Annie Cardi's Blog, page 21

Links Galore

Lots of good links to share:

Great post on Hinduism in YA lit.
At a time when there are a lot of excellent YA/children’s authors writing in verse, so glad to hear .
An awesome updated graphic guide for LGBTQ YA novels, including some favorites from the last few years.
“She is a toy steeped in tragedy, and who is offered tragedy during play?” On the complications of the Addy Walker doll.
A.S. King on feminism and inclusion.
If you’re like me and just getting into the graphic novel world, a few LGBTQA recommendations. And some for a (mostly) younger set.
And while we’re talking about graphic novels, FURIOSA!
A list recommending YA novels for adults that recommends actual YA novels?!
How to encourage summer reading.
Love the sound of Project UROK.
Great interview with the genre-crossing Jennifer Donnelly.
This post about writing retreats and residencies is one to keep bookmarked.
A few YA novels to look forward to in the second half of 2015, including one by the wonderful Robin Talley.
The intensity of fandoms and the pressure on authors.
I. Need. This. Shirt.
Great suggestions for revision–and for drafting, to be honest.
I can totally get on board with the no guilt approach to writing.
Having some seriously feels about JK Rowling’s response to all of us waiting for our owls.
But maybe Jo can hold off on the “indigenous magic” in America.
What’s the difference between a space opera, a cyberpunk novel, and dystopian lit?

 

Friday Fifteen

Happy Friday, everyone! Here’s to a weekend of summer weather and summer reading. Let’s kick things off with a look at what I’ve been reading and writing, in fifteen words or fewer.

Reader: The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

Quieter than I expected, which I enjoyed. Lots of feels for this circle of friends.

Writing: “The dinosaur is the cowboy’s only known enemy.”

Feels appropriate considering Jurassic Park is back this week.

Amelia Earhart’s Forgotten Footage

Some fun Amelia Earhart news for the week! A film of Amelia Earhart, taken just before her final attempted flight around the world, surfaced recently after sitting on a shelf for fifty years.

In 1937, Earhart was preparing for a flight around the world. Photographer Al Bresnik went to take pictures of Earhart at Burbank Airport, and his brother, John, joined him. Unbeknownst to anyone, John took a short film of Earhart, and his son discovered the contents of the film decades later. Check out some of the footage in the Associated Press clip below:

It’s unclear whether this footage was taken before her first attempt or second attempt, but either way it’s a look at Earhart within a year of her disappearance over the Pacific.

It doesn’t add a lot to Earhart’s history or clear up any details of her disappearance, but for me it’s a reminder that the public is still interested in her life and her story. Learning about her during the research process for The Chance You Won’t Return was awesome, and i loved realizing why Alex’s mom connected to Earhart so deeply. Even these little glimpses of her feel like they give us a clearer picture into who Earhart was and where she went.

Drum Roll Please…the Madcap Retreat Winners

Thanks to all who took part in and shared the Madcap Retreat giveaway! The two winners of e-copies of Natalie C. Parker’s Beware the Wild are:

hannahkarena and befleet!

Congratulations, guys! Make sure to email madcapretreats@gmail.com for your free e-book of Beware the Wild (it’s amazing) and check out the Madcap Retreats Tumblr for even more giveaway winner info.

Friday Fifteen

Happy Friday, everyone! In case you missed it, make sure to check out Natalie C. Parker’s guest post and enter the Madcap Retreat giveaway. Now let’s kick off the first weekend in June with a look at what I’ve been reading and writing, in fifteen words or under.

Reading: Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed

Powerful and sensitive story of a girl forced into marriage by a favorite ’15 author.

Writing: “I have to save all my energy for victory dances. It’s a physics thing.”

Mass equals force of dance skills squared.

Madcap Writing Retreats: Retreat to Advance – Guest Post by the Amazing Natalie Parker

If you ask me about writing retreats, one name comes to mind: Natalie Parker. I’ve been to two Natalie–organized retreats so far, and absolutely loved both of them. They’re the perfect way to seriously write in a beautiful setting, bond with amazing fellow writers, and get inspired about your craft.

And now Natalie is taking her retreat organization skills to the world at large! Check out the post below from Natalie for more on her new program, Madcap Retreats, and find out how to get the Natalie retreat experience:

Madcap Writing Retreats: Retreat to Advance by Natalie C. Parker

Nothing has changed my career so much as writing retreats.

In the winter of 2011, I was invited to attend a large retreat in Branson, MO at which there would be 25 established YA authors. I was unagented at the time and though I found the idea of joining such a gathering an intimidating one, I also found it was impossible to pass up.

The experience was a game-changer. Not only did I meet a group of authors who were as encouraging as they were successful, but I sat in a room in which those same authors opened laptops and worked quietly together. There were headphones and tea and snack breaks and chat breaks and there were word documents that looked much like my own, growing one word at a time.

I left the Branson Retreat with a new network of contacts who would guide my career in different ways, determined to repeat the experience as quickly as possible. Only this time I wanted to be the one issuing invites. One year later, that’s exactly what I did: I made my first retreat of 11 authors on the side of a mountain, in a house that also had a turret.

Since that time, I’ve hosted 1 or 2 retreats every year, always with the goal of bringing authors together to create the kind of community we just can’t get in 140 character bites. I’ve hosted authors in turreted mansions in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in French Quarter apartments, in the Texas Hill Country, in historic Savannah townhomes, and in the sleepy Smoky Mountains. And here are the top three lessons I’ve learned from organizing retreats for writers:

There must be Internet. It does not matter if you write to your group ahead of time and say the words “there is no Internet in this mountain chateau IS THAT OKAY?” It does not matter if they uniform answer is, “Yes, Natalie, we are not so addicted to the Modern Age that going without Wi-Fi for 3 days will kill us.” I promise you, none of that matters because when you get to the house someone will build an antenna out of aluminum foil and desperate tears and stand on the roof searching for a signal.
Never underestimate the importance of every bedroom having its own bathroom. End of explanation.
You may begin the adventure with plans of leaving the house, but trust me, this will not happen. To appease any group of authors, I advise picture windows and something that suggests power and mystery. Mountains are an obvious choice, but lakes work very well as do abandoned sugar plantations, rolling hills, and oceans. This way, even if you get snowed in after throwing out all the perishable food so that all that remains are Oreos and a handle of gin, no one will every complain about the view!

I love retreats. They’re fun and exciting and sometimes lead to creating things like Sh*t Writers Say. But I started this by saying that retreats have altered the course of my career in significant ways and that is absolutely true.

After Branson in 2011, I had half a dozen authors willing to weigh in on my query and help me cull my agent list.

After the Wi-Fi-less chateau in 2012, there were authors ready to blurb my first book.

After the Hill Country in 2013, I received crucial advice on how to develop a retreat business.

But more than that, I’ve seen anthologies born over the course of a retreat, I’ve seen mentor and critique relationships gain footing, and I’ve seen the direction of manuscripts shift dramatically and to great effect. And I know there’s even more I haven’t seen.

Like so many writers, my writing time is bound and hedged in on all sides. My writing time is also my “down” time, my “free” time, my “in between this and that” time.” It’s a challenge to find hours that flow from one into another with nothing binding them except the promise of words. Madcap is one way I can offer time and opportunity to myself and to others, and I’m truly excited to be able to do that.

Madcap is for writers at any stage in their career – aspiring, agented, and published. My goal is to continue what was done for me at that first Branson retreat and create the kinds of opportunities it’s nearly impossible to create for yourself. Welcome to Madcap Retreats, join us for an adventure.

MADCAP RETREATS: Web | Twitter | Tumblr

And now we come to the giveaway portion of this post!

I’ve asked a few amazing bloggers to help me spread the word of Madcap far and wide via a Blog Hop. Each participating blog will be giving away 2 e-copies of my debut novel Beware the Wild. And each of those winners will be entered to win one of two grand prizes! They are:

A $300 discount on the upcoming workshop – The Anatomy of Publishing: Story & Marketing , August 27 – 30. The workshop will be lead by Courtney C. Stevens and will feature a few fancy guest authors who will workshop pages and queries one-on-one! (More info can be found here).
A short stack of ARCs including: JUBILEE MANOR by Bethany Hagen, DUMPLIN’ by Julie Murphy, and THE ANATOMY OF CURIOSITY by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, & Brenna Yovanoff.

The contest is open to US/Canada ONLY. You may enter via each blogger if that pleases you. Contest closes at midnight on Sunday, June 7th. Winners will be announced by noon on Monday, June 8th.

Additionally! If you’d like to stay up to date on all retreat and workshop offerings by Madcap, you can subscribe to the mailing list by visiting this page. The first 50 subscribers will be offered a free download of either:

“Lady Berserk: A Novella of Dragons, Trickster Gods, and Reality TV,” by Tessa Gratton; or
“From Words to Brain: A Guided Tour Through the Neuroscience of Reading,” by Livia Blackburne

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below about what your dream retreat experience.

Full list of participating blogs:

YA Highway, http://www.yahighway.com/
The Daily Dahlia, https://dailydahlia.wordpress.com/
Krista Van Dolzer, http://www.kristavandolzer.com/
Fiction University, http://blog.janicehardy.com/
YA Bibliophile, http://yabibliophile.com/
The Pub Hub, http://www.publishing-hub.com/
Annie Cardi, http://anniecardi.com/blog/
Dallas Fort Worth Writers Workshop, https://dfwwritersworkshop.wordpress.com/
The League of Extraordinary Writers, http://leaguewriters.blogspot.com/

Actual view from the TN retreat.

Thanks to Natalie for sharing her retreat skills with the world! Make sure to check out Madcap Retreats and comment below to win in the Madcap giveaway.

In the meantime, I’ll be daydreaming about my next retreat with Natalie and Madcap.

Links Galore

All the links I’ve been saving:

Fictional bookstores are almost as good as real bookstores.
Keep this post about how to prepare for your book launch on file forever.
Don’t give up on your story, your voice.
Kaye is one of my favorites.
It’s not just fantasy novels (thanks George R.R. Martin)–books are getting longer.
Some diverse books for your summer reading list.
The delightful Rosamund Hodge about the monster of self-criticism.
A look at women writers and big award wins.
Awesome list of sci-fi/fantasy novels by women.
Intersectionality, trans women stories, love stories, and more on this big wish list for LGBTQ publishing.
And writing LGBTQ characters in middle grade novels.
Claudia Kishi, literary fashion icon forever.
The Yoknapatawpha Spelling Bee champions hits right in the literary funny bone.
The 48 Hour Book Challenge is coming…

Friday Fifteen

My lack of posting this week probably suggested I’ve been super busy, so I’m thrilled it’s finally Friday. Onto the long weekend with a look at what I’ve been reading and writing, in fifteen words or fewer.

Reading: Lion Heart by A.C. Gaughen

Knives, ransoms, weddings, and Eleanor of Aquitaine–a thrilling end to the fantastic Scarlet series.

Writing: “Harrison called room service to ask for enough macaroni and cheese to fill a bathtub.”

And of course the new manuscript needs a game of hotel room truth-or-dare.

Friday Fifteen

Happy Friday, everyone! This week has been more than enough for me, so I’m all too happy to head into the weekend. Let’s get things started with a look at what I’ve been reading and writing, in fifteen words or fewer.

Reading: This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

Beautifully illustrated look at that summer between being a child and being a teen.

Writing: “I am so not a badger,” I said. “Take that back.”

This character has to learn to embrace his inner Hufflepuff.

Links Galore

All the links I’ve been hoarding:

Cross-casting the Avengers with Jane Austen characters–be still my heart!
“Be nice to people” and other writer etiquette tips.
Cool article on the business and art of writing and publishing for children.
Word count in hip hop.
I am so team semicolon.
Great interview with Sarah Dessen about writing books that ultimately don’t work, feminism, and going through a hard time in high school.
The study of fanfiction.
Yes, boys and girls can be just friends.
Reading for school vs. reading for fun.
Famous children’s book authors recommend their favorite picture books.
The delightful YARN editors on YA trends, the pain of rejections (on both sides), and juggling the editing/writing time.
First Book is helping get diverse books in the hands of young readers.
Shakespeare knew how to put a good quote together, guys.
And speaking of quotes, a few from Jewish American writers for Jewish American heritage month.
John Green on how books connect with their movie adaptations.
Nova Renn on filling the well.
“So whenever all that other crazy stuff is kind of driving me crazy, I try and kind of bring it back to the one thing I can control – and that is the work. And that’s the thing that brings me so much satisfaction.” Wise words from Gayle Forman.
Rock stars are readers, too.