing fiction wasn’t a practical career. So I went to college and majored in graphic design. Many years later, I started dabbling with writing again. There was no doubt in my mind that I’d write YA—I never did make it to the adult section of the library because I stopped reading for fun when I started college. And when I started reading again? I felt at home in YA—right where I left off.

I wrote five manuscripts in four years and submitted them to agents without success, collecting a binder of rejection letters. In 2007, I got to a point where I either needed to change how I wrote or I needed to find a new hobby. I decided to try my next project in verse. That project turned into LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, which was sold in 2010 and published in December 2011.

Sarah Tregay

Q: I love novels in verse, and am curious about the writing process. How do you know when a story is best suited to be told in verse? What special challenges do you face in a verse novel, and what are some of the advantages?

A: Verse novels feel most natural when there is a reason for the format. For example, HOME OF THE BRAVE’s main character is learning English so the short-lined poems fit his knowledge of the language. In MAY B. and THE WILD BOOK, we have characters who struggle with dyslexia. Perhaps the most common connection is characters who are learning about poetry in English class, such as in LOVE THAT DOG and SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP. In LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, Marcie writes poems in her blue notebook and the notebook becomes part of the plot. These connections between format and story make them inseparable.

Verse novels can be challenging because you can’t dwell on setting, transitions, and long passages of dialog, yet you don’t want the piece to feel too jumpy. You have to rely on small clues to keep your readers up-to-date. Sometimes passage of time was boiled down to a title of a poem, for example, “On Saturday.”

The advantages to writing a verse novel are in the editing phase. If your editor asks for more information about character A, you can add a poem. Less about character B, delete one. If your plot is too slow, delete a few poems and it speeds up. And best of all, you can re-arrange poems without much rewriting.

Q: Tell us about your experience over the past year - with the release, promotion, etc., and how you keep that all going while working on whatever comes next?

A: Prior to the release, my publisher did a great job of sending out advanced readers copies and getting reviews, but other than that they didn’t do a whole lot to promote my book. So to keep things one step shy of crazy, I worked on promotions and in-person events every other month instead of 24/7.

LOVE AND LEFTOVERS was my debut novel, so I joined up with the Apocalypsies and the Class of 2k12 for shared promotional opportunities. Some of us got together in New York City during Book Expo America and held events at the convention center and bookstores around the city.

A little closer to home, I reached out to my local independent bookseller whose customer base included school librarians. Together we contacted them, offering a free lunchtime author visit if the school bought copies of LOVE AND LEFTOVERS. These visits worked fit into my 9 to 5 day job, and best of all, I didn’t have to prepare a big presentation for large groups of students.

I worked with Teen Book Scene to do a blog tour of author interviews and book reviews. Because I don’t blog (I can never think of a topic to write about) or tweet (ditto), this and interviews on other blogs were my focus for online promotions. I do have a Facebook page www.facebook.com/sarahtregaybooks and a website www.sarahtregay.com.

Q: Do you work with critique partners? If so, where did you find each other, how do you work together, and how important are they to your writing/revising process?

A: Yes, I love to work with critique partners. The two groups that I am in now meet face-to-face. They were both created by getting the word out in the local writing community.

We work together by submitting work before we meet, along with a note about what we are looking for critique-wise, such as big picture or character development. Then we get together at a restaurant and discuss the writing. The discussions often weigh the pros and cons of certain ideas, helping me navigate through my manuscript.

Before I had an agent, my critique partners were essential. Now that I’m working with an agent who edits and an editor, they aren’t as necessary—but they still add value to my writing process.

Q: What are you working on now/next? 

A: I have a YA novel under contract and I am working on revisions with my editor. The working title is FAN ART, and it is scheduled for 2014. It’s about a high school senior who hijacks his school’s literary magazine, and in the process, he ends up outing himself. Sadly, it isn’t in verse. The original short story was written in poems, but when HarperCollins expressed interest in seeing it as a novel they asked for it to be in prose. So I’m trying to sneak a little poetry and a graphic short story between the chapters—we’ll see if that flies.

Thank you, Sarah! And for those interested reading other verse novels, check out the great list Sarah has compiled of novels and short stories in verse for adults, teens and middle grade readers, right here!

Maureen McGowan on the long road to publishing and how contests can help

Maureen McGowan

Look who's here! It's Maureen McGowan, author of DEVIANTS (Amazon Children's Books, Oct. 30), the first book in a brand new post-apocalyptic trilogy called THE DUST CHRONICLES. Maureen also penned CINDERELLA: NINJA WARRIOR and SLEEPING BEAUTY: VAMPIRE SLAYER (both published by Silver Dolphin Books, April 2011). 

If you want to hang out with Maureen a bit more after this interview, you can visit her website here and her blog here. You'll also find her talking about books, movies and storytelling with some of her writer friends, over here. 

So, here goes!

Q: Hi Maureen, tell us about your path to publishing... when did you start writing YA, where did your writing journey take you, and how did you find your agent/publisher?

A: How long do we have?  My publication story is long and twisty and would take several pages to tell in full. Let’s just say I wrote seven or eight manuscripts in four genres, had two agents, and had a publisher close before releasing 2 contracted books for which they hadn’t paid me, all before I got my contract for DEVIANTS. 

But the short answer to your question is that I got my current agent the old fashioned way. I sent a query. Actually I sent four queries to my fantasy four agent list, and one of those was to Catherine Drayton of Inkwell Management. (Her clients include Markus Zuzak, Nathan Bransford and Becca Fitzpatrick.) After reading my query and sample pages, Catherine referred me to another agent at her agency, Charlie Olsen, who reps Andrea Cremer, among others. 

Charlie loved the manuscript and I signed with him less than a week after sending him the full and we started submitting to editors a week after that. The market for post-apocalyptic and dystopian set YA was tightening up at the time, but we got three book deal within a few months. The tough part was that I wasn’t allowed to talk about the deal for another 8-9 months after that! Mostly because the deal it was with Amazon Publishing, who were just starting up when they made the offer and their plans for YA were not yet firm. They actually first discussed publishing my book under their sci-fi imprint which also had not been announced at the time.

Once things got moving, I love how quickly Amazon got DEVIANTS to the market and they did a beautiful job of the hardcover! The second book in the series, COMPLIANCE, comes out May 21, 2013, and—assuming I finish it soon!—the third book, GLORY, will come out in late 2013 or early 2014. 

Q: Your first two YA novels were fairytale adventures (with badass heroines who still get their handsome princes!). You've gone in an entirely different direction with DEVIANTS, a post-apocolyptic sci-fi thriller. Can you tell us how your writing has changed between the earlier project and the new one, and why you chose to move in this new direction? 

A: All of my published books have a lot of action and strong heroines. I also think all three have solid worldbuilding, fast pacing and all are packed with tons of conflict and tension. But the main difference with DEVIANTS is that the Twisted Tales books had to appeal to readers as young as nine! The original publisher for that series, hoped to straddle the middle grade and YA markets, and so those books are a tad more juvenile that I would have written them if I’d had free rein. (I had some awesomely dark ideas for Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer, but couldn’t really go there.)

I feel that with DEVIANTS I didn’t have to hold back at all. I just told the story I wanted to tell. In fact, other than the lack of swearing and sex, I’d say there’s not a huge difference between my voice/storytelling style in DEVIANTS versus the adult projects I’ve written. 

That’s what I love about YA these days. They may be about teens, but they’re not necessarily just for teen readers.

Q: You were a finalist in the Golden Heart® competition and the inaugural Amazon Breakout Novel Competition. Can you tell us about these competitions, your decision to participate, and how they helped launch your YA novels?

A: I think the Golden Heart is a great contest—if you final.  It’s the RWA’s main competition for unpublished work and gets about 1200 entries, of which only 70-80 final (across various categories—up to 9 finalists in each.) If you final, it certainly makes the RWA National conference experience fun. The awards night is like the Oscars—2000 people in the audience, fancy gowns and a big production. It’s during the same ceremony when they announce the RITAs, the awards for the top romance novels of the year. Unfortunately, they’ve changed the rules this year so that the YA titles need to have a central love story (versus the romance being only a sub plot) so unfortunately, a most YA titles won’t be eligible anymore.

The Amazon Breakout Novel Awards (ABNA) is a competition run by Amazon and the finals are judged by Penguin editors. (Or were the year that I entered.) The top prize the year I entered was a $25,000 advance from Penguin and there were several rounds of competition. Depending on how far you got in the competition, you got reviews from the general public and from Publishers Weekly. 

I personally would only advise someone to enter the ABNA with a project that had been thoroughly “shopped out” the traditional way, before the entry date, because the manuscript will be tied up for the months that the contest is ongoing. That is, you can’t submit it anywhere during that time. For me, entering was one last shot for one of my manuscripts, and I had the blessing of my former agent to enter.

I was part of the first year for that contest, and it’s changed a bit now, but for me, the biggest benefit was learning how to deal with reviews. Years before I had anything published, I’d dealt with reading negative (and positive) reviews from strangers.

That contest was also great because it gave a chance for published author acquaintances of mine to actually read some of my work. That helped me build connections that led to referrals to agents, great advice, etc. 

It was an encouraging experience for me. I had authors contact me saying they couldn’t believe I hadn’t been published yet. And that was early 2008. (It took another 2 ½ years after that to get my write for hire contract, and another 18 months after that to get a more traditional advance-paying contract.)

Q: I saw other authors tweeting about your release party for DEVIANTS, and I know you're active online with blogs and web presence, twitter, etc. How much time do you put into these and other networking and promotional efforts? 

A:  Lately, too much! And not enough at the same time... I feel like there are so many things I wanted to do before my release that I never got time to do. It’s so hard to get the word out about your novel. I’d like to find a balance where I spend no more than an hour or two on promotion and social networking each day, but would be lying if I said I stuck to that now.

Q: What is your writing process? How do you approach a new project (research, outlining, plotting, pantsing... what's your style?)?

A: New ideas usually percolate for a long time with me. At some point, I’ll discuss an idea with my critique partners and then start to develop it more. My ideas don’t always spark in the same way. Sometimes it will be a premise, sometimes a world, sometimes a character. And with DEVIANTS, I actually melded at least three different ideas together. It was magic to realize that I didn’t need to choose between 3 story ideas, but could combine bits of them. 

If I’m not forced to write a synopsis first, I usually only plan the bare bones. Not because I don’t find more detailed planning useful, more that I’m too impatient. I believe that to end up with a strong, tightly plotted and well-formed story with great motivations and character arcs, you need to put in the heavy planning or analysis work at some point... whether it’s up front, while you’re drafting, or while re-writing. I personally believe it’s most efficient to put that time in planning, but it doesn’t always work that way for me. Every project tends to be different. 

Q: What are you working on now/next?

A:  COMPLIANCE, Book 2 of The Dust Chronicles, comes out May 21, 2013. I’m working on my line edits at the moment. Then I need to finish the third book in the trilogy, tentatively called GLORY, as soon as possible!

After that, I’m not sure. I’m in the development stage with another YA series and I’m also hoping that my women’s fiction projects might see the light of day sometime soon... We’ll see.

Thank you, Maureen! 

_____________

And for those who are curious about THE DUST CHRONICLES, here's a little teaser on DEVIANTS: 

DEVIANTS by Maureen McGowan

In a post-apocalyptic world, where the earth is buried by asteroid dust that’s mutated the DNA of some humans, orphaned, sixteen-year-old Glory must hide and protect her younger brother. If their Deviant abilities are discovered, they’ll be expunged—kicked out of the dome to be tortured and killed by the Shredders. Glory would give anything to get rid of her unique ability to kill with her emotions, especially when Cal, the boy she’s always liked, becomes a spy for the authorities. But when her brother is discovered, and she learns their father, who was expunged for killing their mother, is still alive, she must escape the domed city that’s been her entire world.

Outside in the ruins, they’re pursued by the authorities and by sadistic, scab-covered Shredders who are addicted to the lethal-to-humans dust now covering the planet. Glory’s quests to transport herself and her brother to safety make up the thrilling and fascinating first volume of The Dust Chronicles.

 It's on sale now... here, here and here! 

LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP Author Amy McNamara finds inspiration in words, motion and images

It's election day, and I considered holding this interview… but I can't wait to share it! I've been waiting since December 2010, believe it or not! That's when Amy first told me about her book and I put her on my "authors to be interviewed" list. At the time, Fall 2012 seemed sooooo far away. But here it is, and I could not be happier to see Amy's book out in the world. On bookshelves! 

Amy McNamara

Anyway, if you're like me, you'll be wanting a pleasant distraction from today's polling news. Right? (But first, GO VOTE!) So, here she is: Amy McNamara, author of LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP (Simon & Schuster books for Young Readers, Oct. 16, 2012). Amy holds a B.A. in French literature and an MFA in poetry. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her "honey" and two kids. You will often find her with camera in hand, documenting her city for pay and for pleasure. 

Though without heat and electricity for many days following Superstorm Sandy, Amy found time to answer a few questions. 

Q: Hi Amy! Every author I've interviewed has followed a unique path to publishing, and I'm curious to learn about yours! You studied French literature and poetry... how did that lead you to YA? 

A: I fell into it by accident. I wrote the novel during a period in which I wasn’t writing poems. Those are always hard, the fallow times of not writing. Then one morning I woke up with the opening scene in my head. I put it on the page.

Why is Wren a teenager? I think because that’s a time where life is full of transitions and decisions and moments that really begin to form who you become. You’re still mostly free to feel however you feel because you’re largely only responsible for yourself.

Q: What was the experience of writing your debut novel like? And can you also share the story of finding your agent/publisher?

A: I was lucky. Wren and her story kind of rushed through me. I never felt stuck or wondered what was next. I don’t recall dreaming it up, it was just there. I completed the first draft in a little under three months, and revised it another three months after that. At that point I was doing it for the joy of making something. Initially I had no intention of sending it into the world. I was telling myself a story. It needed a lot of work after the first pass. It’s not easy to sustain a narrative about someone who is trying to shut down. But feeling like that happens for some people and it seemed like a story worth telling.

My experience finding my agent (Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger) was also charmed. I spent about a month (felt like it at least) on my query letter, then sent it out into the world. Sara was a critical, passionate reader and gave me good advice. I am so lucky to be in her hands.

After I revised the novel with her, Sara went out with it. A few months later we had a deal with Alexandra Cooper at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. I was thrilled. I knew finding a home for a story about a deeply sad and stuck person who wasn’t supernatural in any way might be tough. I celebrated for a month, solid.

Q: The cover of LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP is lovely, indeed. Since you are a photographer as well as novelist and poet, were you able to give input into what image they would use? Did it capture the feeling of the novel as you'd hoped? 

A: I was incredibly fortunate to work with Lizzy Bromley. Lizzy is an artist (check out some of her other covers - Laurie Halse Anderson’s Chains and Forge, or Nora Baskin’s Anything But Typical) and I owe the many compliments I’ve had on the cover design to her.

For a while I imagined trying to shoot a cover image myself, but I didn’t make that request partly because I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off—shoot something that felt right—but mostly because book designers know what they’re doing, and I don’t. My instinct would have been to make it dark, a blurred photo of a girl running in a woods or something else equally literal. As you can see, my cover’s neither dark nor blurry. Thank heavens. That would have been utterly unremarkable. The cover design process is really the book’s first step into the larger world. By that point, the author’s job is largely done.

Q: The title, LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP comes from the Robert Frost poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." How did poetry... of others as well as your own... affect the writing of this novel? 

A: Yes, that’s right. I memorized that poem in eighth grade and the marvelous dark quiet and rhythm of it have never left me. I wrote this book a few months after losing a friend. I read poems like I was begging them to make some kind of connection between us again. That meant reading and rereading the work of Philip Larkin, who was one of her favorites.

I suppose writing poems for so long has made me more attentive to the sound of language, to how words work in concert to influence larger meaning.

Q: You have two kids, a hubby, and many outlets for your creativity. I'm guessing there is no such thing as a typical day... but I'm curious what your writing process is like. How do you get your ideas and inspiration onto the page?

A: Before I wrote this novel, my process included going for a run in the morning without listening to anything. I find motion to be really fertile in terms of listening for language that I might follow. I also read everything. Poems, novels, art criticism, picture books, magazines, cook books, shampoo bottles, anything I can get my hands on. Then I try to fill a lot of pages with whatever shows up. You never know what’s going to turn into something. I’m a natural night owl, but family life means that I need to work in the earlier part of the day. When I don’t feel like reading or writing, I’ll walk around with my camera or make strange pieces of mail to send to friends. I am talentless for drawing or painting, but I love image, so I try to make things with images.

Q: What are you working on now? Will we see more YA fiction from you sometime soon?

A: That’s a good question. I hope so, but I don’t know, to be honest. I wrote a draft of another novel, but it’s not working. I’ve tucked it away for now. I’m in a period of not-writing at the moment which is always a little excruciating. I’ve been here many times before and at this point I know to just shut up and trust that something will come to me another day. I find every time I try to force anything in life, it fails. Better to let go a little and trust something will come again. I’m reading a lot and before Hurricane Sandy was going to look at a lot of art. I’m also doing corporate writing-for-hire jobs that fill my time and more importantly help pay the bills.

Thank you, Amy! I'm inspired by your approach to writing, and to stimulating your creativity in so many different ways. 

_________________

About Amy's Book:

LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP

Since the night of the crash, Wren Wells has been running away. Though she lived through the accident that killed her boyfriend Patrick, the girl she used to be didn’t survive. Instead of heading off to college as planned, Wren retreats to her father’s studio in the far-north woods of Maine. Somehwere she can be alone.

Then she meets Cal Owen. Dealing with his own troubles, Cal’s hiding out too. When the chemistry between them threatens to pull Wren from her hard-won isolation, Wren has to choose: risk opening her broken heart to the world again, or join the ghosts who haunt her.

You can buy it here, here, and here! (And, of course, at your local bookstore. Here's mine. It's are tiny with a small YA section but they always order up whatever I request and have it there within a couple of days!)