K.L. Denman's Blog, page 5
October 27, 2014
Destination Human
A recent reader of Destination Human commented that his favorite part of the book was Chloe painting a sunrise. The story’s narrator, Welkin, is a non-physical being temporarily inhabiting Chloe’s body and it’s Welkin’s observations we hear. I’d like to share that scene here:
Chloe picks up a brush, dips it into vibrant orange and strokes paint onto the white rectangle. A long wavy line of orange appears. She dips the brush again, picks up a yellow, and swiftly adds this to the orange. The colors merge together and where they meet, a third color appears.
Again and again, Chloe applies color to the rectangle. Sometimes she uses a fatter brush, and swirls it through the colors. They blend into ever more shades, some light, and some dark. The white background disappears swiftly, and then I realize something astonishing.
Chloe is creating! She is making something altogether unique!
She pauses and lays down the brush. We move into a tiny room lined with shelves. “It’s the supply closet, Welks,” she whispers.
“Why are we here?” I ask. “I want to watch the creation.”
“You know…” her voice trails away and she’s quiet for a moment. Then she sighs and says, “I never thought of it quite like that. I just thought I was painting a memory of a sunrise I once saw.”
“Painting a memory?” This is a stunning concept. “You’re attempting to make thought physical?”
“I guess.”
“Incredible,” I say. I have a strange urge to shake our head but Rule One says I can’t operate our body.
Chloe laughs softly and shakes our head for us. “Do you still think we’re primitives?”
“Uh. Hmm. Maybe not so much. Universals can only share memory through thought transfer.” I wonder if I’ll be able to transfer my memory of Chloe. “Is this painting exactly like your memory?”
“Not exactly, no,” she replies. “It’s an abstract. More like the feeling of my memory.”
“I understand,” I say.
“Don’t lie, Welkin. But tell me this. Do you still think art serves no purpose?”
I am of course delighted that our species creates art—through music, dance, painting, writing and more. I think we’re all creative whether in the way we put together clothing or meals, thoughts or movement, musical notes or people in a photo… the myriad ways in which we create are astonishing. May all of us find joy in the process. ~ K.L. Denman
October 22, 2014
Dogwood
There is a tree in our back yard, a Pacific Dogwood, and after an annual flash of stunning spring beauty it invariably becomes exceedingly drab. Or so I thought. My desk sits at a window overlooking this tree and when the words for my current work in progress are being dodgy, I look out—and see.
The numerous twigs that litter the spring lawn beneath it? While our compulsively fetch crazy terrier is thrilled with the ready stick supply, I believed them to be careless cast-offs, rather like dirty clothing accumulating on the floor of a neglected bedroom. That was before I noticed the crows diligently snapping off branches and choosing only the best (I have no solid understanding of crow/ stick criteria) to carry off to their boudoir.
Summer drought brings a shedding of leaves barely surpassed by fall’s main event, but fewer leaves to support when water is scarce is undeniably wise. And it was in summer as the sun dappled through that dwindling canopy that I caught this picture of the trunk ~ small wonder the crows are fond of this tree.
Fall brings another view. While the foliage doesn’t glow with blazing colour, the Dogwood’s fruit ripens and the feathered and the furred gather to feast and squirrel away the bounty. As it gives to all comers, this tree seems more alive in its dying away than in any other season.
Winter and the bare tree offers one last pleasure; I find again the view beyond.
February 18, 2014
Me, Myself and Ike ~ Korean Style
Me, Myself and Ike has been translated into Korean and here is the new cover. Very cool!
September 15, 2013
A character voices concerns…
Destination Human has just been released and already there’s trouble. http://cwillbc.wordpress.com/
June 19, 2013
Destination Human ~ Available September 2013
My 10th book with Orca Book Publishers will be released this fall!
ISBN: 9781459803718 Publisher: Orca Book Publishers Pub Date: September/01/2013
As if girls aren’t alien enough already.
Chloe thinks of herself as a normal teenage girl—if there’s any such thing—until a formless alien being inhabits her body. The being is named Welkin and claims to be a Universal. Welkin has entered Chloe’s body as part of a school project. Chloe agrees to let this weirdo observe her life for three days as long as Welkin doesn’t interfere. Welkin tries to respect the non-interference portion of the agreement. But Welkin’s stream of alien commentary as Chloe deals with boys, her coach and math homework has a comic, and sometimes enlightening, impact on Chloe’s life.
June 6, 2013
The Walking Read ~ Fundraiser for Vancouver Children’s Hospital
Sponsored by CWILL BC, this event is open to the public!
New Audio Book
Perfect Revenge is now available as an audiobook: http://digital.orcabook.com/audiobookclub/
May 1, 2013
Agent Angus
ISBN: 9781459801035
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Pub Date: April/01/2012
Fry Reading Level: 2.7
Pages: 128
The lie happened. But I’ve liked Ella for eons. Possilby as long as five months. In all that time, I never got up the nerve to talk to her.
Agent Angus has gone mental(ist) for Ella.
Angus and his best buddy, Shahid, share a love of science and their robot, Gordon. But recently, the artistic Ella Eckles has had a peculiar effect on Angus. When a stink bomb at the school provides a chance for him to talk to her, he claims to share her interest in reading facial expressions and declares his ambition to become a crime-solving mentalist. He impresses Ella by identifying the stink bomber, but fails to mention he witnessed a scrawny kid setting off the bomb. When Ella’s treasured sketchbook is stolen, she asks Angus to find the thief. Shahid thinks Angus should confess that he’s not a mentalist, but Angus is certain he can learn to read people and recover Ella’s sketchbook. He asks Shahid to help him investigate the suspects: Gaga Girl; the art teacher, Mr. Wilder; and finally, “scrawny kid.” Equipped with rearview sunglasses and an informant who lurks in the washroom, the duo bungles their way through a series of encounters that alarm Shahid and provide Angus with some unfamiliar exercise.
Reviews
CM Magazine – February 10, 2012
“With relatable emotions and well placed moments of humour, Denman slips readers easily into Angus’s head. Best friend Shahid acts as an excellent foil and also creates spots of tension that give their relationship a realistically rocky trajectory…With plenty of wit and seamless movement…Agent Angus reads fluidly enough for any reluctant reader to sail through.”
Booklist – May 1, 2012
“Fast and funny, with many surprising twists and turns, this short, clever mystery in the Orca Currents series will grab avid and reluctant readers with the contemporary drama of secrets, sleuthing, and romance…The tension will hook readers to the last page.”
Stuff We All Get
ISBN: 9781554698202
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Pub Date: September/01/2011
We don’t always get what we want.
Fifteen-year-old Zack finds a home made CD with the word Famous written on it. Lonely and bored while suspended from school, he puts the CD on and loses himself in the music. Zack has sound-color synesthesia. He sees colors when he hears music, and the music on the Famous CD causes incredible patterns of color for him. Zack becomes obsessed with the girl on the CD and tries to find her. He tracks down the singer, Jolene, in a café where she works while she dreams of the big time. He convinces her to let him help her achieve her dreams, but soon discovers that in her quest for fame, Jolene has done a lot of damage. Stuff We All Get is a gentle critique of celebrity culture in North America.
French Translation: La cache
Awards
2011 Resource Links “The Year’s Best”
Reviews
Booklist – November 15, 2011
“A gentle, thought-provoking story on the fickle nature of fame…Denman’s story avoids simplified characters, creating a surprisingly layered treatment of media obsession.”
Resource Links – October 1, 2011
“Orca Currents has once again hit the mark…The setting and plot come together in a very satisfying way. The most powerful element in the text, however, is undoubtedly the emotional honesty of the characters Denman creates…Zack could be a real person, and his responses to the situations he finds himself in resonate with authenticity.”
Southwestern Ohio Young Adult Materials Review Group – November 14, 2011
“This fast-paced story is excellent for reluctant readers. Moreover, the sound-color synesthesia Zack experiences will intrigue many readers. An overall quick read that is recommended for purchase by public libraries.”
CM Magazine – March 1, 2013
“Offers reluctant readers (or those reading below the assigned grade level) an edgy, fast-paced, and thought-provoking storyline written in a very straight-forward, comprehensible style. Highly Recommended.”
The Horn Book Guide – May 1, 2012
“Zack’s story is engaging.”
Me, Myself and Ike
ISBN: 9781554690862
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Pages: 208
Pub Date: October/01/2009
The guys huddle closer and murmur; the girls’ heads incline together and they whisper. They’re all talking about me. I’ll bet if they were naked I could see their tattoos. They’ve been taken. They’re waiting for me to be taken too.
I force myself to walk past them, even though I have the overpowering urge to run. Or scream, tell them I know all about their plans. Why me? I’d like to ask them that. I hesitate. Maybe I should ask them. Maybe there’s some shred of humanity left in one of them and they’ll help me escape.
After watching a tv program about Otzi, a 5,000-year-old “Ice Man,” Kit’s friend Ike becomes convinced that Kit’s destiny is to become the next ice man—a source of information for future generations. Together they obtain artifacts they think will accurately reflect life in the early twenty-first century and plan their journey to a nearby mountain. Kit gets tattoos similar to Otzi’s, writes a manifesto and tries to come to terms with making the ultimate sacrifice. As he grows more and more agitated and isolated, his family and friends suspect that something is terribly wrong, but before they can discover the true severity of the situation, Kit and Ike set off on what could be their last journey.
Awards
2011 CCBC Best Books
2010 Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalist
2010 White Ravens Selection
2009 Resource Links “The Year’s Best”
2009 January Magazine “Best Children’s Books of the Year”
Reviews
Canada Council for the Arts ~ GG Awards Jury – October 2010
Me, Myself and Ike is a gripping novel full of surprises. K.L. Denman’s masterfully-crafted first-person narrative on schizophrenia sweeps the reader along as Kit Latimer descends into a terrifying world where the real and imagined have no discernible divide. Denman manages to portray Kit in a way that is both realistic and sympathetic.
CM Magazine – September 4, 2009
“An intensely edgy, first person account of a troubled teen descending into a paranoid, psychotic state…Denman is a responsible, caring, and skilled writer who drops subtle breadcrumbs throughout her story and provides an afterword explaining this mental illness…Denman is to be commended for tackling this issue straight on. Highly Recommended.”
Publishers Weekly – October 1, 2009
“A stark and fascinating portrait of a paranoid and delusional teenager…Denman deftly gets into the head of a mentally unwell teenager while telling a coherent, engaging story.”
Quill & Quire – November 1, 2009
“The fact that Denman exhibits such flexibility within the confines of a first-person narrative, while also maintaining the reader’s feelings of empathy for Kit, is an undeniable accomplishment. While the writing is seamless, the subject matter is challenging…Completely riveting, suspenseful, and heartbreaking, Me, Myself and Ike is one of the best young adult releases of the year.”
School Library Journal – December 1, 2009
“While the story is about a young man with a mental illness, it is also a well-told, readable mystery, brimming with suspense. An author’s note giving details about schizophrenia adds an additional level of clarity to the novel’s ending.”
VOYA – December 1, 2009
“This harrowing journey through the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic never hits a wrong note. Especially laudable is Denman’s ruthless adherence to Kit’s point of view…Demonstrating a powerful control over her prose, Denman builds Kit’s decline in subtle increments that ramp up the suspense as readers note each new failing…Try this one with readers who like their stories dark and intense.”
Resource Links – October 1, 2009
“Denman has done her homework in this novel. She does not waver from Kit’s point of view, not an easy task when the main character’s thinking is so disturbed….A compelling novel of a young man’s descent into schizophrenia. Highly recommended.”
