Marcia Thornton Jones's Blog, page 134

INDEPENDENT CHARACTERS by Jane Kelley

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men CHARACTERS are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator [The Author] with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
I mean no disrespect to one of our county's most sacred documents. I think it provides a useful metric for writers. Our characters SHOULD have rights. I'm not one of those writers who believes that her characters have minds of their own. But I do believe that if I create them well enough, they DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE from whatever plot I might have planned and the book is all the better for it.  
Let's see whether I gave my most recent character, Clint McCool, these unalienable Rights. 
LIFE -- The scientific definition of life is having a capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction. We'll skip reproduction (although we certainly hope for sequels and movie rights). But our characters should react to whatever trouble we throw at them. And we hope they grow because of that. Sorry, Clint McCool, but it was absolutely necessary to ban you from the movie set and make you wear a dress. That adversity made you a real hero.
LIBERTY -- the power of choice.  Wait, isn't that contradictory? Didn't I just say that for Clint's own good, he HAD to put on a dress? Actually, at that point in the story, he had the power to choose. But if he wanted to be in the movie, he had to wear the dress. 
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS -- They need to WANT something and go after it, even if they don't have the best idea of what will bring them happiness. Clint McCool WANTS TO BE IN THAT MOVIE. He nearly destroys it and ruins his friendships in his effort to get what he wants. Until he grows, makes a better choice, and saves the day!
Here he is -- outside of the books! (Jessika von Innerebner, the illustrator of Clint McCool, made that magic possible.) But I believe that together we created an Independent Character.

Firework Scenes by Deborah Lytton: July Theme

The 4th of July has a wonderful tradition of celebration with families getting together for barbeques or picnics and then watching a firework show. No matter where I see fireworks, whether close to home or in an exotic location, one thing is always the same--and for me, it's the best part. It's that split second of anticipation between the sound of the boom and the show of lights. I think we can bring the same fireworks to our writing of a really important scene. We can prepare the reader and create anticipation by setting the stage with dialogue or action. Then we can find the rhythm in our storytelling to let the reader wait for the explosion of emotion that results. Finally, we can tap into that silent acceptance we all experience when the last ember fades into the dark night sky. It is an ending that is complete and final and without the necessity of explanation. It is simply understood, like the very best closure in a firework scene. How can you apply fireworks to your writing today?

7 Audiobooks for a Family Summer Road Trip

WallyWorld, anyone? :)Some of my fondest childhood summer memories include road trips -- to my grandparents' homes in Florida, or the beach, or the Smokey Mountains.

Back then, I was the one in the back seat reading. I read so many books when our family traveled! I wasn't worried about getting there, or how long it would take... I was reading.

These days, of course, I am often the driver for such trips. And while our kids are very nearly grown, we still listen to audiobooks (or "books on tape" as I still refer to them!). You can go a great many miles with series like LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, or HARRY POTTER or THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. But sometimes stand-alone titles make the miles click off at a more enjoyable pace. And their relative short-ness of these titles can be better for meeting the needs of a group with assorted preferences in entertainment.

Here are 7 tried-n-true favorites I've heard in the van more than once:








Happy road tripping! Maybe someday one of my own books will be made into an audiobook. How cool would that be?! Meanwhile I am tickled to find LEAVING GEE'S BEND included along with some other exciting titles on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's recommended summer reading list. Yay!

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Irene Latham is the author of more than a dozen current and forthcoming books, including two novels for children Leaving Gee's Bendand Don't Feed the Boy. Winner of the 2016 ILA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, her poetry books for children include Dear Wandering Wildebeest, When the Sun Shines on Antarctica, Fresh Delicious and Can I Touch Your Hair?(co-written with Charles Waters). Irene lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her family where she does her best to “live her poem” every single day by laughing, playing the cello, and walking in the woods. Visit her online at irenelatham.com

Finding Your Inner Treehouse by Ann Haywood Leal

I wrote a major part of my first novel in sixth grade up in a tree house.  It was a bestseller -- mainly because it was free, and I chose the readers: my mom, my dad, Mrs. Rinear (my sixth-grade teacher), and my best friend, Leslie (who was also working on her first novel).  
Leslie and I wrote for hours in that plywood treehouse with the rope ladder and sliding pole.  We were unencumbered by parents and any distracting influences.  We were free of the kids who thought we were weird for wanting to write and read the summer away. 
In our writing community, we talk a lot about giving ourselves permission to write.  Sometimes we are so tied up with what is going on around us, that we put our own writing on the back burner, carving out minimal time to do it.  This can be so true in the distractions of summer.  There is so much to draw you away -- kids, the weather -- even the warm, inviting dirt in your garden -- or the cool breeze of the fire escape accompanied by a chilled chardonnay and a bag of hot Cheetos.  (Okay, now I'm obsessing over that fire escape scene, and I had to put my head back into this blog post!) For those of you who are having difficulty fighting those summer distractions, I encourage you to find your inner treehouse.  Climb up that rope ladder and dive back in.  That fire escape will be waiting when you are done.

COVER REVEAL: NOBODY SANG LIKE KATY DID (HOLLY SCHINDLER)

I'm at work on a fun new illustrated book for MG readers--one that lets me unleash my inner music nerd! I'm delighted to share the cover here:


This one's short, but also has appeal to older readers as well (in fact, NOBODY SANG LIKE KATY DID can be of great use to fourth and fifth grade classrooms), so I'll be announcing the official release through both my Picture Book and MG newsletters. Sign up to stay tuned!

Roberta Gibb by Laurie Calkhoven

This month I'm celebrating my sixth book in Simon Spotlight's YOU SHOULD MEET series. These biographies, written at the second-grade level--celebrate Americans who aren't necessarily well known to today's kids.

Roberta Gibb was the first woman to run in the Boston Marathon. When she applied to take part in the 1966 race, she was told that women couldn't run that far. Women, the race organizers told her, couldn't run more than a mile and a half--anything more than that would kill her!

Bobbi knew those men were wrong and set out to prove it to them. She snuck into the race and made headlines around the world when she finished.

The book comes out next March. Here's a look at the cover. Go, Bobbi!

BOOK RECOMMENDATION: FAKESPEARE - SOMETHING STINKS IN HAMLET

Dear Reader,

You are reading this because you expressed interest in the Get Lost Book Club.

Get ready to take a journey through time to a really smelly place known as Denmark. There, an evil uncle is trying to dethrone a prince who sees ghosts. Moat serpents will try to eat you. There may be a few sword fights, and a haunted graveyard. Your only allies are the world’s most reluctant reader, Kyle Word, his annoying neighbor, Halley, and his baby brother, Gross Gabe. Help them defeat Uncle Claudius and make it to the end of the story, or you’ll be trapped in Hamlet forever!
Intrigued? Worried? Downright terrified? You should be. But if you’re ready for an adventure, step right up and follow me. It’s time to get lost.

Sincerely,
The Narrator

~
Written by M.E. Castle and illustrated by Daniel Jennewein, SOMETHING STINKS IN HAMLET is such a great summer read. The book offers an incredible introduction to Shakespeare--it includes full black and white illustrations, as well as a fast-paced read, complete with action and lots of dialogue. In fact, it reads like a play. Great idea, well-executed. Highly recommended.

Have a Summer Romance - with Your Writing

When I was a child, summer meant popsicles, fireflies, and stacks of library books. But by the time I was an adolescent and teen, summer meant summer romance. Not that I ever had one. Still, I read about summer romances (Seventeenth Summer), watched movies about them (Summer of '42), and listened to songs about them ("See You in September").

This summer I think I might finally have a summer romance - with my writing. In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert advises us to have an affair with our writing: "Let yourself fall in love with your creativity. . . and see what happens." She provides plenty of juicy details: "Even if you have only fifteen minutes a day in a stairwell alone with your creativity, take it. . . .Lie to everyone about where you're actually going on your lunch break. Pretend you're traveling on a business trip when secretly you're retreating in order to paint, or to write poetry. . . "

I'm planning to take illicit assignations with my writing even further. I'll be teaching for six blissful weeks, starting tomorrow, in the Graduate Program in Children's Literature at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. It's a magical program in a magical place. The teaching is intense, but there's so much creative energy in the air that there will be plenty of time for writing, too. And - this is the illicit part - I've decided I'm going to cheat on the book I have under contract and instead indulge in a six-week fling, writing just for kicks, just for thrills, just for fun, just for me.

I'm going to crank up John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John singing "Summer Nights" and write my little heart out.

THE EXPLORERS--THE DOOR IN THE ALLEY

Featuring a mysterious society, a secretive past, and a pig in a teeny hat, The Explorers: The Door in the Alley is the first book in a new series for fans of The Name of This Book Is a Secret and The Mysterious Benedict Society. Knock once if you can find it—but only members are allowed inside.

   This is one of those stories that start with a pig in a teeny hat. It’s not the one you’re thinking about. (This story is way better than that one.)
   This pig-in-a-teeny-hat story starts when a very uninquisitive boy stumbles upon a very mysterious society. After that, there is danger and adventure; there are missing persons, hired thugs, a hidden box, a lost map, and famous explorers; and there is a girl looking for help that only uninquisitive boys can offer.
   The Explorers: The Door in the Alley is the first book in a series that is sure to hit young readers right in the funny bone.

"[A] wildly funny adventure....Animals in teeny hats, Wonderland-style logic, and loads of wordplay and sarcasm will keep readers giggling all the way through."-Kirkus Reviews"Exhilarating....Fans of a Series of Unfortunate Events will be drawn to this."— Booklist “A rollicking read, full of derring-do and old-fashioned villainy.”— School Library Journal
  "Funny, offbeat, and subversive...occasional footnotes and other humorous asides from the omniscient narrator break the fourth wall and ramp up the playfulness."—The Horn Book
"Narrated with a smart, brisk tone and plenty of snark...The Door in the Alley packs plenty of twists, turns and danger."— Shelf Awareness

" The Explorers: The Door in the Alley is a rollicking and clever adventure! Chock full of brilliant plot twists, pitch-perfect humor, and non-stop action. Kress has kicked off this series with a bang!"—Arthur Slade, author of The Hunchback Assignments ~ The strength of this book is the voice. Funny, conversational, it draws you in from the very first line. Perfect for summer reading. GIVEAWAY!Enter to win a copy of THE EXPLORERS below. Giveaway ends 6/22. Good luck!  
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BOOK RECOMMENDATION: 5 WORLDS THE SAND WARRIOR

I'm fascinated by graphic novels. I love that they bring reluctant readers into the book world, and they truly are (as I once heard them described) movies you can hold in your hand.

5 WORLDS: THE SAND WARRIOR is beautiful. Utterly. You really do feel, looking at the pages, that you're deep in a movie (rather than looking at flat, static pictures on the page).

The book also offers a fast-paced sci-fi/fantasy story that I believe would have the opposite impact most graphic novels usually have: I believe this book would bring readers of non-illustrated novels to graphic novels.

What a great discussion that would be--to group some reluctant readers in with young book lovers to talk about this book. The more reluctant readers would pick up some great book appreciation vocabulary from the more voracious readers, and book-loving kids would perhaps even find new, more visual approaches to reading traditional novels as well.