Katherine Longshore's Blog, page 15
February 6, 2012
At Heart, I'm Just a Gossip Girl
Today, I'm chin-deep in revisions for Book 2, so I wanted to share a post I did months ago for the YA Muses. It explains a little of why I do what I do...
History. You either love it, or you hate it, right?
Who doesn't remember sitting in 8th grade history of civilization class, listening to the teacher drone on and on about Aristotle or the Renaissance or the Industrial Revolution? My class never quite reached the 20th Century before the school year ended and suddenly a new batch of high school students was unleashed on the world, knowing nothing of World War I or II, and little more about Western Civ because no one had actually listened or cared. Not even me.
But today, I can tell you more about Henry VIII and his social reforms and international policies than I can about the current government of my own country. I can gossip about his family and courtiers as if I watched "The Real Housewives of the Tudor Court" on Bravo every week.
Write what you know. When I decided to kick-start my writing career, I figured this was pretty good advice. At the time, I was a preschool teacher, surrounded by picture books. And I figured what the world needed was some really good, interesting picture books about the Tudors.
Ha.
I can't write picture books. I learned that in about fifteen minutes. And I view picture book writers with utter respect and deep-seated awe because they can. So I wrote a middle-grade time-travel adventure. In the meantime, I attended a workshop on voice at a conference. We did a writing exercise and shared our work, and at the end of it, Sydney Salter, author of My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters and Swoon at Your Own Risk approached me and said, "You know, you have a really good YA voice. Have you ever considered writing it?" And that's all it took.
So I write historical fiction for young adults. I love to imagine these historical figures as real people. I like to look at the way history has viewed them and ask the big question: "What if?" What if Richard III wasn't really the ambitious megalomaniacal killer Shakespeare portrayed him to be? What if Catherine Howard wasn't an ignorant, airheaded bimbo? What if Henry VIII really was just looking for love in all the wrong places?
Because I think most readers of YA novels can understand being misunderstood.
And, ultimately, it gives me a chance to let out some really juicy gossip. It's just 450 years old.
History. You either love it, or you hate it, right?
Who doesn't remember sitting in 8th grade history of civilization class, listening to the teacher drone on and on about Aristotle or the Renaissance or the Industrial Revolution? My class never quite reached the 20th Century before the school year ended and suddenly a new batch of high school students was unleashed on the world, knowing nothing of World War I or II, and little more about Western Civ because no one had actually listened or cared. Not even me.
But today, I can tell you more about Henry VIII and his social reforms and international policies than I can about the current government of my own country. I can gossip about his family and courtiers as if I watched "The Real Housewives of the Tudor Court" on Bravo every week.Write what you know. When I decided to kick-start my writing career, I figured this was pretty good advice. At the time, I was a preschool teacher, surrounded by picture books. And I figured what the world needed was some really good, interesting picture books about the Tudors.
Ha.
I can't write picture books. I learned that in about fifteen minutes. And I view picture book writers with utter respect and deep-seated awe because they can. So I wrote a middle-grade time-travel adventure. In the meantime, I attended a workshop on voice at a conference. We did a writing exercise and shared our work, and at the end of it, Sydney Salter, author of My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters and Swoon at Your Own Risk approached me and said, "You know, you have a really good YA voice. Have you ever considered writing it?" And that's all it took.
So I write historical fiction for young adults. I love to imagine these historical figures as real people. I like to look at the way history has viewed them and ask the big question: "What if?" What if Richard III wasn't really the ambitious megalomaniacal killer Shakespeare portrayed him to be? What if Catherine Howard wasn't an ignorant, airheaded bimbo? What if Henry VIII really was just looking for love in all the wrong places?
Because I think most readers of YA novels can understand being misunderstood.
And, ultimately, it gives me a chance to let out some really juicy gossip. It's just 450 years old.
February 3, 2012
Friday Five -- Tudor Edition
1. My favorite Tudor historical fiction: WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel. The book is brilliant, Ms. Mantel is brilliant, and her version of Thomas Cromwell makes him sympathetic and even likable. I'm both thrilled and terrified that the sequel, BRING UP THE BODIES, will be published a week after GILT. And disappointed because I won't let myself read it until after I've finished the Royal Circle series -- her characters are so strong and well-drawn, I don't want them to bleed into mine (pun intended). There is also a BBC drama planned. Be still my beating heart.2. My favorite Tudor non-fiction. This has got to be a tie between David Starkey's SIX WIVES and Alison Weir's HENRY VIII: THE KING AND HIS COURT.
3. My favorite Tudor film or television show. A Man for All Seasons. Never been a big fan of Thomas More, but the film is brilliant.
4. My favorite Tudor wife. Sorry, can't answer that one. I have great compassion for Anne of Cleves, love Anne Boleyn's vivacity, Catherine of Aragon's strength, Catherine Parr's intelligence. I wrote a novel about Catherine Howard and wonder how Jane Seymour feels, laid to rest with Henry for all eternity.
5. Favorite Tudor. Leaving the realm of the family itself, as well as Henrician times, I'm going to choose Bess of Hardwick. A tough, intelligent woman who rose from nowhere to become the second-richest woman in the realm (after Elizabeth). Not an easy thing to do. My hat goes off to her.
So, what are some of your Tudor favorites?
February 1, 2012
Finishing the Hat
Due to a scheduling fail, I posted yesterday rather than today - which turned out to be a good thing. Thank you for your gracious and supportive comments!
Which means today, my post will be shorter and less prepared. I first saw Sunday in the Park with George when I was in high school. I love musical theater, and this is one of my favorites. It's a story of art and obsession, a love story, a moment of history. George Seurat was a pointilist in Paris during the explosion of Impressionist art. He created massive paintings by using tiny dots of color. The eye blends them into figures and structures -- turning red and blue into black and white and orange into light. Sondheim captures this in his music.
My reason for sharing this today is because in the play, one of the reasons George's girlfriend leaves him is because he has to "finish the hat". He works all the time. On these tiny little structures, hoping that the combination will make the finished work perfect.
Writers are like that (though hopefully not to the point of shutting out our loved ones). Each word, each phrase, each image, each paragraph has to be placed just so in order to complete the whole. I'm working on a revision right now and spent all of yesterday on one scene.
Isn't writing amazing when you can lose yourself in "finishing the hat?"
Which means today, my post will be shorter and less prepared. I first saw Sunday in the Park with George when I was in high school. I love musical theater, and this is one of my favorites. It's a story of art and obsession, a love story, a moment of history. George Seurat was a pointilist in Paris during the explosion of Impressionist art. He created massive paintings by using tiny dots of color. The eye blends them into figures and structures -- turning red and blue into black and white and orange into light. Sondheim captures this in his music.
My reason for sharing this today is because in the play, one of the reasons George's girlfriend leaves him is because he has to "finish the hat". He works all the time. On these tiny little structures, hoping that the combination will make the finished work perfect.
Writers are like that (though hopefully not to the point of shutting out our loved ones). Each word, each phrase, each image, each paragraph has to be placed just so in order to complete the whole. I'm working on a revision right now and spent all of yesterday on one scene.
Isn't writing amazing when you can lose yourself in "finishing the hat?"
January 31, 2012
ARCs and Everything After
One of the things I've learned on this crazy road to publication is that ARCs (Advance Reader Copies, galleys, uncorrected proofs, review copies, etc.) are like gold. Because they have a small print run, each bound copy is expensive. Publishers dole them out carefully – some authors only get two copies for their own marketing purposes.
This makes them very important. And the choices we make with them as authors have to be equally important. I don't have extras. Every single one is dedicated and for a purpose. It's not easy to choose when you want everyone to be able to read your book. When you want bloggers to shout about it. When you want to be accommodating. But choices must be made.
And then, yesterday, one went up for sale on eBay. (cue Psycho-esque slasher music).
This just kills me. I know it happens. It's immoral, it's wrong, it's ridiculous. It is, in theory, stealing money from me because I don't get the royalties from the sale. But, you say, maybe this shouldn't bother me so much because at least someone is eager to read my book. I don't get money from used book sales or from the 101st library reader, either. It's the readers that matter, right? Well, yes and no.
What matters is one word. "Uncorrected."
ARCs are uncorrected proofs. They contain mistakes. Some are just typos, some are word choice. In my case, there is a scene that I altered after the ARCs came out that makes the book better, makes the characters more clear. It's not a huge change, just word order and scene structure. But to me it's important.
I don't want anyone to have to pay good money for my mistakes. I want my readers to get the best story I can possibly give them. That will be in the final copy.
There's not a lot I can do about eBay sellers or used bookstore sales of ARCs. There is no ARC police. I can alert the seller. I can tell my friends who do the same (thank you, Class of 2k12!). And I can let you, my readers, know how I feel. So that when you see an ARC for sale – mine or anyone else's – you can make your own choice.
Update: The lovely Kelly Jensen over at Stacked has blogged about this very same issue -- with much more depth and a little more perspective. If you're interested, please see what she has to say here.
This makes them very important. And the choices we make with them as authors have to be equally important. I don't have extras. Every single one is dedicated and for a purpose. It's not easy to choose when you want everyone to be able to read your book. When you want bloggers to shout about it. When you want to be accommodating. But choices must be made.
And then, yesterday, one went up for sale on eBay. (cue Psycho-esque slasher music).This just kills me. I know it happens. It's immoral, it's wrong, it's ridiculous. It is, in theory, stealing money from me because I don't get the royalties from the sale. But, you say, maybe this shouldn't bother me so much because at least someone is eager to read my book. I don't get money from used book sales or from the 101st library reader, either. It's the readers that matter, right? Well, yes and no.
What matters is one word. "Uncorrected."
ARCs are uncorrected proofs. They contain mistakes. Some are just typos, some are word choice. In my case, there is a scene that I altered after the ARCs came out that makes the book better, makes the characters more clear. It's not a huge change, just word order and scene structure. But to me it's important.
I don't want anyone to have to pay good money for my mistakes. I want my readers to get the best story I can possibly give them. That will be in the final copy.
There's not a lot I can do about eBay sellers or used bookstore sales of ARCs. There is no ARC police. I can alert the seller. I can tell my friends who do the same (thank you, Class of 2k12!). And I can let you, my readers, know how I feel. So that when you see an ARC for sale – mine or anyone else's – you can make your own choice.
Update: The lovely Kelly Jensen over at Stacked has blogged about this very same issue -- with much more depth and a little more perspective. If you're interested, please see what she has to say here.
January 30, 2012
A Change of Scenery -- Part 2
Last Wednesday, I wrote about how inspiring it can be for me just to change location -- something about the movement and the perspective can often knock something loose and start the creative flow again.
For me, one of the most inspiring location changes is the beach. I grew up in a coastal town. There wasn't much to do there (legally) as a teen except drive around. We had a sometimes-open teen club that was sometimes 21-and-over.
And we had the beach. I consider myself lucky that I grew up with a batch of people who felt the draw of the water as strongly as I did. We spent days (and nights) at the beach -- walking, talking, building sandcastles, swimming, lighting bonfires and drinking copious amounts of coffee. We watched the waves bring in the phosphorescence and light the sand with green stars at night. We watched the (two) surfers struggle to make sense of the cross-currents during the day. We got our feet wet and checked the rock pools for sea stars and anemones. To me, the beach is full of magic.
So last week, a dear writer friend invited me to a revision retreat on the coast. It's a different coast from the one I grew up on -- the sand is lighter, the harbor more populated, the seaside restaurants a little more cosmopolitan. But we worked to the sound of the rocking boats and the foghorn. And one afternoon, I sat on the balcony and wrote until my fingers grew too cold to type.
It was magical.
I'm inspired by other landscapes, too -- deserts, snow-capped mountains, river water on rocks through canyons, the rolling hills of the English Downs. But the beach and the sea are probably my first loves. And I can always find my self there.
How about you? What landscape or perspective inspires you and makes your creative self sing?
For me, one of the most inspiring location changes is the beach. I grew up in a coastal town. There wasn't much to do there (legally) as a teen except drive around. We had a sometimes-open teen club that was sometimes 21-and-over.
And we had the beach. I consider myself lucky that I grew up with a batch of people who felt the draw of the water as strongly as I did. We spent days (and nights) at the beach -- walking, talking, building sandcastles, swimming, lighting bonfires and drinking copious amounts of coffee. We watched the waves bring in the phosphorescence and light the sand with green stars at night. We watched the (two) surfers struggle to make sense of the cross-currents during the day. We got our feet wet and checked the rock pools for sea stars and anemones. To me, the beach is full of magic.So last week, a dear writer friend invited me to a revision retreat on the coast. It's a different coast from the one I grew up on -- the sand is lighter, the harbor more populated, the seaside restaurants a little more cosmopolitan. But we worked to the sound of the rocking boats and the foghorn. And one afternoon, I sat on the balcony and wrote until my fingers grew too cold to type.
It was magical.
I'm inspired by other landscapes, too -- deserts, snow-capped mountains, river water on rocks through canyons, the rolling hills of the English Downs. But the beach and the sea are probably my first loves. And I can always find my self there.
How about you? What landscape or perspective inspires you and makes your creative self sing?
January 27, 2012
Follow Friday -- The Lucky 13s
Happy Friday, everybody! With any luck at all, I'll be out in the snow this weekend, but before I go, I want to do two things.
First, thanks again for coming back and participating in the YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes last week, that was hosted by and featured more than 50 Apocalypsies writers. If you participated in the race, you started off at the Apocalypsies website, right?
Well, the good news is that there are more great young adult and middle grade books coming out in 2013, because the world is not really going to end. And the authors whose first books are coming out next year (the debut authors) have rounded themselves up and created a group called The Lucky 13s.
This is a fun group, with some great books and fabulous authors. Throughout this year, they will be blogging about their experiences and hosting interviews with Apocalypsies authors and probably doing giveaways as well. So follow them. They are the future.
The Lucky 13s blog here.
And are on Twitter.
First, thanks again for coming back and participating in the YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes last week, that was hosted by and featured more than 50 Apocalypsies writers. If you participated in the race, you started off at the Apocalypsies website, right?
Well, the good news is that there are more great young adult and middle grade books coming out in 2013, because the world is not really going to end. And the authors whose first books are coming out next year (the debut authors) have rounded themselves up and created a group called The Lucky 13s.
This is a fun group, with some great books and fabulous authors. Throughout this year, they will be blogging about their experiences and hosting interviews with Apocalypsies authors and probably doing giveaways as well. So follow them. They are the future.
The Lucky 13s blog here.
And are on Twitter.
January 25, 2012
A Change of Scenery
I actually wrote this post last Wednesday, before remembering that it was all YAmazing Race all week long. But I couldn't leave this post in a drawer. Today -- actually today -- I am at an undisclosed location with a writer friend, and we are both hip-deep in revision. Change of location - and hours of uninterrupted writing time - can be akin to heaven.
Today I've decided that I need a change of scenery. So here I am, at my local coffee shop, with a 12 ounce mocha, a pumpkin scone, and my laptop. I'd probably be happier if I had a lemon poppy seed muffin, but we can't always get everything we want.
I know writers who do all of their creative work at a coffee shop. And have to say that I think the image of author, hunched over a computer keyboard at a corner table is an appealing one. I'd love to be able to be one of those authors who lists her favorite barista in her acknowledgments. It's just such a lovely scene.
But I'm afraid I suffer from a guilt complex. I'd feel guilty spending money every day on coffee I can make perfectly easily at home (I used to be a barista, after all). I'd feel guilty sitting at the table all morning with just one coffee drink.
Not only that, but I'd have to be way more productive to justify the cost.
However, I do reserve the right to a $4 coffee when no other options are available to me. When I have been at home for 4 days straight, pounding away at the same 5 pages, and my arms start to ache from sitting in the same position. When I start talking to the dog, as he snores in his basket beside my desk. When I begin to wonder if maybe my time would be better used cleaning the toilet than writing the same 5 pages. That is when I get over my guilt complex and spend the day somewhere else.
And I find that that change scenery, the simple act of sitting at a different table, and listening to different sounds, can actually make a difference. I've had scenes just flow from my fingertips as everything around me disappears and my coffee grows cold. I've had words and sentences appear in my mind, perfect and indisputable. I've had characters speak to me in voices so clear that it's more like taking dictation than writing dialogue.
Plus, this is probably the best mocha I've ever had.
Today I've decided that I need a change of scenery. So here I am, at my local coffee shop, with a 12 ounce mocha, a pumpkin scone, and my laptop. I'd probably be happier if I had a lemon poppy seed muffin, but we can't always get everything we want.
I know writers who do all of their creative work at a coffee shop. And have to say that I think the image of author, hunched over a computer keyboard at a corner table is an appealing one. I'd love to be able to be one of those authors who lists her favorite barista in her acknowledgments. It's just such a lovely scene.But I'm afraid I suffer from a guilt complex. I'd feel guilty spending money every day on coffee I can make perfectly easily at home (I used to be a barista, after all). I'd feel guilty sitting at the table all morning with just one coffee drink.
Not only that, but I'd have to be way more productive to justify the cost.
However, I do reserve the right to a $4 coffee when no other options are available to me. When I have been at home for 4 days straight, pounding away at the same 5 pages, and my arms start to ache from sitting in the same position. When I start talking to the dog, as he snores in his basket beside my desk. When I begin to wonder if maybe my time would be better used cleaning the toilet than writing the same 5 pages. That is when I get over my guilt complex and spend the day somewhere else.
And I find that that change scenery, the simple act of sitting at a different table, and listening to different sounds, can actually make a difference. I've had scenes just flow from my fingertips as everything around me disappears and my coffee grows cold. I've had words and sentences appear in my mind, perfect and indisputable. I've had characters speak to me in voices so clear that it's more like taking dictation than writing dialogue.
Plus, this is probably the best mocha I've ever had.
January 23, 2012
Winner of the BORN WICKED Giveaway!
First, I want to thank you all for participating in the Race. The Apocalypsies are a pretty amazing group, and it's been so much fun supporting each other and cheering each other on. And even more fun to see the number of people who are right there with us -- wanting to read all of these amazing books.
Secondly, I want to announce the winner of the BORN WICKED giveaway. It's hard giving up this ARC, because I love this book, but I know I'll buy a copy anyway!
Chosen from all comments and new followers by random.org: Natalie! (Natalie152 at gmail). I will be e-mailing you shortly for your address and will get the book in the mail as soon as possible.
Thanks again for coming, everyone!
Secondly, I want to announce the winner of the BORN WICKED giveaway. It's hard giving up this ARC, because I love this book, but I know I'll buy a copy anyway!
Chosen from all comments and new followers by random.org: Natalie! (Natalie152 at gmail). I will be e-mailing you shortly for your address and will get the book in the mail as soon as possible.
Thanks again for coming, everyone!
Why Tudors?
A recurring theme from last week's comments was Tudor love.
"I love all the Tudor drama." -- Eliza
"I've always been fascinated with the Tudor court." -- Hannah Lorraine
"I love the Tudor era! -- picyadri
"I love anything to do with Henry VIII." -- Hannah
And it got me thinking. Why? Why do we love these people who lived hundreds of years ago, in what would seem like a different planet to our modern age? Why do we get caught up in their stories and their dramas, and why do they seem so present - so immediate - in our modern minds?
I have a feeling it's not just the Showtime/BBC series (I've only seen two episodes, but Henry Cavill will always have a place in my heart) because something - something bigger and more culturally potent - threw that series into stardom.
The only answer I can provide is my own. I began reading about Tudor history to discover if Henry truly was the gross, tyrannical behemoth so easily lampooned by modern comedians. And learned that Henry is much more complex than I ever imagined.
My second was to find out why this diverse group of women - almost all of them well-educated and obviously intelligent - would marry him. And their reasons were as diverse as their personalities. Henry certainly didn't marry a "type". Which makes him even more complex.
This doesn't come close to why I'm somewhat obsessed by the entire era. By the wars and religious upheaval. By the clothes and the jewelry, the food and travel and sports and entertainments. Compared to how we live now, their ways and traditions are archaic - even barbaric. But also fascinating - and some even beautiful.
So because I don't have an answer, let me turn it over to you. Why are you fascinated by the Tudors? And what is it about them that captures our collective imagination?
"I love all the Tudor drama." -- Eliza
"I've always been fascinated with the Tudor court." -- Hannah Lorraine
"I love the Tudor era! -- picyadri
"I love anything to do with Henry VIII." -- Hannah
And it got me thinking. Why? Why do we love these people who lived hundreds of years ago, in what would seem like a different planet to our modern age? Why do we get caught up in their stories and their dramas, and why do they seem so present - so immediate - in our modern minds?
I have a feeling it's not just the Showtime/BBC series (I've only seen two episodes, but Henry Cavill will always have a place in my heart) because something - something bigger and more culturally potent - threw that series into stardom.The only answer I can provide is my own. I began reading about Tudor history to discover if Henry truly was the gross, tyrannical behemoth so easily lampooned by modern comedians. And learned that Henry is much more complex than I ever imagined.
My second was to find out why this diverse group of women - almost all of them well-educated and obviously intelligent - would marry him. And their reasons were as diverse as their personalities. Henry certainly didn't marry a "type". Which makes him even more complex.
This doesn't come close to why I'm somewhat obsessed by the entire era. By the wars and religious upheaval. By the clothes and the jewelry, the food and travel and sports and entertainments. Compared to how we live now, their ways and traditions are archaic - even barbaric. But also fascinating - and some even beautiful.
So because I don't have an answer, let me turn it over to you. Why are you fascinated by the Tudors? And what is it about them that captures our collective imagination?
January 16, 2012
YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes! Leg 3
Hello and welcome to Leg 3 of the YAmazing Race! This is an online week-long scavenger hunt hosted by the Apocalypsies featuring over 50 debut authors! By running the race, you can learn more about the hottest new books debuting in 2012 - AND earn a chance to win one of several prize packs made up of signed ARCs and finished copies, gift certificates, bookmarks, jewelry, swag, and more! If you're new to the race, start here, and follow the directions. I'll see you when you return! If you're already on the race, congratulations! This is the last stop on Leg 3 -- your next stop will be the quiz to enter to win prizes!
But first, a little information about my book, which will be in stores May 15.GILT
In the Tudor age, ambition, power and charismatic allure are essential, and Catherine Howard has plenty of all three. Not to mention her loyal best friend, Kitty Tylney, to help cover her tracks. Kitty, the bandoned youngest daughter of minor aristocracy, owes everything to Cat - where she is, what she is, even who she is. Friend, flirt, and self-proclaimed Queen of Misrule, Cat reigns supreme in a loyal court of girls under the none-to-watchful eye of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.
When Cat worms her way into the heart of Henry VIII and becomes Queen of England, Kitty is thrown into the intoxicating Tudor Court. It's a world of glittering jewels and elegant costumes, of gossip and deception. As the queen's right-hand-woman, Kitty goes from the girl nobody noticed to being caught between two men - the object of her affection and the object of her desire.
But the atmosphere of the court turns from dazzling to deadly, and Kitty is forced to learn the difference between trust and loyalty, love and lust, secrets and treason. And to accept the consequences when some lessons are learned too late.
Now, are you ready for that quiz?
But wait! Before you go, did you all read about BORN WICKED by Jessica Spotswood? Sounds fabulous, right? (It is, believe me, it is!) I'm hosting a bonus contest and an ARC of Jess's book is the prize! Every comment below and every new follower will be entered. This contest is open internationally and I'll post the winner (chosen by random number generator) on Monday, January 23rd. Just remember to come back to see who wins.
Ready for that quiz now? Just click here.
Note to my regular followers: In order to keep the YAmazing race running smoothly, this will be my only post for the week. Back to the regular schedule on the 25th!
