Many Monday Muses - Part 1: Francesca Lia Block

I've been so inspired by many people in the past week, so I want to give each of them a post, for my Monday Muses:

First is Francesca Lia Block. Yes, she was one of my muses for my birthday post last week. But today (December 3rd) is her birthday, so I want to write a happy birthday post for her.

She is definitely one of my favorite writers ever, & I've loved and been inspired by everything she's written: her fanciful yet relatable novels for teens; her lovely and sensual erotica stories for adults; and her beautifully lyrical poetry. She has a wonderful way of expressing the knife-edge balance of lightness and darkness in life with her magical-realism style.

Someday I hope to visit L.A. so I can take one of her writing workshops - I think it would be an amazing and empowering experience. Until then, I'll continue to be inspired by her books - right now, I'm re-reading (for the countless time) her "Weetzie Bat"/ "Dangerous Angels" series, and have just finished "Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys." This new-age rock-and-roll fable is one of my favorites.

And I'll keep in mind her advice for writers, from this great video taken at the 2010 West Hollywood Book Fair by writer and blogger Nutchell, and posted on the blog, "The Writing Nut" (www.thewritingnut.com) and on Youtube:

So, thank you, Francesca, for being a wonderful role-model for all of us writers and readers who have been so positively affected by your work. And Happy Birthday!

Monday's Muses - A Birthday of Inspiration

My birthday was this past weekend – I always think of a birthday as a personal holiday and a time to do whatever one wants to do the most. I always make sure to be off from work on that day and I always spend part of the day writing. This birthday was really enjoyable and inspiring, from morning until night.

On Saturday morning, I went to a meeting of our local SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) group at Panera in Fishkill, NY. Longtime member Bill Joel gave a presentation on the concept of world-building in fiction writing. With his educator background, it was more like a class, with a great informational “lecture,” a hand-out of helpful resources and even a small-group exercise. And with his experience as a writer of self-published science fiction novels and several sci-fi short stories for middle-grade readers, he knowledgably conveyed the importance of creating detailed, logical and believable worlds in fiction, no matter what the genre. It’s an excellent time for me to address world-building in my writing, and I learned some things that I can apply to the time-travel novel that I’ve been working on – I’m sure they’ll help make the concept of time-travel in my fictional version of today’s world believable.

After the creative inspiration and camaraderie of our writing group, I relaxed for awhile at home and read one of my favorite and most inspiring writers: Francesca Lia Block. I have read most of her books several times, and always make sure to read some of her writing during my birthday month of November. She writes novels, short stories and poetry, for both teens and adults, and I love everything about her writing – her lyrical language; her magical-realism style; her dream-scape L.A. settings; her unique yet relatable characters; and her themes of both lightness and darkness in life. 

Francesca Lia Block

So far this month, I’ve re-read a couple of her short-story collections – Nymph, a series of spare and sensual stories for adult readers; and The Rose and the Beast, a book of creatively modern retellings of classic fairy tales, such as “Snow White,” “Bluebeard,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” for both teens and adults. I re-read Echo, a novel about a teen girl who feels ignored in the face of her parents’ intense love for each other, and who seeks the love she needs from her friendships and a series of relationships, with the point of view shifting, from chapter to chapter, from Echo to the different people in her life. And I read a recent title, Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie Bat – the prequel to Francesca’s ground-breaking and much-loved Dangerous Angels series. This book was heartfelt and insightful in showing the circumstances in the life of a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles – her father leaving; her mother’s drinking; her misfit status in middle-school; and her struggle for her own identity – that led her to become the quirky and loving Weetzie Bat. Now I’m re-reading the Dangerous Angles series for the countless time. I will always love Francesca Lia Block’s amazing, inventive writing. And even though I know I could never have her unique vision and writing talent, her words and images inspire me to work on developing my own imagination and writing voice for my own books. 

And on Saturday night, Ian and I went to the Towne Crier in Pawling, NY, where we had dinner and saw a wonderful performance by singer-songwriter Mary Fahl. We’ve been longtime fans of her music, since she was with her 1990s band October Project, and we’d seen their excellent show at the Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY in the late-‘90s. But this was the first time we got to see her solo performance, and it had an intimate feeling and a great sound quality. She is incredibly talented, with a beautiful, resonant contralto voice accompanied by her acoustic guitar. Her style is so versatile and compelling – she sang her original songs, from October Project and her solo albums – they have a rich and atmospheric goth/folk sound. I especially love her mythology and literature-influenced songs about sirens, Persephone, and Shakespeare’s Ariel. She also did an amazing cover of Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage/Eclipse” from her CD that’s her unique interpretation of Dark Side of the Moon - she originally recorded it in 2006 and self-released it as From the Dark Side of the Moon in 2011. And she sang Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” Mahalia Jackson’s “City Called Heaven,” Donizetti’s classical aria “Una Furtiva Lacrima,” and “Ben Aindi Habibi,” a Mozarabic language song from 11^th century Iberia. Ian took some great pictures and even a couple of videos as we listened, and I was swept away into a dreamy realm of imagination. Even if I don’t get the chance to write any stories based on the images that were influenced by her songs, I feel that seeing Mary Fahl has greatly inspired my sense of creativity and fantasy. And that’s something I appreciate.

Mary Fahl performing "Bury My Lovely," the first single from her band October Project

Mary Fahl, performing Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage/Eclipse"

Afterward, Ian and I got to meet her – she was so nice, and signed our copy of her From the Dark Side of the Moon CD and even took a picture with us!

When we got home, I stayed up late writing in my journal – the first time I’ve done any journal writing in a couple of months. I feel rejuvenated and motivated again - I want to try to push my imagination into the farthest creative directions that I'm capable of reaching. And for that, I thank my muses - my SCBWI group, Francesca Lia Block and Mary Fahl.

Wednesday On Writing - A Celebration of Books at New Paltz's Celebration of the Arts Festival

Saturday, October 6 was a great day off - I was glad that Ian and I were able to go to the 6th annual Celebration of the Arts (COTA) Festival in New Paltz. We had gone to the first two festivals, but hadn't been able to attend in several years, so it was good to see that the arts celebration has continued to thrive. It was held in Hasbrouck Park, within walking distance of the center of town, and even though it was in intermittently rainy day, I think there was a good turn-out for it. 

One thing I really like about COTA is that it features not just art and music, but writing, too. There were several tents of local artists displaying and selling their works, and two stages of music performances throughout the day. And then there was a tent featuring authors reading from their books. This year showcased children's and young adult authors from the Hudson Valley - I was especially interested in the readings, because I've been working on writing for young adults for the past several years. 

Ian and I met up with our friend (and a fellow writer of mine) Lisa K., and she joined us in the audience for the author readings. The first one we saw was Jennifer Castle, who read from her debut young adult novel, The Beginning of After, that was published by HarperCollins in September, 2011. It's about a teen girl, Laurel, whose life changes forever when her parents and brother are killed in a car accident. Now living with her grandmother, Laurel tries to cope with the grief of losing her family, and also with David, the neighborhood boy whose parents were also in the accident - his mother died, and his father, who was driving, is in a coma. 

She said the book took her six years to write, and has been out thirteen months. It's had some mixed reactions. Some people consider it part of a trend of death in young adult literature. (It's been compared to Gayle Forman's "If I Stay" and Sarah Dessen's "The Truth About Forever," - all share themes of loss within families.) But she said that although it may be a book trend, there's death in life. And the best reactions that she's received have been emails from readers who have experienced loss in their lives, and say that it was the perfect book for them to read.

 (Jennifer Castle reading from The Beginning of After)

She also read from her upcoming young adult novel, You Look Different in Real Life, that will be published in June, 2013. She said it took her one and a half years to write, and it's in the copy-editing phase now. It's very different from her debut novel - it has some humor and an interesting topic. It's about a group of teens who have been the subjects of a series of documentary films about their lives, following them every five years between the ages of six and sixteen, and how they deal with the intrusiveness of the media on their lives. It's set in a fictionalized New Paltz (where she lives) and I'm sure it reflects her background in film and documentary television in Los Angeles. It reminded me of a similar documentary TV series, by Michael Apted, that started with "7 Up." I look forward to reading it when it's published.

 

 (Jennifer Castle reading from You Look Different in Real Life)

COTA was also the first-ever author reading event for Kimberly Sabatini, our good friend whose debut young adult novel, Touching the Surface, is being released on October 30th by Simon Pulse. I had made sure to have the day off from work for this, and it was so cool to be in the audience as Kim read from her brand-new book. Her family, including her mother, brother, husband and her three little boys, were there, and I'm sure they felt even more proud of her as I did.

 (Kim waving to her kids in the audience)

Kim read her book's dedication to her father, and explained that when he died several years ago, it gave her the courage to write - she didn't want to have any unfinished goals in life. She was inspired to write the story of Elliot, a teen girl who has died for the third time and arrives in her afterlife at the Obmil, a retreat-like place where souls go to learn from and understand their previous lives before they can move on. 

It's a wonderful and well-written book, as I wrote in my review for this blog and for Goodreads.com. And Kim did a great job reading the first chapter, where Elliot arrives at the Obmil and is greeted by Mel, the woman who is her guide. She looked and sounded like an author pro already!

 (Kimberly Sabatini reading from Touching the Surface)

Kim also told everyone about her five-year journey from hopeful fledgling writer to published author. On her youngest son's second birthday (he's seven now) she got the urge to attend the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Hudson Valley conference. She went alone, and felt nervous and scared that she didn't belong - until she met up with Chris, an attendee who had taught at the same school where she'd been a special ed teacher. They reconnected as writers, and he made her feel comfortable there. Laurie Halse Anderson (the author of Speak and several other acclaimed young adult books) and KL Going (the author of Fat Kid Rules the World, as well as other highly-respected young adult and middle-grade titles) were two of the speakers at the conference, and Kim felt inspired by them.

So when she saw that KL Going was giving a writing workshop at Millbrook's Merrit Bookstore, Kim went home and wrote the first pages of her book, for a critique session. With KL's encouragement, Kim started attending SCBWI's local Shop Talk meetings, and worked on her novel through that year. Then, at another of KL Going's workshops, Kim registered for a critique of double the amount of pages. She appreciated KL's feedback so much that she hired her to give a full critique of her novel's first draft. KL gave her extensive notes, and Kim used some of them to revise her book and prepare it for submission to agents. One agent liked it and asked Kim for some specific revisions - Kim found that they were the same suggestions that KL had made in her notes! She realized that she just hadn't been ready to fully revise her book until then, but when she did, she signed on with another agent, Michelle Wolfson, who then sold Touching the Surface to Simon Pulse.

 Kim was thrilled to point out KL Going, who was scheduled to read next, and to thank her for all of her inspiration and guidance. I think it's cool, too, that Kim gave one of her book's characters the last name Going - a great acknowledgement of her mentor.

 And before KL Going did her reading, she said that it was a momentous occasion for her to hear Kim's first reading of her first novel - she remembers very well Kim's first ten pages, and recognized some of the changes in Kim's first chapter. She said she's proud of Kim's growth as a writer, and is looking forward to reading Touching the Surface when it's released.

KL had some excellent news to share - the film of her award-winning first young adult novel, Fat Kid Rules the World, premiered officially the night before, in New York City. It's an independent film (with a budget of just $750,000), directed by Matthew Lillard (who has acted in movies such as SLC Punk and She's All That) and starring Jacob Wysocki, Matt O'Leary and Billy Campbell. She said it did the film festival circuit and has had a great response. She's hoping it will get to come to a Hudson Valley theater, and talked about an online program called Tugg (www.tugg.com) where people can sign up to request movies to be shown at their local theaters, and then do online promotion to ensure the movie screening. I've checked out the Tugg site - it would be so cool to see Fat Kid in a theater such as Rosendale's. KL said she hopes that Kim's Touching the Surface will become a movie, too, so Kim can share the excitement that she feels.

 (KL Going talks about Fat Kid Rules the World)

KL acknowledged that Fat Kid Rules the World has some adult language in it, so, in keeping with COTA's family atmosphere, she instead read from her second novel, The Liberation of Gabriel King, that was published by Putnam in 2005 and is for middle-grade readers. It's set in 1976, and is about a white boy, Gabriel, and a black girl, Frita, who are best friends and who try to help each other overcome their fears and stand up to the school bullies in their small Georgia town. She read a humorous passage where they try to deal with Gabriel's fear of spiders. 

 

(KL Going reading from The Liberation of Gabriel King)

She also talked a bit about her writing process - she said she firmly believes in the power of the subconscious, and she lets her book ideas percolate in her mind (for sometimes up to a year or more) before starting to write. She said that when she can hear her characters' voices in her mind, then she knows that it's time to write. She compared it to the gestation period before giving birth. 

I could really relate to that because I tend to think a lot about my writing projects - with several of my book ideas in my head at once - before actually sitting down to start to work on them. Some of my story ideas have started out with vague ideas and don't develop much in my mind. But several of my ideas have grown in my mind over time, to the point where I think about them every day, whether or not I have time each day to work on writing them. Especially the books that I'm currently working on - my 'tween novel, What Luck, and my adult time-travel fantasy novel, with the working title Time's Crossing. I've never been much of an outliner, though I do make notes that I keep in a notebook for each project. And I'm glad to know that there's not just one way to write a book, and that the intuitive, from-the-mind-to-the-page process has worked successfully for writers like KL Going, and also Kimberly Sabatini. Kim describes herself as a "seat-of-the-pants" or "pants-er" type of writer - she flies by the seat of her pants when writing, and often mulls over her book ideas while running or doing other activities. And it's worked out very successfully for Kim, too.

Afterwards, we talked with KL, Kim, and Kim's family - everyone is looking forward to the October 30th pub date of Touching the Surface, and the book launch events that weekend. On Thursday, November 3rd there is a book release party, hosted by Kim's husband John, at Asellina in New York City. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it that night, but I'm looking forward to Barnes & Noble Poughkeepsie's "Meet the Writer" book signing with Kim at 2:00pm on Saturday, November 3rd, and the Hudson Valley YA Society's book launch party at Oblong Books, Rhinebeck at 4:00pm on Sunday, November 4th. With Kim's enthusiasm and networking skills, I'm sure these will all be great events. 

Thanks to Kim, KL and Jennifer for their entertaining and inspiring readings and talks, and thanks to COTA for another great Celebration of the Arts day in New Paltz. I'll let the day's memories motivate my writing, hopefully for weeks to come. And I'll dream of a year, hopefully sometime in the not-so-far future, when I can read from one of my published books at a Celebration of the Arts Festival, too.

(posted on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at 3:00am)

Monday's Muse - Kimberly Sabatini's "Touching the Surface"

It's been quite awhile since I've written a post for this blog. But,after reading this great, soon-to-be-released novel, I'm inspired to revive this blog with a review. This book has made me think a lot about my writing, and about life in general. 

Last Friday, I was so excited to finally get to bring home the Advance Reader’s Copy of Kimberly Sabatini’s upcoming debut novel, Touching the Surface – its release date is October 30. I’d been looking forward to reading this book ever since I found out that it had been accepted for publication by Simon Pulse (a young adult imprint of Simon & Schuster) last February (2011) and since I first saw the actual ARC copy this past January. I spent last weekend reading it during my free time from work, not wanting to put it down, and finished it last Sunday afternoon, with just minutes to spare before I had to go to work. I was glad to have Kim’s words, characters and images in my mind during a long and mundane work-night. And they’ve been in my mind ever since.

There’s so much I want to say about this book and (as usual with my writing), I’ve spent much time trying to find just the right words to accurately convey what an excellent book Touching the Surface is.

Full Disclosure: This review post is going to be somewhat subjective, because Kim has been a good friend, as well as an active and supportive member of the children’s writing community here in the Hudson Valley, NY, for many years. Since the beginning of this year, I’ve helped her moderate the monthly meetings of our local Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Shop Talks. And she and I have shared many great SCBWI meetings and conferences together, as well as many great talks about writing and life.

I remember when, about five years ago, Kim showed up at a Shop Talk meeting, with a sheaf of pages – the first chapter of her novel, about a teen girl’s experience in the afterlife, and inspired by the death of her beloved father a couple of years before. She read it to everyone there in a faltering yet excited voice and I knew immediately that I’d heard something special and unique – unlike any other teen novel I’d read before. When everyone gave her their feedback, I told her that I could tell right away that her story was special – heartfelt and well-written – and I had no doubt that one day it would be a success.

Since then, I’ve read Kim’s manuscripts in various forms of revision, and each time I’ve been really impressed at how she rewrote and developed the story, while still remaining true to her original and ongoing vision. I think that her agent, Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Agency, and her editor, Annica Risi of Simon Pulse, saw the same great potential and the result is this wonderful published book.

Reading Touching the Surface in its ARC form, I have no doubt that it will have a great audience of readers – teens and adults – and that it will help inspire them for years to come.

It’s the story of Elliot, a 17-year-old girl, who has died for the third time and surfaces in a lake at the Obmil Center for Progression – she is pulled out by Mel, an older woman who has acted as her guide each time she’s been there. Kim explained to our SCBWI group that “Obmil” was her interpretation of the Catholic concept of Limbo – as a picturesque mountain lodge retreat that is a sort of way station for souls who have died, and need to have life lessons before they can move on to their afterlife. It’s such an inventive setting, especially since the various souls’ memories, thoughts and moods can cause the Obmil’s surrounding buildings and grounds, as well as its atmosphere to change, creating steep mountain paths, fields of flowers, or a sudden snowfall.  

At first, Elliot has no recollection of her previous life and only vague memories of her past two lives – as an elderly man who’d died alongside his twin brother, and as a forty-year-old divorcee who had died with her best friend in a plane crash after a self- help retreat.

One of Obmil’s objectives for a “Third Timer” such as Elliot is to go through a process called “Delving.” I loved these scenes, where, in a New Age-y Workshop setting, each soul is suspended in a “swing” that allows him or her to relive a past-life experience, and the participants in the group are able to share in it, while the guide helps the person to cope with or process the revealed issues that have kept him or her from moving on. It’s like a fantastical form of hypnosis.

Elliot’s memories are so urgent however, that she begins to re-live her past without the safety of the swing, and even, at times, outside the haven of the Workshop. Her remembrances involve Oliver and Trevor, two teens who are also at the Obmil, and who are as different from each other as day and night. Oliver is light and sweet-natured, with a positive, Zen-like outlook, but Trevor is dark and angry, with an aggressive attitude. Elliot feels a natural kinship to Oliver, and although she is repelled by Trevor, she is as equally drawn to him. Through her guided and unguided Delves, she is dismayed to discover her connection to both boys. And she finds it difficult to forgive herself for the effect she’d had on both of their lives, and now, afterlives. It’s hard for her to accept Oliver’s kind friendship, and she feels that she deserves Trevor’s wrath. Her relationship with them forms a constantly shifting triangle, and it’s interesting to see how all three characters are able to grow and work out their complicated and emotional ties to each other.

Another character at the Obmil is Julia, Elliot’s roommate at the lodge – she’d been Elliot’s closest companion in her first two lives, but was somehow absent from her recent past life. And for some reason, Julia is now avoiding Elliot, causing more hurt and confusion in Elliot’s already distressing afterlife. Julia does have her reasons, though, and when her back story is revealed through Delving, it’s understandable. It’s a good sub-plot about the give and take in long-lasting friendships.

Touching the Surface is the perfect title for the book’s multi-layered themes. Elliot must delve through the surface of her knowledge of her past life to uncover its meaning and to have a deeper sense of herself and the people she has loved. She also must learn to look past the surface of her companions, to forge deeper and more understanding perceptions of them. There is much more to each character than what appears on the surface. Even Mel and her Obmil colleagues - caretaker Freddie, and David, a pompous Guide - have an interesting and surprising connection to each other and to the Obmil.

Kim further enhances her theme with metaphors and images of water in its many forms – a hidden pond; a rushing waterfall; an unpredictable crust of ice on a lake. She also adds recurring

images of birds – eagles and paper origami cranes – to add beauty and resonance to her words. The result is a story that is as beautifully written as it is compelling. I found myself wanting to take a highlighter to its pages, to mark the phrases, sentences and passages that affected me and made me think – I will definitely make good use of the highlight feature on my Nook copy.

I’m so glad that Simon Pulse is the publisher of Touching the Surface – Kim’s book deserves to be released by a major publisher. But I also think that it’s more than just a “teen fiction” book. Yes, its protagonists are teens, and it does cover many of the typical teen-novel tropes – like making sense out of one’s life; a potential love-triangle; a best-friend relationship; the issues that a troubled teen must go through with parents and in school. But that’s just on the surface. Delving into the story reveals much more than that – I think it’s a metaphysical fiction tale about personal growth; person-to-person connections; guilt and forgiveness; the healing of hurt and anger; and overall, love that can transcend life and death. Offhand, I’m hard-pressed to come up with YA novels and authors with similar themes – Suzanne Weyn’s “Reincarnation” comes to mind. But I would classify Touching the Surface with some of the best metaphysical fiction – for any ages – that I’ve read, by such amazingly insightful authors as Richard Bach, Mitch Albom and Paolo Coelho.

It’s for that reason that I recommend Touching the Surface to any reader from teen to adult, who wants to read a beautifully-written, thought-provoking tale with wonderfully imagined characters, setting, and story-arc, that also gives a deep message about life, death and the afterlife, and has the potential to stay in the reader’s mind and heart long after they’ve turned the last page.

So, Kim is my muse - not just for this blog post, but one of my muses for my writing - for the past several years now, and into the near-future. Reading Touching the Surface has been so inspiring - it has made me think about my own writing, as well as life in general, and the themes that I want to express in my written works. Like Kim, I want to express my spiritual thoughts and ideas about life in novels that may also have meaning, not just to me, but to other readers. I've had several book ideas in my mind, and in various stages of notes and written beginnings, but I haven't felt that my writing has been adept enough to adequately express my point of view, to effectively reach others who may read my work. So, whenever I feel unsure about my writing, I'll remember Kim, when she first came to a Shop Talk meeting, and her hesitant reading yet fervent belief in her story and the importance of its meaning. And I'll strive to express my ideas and beliefs in words and characters and settings and plot arcs, and hope that one day, they'll result in books that will find an audience of readers, who will appreciate them the same way that I know they will embrace Kim and Touching the Surface.

Wednesday On Writing - Oblong Books, Rhinebeck's "Rock Star" Author Event With Cassandra Clare, Holly Black and Sarah Rees Brennan - Sunday, July 15, 2012

Last Sunday, the Hudson Valley YA Society at Oblong Books & Music, Rhinebeck hosted another really fun and inspiring author reading and signing featuring Young Adult authors Cassandra Clare, Holly Black and Sarah Rees Brennan.

I’ve been anticipating this event since I first saw the posting on Oblong Books’ Hudson Valley YA Society website. And I’m glad that I RSVP’d early and pre-ordered some books to pick up at the store and get signed at the event. I was sure that it would be huge, and it was, with over 300 booklovers in attendance!

(photo credit – oblongbooks.com/Rhinebeck)

I went with my friends from our SCBWI Shop Talk group, Lobsang and Patrick. We arrived at around 3:00pm – that’s when the website post said that they would start seating people. But there was already quite a line – and I remembered that Oblong’s information also stated that people could get a signing line ticket reservation as soon as 10:00am, when the store opened. It was clear that these authors are “rock stars” and that this was going to be one of the biggest YA book events, at Oblong or at any other local bookstore, in recent years.

The seating area in the small bookstore filled up quickly, and by the time we got to the event area, there were only spaces on the floor. We gladly sat on the floor near a bookcase, so we could have something to lean against. We left room for our Shop Talk friend Heather, and we also saw another friend, Kristin, there. 

(Lobsang and Patrick) 

(me and the boys!)

Oblong Books’ manager, Suzanna Hermans and her Hudson Valley YA Society co-founder Jennifer Laughran kept us all entertained with raffle ticket giveaways and a presentation of their favorite recent Young Adult titles. That was fun, and made the hour long wait seem to pass quickly. Then, Jennifer introduced Cassandra Clare, Holly Black and Sarah Rees Brennan, to loud applause and cheers. 

(Jennifer Laughran introducing the “rock star” authors!)

I love Holly Black and Cassandra Clare’s writing and I’m so impressed with their talent at creating stories about strong, relatable heroines in extraordinary yet believable urban fantasy settings. Cassandra Clare is the author of the bestselling modern fantasy Mortal Instruments series, as well as The Infernal Devices, a Victorian-era steampunk-influenced prequel series. And Holly Black is the bestselling author of the Modern Faerie Tales trilogy; the Curse Workers trilogy, and the collaborator, with illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, of the children’s Spiderwick Chronicles series. It was so cool to see that they were appearing together, along with Sarah Rees Brennan. I wasn’t very familiar with her work – I’ve only read a couple of her short stories in anthologies – but I was interested in learning more about her Demon Lexicon series, as well as Team Human, her new novel that’s co-written with Justine Larbalestier.

(Authors Sarah Rees Brennan, Cassandra Clare and Holly Black)

It was so great to hear the authors read from their own work – and, even better – to get a special preview of their upcoming books – each one read from a book that hasn’t been published yet.

Holly Black read the first chapter from the typed manuscript of her newest work “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” – due out in the Fall of 2013. It’s so new that she said, “Nobody has seen it, including my editor!” It’s her own unique take on the vampire mythology, and based in the same world as her same-titled short story that appeared in the vampire anthology, The Eternal Kiss (2009, Running Press). It was cool and intriguing – I’m looking forward to reading it when it’s released.

(Holly Black reading from The Coldest Girl in Coldtown) 

Cassandra Clare read – on her iPad – the prologue of Clockwork Princess, her final book in the Infernal Devices trilogy, that’s due out in March 2013. She said she just turned it into her editor. It was interesting, and she drew everyone into her Victorian-era magical world easily. I haven’t read that trilogy yet – but I definitely will have read the first two books, by the time of the publication of Clockwork Princess.

(Cassandra Clare reading from Clockwork Princess)

  

And Sarah Rees Brennan read from her darkly humorous gothic novel, Unspoken – the first in a series titled The Lynburn Legacy – that’s due to be published by Random House this September. It’s about a teen girl, Kami, who finds out that her longtime imaginary friend is a real boy. Sarah was so into her reading that she stood up and acted out her main character’s flirty banter as she tries to get a date with the boy – she even started to unbutton the bottom of her sweater!

Everyone laughed, as Cassandra Clare and Holly Black looked at their friend with fond amusement! And Sarah’s reading definitely made me want to read Unspoken as soon as it’s released in the fall.

The authors also talked about their current new releases. Holly Black’s Black Heart is the third book in her Curse Workers series. It’s set in a world like ours, but there’s a small group of people who can do magic. Magic is illegal, so they’re con artists or mobsters – “magicians as a mob during prohibition,” as she described it. The magic is touch magic, so everyone wears gloves because no one knows who has the magic ability. For research, she read several books on con artists, like The Big Con (by David Maurer) – she said there are all kinds of cons and schemes that con artists use to cheat people. Interesting reading – I’m sure it helped give the series its noir-ish edge.

Cassandra Clare’s City of Lost Souls is the fifth book in her very popular Mortal Instruments series that follows “Shadowhunters” Clary, Jace, Simon, Isabelle, Alec and Magnus, and their adventures in the secret “Downworld” of modern-day New York City – a dangerous place of demons, vampires, werewolves and other paranormal creatures. There were some huge fans of her series in attendance, and they asked some very specific questions about the books’ characters and plot developments. They also asked what her favorite character pairing is to write. Cassandra said Jace and Clary (from Mortal Instruments) – it was her first pairing, and has a sense of the forbidden. She also loves Alec and Magnus (also from Mortal Instruments) and the love triangle of Will, Tessa and Jem from Infernal Devices. She said that it’s fun to make each pairing or triangle different. 

Many fans were excited about the news of a Mortal Instruments movie. Cassandra said that it’s very exciting, and seems to be moving along in development, although she sometimes “freaks out” that it won’t ever happen! It takes a long time to develop a book that’s optioned for a movie. Right now, it’s in the casting stage, and she’s pleased with the casting choices so far. Lily Collins has been cast as Clary – she most recently starred in Mirror, Mirror.  Jamie Campbell Bower has been cast as Jace – he appeared in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd; and the TV series Camelot; as well as a small part in Twilight: Breaking Dawn. And Robert Sheehan, of the TV series Misfits, has been cast as Simon. But Cassandra admitted that in her “dream movie,” Robert Downey Jr. would be Jace and she would be Clary – she loves Robert Downey Jr.!

Team Human, Sarah Rees Brennan’s recent release, is a collaboration with Justine Larbalestier (author of the Magic or Madness trilogy). It’s a humorous book about a girl who tries to stop her best friend from falling in love with a vampire. With its cover tagline, “Friends don’t let friends date vampires,” and satirical references to Twilight and other vampire tropes, it sounds like a fun read – I’m really looking forward to it.

Even though Team Human is a vampire satire, Sarah readily listed several vampire novels when asked about her influences. She loves Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat, and said that she totally understands what she described as “vampire fever” – she humorously said she would leave her window open every night! She also liked L. J. Smith’s vampire novels – especially Secret Vampire. “My secret is that I’m a vampire!” she laughed, pretending to be the book’s main character. Jane Austen is another influence, with her “awesome” banter, that Sarah described as a “table tennis of wit!”  And also, Diana Wynne Jones, with her combination of funny and fantasy – “That’s what I aspire to be!”

Holly said, “A ton of books have influenced all of us!” She said she read Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire over and over when she was in eighth grade! She also listed many urban fantasy authors: Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, Terri Windling, Ellen Kushner and Charles de Lint. I love all of those authors – it was great to hear her mention them.

Cassandra mentioned Lord of the Rings – she’s read the trilogy every year since she was a kid. When she worked in a bookstore after college, she discovered the Golden Compass series – she described it as an exciting and complex story with teen characters. That influenced her interest in writing for teens.

Like Sarah and Justine’s Team Human collaboration, Holly and Cassandra have also co-written books with writing partners. Holly mentioned writing The Spiderwick Chronicles with Tony DiTerlizzi – she said that collaboration pushes you to be an even better writer. And Holly and Cassandra have co-written three short stories for anthologies, and are now writing a five-book middle-grade fantasy series for Scholastic – the first book in the series, The Iron Trial, is to be published in Fall 2014. 

They also answered several questions about different aspects of writing. They each have a different way to keep track of ideas – Sarah writes down things that wake her up at night, but then can’t decipher her scribbles. She also tells others about her ideas. Cassandra stores folders of her notes for different book ideas on her iPad. But she told a story of how she and her husband drove around Wales while she took notes for Clockwork Princess, and then she went to take a picture of an old building and deleted all of her notes by mistake! Holly wouldn’t have those technical problems, because she has an “old-school notebook.”

They discussed their favorite resources for character names. Sarah said they use baby name books, and Holly said they also use online sites like nameberry.com. Sarah said that contributors to that site make up their own lists, like “names that are evil!” Holly said she takes names that she loves and then adds prefixes or suffixes to them to make up fantasy character names. And they have “stolen” names from each other – Sarah named a character “Holly” in Unspoken.

Holly said she stole the name “Cassel” from a friend of Cassandra’s for her Curse Workers books, and then she met him! And Cassandra said her ex-roommate was a doctor, and she used to steal her patients’ names!

All three are in the same writing and critique group together. They all agreed that having a critique group has a positive effect on their writing. You write your manuscript, and then you can trust and fall back on the group and the members’ feedback and advice. Then you can go bigger and wilder than you thought, because the group pushes and encourages you.

When asked how their friendship began, they answered with funny stories. Holly met Cassandra a week after publishing her first book, Tithe, in 2002. Cassandra went to Holly’s first-ever book signing at Books of Wonder in New York City, and she brought all of her friends. Holly didn’t have any prior experience with book signings, and Cassandra hadn’t been to one before, so they didn’t know that authors don’t usually hang out with their readers afterwards. But Holly and Cassandra got along so well that after the event, they went shopping together for shoes!

Sarah met Cassandra at a New Year’s Eve party in Brighton, England in 2003, while she was a college student and Cassandra was working as a journalist. Then Sarah moved to New York City and remembered that Cassandra lived there, so she called her up. Cassandra invited her to a dinner party, and told her that she would introduce her to Holly there. But Cassandra was late, and Sarah found herself talking to a woman. She asked her, “Which one here is Holly Black?” and the woman said, “I am!”

Now they go on writing retreats together, like a recent trip to France, where Cassandra and Holly did some research and worked out the magical details for their new book series. It was evident that they are longtime friends who are also huge fans of each other’s work. That was so inspiring – it made me hope that one day in the not-too-future, my Shop Talk friends and I will all be able to share in our writing success. The publication of Kim Sabatini’s Touching the Surface is very inspiring and encouraging – hopefully many more of us will follow.

Afterwards, I was able to meet each of the authors and talk with them a bit as they signed my books. And Heather offered to take pictures – thank you, Heather! I think they turned out well!

It was so great to meet Holly Black – and to have the opportunity to tell her that she’s been one of my favorite authors since I read Tithe when it was first published. I told her that it’s so cool to know that many of her favorite authors are also my favorites, too. I mentioned that I’d seen Terri Windling and Ellen Kushner when they did a fantasy event at Rhinebeck’s Omega Institute some years back, and she said that she wished that she’d gone to that – she heard it was great.

(me and Holly Black)

Cassandra was seated in the center of the long table, so I couldn’t really pose with her for a picture. But Heather snapped one of us talking as she signed my books. I congratulated Cassandra on the upcoming film, and said that it’s awesome that her characters and magical world are going to come to life in the movie. She said it’s been really exciting. I also said it would be great if her Clockwork series could be made into a movie, and said that although I hadn’t read them yet, I’m looking forward to them – I love the idea of Steampunk Shadowhunters. She said that it’s been really fun to write the historical aspects of the series.

(Cassandra signing my books)

  

And I thanked Sarah for one of the most entertaining readings I’ve ever seen! I also confessed that I’d only read a couple of her short stories in anthologies, but that now I want to read all of her books. She laughed and said dramatically, “That’s how I draw them in!” I said that I’m really looking forward to reading Team Human because I’ve always loved vampire novels (even though I have a love/hate feeling about Twilight) and I admire her for finding humor in all of the vampire tropes. She said that’s because she loves them too!

(me and Sarah Rees Brennan)

Afterwards, I felt like I was on a high, as I talked with Lobsang, Heather and Kristin. We all agreed that it was one of the best signings we’d been to, and we were inspired by the authors’ longtime friendship and support of each other. We all said that someday, it would be so great to do a group reading and signing together, just like Cassandra Clare, Holly Black and Sarah Rees Brennan. I think that’s a great goal to work towards, and I hope we’ll all reach it one day.

(future "rock star" authors Kristin, Lobsang and Heather!)

(Kristin, Lobsang and me)

(Kristin, me and Heather)

And the great feeling of being part of a creative and supportive writing group carried over into the next week, when Ian and I met up with Lobsang, Patrick, Michelle, Lisa and Irene for a casual, fun and motivating writing lunch. I feel fortunate to be surrounded by so many talented people, and it’s great to be able to trust them with my writing, knowing that their feedback is constructive and will only help me to make my work better and better. And it’s always great to hear their artful and imaginative stories and poems, and to be certain of their potential to become published works.

So thanks again to Suzanna Hermans and Jennifer Laughran for another wonderful event at Oblong Books – one that helped to fuel the dream of one day sharing the table with my writing friends at our own Oblong Books author event! 

Monday's Muse - Chopsticks: A Novel by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral

I discovered Chopsticks a few months ago, when I was browsing the teen section of the bookstore, looking for titles to recommend to the teen book group that I moderate there. Right away, I was sure that it would be something different and interesting that could lead to a great discussion. So I was glad when the teen readers picked the book for the June group, that met on Thursday, the 28^th.

The book was published in February by Razorbill, the innovative young adult and middle-grade imprint of Penguin Group that also published one of my favorite teen novels – Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher. It’s a unique collaboration by Jessica Anthony, who also wrote the adult novel, The Convalescent (McSweeney’s/Grove, 2009) and artist Rodrigo Corral, the creative director at Farrar, Straus & Giroux and graphic designer of the covers of many well-known books, including John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars; Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Marriage Plot; Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle; musician Patti Smith’s poetry book Woolgathering; as well as several novels by Chuck Palahniuk, Junot Diaz, and Roberto Bolano.

It’s not just a traditional book to be read, but a story to be experienced – I would best describe it as a visual and interactive novel. It tells its story not just with words but also with photographs, drawings and paintings; computer instant messages, letters and postcards; news articles; CD playlists; video links; and recurring motifs. There’s a website, www.chopsticksnovel.tumblr.com, with photos and some video links, and even an app for the Apple iPad, iPhone or iPodTouch. And a lovely trailer on Youtube, featuring actors Rachel Fox and Ben Getz, as Glory and Frank, the story’s main characters. http://youtu.be/T4j55yz_iZg

  

And the story is so interesting – it opens with the mysterious disappearance of Glory, a seventeen-year-old piano prodigy, who is the only child of Victor, a piano instructor, and Maria, a wine importer who died when Glory was eight years old. After her mother’s death, Glory’s father raised her to become a magnificent young pianist, who has played at Carnegie Hall and around the world. But, at the story’s start, Glory has been institutionalized for exhaustion at a “rest facility” for musical prodigies in the Bronx, where she and her father live. News outlets report her disappearance, after obsessively playing the piano waltz “Chopsticks” for several hours in a practice room.

The tale then backtracks to eighteen months earlier, when Glory has just performed a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall, where she wove in fragments of contemporary rock music, of bands such as Pavement and Wilco, as well as “Chopsticks,” into her repertoire of classical music by composers such as Prokofiev. But her father keeps her to a strict home-schooled schedule, and she is lonely.

She becomes intrigued by Frank, a teenage boy whose family just moved in next door. She befriends him, and learns that he’s from Argentina and is an artist and an aspiring videographer. He is having a hard time fitting in at his private boys’ school, but connects with Glory right away. Soon they are spending all their free time together, photographing themselves; sharing mix-CDs and videos; instant-messaging each other; trading gifts of sheet music and paintings; and falling in love.

But as Glory and Frank grow closer, her father intervenes by arranging her to go on a year-long European tour, and to also study in Italy. Glory and Frank keep in touch via instant messages and postcards, but both teens suffer from the separation. Frank has even more trouble at school, and Glory repeatedly slips into playing “Chopsticks” during her recitals. But is she doing it as a rebellion against her father’s control? Or is she starting to lose her mind?

With each artful image and word, more and more of Glory’s mysterious and compelling story is revealed. And it’s up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what, ultimately, has happened to Glory.

At the teen book group meeting, we had a lively and fun discussion about the book, its format, and its meaning. Many of us had read the book over and over again, pondering its images for clues. And the group was evenly divided in their opinions of what they thought about the ending. We talked about our favorite images and interactive links, and nearly all agreed that we’d look forward to reading more visual and interactive books. I’m glad that the group enjoyed the book as much as I did.

I really liked Chopsticks, not just as a reader, but also as a writer. I’ve gone through the book several times since I first bought it, and I’ve listened to its songs and have watched its video links. And each time I get more and more from it. I love the recurring images of dandelions, wine, and sea creatures – they add to the intrigue of the story.

It was also great to be able to listen to Glory and Frank’s favorite songs, like “Us,” by Regina Spektor, and “Dandelion,” by the Rolling Stones, and “Coney Island Baby,” by Tom Waits; and to watch the links to the videos that they shared, such as Feist performing “1234” on David Letterman; the piano duet scene from Tim Burton’s animated film The Corpse Bride; and Tom Hanks’ and Robert Loggia’s dance-duet of “Heart and Soul” and “Chopsticks” on the giant floor piano in the movie Big. 

And I’ve changed my mind about the ending several times – I think the authors purposefully left it ambiguous and open-ended so each reader can come up with their own explanation and interpretation of the story. I think that’s cool.

I greatly admire Jessica Antony and Rodrigo Corral for all of their work in creating this book – I can only imagine all the hours and painstaking attention to detail that it must have taken to create the story, from initial concept to published book and interactive content. It’s one of the most inventive books I’ve ever experienced.

And Chopsticks has inspired me to think about all the different and creative ways to tell a story – and to possibly tell my stories. I know that several publishers are interested in interactive and enhanced books – the Wall Street Journal profiled the concept in a recent article, “Blowing Up The Book,” that featured Chopsticks as an example of the multi-media format. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204468004577169001135659954.html  And several authors, especially of young adult titles, are now adding interesting things like music playlists to their books’ websites.

But I would never try to write a multi-media or interactive book just to follow a possible trend. I’ve heard many agents and editors speak at conferences and all say the same thing – never chase a trend, because most of the time, those writing attempts end up seeming contrived and lacking authenticity. And they rarely get published, because by the time they are submitted, the trends have passed and moved on to something else.

Besides, I’m not a good enough artist or photographer to be able to include visuals in my stories. However, my boyfriend Ian is a photographer, and I have talked with him at times about doing some kind of creative collaboration of my writing and his photos – we just haven’t found the right time or subject or story for a project. But, maybe someday…

In the meantime, I’ll keep inspired to think creatively to broaden the scope of my stories. I can make up music playlists – especially for my novels that feature music or characters who are musicians – like Stephenie Meyer did for her Twilight books, and like my friend Kimberly Sabatini did, for her upcoming teen novel Touching the Surface (to be published in October, by Simon Pulse). Kim has also introduced me to Pinterest.com – a cool website where users can create online visual bulletin boards of images for any topic that interests them. Kim has created Pinterest boards for Touching the Surface, as well as her current work in progress, The Opposite of Gravity. http://pinterest.com/kimsabatini/touching-the-surface/

I’ll also seek out other visual, interactive and multi-media novels and non-fiction books, to enjoy as a reader and as a writer. Hopefully, I’ll find some more that will inspire me and my writing as much as Chopsticks has.