Audrey Vernick's Blog, page 8

Biggest, Best, Scariest: Kevin Sherry Interview

[image error]I'M THE BIGGEST THING IN THE OCEAN and I'M THE BEST ARTIST IN THE OCEAN brought author-illustrator Kevin Sherry a tidal wave of well-deserved attention. As the days grow ever more Halloweenier, Kevin agreed to talk about his spooky new title, and some old favorites, too.

Was it hard to abandon the oh-so-sure-of-himself giant squid from I'M THE BIGGEST THING IN THE OCEAN and I'M THE BEST ARTIST IN THE OCEAN for a vampire bat in your new book, I'M THE SCARIEST THING IN THE CASTLE? Was it just time to get on land or did other issues factor into your decision?

Well, I love my squid.   We've been buddies for years and he's given lots of kids (and their parents) lottsa joy and laughter.  The Big Squid will always be a part of me.  But I can draw lots of different animals, not just sea creatures.  And when my publishers asked me to try a new title, "I'm the ______est __________ in the _________,"  I thought it would be a fun way to incorporate the "scary" Halloween creatures that we've all grown up with. And I love rodents. Even ones that fly.

When you think about the books you want to write, do you see them in some way before you know what the story will be, or are words and text entwined?

I will start with the character, really.  I'm constantly drawing and doodling in my sketchbook, because, who knows, one day one of my doodles could have their very own book!  I'll page through all my sketchbooks, and if I see a little (or big) creature who needs a little more attention, I'll go ahead and figure out what kind of predicament he will get into.

What were your favorite books as a child? Which characters did you wish could be your friend?

All Shel Silverstien, especially THE GIVING TREE and THE MISSING PIECE.  All Maurice Sendak, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, THE JUNIPER TREE, IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN, KENNY'S WINDOW, HECTOR THE PROTECTOR, etc.  Chris Van Allsburg's POLAR EXPRESS and JUMANJI and BEN'S DREAM.  But on the top, Roald Dahl.  I've dived into every one of his stories.

Illustrator Quentin Blake

But what made me love Roald Dahl even more was his illustrator, Quentin Blake.  I love Quentin's fun, expressive scrappy drawings and watercolors.  In third grade I wrote to Quentin and he actually wrote me back from his studio in London.  Inamgine me, as a third-grader, receiving a letter from my hero.  I was hooked on illustration from then forth.

How do friends factor into your process? Do you share sketches/brainstorm ideas, or do you fly solo?

I'm a little like the squid in the fact that I do indeed ride (swim) solo as far as my creative process goes.  I would say I collaborate much more with the children's section of the Enoch Pratt Public Library in Baltimore.

Is there any book you wish you had the chance to illustrate?

I've loved illustrating every book I've done, but I would have loved to come up with THE GIVING TREE.  Almost a perfect book.  How it didn't win the Pulitzer Prize, I'll never know. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE would have been nice, too, but I think Maurice Sendak blew that one out of the park.  And Mo Willems' books, DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS and KNUFFLE BUNNY are pretty, pretty brilliant.

Thanks again, Kevin!

You can visit Kevin's website to see more of his awesome artwork.

Obsessed with Children's Books: Erica Perl Interview

It was really freaky, this Erica Perl thing.

A little over a year ago, my father asked me if I knew a writer named Erica Perl. I looked her up online, and while her books were familiar to me, she was not. Less than a week later, at the Princeton Children's Book Fair, a lovely writer pretty much ordered me to give her my beloved polka-dot skirt, as her book was called DOTTY, and well, it really fit her theme better than it did, say, a buffalo theme. She had a point, Erica Perl did, but I kept my skirt. We compared funny hats.

About a week later, when visiting with friends in DC ahead of a bookstore appearance with Daniel Jennewein in Virginia, I was telling friends this story and learned that Erica Perl was a neighbor and friend of the good friends I was visiting.

Erica Perl: She's everywhere.

And today she's here on Literary Friendships, talking about her buzz-generating novel, WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU OJ.

How much did you know about WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU OJ before you sat down to write it?

I knew I wanted to write about a girl and a grandfather, and I knew I wanted the grandfather to be a lot like my grandparents (especially my Grandpa Alan).  I had this idea for a story about a child asking for a pet and being given an inanimate object, like an orange juice container instead.  Originally, I thought this would be a good picture book, but the more I worked on it the more I realized it was a middle-grade novel.  I give Andrew Clements credit for this – though I'm not sure he knows it – since I heard him speak and he talked about being a picture book writer until someone pointed out to him that one of his stories was great, but it wasn't a picture book – it was a middle grade novel.  I believe that book was FRINDLE.

Where did Zelly come from?

Zelly's name comes from my friend Mary Kay's dog, Zelda.  Zelly's personality is a lot like mine when I was a kid.  I moved to Vermont at the age of 8 (not from NY, but my parents were New Yorkers) and I desperately wanted to fit in.  I also loved animals and begged for a dog for five solid years before getting one for my bat mitzvah.

What were some of your favorite books as a young reader? What children's book character would you have liked to move next door when you were young?

I should probably confess that I am kind of obsessed with children's books.  I love so many books it is hard to limit myself to naming just a few, but I will try.  Here goes:  I loved A LITTLE PRINCESS, and I loved the Little House books, and I loved many Roald Dahl books though my favorite is DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD.  I loved Russell Hoban's Frances books (and, more recently, I love Kevin Henkes' books).  I loved PIPPI LONGSTOCKING and also THE BROTHERS LIONHEART.  I loved The Great Brain books and the All of a Kind Family books, and I loved HARRIET THE SPY and everything by Judy Blume and Norma Klein and E.L. Konigsburg and (please make me stop, because I'm just warming up…).  I also love Dav Pilkey and Daniel Pinkwater and James Marshall… Oh, wait, and…

Can you tell everyone a bit about First Book and the work they do?

First Book is the award-winning non-profit organization that has provided over 85 million books to kids in need since 1992.  One very cool thing about First Book is that First Book works as a resource provider to the local programs and schools nationwide (and in Canada!) that serve kids and teens from low-income families.  This way, the educators and program administrators get to choose the books that they know will work best for their students.  I first learned about First Book as an author doing a book signing to benefit First Book, and now I'm proud to be on staff handling our authors and publisher relations.  It's kinds of the perfect job for someone who is, like I mentioned, obsessed with children's books.  Check First Book out at www.firstbook.org!

What are you working on now?

I'm thrilled to be spending more time with Zelly and Ace, as I'm working on ACES WILD, which is the sequel to WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU O.J.  I'm also working on more picture books, because I love writing picture books.

You can learn more about Erica by visiting her website.

Insider fact: she made all her book trailers herself! And that hand you see and voice you hear in the "training" scenes of the WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU O.J.  book trailer are hers. You heard it here first, folks!

Thinking Out of the (Bread) Box: Interview with Laurel Snyder

I don't know about you, but when I wake each morning, I ask myself why I didn't think of a pig who wanted to be kosher before Laurel Snyder did.

 

Laurel's the author of BAXTER, THE PIG WHO WANTED TO BE KOSHER and many other wonderful books, including PENNY DREADFUL and the about-to-be-released-so-soon-we-can-almost-taste-it BIGGER THAN A BREAD BOX.

 

If you've spent any time on Laurel's website, you can see why she was a natural for a Literary Friendships interview. The way she talks about books and her elementary-school friend Susan, well, really, you should just take some time to head over there and read up. (After you read this.)

 

Publishers Weekly, about BIGGER THAN A BREAD BOX, said: "The insightful, memorable, and complex characters that Snyder creates result in a story with the same qualities." To which I say: Bravo! Did this book start with character? And one can't help but ask at what point in the process you thought, I know! Magic bread box!

 

Thanks! Yeah, I liked that review a lot.  I feel really lucky about the reviews this time.

 

Actually, it happened backwards, which is humble pie for me because I often teach workshops where I say things like, "A story should start with characters!  You can't know how people will react to a plot point until you know who they ARE!"  But in this case, I began with the idea of a bread box.  The book itself sort of sprang forth from the box, I guess.  

 

My husband and I were driving to Iowa, and I said to him, "What if there was a kid with a magic box, and the box gave them whatever they wanted, but then they realized the things in the box were coming FROM somewhere?"  The characters didn't become real to me until I realized that the book was actually about the parents' separation.  Because then I channeled a LOT of my own memories into Rebecca.

Many of your books could be said to be about characters trying to figure out who they want to be, which is at the heart of so many of the best children's books. Which books do you remember adoring as a child? Did they share that theme?

 

I loved so many kinds of books as a kid.  When I was little I loved a lot of magic books that were as much about adventure as they were about character. Edward Eager and James Thurber and Susan Cooper and Edith Nesbit and P.L.Travers and Roald Dahl. As I got older I fell in love with characters more and more, I think.

Right now I'm obsessing over rereading Cynthia Voigt and Katherine Patterson, two authors who really helped me bridge the gap between magical adventure and adult books. I think they have a lot to teach about character (to state the obvious).  There's a long list of books I love and loved as a kid, over on my blog!  I sometimes skype with classes who are reading books from my "Penny Dreadful List." 

What literary character would you have liked to move next door to younger-you, and why?

 

Emily of New Moon! She was so INTENSE!  I wanted to be INTENSE too. And she wanted to be a writer.   

You write picture books and middle-grade (and many other things, too). Do you have a preference between the two?

 

Not a preference, exactly, but the experience of each form is totally different.  So on any given day I might loathe one and crave the other. 

 

Writing novels is like deep sea diving or something. You have to bury yourself in a novel. On a good day it's an escape. On a bad day, when I'm not in the right head for it (or just don't have time) it's like a forced march to wade into all the words.  

 

Picture books feel like poetry, which I also write.  Writing a picture book, and especially revising a picture book, is like tinkering with some delicate mechanical device or building a house of cards.  You can mess everything up in an instant, by changing a line or taking out a sentence, and that's weird. But you also get to feel like you're playing, because you can just start over again if it gets messed up.

How do friends factor into your process? Do you have writer-friends who read your work? A critique group?

 

I have a funny relationship with this, I think, because I spent many many years in formal workshop classes. So I'm someone who loves input and can take criticism, but I don't work well *with* others. I have tried and failed collaboration, and the idea of showing anyone anything before a draft is finished  (even my agent) paralyzes me.  

 

That said, I do turn to a few friends who are readers for me, in early drafts. Some of these are friends I've made online–other writers like Kurtis Scaletta or Ellen Potter or Gwenda Bond–who are just brilliant and generous. And some of these are personal friends and readers I trust in my offline life.  Best of all, I'm lucky to have a genius fiction writer for a sister too, who will always tell me the truth.  

What are you working on now?

 

Ugh.  I am attempting a historical novel and it is KICKING MY BUTT!  It's a prequel to BIGGER THAN A BREAD BOX, called SEVEN STORIES UP.  It's about the mother from Bread Box, Annie, when she was 12 years old (in 1987).  The book is set up the same way as the first–her mom (Ruby, the grandmother from Bread Box) suddenly decides to take her on a trip out of state–but in Seven Stories Up, it's to visit a grandmother she didn't know existed, who is dying.  

 

Annie is clueless and angry to discover her mom has been keeping secrets from her.  But then she falls back in time, to 1937, and meets her (very sick, lonely) grandmother as a kid, and comes to understand why her mother's been so secretive all these years.  As she gets closer to her grandmother, Molly, she learns a lot of things about friendship and family. IN THEORY!  The time travel is hard, HARD! And the historical research is daunting.  I don't want to get anything wrong.  I actually just pushed the deadline back a bit, to give myself more time to research 1937 Baltimore.

 

Sounds great! Thanks so much, Laurel.

 

Thank you!!!! 

At my request, Laurel was kind enough to send along this photo, in which she is pictured with her childhood friend, Susan, about whom you should now go read. Go on. Right here. (Scroll down to "The Long Cut.")

Over on Cynsations

Over on the divine Cynthia Leitich Smith's fabulous Cynsations site, an interview with…me about WATER BALLOON, finding my agent, and sharing entrees.

Check back here tomorrow for an interview with the great Laurel Snyder about her new book, BIGGER THAN A BREAD BOX.

How to Host a Perfect Book Launch

First, it's a good idea to title your book WATER BALLOON, so every time you say water balloon launch, it evokes fun images.

Preparation: Find a bookstore like Booktowne, where everyone's friendly and supportive. It's not a bad thing if the store is on the small side–it doesn't take much to make a small store feel crowded with friends and family and all kinds of readers.

Prepare a giveaway for the day of the event and deliver it to the store.

Day of: Have your husband surprise you with flowers at the exact moment that you have a Kitchen Aid mixer crisis involving a wedged-in bowl, sugar sprayed all over the floor, and a locking mechanism that won't unlock. Your husband will, with minimal effort, unwedge the bowl. (You'll have to clean up the spilled sugar yourself.)

Find something to wear. When you are panicking about your planned-to-wear sleeveless dress on the first autumnal day of the year, peek in your daughter's closet while she's in school and be grateful you bought her that short gray sweater.

Bake. If you're not serving a cake with your book's cover on it (as I did at my first launch), bake cookies! They're easy. Use this recipe. Invest in a cookie cutter that matches the title or theme of your book.

Note: If you choose a balloon, be advised there will be smartasses along the way who ask why you chose to shape your cookies like fish. Further note: this is the kind of thought a smartass should keep to himself.

Before heading out to bookstore, fill balloons with water. Put balloons in bowl for transporting. In car, be sure to keep cookies away from balloons, because one never knows.

Upon arriving at bookstore, notice that there's a gorgeous, happy bouquet of (not water) balloons. Think how this is the best bookstore of all time, and then shift to think this is the most thoughtful editor of all time when you realize she had them delivered to the store for your event. (This won't change your belief that this is the best bookstore of all time.)

Now it gets tricky. If you're a gamer, go have a real water balloon fight outside. If, however, you don't want to do your reading and talk and signing with wet hair, and if you really like the dress you're wearing and don't want to change into the other one that you brought just in case, go outside and pretend to have a water balloon fight with your kids and some of their friends.

Be advised that because high school boys are involved, this will turn into a real water balloon fight at some point. Be sure to get out of the line of fire. Preserve your dress.

Right around this time, it's okay to start panicking that not enough people are showing, because it turns out they're all just a little late. Eat cookies. Drink sparkling cider and lemonade.

Spend some time talking to Rita, the fabulous owner of the fabulous bookstore, and one of the few people in attendance you're very happy to be photographed with because you're about the same height. Chat with Maribeth Pelly, Booktowne's author-event planner, who helped create a perfect launch. (She is much taller and thus not pictured.)

Enjoy the moment, to the best of your ability, when all in attendance lift their glasses (filled with sparkling beverages). You will blush when Rita toasts you with very kind words but maybe people are looking at Rita and not you.

Sit in the rocking chair. Read from your book. Talk a bit about how you came to write it. Answer questions, including the funny one from your son's friend, wondering if this book, about a thirteen-year-old girl, is, in fact, based on him and your sixteen-year-old son.

When a table appears out of nowhere, sit in the accompanying chair and begin to sign books. You may be astounded to be signing for teachers and the librarian from your daughter's school, old friends, new friends, beloved writer-friends, parents and siblings of your son's friends, your daughter's friends. And people you've never seen before.

Here's the part that might not be easy to pull off. Do this when your daughter's at an age that allows her to still think you're something special. You will feel her light radiating all night. You will be reminded of words your friend spoke a year ago, a friend who's there in the room with you, a friend who also lost her mother. Who made you think about mother-daughter connections as a continuum, the way our relationships with our beloved mothers are sustained through our love for our daughters.

And when it's time choose a winner of the prize basket you delivered earlier in the week, selecting from all the names of those in attendance, your daughter will pull the name of one of your son's friends. Not a shy one. You will appreciate the way he acts as though he won a pageant and the Nobel Peace Prize on the same day.

Be sure to thank everyone for coming. For making it such a special night. Make sure they know you really mean it. Send special thanks to your husband for all of the above, and for taking great pictures, too.

Carrying the Broken Spirits

I read this post on C.J. Redwine's excellent blog yesterday. It's mostly about all the hard work and commitment required to be a successful author, and how a person doesn't turn into some superstar-other-kind-of-writer just by virtue of having a manuscript accepted. (Really, go read it. I didn't do it justice.)

I've been thinking about another side of that same story.

Here I sit on the eve of my launch event for my debut novel, WATER BALLOON. (Tomorrow, Booktowne in Manasquan, NJ at 7 pm. If you're anywhere nearby, please come!)

Unlike C.J., nobody's called me a rock star, exactly, or instructed me not to forget the little people. I have, however, been asked if I'm "over the moon."

And I've been wondering why I'm not performing musical dance numbers hourly.

In the days after an earlier draft of this novel first went out in the world, nearly seven years ago, I was known to evoke the verbal pattern of the child in my sister's second-grade class who followed all requests with "please please please please please please please."

Each morning, I said the same thing: "please please please please please please please."

And then (ensuing seven years, lots of rejections, lots of revision), my novel was published. It's out. I'm celebrating tomorrow night with family and friends. Don't get me wrong; I'm far from sad. I'm just not clicking my heels in the air several times each day or grabbing someone on the street into an unexpected embrace.

I've been haunted by a lyric from a Springsteen song:

"Inside I felt like I was carrying the broken spirits of all the other ones who lost."

I have many friends who've been deeply frustrated and hurt when their effort and long-term commitment to writing were not rewarded. I think of those who never found the agent, who stopped writing because the rejections were too wrenching, and perhaps more than any others, those who just never got lucky.

I think luck is the piece of the equation few of us own up to. I think I've been very lucky.

Those of you who know me well may be thinking you figured something out I haven't discovered yet, but I'm on it: I know there's a part of me that has a hard time fully enjoying the fact that my novel is out in the world because my mother didn't get to have that moment. She died in the window between acceptance and publication. I've already written about that, but didn't want to leave it unmentioned here, in all its obviousness.

I know many writers, well published and not-yet published, who are in a dark patch of frustration. I feel like I carry a piece of their burden with me–writerly angst is weightier than some might expect.

I have no magic answers. I don't even have words of encouragement that will ring true, I fear. I do know that those who stop writing and submitting will definitely not publish and there's still a chance for the rest of us.

I feel guilty for not celebrating my success more joyously. The past two years have brought me a lot of publishing satisfaction, and I keep waiting for that to translate into a me-as-Fred-Astaire heel-kicking moment. But I suppose I'm someone who has always felt the lows more keenly than the highs. I'm working on it.

I'm really getting to a point here.

I had occasion to contribute an article to the 2012 edition of CHILDREN'S WRITER'S AND ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET (CWIM). I wrote about writing nonfiction. (Basically, I interviewed smart people who knew what they were talking about and pieced it together.)

I received my contributor's copy this week. And it brought a lot back about those beginning writer years. The pre-work years and the pre-luck years. CWIM was IT—it was how I learned how to format a picture book manuscript. How I answered many of my own questions. Learned about editors and agents. The query process. Dos and don'ts of publishing etiquette.

It's a hugely important resource to a beginning writer. I couldn't WAIT for the new edition each year, to see what had changed, to read the articles on craft—sometimes written by people I knew.

And now I get to give away a free copy  of the hot-off-the-presses 2012 CHILDREN'S WRITER'S AND ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET.

I know many writers of this blog are at a point in their career that has moved them beyond the need for this annual resource. But I'm willing to bet all of us know a writer at the start of her career. Maybe it's someone in that hopeful this-is-the-best-thing-I've-ever-written stage, or someone who needs a writer-friend to listen when she complains about how hard it can be.

So I am here to gently suggest in a not-at-all bossy way that maybe you could take a few minutes to reach out to a writer-friend who's in a rough patch. And if it's a beginner writer-friend, send her on over here, for a chance to win an excellent, helpful book.

All you need to do for a chance to win is leave a comment. I'll choose a winner at random on 10/1. The book will be shipped directly by the publisher.

And that's all of my rambling for this week. Come back next week for an excellent interview with author Laurel Snyder, whose BIGGER THAN A BREADBOX will be out in the world on 9/27.

Cupcakes, Sprinkles, Frosting: Interview with Lisa Schroeder

In just one week, you will finally be able to get your hands on a sprinkle-covered treat. A cherry-topped sprinkled treat.

The author of that treat, Lisa Schroeder, was kind enough to answer a few questions as we await the release of her latest.

This line, from the Kirkus review of SPRINKLES AND SECRETS, would make me want to roll in it if I were you: "Schroeder skillfully evokes the turbulence of pre-adolescence as she explores the delicate balance of being a true friend while remaining true to yourself."

That's what all the best middle-grade books do! (Congratulations!) So, what are some of your favorite midde-grade novels?

I am a huge fan of Kate DiCamillo. I can't even tell you how many times I've read BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE. I just think she gets so many things right in that book. And THE MAGICIAN'S ELEPHANT inspired my upcoming fantasy MG (currently untitled) in a round-about way. I just adore her writing. Other favorites would be Tracie Vaughn Zimmer's novels, REACHING FOR SUN and THE FLOATING CIRCUS; A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT by Linda Urban; and PRINCESS FOR HIRE by Lindsey Leavitt.

I find the territory you explore in IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and SECRETS AND SPRINKLES –especially the friendships–absolutely delicious. What drew you to write about characters this age and their relationships? I know you also write young adult fiction. Is it always clear to you at the outset which genre a story will be? Have you ever knocked up against that cusp, that middle grade/young adult divide?

My first novel I wrote was a middle grade. And my second and third ones too. They just weren't good enough to sell. When I think back to growing up, the strongest memories I have of reading and books is during that time when I was 8-12. I loved books SO much then. I can still remember the first time a book made me cry – where I was, how I lay on my bed for a long time after, so sad the story was over (WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS, if you're wondering). So, I think it's natural that I love books for that age group. I may even be more suited for writing books for that age group than I am for young adults, I don't know.

I think kids in that age group are learning they have different thoughts, opinions, and dreams from those they are close to. And it can be hard figuring out what that means, if they'll still care about you, and so much more. I can clearly remember being 7 or 8 and going to my best friend's house and having her tell me, I don't want to play right now, sorry. I was crushed. It seemed so personal! And why wouldn't she want to play with me when I wanted to play with her? There's a lot happening in those years leading up to the teen years, and I just love exploring it in my writing.

As for YA, yes, I always know if a book is going to be YA or MG. Where MG books are about kids realizing they have wants and opinions separate from family members and friends, YA is more about how they see the outer world and where they fit into that bigger world.

Having said that, though, I think the lines of who is reading what are blurring. I have kids in 6th and 7th grade reading my YA books, because some kids that age are ready for some of the themes explored in my YA novels. It can be hard for those middle school kids to find books they like. I think your new novel, Audrey, is going to appeal to those middle school kids a lot! I sometimes wish bookstores would create a section for "tweens" because it can be really difficult for them to find books!

How did you come to write a sequel? Did you enjoy the process? Will there be another book?

Well, I made a mistake when I wrote the first one. I left one thing unanswered – I thought it would be fun for kids to use their imagination as to what happened. Well, I heard from many, many kids who were not happy with me. I felt so bad! I've learned this age group wants everything tied up as nicely as you can!! Anyway, the only thing I could do at that point was write another book, and see if my publisher would want to publish it. I actually proposed a sequel with Isabel as the main character, and she suggested a book from Sophie's point of view (Isabel's best friend). So that's what I ended up doing (after I figured out a plot, which took a while). SPRINKLES AND SECRETS is actually called a "companion" but lots of people are calling it a sequel, and that's okay. The important thing is that readers WILL have that one question answered they've been dying to know about. The nice thing about a companion is that someone can pick it up without having read the first book, and they'll have a book that stands on its own. I really loved writing another book about Isabel and Sophie. I love these characters, so yeah, I enjoyed the process a lot.

As for another book, I would love to. But it doesn't look like it's in the cards at this time.

What books did you love as a child? Do any literary friendships stand out?

Oh yeah, so many friendships. I mean, I wanted to live with Ma and Pa Ingalls at times, and have Laura and Mary as my sisters. I wanted to have Mrs. Piggle Wiggle as my neighbor, or even my mother. I wanted to have Betsy and Star as my friends (well, maybe only Betsy, I think Star was the young one). Also, I'm pretty sure I had an intense crush on Encyclopedia Brown. I could NOT get enough of those books. I loved trying to solve the mysteries.

What are you working on now?

I just turned in the first round of revisions on my fantasy MG that I sold to Holt six months ago or so. There will be more rounds, and they hope to get an illustrator to do some illustrations, so I think the release date is a ways out. And, because I can't seem to take a break even when I tell myself – okay, take a break – I've started a new YA that is very different for me. I'm having fun, and that's the most important thing for me when I'm starting a new project. I write to entertain myself. What happens after that is icing on the cake.

Thank you, Lisa!

You can learn more about Lisa Schroeder and her books by visiting her website.

Kind of Perfect Voice: An Interview with Linda Urban

If you're anything like me, when you think middle-grade voice, the cover of A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT materializes in your mind's eye. I think of that book as the pitch-perfect example of middle-grade voice.

I couldn't wait to read Linda Urban's latest, HOUND DOG TRUE. That's a literal statement. I sent a somewhat pitiful I-really-don't-think-I-can-wait request (our publishing houses are closely related) and was delighted to receive an ARC.

And man alive, she's done it again.

HOUND DOG TRUE lingers like crazy. I feel as though Mattie and her uncle, Potluck, spent the summer at my house. (Uncle Potluck would have been handy to have around, but that's really a post for another day.)

Today's post is an interview with the wonderful Linda Urban. Read every word. It's truly delicious.

If, at the outset of A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT, Zoe was asked to describe a perfect friend for herself, I'm guessing she wouldn't have described Wheeler. The same can be said about Mattie and Quincy. Do you know, when you set out to write a book, that your main character is going to find an unlikely friend?

I know almost nothing when I start writing.  Usually I start with a voice, which tells me about the character – her outlook on the world, her main concerns, her immediate circumstances.  I write and people and situations show up on the page.  It's a little like knitting.  One loop connects to the next connects to the next, each dependent on the other for its form.  Around page 30-40 I look up from my knitting.  Holy cats.  What is this supposed to be?  What am I going to turn it into?  Is this a scarf?  Or a sleeve?

I do like stories where interaction with someone who seems so different from the main character provides her with a new way of seeing herself – and also brings her outside of herself to see others for who they really are.  I find this happens in just about everything I write.  I wonder why that is?

[image error]You set the bar pretty high on middle-grade voice with both of your novels. Is that something that's right there, waiting, when you sit down to write, or is it something you work hard to cultivate through writing and revision?

Golly.  Thanks for saying that.  Voice is pretty essential to my writing process.  It's the key ingredient to starting any project for me.  I'd love to be a writer who could think of a plot or a high-concept situation and then create characters to fit.  That seems so smart and rational and professional.  But for me it is voice.  A first line, then I'm off.

I do have to work at it, though.  Sometimes, when the story isn't working exactly right, I have to plow ahead anyway with whatever words I can find.  I write sentences like:

And then Mattie went up to Quincy.  And then Quincy said "Hello" and Mattie felt scared.

I hate revising those sentences to fit with the voice.  I'd rather revise a bad chunk of story in the proper voice than a good set of actions/plot development/etc. in the wrong voice.  The latter feels unwieldy and nearly impossible – like putting a tantruming three year old in a snow suit.  It can be done.  It must be done.  But it is no fun for anyone involved.

What were your favorite books as a young reader? Favorite characters?

I loved all the Little House books and the Ramona books.  I was a kid during the nation's bicentennial, so there was a very patriotic reading stint where I read a lot of biographies of founding fathers and other important Americans.

If you could have chosen a fictional character from one of those books to move next door to younger-you, whom would you have picked and why?

I wouldn't have wanted Laura Ingalls to move next door to me, because that would mean she would live in Lori Collins's house and she would have a boring suburban life like I did.  I wanted to move next door to Laura – in time and place.  That I would have loved.  We'd have sung along with Pa as he played the fiddle, and I'd have churned butter and worked on a nine-patch-quilt.  I think I liked that even though Laura was little, she had a lot of courage and responsibility.  I didn't feel like Laura was waiting for things to happen, like I was when I was young.  I was waiting for someone to see me and tell me I was responsible and smart and special and worth being the subject of a novel.   Of course, these are things that we can't wait for can we?  We have to tell ourselves those things, and then become them.  Which is sort of what the kids in my books do.  My characters are much smarter than I ever was.

What can you tell us about Ruby, the main character in the novel you're writing now?

I really love Ruby.  She's one of those capable girls who people count on to do exactly what they are supposed to.  She doesn't stand out in any way, and that has been okay with her.  There's been a comfort in that.  Until now, of course.   Now something has gone the opposite of the way Ruby thinks it should have – because she did not do what she thinks she was really supposed to have done.  She might have a chance to fix it – just one chance – if only she can figure out how . . .

Well, that was sort of confusing, wasn't it?  I always have this trouble describing my books and my characters.  If I could reduce them down to a line or two, I wouldn't need to write them out as novels, I guess.  In fact, most of the time the books that I set aside and don't finish are ones that can easily be reduced.  Either they're too simple to carry the weight of a whole book, or I'm too bored to finish them.

Linda, thank you so much for stopping by.

See? Delicious, right? You can learn more about Linda by visiting her website. And keep your eye out for HOUND DOG TRUE; its release date is September 20.

Pete The Cat: Rocking the NY Times Bestseller List

Ever since my buffalo strapped on his blue backpack, I've been more aware of the back-to-school books that show up each summer/fall.

When I saw that Pete the Cat had some snazzy new school shoes, I invited author Eric Litwin, aka Mr. Eric, today's guest, to join me for an interview.

Did you come to the children's book world from the world of music? Can you explain how that happened?

I was a musician and storyteller who played interactive music and stories at school assemblies, libraries and festivals. I had a vision to create a book that blended amazing art, cool music and storytelling together.

I contacted my favorite artist, James Dean, the creator of Pete the Cat, and let him know I wrote a story for his character. He loved the story and we decided to self-publish a book called PETE THE CAT: I LOVE MY WHITE SHOES. The book did very well and we ended up signing with HarperCollins. This past Sunday (September 4, 2011) our books were #1 and # 2 on the New York Times Bestseller List for picture books.

A big fat congratulations to you both! How much did you and illustrator James Dean collaborate on the two Pete the Cat books?

We shared ideas and worked together. We are a very strong team.

Did you read a lot as a kid? If so, what were some of your favorites?

I did read a lot. And, I read a lot now. I loved The Boxcar Children, Winnie the Pooh and poetry.

Why do you think Pete cares so much about shoes?

I am really not sure. He just likes them the way we all love a new pair of shoes.

Does Pete the Cat have any future plans?  

The next book, PETE THE CAT AND HIS FOUR GROOVY BUTTONS, come out in one year.

Thanks so much, Eric!

You can learn more about Eric by visiting his website. Pete the Cat, of course, has his own website as well.

And happy Back To School, everyone!

Labor Day Weekend Instructions

Take a look at today's New York Times bestseller list for picture books. Note the author sitting in both the number 1 and number 2 spot.

Go squeeze some fun out of the last two days of summer. Bring a book to the beach! Drink mojitos (the alcoholic beverage of choice for this blog). Cross one thing off your to-do list (you don't even have to do it first). Find some excellent children to hang out with or do what we did last night and watch a baby eat ice cream. (That's just about as good as it gets.) Cheer on the Yankees. (Did I lose anyone there?) Go out for breakfast and order something indulgent. Wash your car.

Return to this blog on Tuesday. Recall who you noted in the first paragraph. Enjoy interview with New York Times bestselling author. Proceed to autumn.