Ilsa J. Bick's Blog, page 35

The Feel of Freedom

I started out the morning thinking I'd write about something else but spied this story about a Waldorf School in the  Sunday New York Times and knew, even without reading the entire article, that these were the thoughts I wanted to share today. I won't do a retread of the article; read it yourself. (Although I certainly sat up when the writer recognized my alma mater, Oberlin College, as a prestigious institution. I quite agree.) Similarly, I won't reiterate Waldorf's points about creativity, attention span, brain development or relatedness. They are true, by the way, and something I've been saying for years to anyone who will listen in much the same way that I've pointed out, repeatedly, that the book–as a piece of technology–needed no improvement other than the medium of which it is composed. (Kill a tree vs. kill an electron: there's no contest, of course. But that doesn't mean that I believe the 2-D tech of an e-book/reader serves brain development as well as the spatial requirements inherent in navigating 3-D, a skill that develops early on in life and which factors, heavily, in a person's ability to retrieve and retain information. Think about it the next time you watch kids playing peek-a-boo. Now, will this change as more kids use e-readers? Beats me. While malleable, the human brain has taken a long time to get to where it is, and I'm not sure that training a new generation of kids to effectively use an e-reader serves them, or us, well. My opinion, for what it's worth.)

Truth be told, you almost don't have to read the article, though, do you? Because there is Bryn Perry, sprawled on a desk, lost in a book.  (My fantasy is that it's Nancy Drew; the books have the same covers.)  That picture takes me back to, yes, some good old days when picking up a good book was both the greatest reward–and expected.

One thing I've been asked on tour a fair amount is to name my favorite authors. My stock response–true, by the way–is that I don't have any absolutes. Whoever's telling me a thumpingly good story at that second is my favorite author. This isn't me being coy either (although I make it a habit not to diss other authors; life is hard enough).

But ask me about a pivotal book–one that rocked my world, completely freaked me out, reduced me to tears–and that I'll tell you without hesitation: Charlotte's Web.

I'm not kidding. To this day, I remember where I was when I read about Charlotte's death: sitting cross-legged by the well-stocked bookshelf in Mrs. Floyd's second-grade class. (The beauty of life back then, in the Dark Ages, was that if you finished your work early, you were allowed to pick any book you wanted from those well-stocked classroom shelves and settle down for a good read.) The shock of Charlotte's dying was seismic. I cried my eyes out. Just couldn't help it. I remember lining up to go to the cafeteria for lunch and Mrs. Floyd asking, ever so gently, if I'd read something upsetting.

Embarrassing? Yeah, I imagine so, although I don't remember any other kids laughing at all.  What I do recall, though, is that feeling of utter devastation.  In fact, I'm tearing up just writing this.

Being a navel-gazey sort, I think I understand why this shook me so. Charlotte's death was the first time it hit me that parents were mortal. They could and would die, and I'd be left alone, which is–believe me–every young kid's nightmare. (The next time your six/seven/eight-year old brother or sister throws a major hissy fit when the family's in crisis? He/she's not being a pain in the ass. Your sib is worried about whether or not you love them enough not to let them die.)

Would I have had this experience elsewhere, say, at home? Sure. My parents weren't really avid readers; I don't remember ever seeing them with a book in hand unless it was to read that book to one of us. (Another true memory: when I had my tonsils out–I must've been about five–they used ether and I remember constantly drifting off as my dad read Mary Poppins aloud. I'd wake up and demand he keep going. Must've taken a full day to get through that book.) My dad was also a great storyteller and one of my favorite times was right before bed, when he'd conjure up something off the cuff. (I remember one long-running saga about a wayward little gorilla who kept looking for his parents.)

What my parents didn't have in time to read was offset by a reverence for books, and there were always plenty from which to choose. Their greatest gift to me–and I'm dead serious–was the day they enrolled me in a kid's book-of-the-month club. This, I eventually replaced with a sci-fi book of the month club when I was old enough to have started earning money, and I had shelves full of books–both the original kids' club collection and those later sfs–by the time I went to college. Many, many, many books I kept and read later to my own children.

Another true fact/memory: I read to my youngest until she turned about 14. I recall that we were on Watership Down for the second time through when I petered out. She never complained and I never asked, but she mentions, every now and again, how sad she was that I stopped. I think I said something stupid like I thought she was too old or something–and her response still makes me sad: "No, Mom. I always loved it when you read out loud." Oh, the things you realize only in retrospect.

While all this is far afield from the picture of that girl, on her back, with that book, it's also really not. A book is a gift. The joy in the discovery of new worlds, in flights of the imagination, in the simple pleasure of diving into that hole in the page and becoming lost in a story is one that should never be taken for granted or done away with. Can you get the same experience with an e-reader? Yes, there is no question that you can. I know because I have one; I've done it; I've torn through books in a single sitting. (But do I enjoy them as much? I don't know. Part of me thinks not–especially since, if I really like a book, I will also buy the physical copy–but, then again, I'm both a shrink and a romantic.)

But–and this is the important thing–what you lose when you throw over the tangible, physical book is the opportunity for discovery. I'm not talking about story, per se. I'm talking about the rush of fingering through shelves and shelves of real, physical objects. Not only do I remember Mrs. Floyd and Charlotte, I remember the actual books: those shelves full of worlds waiting for me to open and dive on in.

That can't be done with an e-reader. It just can't. Maybe it will, some day; there might be a virtual bookshelf that's actually appealing, eye-catching and all the rest–but it doesn't exist now. There is no ability to flip from the beginning chapter to the middle of a book; to skip around and try things out. To discover, on your own.  No, you are told where you can go and what you may try out; the little taste of story you get is dictated by someone else–and that's just no good.

Because, think about this: the prototypical dystopia is one where the human soul is oppressed and controlled by the state.  There is no choice, no reverence for imagination or creativity.  Now–think about the freedom you have lost when you surrender control of what you may read to a company or a website.

Think about it.  There is no difference.  There is no difference at all.  You just think you have a choice.

So, take a long, long look at that girl sprawled on that desk and then move on to the pictures of those kids handling real flowers–all those colors and textures and smells–or listening, rapt, to real human beings.

Then go out and hold a book–a real book, that treasure–in your hand.

That is the feel of freedom.

September 2011 Recommended Reads, Listens and Looks

Wow, it feels like forever since I wrote any reviews.  Having spent most of September on the road, I'd hoped I'd get just a TON of reading done. While I did make a dent in my sizable TBR stack, I had the same problem I did the previous month: fatigue, pure and simple. I was just a touch more impatient than usual, and my Stephen King Rule (read 15% or so and if the book's not giving back more than you're putting in, chuck that sucker) revised downward a tad.  Last month, if a book didn't grab me by the end of the second chapter, it was disappeared–and, for the first time, I actually loaded my Kindle with two word games.  Like . . . wuh?  Me?  Play games when I could be reading?  Say it isn't so.  Similarly, I revisited some comforting TV shows and went for slightly frothier movies than usual.

I'm sure I'll be back to my intensely Freudian self after England and Ireland .

In the meantime, here are the RLLs that made my cut this past month.

READS

Hirsch, Jeff; The Eleventh Plague (Scholastic Press; 2011). If Suzanne Collins recommends a book, you can bet people will sit up and take notice–and with good reason. Having had the opportunity to both meet and hang out a tad with Jeff at a recent lit conference, I can tell you two things: he's a very nice guy and a good writer to boot. His background as a playwright means he has a good ear for dialogue and that shows here in this post-apocalyptic story that revolves mostly around finding one's place in a new world that evokes a bit of MAD MAX. Not in a bad way, mind you: what Hirsch has done here is take what could be a big, brawling narrative and tighten the focus to the story of one fifteen-year-old boy trying to discover his place in a brutal world that would give Mel Gibson a run for his money. The story itself is pretty simple: the world's been decimated by the Eleventh Plague, essentially a bioweapon released during a conflict between China and everyone else. With a third of the world's population dead, things are . . . bad. At the novel's start, Stephen's grandfather, an ex-Marine, has died, leaving Stephen and his father to eke out an existence as scavengers. Stephen's dad, a relatively ineffectual guy, is gravely injured; Stephen and his father are rescued by semi-altruistic folks who take them to a hidden enclave and, really, the rest of the book centers on Stephen's discovery and then embrace of a new way of life. While the instigating incident that propels the final crisis in this book was both a little unbelievable and out of character for Stephen, it worked relatively well and also revealed the seedy underside to people who might otherwise seem too good to be true (and frequently were, but Hirsch did this to make a point). This is a spare book, easily read in a single sitting but that's not the same as something slight and forgettable. What pleased me was the way in which Hirsch allowed Stephen both his head and heart by novel's end.

McEntire, Myra. Hourglass (Egmont USA, 2011). This book is a bit like a well-made martini. Take a great cover; add what is essentially a YA romance with a fun premise (time travel with a twist); throw in a bit of SANCTUARY and HEROES and then shake–and you've got all the ingredients for a fast, very entertaining read. What seems to begin as just another YA woo-woo paranormal romance morphs into something closer to romance and sci-fi in this story of a 17 yo girl who discovers that all those ghosts she thinks she's been seeing are really time ripples (rips) from the past. Toss in a handsome, faintly tragic guy; mix it up with another smoother, just as sexy OTHER guy–yes, classic love triangle here, complete with misgivings, doubt and all the rest–and we get to follow Emerson Cole as she comes to grips with her abilities to negotiate the past.  That she then girls-up to not only rescue a scientist-cum-father-figure but her boyfriend as well makes this something you can get behind. The love interest angle takes that little charge you feel with the right guy to a whole new level, too. My only complaint with this book is I didn't quite buy Em as a 17yo; she read and sounded much older, but this is a minor quibble. This is a very fine debut and fast read with just enough twists and turns to make you wonder what McEntire has in store for the next installment. Here's hoping I score an autographed copy next time around.

Roy, Jennifer Rozines. Mindblind (Marshall Cavendish Corp, 2010). I'm not a disorder-of-the-month kind of reader, and I normally steer clear of books that delve into areas with which I have a lot of familiarity. This book caught my eye, though–in an airport Hudson News, no less (I live to see my books in airports someday…), and I'm glad I gave into my impulse to pick it up. 14-yo Nathaniel has Asperger's, but he's a high-functioning "Aspie," who orders his world with formulas. Oh, and did I mention that he's a genius? Before you roll your eyes, lighten up a little; this kid isn't a savant–or Rain Man either. He's got a couple friends, a crush and–except for his dad–a supportive family. While the family parts fall on the side of being too good to believe, Nathaniel's goal isn't. While he's got the IQ, he figures he has to make some truly memorable contribution to the world in order to qualify as a genius. So if he can only do that–and kiss the girl of his dreams–he's set. Don't let the math or formulae deter you: this is a little book with a very big heart.

Vaught, Susan.  Trigger (Bloomsbury Childrens, 2007).  Yet another departure for me, this book was recommended by a friend. I have to admit that deciding to give any novel about a brain-injured kid a try was–for me–a little bit too much of a busman's holiday, kind along the lines of MINDBLIND, come to think of it. Anyway, this is really quite an interesting book. Vaught's a neuropsychologist and she knows her stuff; this novel about a suicidal young man, Jersey Hatch, who both didn't quite succeed in killing himself–and yet did–was very involving. Vaught perfectly captures the frustrations and limitations of a seventeen-year-old boy and his less-than-perfect family both trying to cope with the aftermath of a failed suicide while not quite sure they want answers as to why Jersey might have thought suicide was an option. Jersey's mind and body are so damaged that you wonder if, by saving his life, anyone did him any favors. Yet Jersey is fated to live and while this book makes you work to get at the meat–the same way Jersey must, every day–it is by concentrating on this boy's struggles in the real world while figuring out what made this kid, with everything to live for, pull that trigger that this novel finds its legs.

LISTENS

Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Well, not quite true: I loved what Katy Kellgren did with my own ASHES, but waxing lyrical about that would be cheating.

OTOH, Katy did a GREAT job–enough to land the book on the Audible Bestseller list. So, that's really something.

As for the rest . . . I listened to quite a few books–and jettisoned them all. Now it's also true that I didn't get to cook much this past month, and since I do a ton of listening in the kitchen, maybe that explains why nothing really grabbed me. I have a hard time listening to stories on a plane, and there just wasn't enough down-time in hotel rooms to think about plugging in and tuning out.

But this is simply unacceptable. Next month, I got to find SOMETHING or bust.

LOOKS

Again, not a lot of time and I saw NOTHING in a theater, which just pisses me off. I revisited some TV–started re-watching Stargate Universe–which was like a nice bowl of good macaroni and cheese: comfort food for the eyes.

Still, I grabbed a couple DVDs during my travels and two movies did make the cut.

Heart and Souls (Ron Underwood, 1993). This very fun, light and fluffy comedy about a young man and his cadre of four ghosts who've been with him since birth was a pleasant surprise. When Robert Downey, Jr. is good, he's very good–and he is excellent in this film. With a fine supporting cast–Tom Sizemore, Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodward and Kyra Sedgewick–I found myself actually laughing out loud and then tearing up at the end. And Downey can actually sing! My only complaint: as the love interest, Elizabeth Shue is wasted here. But that's a minor quibble because that's not really the focus of the story. Have fun. I did (and forgive the subtitles, but this clip is just so good, I couldn't resist).

Meek's Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt, 2010). This is a very weird little film, and I still don't know why I like it so much, but I do. The film follows a small group of settlers following the Oregon Trail in 1845. The trail itself led through territory controlled by the Walla Walla and Cayuse; in an effort to avoid them, the historical Stephen Meek, for whom the cutoff was named, led a group of Oregon-bound settlers along an alternative route that left the main trail and bypassed both the Blue Mountains and Columbia River. Unfortunately, this meant leaving a ready source of water behind, too, and it is this aspect of the journey that the film focuses on. While Michelle Williams (Emily Tetherow) gets top billing, it is through the efforts of both Bruce Greenwood (unrecognizable with his wild beard and hair) and Will Patton as the soft-spoken but determined and highly moral Solomon Tetherow that this very quiet film finds its voice. Meek and Tetherow are opposite ends of the same spectrum–men leading women–and what impressed me most about they are perfect foils in a story that both embraces and then liberates these women from their blinkered world. This is not a perfect film, though. Some aspects were much too formulaic–you'll see disaster coming a mile away, trust me on this–and if you're expecting an end here, you won't get the one you think you deserve. (I will tell you this, though: the original band consisted of about 1,000 people and 200 wagons. Many people died before finding water. This film focuses on three wagons and nine people, and no one dies–yet. But I had a really bad feeling about that canary at the beginning of the film, and I was right.)

This is also a very spare film, without a lot of dialogue, but still–a lot happens. You just have to be patient.

Now, this last choice is cheating a little because it hasn't been released yet, but is there anyone out there who thinks that John Carpenter's splendid remake of The Thing (1982) needed any other sort of explication.  Well, apparently someone did.  October will see the release of The Thing (Matthijs van Heijningen, Jr.), a prequel that spans the three days before the events in the Carpenter film, following the team of American and Norwegian scientists that discovered the alien in the first place.

I'll be honest: since we all know they end up dying (or maybe they just assimilated/replicated/duplicated), do we really need this film?  The premise smacks just a little bit of those misbegotten Star Wars prequels.  Darth Vader was fine the way he was, thanks.

But, sure, I'm curious–only, please, don't kill any more dogs! (Of course, considering that the Carpenter film started that way, this is a vain hope.)  So . . . maybe you'll find me in a darkened movie theater, with shades on, so no one can make fun.  Or not.  Just depends on how many rotten tomatoes get lobbed at this thing.

Home Again, Home Again

ACK!! The second leg of my U.S. ASHES tour is over!  ACK!! Where did the time go? You guys out Seattle-way, I had been so psyched, but given the teachers' strike, a visit will have to wait for another time.  Still, I've truly enjoyed my time on the road.  Sure, I'm happy to have worked my way home to pet cats, feed the husband, down a martini, think about garden winter prep and—most importantly—gear up to work on a new novel.  (I got, like, these three books just BEGGING to see the light of day.   Picking which to do first will be tough.)

Then again, I'm not truly done-done. Our own Next Chapter Books and school visits await.  I head for England and Ireland the day after.  Thirty-six hours after I hit this side of the pond again, I'll have several more events, both in Wisconsin and Illinois, that will keep me busy through the end of October.

Even though I missed being home . . . I really enjoyed my time on the road.  All things being equal, the tour's been a real eye-opener and I think I've learned a fair amount, specifically:

1)    Booksellers rule.  No matter how big the author, if they're hosting you, it's because they love, believe in and are passionate about your book.  That they are gracious and genuinely nice to boot only makes me appreciate them more.  I have had the great good fortune to meet many wonderful booksellers and their staff on this tour, and they all deserve a round of applause.  Without them and their careful attention, I wouldn't have met so many great kids or had such memorable school visits.  So, great big huzzahs and sloppy kisses to:

Stephanie, Brandi, and Robyn of Changing Hands (and Erin, the RH rep);
Emily of Lemuria Bookshop;
Jill, Ramona, and Paul of Square Books, Jr.;
The entire Malaprops staff;
Melissa, Holland, and Vicky of Puddin'head Books;
Becky and her fabulous daughter, Hallie, of Anderson's Bookshop

2)    Give me a roomful of kids who care about books, and I'm a happy woman.  Some of the best memories I'll take from this tour revolve around eager, enthusiastic teens who asked just the best questions and had some of the most surprising answers.  Like when I posed a question about the difference between surviving and living, and that quiet girl in the front row—the very-mannered kid who hadn't uttered a peep the whole hour and change—raised her hand and said, "Living is when you have the time to do your nails."   Go ahead and laugh, but think about it a second and you realize: she got it exactly right. All you guys at all the schools listed under (3)–I must've met and spoken to a couple thousand kids this trip, and believe me when I say that I enjoyed each and every one of you. Thanks for caring about books.

3)    Librarians work hard.  So do teachers.  They spend their time laying the  groundwork for your visit.  Listen when they speak and ask their advice.  They know their kids, and every school–and each class in that school–is different.  So thank you to the staff of:

Cactus Canyon Junior High, Apache Junction, AZ

Ridgeland High School, Ridgeland, MS

St. Andrew's Episcopal Upper School, Ridgeland, MS

Oxford High School, Oxford, MS

Lafayette High School, Oxford, MS

Potterville High School, Potterville, MI

Haslett High School, Haslett, MI

Hillside Junior High, Salt Lake City, UT

Hancock High School, St. Louis, MO

Oakville High School, St. Louis, MO

Chicago Public Library/Greater Grand Crossing Branch, Chicago, IL

Drauden Point Middle School, Plainfield, IL

Scullen Middle School, Naperville, IL

4)    Members of the military are just as welcoming, gracious, and enthusiastic as I remember.  Seeing my old base again was a  real trip down memory lane. Special thanks to all military and civilian members who made my visits to Lackland AFB, Randolph AFB, and Fort Polk so memorable.

5)    And continuing along that line of thought: when you're in military country, places where there are bases and a fair number of personnel, civilians can tell if you're ex.  People guessed right about me all the time.  One very kind coffee vendor filled me in on the giveaway: my manners. They always thank you for your service (as they do to all active-duty members in uniform), and that invariably brought a lump to my throat.

6)    Which raises another question: I know how I feel when someone thanks me, but I do wonder how current members feel, especially when the majority are headed for Afghanistan.  I'm too polite to ask.  They also deserve their privacy and our respect.

7)    People who take the time to visit with you at a bookstore are there because they want to engage in a conversation.  Talk with  them, and you'll be surprised what you find out.  Even if and when you go off-topic, who cares?  They're in a dialogue with you and your book.  Enjoy.

8)    Escorts also work very hard to make sure you have the energy to do your job.  They are there to make your life easier.  Even if you think you can do it all yourself—and you probably can—let them take care of you once in a while.  It actually feels good.

9)    Your publisher cares about how you feel, too. Those little rah-rah missives mean a lot.

10)  Ditto your hard-working agent, who's madly tweeting and talking you up.  Remember that if you've got a good one, she knows her job.  Listen to her when she gives advice.  It's frequently spot-on.

11)  Write down the number of your hotel room.  There's nothing more embarrassing than calling down to the front desk because your key card won't work—and then discovering that you're trying to get into the room you had two  cities back.

12)  Exercise regularly.  Those of you who do . . . you know why.

13)  Eat when possible.  I tried, sort of.  I often forgot.  There was just so much to do and always  something to gear up for.

14)  For God's sake, go to bed at a decent hour.  I tried.  Sort of.  Thank you, Jenn, for screaming at me to turn off the flipping light.

15)  Talk to your main squeeze, significant other, or whatever every day.  Even if it's only five minutes, do it.  They make it possible for you to do the work  you love—and keep you sane.

16)  Say please and thank you.  Often.  Everyone else is working just as hard as you

think you are.

17)  Have confidence that you know what you're doing.  Your publisher hasn't gone to all this trouble so you can make an ass of yourself.  If your publisher believes in you and your work, so should you.

18)  Twitter and Facebook can be lifelines.  All those people who pop in and give you a pep talk or tell you what fun they had?  Give them a round of applause.  Thank them.  They just told you that everything you said and did was worth their time and attention.  So, good job.

19)  Something will go fubar kaflooey.  Planes  will be delayed.  Your luggage will be

held hostage by the airlines.  (So, do carry a change of clothing and your toothbrush.  Two weeks on the road at a time, and I just couldn't get it into one carry-on, not with my computer along, too.)  Roll with it.  There are just as many hapless passengers in the same boat.  If you miss something on the other end, relax.  People understand.

20)  When you do get home again, take a few seconds to reflect.  Turn off the engine, sit in the truck–and realize just how lucky you are.  Be grateful for all the hard work that went into putting you and your book forward. All those people–your publisher, your agent, the teachers, the kids, the booksellers, your spouse, your friends who were there to listen and offer support–they enrich your life and put wind beneath your wings.  Thank them–and then, thank them again.

So thank you, everyone.  Thank you, Jennifer Laughran, Greg Ferguson, Mary Albi, Katie Halata, Elizabeth Law, Doug Pocock, Robert Guzman, Deb Shapiro, Dean Wesley Smith–and David, of course.  Always, David.  Thank you all for making this possible.

MIND THE GAP: ASHES, UK & Ireland

As promised, here is my tour schedule for the UK & Ireland.  As I understand it, there will be many, many, many other events as well. (Did I say many?) Sadly, as with the US tour, only some will be open to the public. Tons are school events, receptions, and interviews, a fab bloggers' party. Mind you, I know I'll have a great time wherever I am because I love that sort of one-on-one with people, especially kids and school groups, but this means I miss others who might be interested in a schmooze, a chat, a talk about writing as happened yesterday with one young man during my Costco signing in San Antonio. I can't decide if THAT was the highlight of the day, or the moment a bunch of troops stationed at Randolph wandered up for a visit.

Oh, and I do know this: Teen Today, a very cool UK teen site, is keen to run a competition for two folks to have lunch with . . . ME! O.o We'll discuss publishing, writing, anything under the sun [well, pretty much, but anyone who's met me knows that I'm open to just about anything. Except politics. Oh, and religion ]. More details to follow on that, too.

In any event, here are the bare bones.  I suspect I will also be buzzing by several local Waterstones (a bookseller that saved my sanity in Kilkenny when I'd run out of things to read), so do check and if I happen to be in your neighborhood, drop by! I will post more details and locations as they become available.

October 13th

Many events, but this is the one confirmation I've got:

11am-12:30 p.m.

School Event: Ballymun Library

Main St.

Ballymun, Dublin 11

IRELAND

October 14

5:30-7p.m. Children's Books Ireland Festival

check out the CBI Facebook Announcement!

National Library

Kildare St.

Dublin 2

IRELAND

"The Worst is Yet to Come: Dystopian Themes in Young Adult Fiction"

Panel discussion with authors Sarah Rees Brennan & Peadar O'Guilín, chaired by Inis co-editor David Maybury.

October 15

The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival

Imperial Square

Cheltenham

"Terror Unleashed!"

Panel event with Will Hill (Department 19) and David Gatward

(The Dead)

October 17

LOTS of school events & Teen Today Winners Luncheon: stay tuned.

October 18

Interviews, receptions, a BLOGGERS PARTY: details to follow

ASHES U.S. Tour, Part Two

The response to ASHES has been so incredible I can't believe the book hit shelves only 8 days ago.  It's been a very busy week+, and I've enjoyed all of it: the school visits (completely awesome; I LOVE talking to kids); meeting booksellers, all of whom have been wonderful, welcoming, unfailingly gracious, and enthusiastic; and chatting with people who come out on a weekday evening because they are passionate about books.

Part One of the tour ends in San Antonio for a two-day stop and a visit to Lackland AFB, my old stomping grounds.  I jet home for about 36 hours on Saturday afternoon: long enough to pet the cats, feed the birds, feed the husband, do laundry, swim–and then it's back out for Part Two for more great school visits and intense discussions at various booksellers.

While there are some details to be firmed up, the dates and, in most instances, times for the remainder of the ASHES U.S. Tour are as follows:

9/19

7 p.m. Pudd'nhead Books

8157 Big Bend Blvd

Webster Groves, MO 63119

9/21

1-3 p.m. Fort Polk AFB

Fort Polk, LA

9/22

4 p.m. Chicago Public Library/Greater Grand Crossing Branch

1000 East 73rd Street

Chicago, IL

9/23

Time TBD Anderson's Bookshop

123 West Jefferson Avenue

Naperville, IL

9/26

Time TBD U-Washington Bookstore

4326 University Way NE

Seattle, WA 98105

9/27

4-6 p.m. Lewis-McChord AFB

100 Colonel Joe Jackson Blvd

Lewis McChord, WA 98439

10/01

Noon Costco

950 N Port Washington Rd

Grafton, WI 53024

10/05

7 p.m. Next Chapter Books

10976 N. Port Washington Road

Mequon, Wisconsin 53092

MIND THE GAP:

ASHES goes to the UK and Ireland, 9/13-9/19

10/21

12:15-1:30 p.m. High School Friday at the Wisconsin Book Festival

Overture Center for the Arts

201 State Street

Madison, WI 53703

10/27

7 p.m. Lake Forest Books

680 North Western Avenue

Lake Forest, IL 60045-1988

10/28

7 p.m. Book Cellar

4736 N Lincoln Ave # 1

Chicago, IL 60625-2245

Gearing Up, Moving out

At the start of every month, I normally write about what I've read/seen/listened to the previous month. I'm a little ashamed of this, but I read exactly ONE book in August (it was good). That's not to say that I didn't start a whole host; my poor local librarian was calling me just about every day to let me know when another request of mine landed in her lap. But I was simply too distracted to settle down and give most of those books a fair shake. In fact, I was so flummoxed, I lost my ATM card the other day. Just flat-out left it behind at an alien bank's machine. In my own defense, the machine was the type that gobbles cards: you know, sucks in your card, holds it hostage until the transaction's done? At the time I stopped, I was on my bike, trying to combine chores with exercise because I was feeling so squeezed. Can you spell B-I-G-M-I-S-T-A-K-E? Yanked the money, grabbed the receipt–and pedaled away, my brain full of all the things I still needed to square away before leaving on Sept. 5 for my ASHES U.S. Tour.

Thank heavens, I have a very understanding husband. That's not to say he wasn't peeved. You know that little glottal stop kids make when you've asked them to do something they'd rather avoid? The one that occurs at the same moment at the eye-roll? He did it; I heard it over the phone. But he was still talking to me last night, enough that he brought dinner for two plated out for us to share while I sweated over a hot keyboard and checked flight information.

I am a very lucky woman–in more ways than one.

So what have I been so busy with? A ton of guest posts which will be coming out over the next couple of weeks–and my upcoming tour, natch. I posted my appearance schedule for 9/06-/9/17 here. More details to follow as events firm up at the end of the month–and then I head to Britain and Ireland! SQUEEEE!!

But, oh, my goodness: packing for two weeks has been very . . . interesting. Like, if I don't want to check my bag because there are some stops where I've got a meager 45 minutes to sprint from one part of the airport to the next . . . just how many shirts can I roll into tiny tubes and just how casual can I be? The answers are: about 12 (more if I decided to wear only a single pair of shorts) and very.

So, in the carry-on right now: shorts, tank tops, capris. One skirt and two nicer tops. Workout clothes, shoes, my swimsuit (I love to swim). Toiletries.  My favorite stuffed animal.

Oh–and then, in the other carry-on, which will double as my personal item because I want to avoid checking luggage: the laptop, a couple books, my small knapsack which IS my "purse."  I'm just more comfortable toting a backpack–which means I miss out on a whole bunch of very cool Vera Bradley and Juicy Couture and Coach and . . . 

A whole bunch of swag for giveaways, too Like those very cool dog tags my awesome agent put up on Twitter? Heh-heh. Guess who's got about 50 of those puppies just waiting to get out into the world?

Now, for all of you out there who have toured, if I'm going about this the wrong way–if, for example, I ought to check luggage so I can carry my knapsack and the computer separately–TELL ME NOW!! By this time tomorrow, I'll be topping off the bird-feeders, going through the garden one last time, petting cats, probably going for long walk or ride or swim before jetting off for the ASHES LAUNCH PARTY at Changing Hands in Tempe, AZ.

GAWD, I am so jazzed.

I'll post from the road. Probably get some reading done on all those flights. Oh, and I know I'll be going over the layout for my next novel, DROWNING INSTINCT (Carolrhoda Lab), which hits shelves February, 2012. Put that baby to bed–and then start on the book just begging to get out.

If you're in the area when I am, stop by. If you're not but have friends who are, send them!

Major squeee.

Need more caffeine . . .  Then, time to go burn an old t-shirt.

Really.  Heh-heh-heh . . .

Don't forget: you still have time to enter a fabulous giveaway.  I know what some of the prizes are and they are AWESOME.  Trust me on this.

OMG, just saw this: ASHES is out in CANADA!!!!

 

Oh. My. GAWD.

This was posted on Twitter today.

Where was this taken? Who is this? Oh, my G-d!

ASHES: The U.S. Tour

As promised, here is the schedule for the first two weeks of my upcoming US tour for ASHES. Bunch of places, and that's not even counting the school visits.  I'm particularly jazzed to see my old stomping grounds at Lackland Air Force Base and on Graduation Day, no less!

If new events pop up, I'll certainly include those, too. In addition, if you're following me on Twitter or Facebook and just happen to be in the neighborhood when I'm around, check for details on how to win some nifty little extras.

Hope to see a lot of you on the road! Spread the word, too, okay?

9/06 ASHES LAUNCH PARTY!

7 p.m. Changing Hands Bookstore

6428 S McClintock Dr

Tempe, AZ

The kind folks at Changing Hands are also inviting makeup artists from the Cactus Canyon Jr. High Drama Department. Come get your zombie on!

9/08

4 p.m.  Lemuria Bookstore

4465 I 55 N # 202

Jackson, MS

9/09

4 p.m.  Square Books, Jr.

111 Courthouse Square

Oxford, MS

9/10

7 p.m.  Malaprops Bookstore

55 Haywood St.

Asheville, NC

9/12

5 p.m.  Schuler Books & Music

2820 Towne Centre Blvd

Lansing, MI

9/13

7 p.m. The King's English Bookshop

1511 South 1500 East

Salt Lake City, UT

9/14

7 p.m. Blue Willow Bookshop

14532 Memorial Drive

Houston, TX

9/15

1-3 p.m.  Lackland Air Force Base

2180 Reese St # 1385

Lackland AFB, TX

9/16

11 a.m.-1 p.m.   Randolph AFB

407 C St

Randolph Air Force Base

Universal City, TX

5-7 p.m.   Costco

1201 N. Loop 1604 East

San Antonio, TX

More details about the next leg as they come in, so check back.

And you folks in England and Ireland? Be seeing you in October!

Five Eco-Disaster Flicks for a Rainy Day

There was this old commercial for Chiffon margarine from back in the 70s that I remember very well.  I'll let the spot speak for itself.

Now, if you're like me, you've been keeping tabs on Hurricane Irene.  There's something about disaster/impending disaster/near-brushes that really captures our attention.  Maybe the threat alone speaks to some primitive portion of our brains that we normally don't pay attention to but strokes those hairs at the back of our necks.  Or it might not be anything more mysterious than the reassurance we feel after we've walked out of a particularly good disaster flick: It was just a movie.

The problem for me–and I'm not just being a pessimistic Freudian here–is that I see disaster unfolding and warning flags everywhere, from the decline in signal species like amphibians–be honest, when was the last time you wandered into a nicely damp area of woods and heard peepers, or a bullfrog?–to declining water levels (news flash: the Great Lakes are down, for a whole bunch of very bad reasons and not all of them are related to insufficient snowpack); rising numbers of wildfires (worst year in Yellowstone in decades); drought (particularly bad in virtually all of the Southwest; Texas is in real trouble; and can anyone say Dust Bowl?); the rise in invasive species in lakes and on land; more and increasingly violent storms . . . well, the list goes on and on.  Sure, you can look away; you can choose not to watch. But real life has a habit of not going away.

Like so many other themes, disaster flicks have changed in recent years to reflect this reality.  Each decade/generation has its own, peculiar fears–from the Red Scare to nuclear war to alien invasion–and this generation is no different, churning out some very interesting movies which reflect environmental disasters of our own making.  They serve to remind us that we are part of an ecosystem that, once tainted, can be unforgiving, and no matter how masterful we think we are, Mother Nature really does have the last laugh.  These are cautionary tales as powerful as any alien apocalypse–and the fact that some are documentaries serve to remind us that the worst we can imagine might not be far from the truth.

5. The Day After Tomorrow (Roland Emmerlich; 2004): Global warming is the catalyst for a New Ice Age in this visually stunning film.  As usual, no one pays attention to the geeky, if terrifically hunky, climatologist (Dennis Quaid) until way too late.  What I truly love about this film is the potshot at then-Vice President Cheney.

 

4. Darwin's Nightmare (Hubert Sauper; 2004): Released the same year as DAT, this is a documentary that follows the disasterous introduction of the Nile perch to Tanzania's Lake Victoria.  The eradication of hundreds of endemic species is only a part of an environmental catalyclism as large-scale farming also decimates local villages and the very planes which fly out perch to European markets ferry in weapons for the region's endless wars.  Not only are the weapons killing the people, so is their industry as they starve, unable to afford the very fish they catch. If you think something like this hasn't happened in the U.S. by the way–not the war-part but the introduction of competitor species–think again.  Cutthroat trout populations have been on the decline for decades, thanks to human seeding of more aggressive and resilient species. The transatlantic introduction of rainbow trout to Europe was directly linked to an epidemic of whirling disease, caused by a parasite in the endemic European brown trout population.  The disease spread to North American fish populations when the infected fish were shipped back for breeding purposes.  While this documentary suffers from a lack of subtitles in many sections, but it's still worth watching.

 

 

3. Wall-E (Andrew Stanton; 2008): Considering the spate of animated films (Ice Age, 2002; Ice Age: The Meltdown, 2004; Happy Feet, 2006), there must be something about cute cartoon animals or robots that allows us to watch something truly depressing and horrible.  I think it's the one-step-removed thing.  Certainly that's the case with Wall-E, a splendid Pixar production that follows the adventures of a lone and lonely little romantic of a waste-collecting robot left behind on a garbage-strewn Earth.  The film's vision of future mankind isn't flattering; they are obese, useless, hedonistic blobs . . . something too close to real life, you ask me.

 

2. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson; 2008): This remake of the 1951 original swaps out the Cold War and the attendant nuclear arms race for mankind's decimation of the environment as the imperative for Klaatu's warning: change your wasteful, destructive ways, or we'll make sure you don't taint the rest of the universe.  That anyone would care if we sink in our own stew is mind-boggling enough (we're really that powerful?), but that we need an alien to give us a wake-up call is a tad depressing.

 

1. An Inconvenient Truth (Davis Guggenheim; 2006): Another documentary, this time with Al Gore expanding on the dangers of global warming.  No matter what your politics, this is a scary, sobering, terrifyingly accurate lecture on what has happened, is happening and will happen to the Earth if we don't do something.  People's memories are so short, though; every time a snowstorm blows through, I hear folks talking about how global warming is a crock; that climate change has always happened and yada, yada, yada.  Maybe that's because they're prefer to bury their heads in the sand.  Well, they might just get their wish, if the current droughts and decline in lake and inland sea water levels continue at their frightening and ever-accelerating clip.  And don't get me started on the polar ice caps.  Gore says that a natural reaction to this kind of bad news is to get depressed and fatalistic.  Hard not to be, especially when I see what's not been done in the five years since this film was made.  Wake up, people.  Forget Al Gore; forget politics. For the polar bears, it might already be too late.

TIME FOR A CONTEST!

I've been pretty quiet lately, mainly because I have been gearing up for the Sept. 6 ASHES launch (and stay tuned; my US tour details will follow very soon) as well doing guest posts, articles, interview . . . It's been a busy but exhilirating time.

Anyone who stops by, though, I wouldn't want you to feel that you've wasted your time.  SO

TIME FOR A CONTEST!

Visit my awesome agent's blog– http://literaticat.blogspot.com/2011/08/ashes-giveaway.html –follow the rules and you will win some AWESOME swag!  I'm not kidding–AND you could win some even more serious gear: an exclusive ASHES survival pack or ASHES-skinned tablet/ereader.

This is serious stuff, people.  Go.  Enter.  WIN!!