Sydney Salter's Blog, page 21

Work-In-Progress: 32,045 words

So it turns out that sitting in front of one's laptop for several hours a day actually does increase word count!

Here's this week's vlog:





* Also starring Minnie and Otis

Relationship Advice from Caridad Ferrer

Please welcome Caridad Ferrer, author of When The Stars Go Blue. Leave a comment to win your own copy! Here's Caridad's advice:
1. What is the dumbest or smartest thing you've done after a breakup?
Well, it's embarrassing as all get out (which is why it was dumb), but after a college boyfriend broke up with me, I punched my car's windshield.  Didn't break anything, but my hand swelled up to the size of a grapefruit. Not one of my better moments.  I have since learned to control my temper a great deal. Punching windshields HURTS.
2. It's your turn to play Miss Swoon--give us your best relationship advice.
Well, make sure you set aside a drawer for the takeout menus and make sure your partner knows which drawer it is.
3. If you could go on a date with any fictional character, who would it be?
Boy, this is kind of tough-- I'm torn between Sebastian St. Cyr, the lead of C.S. Harris' mystery series (tall, dark, and brilliant) or Richard Castle (he's ruggedly handsome, you know-- as well as being brilliant and witty and incredibly devoted to the people he cares about).


About the Book:


A dancer driven to succeed.


A musical prodigy attempting to escape his past.


The summer they share.


And the moment it all goes wrong.


Dance is Soledad Reyes's life. About to graduate from Miami's Biscayne High School for the Performing Arts, she plans on spending her last summer at home teaching in a dance studio, saving money, and eventually auditioning for dance companies. That is, until fate intervenes in the form of fellow student Jonathan Crandall who has what sounds like an outrageous proposition: Forget teaching. Why not spend the summer performing in the intense environment of the competitive drum and bugle corps? The corps is going to be performing Carmen, and the opportunity to portray the character of the sultry gypsy proves too tempting for Soledad to pass up, as well as the opportunity to spend more time with Jonathan, who intrigues her in a way no boy ever has before.        But in an uncanny echo of the story they perform every evening, an unexpected competitor for Soledad's affections appears: Taz, a member of an all-star Spanish soccer team. One explosive encounter later Soledad finds not only her relationship with Jonathan threatened, but her entire future as a professional dancer.
About the Author:Caridad Ferrer is a first generation, bilingual Cuban-American, whose young adult debut, Adiós to My Old Life won the Romance Writers of America's 2007 RITA® for Best Contemporary Single Title Romance as well as being named to the 2009 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list, awarded by the ALA. Her second novel, It's Not About the Accent was released in 2007 with Publisher's Weekly stating, "…this twisting book amply rewards readers."
She has also contributed to the anthology, Fifteen Candles: 15 Tales of Taffeta, Hairspray, Drunk Uncles, and Other Quinceañera Stories. Her newest young adult novel, When the Stars Go Blue, is a contemporary retelling of Bizet's Carmen, and will be released by Thomas Dunne Books in November 2010. Booklist calls it, "Beautifully written, with contemporary characters and an engaging story line."
To win a copy of When The Stars Go Blue:  please leave a comment by midnight, December 7, 2010.  Open to everyone, everywhere.

NCTE, Magic & Many Mickey Mouses

Today I'm shoveling snow, but last weekend I played in the sunshine with many of my favorite author friends in Orlando, Florida at NCTE. My roomie, Lauren Bjorkman, and I also snuck away from conference duties for a little Magic Kingdom fun. Mickey Mouse, here we come!




I started spotting Mickey Mouse everywhere--starting with my breakfast waffle! 




I decided to find other unusual Mickey Mouse products. Hungry?




Enjoy some Mickey Mouse butter on your Mickey Mouse waffle.




I found Mickey Mouse lollipops, chocolates, and pasta. Oh, and lots of kitchen items. 




Pizza cutters, spoons, measuring cups, pot holders... Done eating? Time to play!




Toss your Mickey Mouse baseball around. Or scratch your back. I seriously started thinking that I could replace every item in my house with something Mickey. 


We had a great day--we even rode Space Mountain twice. Zoom!!! Before heading back to the hotel, we treated ourselves to some ice cream--shaped like Mickey Mouse, of course! 



I loved chatting with so many wonderful, innovative teachers during our roundtable discussion. Much thanks to my co-presenters Lauren Bjorkman (My Invented Life), Jen Dutton (Stranded), Janet Fox (Faithful), Cheryl Herbsman (Breathing), Edie Hemingway (Road To Tater Hill), Danielle Joseph (Indigo Blues), Rosanne Parry (Heart Of A Shepherd), and Joy Preble (Dreaming Anastasia). We discussed all aspects of girl characters' fictional journeys & ways to help readers connect with literature. 
I did come home with a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt... And lots of Advance Reader Copies of books I can't wait to read.


On my last day, I spotted soap bubble Mickey on the hotel towel carts...




I kind of miss the guy! 


Leave a comment to win one my favorite girl characters with you--Roz from My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman. 
Entries accepted until midnight, December 1, 2010.

Off To Disney World (and NCTE)

I did add words to my WIP, but I'm going to include them in next week's vlog update. Today I wrote most of chapter eleven while flying to Orlando, Florida to attend NCTE (a big teacher conference). When my seat mate asked about my story, I realized that I've got to work on that snappy hook thing. But at least she went back to sleep and I wrote a few more pages!


Anyway, while I'm talking about THE OTHER HAPPILY EVER AFTER: TRANSFORMING AND EMPOWERING READERS THROUGH A RE-TOOLING OF THE FEMALE HERO JOURNEY (sounds fancy, huh?) at NCTE, please stop by and read the interview I did on Debbie's Cranberry Fries Blog http://cranberryfries.blogspot.com/2010/11/author-interview-with-sydney-salter.html


Here's the view from my room at The Coronado:




I'll post some fun Disney details next week!

Contest Winners!

Congratulations!!!
(I'm announcing two winners today--that SCBWI conference stuff kind of got in the way last week.)

Bee wins Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney


Kelley wins Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. 

Writing More Emails Than Fiction

In addition to writing, I'm also a Regional Advisor for the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). I hold monthly meetings & organize conferences in Utah and Idaho (with the help of my assistant Neysa Jensen in Boise). I love helping aspiring writers & illustrators improve their craft & make those helpful connections. Just like Carol Lynch Williams & Rick Walton did for me when I was just starting out. 


Children's writers are friendly like that! 


Volunteering as a Regional Advisor has also helped me learn skills I've needed as an author. I'm no longer a shy speaker & by promoting others I've gotten better at promoting myself.


Today I ended up on NPR--part conference promotion & part celebrating our supportive Utah writing community. Take a listen!  http://tinyurl.com/29pop8g


So this week I'm spending more time phoning caterers, taking last minute conference registrations, and answering emails instead of adding to my WIP word-count. But maybe I'll have some small part in helping someone else's publishing dream come true.


And that's totally worth it!  

Impromptu Kitten Acquisition!

We went to the pet store for reptile reasons, but stopped to visit the cats waiting for adoption. One spunky kitten bounced around a cage of older cats, catching tails, and leaping in the air.

We hadn't planned on adding a kitten to our busy household quite yet--but this one had the kind of personality that meshed with our other pets. And our old cat needed a bit of relief from our young cat's playfulness. So we brought her home.

Everyone loves her. Especially Otis. And, even though she's tiny she's got our big dogs under her spell too!

Work-In-Progress: 25,189 words

In the spirit of NaNoWriMo, I got back to work on the story I put on hold last summer to work on another novel. Taking what I learned during that revision process, I'm making a few changes as I get to know my plot and characters again. I hope to really add to my word count next week! Here's my vlog post:*




*Co-starring Ken & my dog Jack.

Relationship Advice from Daisy Whitney

Today I'm happy to welcome Daisy Whitney, author of The Mockingbirds. Leave a comment and win your own copy! Now, here's Daisy's relationship advice:



1. What is the dumbest or smartest thing you've done after a breakup?
Dumbest thing. Oh dear. I supposed that would be going to his gig in the West Village and staring at his beautiful new girlfriend the whole time he played guitar and sang to her.

2. It's your turn to play Miss Swoon--give us your best relationship advice.
Trust your gut. If he's too good to be true he probably is.

3. If you could go on a date with any fictional character, who would it be?
Etienne St. Clair from Steph Perkins' ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. Sigh. I love him.
More About Mockingbirds:
Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it. Buy the book! 
To find out more about Daisy Whitney check out her website.
To win a copy of The Mockingbirds, please leave a comment by midnight, Tuesday, November 9, 2010. 

Wanna Know Scott Westerfeld's Favorite Halloween Candy?

Yesterday I got all dressed up as my most klutzy self and headed to the Provo Teen Lit Fest.



Scott Westerfeld started us off with an inside look at how text and illustrations merge in his Leviathan series. I'm always curious to see what doesn't make it into the book.



I loved spending the afternoon talking books and writing with teens, as well as chatting with author friends.  We mostly talked candy. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCXyDkuYl5A



I'm a Reese's fan myself. Leave a comment telling me your favorite Halloween candy & you'll be entered to win a signed copy of either Uglies or Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (your choice!).

Contest ends, Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at midnight.