Not single links, but battalions

I'm currently wrapping up the second full-scale rewrite of the still semi-secret Shakespearean YA project.  Enough time has passed since the first round (it's been nearly a year, I believe), that the work has been surprisingly painless.  Revising can feel like fighting your way through an overgrown raspberry patch, searching for a handful of perfect berries while the brambles tangle in your hair and catch in your skin until even your scratches have scratches.  

But not this time.  I know my characters, I know what's going to happen in my reconstructed plot, and putting the bits together has felt almost like transcribing rather than writing -- like someone has handed me a jar of ready-made raspberry jam, and there isn't a thorn in sight. 

Writing plot-propelling dialogue in iambic pentameter, however...
Not so easy. 
It helps to remind myself that even Shakespeare used little tricks for this: Playing with syntax, starting sentences with "O" to get that first unstressed beat, using syncope to cut syllables ("heav'n," "ne'er," "o'erthrown," etc.)  I think the challenge has been good for me.  It's probably been especially good for the poor, atrophied mathematical part of my brain, which doesn't have to do a lot of counting these days.  The whole book isn't in verse, thankfully--just the speech of one character, and that is enough for me.  (I remember reading somewhere that Robin Williams could improvise in iambic pentameter.  I think the story was that back in his theatre-student days, he lost his place during a performance of Shakespeare, and simply rolled along, improvising in the correct meter, until things got back on track.  I sigh in envious admiration.)

In the not-at-all-secret realm of SPELLBOUND, there is a wealth of good news to share.
First, a list of best-sellers at Minneapolis's Wild Rumpus bookstore:  www.wildrumpusbooks.com/bestsellers
A review from the wonderful Charlotte's Library:charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/2011/07/spellbound-books-of-elsewhere-2-by.html
And another review from Alternative Worlds: www.alternative-worlds.com/2011/06/01/spellbound-jacqueline-west/

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

A new interview -- mostly about the charming Brom Bones, including several photos -- can be found at Coffee with a Canine, a blog with two things that I love in its title alone, and many more things to love in its articles.  My interview is here; you can also find links/info here. 

And, finally:
Afew months ago, a young reader who writes under the name Pherisphena Ladea asked if I would be willing to write a guest post for her blog, The Word Asylum.  In my visits to schools and book clubs, I've met many aspiring, enthusiastic young writers like Pherisphena, but I know that most of them struggle to find a real community--a group of other writers near their own age who share their commitment and passion.  If you're one of those writers, or know one of those writers, I encourage you to visit her blog and pass the link along.  Here's the post featuring my advice to young writers: thewordasylum.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/the-word-asylums-100th-post-part-1/.  I hope it helps.  And if you've got questions or comments, please get in touch.