Augusta Scattergood's Blog, page 39

Books for All

Did you see the Wall Street Journal article about grownup readers embracing Middle-Grade novels?

If not, take a minute and CLICK RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

(Clever title: "See Grownups Read." Wish I'd thought of that.)

Of course, most everybody knows about the Wonder phenom.  
I've recommended that book to plenty of friends who possibly haven't read a kids' book since they were or had kids. And they've been bowled over.


It sure makes my job easy, fun, and hardly like work that part of the requirement to write for kids is to read for them.

But I often feel a tad guilty when someone asks me for a recommendation and all I can give them is novels for ages "ten and up."
Or maybe ages 9-12.
Because that's what I'm mostly reading. 
And that ten and up, I'm usually quick to point out, means Way Up.


Recently I've read or am reading a ton of books that span the ages, so to speak.

Counting by 7s features a couple of adult characters that outshine any in a novel written for adults.

Even the decidedly child-friendly newest from Kate DiCamillo, Flora & Ulysses, I'd easily recommend to child-less adults. And by that I mean those with no current connections. You may not have taught, parented, or written for kids in the past ten years, but you'll love this novel.

Perhaps historical fiction falls into a category of its own here. But so much I've read truly defies age categorization. Check out these novels and I challenge you to say they are "only" written for middle-grade readers.

The Ballad of Jessie Pearl

Hattie Ever After 

Whistle in the Dark

What I Came to Tell You

CLICK HERE for an interview with the author, Tommy Hays
("I did set out to write a novel that my children would relate to, but I didn’t think to myself this is going to be a YA novel or a middle grade novel, which is actually how it’s technically classified.  I set out to write the best novel I could for whoever would like to read it.  I consider it a novel as much for adults as children.  I just met a wonderful author named Holly Sloan who has a wonderful middle grade novel out called Counting by 7s.  We presented together at the Southern Festival of the Book.  And she said she wrote her book the same way ..)

I could go on and on. But you get the drift.

I'm not saying this is a new development in the world of reading. And I'm not talking about the Young Adult crossover books that we know are being read by adults and "new adults."

But these days, aren't there are more older-than-Middle-Grade readers out there adding their names to the reserve lists at libraries, downloading them to their e-readers, or buying them as gifts but reading them first?

My humble opinion? Yes, there are. 

 

How To Write

Pretty much everything you need to know about writing is 
RIGHT HERE.  ☜ (click this link)
(Well, almost.)

Love this. One of my favorites.

NaNoWriMo

Or as my friend Caroline Starr Rose calls it, Fake-o-NaNo.

Click HERE to see what she has to say about National Novel Writing Month. Good stuff. 



Three years ago, when I was between projects and needed to jumpstart something new, I did NaNoWriMo. 
Mine, too, was Fake-o.




Here I am, back fiddling with that "Azalea" project. 
For the zillionth time.
But if you're a writer who needs inspiration. Or wants to try something new, give it a whirl.
Promise a friend cookies, team up with an online writing partner, or heck- just bake your own cookies and don't admit to a single soul what you're up to. Don't sweat it if what turns up is unreadable.

Or as Caroline says:
The "draft" I finished with is quite possibly the messiest, worst thing I've ever written.


But it's a beginning. And sometimes that's all it takes to create something worth revising. And revising. Over and over again.

Check these links. And next year, maybe you'll give it a try?

Oh, and a big congrats to those of you who finished NaNoWriMo! 
Any great wisdom learned from your month?
 

The official National Novel Writing Month site. 
For those brave enough to admit you're in.
http://nanowrimo.org/


Good stuff via MEDIA BISTRO, with links to previous posts on The Month.

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/nanowrimo-is-over-now-what_b80486

Here's a little of my own fake NaNo.
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2010/10/nanowrimo-anyone.html

Selling Books is Fun!

Not to mention, hard work

Here I am with Lisa Unger, my fellow Author Bookseller today at INKWOOD BOOKS in Tampa. 
A few favorite books Lisa recommends. And a couple of her own!


 Inkwood was very busy! 
I'll be visiting Melinda's school soon, and she came by to say hello!




Thank you to the kids who came to meet me. And to eat cupcakes. And buy lots of books.




Thanks, INKWOOD, for inviting me to share your Small Business Saturday. I had a blast!

Giving Thanks

 
Today seems like a good day to think about all the things we're grateful for. And what better place to begin than the Acknowledgments in some of your favorite books.
The Acknowledgments of one of my top-ten books, HOUND DOG TRUE , begins"This novel, like my first, began as a picture book..." And then Linda Urban goes on to thank the real friends who steered her in the right direction.
If you love a book and are yourself searching for an agent, check to see for whom that author's most thankful. (I can bet, we all thank our agents, big time.)

Click here for a few funny, poignant, interesting acknowledgments. 
Including this one:
Franny & Zooey, by J.D. Salinger
“As nearly as possible in the spirit of Matthew Salinger, age one, urging a luncheon companion to accept a cool lima bean, I urge my editor, mentor and (heaven help him) closest friend, William Shawn, genius domus of The New Yorker, lover of the long shot, protector of the unprolific, defender of the hopelessly flamboyant, most unreasonably modest of born great artist-editors to accept this pretty skimpy-looking book.”

And sometimes, it's worth reading the comments on posts. That's where I found this:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"The dedication of this book is split in seven ways: to Jessica, to David, to Kenzie, to Di, to Anne, and to you, if you have stuck with Harry until the very end."

Indies First!

Where better to hang out for a few hours on a Saturday morning than your local independent bookstore?
If you're in the Tampa Bay area, that would be INKWOOD BOOKS.
If you haven't been in a while, you may be surprised. Lots of fun, new stuff there.
And me. I'll be there on Saturday, November 30th, 11 til 1:00 for 
INDIES FIRST.
Here's a link to all the Inkwood authors, the who, what, where and when. 
Here's a link to check any bookstore, anywhere! (All the authors coming to your local indie.)
It all started with Sherman Alexie:

Small business Saturday was founded by American Express in 2010 and is celebrated every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Show your support for the businesses in your community and SHOP SMALL on Small Biz Saturday.

Indies First is a grassroots campaign spearheaded
by author Sherman Alexie.

Alexie has rallied authors around the U.S. to become booksellers for a day at their local independent bookshop. He'll be spending the day at his local indie in Seattle.

BROTHERHOOD by A.B. Westrick

The post-Civil War Reconstruction Period fascinates me.

You'd think I'd know a lot about this sad, turbulent time in our country's history. I studied Mississippi history at least twice before graduating from junior high school, and we usually made it through the ill-fated reconstruction. Then there was American History with Mrs. Brown and a college class in Southern History and one on the Civil War.

Now I don't miss an episode of HELL ON WHEELS.

Even as a seventh grader studying the Reconstruction, I loved the sound of Scalawag and Carpetbagger.
Oh, and I loved that we were allowed to say Damn Yankees in our classroom. Outloud. Even the teacher said it. In context, of course.

My grandmother recalled stories passed down from her own parents. How her grandfather was pardoned by President Johnson for fighting, so that he could vote and own land.
That's how fresh the history was to Southerners of her generation.

But I can't think of a lot of well-written, gripping stories written for Middle Grade, set during this time period.

Now there's a new one, just out, that I couldn't put down.


My latest fascinating read is BROTHERHOOD, a debut novel set in Richmond, Virginia right after the War Between The States.

(Okay, call it what you will. The War of Northern Aggression was a particular favorite in that Mississippi history class.)

But back to BROTHERHOOD, a novel I truly loved.
Westrick does an admirable job of portraying the period and the city. I felt like I was right there with the brothers. The character of Shadrack was so well written--conflicted and tortured by his older brother and by his allegiance to his family.


(ages 10 and up, though it's one adult readers will appreciate)


Be sure to read the Author's Note, especially the information about the Ku Klux Klan.

My ties to Virginia go way back. I recently spent time reading and writing there.
Can you imagine watching this sunset every evening?




Or being surrounded by old books? Lots and lots of old books. I can't keep my hands off.
Wouldn't you be inspired?



And I love the city of Richmond, walking the streets, hearing the sounds, visiting the museums.
Now I'll look at that city with fresh eyes.

BROTHERHOOD recreates it so vividly.
Isn't that what you want a good book to do?

Here's a link to the author's webpage:
http://abwestrick.com

For an excellent interview with A.B. Westrick, click HERE. 

(Thank you to the publisher for an Advanced Reading Copy. )

Revision: Quote of the Day

A writer's best friend is a wastepaper basket.
Isaac B. Singer. 




Mine's been emptied five times today.
Revision, I love it.

Pretty much everything you need to know about a great way to revise, via Laurie Halse Anderson:

http://madwomanintheforest.com/wfmad-day-18-revision-roadmap/

Come say hello!

 You’re invitedtoThe Children’s Authors PanelatDiscovery Night


Barnes & Noble213 North Dale MabryTampa, Florida
Friday, November 227:00-9:00 p.m.
Featuring:
Augusta Scattergood
GLORY BE
Shannon Hitchcock
THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL
Nancy Cavanaugh
THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET
Rob Sanders
COWBOY CHRISTMAS
< Hear from the authors ><Learn about writing for children >< Get answers to your questions >< And get your hands on some great books >

School Visiting 101

As I begin another year of fun and fabulous school visits, with a full calendar and lots of excitement, I'm following closely the advice of those who've done a zillion of them. 

(While I'm mostly cringing at the times I was on the other side of the School Visit fence and probably the authors I hosted were totally exhausted by the end of the day. My apologies to one and all. And there were some great ones. If only I'd known...)

But now I know. And I so appreciate the teachers and librarians who've invited me and dotted every I and crossed every T to make things easier.

 (a favorite picture, from a school visit in Indiana. Loved the signs!)

(Here's my post from the end of the summer, with a few more pictures.)

Those fabulously prepared teachers and librarians must have read up on "School Visits With Barbara O'Connor"!
Check her blogposts on the subject.


This may be her most important advice to those planning a School Visit. 

I'm happy to report that, as a librarian, I always tried to do this:
 Number 5 and Number 5. There's a reason Barbara repeats herself.
 

5. Prepare the students.

Let me repeat that:

5. Prepare the students. This is the single most important ingredient for a successful author visit. Hands down.

What is involved in preparing the students, you ask?

Make sure they are familiar with the author's work.

Let me repeat that.

Make sure they are familiar with the author's work.

They should have the author's books in the classrooms.
They should have read the books - or...
They should have had the books read to them.
They should see the books displayed in the library or classroom.

Nothing generates excitement and enthusiasm for an author's visit more than this.

If you're sitting on either side of the School Visit aisle,  CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE LIST. PLEASE.

And once again, here's a link to her previous "Advice From the Trenches."