Marcia Thornton Jones's Blog, page 197

Summer Books by Deborah Lytton: May Theme

To me, summer = reading.  As a mother of a fourth (almost fifth) grader and a seventh (almost eighth) grader, I can tell you summer reading = freedom.  During the school year, both my girls have required reading for school.  Not only do they have to take tests and/or write book reports after completing their independent reading books but they also read books for class.  Knowing that they have to write a report or take a test on a book which must be finished by a deadline definitely affects the choices both girls make when selecting a book to read.  But during the summer, there are no requirements--reading becomes fun again.  And that makes choosing books so much more exciting.  When I was a girl, my favorite summer reading was anything Nancy Drew.  I loved completing an entire book during one sitting and then I would beg my mother to take me to the store for the next mystery in the series.  I can still remember the shelf at the store with the yellow covers lined up all in a row and the joy I felt riding home holding a new adventure in my hands.  What books did you love when you were young?  And if you have children, what will they be reading this summer? My almost eighth grader has been counting down the days for the third book in The Selection series so I know she will be reading and re-reading The One all summer long.  My 9 year old has been assembling this reading stack for summer.  Have you read any of these books?  

Happy Reading!!!

Megan: Dispatch from NESCBWI

Friday morning a lovely drive westward on a gorgeous, puffy cloud in blue sky kind of a day turned a bit more harried when I realized I'd grabbed our family library bag instead of the tote bag with all of my gear for the NESCBWI conference. I turned around and rushed back to my house ("You're home!" my two year-old daughter gleefully exclaimed, then, with more suspicion, "Take your coat off."), then raced (legally, of course) to Springfield. I made it just in time for the workshop I was presenting with Erin Dionne, "Shifting Genre, Maintaining Brand."

That hectic pace has kept up for the entire weekend, as I glide from one amazing workshop to inspiring keynote to socializing with friends new and old. My mind is about as wild as my hair this morning (I'd like people to note it's terrific volume, while ignoring the frizz), and so I thought I would pull out a few inspirational or thought-provoking quotes and ideas from the sessions I attended.


"I was prepared." - Jane Yolen was the opening speaker, talked about the importance of showing up for work. It is not luck that great stories are written, the writer must be prepared. She likened the experience to a birder being ready to see the birds."There was a time when I was not brave." - Peter Reynolds. He spoke about how he writes with purpose, and his idea of a "sotry as philosophy agent": your story should serve your philosophies."If a kid is ready, they will understand it. If they aren't ready, but are feeling it, they will get that feeling from the book." - Aaron Starmer on how children react to new ideas and content in books (ideas and content that adults might deem troubling)."Kids need books. That 12 year-old needs that book [the book telling an authentic 12 year-old experience]. Find a way to write it true to 12, but make it palatable." - Kate Milford, addressing the need to write authentic 12-14 year olds in a world where kids read-up."The world is full of books. It's not enough to create something. ... What is that you have to say that no one else in this room has to say?" - Laurel Snyder I've been a member of SCBWI for about 6 years now, but a combination babies, conflicts, and not getting it together in time have meant that this is the first NESCBWI conference I've attended. It's been invaluable, and I look forward to attending again in the future.The conference continues through the rest of today, and indeed I am about to run out the door to absorb even more.

Fizz, Boom, ZOO! Children's Zoo Books for Summer Reading by Irene Latham

I am loving the science-themed reading program this summer... and what better way to celebrate science (and summer) than with a trip to the ZOO? Here are some books to get you started:

Follow Irene Latham's board Zoo Books for Kids on Pinterest.

SMACK DAB NEWS!

Megan Frazer Blakemore's  The Spy Catcher's of Maple Hill  (Bloomsbury) will be released on May 6th. Hazel Kaplansky is a firm believer in the pursuit of knowledge and truth—and she also happens to love a good mystery. When suspicions swirl that a Russian spy has infiltrated her small town of Maple Hill, Vermont, amidst the fervor of Cold War era McCarthyism, Hazel knows it’s up to her to find a suspect… starting with Mr. Jones, the quietly suspicious grave digger. Plus she’s found a perfect sleuthing partner in Samuel Butler, the new boy in school with a few secrets of his own. But as Hazel and Samuel piece together clues from the past and present, the truth is suddenly not what they expected, and what they find reveals more about themselves and the people of their cozy little town than they could ever have imagined.
May 6th is also the release date for the paperback of  The Water Castle .
Megan will be visiting Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Chicago, Saratoga Springs, and Manchester, VT in support of these releases. Please see her website for more details. She's also running a give away on her website.

Holly Schindler is offering free Skype visits for classrooms that have read (or are planning to read) THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY.  Jill, who blogs at The O.W.L., said of Schindler's Skype visit with her fifth-grade class:   "Holly was so gracious and answered each question so fully that my students really got an understanding of the novel and writing.  It was a great experience, and I'm so glad my students were given the opportunity!"

Skypes are also a great way to keep students engaged after year-end testing has been completed.  Please contact Holly at writehollyschindler (at) yahoo (dot) com for more info or to schedule a visit.


  Tracy Holczer's The Secret Hum of a Daisy is releasing today!

After the sudden death of her mother, , twelve-year-old Grace is forced to live with a grandmother she's never met in a small town she's never heard of. A town Mama left years before--with Grace in her belly and a bus ticket in her pocket--and never looked back. It doesn't take long before Grace desperately wants to leave, too.

Until she finds the first crane. A mysterious treasure hunt, just like the ones her mother used to send her on, takes Grace on a journey to find home, and it just might be closer than she thinks. A 2014 Indies Introduce New Voices pick for Summer/Fall "A lovely and captivating debut...nuanced characters engage from beginning to end." PW, starred review "Grace's surprising discoveries about herself, her family, and her friends, and her struggles with sorrow and forgiveness, are engrossing." Kirkus Reviews  For Top Secret good news being announced soon, you can check out her website in the next couple of weeks. Also, The Secret Hum of a Daisy Blog Tour begins May 6th at Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire! Head on over to win a copy of Hum, a $25 Amazon gift card, and more secret treasure.   

More Really Awesome Book Trailers by Tracy Holczer

Because my brain is somewhere between sizzling and fried due to launch day preparations (The Secret Hum of a Daisy comes out TOMORROW), I am going to pass along a few of my favorite trailers and call it a day. Without further ado:

ICE DOGS

I love this trailer because, how can you not love this trailer? It's got everything - music that builds tension, live action, dogs, and just enough about the story so you must go to the nearest bookstore/library and pick it up. It also hits the sweet spot of a minute or so.

HARBINGER


I'm sneaking this YA in here just because it's one of the best trailers I've ever seen. It's a little longer than a minute, but I think she gets away with it because it has All the Things. Actual actors, beautiful cinematography, and a great hook. I believe Sara had this done by friends who are industry professionals. So they shot scenes and edited and the whole thing was done like a film. Awesome!

THE WIG IN THE WINDOW (weirdly, I can't link the video. Click here to see it on YouTube).

I love this trailer. Great voices, eye-catching graphics and again, a hook that grabs in just under a minute. However, if you don't have the funds for a trailer, or the time or inclination, I have always loved what Kristen Kittscher did here (which could be used in lieu of a trailer. Creativity people!):


  And last, but not least, here is a multi-book trailer of sorts that will have you thinking of Elmer Fudd, or maybe that's just me. This was put together by the Class of 2k14.  So there's my take on book trailers.  Did I mention I have a book coming out TOMORROW? A Blog Tour shall commence on May 6th, starting with Mindy McGinnis at Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire and will carry on through May 14th ending here at Smack Dab. I'm giving away lots of goodies including a hardcover of The Secret Hum of a Daisy, a couple of other new debuts, and a $25 Amazon gift card. Come on by and enter to win! I leave you with this:    

Monthly Theme: Cranky No More (About Book Trailers, At Least) by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Since I was initially cranky about the idea of book trailers, I was lucky to be able to work on mine with my best friend whose infinite gifts include an incredible ability to put up with my crankiness, and match it with his own.



I didn't do anything narrative about the book, more of a "this is kind of what I was thinking about and what I drew from to write this story" sort of thing. And I'm glad I did, because just recently I found this awesome reader-created trailer, which is the best!



I love the way that new digital tools can be used to do another thoughtful sort of "book report" or type of interpretive work that engages creativity and critical thinking skills. And how can I be cranky about something like this wonderful trailer created for OPEN MIC, an anthology edited by the wonderful Mitali Perkins that included my memoir, "Confessions of a Black Geek."  Go check it out NOW. Seriously. You can come back after. Just bring cake.

And while you're at it, check out all of the reader-created book trailers created by participants in a program co-sponsored by the Madison Public Library. This is goodness.

I'm not cranky about trailers anymore!

AFTER THE BOOK DEAL – Guest Post by Jonathan Auxier

The Internet is full of great advice about how to sell a book, but what about after the sale? When my first book came out, I found it was surprisingly hard to find answers to some basic questions. Like most authors, I learned most of the answers through trial and error. And so in anticipation of the launch of my new novel, The Night Gardener, I’ve decided to write down everything I learned so I don’t make the same mistakes twice!
AFTER THE BOOK DEAL is a month-long blog series detailing the twenty things I wish someone had told me before entering the exciting world of children’s publishing. Each weekday from now until MAY 20, I will be posting an article on a different blog. Follow along and please spread the word!
*** AFTER THE BOOK DEAL – Guest Post by Jonathan Auxier
The Internet is full of great advice about how to sell a book, but what about after the sale? When my first book came out, I found it was surprisingly hard to find answers to some basic questions. Like most authors, I learned most of the answers through trial and error. And so in anticipation of the launch of my new novel, The Night Gardener , I’ve decided to write down everything I learned so I don’t make the same mistakes twice!
AFTER THE BOOK DEAL is a month-long blog series detailing the twenty things I wish someone had told me before entering the exciting world of children’s publishing. Each weekday from now until MAY 20, I will be posting an article on a different blog. Follow along and please spread the word!
***

Day Four - Giveaways! Today is our last entry on things to do BEFORE your book comes out. I thought I’d talk about giveaways and contests. Keep in mind, that these thoughts are based on my personal experience with Peter Nimble and might not apply to all situations ...
ARCS: Hopefully, your publisher will have printed a whole bunch of “advance reader copies” (ARCs) to help build buzz around your impending release. In the month leading up to the release of Peter Nimble, I had regular signed ARC giveaways in which entrants had to follow me on Twitter and then tweet a link about the contest—this was a great way to build a Twitter following (plus it gave me something to actually Tweet about!). If you’re interested in running a Goodreads ARC giveaway, you might want to check out author Emlyn Chand’s excellent tips. All told, this is the easiest, most cost-effective way to build awareness about your book.





T-SHIRTS: As I got closer to the big release, I decided to print Peter Nimble T-Shirts. T-Shirts are a great way to give prizes to people who have already read your book (and likely won’t want/need another copy). I used the T-shirts to encourage those who had already read the book to post reviews—good or bad—on Amazon and Goodreads. This was effective, and it assured that I had a solid base of reviews when the book officially launched. However, it was also a hassle to create and ship shirts. I chose to use high-quality shirts designed and printed by a local guy—the result was cool, but also quite expensive. Were I to do this again, I might consider a less artisanal approach.





CREATIVE ALTERNATIVES: Take advantage of your other skills. I sometimes hold little pop-contests and give the winner a portrait. Sometimes authors are even willing to put someone inside one of their books or auction themselves for charity. The best example of creative giveaways might be AFTER THE BOOK DEAL host Shannon Messenger, who paints pictures on the covers of her books! 








A BIG CONTEST:  In the final week leading up to release, I decided to follow in the shoes of the brilliant Nathan Bransford and hold a big contest. Twitter followers who confessed to the awesomest thing they’d ever stolen (with the hashtag #GreatestThiefWhoEverLived) were entered into a contest to win a free Kindle loaded with a copy of Peter Nimble. All told, I added about 100 new followers through the contest, which works out to about $1 per follower ... which is crazy expensive. I am not against doing a big giveaway again, but next time, I might do a few things differently: 

1)  Set up an automated archive for all Tweets containing my #greatestthiefwhoeverlived hash tag.  As it was, I had to do a lot of tricky and time-consuming searching to compile a list of entries after the contest was over (and even one tragic mix-up.) A little work ahead of time would have saved big headache later. 
2)  Tweet the heck out of my contest. Every time I tweeted the contest announcement, I got at least 5 new entries. I should have been tweeting it 3-4 times a day EVERY DAY leading up to the deadline. (Really, the smart thing to do would be to set up a whole bunch of announcements ahead of time on Hootsuite or FutureTweets.)

3) I should have also made a practice of re-tweeting or replying to EVERY hash tag entry ... not only does that make entrants feel special, but it's a way of constantly re-tweeting the hash tag without becoming the guy who just RTs his own announcement over and over again. 

4) Um ... maybe a shorter hashtag? (What can I say? It was 2011, hashtags were still exciting and new!)  

AND FOR NIGHT GARDENER? Well, this blog tour is actually a sort of giveaway. At the end of the month, to celebrate the release of The Night Gardener (May 20!), I’ll be bundling all these posts into an e-book ... available to anyone who posts a review of The Night Gardener (details to come).
That’s it for Week one of AFTER THE BOOK DEAL! Come back on Monday, where I’ll be talking about the five things you should do before your first book signing. See you then! Please-oh-please spread the word! *** JONATHAN AUXIER writes strange stories for strange children. His new novel,  The Night Gardener , hits bookstores this May. You can visit him online at www.TheScop.com where he blogs about children's books old and new.

Monthly Theme: My Favorite Book Trailers!

by

Stephanie J. Blake

I have four favorite book trailers (and books) to share with you.

1. ON THE ROAD TO MR. MINEO'S by Barbara O'Connor. (The dog's joy--and tongue just kills me!)




2. SAVING BABY DOE by Danette Vigilante (Looks like a movie, already!)



3.  THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK by Kristin Levine (Love the historical photos.)



4. IDA B. by Katherine Hannigan (The artwork is amazing!)

Smack-Dab-in-the-Classroom: Encircled by Books, by Dia Calhoun

As children and adults we are often asked this question, if you were on a desert island (I can dream, can’t I?) and could only have one book, what would it be?
Let's pose a fresher version of this question. If you needed protection, guidance, and comfort—whether for heart, soul, or body—what handful of secular books, would you place around you? 
The books could be fiction or non-fiction. At this stage in my life, the books in my circle would be:
New and Selected Poems , by Mary Oliver Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Reader, by Joseph Campbell The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DeCamillo Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
All of these books are currently “face-out” on my bookshelf.  And I own the most beautiful editions I could find.
Wouldn’t this be a fun and thought-provoking question to ask kids? Depending on their ages, after choosing their books, they could sit on the floor with the books in a circle around them. That's one way of knowing if their choices feel right. Older kids could spend a week with these books prominently featured in their rooms.
We draw different strengths from different books. Some of the books in our circle may change over time, some may not. Why not have kids do this twice—at the beginning of the school year and the end, to see how they have changed?
Smack-Dab-in-the-Classroom is posted by Dia Calhoun on the 23rd of each month.

“Middleview” Interview with Debut Author Lisa Ann Scott

Posted by Tamera Wissinger
Today, Lisa Ann Scott is joining Smack Dab In The Middle Blog for a guest “middleview” interview. Lisa’s debut middle grade novel SCHOOL OF CHARM, Katherine Tegen Books, released on 02/18/2014! Congratulations, Lisa!
Here is a bit about Lisa:

Lisa Scott is a former TV news anchor who now enjoys making up stories instead of sticking to the facts. She lives in upstate NY with her hubby and kids, dog, cats, and koi fish. When not writing, she works as a voice actor.  




Here’s a description of SCHOOL OF CHARM:
At the School of Charm, everyone has a wish to whisper. With an enchanting small-town setting, lively storytelling, and a hint of magic, this debut novel is perfect for fans of Ingrid Law, Clare Vanderpool, and Rebecca Stead.
Eleven-year-old Chip has always been her daddy's girl, so when he dies she pins her hopes on winning a beauty pageant to show her family of southern belles that she still belongs. But she'd rather be covered in mud than makeup! Can a rough-and-tumble girl ever become a beauty queen? A universal story about finding your place in the world, School of Charm explores themes of loss, family, and friendship.
Here are the links to Lisa online: Website, Goodreads, Twitter
Now it’s time to hear from our guest:
Smack Dab Middleview with SCHOOL OF CHARM author Lisa Ann Scott
1. In a nutshell, what does your main character, Chip, want?   Brenda Anderson (Chip) wants to find her place in her family after her father’s gone. She was Daddy’s girl and now that he’s dead, she doesn’t know whose girl she is. Her mama and sisters are all involved in the pageant world. She’s a tomboy who prefers mud to makeup. When they move south to live with the mean pageant queen grandma they’ve never met, Chip asks Daddy for a sign everything’s going to be okay.
2. What is in her way? 
Her two sisters, mama, and grandma are in the way.  None of them believe she’s “pageant material.” So she joins an unusual charm schools that she discovers and secretly trains for the Miss Dogwood pageant to show them she does fit in. But the lessons she learns aren’t what she expects.
3. Did you know right away that this was your story, or did you discover it as you wrote? How did the story evolve? 
I discovered the story as I wrote. I woke from a dream one morning with the image of an older woman in a forest clearing holding some sort of class for a small group of girls. She had a knowing look on her face, like she was a keeper of secrets.  I walked around with that image in my head for a while until I figured out who she was, what her school was all about, and who the girls were.
4. Was School of Charm always for middle grade readers or not? If so, why did you choose middle grade? If not, what had to change for it to be considered a middle grade novel? 
Yes, this was always intended for middle grade.  I chose MG because I knew the characters were that age, and the theme was appropriate for younger kids.  I love writing for that age group.  It’s such a huge time of transformation for children, and I think books and stories can help guide them through it.
5. What is the best part of writing for middle grade readers? 
Kids this age devour books. I know I did. I love thinking my book might help some child work through a problem or see the world in a different way. I think books read at this age can be so much more than just an entertaining story.
6. Is there any downside?
I think overall, middle grade fiction doesn’t get the spotlight like YA can. So, that helps make it even harder to market your work.  And it’s difficult to reach these young readers. You have to reach out to the gatekeepers (parents, teachers, librarians and booksellers.)
7. Is there one question you wish you could answer about writing, your book, or the author's life, but have never been asked? Here's your chance to Q &A yourself.
Ooh, good question.  No one has said much about the fact that I dedicated the book to my father who died when I was four, and also to my stepfather who my mother married two years later.  As I was writing the book, at one point I asked myself if I was really writing my own story, since my father died too. But I realized losing a parent at age eleven is a lot different from losing one when you’re four, the age I was when my father died from a brain tumor. Chip’s father was her whole life at the time, and she’ll never forget him. I barely remember my father.  So at eleven, you’re losing a huge part of your life. At four, that person will never get to be a big part of your life, so you don’t even know what you’ve lost.  So that loss certainly effects her differently than it did me. But, I did grow up in the seventies and spent a lot of time in the woods, catching turtles, and getting dirty.  No beauty pageant experience for me!
Thank you for joining us on Smack Dab in the Middle Blog, Lisa. Again, congratulations on the release of SCHOOL OF CHARM!