A Couple of Things and a Book Review of The Summer of Hammers and Angels

 "I can't understand why a person will take a year to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars." ~ Fred Allen

I’m old enough to remember Fred Allen, so thought I’d pass this little quote along. It made me smile. And wonder about my sanity just a little.

I also have a couple of little gifts for the writers among my readers. The first is an interesting blog about not blogging. Not kidding. It’s an thought-provoking read. http://blog.liviablackburne.com/2011/07/author-blogging-youre-doing-it-wrong.html The second is a site that has a wealth of information for writers. Check out her blogroll and categories on the right-hand side. Wow. This is definitely worth bookmarking and checking often. http://www.annemini.com/

Now to the meat of the blog post this time. I had an email from an author recently who asked if I might read her new book and possibly review it on my blog. Since I hope people will do the same for me someday soon, I’m always happy to take a look. It’s a risk, because not every book published is a great read. I’m happy to say, in this case, I had a fun time reading the book and have lots of nice things to say about it.

The book is The Summer of Hammers and Angels. The author, Shannon Wiersbitzky, had the good fortune to work with über editor Steven Roxburgh on this book, and it shows. It is a tight little page-turner of a coming-of-age novel with one of the strongest voices I’ve run across in a long time.

Young Delia, living in the small town of Tucker’s Ferry, West Virginia, is the only child of  her single mother who works as a waitress at the local diner. Mama isn’t much of a housekeeper and certainly not a home-repair maven. The house is pretty much falling down around their ears. A home inspector shows up unexpectedly and serves them with notice that if a long list of things isn’t fixed and soon, he will have no choice but to condemn the place. Incidentally, he doesn’t seem to mind that he has no choice.

Needless to say, Mama is furious. That night, a storm of equal ferocity comes to town. Lightning strikes the house, and Delia finds her mother unconscious with burns on her hand. A small fire has started, and Delia can’t move her mother or get her to wake up. Delia runs to the Parkers’ house next door to find help. Thus begins a long, long journey for young Delia.

The Parkers are good people who take Delia in. The only problem is her nemesis, Tommy Parker, is their son. We are never told the exact age of these children, but one must guess it is somewhere around ten or eleven, a time when boys and girls gag at the very thought of each other. This, of course, sets up a strong secondary conflict in the book.

Shannon Wiersbitzky

Delia calls on her best friend, Mae, to help her fix her house while Mama lingers in an unconscious state at the local hospital. These two young girls are resourceful and bring great energy to the project. They take on odd jobs to earn money for the materials needed, and we meet some of the interesting people in Tucker's Ferry. But the reality is, the girls know little about fixing anything. Tommy Parker shows up and, it turns out, he has mad skills at fixing things. The children get to work and make some real progress. Tommy gets a little full of himself, drags a ladder from his house, and, over the protests of the girls, climbs to the roof to take a look around. You know this can’t be good. But I don’t want to ruin anything for you, so let’s just say things get worse before they have any chance of getting better.

Delia learns much about herself and the people around her as she trudges through this troubling summer. She is an engaging character, one the reader will be rooting for the entire way through this charming story. Delia’s telling of this story in her own words is absolutely convincing. You will hear her Southern twang clearly in your head and recognize the thoughts and feelings of a young girl from a small town on a mission from which no one can deter her. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. Take a little trip to Tucker’s Ferry, West Virginia and enjoy the summer of Delia’s dilemma. Let her introduce you to the quirky characters in her hometown and tell you the story herself.

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A Magical Highlights Retreat

It has been a while since I’ve posted, but I’ve been away at a writer’s retreat and have been far too busy to blog –in a good way.

First, some news – I want to announce I had a poem (one that I really think is a rhyming picture book) called The Monster Hairy Brown, chosen to be included in an anthology called Fifty Funny Poems for Children to be published in England next year. I guess that will make me an internationally published author!

Last week, I flew to New York and was picked up at the airport by a driver for Highlights Magazine, the wonderful Pam Box, and whisked away to Boyds Mills, Pennsylvania, to the original homestead of the founders of the magazine. This is a magical place. I have attended two workshops and two writer’s retreats there. You can read about one of the workshops by clicking here. I always make great progress in my writing and learn a great deal when there. This time I spent a week with six other writers and Carolyn Yoder, editor and teacher extraordinaire. Five of us were in a similar retreat last year and all intend to be in another such next summer. In fact, I think all are already signed up. I know I am.

Each of us had our own little cabin with good work space and lots of quiet time. The people from the Highlights Foundation treat us like royalty. They pick us up when we arrive from whatever airport we get to. If you come from the west coast as I do, they are happy to have you come in a day early and, if necessary, leave a day late. No extra charge. The meals are spectacular – always made with fresh, local ingredients and great imagination. When I say great food, I’m not foolin’. Even the oatmeal is the best I’ve ever had!

Each day we came together for meals and cocktails. We each had one-on-one time with Carolyn every day but one as well. No kidding! Every day. Everyone came with work in progress and many of us started new projects while we were there. It was such a collaborative effort. Supper every evening was followed by a critique session. When we read our latest version or chapter or story, we received lots of kudos and helpful suggestions. Everyone there was a published author – some more than others – trying to improve their craft.

I spent most of my time working on two projects – my middle-grade historical novel, The Incredible Journey of Freddy J. and an article for possible submission to Highlights called The Princess Who Wouldn’t Take “No”. I made a LOT of progress on my novel and…Tah Tah Ta Dah…Carolyn took my article to Highlights for submission. That means she liked it and I’m over a big hurdle with it. Fingers crossed!! She also mentioned to someone that I had sold my article on FDR to Highlights! She submitted that last year, then asked for a rewrite. I think there is still one more person who has to give it the thumbs up, but it is looking very good for both articles.

I also started a new picture book. It’s an idea I’ve been kicking around for awhile and have completed some research , but had kind of gotten stuck. Besides getting great help from Carolyn, one of the attendees was particularly helpful to me. Lois Huey, an archaeologist and writer with lots of notches on her writing belt and who was at the retreat last year, was someone willing to share her knowledge and expertise and even write to experts she knew to help me with that project. She is still sending me info by email (as well as a great cookie recipe!). She also took extra time to proof some work for me and offered great suggestions. And my picture book is coming along, largely thanks to her and Carolyn.

One of the other attendees, Nicole Groeneweg, also an accomplished and many-times published writer working on an amazing book about Eisenhower, was so generous with her time helping me prepare for some submissions – proofing and offering excellent suggestions. When I didn’t have a return envelope with me (What was I thinking?), she interrupted her writing to take me to town and buy what I needed. Wow. And you heard me right. Submissions – plural. That poem the Brits are publishing next year, that I always thought of as a rhyming picture book, The Monster Hairy Brown, has now been submitted to Boyds Mills Press as a picture book with Carolyn’s approval, which, I am sure, carries some serious weight. I know that it will at least get a close reading, and I can’t ask for more than that.

I’d like to give a shout out to the other attendees – Selene Castrovilla, Tracy Helixon, Norma Lewis, and Lisa Idzikowski. All were generous with their time and ideas. In addition to learning more about my own writing, I learned a lot about the Revolutionary War thanks to Selene (Check out her many books – great stuff!), Air Force One and the Kennedy assassination thanks to Tracy, life in 19^th century Alaska from Norma, and sooooo much about Thomas Jefferson from Lisa.  

We had visits from editors from the press and from the magazines, as well as the much-published author Kate Messner who brought each of us three of her books and graciously signed them for us. Watch for reviews of those books here in the coming weeks.

Yes, it was another magical week at Boyds Mills. Unfortunately, my trip home wasn’t quite so magical. My left knee dislocated during my charge through Kennedy Airport, and I am still nursing that. The pain is unbelievable, especially after physical therapy or my exercises. Ice is my new best friend. But this too shall pass and I will be left with the memories of my magical time at the retreat and my much bolstered writing career!

 If you are reading this in your email, don’t forget to click on the headline to go to my blog. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do. And please leave a comment. I love to hear from you.

My Gifts: Links for Writers and Reviews for Readers: The Emerald Atlas and The Fourth Wish

If you are a writer, I have three gifts for you today – three valuable blog links. If you are a reader, I have two gifts for you – book reviews for great summer reading.

If you write picture books or have ever wanted to try writing picture books, you should know about a terrific blog run by a woman named Christie Wright Wild. She has lots of valuable information. Every month she runs a contest for picture book writers who can submit their manuscripts and, if they are chosen, get a free critique. Check out Write Wild out by clicking on the title. If you click on the Picture Book Contest blog you can find the monthly contest. (I haven’t won a critique yet, but I’m going to keep on trying.) Spend a little time looking around. There is much to enjoy and learn on Write Wild.

The Speculative Salon, one of my favorite blogs, has a great post this week called 101 Sites to Distract or Help You. Writers and others, you will love this one. Click the title and it will take you there. So much fun! Thank you, Elizabeth.

My good friend and fellow writer and blogger, Michelle Fayard, can be found blogging at Bird’s-Eye View. She always has something interesting going on on her blog, but recently had a particularly valuable post for bloggers – a guest post by Theresa Milstein about getting blog comments to work for you. Click HERE for the link.  I learned a good deal from this post and from many others Michelle has posted. Poke around while you’re there. You can also read some of Michelle’s fabulous work in progress, The Underground Gift, if you click on her aptly named Work in Progress button.

Now for the first suggestion for a great summer read. My friend and critique partner Morgan Mussell (who blogs wonderfully and prolifically at the First Gates) has been raving about a book for some months. Morgan writes fantasy, very well I might add, and I don’t – write fantasy, that is. In fact, I hardly ever read fantasy. I may be the only human on the planet who hasn’t read all the Harry Potter books. But Morgan reads a lot of it and he has spoken very highly of The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens. I resisted for awhile, but last week picked it up. It’s a good thing I didn’t have a lot on my plate last week. This is one of those books that once you crack the cover, you won’t get much else done.

The book opens with three small children being handed off to a stranger. The oldest, four-year-old Kate, is told by her mother she must protect her brother, Michael, and sister, Emma, and keep them together and safe until their parents can come for them. They wander through a string of orphanages, each worse than the last, and keep being sent on and on until they end up going to the last possible place that will take them, seemingly at the end of the earth.

The pier was long and narrow and had many broken and rotted slats; it stretched out past the shelf of ice and into open water, and the children walked to the end and huddled there, pulling their coats right and leaning together like penguins against the bitter wind blowing in across the lake.

John Stephens

The orphanage is a rickety old mansion and they are the only orphans there. Kate is now fourteen; Michael, twelve; and Emma, eleven. Of course, they have to explore. They find what looks like a laboratory and there come across a green book with blank pages. Michael drops a photograph between the pages and BAM! They find themselves transported through time. A beautiful witch, known as the Countess, has a child in her hands and threatens to drop her to her death in a lake. The children of the town, Cambridge Falls, have been separated from their parents by the witch who is searching for something. The fathers are forced into heavy labor in search of the item and the mothers are kept away from their families. 

Cambridge Falls is in a magical place and the surrounding area is populated by all sorts of beings. There are dark creatures called Screechers who terrify and control everyone, a wizard, hoards of dwarves (who are very funny and gross – something kids will love and I did, too), a giant named Gabriel, and the most terrible salmac-tar.

Its skin was a translucent, gooey white and dotted with greenish sores. Its arms and legs were hideously long and thin, its back curved from generations of moving through low-ceilinged tunnels. Its claws tapped the floor as it advanced, and Kate saw the milky, sightless eyes and huge, bat-like ears. The salmac-tar made a gurgling hiss deep in its throat…

This book, like the Harry Potter books, is marketed as a middle-grade book, but I think anyone who enjoys fantasy or a really compelling story with great characters that will take you away from your everyday life will love The Emerald Atlas. It, like Potter, will be widely read well beyond the middle-grade audience.

The second book I want to tell you about is The Fourth Wish. This book by Elizabeth Varadan is soon to be released as an e-book on Amazon, but you can still buy it in printed form. Elizabeth is a good friend and critique partner. She blogs at Elizabeth Varadan’s Fourth Wish  and posts lots of wonderful book reviews. Stop by and say hello.

The Fourth Wish is a middle-grade book set in Sacramento. It opens with four kids (siblings Melanie, Cory, and Erin, and a neighbor, Arthur) going to a magic show and movie. We learn the three sibling’s father had recently left, and they are having a hard time dealing with the loss. On their way to the magic show, the four encounter a strange old woman, Mrs. Seraphina. The bag she is carrying breaks and the kids help her pick up the strange objects that have spilled out. She gives each of them a wish box, but they must all agree on a wish. You know the old saying: Be careful what you wish for… Cory gets the first wish and it is that The Great Mondo will do real magic, not just tricks. Well, once this particular rabbit is out of the hat, it’s pretty hard to get it back in. The domino effect of this wish is quite something. Mondo’s magic show goes completely out of control and he loses his job. Of course, the kids feel it’s their fault and set about trying to fix everything by finding the mysterious Mrs. Seraphina and using the other three wishes to put things back the way they should be. They learn just how specific every wish has to be as things go wrong with each try.

Elizabeth Varadan

This is quite a romp through modern-day Sacramento. The setting is dead on and the children have normal lives with normal problems, yet there is plenty of funny stuff going on and enough of a mystery to keep the pages turning and turning. Kids from nine to ninety, will enjoy this fun summer read.

There isn’t much summer left for summer reading. I hope this and some of my earlier blogs have given you some good choices for filling your time. If you are reading this in your email, don’t forget to click on the headline to go to my blog. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do. And please leave a comment. I love to hear from you.

You Can't Eat a Princess Review and Interview with Author Gillian Rogerson

As I've mentioned before, I write book reviews for the Sacramento Book Review. I only review books for kids -- young adult, middle grade, and picture books. It's great fun and I get to read many books I might not run across otherwise. Recently I reviewed a fabulous picture book called You Can't Eat a Princess. It is now my granddaughter's new favorite book. When the review ran, the author, Gillian Rogerson, left a comment thanking me for the review. I wrote right back and asked if she would be willing to do an email interview for this blog. She agreed! Yay!! So today you can read first my review and then the interview with the wonderful answers Gillian sent in response to my questions. Enjoy!

You Can't Eat a Princess

By Gillian Rogerson with illustration by Sarah McIntyre
Price Stern Sloan, $9.99, 32 pages

Everything was perfect. Princess Spaghetti’s birthday was coming up. There were chocolate sandwiches, chocolate milkshakes, and a wonderful chocolate birthday cake nearly as big as the princess herself. Nothing could possibly make the party anything less than perfect … except, the king’s disappearance! His throne was empty. Princess Spaghetti found a note from aliens from another planet. They had kidnapped the king and taken him to their planet somewhere in space. It’s a good thing the princess has the royal soldiers at her disposal. But when they are all busy or afraid of catching cold, Princess Spaghetti has no choice to but to go into space to save the king. How will she find the right planet? Can she save her father? What secret weapon does a little princess use?

“Said one alien. ‘We love princesses here.’ ‘I like mine with chips,’ said another alien.’”

Sarah McIntyre’s charming illustrations are the perfect completion for Gillian Rogerson’s sweet and funny story. Little girls (and boys and moms and dads) will delight in this extraordinary adventure. One could not ask for anything more than princesses, aliens, and chocolate swirled together in an appealing birthday surprise.

Your latest picture book, You Can’t Eat a Princess, is a delightful romp. How did you come up with the idea for it?

I had an idea of using a princess in a story for a while. I pictured her in different scenarios and I suddenly thought of Space. Then I began to wonder what she was doing in Space and the idea of a rescue mission soon came to me. I thought that the princess just had to meet aliens and the dialogue line of, “I like mine with chips” popped into my head.

Princess Spaghetti is a pretty spunky little girl. Did you model her on someone?

I work with young children, age 4, 5 and 6, and all of the girls could be models for Princess Spaghetti! They don’t take any nonsense from the boys and they love making up their own adventure games.  I’ve even seen some of the boys dressing up in princess clothes because they could see the girls were having so much fun. 

 What kind of response have you had from the book so far? Are you hearing from children? Will Princess Spaghetti have her own Facebook page soon?

The book has had a wonderfully positive response. There have been some brilliant reviews. I particularly like reviews from young children as they are so honest! When I’ve been to schools to read the book, the girls love Princess Spaghetti and how brave she is, and the boys love the part where the aliens want to eat her! Quite a few schools in England have had topics based around the book. One nursery had decorated their entire hall with aliens. Although it was a 2 hour drive away I went to see them. One of the little girls screamed, “It’s Princess Spaghetti! She’s here!”

I had a lovely fan letter from a girl aged 6. She has some good questions for me. I sent her a reply and a signed book.

There has been talk at the publishers for a website devoted just to Princess Spaghetti. We shall have to see what happens. I’m not sure if characters are allowed on Facebook. I read a piece recently about a teddy bear that had tried to join Facebook but he wasn’t allowed in.

 Was Princess Spaghetti invited to the Royal wedding? She’s every bit as cute as those flower girls and she’s a princess!

She was invited but she had to stay at Cupcake Castle to sort out a pirate problem. However, the idea of a Royal wedding could be a good plot for a story…

 Getting a picture book published in the states is really, really difficult. Even finding an agent who will handle picture books is extremely hard. What is it like on your side of the pond?

Very difficult. It took me over 5 years of submitting stories before I got my first offer of publication. I did try an agent in the early days but was told to come back when I had had some publishing success. I was determined to be published and kept submitting stories and learning all I could about writing. My first publication offer was for ‘The Teddy Bear Scare’.  I received a publication offer for my second book, ‘Happy Birthday Santa’ within 2 weeks of sending it to the publishers! So, you never know how long it could take for you to receive an offer.

It was at this stage that I got my lovely agent, Eve. She has been so supportive and is really pleased that Princess Spaghetti is doing so well.

Gillian Rogerson

Was You Can’t Eat a Princess published earlier in England? What was the process like for you to get your book into the hands of an American publisher?

‘You Can’t Eat A Princess!’ was published here in March 2010 and was an immediate success. It wasn’t long after that my publisher told my agent about the sale to America. So, I didn’t have to do anything! Sometimes, luck is on your side. I am so pleased that it is out there. I can see from Google searches that this book is the subject of story time in many stores across America.

I have only been to America once and the thing that really impressed me was the friendly attitude of everyone I met and the thought that ‘anything is possible here’. I think that’s why Princess Spaghetti is doing so well as she doesn’t let anything stop her from achieving her goals.

 Oscar Wilde famously wrote in The Canterville Ghost, “We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language.” Your latest book is published in the States, but the first three in England. What did you have to change about the way you write picture books for the American market?

My agent for this book was American and she edited the book with an American and English market in mind. There was one major change I had to make. King Cupcake was originally called King Pudding. In England, ‘pudding’ means any kind of dessert. When I pictured the king I thought of him like a small round Christmas pudding. But my editor explained that pudding didn’t have the same meaning in the USA. Also, Sarah McIntyre, the illustrator is American so I have all the help I need in making Princess Spaghetti suitable for an American market.

 How was the experience different for you working with an editor here as compared to your British editor?

I didn’t need to work with an editor at all as the American version is exactly the same as the British version.

Your earlier three picture books – The Smallest Hero, Happy Birthday Santa!, and The Teddy Bear Scare! – all have different illustrators and You Can’t Eat a Princess still another. In the U.S. it is quite common for the author and illustrator to never meet or even talk. The decision is made by the publisher. How does that process work in the U.K.? Did you have any say on the illustrator for any of your books?

The publishers have always asked for my opinion on the illustrators. I have been extremely happy with each one. I was a bit worried about seeing a picture of Princess Spaghetti as I had a definite picture in my mind. But when I saw the first illustration I was delighted – she was perfect!

I am great friends with Sarah, the illustrator, and we have met a couple of times. We started out with emails and then a few phone calls. There was a comic convention in the town where I live and Sarah organised for us to have a table. I met her at the station and when we first saw each other we just stared at each other. We both had the same thought, “I can’t believe it’s you!” We got on really well and still keep in touch. We met again at an awards ceremony and when we saw each other this time we screamed and ran towards each other. No dignity at all.

 Sometimes we hear real horror stories about writers having their hearts broken when they see the illustrations for their manuscripts. I’ll bet you were thrilled to see Sarah McIntyre’s whimsical drawings. She’s such an amazing illustrator. Every time I read You Can’t Eat a Princess I found new, funny details in the illustrations. I see she is illustrating You Can’t Scare a Princess which is coming out in September. How much communication have you had with her on these books?

We get on really well and Sarah sends me previews of the illustrations. She is utterly amazing and works so hard. The thing I love most about her work is the small details that she puts in. Sometimes, you don’t spot these until a second or third reading of the book. I have my copy of ‘You Can’t Scare A Princess!’ and the detail is astounding. I’m still finding extra details now. I’ve read the story to the children I work with and their mouths were wide open as I read. Afterwards, I heard some of the girls arguing over who will play Princess Spaghetti at break time.

 Do you have other adventures planned for Princess Spaghetti? I certainly hope so.

I have already sent a batch of further adventures to the publishers. I have many more ideas in mind, some of them my own and some from the children I have visited. I have to make sure that the stories appeal to girls and boys. When I first started writing, one of my dreams was to create a strong character that could have many adventures. I’m so pleased that Princess Spaghetti is proving to be a popular character and that children want to hear more about her.

Do you work with a critique group? If so, is it in person or on line? What is that like for you?

I don’t work with any critique groups. Although I have had a few writers asking me for help – which I am always happy to give. It’s so hard trying to become a published writer. I tell people that their story could be the next best seller that we are all waiting for so they mustn’t ever give up.

 What advice do you have for picture book writers who haven’t yet found success in getting their manuscripts published?

Look at the market. See what is being published but don’t write the same kind of stories. Publishers are always looking for something new and different. Look at author websites as a lot of authors give advice.  For picture books, when I’m writing I split my story into 12 parts as this is how a picture book is usually published – on 12 double page spreads. You need a problem set up by page three/four; it gets worse through to page nine/ten and then have a solution in the last few pages. Don’t worry about describing everything as the illustrations will tell half of the story.

 What was the best advice you ever received on your writing journey?

Every rejection is a step towards success. I used to picture my rejection letters as actual physical steps towards the day when I would become published. Receiving rejection letters/emails means that you truly are a writer. The only time that you fail is when you stop altogether.

Picture your success. Go into book shops and see exactly where your book will go. Google yourself and imagine your name on the front page. Get some business cards printed with ‘author’ on. The more you picture your success, the more committed you are to making it happen.

And, of course, never ever give up.

 Do you have anything you’d like to add?

Have fun with your writing. Write like no one is going to read it, just you. You can worry about editing changes later if you need to. I had a lot of fun writing, ‘You Can’t Eat A Princess’, I thought the story seemed too silly and I wasn’t sure anyone would like it – but they did!

Thanks so much for answering my questions. 

If you would like to read more of my book reviews, please click on this Sacramento Book Review link to see other reviews I have written. Leave a comment if you will. They love to get comments. I do, too. So please leave a comment at the end of this post. And if you are reading this in your email, please click on the title of the blog so it will take you to my blog and you will be counted. Have a great day!

Two Good Books -- Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt and The Lost Mother by Mary McGarry Morris

This morning I took out a comma and this afternoon I put it back in again.  ~ Oscar Wilde

As you may have read in my last post, I’d been having more days like this one of Oscar Wilde’s than I’d like, but just lately, I have to say, “I’m back!” I’m writing a lot and ideas are flowing. This is much more fun.

While I was in the mother of all funks, I did a lot of reading. Two of the books I read made me think a lot about my second novel on which I’m doing re-writes. Both had twelve to thirteen-year-old protagonists,  likable and engaging characters. One was written in first-person point of view, while the other was close third-person occasionally drifting into omniscient observer. Both feature dysfunctional families that are completely believable and are set in intriguing times and places. One was marketed as a middle-grade book, the other as an adult book. This is particularly interesting to me because I’ve had beta readers from eight to eighty-four. (Not kidding.) Everyone seems to think the book suits them fine. The eighty-four year old was shocked when I said it was written for middle-grade kids. She was sure it was for adults. But I had a thirteen-year-old boy who read it three times and loved every bit of it. I wonder if I’m marketing it correctly to agents and editors. But enough about me; let me tell you about these two wonderful books.

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt is simply one of the finest, most compelling books I have read in a long time. The voice of Doug Swieteck is as clear and direct as any first-person story I have ever read. I hear Doug’s voice in my head, speaking directly to me, as if we had been best friends for years. His father, who doesn’t have many good days, if you know what I mean, is fired, and the family has to move to a small town which will henceforth be referred to as “stupid Marysville.”

My father gave me a box that still smelled like the bananas it brought up from somewhere that speaks Spanish and told me to put in whatever I had and I should throw out anything I couldn’t get in it. I did — except for Joe Pepitone’s cap because it’s lying in a gutter getting rained on, which you might remember if you cared.

Gary D. Schmidt

Doug’s mother is sweet and loving and absolutely incapable of standing up to her abusive husband. His brother Christopher is terrified of who he will become and takes his fears out on everyone around him, but mostly Doug. His other brother, Lucas, is in Vietnam at the beginning of the book, but comes home badly damaged – physically and emotionally.

Doug finds a couple of allies at the public library in stupid Marysville and discovers his own artistic talent when he finds an Audubon book on display there. The beautiful prints in the book inspire him, and the librarian, Mr. Powell, engenders Doug’s artistic gifts. He struggles through being the new kid at school and the suspicions of the townspeople after a theft occurs. He struggles at home as Lucas comes home from the war and as his father becomes more abusive and Christopher becomes angrier, taking it out on you know who. When his father’s cruel abuse is revealed to everyone at school, you wonder how Doug will survive this latest horror. But he is a survivor and this up-lifting story is full of strength and beauty. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I love it and will read it again soon.

The Lost Mother by Mary McGarry Morris is one of the most heart-wrenching books I’ve ever read. I remember years ago reading She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb and feeling blanketed by sadness the whole time I was reading it, yet it was beautifully written and I couldn’t put it down. The Lost Mother had much the same effect on me. Told mostly through the eyes of twelve-year-old Thomas Talcott, this tale is set in Vermont during the Great Depression. Thomas, his eight-year-old sister Margaret, and their father, Henry, an itinerant butcher, end up living in a tent after they lose their home and Irene, wife and mother, shattered by the death of her third child, leaves. The children never give up hope their mother will return to them, but it’s clear to the reader there is little hope for that or for much of anything. Perhaps their stubborn hopefulness is the most heart-breaking thing in this book.

Mary McGarry Morris

The children are shuffled between a drunken aunt who doesn’t want them, the Farley family, the richest people in town, who want Margaret for her beauty and as a companion for their disabled, pedophilic son, and a wonderful woman named Gladys who is helpless in the face of her cruel father and the Farleys. Mr. Farley sets Henry up to end up in jail, and the Farleys take the children in. Things get so bad and so dangerous for Margaret, that she and Thomas steal money and run away to find their mother. Her circumstances seem great, but they soon learn a dark reality. She keeps them awhile, but it is clear to the reader, if not the children, she is not interested in being their mother. She finally ships them to a local orphanage. (My mother was sent to orphanages a couple of different times during her childhood, and this book gives a very true picture of such places in that time. It was very hard for me to read.)

Years later, he would realize watching his own children, then his children’s children, that it wasn’t just him, but everyone it happened to. Because that’s what growing up is. That’s what it feels like. Like being alone. And strong. Even when you don’t want to be, or think you can’t. You just suddenly are.

This is a story that will touch something deep inside everyone who reads it. It’s a story for all of us. Those who have had a good life will more deeply appreciate it. Those who have not had such a good life, will wonder again how one can be strong enough to survive. But it gives us all hope, and that’s a good thing.

Back to the question of who are these books for – middle-grade, as are the protagonists, or adults. I loved both these books. I’m not prepared to hand either of them to my nine-year-old grandson, but I can happily recommend them to just about anyone else. Enjoy! 

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The Mother of All Funks or Putting the Fun Back in DisFUNctional

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Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~ MarianneWilliamson

I haven’t blogged for a while. I have been trying to work myself out of a writing funk of Biblical proportions. So what have I been doing about it? Well, I’ve tried to read my way out of it and have read some awesome and some not-so-awesome books, but awesome or not, I've learned a lot along the way. I’ll be blogging about some of those books in future days. Lately I have been putting my butt in my office chair and staying there for good chunks of time, working on stuff. I’m making some progress and feel the veil lifting, but I still don’t feel I have dispelled the funk completely. But I ran across the above quote recently and thought it was well worth repeating. I don’t remember where I saw the quote, but it resonated with me. I think there’s a lot of truth in it. I don’t know anything about Marianne Williamson except that she is a self-help lecturer. You can look her up on line if you are so inclined. But I like the quote and it’s helping me to stay focused on overcoming the funk.

I went to a writers’ conference in the spring and submitted fifteen pages of my second novel for critique. Unfortunately, it was about then my writing funk began. An editor at a big house read my pages and gave me great comments – very encouraging with some specific suggestions. She said she would like to read more! We could submit up to forty pages. Heck. This is a great opportunity. I had six months to submit to her. I spent a lot of time thinking about what needed to change, what was useful for my story, and what wasn’t. I liked most of what she suggested. I thought it would make my story stronger. But I was in a funk and had trouble working on it. I had a chance to workshop the opening five pages with some published writers and did that. Things got better and so did my story. I worked on it in fits and starts. I finally decided it was just about ready and spend a day polishing, trimming, adding, cutting, pasting, moving things around, and printed it and sent it with a lovely letter before I lost my nerve.

Did I wait a couple of days and give it one more careful read before I mailed it? No. I was done. Did I run it past my critique group one more time? Did I ask my brilliant daughter Maggie or my terrific sister Tudy, two wonderful editors, to read it one more time? Did I even ask my sweet Baboo to give it a quick look? No, no, and no. I sent it off and didn’t look at it again for a week…when I found the boneheaded mistake where I cut and pasted a sentence EXCEPT I forgot the cut part!!! So I had the same sentence beginning two paragraphs in a row. Did I do this unintentionally OR…is it just me being afraid of being powerful beyond all measure? Sometimes I wonder.

I now have an imprint of my keyboard across my forehead. This quite possibly could be a permanent condition. I haven’t heard back from the editor yet. I probably won’t for quite some time. If and when I do, I’ll post something here, but in the meanwhile, I have to wonder if I don’t sabotage myself sometimes in this business. So I’m going to be smarter about this. I’m going to always ask for others to give me some feedback before I send stuff out. I’m going to open myself up to the good advice and experience of my careful editors and critique partners. I’m going to be more patient and more careful and more persistent. So future submissions will be better and give me a greater chance for success. Maybe it’s time for me to let my little light shine. Thanks, Marianne, wherever you are.

Something We Should Read Every Now and Then

Today, I leave the writing to one of the greatest writers in our history, Thomas Jefferson.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Signed by Fifty-Six Brave American Men in Congress on July 4, 1776.

Happy Birthday, United States of America. Let freedom ring.

It’s Okay to Know Everything: A Review of I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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Some years ago when I first began writing seriously, I got together with a few others and we tried to start a critique group. At an early meeting, I read a passage of my work-in-progress and one of the others jumped all over me about point of view. She claimed I could only know what one person was doing, seeing, thinking, etc. I suggested that an omniscient observer was a valid point of view, but she dismissed that idea as idiotic. I brought Bel Canto to the next meeting to show an example of omniscient observer that worked awfully well. Shortly after, the group broke up.

It seems to me in this day and age, the vast majority of published fiction is written in either first person or close third person. What I’ve read in writing books and heard at conferences is that this has become the way things are done so as not to confuse our readers. Kind of insulting, I think, but it is what it is. It can be a distraction unless it is done really well, and that is actually rare. I just finished a book in which the omniscient observer point of veiw is really done well, so I recommend that you run right out and get Holly Goldberg Sloan’s debut novel, I’ll Be There.

This is a young adult book, but since I read a lot of YA and write YA, this should be no surprise. But I must say, even if you don’t read a lot of YA, you should give this one a try. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t enjoy this book. (My friend Morgan Mussell just posted What is YA and Who Reads It on his blog. You might find it interesting.)

Holly Goldberg Sloan

I’ll Be There is the riveting story of two brothers, one seventeen and one twelve, who live in the most precarious of conditions. Sam and Riddle live not so much with their father, but in spite of him. They were jerked away from their mother and some semblance of a home when they are only two and seven by their father, a darkly villainous man who is driven by a larcenous soul and strange voices only he can hear. The boys have been kept from anything normal since he took them. They’ve had no school, no permanent place to live or health care or enough food to let them thrive, etc. Riddle, asthmatic and allergic, can hardly breathe much of the time and seldom speaks. Sam is a hero almost from the first page, doing what needs to be done to protect his brother and keep them both in survival mode. But they are special boys. Riddle is an extraordinary artist. Sam is a gifted guitarist, self-taught, and music is his salvation. Sam goes to church every Sunday he can. Not because he is religious, but because of the music. It is in a small-town church Sam and Emily meet.

Emily, also seventeen, is the shy, quietly intelligent, and sensitive daughter of a college music professor and a nurse. Her best friend persuades Emily to go out with a popular boy, Bobby Ellis. She’s not much interested and it shows. What could possibly make her more fascinating to Bobby than that? But she’s not playing Bobby. She is captivated by Sam and can’t get him out of her mind. She finds him and makes sure he can be in her life. Bobby becomes obsessed with Emily and, in following Sam and investigating him and his family, spooks the boys’ crazy, paranoid father and sets things in motion that careen wildly out of control, endangering the boys in unimaginable ways.

Sloan has created characters who will grab your heart and hold on for dear life, taking you with them on this incredible journey. And it’s a love story, and I’m always a sucker for that. But it’s not just a love story about Emily and Sam. Sam and Riddle’s love for each other is powerful and amazing. And there are other kinds of love that grow organically around these characters that make it a very rich read. How good is this book? I was grateful I had to wait forty-five minutes for a test at Kaiser today so I could have some uninterrupted time to read this delicious book. There wasn’t a moment I spent with I’ll Be There when I wasn’t thrilled to lose myself in the pages. Oh, and don't forget Bel Canto, that other well-written book written in the omniscient observer point of view.