S.A. Bodeen's Blog, page 6

Pearl Harbor Day

When we lived on Midway Island, December 7th was always a day of ceremony and remembrance. Most people don't know that Midway Island was attacked the same day, and there are still buildings on Midway with bullet holes from December 7, 1941. Here is a photo from our ceremony on December 7, 2003:

Even though we don't live there anymore, so close to where everything happened, I still think of this day as one that had so much impact on our country's history.

An Interview

At the Austin Teen Book Fest in October, I was interviewed by Girls in the Stacks. There was a swarm of gnats that wouldn't leave me alone...

Picked up a couple of good ones...

My trip to Florida was fabulous. I spent five days in Orlando high schools where the love for The Compound was astounding. Then I headed over to NCTE and ALAN where I met so many great people and also picked up some good reads. Here are a couple forthcoming novels that I enoyed very much. First up is "Enclave" by Ann Aguirre:



When I first heard about this one, it was titled "Razorland", but I like the new title better. As the back cover says:

"Deuce lives in an enclave, deep underground. Her friends are her family;her life revolves around training to become a Huntress, one of the elite cadre who protect the enclave...."

And of course, then things go wrong.... I took this on the airplane with me and it kept me enthralled the whole time.

The other one I really liked was "Divergent" by Veronica Roth:




Set in a dystopian Chicago, it tells the story of Beatrice Prior and the carefully ordered society that demands all sixteen-year-olds make a choice that will decide their future. Again, this one kept me enthralled the whole time. And let me just say, these were not the only books I read. Since Wednesday, I've read 6 YA's that I picked up at NCTE. Two had huge hype and I didn't like them. One I even skimmed through at parts, because it just didn't hold my attention.  So I'm not a pushover. These two were great reads. And I'm struck by the similarities between the two main characters, both girls, both driven and tough, both people I really found myself rooting for. Good reads, people, good reads. These will be the first two I hand off to my teens to read. 

Novel idea: 50,000 words in 30 days - CharlotteObserver.com

Novel idea: 50,000 words in 30 days - CharlotteObserver.com


An article about NaNoWriMo. They've got me on the link "Success Stories." That's a label I like...

Here's my November in a nutshell....

Other than a trip to Orlando for school visits and NCTE/ALAN (and a probable trip to Eugene when my daughter's volleyball team makes it to state) here is my November in a nutshell:




My goal is to finish the draft, whether I hit 50k or not, and on Day Two I have hit 5000k. Whew. See you on the other side.....

Austin Teen Book Fest

So after three states, nineteen presentations, thirteen flights, five different hotels and someone's couch, I am back home. The Austin Teen Book Fest was amazing. Here is a pic of all the authors at dinner afterward:

 

I was on a very fun panel with Ally Carter, James Dashner, Catherine Jinx ,and Pam Bachorz.. Ellen Hopkins gave a fabulous keynote addressing censorship and book banning.

After Austin I went to south Texas for a couple days of school visits. The librarians and students were fabulous. This was my first time speaking to entire classes who had read The Compound and it is surreal to have people so excited about my book that they can't stop asking questions. Then I headed up to Hays Kansas for a Young Authors Conference. I had to shift gears and speak to 3-5th grade about my picture books. Again, a terrific experience. Then I headed up to Wisconsin to visit my college kid for about 24 hours. So good to see her and now I'm back home.

On the road, I did get this great news, which lifted my spirits after my phone totally crashed and left me incommunicado for three days:

THE COMPOUND has been nominated for the 2011-2012 Nebraska Golden Sower Award in the YA category.

Austin Teen Book Fest

I'm packing today. Saturday is the Austin Teen Book Fest. http://austinteenbookfestival.com    It's open and free to the public and I think it'll be a great day. There are about 15 authors, including the keynote speaker Ellen Hopkins. I'm excited to hear her, as well as to be on this panel:
The Moustache Twirlers:     James Dashner, Ally Carter, Pam Bachorz, Catherine Jinx, S.A. Bodeen. I feel like singing that Sesame Street song One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong...

Then on Monday I drop down to the Texas border for a couple days of school visits, head up to Hays Kansas where I'm presenting at the Fort Hays State Young Reader's Conference, and then I'm popping up to Wisconsin for about 18 hours to visit my daughter for her college parent's weekend. Although I will miss about everything but the football game. Which, actually, is the only thing I wanted to go to anyway.

And hopefully the house will still be standing when I get home.

Who is Pittacus Lore?

I requested this book from the library as soon as I heard about it and it showed up on Friday. Yesterday I sat down to start it and didn't get up until I'd finished. If I were a teen, I would love this book. Heck, I'm middle-aged and I love this book. The premise is this:
Nine children escaped from the ruined planet Lorien, have been raised by their handlers on Earth, and are systematically being murdered by the same villains who destroyed their planet.  The first three are gone, and Number...

Austin Teen Book Fest

As I was writing all of my daughter's school events on the calendar, I realized that my own fall calendar is filling up as well. One thing I'm very excited for is the Austin Teen Book Festival October 2nd. Here is the run-down of authors:



Ellen Hopkins - James Dashner - Pam Bachorz - S.A. Bodeen - Alexandra Adornetto - Sophie Jordan - Kiersten White - Melissa de la Cruz - Catherine Jinks - Kenneth Oppel - Ally Carter - Nancy Werlin - Susane Colasanti - Jon Skovron


(It's very strange to see my n...

My favorite book of the summer.

It is a rare book that can make me both laugh out loud AND weep. The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart did just that. This was a perfect read.