Carolee Dean's Blog, page 24

Happy ThanksHallowChrisGiving!

While I was cooking the turkey this beautiful Thanksgiving Day, my kids went out to walk the dog and found this pumpkin behind someone's car tire, probably poised for a messy prank. They brought it home and carved a Christmas tree on the front, combining all their favorite fall holidays and creating ThanksHallowChrisGiving! 
I'm glad they are so easily entertained. Or maybe the tryptophan is going to their brains.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!    

Cinquain Chains

The following is an excerpt from my SECRET LANGUAGE OF STORIES column over at the Spellbinders Blog.

Last month in my SECRET LANGUAGE OF STORIES column I discussed The Major Impact of Minor Characters and gave suggestions for several short forms that could be used to explore them such as the epigram and the epitaph. A fun activity making headstones was described.

Another short form I enjoy is the cinquain. Cinquains are also a great way to explore characters. They are short, just five lines long as the name illustrates, so it's important to capture the essence of a character with as few words as possible. It's also a good activity for students who struggle with written language.

Writing character cinquains can be part of a book report or a stand alone activity. They can be used to create a "cast of characters" and because so much white space is left on the page, other artwork may accompany the project.

Because it's a poem, ideas are more important than grammar and punctuation. Ironically though, students are still exploring grammar because the cinquain focuses on using parts of speech to create each line.

To read about the basic format of the cinquain and to find an example of a cinquain chain from my verse novel FORGET ME NOT, check out the rest of my article over at the Spellbinders Blog. .

Fantasy Sub-genres

 This post is an excerpt from this week's Spellbinders feature article. Spellbinders is a newsletter and blog designed to help teachers and librarians build life-long readers. To read the entire article go to the Spellbinders blog.

This interview is a continuation of my discussion with bookseller Elizabeth Anker about fantasy sub-genres. She is the owner of Alamosa Books here in Albuquerque, NM. To read her thoughts on Science Fiction vs. Fantasy see the October Feature Article.

I asked Elizabeth about dystopian fantasy and said she believes dystopian looks at the future as an examination of political structures. In utopia everything is perfect. Dystopia turns everything on its head. Usually a totalitarian and authoritarian government is involved and the story is set in a future that is often post apocalyptic. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the most popular example of dystopian fiction.

Elizabeth said she was personally tired of the genre because as it continues and people write more of it there is far less explanation of why the future described in the book is happening and how the events affect our world at large. These weaker stories tend to focus on a few teens struggling to survive and rely on super powers to explain things.

In discussing other sub genres of fantasy, Elizabeth pointed out that just about any magical creature you can think of has its own series: vampires, werewolves, and even angels.


Scott Westerfeld, author of the Leviathan series, explores zombies, vampires, and classic fantasy creatures by explaining their biology and origin in scientific terms. He tends to fall in her science fiction shelves. For an interesting discussion of the difference between fantasy and science fiction, see our October Feature Article.

To read the rest of this article go to my Spellbinders post on Fantasy Sub-genres.

I'M IN ST. LOUIS AT THE YALSA SYMPOSIUM

I'm currently in St. Louis at the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Symposium. I'm meeting amazing librarians and conducting a panel with four fabulous New Mexico authors at 1:30 on Saturday! See the details below: YALSA Author PanelSt. Louis, Missouri - November 3, 2012 A Matter of Facts and Fiction:Giving Teens a Research Edge through YA Author Panels
Program Description: Five New Mexico authors will present a pilot program that brings teens and authors together to explore research strategies for writing fiction and nonfiction in a digital world.  The authors will discuss collaboration among libraries, bookstores, educators, and local authors to create dynamic interactive school events designed to excite teens about becoming research detectives, and inspire teachers to link YA fiction with curriculum goals and objectives.

To find out more about the authors on the panel and to explore the handouts for this presentation, go to the tab on this blog under YALSA Author Research Panel

Book Launch Success

Thanks to everyone who gathered at Alamosa Books on Saturday night to make the Book Launch for FORGET ME NOT such a success. Since it was so close to Halloween we had a costume contest along with all the other festivities. Here I am above in the mask I bought in New Orleans two years ago. It's been hanging on my wall just waiting for an occasion to be worn.


We watched the book trailer and then I read poems from the book. Music was provided by Kyle Ruggles dressed as Schroeder. His girlfriend came as Lucy. Kyle was the one who created the music for the book trailer. In this photo he was joined by Josh to sing the theme song from "The Addams Family." Josh is the talented young man who produced the book trailer. He's dressed as Calvin above. His girlfriend came as Hobbes.


There was also a Raven Trivia Challenge. People searched the bookstore looking for the eight ravens hidden among the shelves. Each raven had a yellow card that displayed a bit of raven trivia. They answered the questions and then turned in their answers to be part of a drawing.

Sherri Erler, Debi Hennigan, and Shauna Mellady displayed their fabulous jewelry. Many of the pieces were created specifically for the book launch. Winners of the costume contest and Raven Trivia Challenge each got to pick a piece of jewelry to take home. Check out the photos on the GHOST TOUR page to see closeups of their handiwork. If you see anything you'd like to buy you can contact Sherri here. 
And finally, no book launch would be complete without a cake. Thanks again to everyone who came out for the event. For those of you who weren't able to make it, there are autographed copies of FORGET ME NOT at Alamosa Books.

The Inhabitants of the Hallway

Find out who haunts the hallway where Ally is trapped between worlds in Forget Me Not in the 9th and final stop on the Ghost Tour. Join me and Kari Olsen over at her blog, A Good Addiction. Then come back over to the Ghost Tour and scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Rafflecopter.

You could win a free copy of Forget Me Not and this raven feather bookmark designed especially for the Ghost Tour.

The contest will go on until October 31!

Aux Dog Theater and THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

Friday, October 5th, my husband and I met friends at the Aux Dog Theater. It's a small theater on Monte Vista just off of Central down by UNM. I'd never been to the Aux Dog before and was delighted to find a cozy lobby with live music both before the production and during intermission performed on bass flute by a man in a tuxedo and wig.


A friend of ours was in the play, The Haunting of Hill House. It was based on the novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson. She is probably best known for her short story, "The Lottery" first published in 1948 in The New Yorker magazine, which was subsequently inundated with mail in response to the story. I still remember reading "The Lottery" in my high school English class.

The actors did a wonderful job. My favorite character was the snarky housekeeper, Mrs. Dudley, who kept reminding everyone that she would be leaving "before dark" and that if they screamed, the house was so remote that no one would hear them.

"The Haunting of Hill House" is going on now through October 28. Get details at the theater's website.

Haunted by a Dead Girl

It's time for Stop #8 of the Ghost Tour with Lisa Reeves over at A Life Bound by Books. For the month of October she's asking authors to share their real life scary stories. My post is entitled "Haunted by a Dead Girl" where I reveal where I got my middle name (hint: Think Poe and "The Raven.") I also discuss the real life ravens that live at the school where I work that inspired the birds of Raven Valley High School in FORGET ME NOT.

So head on over to A Life Bound by Books

Raven Mania

Join me today over at the Open Book Society with Heidi Holzinger for the Raven Trivia Challenge and Stop #7 of the FORGET ME NOT Ghost Tour.
Discover the names of the ravens that belonged to Odin, the Norse god of death and poetry and find out why they were referred to as Observation and Memory.


Then head over to Ghost Tour Central and scroll to the bottom of the page to the Rafflecopter to find out how you can win the Observation and Memory glass bead necklaces above that were designed especially for the tour.

The Raven Trivia Challenge is also going on LIVE over at Alamosa Books until the book launch on October 27 where there will be music, food, and more prizes.

If you live in Albuquerque, NM, head on over to the bookstore at 8810 Holly Ave. NE where you will find ravens lurking all around the bookstore.

Find raven trivia posted next to the birds and discover other ghostly books nearby written by Albuquerque authors like Ghosts of Old Town by Cody Polston above. He's president of the Southwest Ghost Hunters Association and he's talking about his experiences with ghosts on October 27 at Alamosa books from 4-5 right before my book launch from 6-7.

Several SCBWI friends are featured. Check out Haunted by Chris Eboch, The Secret of Laurel Oaks by Lois Ruby, and Circle of Secrets by Kimberley Griffiths Little.


And while you're there, check out the display for Forget Me Not. Wow! That's a lot of books. Don't forget the book launch on October 27.


Halloween Character Booktacular

 

Stop #6 of the FORGET ME NOT Ghost Tour is also part of the Halloween Character Booktacular put on by Damaris Cardinali and Trini Contreras. Visit Good Choice Reading to read the Poe-Pac Mash Up - a poem based on Poe's "Raven" featuring 2Pac as a substitute teacher and to find out how you can win this cool poster. Then come back to the Ghost Tour to join the Rafflecopter for a chance to win other cool prizes.