Gae Polisner's Blog, page 15

Day Whatever - Second Anniversary Highlights

So, not only can I not COUNT, but I actually can't remember the real date of my book release anniversary.

All along I've been saying May 11th, when it occurs to me it's really May 10th.

Ah, well, what's really in a date anyway? Time is fluid. Arbitrary. Fleeting.

All that matters is whether there are cupcakes and gifts* to celebrate.

Here. Have some cupcakes:

The Pull of Gravity cupcakes for my paperback release party
which, like many things this year in NY got
weathered out. And, yes, I ate them all. What of it? Come to think of it, I've not only lost count of days and dates, but now I've also lost count of highlights. Did I mention this teacher or that? Did I mention this awesome day, or this Skype visit, or this lovely little review over here?

The truth of it is, nearly all of it is a highlight. Nearly every book moment of the past two years has been good.

Like the day I walked in to the Center for Fiction. Me. New York City. The Center for Fiction, NYC.


pretty, yes?

inside, with the 8th graders. . .

Or this evening at the Dolphin Bookshop in Pt. Washington with some of my really awesome YA-writer pals:

l -r, me, Christopher Grant, Lena Roy, Nova Ren Suma, Michael Northrop,
Arlaina Tibensky and Matt Blackstone. Wearing our book faces.  Or, this and many others at the Huntington Public Library which has been such a HUGE support of me and my writing. Thanks HPL!



from l - r, Matt Blackstone, Christopher Grant,
Nova Ren Suma, me and Selene Castrovilla. more tomorrow, whatever that day may be!

xox

* re: gifts: All you have to do is leave a comment to be entered to win a signed ARC of The Summer of Letting Go (due in or about October. US residents only.)

Day Another - Second Anniversary Post

Mrs. Stanley's class. Fourth Grade.
Can you find me? 


Barbara Stanley.

Mary Ann Schilling.

Jessica Treadway.

What do these three women have in common?

They were three teachers who helped me to become the writer I am today.

I mean, truly helped.

I mean, where-would-I-be-without-them? kind of helped.

Mrs. Stanley was the first teacher who marveled at my 9-yr-old writing, who nudged me to step out of the rhyming poem box and write free-form, who distinctly made me feel creatively special.

Mary Ann Schilling was my creative writing teacher in high school.  It was an angsty time for me and she went out of her way to not only let me know that my writing was good and special, but that my take on life was important and mattered and was worthy of being expressed however I chose to express it.


A good teacher's note:
". . . the honesty is there -- keep working with it --
otherwise writing is pompous and phony!" You can see a few more photos from my high school journal I kept for her class, here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.606170666064387.1073741826.100000143780625&type=3

And, Jessica Treadway, an amazing writer (and published author) in her own right, who was my creative writing teacher in college at Boston University, probably one of her first years of teaching.

Her most recent award-winning short story collection,
Please Come Back to Me. I could actually show you the skilled, encouraging and sincere feedback she gave me on pieces of my writing, except I'm too lazy to go get them down from my closet and photograph them. (forgive me, Jessica!)

Two things in common for me about these three teachers:

a. I am NOT a saver, but I have kept all their handwritten notes/assessments of me and my writing from that period of time,

b. I distinctly remember how each of these three women made me feel when I showed them my writing. I can remember the exact feeling of someone thinking what I did was valuable, worthy and special.

Through my book -- and the magic of facebook -- I have been back in touch with each of these extraordinary women. I am grateful for them, grateful for the chance to thank them, and grateful for the lasting connection. This has most definitely been a  highlight of my first two years in publication.

more tomorrow!

gae

Day Seven, Second Anniversary Highlights: THE PULL OF GRAVITY

What a journey this writing/publishing thing is.
Often, I'm upside down.
Often, I'm humbled.
Always, I'm grateful. 
Celebrating the second anniversary of my book here on my blog. Yep. That's what I've been doing.

Have I mentioned that  The Pull of Gravity is my baby?



My first (and still, as of this post, only) published book.

If you've ever tried to get published, then you know how huge that is. 

And, soon enough my baby will going from being that -- the first -- to being the older sibling. The one who's expected to toddle off more and more on it's own while I tend to the new baby. Not that I'll love it any less. Like with real kids, I vow to love all my books equally (while secretly hoping to love each new book best. Because, otherwise, what is there to strive for?! Thank goodness it's different with real babies. . . maybe we've had enough of this analogy?!)

Anyway, I am excited about the new baby! I am really proud of The Summer of Letting Go. I've never written a manuscript that took so many rewrites and revisions to finally get it right. And I think I have. Gotten it right. (By the way, by commenting on any of these anniversary posts, you will be automatically entered to win a signed ARC of The Summer of Letting Go so long as you are in the US or Canada. Sorry, shipping is prohibitive otherwise).

But it's still weird to think of a new baby nosing its way in, needing my attention (hmm, guess I lied about being done with the analogy). So, I'm enjoying a little time really reveling in the highlights of its first two years in print.

When I set out to write it, I really wanted to write a classic story, so I hope that, with the little pushes I've given it, it will grow legs and be out there in the reading psyche for a long, long time. Standing on its own two feet.

Anyway, highlights! HIGHLIGHTS!

from l - r: Amy Fellner Dominy, m, Bettina Restrepo,
Geoff Herbach & Christina  Mandelski
just a few of us in The Graduates
It goes without saying that being a member of THE CLASS OF 2K11, now THE GRADUATES has been more than a highlight of my fledgling publishing career. More like a lifeline. We still communicate on a weekly, if not daily, basis, sharing a closeness that comes from being in some sort of trenches together.

Also, here's a huge highlight. Opening up Newsday to find this unexpected Summer Reading spread with your book next to John Grisham's.

Ah, I remember how I thought this would sell a thousand copies. . . Never get tired of some twitter love.  p.s. got to meet this student
during a Skype visit! 
or, a student's critique.  More highlights tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by and chiming in.

xox gae

Day Six or Something, Second Anniversary Highlights: THE PULL OF GRAVITY

So, it's day six of this something-like-three-week celebration I'm doing leading up to the second anniversary of The Pull of Gravity. Tomorrow, I'll explain why. 
Today, I'm sharing more highlights and if you check out prior posts in the series, you can see what (and how) I'm giving away. *hint: it is not a pony.
Being named a Bank Street Best of 2012 . So, my mom can tell you that this is a big deal, because she ran into her librarian friend on the street when the list came out and, man-oh-man, that friend knew all about it, so, um, yeah. ;) 

Truly, it is really rewarding to get that kind of accolade from the "experts." 
But, so are the ones from the readers, especially the teen boys, like Justin (and Johnathan!) who, after being "forced" to read my book for summer reading by their English teacher, became friends who I still tweet with on a regular basis. 

Or the random review I find from an avid blogger and reader of YA:


Or, this one from a girl who read the book after meeting me at Rochester Teen Book Festival:

And, of course, uber super fun: the class projects kids do after reading the book in conjunction with Of Mice and Men or other classroom reading:

A facebook page for Jaycee Amato.More tomorrow!

xox gae

Day Five, Second Anniversary Highlights: THE PULL OF GRAVITY

Hanging virtually with a few teachers I love -- met through the
amazing TEACHERS WRITE virtual writing camp
started by Kate Messner.
Through May 11, the second anniversary of the release of THE PULL OF GRAVITY, I'm celebrating two years in print!

So, this is day five, except it's really not because yesterday should have been day five except that I needed to take a break to blog about THIS, so this is day six, and anyway, my brain only goes up to seven, so by tomorrow I will stop counting anyway.

If you scroll down you can check out more of my Second-Anniversary highlights and find the rules for the giveaway of a signed ARC of my next YA, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, due spring 2014 from Algonquin Young Readers.

So, here we go today, in no particular order:

Teachers Write! Well, first, at the top of this post is a screen shot from last year's first ever Teachers Write! Progress Pool Party hosted by the awesome Jen Vincent of Teach Mentor Texts and me, in conjunction with Kate Messner's Teachers Write! Virtual Summer Writing Camp, now about to enter its second year! And, yes, Teachers Write! is DEFINITELY one of the highlights of my two years in print! And all the amazing people I've met through it.



TBF & YA authors in a hotel bathroom:

From l-r: James Kennedy, AS King, Matt de la Pena, me
and the incomparable Terry Trueman
Okay, so ALL of the 2012
Rochester Teen Book Festival (TBF)
was awesome,
of course,
but
being in the bathroom -- don't ask why,
it's really none of your business, now, is it? --
with a few of my favorite YA authors?
Priceless!

I mean, how can that not take the cake?









Also, awesome, getting your own star on the TBF walk of fame:

You can actually see how overcome I am.
What a day this was!
Well, except for the part where no one was on
my signing line. #payingmydues
and hi-jinx with a roomful of amazing authors:

Terry Trueman, one of my absolutely favorite human beings, 
holding the mic, revving up a bunch of amazing teens.
And, trust me, that gym was filled to capacity with cheering kids. 
happy tweets! . . . also, an endless highlight... getting tweets like this from teens like Maria, or teachers like Jessica, on the spur of the moment:






You can see why my cup runneth over!

More tomorrow!

xox gae

The Pull of Gravity Goes to School(s) #7 - Oh, the 5th grade!

Listening 5th graders
It's been a while since I've done one of these school recap posts -- not because I don't love each and every visit because I DO!!! --  just because they're a lot of work between gathering the info and photos from the teachers and putting it all together.

(if you want to see prior TPOG Goes to School(s) Posts , the links are down below.)

But, I had to make an exception because I went back to the fifth grade in Monticello, IL, last week and, boy, was it fun!

Granted, 10 - 11 year olds are just on the young side cusp of being the target reading audience for The Pull of Gravity (ages 12+), and so these kids hadn't read it yet, but their amazing teacher, and Nerdy Book Club member, Katherine Sokolowski had just started a fiction writing unit with them, and asked me if I would "come in via Skype" and talk to them about my writing process. Her recap of our visit is HERE.

wonder how they choose who gets that comfy chair?

We talked about how crappy first drafts are (can you say, VOMIT?!) even for published authors.


We talked about plotting versus flying by the seat of your pants.


And we talked lots and lots about where ideas come from. 


Most importantly, we talked about rejection, and how, whether you experience it in your writing, or art, or dancing or sports, rejection should motivate you to work harder BUT it shouldn't stop you from doing what you love. That part of succeeding with one's art, is finding the person who is looking for the way YOU do what you do. 


For the past two years, I've done most my Skype and in-person visits with high schoolers and some middle schools, and I love them all! But, especially having two teenagers of my own, I'd forgotten the wonderful, fresh-faced enthusiasm 5th graders.  Hands were popping up everywhere.


working on their story soup
When we were done, I left them with a five-minute writing exercise to make a story soup from these  few common elements, to be decided on by the class: two characters in common, two objects in common, and a setting in common. Here's what they picked:

Characters: girl about their age, dog that’s a runt

Objects: old chair, dust broom
Setting: Abandoned hotel
They shared their awesome story soups with me when they were done! 
Libby was 14 years old, she was homeschooled. She had a dog that she had found on the street – it was the runt of the pack. Her best friend was in fifth grade. Her name was Clara. The dog’s name was Ruffles. They lived in an abandoned hotel. All they had was a dust broom, an old chair, and berries. - Ellie
Once there was an 11-year-old girl named Emma. She lived in an old house with her parents. All she had was old chairs and a dust broom. Her parents had more. In fact, they were rich but didn’t give anything to her, except a little runt of a puppy. Its name was Jojo. Their house was really old and was connected to an old abandoned hotel.-Rye
An 11-year-old girl and her runt dog were homeless; they came upon a hotel that was no charge. They walked in and an old flying chair with a broom as his wife were hovering at the entrance. They said, “Didn’t you see the sign out front? It said ABANDONDED.”
“Well, so are we,” said the girl and she left. When it became night they snuck around the back and went in. The broom and chair heard their footsteps and went looking for people, the girl and dog dragged a board over and picked it up. -Riley
A girl named Suzy (11 years old) adopted a runt dog without her parents knowing. But she doesn’t have a home for it, so she’ll have to use the abandoned hotel by her house. First, she dusted the dog off with a duster. - Kyle
Maggie was an 11-year-old girl who lived in a small apartment. One day she walked by an abandoned hotel when she heard a scream.
Maggie hid behind a dumpster… she peeked her head out and saw a man covered in blood. Maggie covered her mouth. When the man got in his car and drove away, Maggie ran into the hotel to find a woman on the ground covered in blood right next to an old chair with a broom and a runt of a dog. Mackenzie
Claire was an eleven-year-old girl and she was carrying a runt dog – his name was monster and they where walking a saw an abandoned hotel. She wondered, Could I make money by selling dogs?Danielle
I walked through the dirt road, my feet covered in mud. By the time I got inside, my brother had already covered the floor in mud, and my dad’s ancient chair as well.

“Mark!” Abby said.
“Yes,” Mark said.
“Go get that broom and clean up the mud!” Abby said.
“Fine.” - Kalyn
As a boy was walking down the street he passed an eleven-year-old girl on a skateboard. Then he got to the hotel. To most, it looked like a regular abandoned hotel.Jack
Gabriella called for Boo-Boo, her dog. They were playing hide and seek. Yes, dogs can play hide and seek. Gabriella couldn’t find Boo-Boo, so she called for him.
“Boo-Boo,” Gabriella called, “Come out! I can’t find you anywhere.” Then she heard the barks of Boo-Boo. He sounded as if he were in trouble. She ran into what looked to be a creepy abandoned hotel. She kept calling for Boo-Boo. She pulled out her flashlight, but as soon as she did, she wished she hadn’t. She saw this chair that had arms. They were holding a dust broom. Every time the chair moved, it creaked. So it must have been old. She started to see the walls move forward. -Maddie
“Come here,” said Madison to her runt of a dog. Madison was sitting on an old chair. Her dog gave her a dust broom to clean up the abandoned hotel. The dog was very smart – he could sweep a floor just like Madison. But Madison was not so good at sweeping – she would drop the broom every five seconds. People think that she’s a good sweeper, but really it is her dog. People ask her to sweep stuff but she always brings her dog so she can look like she swept up. -Landyn
An 11-year-old girl walked past an abandoned hotel with her runt dog named Duds. They looked in a window of the hotel. She saw a floating old chair. She was so freaked out. She walked closer to the hotel. She wondered if someone was in there, but it’s an abandoned hotel, no one would want to go in.-Lauren
Today was show and tell, so Mindy decided to bring her dog to school. Her school was in an abandoned hotel. She got to school and everybody started sneezing. She was wondering what was going on. For show and tell you sit in an old chair. At the end of class, she has to clean up all of the dog hair with a dust broom.-Nick
I was there in a hotel. My name is Ella. When I was five, the hotel burned down. Everything inside was demolished but the building still stands. Only a few things were left: a bed, food to last forever, a chair, and a dust broom. The hotel is “mine” and me and my pet dog get the warmest room. (As well as all the others.) My whole family and then some died in that fire. -Maya
I’m an eleven-year-old girl. I was walking my runt of a dog when I passed an abandoned hotel. I went inside. There was an old chair and a dust broom. That’s what I saw first. I walked around for a while and found a pool. It got creepy, so I started towards the door.
-Macy
Claire was walking her dog named Maggie outside, and then while she was walking, she saw an abandoned hotel.
“We should check it out!”said Claire.
The place was dark and spooky, with broken glass, ripped up furniture, and dirty floors. She was walking around when she heard a small moan. She turned around to see what it was, but didn’t see anything. -Henry
Once there was a girl named Gemma and the coolest runt dog ever named Josh. They lived in an old hotel. The girl slept on an old chair and the dog slept on dust broom bristles. They lived the life – a pool, an arcade-Josh
An eleven-year-old girl named Sam had on shorts, a tattered t-shirt, and a dog leash was in her hand. At the end of the leash is a dog. His name is Sparkle. He has dirty fur and smells. They walked in an abandoned hotel. “This place is creepy, Sparkle,” Sam said. “Woof,” said Sparkle. She saw an old chair-Mason
As Julie went into the abandoned hotel with the runt dog, she found a dust broom that flew past her and impaled it’s self into the wall. It came from up the stairs. ON top of the stairs was a chair with a body in it. The body looked as if it were there for a while. -Aiden
Once there was a girl named Clarisse and her dog named Bowser. They were walking along the street when they found an abandoned hotel. They decided to go take a look at it so they went through a broken window. When they got there they checked all of the rooms, but one was open. -Spencer
An eleven-year-old girl named Misao sits in an old chair named Mr. Chair in an abandoned hotel. Misao looks out the window and sees a dog-named Maggie that rides a dust broom. So she gets on top of Mr. Chair and stairs at a duck. Misao said, “I am going to name you Mr. Duck.” Mr. Duck was an ordinary duck, but had two feathers.-Adam
Susie and Luis both loved pretending. Susie and Luis got dressed up to pretend they were detectives. They went to an abandoned hotel and went in.

They pretended there was a murderer. The suspects were an old chair named Mr. Chair and a dust broom named Phil. They searched and searched and finally saw what happened. Mr. Chair used the dust broom to hit the man. They put them behind bars (in the elevator) and went home. -Jacob
Today I was watching my sister; she was playing with our runt dog, Bob. Then we saw the abandoned hotel. That place gives me the creeps. Susan came over, she’s my five year old sister, and said, “Can we make a club at that place?” Sally said yes. I said all right. We went home but right before Bob was gone, we saw his footprints going to the hotel. We were scared. Just then Mike, my little brother, said, “Mom wants us home.” We said ok but first we have to find Bob in the abandoned hotel. Mike said he’d find our other brother-Amanda
And, last but not least, this kiddo who decided to use his own “soup ingredients." Okay by me. J 
It all started when Daniel was walking to the train museum with his best friend, Stephen. They saw a bluebird. So they just stopped, looked, and kept going. But what did they know about that Bluebird? It was evil! The bluebird followed. When Daniel and Stephen got there, they saw Ed who is the Library owner. Ed ran away as soon as he saw Daniel, Stephen, and the Bluebird! -Tyler
working on their story soup!
Thanks Mrs. Sokolowski's class for sharing an awesome morning with me!!! 
- gae
http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-6.html
http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/06/the-pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools.html
http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/05/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-4.html
http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/04/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-2.html

Day Four, Second Anniversary Highlights: THE PULL OF GRAVITY

The kids from Jennings Middle School. One of my favorite classrooms 
to Skype into  run by the devoted and contagiously-enthusiastic Kay McGriff.
Reading her kids' blog posts about my book has been a true highlight of these two years.



Through May 11, the second anniversary of the release of THE PULL OF GRAVITY, I'm celebrating two years in print!

Scroll down through the first three Second-Anniversary posts to see more highlights and rules for the giveaway of a signed ARC of my next YA, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, due spring 2014 from Algonquin Young Readers.

So, here are today's highlights, including that awesome classroom up there!

Backtracking a bit, I cannot explain what a ginormous honor it is to see these kind of blurbs from this caliber of authors, each and every one of whom I have read and admire deeply:

only a few fit on the paperback cover, but all of them are below!
Don't know how I'm going to come close to this for my next book.
Chris, Mary, KL, Francisco, Lynne Rae? Do you hear me?!?!  and, come on, this review: "If one of John Green's books had a baby it would be this book."

Not enough words in the world, indeed. Thanks, Anna.
more tomorrow!

xox gae

Day Three, Second-Year Anniversary Highlights: THE PULL OF GRAVITY

Day Three of my two-year anniversary highlights.

For Day One, go HERE, and Day Two HERE, or, you know, just scroll down past this entry.

I'm also doing a giveaway, you can read about it in those earlier posts. All you have to do is post a comment (and live in the US or Canada) to be eligible.

So, more highlights and favorites, random and totally incomplete, from THE PULL OF GRAVITY's first two years in print.

Thanks to all who have read, shared and spread the word:



ZOMG, this video review by this awesome girl named Jocelyn:




Okay, seriously, these adorable The Pull of Gravity
earrings made for me by the lovely blogger who runs
PEACE, LOVE, TEEN FICTION.





Ahh, the sometimes enjoyable juxtaposition of tweets.


THIS REVIEW from Mindy at Books Complete Me. I remember being terrified of her review -- one of my first blog tour reviews -- because she loves the big splashy "wings and fangs" books that The Pull of Gravity so isn't. But, alas, she loved it too.  I believe what she said is that it made her "GIDDY." And she's become one of its biggest champions. Thanks, Mindy.

Thanks, all!

xox gae

THE PULL OF GRAVITY - Second Anniversary highlights

So, for those paying attention, I'm celebrating the second anniversary of THE PULL OF GRAVITY in print by highlighting some of my favorite reviews and moments from its first two years
in publication.

Please be reminded that these highlights will not be close to inclusive or complete and are shared in totally random order.

To help celebrate, I will give away one signed ARC of my next YA, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, Algonquin Young Readers, spring 2014, to one random commenter from the series. ARC's should be out in the fall!

Thanks to each and every reader who made these past two years an amazing, whirlwind journey of my own.

The Pull of Gravity was the recipient of a first-ever Nerdy Book Club Award in YA.
The Nerdy Book Club is an IBBA Best winner and they are an amazing group of educators and people.
Got Nerdy? If you don't, you really, really should.(want to become a member of the Nerdy Book Club? You can! Just click and join!)

This adorable and smart! VIDEO REVIEW from Jenny Sawyer of 60 Second Recap that I happened upon one day by pure serendipity. She even grabbed up a pitchfork for it.

http://www.60secondrecap.com/potw/pul...



And, this girl Amy's review...

p.s. Amy, I have been around forever, just not published, is all. and, Bryan's review:

Bryan is an awesome librarian. I got in touch with him after finding this review
and skyped with the kids at his library! It was so much fun. 
and, Kelly Hager's REVIEW.

Or, you know, her TPoG tweets.




Yes, I save the tweets. What of it?? 

xox gae

The Pull of Gravity -- Second Anniversary Highlights

Unbelievably -- well, at least to me -- we are coming up on the second anniversary of the release of my debut novel, THE PULL OF GRAVITY.

Getting published, especially by the legendary (and extraordinary) editor Frances Foster, has been a dream come true for me. I am endlessly humbled and grateful.

As my readers know, THE PULL OF GRAVITY is a contemporary, literary coming-of-age story, which means, "not splashy" and not always an easy sell. In a world where sales matter, you cannot imagine how grateful I am for everyone who has read and supported this book.

I'd like to spend the next few weeks leading up to my second anniversary -- May 11, to be exact -- highlighting some of my favorite reviews and moments from the book's first two years in publication.

A surprise connection to a previously-unknown relative! #goodthings

To be clear, these highlights will NOT be anything close to all-inclusive, and I will undoubtedly leave someone -- many someones -- whose support and love for the book truly matters to me, out. They are also in completely random order. If I have left you out and you'd like to be included, please flag me in a comment, and I will include you in a final highlight on the 11th!**


Also, on the 11th, I will draw from a random list of commenters to these posts, and give away a signed ARC of my next book, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, due spring 2014 from Algonquin, even if I have to give you my only copy. ARC's should be out by early fall.

With the extraordinary Paul W. Hankins, one of the book's biggest
supporters. Paul, I would have been lost without you.
(also, the lovely and talented Sarah Darer Littman)
Anyway, let me just say once again, how very grateful I am to everyone who has read my book, shared my book, and passed the name of the title on. The book has been shared in classrooms around the country (and in Canada!) ranging from the 5th to the 12th grades!

I'd be nowhere without you all. Don't I know it!

Today's additional highlighted review: Julie Musil's WRITING LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PULL OF GRAVITY.

Thanks, Cole, Avery and Julie!

first bookstore sighting ever, with my wonderful husband who, yes,
is wearing a very outdated sweatshirt. 
With love.

-gae

** to be clear Mindy Janicke and Kelly Hager, you do not actually have to flag me. ;)