Nicholas Ponticello's Blog, page 9

SCBWI-L.A. Writers Day Contest: And the Winners Are…

By Brenda Scott Royce, Contest Coordinator The event was virtual, but the excitement was still palpable as the winners for the 2021 Writers Day …

SCBWI-L.A. Writers Day Contest: And the Winners Are…

SINNER X Wins Young Adult Writer’s Day Contest

Would you believe it? My YA manuscript, Sinner X, just won the YA category at the SCBWI-LA Writer’s Day. This is pretty exciting, since it was in competition with the best young adult writers in Los Angeles. Even though Sinner X doesn’t have representation yet, I now know that the story has legs, and I hope to get it published someday.

The award was announced last Saturday at the Los Angeles Writer’s Day event, which was hosted online due to COVID. Since honorees could not accept their awards in person, they spotlighted the winners on Zoom. This is a classic COVID-era celebration. 

Here’s what the judges had to say about the manuscript:

Foreboding emanates from every syllable of this manuscript, starting with its opening line. Early clues let readers know the story takes place in an other-worldly setting—but one that includes chilling echoes of realistic fiction. It’s soon clear that 15-year-old Xen is being sent to a conversion camp of sorts by his ultra-religious father because he’s gay. However, the cattle car-like transport, manned by brutal and unfeeling robot sentinels, indicate the hellish prison Xen’s headed to is more akin to a Nazi concentration camp than a modern-day conversion camp, as misguided and damaging as they may be. Considerable time is spent crammed into the transport with Xen, where he does his best to comfort a young boy and accommodate an elderly woman. Only one of his traveling companions makes it to their destination alive. The ten pages of Sinner X submitted offer a chilling, devastating opening to what is likely an impossible manuscript to put down.

Hopefully this is further evidence that I can do this writing thing professionally…

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P.S. Here’s the certificate that came in the mail this week…sorry for the crappy photo quality. 

‘Diversity Plus’: Diverse Story Aesthetics, Not Just Diverse Faces

Wow!

Kite Tales

by Henry Lien

Discussions about diversity in the arts today focus on the importance of diverse characters and diverse creators. As crucial as that is, diversity can and should also include different story forms and themes drawn from diverse traditions. Western storytelling forms are almost entirely based on conflict, tension, and resolution, while themes are almost entirely focused on self-actualization/self-empowerment and a rising self-esteem arc. These are not the only ways to tell a satisfying story. Non-Western storytelling traditions offer radical alternatives.

The notion of what constitutes a satisfying story is heavily influenced by cultural values. To illustrate, let’s play a game. I’m going to use a very traditional Chinese/Taiwanese lens to describe a book that is well-known here in the exotic Occident.

Q. Majestic gold dragon is murdered by band of itinerant thieves.

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April Book Recommendations + Bonus Music Recs

I can’t believe it’s already April. Good news is vaccine rollout has been super successful, and in a few days all Californians will be eligible to get the vaccine. You can even sign up now for an appointment after the 15th.

I read a great book by Japanese author, Mieko Kawakami. I was trying to figure out when the book was originally published, and it actually has a long history. The story was originally published in 2008 as a novella called Chichi to Ran, and was never translated into English. However, in 2019, Kawakami completely rewrote the story and published it as a full-length novel under the title Natsu Monogatari (in Japanese). Then, in 2020, the full-length novel was translated into English under the title Breasts and Eggs.

I LOVED this book. Set primarily in Tokyo and Osaka, the story follows Natsuke’s journey to become pregnant as a single woman. There are two parts to the book. The first part focuses on Natsuke’s sister’s decision to get breast implants. The second part is much longer, and traces the evolution of Natsuke’s thinking about sperm donations and in vitro fertilization.

The discussion of the ethics of pregnancy through sperm donation is interesting, especially through the lens of an older, single, Japanese woman. The question of whether a child should have the right to “find” his or her father is explored through various characters with differing opinions. It’s fascinating.

BREASTS AND EGGS, Mieko Kawakami, 2020, Picador

I also read a YA novel by Ned Vizzini called, It’s Kind of a Funny Story. The novel follows a young teen who checks himself into a hospital when he becomes suicidal. I really enjoyed the story, and I would definitely recommend it to teens. It wasn’t really meaty enough to get my approval as a story for adults. I think it could have been grittier. More honest about the struggle of mental illness. Still, it’s a great place for a teen to start reading about mental illness. Sadly, the author passed away from suicide in 2013, three years after the novel was published.

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, Ned Vizzini, 2010, Disney Hyperion

Now for your bonus music recommendations. I may be late to the scene, but I am totally impressed by Billie Eilish and her Grammy-Award-winning album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?

I also discovered the sister-band, HAIM. They’ve been around forever, but a good place to start listening is their album, SOMETHING TO TELL YOU.

And of course, Beyoncé’s recent album, THE LION KING: THE GIFT.

Hope you enjoy the recommendations. Also, if you want access to exclusive content, make sure to subscribe to my Patreon page! And sign up for my free monthly digest.

Audiobook Out Now!!!

Thursday will be the sixth anniversary of the publication of Do Not Resuscitate, and I can finally announce the release of the audiobook version on Amazon’s Audible service. The audiobook was produced and narrated by the very talented Miles Meili, with whom it was a true pleasure to work. You can use your Audible credits to download the audiobook, or you can purchase it through Amazon. Please check it out, especially if you have a few spare credits lying around. And leave a review if you get a chance to listen.

READ THE REST OF THIS POST ON MY PATREON PAGE.

Warning: Book Glorifies Rape

Cruise Confidential: A Hit Below the Waterline: Where the Crew Lives, Eats, Wars, and Parties: One Crazy Year Working on Cruise Ships by Brian David Bruns

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


The publisher and author should be ashamed of putting out a book that so explicitly makes light of sexual abuse and rape. I returned the book in haste, and now I wish I had pulled the exact passage from the text. The author witnessed a nearly-unconscious, drunk woman being raped on the ship and did nothing about it. What’s worse, he literally said he had to laugh because that was life on a cruise ship for you.

I did not finish the book after the rape scene. You should not buy this. It is not funny. It’s race-insensitive, sexist, and misogynistic. The author thinks he’s being funny when only a white, American, straight male in a fraternity would laugh at his humor.

The publisher should pull this book, and the author should report the rape to the authorities, even if it is way past the statute of limitations. There is a woman out there that the author knows who might benefit from validation and recognition of her trauma.

I will be contacting the publisher to request this book be pulled from the shelves since it glorifies toxic masculinity and rape culture.



View all my reviews

NFT Art is Taking Off

I don’t know if you’ve been following, but the world of crypto art is blowing up right now, with all sorts of people—from digital artists to Elon Musk—getting in on producing and collecting NFTs. I’ve made a few NFTs of my own as part of my Nature in Reverse Collection on Opensea (a digital art store/gallery).

Check out some of my digital photography.

LIGHTNESS OF BEING SERIES

LIGHTNESS OF BEING #1-4

MAETS GNIKCUS

MAETS GNIKCUS

PRIDE

PRIDE

LION IN BLUE

[image error]LION IN BLUE

All of these photos were taken by me.

All of these pieces are available on Schlomo’s Selfies Opensea page. Plus you’ll find several others, including Schlomo’s Selfies collector cards!

Crypto Art: What’s the Big Deal?

Coincidentally, a recent interest of mine—cryptocurrency—has intersected with my interest in art. You may have read in the news about the famous crypto art piece that just sold at auction for $69 million.  

Mike Winkelmann

Or perhaps you read about the Burnt Banksy, which exists now only as a digital artwork.

Burnt Banksy “Witness”

Crypto artworks are more universally known as NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), and they exist purely in digital form. However, like cryptocurrencies (altcoins, Bitcoin, etc.), each NFT has a unique address/code that makes it impossible to “forge” or “duplicate”. It basically solves the problem of tracking and authenticating “unique” digital art.

So what does this mean for you and me? Well, first of all, if you ever wanted to collect art but couldn’t afford to maintain and store valuable pieces, you can get into the crypto art game and all of your valuable art lives in your crypto wallet. It also means you can make your own digital art.

I’ve begun collecting art in this way. I have a few interesting pieces:

NFT Collectibles

 But even more fun than collecting NFT art is creating NFT art. I’ve created a series of collectible pieces known as Schlomo’s Selfies, which are on display on Schlomo’s Rarible page. Schlomo and I are having tons of fun creating these collectible tokens, which act as digital trading cards. You can keep up with Schlomo’s progress on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/schlomosselfies/ 

Schlomo’s Selfies

So far there are THREE trading cards available in limited editions.

And occasionally Schlomo lets me post NFT comics on his page. The following Simply Nick Sunday strip is the only authentic Simply Nick NFT in existence…so far. 

Simply Nick

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March Book Recommendations + Bonus Music Recs

February was a big writing month for me, so I didn’t do as much reading as I normally do. I only have one book recommendation going into March, and it’s another collection of essays by Joan Didion—perhaps her most famous publication—Slouching Towards Bethlehem.

Although Slouching Towards Bethlehem is considered Didion’s most defining work, I wouldn’t say it’s her best. Some of the essays in the book, especially the On Going Home and Notes from a Native Daughter were particularly meaningful to me, since they are all about being a native of the Central Valley.

On the whole, however, the collection, though culturally significant, lacks a kind of cohesion seen in her later works. Nevertheless, you’re guaranteed beautiful writing and deep insight from Didion in this and all other of her works.

SLOUCHING TOWARDS BETHLEHEM, Joan Didion, 1968, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Now for your bonus music recommendations. I just discovered jazz artist Jon Batiste. He’s been around for a while, but he recently worked on the soundtrack to Pixar’s Soul. I want to recommend his album Hollywood Africans for easy listening, with covers of popular songs like What a Wonderful World and Smile.

He also has a new album coming out March 19, 2021 titled WE ARE. Two singles on that album are already available, and I think they’re pretty exceptional: CRY and I NEED YOU.

Give them a listen!

I NEED YOU, Jon Batiste

Hope you enjoy the recommendations. Also, if you want access to exclusive content, make sure to subscribe to my Patreon page! And sign up for my free monthly digest.

Self-Publishing Regrets?

Q: You’ve said you think Do Not Resuscitate is your best piece of fiction. Do you ever regret self-publishing it instead of pursuing traditional publication?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Of course I would prefer to have my favorite piece of fiction traditionally published for wider distribution. I often ask myself why I didn’t even try to go the traditional route before I self-published Do Not Resuscitate. At the time, I needed a project, something I could control. And there are no guarantees in traditional publishing, as we are seeing with my current YA novel, What If I Did? Even though What If I Did? won a grant and secured an agent, six months later, nobody has agreed to publish it. Hardly a bite.

So I think Do Not Resuscitate served its purpose at the time. It was a great practice run for the real thing; I learned a lot about editing, formatting, marketing, and sales going the self-publishing route. And I think the fact that DNR won several awards gave me confidence to approach an agent with What If I Did?

Nothing is certain in the publishing industry, so at least I know that DNR is available now for anyone to enjoy. AND you can look forward to the release of the audiobook version this spring. I have to say, hearing the book read aloud by a talented narrator (Miles Meili) gives me a renewed appreciation for the story. (I’ve been reviewing recordings over this past week, and they sound great!) If you want to be notified by email when the audiobook is available on Amazon, just sign up for my free monthly digest. And subscribe to my Patreon page to read the rest of this article.