Caroline Bock's Blog: Caroline Anna Bock Writes, page 16

Hungry for More? from the author of LIE

I loved the Hunger Games-- both the movie and the books -- though my female protagonists must work hard to be as brave, as defiant Katniss Everdeen. Are the ones you write or imagine as powerful as Katniss, or let's say, more conflicted?  My female characters seem always to be powerfully conflicted, struggling for answers, for truth. The voice in my poem, "The Idiot Box," is of a  girl, one close to my heart, struggling to understand her childhood world.  As promised, I've reprinted the opening and added the next section. Let me know what you think as this poem unfolds.  It's all in honor of National Poetry Month .  More to come on "The Idiot Box" in upcoming days.  Truly, the author of LIE.
The Idiot Box

My father called itthe Idiot Boxlike it was a nickname, orterm of endearment. I was twelve. He called me Toots, a nickname, a term of endearment.Sometimes,   Ignoramus.  T.V. was always the Idiot Box.                        *The Idiot  Box: knobs, broken off,a pair of pliers plucked the channels.The Idiot Box:black and white,rabbit ears,sculpted wire coat hangerscaught the signals.The Idiot Box: a Buddha on a woman'slong dresser, my mother's dresser,along the wall in the living room,bowed to a pair of plaid easy chairs,and a burnt orange couch. In front of The Idiot Box:my mother peedthroughthe bottom of her wheelchair and was taken away,a bad puppy,out of sight.            *

Truly, the author of LIE.

APRIL is NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

April... Poetry.  The idiot box. Hey, mambo. Hearts broken and House sold... From the author of LIE , a critically-acclaimed young adult novel, a poem in honor of National Poetry Month in April. One stanza a day for the next few days, (it's a very long poem), a narrative poem that cuts very close to the bone: 

The Idiot Box
My father called itthe Idiot Boxlike it was a nickname, orterm of endearment.I was twelve.He called meToots, a nickname,
a term of endearment.SometimesIgnoramous.T.V. was always the Idiot Box.     *

Hunger Games. Walking Dead. 50 Shades of Grey. Am I doing something wrong?

Teenage dystopia.  Zombies.  Mommy Porn.  LIE -- ?? Some days I think that I should  just combine end-of-the-world, fleshing-eating, ebook x-rated fun -- and write that book.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled with the response from readers and critics that I have received for LIE, my contemporary, realistic, young adult novel about the impact of a brutal hate crime.  But at the same time, when one glances at amazon's "top 100" list -- and what writer doesn't occasionally?-- or, the NY Times Book Review, and try as one might, like a gambler, one compulsively runs down the scores, I mean the bestseller lists, one has to think: do I jump on that writing bandwagon?  Thing is I loved the Hunger Games -- read the entire series.  I plan to see the movie this Friday.  I watch "The Walking Dead" and cheer --for zombies. I am debating whether to read the mommy porn -- several hundred pages of hot, steamy sex sounds exhausting. By the way, if you haven't checked, the top bestsellers on amazon are the Hunger Game books, Walking Dead books and the 50 Shades series...   So those are the thoughts before the school bus arrives, as I ponder what to write next. Any thoughts out there on trends in books these days?  Truly, the author of LIE. 

We are All Irish (And Immigrants) Today - Erin Go Bragh!

Kiss me I'm Irish!  At least, today I am.  In reality, I am a very American mix of different cultures (Italian, Polish, Russian). But today I am Irish -- and as this is St. Patrick's Day, I am celebrating all things green, including being an immigrant or, at least the grandchild of greenhorns.  I thought of this a lot as I wrote LIE -- my debut novel -- the idea that each generation has its new wave of immigrants, and each generation of Americans rejects that new wave of immigrants. My novel is about a hate crime in the suburbs against Hispanic immigrants. Yet, The New York Times, in an editorial today, "It's About Immigrants, Not Irishness" points out that the Irish were along the first immigrants who were reviled by established Americans.  In the mid-to-late 1800s,  the waves of Irish fleeing from famine in Ireland, they were met in America by signs posted in front of businesses that stated: No Irish or Blacks need apply.  They were ridiculed by established newspapers, made fun of in newspaper cartoons as drunks, and denigrated for their Catholic religion. But today, we celebrate being Irish, for all the great accomplishments of the Irish -- the writers and poets, the proud workers who built our railways and our major cities, and for their children and their children's children who contribute to the richness of America today. And as Peter Behrens, today's New York Times editorial writer, points out, perhaps we should all celebrate being immigrants as well. Erin Go Bragh!  Ireland Forever! Truly, the author of LIE, the critically-acclaimed young adult novel about a hate crime by white teens against Hispanic immigrants. LIE, from St. Martin's Press, is available in print and ebook versions.

RAISED BY MY FATHER - Writing Male Characters

RAISED
BY MY FATHER – How it influenced my writing, helped me create strong male
characters, and made me think differently about men
 I was raised by a single parent – a father, which I think makes
me think and write about men differently than a lot of writers. One recent result:  I've
written a young adult novel with strong male points of view. 
Inspired by real events, LIE -- (St. Martin's Press, 2011) -- has
two main characters – seventeen-year-old Skylar and Sean. LIE is about the
aftermath of a brutal hate crime, about a group of white teen attacking
Hispanics for "fun" and everything going terribly wrong. Moreover, it's the
struggle of Skylar and Sean to break from their friends, their community and
tell the truth -- or lie.  
Writing both a male and female main characters was a challenge
--  and had me thinking a lot about what makes teens different.  What
makes them act? What are the morals and ethics that they each respond to -- or
reject? There are ten distinct first person voices in LIE. In addition to the
teen voices, there are three fathers as a well as a high school coach,
struggling along with the teens about the consequences of this hate crime.  
In LIE, it soon becomes clear that the words and actions of the
fathers have strongly influenced the actions of the teen boys. These teenagers,
even more than the girls, are looking toward the men in their lives as guiding
forces. The fathers stress sports over all else. They want to "win," at all
costs for their sons, in sports and in life. One father's bitter and angry prejudices
about race are juxtaposed against the idea of "winning" i.e. for one group of
people to "win" another must "lose," and so his son, Jimmy, a Scholar-Athlete, leads a
group of his peers in a so-called "beaner-hopping" spree against
Hispanics, which turns terribly wrong.   
 
Growing up, my father spent a lot of time talking about life,
about history, about the world and current events to his four children. He was
not at all a religious man, but he thought a lot about what was right in the
world and what was wrong in the world, and all the gray parts in between. He
was also a big, tough-talking guy from the Bronx. But what he said to me and to
my younger siblings was this, "Think before you act. Think of how what you're
doing affects you and think about how it affects others." Admittedly, he
probably said it more colorfully, but I knew what he meant and it informed my
moral core to this day. I am a writer because of my father, Morris Blech, who is still going strong at 81-years old.     
 
I urge mothers, fathers as well as their teens to take a look at
my critically-acclaimed novel: LIE. Let me know what you think of the male
characters, about the fathers and sons. 
Truly, author of LIEavailable everywhere booksand ebooks are sold.

The End of Summer...Back to the Routine For You?

Does September mean getting back to routines for you? 

I've put it off all summer - writing something new--like an affair I don't want to have but keeps calling. I've circled my desk, cleaned it down to its bones. But I know it's the routines that make a writer or at least makes me. At my desk by 9:30 am. Write for three or four hours or at least stare at screen until it bleeds or I do. Ignore emails until lunchtime. Part of my new routine: fit in exercise. Too much "at the desk" isn't good I've learned, but if I must, I must be there, working out metaphors, crunching sentences. Ignore the cat tempting me with his fur at the my feet. Return to revise and re-write after dinner for three or four hours. At times, ignore the kids, the laundry, the dish-washing. Goal: Write something new. Make sure each sentence works hard.

I search the wall above my desk for inspiration and find this one that urges me on:
"All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives lies a mystery.  Writing a book is a long, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness.  One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand" -- George Orwell.
This fall, Wednesday, the first day of school for my two kids, I will return to the routine of writing. To sustain me --not the big theme parks we visited, not the national museums in Washington D.C. --is the memory of the river outside Athens, Georgia in the morning, the park in Silver Spring, Maryland at dusk. The joy of my children in the simple and my joy in them:
What routines will you return to this fall?
Truly, author of LIE, celebrating its first anniversary this September. Have you read LIE yet?

In like a lion...

March comes in like a lion... and it feels that way to this author :

-Monday, March 12 at 12 noon- speaking at "Second Act" luncheon at Temple Beth Elohim in Old Bethpage; please note there is modest cost for luncheon.  All are invited!

-Sunday, April 1 at 1 pm -- at Books of Wonder in NYC!!  One of the most wonder-ful independent book stores!  And I will be among many other wonderful young adult authors - all of us greeting readers, and selling and signing our books as part of the 2012 NYC Teen Authors Festival, a series of readings, panels and signings by the who's who of young adult writers (and I am so excited to be involved!) organized by the extra-ordinary writer/editor David Levithan. 

More events and readings to come later this spring. If you are librarian or teacher, especially in the
Long Island area, check out my new For Educators page. ROAR!!!

Does March come in like a lion for you??
Truly, the author of LIE now available everywhere booksand ebooks are sold. 

LIE from the Netherlands....

Sneak Preview:  The cover of LIE from its publisher in the Netherlands!  If you haven't read LIE in English, it's time - don't be behind the rest of the world.  LIE now available everywhere books are sold -- in English and soon in Dutch!   Truly, the author of LIE , a story of race, prejudice, hate - and even love.

Inspiration Tip -Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC

Inspiration tip -- a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 5th Avenue and 86th street in Manhattan -- one of the greatest museums in the world -- can be very inexpensive.  But, you have to be smart about it.  In small print under the admission price -- you will see that the cost is 'suggested.'  You can, as I did this week, walk up and say, 'two adults,' and hand them whatever money you want for admission.  No need for any explanations.  Just say two adults for ten dollars, or five dollars, or any price you want to pay (the suggested price is $25.00 for adults, and in my mind, strictly for tourists!).  Children under 12 are free.  And for children under 12, next to the museum is a wonderful playground -- called the 'Ancient Playground' and set up to look like the Egyptian temples one can see inside the museum -- this is absolutely free to all.  The Temple of Dendur, the mummies, and the Greek galleries were particular favorites of my 6th grader, who is studying ancient civilizations in social studies  (warning you will see full nudity in the Greek galleries -- but, hey, it is a statue:).  Last hint: Do not eat in the museum, especially the cafeteria -- overpriced -- go outside and buy a hot dog and NY pretzel -- tastes better and half the price!   More at www.metmuseum.org.

Haiku Among the Greek Statues in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
His eyes rage againstthe cruel disfigurement:
Cold stone still breaking.
Truly, author of LIE now available everywherebooks and ebooks are sold

SMART CAT... POETRY... WRITING

When I procrastinate with my writing, like I am doing today, I often read poetry.  I stumbled on this Christopher Smart poem at www.poets.org... it's on his cat, Jeffrey, and was written in the 18th century.  I believe in the power of cats, and it seems Mr. Smart does too.  They are essential, especially to this writer, proud owner of the 22-lb lover-boy of a cat, Shelton.   Here is a fragment of a fragment from the great Christopher Smart that renewed me:
...For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary. For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.For he is of the tribe of Tiger.
Truly, author of LIE. 
available everywhere print and ebooks are sold.