Eric Devine's Blog, page 17

Because the 17th is around the corner

This has been a busy start to what promises to be an even busier year. And amid returning back to school and all that such entails, the release and publication of Dare Me have been on my periphery.

Then, yesterday, a colleague asked me when Dare Me would be available. I went into the explanation that I must: “Well, if you pre-order, it will ship…” I had to pause because a calendar was coming into focus in my mind and I was confused. “It will ship on the seventeenth,” I said and paused.

I think my colleague understood I was trying to do the math, because she finished it for me and said, “Which is in five days!”

*Mind blown*

So today, I figured I’d remind all of you of this, and give a brief reason for why pre-orders matter. Ready for fun with publishing 101? Here goes:

If all goes according to plan, pre-orders stack up before the release date, and then once released, i.e. Dare Me on 9/17, those sales all count toward the first week’s sales numbers.

And that matters because?

Because those pre-orders help a publisher consider the size of the print run and the resources they may invest in promotion. Obviously the bigger the number, the more frenetic the happy dance.

So if you know you want to read Dare Me, go for it and pre-order. Options are available here. If you’re on the fence, know that I’m going to spend the next few weeks trying to convince you The first nudge, the trailer below, in case you haven’t already seen it, as well as a list of events, in non-PDF form. Enjoy.

Trailer for Dare Me, created by Patrick Willems

Event               Signing

Location          Market Block Books, 290 River St  Troy, NY12180

Date & Time   9/21, 11 am – 1 pm

 

Event               Signing

Location          Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library, 475 Moe Rd  Clifton Park, NY 12065

Date & Time   10/1, 6-8 pm

 

Event               Troy Author Day–Panel Discussion & Signing

Location          Troy Public Library, 100 2nd St  Troy, NY12180

Date & Time   10/19, 12-3 pm

 

Event               Signing

Location          Barnes & Noble, 3029 State Route 50  Saratoga Springs, NY12866

Date & Time   10/20, 1-4 pm

 

Event               Release party & Signing

Location          McGreivey’s Restaurant, 91 Broad St  Waterford, NY12188

Date & Time   10/25, 4-7 pm

 

Event               Fundraising Book Fair & Signing

Location          Barnes & Noble, 131 Colonie Center #355  Albany, NY12205

Date & Time   12/6, 4-7 pm

The Teenage Landscape

I am constantly wondering what I’m going to write next. This seems to be the bane of existence for most writers, because as much as we love what we have just finished, there is always the question: Well, is that it?

This tends to nag me when I’m between projects. Mind you, “between projects” means a novel is coming out, i.e. Dare Me, and a draft of another is written. So it’s not as if I’m whiling away my time, but on the flip side, just because something’s complete doesn’t mean it’s any good. Hence the incessant push to Always Be Working.

I’m fortunate to have in insider’s view, and all of my work is a mix of my impressions of teen life, combined with my emotional memory of being an adolescent. I’ve barely met my classes for the year and already I’m blown away by the “cast of characters” before me and the issues they already bring to the table. This year, like all the others, certain activity will consistently emerge (the daredevil behavior in Dare Me), or a particular image will present itself (the hoodies in Tap Out), and my mind will get racing. Then I’ll use bits and pieces of it all to create an impression as full-bodied as I can make it. And off I’ll go with a process that works.

Now, however, Dare Me will soon be out, and readers and critics will have their interpretations about how I present the teenage landscape. Say what they will, but I think this comment nails it: “This book is signature Devine: Intense. Gripping. Honest.”

That is my purpose. I tell stories that are usually a bit dark, are typically intense in nature, but always, always try to present some truth. Not necessarily a truth I want, but one I see and understand. That last point is what gets me yelled at. In my work I try to be a mirror instead of a design. And some people do not like what they see.

That’s all right. Because I’m still going to write with honesty. I’m going to pay attention to my students. I’m going to ask questions about their lives, have conversations with the very demographic I write for. There’s a universal desire in wanting your story told. I do the best I can for the countless ones I hear.

I’m glad to be back at work, for a multitude of reasons, but many of them have to do with being allowed to engage with today’s teens. Their lives are so different from what I knew back in the 90s, but in so many ways they are the same. And if I continue to examine that distinction, I’ll always have an answer for that nagging question.

If You’re Reading This, I’m at Work

It’s true, today I start back to my other job. I’ve enjoyed my summer vacation, feel as if I made headway on my current projects, and certainly enjoyed the time I spent with family and friends. But now I dig in, because so much lies ahead of me, and some pieces are similar to last year at this time, while others are entirely different.

On September 2nd, last year, Tap Out was nine days from its publication date, and I wrote, thanking a local English teacher for her praise of my work. At the time I did not realize that the release date had already passed–I didn’t know what that date was–and that along with everyone who’d received an Advanced Reader Copy, those who had pre-ordered were already reading and reviewing Tap Out. The early reviews were indicative of the way the remaining reviews would go: some love the story; some are offended by it. At first, the negative reviews bothered me, but I quickly got over them and focused on the critical praise that mattered, the reviews from the important publications, like Kirkus, as well as from those in the know, like Ann L.

Now, Dare Me is twenty-seven days from its publication date, with the release date of September 17th. Therefore, I know that in two weeks everyone who pre-ordered will be receiving copies, and I will be searching like mad following that date for reviews. I have also read the Kirkus review of Dare Me and know that it is astounding. So much so that it altered the cover of my novel. Further, I know there are scant reviews already from those with advanced copies, and that the feelings are mixed. As to be expected. Still, I do not have a review from any local teachers, so I’m waiting, because I know how busy they are about to get, and I know how much their opinion matters.

Unlike last year, my signings are all set, and I’ve posted them below. With an October 8th pub date, I have time to get these exact posters into classrooms across the region well before a number of my events. WNYT (channel 13) is interviewing me on 10/5, just like lat year, but sadly, the Times Union will not be running an article on Dare Me. I’m still scratching my head over how that played out.

No worries, though, because I have a good feeling about Dare Me. It’s another novel that will capture the attention of reluctant readers. It’s another novel that honestly explores the contemporary lives of teens without shying away from the hard facts and without making sure that in the end everything is all tucked neatly back together. That’s not how life works and that’s not how I envision my stories. This time last year I was praying that Tap Out would be accepted. It has been, on many levels, including by YALSA and Booklist. This year I am praying that Dare Me finds a wider audience, not because I’m greedy, but because, as I recently wrote to my editor, when we were discussing what’s next, “So yes, stories, I have them. Fingers crossed I manage to tell them well enough.” Trust me, there’s more to come.

And as it was this time last year, the same remains true today. I’m back at work, but really, I’m always working. Teaching and writing have such similar qualities: engage the audience, keep them enthralled, and leave them having learned something new. My lives intersect in one place, the blank page. I hope you enjoy what you find there.

*Bonus*

I will most likely be including the trailer for Dare Me at the end of all of my posts from here until October. Enjoy.

Trailer for Dare Me, created by Patrick Willems

View this document on Scribd

Dare Me Events

The release for Dare Me is fast approaching and I wanted to give you all as much advance notice of events as possible. Therefore, below is the flyer that will be circulating around our area. You’ve got from September through December to come out, say hey, get a copy signed, and depending on the venue, have some drinks and free food.

For those of you that are not in the area, or who just can’t wait to get a copy, pre-order now and your copy should be sent on 9/17. Stores that pre-ordered will also be stocked, but any that did not may not have copies until 10/8. 

I look forward to all of the fun and festivities. Last year with Tap Out was a blast, and I can guarantee this year will be as awesome, if not more so.

Thanks in advance.

View this document on Scribd

TAP OUT named a Booklist Top 10 Sports Book for Youth

I haven’t mentioned Tap Out in a while because I’m gearing up for the release of Dare Me, but that gritty novel is still gathering attention. Booklist just named Tap Out a “Top 10 Sports Book for Youth: 2013.”

That makes two lists for Tap Out, with the 2013 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers and now Booklist. If you are a teacher, librarian, parent, uncle, aunt, whatever, of a teen who likes dark material, who is a reluctant reader, who may like sports, I think it’s a safe assumption that you will succeed in putting Tap Out into your reader’s hands. 

And remember, Dare Me is still on the way. Who knows how many lists this title will find its way onto?

YA Historical Fiction Meets YA Dystopian Novel

Good news from another Uncommon YA author:

GRAFFITI KNIGHT by Karen Bass arrives in Canadian stores!

In a market flooded with dystopian novels, award-winning author Karen Bass brings readers a fast-paced story about a real-world era of censorship and struggle too often forgotten by history: Soviet-controlled post-World War II East Germany, where one boy fights for self-expression and the freedom to build his own future.

Speaking out in East Germany is forbidden, but sixteen-year-old Wilm has found his voice. At night he wages a graffiti campaign against the police, who answer to the Soviet Army that controls the country. “Marionetten,” he writes—puppets. And Wilm’s war of embarrassment feels good. It feels powerful. If only Wilm can keep that power he won’t ever end up weak like his father. And he won’t ever stand by and let Soviets—or anyone—hurt his sister again.

But to keep his newfound power Wilm has to become more and more like his adversaries. And when he crosses one line too many, the victims may be the very people Wilm wants most to protect.

Read the first chapter here. (http://www.karenbass.ca/graffiti-knight/graffiti-knight-excerpt/)

Reviews:

Helen Kubiw of “CanLit for Little Canadians” gave Graffiti Knight a 5-star rating and said, “Bass provides enlightenment via a new perspective.” (http://canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.ca/2013/07/graffiti-knight.html)

John Wilson, YA Canadian author, reviewed Graffiti Knight for Canada’s book and publishing news magazine, Quill & Quire: “Bass has artfully recreated an historical time and place peopled by realistic, three-dimensional characters grappling with their own emotions and global forces they can only barely understand.” Full review here. (http://pajamapress.ca/news_reviews/?p=1980)

Pick up a copy!

Amazon.ca (http://www.amazon.ca/Graffiti-Knight-Karen-Bass/dp/1927485533/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377302127&sr=8-1&keywords=graffiti+knight)
McNally Robinson (http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/9781927485538/karen-bass/graffiti-knight?blnBKM=1#.Uhf2t47jZUQ)
Canadian Indie Bookstores
Or pre-order at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Graffiti-Knight-Karen-Bass/dp/1927485533/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377373537&sr=8-1&keywords=graffiti+knight)

Find Karen online:

Website (www.karenbass.ca)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/karenbassYA)

Twitter (https://twitter.com/karenbassYA)

Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1370935.Karen_Bass)

I Write Like

I have enjoyed Chuck Palahniuk’s work for quite some time. His twisted tales are vast, even though he is primarily known for Fight Club, and possibly Choke. But Lullaby is frightening in its own way (be careful reading if you’re a parent to a newborn), as is Haunted (whose cover glows in the dark–try sleeping with that image on your nightstand). I could go on with his other titles, but this isn’t a post about Palahniuk’s writing, per se. It’s about my writing, and how it’s like Chuck’s, and a way you can test this and your own.

I Write Like is this great website that allows you to plug in your writing and have it compared to the writing style of famous authors. Once analyzed you can get a digitally sharable badge declaring that you write like a particular icon.

I’ve used it with students, and the results have always been intriguing. There’s an adage in writing that you should copy your favorite author’s voice until you find your own. I find that the authors students read (a ton of Nick Sparks) bleeds onto the page, but only at a level of their ability. Therefore, even though they’ve all read the Harry Potter series, I have never seen J.K. Rowling pop up via I Write Like. Hence, the aforementioned Nick Sparks.

It’s fun and intriguing to consider why you may write like a certain author. I had a colleague try it and he found his style was similar to David Foster Wallace. He was both pleased and concerned for his mental state of being. I think Palahniuk is a credible parallel to my work because of the obvious darkness, violence and vulgarity that permeates both of our stories. I won’t go so far as to say I sound like Chuck, but there certainly is a similarly to the rhythm of sentence structure.

Beyond that I can only hope to continue to emulate his style–unknowingly or not–until some day I Write Like spits out my name to someone just getting started.

For Fun:

Here is my badge, proclaiming what I’ve stated. Feel free to plug in the samples on the homepage from either, Tap Out or Dare Me and you’ll get the same result. Then go and find out who you write like. I’d love to know.

I write like

Chuck Palahniuk

I Write Like. Analyze your writing!

William Hazelgrove’s THE PITCHER ebook for FREE!

Wiliam Hazelgrove, one the Uncommon YA authors, has a sweet deal for you. Starting today, and running for the rest of the week, you can pick up a free copy of his ebook The Pitcher.  A synopsis is below followed by a link to the giveaway. Enjoy.

Ricky Hernandez is a pitcher. He has an arm like a rocket and dreams of making the high school baseball team. His dying mother enlists the broken down World Series pitcher who lives across the street to coach Ricky. He shows him how to achieve his dreams and break through the hell of organized kid sports. 

Giveaway

You Just Gotta Go There

My wife and I had a date night over the weekend. This is a rare occurrence, made all the more so by the fact that we traveled close to an hour to get to our destination: Bennington, Vermont.

We went to a local brew pub, had dinner, saw the sights of downtown, checked out the battle memorial and then made one last stop at a classic dive before heading home. Nice, right? But what’s the connection to writing?

Five years ago I joined a critique group based out of Bennington. I stayed with them for over two years, traveling close to an hour each way, twice a month (weather permitting). This was back before I had anything published, before I had an inkling that I was even good enough to seek publication.

As my wife and I traveled and saw the sights, I remarked about the time I spent with the group. It was well worth it. They brought my writing to the next level, and without them I don’t think I would be published. But at the time, my wife admitted, “I feared for your sanity.”

And she was right. I was spending time and gas money we didn’t have, chasing down this elusive dream on dark back roads between New York and Vermont. The commitment was exhausting because of the demands of my young children, my full-time job and life in general. But still, I went there, as often as I could, armed with whatever I was working on, prepared to be cut down and prepared to provide as much constructive criticism as I could muster.

I don’t offer much in the way of writing advice, here–unless I do and don’t realize it. But this trip suggested to me the most valuable I unconsciously pursued: Go there.

There doesn’t need to be an hour away. It doesn’t even need to be outside your home, but I suggest it. For any craft, for any business, for any career you want to advance in, you must sacrifice. The same holds true for being a good parent, educator, human being. If you want to move from writer to author, I believe you must make a concerted effort to become that idea, and that takes a willingness to get outside your comfort zone, and to allow yourself to be vulnerable.

Now, this doesn’t mean you throw yourself on the altar of writing. Don’t be the sacrifice and have nothing left of yourself, but put up your ego, your preconceived notions of your talent, your whatever-stands-in-the-way and let others have a look see.

If you intend to write for the public, critical feedback is inevitable. And often there is too much of it. But if you went there and you became accustomed to such, you’ll come to understand what voices to trust, especially your own.

P.S. Thanks, Carrie, for taking me out. I can’t promise I won’t turn our next date night into a blog post, but I’ll try not to.

P.P.S. The most recent review of Dare Me, from Publishers Weekly.

The Experience, Not Only the Results

August is the Sunday of summer. The days are shorter and already we’ve had nights that whisper about fall. And in those whispers I hear too much, because so much awaits me as I turn the calendar a find that gleaming September staring back, asking: You ready?

I don’t know.

Education

Every September requires I go back to school. It’s a right of passage that most of us are glad to have outgrown, but that’s not an option for me. Nor is ignoring the changes in education: the Common Core State Standards. They exist and are being implemented with begrudging fanfare. However, I do consulting work on the side, and I have created numerous ELA lessons that align with the CCSS. They are, in a word, boring.

That’s not to say educators will only use the types I have seen and won’t create dynamic opportunities for their students, because that always happens, regardless of the mandate. The difference with this reform is the unspoken message that the standards are more of a curriculum than a series of benchmarks. Therefore, teachers are looking to deliver content in a method that addresses the tenants of the CCSS first, and the needs of the students, second. And therein lies the problem. When you move the content to the front of the classroom and place the students behind, you’ve already failed. I can teach an unengaged teenager almost nothing. But I can teach an engaged student anything. Good teachers find a way to reach the individual.

Now the struggle will be how to do both effectively. Those CCSS results are measured, and they count. But the immeasurable experience of the students matters even more.  Therefore, I posit that educators start by asking the students what they desire from their education and build from there. That’s pretty much how I go about writing.

Writing

Speaking of which, have you heard I have another novel coming out in just over a month? Seriously, if you pre-order Dare Me, it releases on September 17th. The thought of this makes me ill. Not because I don’t love this work. I do, and reviews are indicating that readers will, also. Really, my anxiety is similar to my issues with the CCSS.

As an author, I have to entice. The work must be strong, but so must be the delivery. I have to inform people that Dare Me exists without being an annoying beacon sending the message: Buy my book! Buy my book! Buy my book! Who listens to that guy?

Which is why I had the trailer created (below, in case you missed it), am lining up events (more on these, soon) and am harassing the local media for interviews. It is my hope that I am doing this well, am being creative and not annoying, and mostly, that I am engaging my audience, not shoving my work at them. Fortunately, I’ve had practice. Anyone who says teaching is for those who can’t, has never asked an educator to step into another set of shoes. That classroom is an unbelievable training ground.

What to do?

I promise that my students will be engaged with English education this year and that my readers will be engrossed by Dare Me. I will be behind the scenes hoping I’ve done a good job, but all the while knowing that regardless of the outcome, I’ll continue to strive for better. Not only for results (test scores and sales figures), but the experience.

Life is something to enjoy, not something to get through. Sadly, education and reading for so many are the latter, not the former. I am not comfortable with that idea. In my work as an educator and as an author, it is my intent to make the most of the time. Not only mine, but for those with whom I have contact. Because when those whispers start next summer, I want to be right here, preparing for another year, and another novel, knowing I’m doing the best I can with my time by providing education and stories that matter.