Marcia Thornton Jones's Blog, page 55

Cleaning House -- by Jane Kelley

It's revision time!

In the life of a writer, it's almost always revision time. For the rest of the world, the month of January is when we try to look back at the past -- and try to figure out what needs fixing so that we can progress to our beautiful futures.

The simplest way to do that is to shed some pounds, whether they're dust or clutter or actual flesh. Marie Kondo would have us discard anything that does not spark joy. 

Writers are often advised to "kill our darlings." That doesn't just mean cutting the really lovely description of a crow flapping its ragged wings. Sometimes, sadly, that means jettisoning the entire novel in which that sentence appears. 

Pounding away at a project that isn't going anywhere is frustrating. It also takes us away from working on a project that has a much greater chance of having a life. But I would advise us all to take care. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. 

Or, Das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten, as Thomas Murner cautioned readers in his 1512 book titled Appeal to Fools.

The warning makes a little sense. In the days before indoor plumbing, after the whole family had scrubbed themselves clean in the same tub, the water was so dirty that it was hard to see the baby. 

The question I ask myself when I revise is:  was it a bad idea or just bad writing? (I also ask myself if I really want to be a writer. But I know the answer to that is really yes.)

So go ahead. Clean that closet. Kill those darlings. And remember the saying means check first. It doesn't mean don't throw out the dirty water. And it certainly doesn't mean don't take a bath. 

Jane Kelley is the author of the unpublishable novel with crows and many other middle grade novels, including The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya, in which many other birds did take flight.

Interview with Ted Neill, author of the new Mystery Force Series

Welcome to Smack Dab! Give us the elevator pitch for Mystery Force.

Mystery Force is about three kids who love mysteries (actually they hate mysteries, but they love solving them). They go on adventures where they take on evil doers and monsters while shattering the misconceptions and expectations of people who make the mistake of underestimating them.

Tell us a bit about the inspiration—your site indicates a friend of yours is a big part of why this book exists!

My friend Macy who uses a wheelchair and has an animal companion invited me out for ice cream a while back and said there needed to be more illustrated books featuring kids with disabilities as protagonists, so kids living with disabilities could see themselves as heroic.

What was is like to work with an illustrator?

I don’t know if my experience is representative, because I was so lucky to work with Suzi Spooner, one of the most amazing illustrators—maybe THE most amazing EVER, (I might be biased). It’s been amazing to see the characters brought to life along with her own interpretation, which always surprises me in the most pleasant way. I was lucky because I quickly felt I could trust her instincts, intuition, and imagination.

What was the writing process like? I’m always interested in how authors balance writing a book with writing a series.

This took me way back to writing for television—which I had not done since some of my college writing classes. Each book felt like it’s own episode, which I had to consider how it fit into the arc of the series, which in turn felt like a whole season that I had to conceptualize. The text was also very dialogue driven and had minimal exposition, as I knew I would be able to rely on Suzi to draw. So that felt like writing for T.V. as well.

What was the most surprising part of publishing?

The learning curve on this project has been how to represent and integrate the kids’ disabilities in a way that would feel “right” to kids living with disabilities. In earlier drafts I found myself trying to explain the kids’ disabilities, but my beta readers, like Macy, told me this was unnecessary and felt like I was falling into the trap of defining the kids by their disabilities. We didn’t want to do that.

The hardest?

For me the hardest is never the writing, it’s the marketing, in other words, how to we cut through all the noise and help readers discover these books.

Early on in the book, you say, “Kids in wheelchairs like sports too.” I love the simplicity and straightforwardness of this. I also love that you incorporate magical creatures. It seems (in part, at least) a way to show how we’re all the same—kids in wheelchairs like sports AND can have wild adventures. Is that why you incorporated these creatures?

The choice if these particular creatures such as karkadans, feather serpents, kitsunes, etc. . . . was for two reasons. One: I wanted to draw on mythologies outside western European (white) culture, in an effort to represent the wide variety of cultural traditions in this world. Two: as the series progresses, we wanted these lesser-known creatures to have to face discrimination from the more well-known mythological creatures, e.g. dragons, unicorns, which would be already well established in society. This way we hoped that the kids themselves could coach their companions on how to deal with stigma and discrimination. Instead of making the kids victims, we’d give them agency to help their friends overcome adversity.

What’s the young reader response been so far?

Young readers always surprise me with the things they like the most, and I love that. One reader told me she loved how wolpertinger venom makes its victims laugh uncontrollably for hours. Another, who uses a wheelchair, said she was so happy the first chapter wasn’t all about how sad and lonely Rasheed, the character who uses a wheel chair, is. Parents of kids with disabilities appreciate that these characters don’t have to “overcome” their disabilities.  

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to young writers or authors trying to get that first book down?

I never struggled trying to “get that first book down.” I always loved writing. My challenge was I wanted it perfect the first time. The best advice I got from a writing professor was: let it be messy. That freed me to make messy first drafts and has been some of the best advice I ever received.

Can you give us some sneak peeks or insight as to where the series will go next?

For sure. The next book will be introducing a peryton thief. If readers don’t know what a peryton is, well I’d urge them to look it out. There will be 12 books in this series in all . . . but I’m already planning a spin off. So Rasheed, Jonathan, Jojo, and their friends have many adventures to come.

Where can readers find you—even get involved in GoFundMe, etc.?

My website: https://tedneillauthor.com/

Mystery Force page: https://tedneillauthor.com/mystery-force-series

Mystery Force GoFundMe: https://gf.me/u/ywrhdw

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealauthortedneill
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AFRICAN TOWN: A Cast of Ambitious Characters

 January's traits include: ambitious, practical, fiery. I'm the mom to a January baby, so I know these traits well! And they also show up pretty heavily in my new book AFRICAN TOWN, co-written with Charles Waters. (It releases tomorrow from Penguin Random House.)

AFRICAN TOWN is an historical verse novel in 14 voices chronicling the story of the 110 Africans who were kidnapped and smuggled to America in 1860 aboard Clotilda, the last slave ship. 

Timothy Meaher, the shipping magnate responsible for financing the venture was certainly ambitious...

and the Africans themselves were amazingly ambitious, practical, and fiery. In spite of the losses they endured—the brutality, the heartbreak—they not only survived, they thrived. 

Unable to return home to Africa, the community of shipmates post-Emancipation saved their money and purchased property (some of it from Meaher). They maintained cultural traditions, and they built for themselves homes, a church, and a school. 

Spending time with these characters, getting to know them so intimately, changed us, moved us, transformed us. 

What strength and resilience! 

What love and friendship! 

What hope and inspiration!

We're humbled to join the descendants in bringing to more readers this important, powerful story about their courageous ancestors.

Learn more about it in our interview with Betsy Bird and this National Geographic article. Thank you.

Irene Latham is a grateful creator of many novels, poetry collections, and picture books, including the coauthored Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship, which earned a Charlotte Huck Honor, and The Cat Man of Aleppo, which won a Caldecott Honor. Irene lives on a lake in rural Alabama.

Welcoming 2022

 

The other day I gave away about 150 books. It’s only a fraction of the books in my house—no one in my family is especially good at giving things away—but it was cathartic. I have a book blog, where I post Q&As almost daily, and thus have the wonderful privilege of receiving free review copies in the mail. But of course I can’t keep them all.

 

I tend to downplay the start of a new year—whether on Jan. 1, or in September, when I observe Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. It’s too much pressure. I have too many things I’ve left undone, and the idea of making huge changes is daunting. Especially during this ongoing pandemic, now entering its third year.

 

Some people tend to make lists, and often I try. Admirable friends attempt to tackle the hardest thing on the list first, but I reach for the low-hanging fruit. Posting something on my website? That’s much easier than researching and writing an entry for the reference book I’m updating. Throwing in another load of laundry? Much easier than sending more queries into the void where, maybe one day, a literary agent will recognize that my manuscript is exactly what they’ve been looking for. Reading the latest awful headlines on the Washington Post website? Well, that’s not easier. But knowing as much as I can about the pandemic and the threats to our democracy is something I feel I need to do.

 

So, getting back to the 150 books…maybe more things in my cluttered house can be given away this coming year. Marie Kondo’s principles will never reign here, but if fewer things could spark joy, surely that would help.

 

As we leave behind another unsettling year, I wish everyone a healthy 2022.

 

--Deborah Kalb

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Smack Dab News!

 All the latest from our regular Smack Dab bloggers:

Jody Feldman is hoping to be back with a middle grade announcement in 2022, but for now, she's excited that her debut YA -- No Way Home, a thriller set in Rome -- will hit the shelves on August 2, 2022.

Giveaway! Edith Cohn's Birdie's Billions + Swag!

We're delighted to host a giveaway of Edith Cohn's latest, Birdie's Billions. More about the book, straight from the author:

"I wanted to write a book about an impulsive kid who doesn't always make the right choices. I used to teach 7th grade, and one of the kids I taught inspired me. I also wanted to write a book about how economic differences between schools, neighborhoods and libraries can create an enormous gap for kids. I grew up feeling these differences. I also taught in the South Bronx, so this was an important subject for me. And I wanted to write these things inside a high stakes mystery novel that might appeal to reluctant readers, and ideally all readers. My goal was not to be just an issue book, but to write a good story with this at its heart."

--Edith Cohn

 

Now for the giveaway:

Just use the form below to enter. Contest winners will be contacted after January 13. Good luck!

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There is No GPS in Life...

By Charlotte Bennardo

Photo by Ian Beckley from Pexels

So many roads, not enough time. Our lives are a series of crossroads and paths. Every decision we make sets us on a journey, possibly a different direction. When it came time to apply to college, I chose one that was far away from my hometown. That choice was predicated on being on my own, not having to live at home and commute. The next choice was to try and find a journalism job in Upstate New York, where I'd gone to college. After that, I made a decision to return to my hometown, leaving the boyfriend and his marriage proposal. Other paths have taken me to numerous jobs, several degrees, a number of moves through several states to where I am today. It's easy to say that I might make different choices if I could go back in time, but hindsight is 20/20, and not knowing how the changes would affect my life, it's easy to say I might do things differently. Only Ebenezer Scrooge had an easy choice- remain a mean, stingy, odious man (to quote one of the versions) or change and become a generous, kind man. If only all decisions were that easy!

The last 'big' decision I made was to go for my MFA. I wanted to take this road but life, finances, time, and circumstances were impediments that were too hard to overcome at the time. When I finally made the decision to go for it, I was nervous and worried, and actually considered dropping out. Would it be another road, or maybe better yet, road abandoned, turned back on? But I stuck it out. Whatever path, road, journey we choose might not be for the best, but we have to take ownership of it. Sometimes there are hard lessons to learn, so the choice, in the overall picture, was important in our life. Other times, we need to turn around, go back, and start over, choosing a wiser path. 

Wishing you wisdom and serenity in the choices you'll make in the New Year.

Charlotte writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, and paranormal genres. She is the author of the middle grade Evolution Revolution trilogy, Simple Machines, Simple Plans, and Simple Lessons. She co-authored the YA novels Blonde OPS, Sirenz, and Sirenz Back in Fashion. Currently she is working on several novels for both children and adults. She lives in NJ with her family, two demanding cats, and a crazy squirrel couple who just moved into her backyard oak tree.

Thrilling Roads Not Taken

Once upon a time, there was a writer who had a wonderful agent. 

The agent got this great idea for a thriller--a "whodunit" kind of book with twists and turns and edge-of-your-seat action. 

The agent offered the idea to the writer, who agreed to give it a try.

Weeks went by. Then months. Finally, the writer had finished. She had written a thriller.

Only the thriller wasn't really all that...well, thrilling. Try as she might, the writer just wasn't cut out for that kind of writing.

The writer tucked the unthrilling thriller away and went back to writing things that were funny.

The End.

 The moral of this story? Some roads shouldn't be taken, because they're not your road. And that's OK.  

Ginger Rue's current book, Wonder Women of Science, is co-authored with rocket scientist Tiera Fletcher, who is currently working with NASA on the Mars mission. The book profiles a dozen amazing women (besides Tiera!) who are blazing new trails in their respective STEM fields. (Ironically, it's pretty thrilling!)

Happy Holidays! (Holly Schindler)

 Merry Christmas! I hope you're all in the midst of a truly lovely holiday season.

 

~

Holly Schindler is an author of books for readers of all ages. Her MG, The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky, has been re-released with a corresponding activity book.

Winter Solstice Tree 2021: Smack Dab in the Imagination by Dia Calhoun

Every year my imagination conjures a new Winter Solstice Tree design. I make a sketch, think of a limited color palette, gather materials, and try to make my vision a reality. As always in the process of bringing a vision--whether story, art, poetry--into reality, changes are inevitable. The artist learns to listen to her materials, her evolving characters, images, or metaphors to learn what they have in mind. Often the process is a struggle.

The tree I brought home had a symmetry to the top--two green branches on each side are held up like green arms. This brought the first change. Then two of the original materials didn't work as I had hoped. As I worked with the materials that did work, I listened to what they wanted to do.

They wanted to do something different from my vision.

The struggle continued. I was uncertain until nearly the end, when an unplanned combination of materials happened at the top. First, I placed a little crystal, decorative pick on top of the moon. To me it looked like a little tree. A day later, simply to hide the silver wire that formed the pick base, I hung a chandelier drop over it. When I climbed down the ladder, I looked up and saw a silver tree/angel with two red, uplifted branch arms (branches wired in earlier). It looks like a celestial tree at the top of the earthly, green tree.  

For a tree to grow up to the starry crown, it needs deep roots. The artist needs to hold her ground in order to permit the creative tension to bring something new into being. Allow, rather than force. Drive the car rather than push it.

In the coming, lovely symmetrical year numbered 2022, may we all stay connected to our ground in order to reach, and withstand the starry, creative heights.