Gwenda Bond

Excuse-Making!

Yes, this is one of those posts where I make the Whoops, I Disappeared admission and then admit that I'm probably going to be mostly MIA this week too. And that I'm still behind on email. Deep into this first draft, and juggling all the other things as well.

Also, I really need to get extra words written, because deadline swiftly approacheth and we decided to tack a couple of days of New York and BEA onto next weekend's quick research trip to D.C. for the aforementioned draft-in-progress, because, hey, why not? My editor is coming over from England, so it just makes sense.

Anyway, the plan is to be in NYC Monday and Tuesday, coming back home to rescue the dogs from Dog Jail on Wednesday. So if you're BEA-bound, hope to bump into you there.

And I'll try to manage some actual posts here next week. In the meantime, have a lovely holiday weekend.

Tuesday Hangovers

• A nice piece in the Courier-Press about Ursula Nordstrom and Maurice Sendak's editorial relationship.
• A book a year is slacking? (*cries quietly*)
• A great post by Coe Booth over at the VCFA faculty blog, about the "fragile stage" when a project is new. (Via Cynthia Leitich Smith on twitter.)
• New study suggests readers engage in "experience-taking": "Kaufman and his co-author Lisa Libby of Ohio State University suspected that when people read a fictional story they vicariously experience their favorite character’s emotions, thoughts and beliefs in a process that’s been dubbed “experience-taking.” Now they're researching how long and profound that effect may be.
• Could I love Tim Gunn anymore? No. But this post from Janet Reid just confirmed that again.
• Robin LaFevers on the process of going deeper as a writer.
• Gavin sends out an alert that the very funny UK TV show, The Book Group (which we actually only saw originally because he and Kelly showed it to us, bless them) is now on hulu. Go watch.
• A great feature on Lexington's plethora of great used bookstores. 
• Baby rhino.

(*crawls slowly back into writer cave* Behind on email, but hoping to catch up soon!)

You Gotta Have Faith

I was honored to be polled by io9 on the following:

Everbody loves a good dark, horrible fantasy. A misanthopic adventure, in which everybody is morally compromised, and we all live and die in the dirt. But every now and then, it's nice to read a fantasy novel in which people are, you know... good.

So we decided to contact some of our favorite fantasy writers and editors, to get some recommendations for fantasy novels that are not just optimistic — but optimistic about human nature. This is just the first installment — we might have some more recommendations for you next week.

Go forth and read the first set of picks. (Spoiler: Mine was Bitterblue, and I say why over there.)

Friday Hangovers

Let's close some tabs, shall we?

• Jerry Seinfeld's productivity secret: "Don't break the chain." (This seems psychologically akin to keeping a word count diary to me--something I actually do find useful, particularly when I'm struggling with a project. Much less easy to goof off and not work for no good reason--other than that it's not going well, or is at a harder stage than usual, which are not good reasons--when I have to write down on that day "goofed off and didn't work for no good reason.")
• At NPR, the fascination with white horses: "But as rare as white horses are — fewer than 8 percent — it is amazing how they have fascinated virtually every culture. White horses are chosen to stand for good and for bad. One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse rides a pale horse, but the unicorn — which is invariably depicted as white — stands for purity. Only virgins can capture unicorns. But contrariwise, in some cultures white horses represent fertility."
• At the Horn Book an interesting (and typically contrarian) look at trends in YA, looking at numbers of books published in various categories and etc. pre- and post-Harry Potter.
• One of my favorite contrarians, Laurel Snyder, on her love of picture books and their (at least sometime) rejection of classic story structure.
• How about that Vampire Diaries finale? A spoiler-riddled interview with Exec Producer Julie Plec at EW.
• Publishers Weekly: The Deals You Don't See at The Intern.
• "Happiness without a good work ethic is pretty impossible." Hugh MacLeod interviewed at the Happiness Project.
• Stephanie Perkins pulls some fabulous advice out of John Waters' Rookie interview.
• I absolutely love this gallery of supermoon photos. Inspirational planetscapes. Here's one at the Temple of Poseidon in Athens (taken by AP photographer Dimitri Messinis):

Happy weekend, everybody.

R.I.P.

The great, cranky genius Maurice Sendak has died at age 83.

Excerpt from a letter by Sendak's editor Ursula Nordstrom to a writer at the New Yorker on Where the Wild Things Are in 1964:

You asked me how "revolutionary" Where the Wild Things Are is. There have been a good many fine picture books in the past. (Some by Margaret Wise Brown, and illustrated by one of two or three or four talented artists.) But I think Wild Things is the first complete work of art in the picture book field, conceived, written, illustrated, executed in entirety by one person of authentic genius. Most books are written from the outside in. But Wild Things comes from the inside out, if you know what I mean. And I think Maurice's book is the first picture book to recognize the fact that children have powerful emotions, anger and love and hate and only after all that passion, the wanting to be "where someone loved him best of all."

And another from her letter responding to a librarian angry about The Night Kitchen's nudity in 1972:

I am indeed distressed to hear that in the year 1972 you burned a copy of a book. We are truly distressed that you think it is not a book for elementary school children. I assume it is the little boy's nudity which bothers you. But truly, it does not disturb children! Mr. Sendak is a creative artist, a true genius, and he is able to speak to children directly. For children—at least up to the age of 12 or 13—are usually tremendously creative themselves. Should not those of us who stand between the creative artist and the child be very careful not to sift our reactions to such books through our own adult prejudices and neuroses? To me as editor and publisher of books for children, that is one of my greatest and most difficult duties. Believe me, we do not take our responsibilities lightly! I think young children will always react with delight to such a book as In the Night Kitchen, and that they will react creatively and wholesomely. It is only adults who ever feel threatened by Sendak's work.

And, finally, some words from Sendak himself in a 2011 NPR interview:

"I have nothing now but praise for my life. I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can't stop them. They leave me and I love them more. ... What I dread is the isolation. ... There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready."

May we all be so lucky.

Organization Fu

Sometimes I need a weekend that's about putting things back into their boxes, about cleaning and prepping and, yes, organization. I think organization may be my superpower these days, or at least the only difference between feeling like things are under control and manageable or are off the rails and spinning into chaos. (Of course, my brand of organization likes to leave a little room for chaos. Things tend to get stale fast without it.)

This is a summer of writing, both for me and Christopher. I don't know about you, but whenever I'm entering a big push on a project or starting a new phase on one, I go on a cleaning jag. This weekend involved major league office tidying, as well as starting new scrivener files so I wouldn't have visual "clutter" in the ones I'm working in, and some major shelving of TBR stacks. Christopher kindly spent all day yesterday assembling two new bookshelves (the leftmost one below, and another just like it) and we managed to get almost everything off the piano in the front room, the office shelf that's supposed to be for research only, and the guest room floor. Oh, the guest room floor piles, aka my hostess shame.

But now the guest room is looking good. No more piles, see? Come, friends.

And despite all this busywork, I managed to get a good chunk of writing done on the projects I'm working on, one drafting and the other revising. I am hoping this pattern can hold for the next month or two. And I ran all the errands ever. Today started my getting back to early morning wake-up writing, at 6 a.m., which blessedly isn't pitch black at this time of year. Oh, sun, never leave.

Here's hoping you had a nice weekend, too.*

*We did not, however, manage to see The Avengers. And I still haven't seen The Hunger Games movie. Woe. WOE. Maybe next weekend.

Life Imitating Art Imitating

Thanks to everyone who's sending me the Roanoke story (hat tip to Tiffany, who saw it first yesterday before the NYT picked it up) about a potential clue embedded in one of John White's maps: 

Theories abound about what happened to the so-called Lost Colony, ranging from sober scholarship to science fiction. Some historians believe that the colonists might have been absorbed into American Indian tribes. Other explanations point to darker fates, like disease, an attack by Spaniards or violence at the hands of Indians. The wild-eyed fringe hints at cannibalism and even alien abduction.

...

The analysis suggests that the symbol marking the fort was deliberately hidden, perhaps to shield it from espionage in the spy-riddled English court. An even more tantalizing hint of dark arts tints the map: the possibility that invisible ink may have marked the site all along.

The funny thing is (MINOR SPOILER) White's art and letters actually are a source of coded clues in Blackwood. Next thing you know, alchemists are going to be up in this business!

Dark arts, indeed.

p.s. You better hope my books aren't coming true, because the one I'm writing now... Let's just say, it wouldn't be good.

Wednesday Hangovers

• Not enough time at the moment for an Actual Post, so links! Turns out that taking off a week to confab with amazing writers is seriously inspirational, and I'm deep into the fictional swamp at this point...and playing catch-up on other work that piled up while off in the bat cave. But, wow, wow, I will attempt to make a little post at some point, if for no other reason than as an excuse to point you to the work of said writers. It was truly an honor to workshop and talk craft and biz (and indulge in silliness of the highest and lowest orders, of course) with each and every one of them. And thanks again to everyone who came out to the utterly fabulous Malaprop's, despite a drizzly evening.
• My delightful publisher has been doing more cover reveals. You can check out all the first four on this pinterest board. I heart them all, not least for the fact that each one is sooo very distinctive. Also, this morning Editor Amanda tweeted a picture of real-life, printed Blackwood and Shift ARCs--I'll bet my release month sister Kim heard my morning yelp all the way across the ocean. I'm pretty sure I heard hers. (Unrelated: Should I be on this pinterest business? Probably not, but am weak and tempted.)
• Locus Award finalists! Congratzies to everyone!
• Tayari Jones offers a procrastination-avoidance tip that I think is truly smart--preparing your space the night before.
• Laura Miller on the new book Hit Lit, bringing her usual insightful take to this analysis of the components common to blockbuster bestsellers. I think this is my favorite snippet: "While “Hit Lit” may seem, to many readers, like the literary equivalent of instructions on how to boil water, the sad truth is that plenty of those who speak contemptuously of Dan Brown’s prose are writers who could not get a child interested in a fairy tale."
• Malinda Lo on writing about kissing. I have to admit, I used to find such scenes painfully hard, but now I kind of love writing them (despite the fact they're still really hard to get right--but, you know, what isn't?).
• Love this visual summer resolution from Ralph Waldo Emerson via Lauren Cerand's pinterest board, via Stephany Aulenback:
  
• Finally, go listen to my dearie dearest Christopher Rowe's wonderful, World Fantasy-nominated short story "Another Word For Map Is Faith" on podcastle.

Dept. of Yay

The superfabulous io9 just posted a summer beach reading list with many fine and fabulous novels...annnnd there's Blackwood(!) at summer's end:

Bond's debut YA novel explores the mystery of Roanoke, the lost colony, in a whole new way — as a pair of 17-year-olds in the present day discover that they may hold the key to bringing the missing colonists back. It's got a teen romance, a supernatural mystery, and some insane surprises that will no doubt keep you flipping pages.

*dances dance of happiness*

This week at the bat cave has been thoroughly fantastic, by the way. A reminder we're trekking into Asheville from the mountain tomorrow night for a panel at Malaprop's. Come out if you can.

Absentia

I'm off to a secret bat cave for a week with a bunch of fabulous writers to talk about our work and eat cookies and have possibly zany times. I doubt there'll be too much updating here in the meantime. I *might* try to post a photo each day, but that'll probably be the most and I don't promise that.

Just in case I don't get back here until I'm home, I'll be participating in an event at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Malaprop's in Asheville, one of the world's finest indie bookstores. They made this handy page all about it, complete with pretty cover graphic:

Come and see your favorite authors and meet new favorites you haven't read yet as they answer your burning questions about writing, editing, publishing, and the zombie apocalypse: Alan Gratz, Gwenda Bond, Carrie Ryan, Beth Revis, Megan Shepherd, Megan Miranda, Tiffany Trent, Laurel Snyder, and Kristin Tubb!

So if you're in the area, come out and say hi.

p.s. Unrelated: The Guys Lit Wire book fair for the Ballou High School Library is still on, and could use your support. There are lots of books left to choose from, and it only takes a few minutes and a few dollars to help out (promise!).

In Which I Provide Goofy Teen Pictures And Anecdotes

And write a letter to my teen self. Yep, I'm over at Dear Teen Me today and, trust me, I provided the absolute biggest hair pictures my mom could unearth. Bonus: Cheerleading pic. Enjoy!

(Thanks to the fabulous E. Kristin Anderson for the invite.)

Monday Hangovers

• Sorry didn't mean to disappear there, but went on a bit of a writing binge last week. Now playing catch-up--but first links! all of them! (Well, a lot of them.) OH, and hello, visitors by way of the fabulous Gretchen Rubin and the Happiness Project. So nice to have you.
• Don't miss this truly great post by Robin LaFevers at WriterUnboxed about the ways in which the writer's life is full of second chances. Snippet: "But there is a freedom that comes with failure—even if it is just perceived failure. There is a sense that we can’t get any lower, so we might as well jettison everything but the most important stuff. If my writing was going to have to go back to being a hobby rather than a full-time career, I might as well work on something that totally lit every one of my own personal tilt buttons on fire." Related: I can't wait to read Grave Mercy; it is very near the top of the TBR.
• Two fun news of the weird type stories: "Vatican Accused of Cover-Up Over Teenage Girl's Mysterious Disappearance" and "New Jersey Couple Sues Claiming Rented House is Haunted."
• Find the John Cleese creativity video and watcheth it.
• Related: Katie Ryder's Salon interview with Tom Bissell about creating art, among other things. I remember his great Harper's article about the bizarre phenom around the movie The Room, and apparently that's now part of his new book Magic Hours. I do quibble with this, however: "Well, the thing I would say is that luck is the single most important quality – even more important than talent." Sure, luck is an undeniable factor in success and a random factor (for the most part), but it seems to me that perseverance is the other key part of the equation, more important than either talent or luck. Luck is more likely to find you, like inspiration, when you're working, right? I think so. In fairness, Bissell ultimately seems to agree with this, but is coming at it from a more roundabout direction.
• It's time for the Ballou High School Book Fair -- help stock up a library that badly needs it.
• The requisite links on the DOJ suit: good piece in the NYT, sort of a side story about knock-off bestsellers on Amazon (this reminds me of the people who made/make a brisk trade in misspelled goods on ebay), and the inimitable Chuck Wendig bringing some sense to these matters as always.
• I wrote the LGBT publishing feature for this week's issue of PW, which includes an interview with John Irving. Good times.
• Strange Chemistry is running an open door period for unagented YA writers for the next two weeks.
• And a couple of Blackwood things. My editor is at the London Book Fair this week and tweeted this lovely snap of the Strange Chemistry catalogue, with Steven Wood's gorgeous Blackwood cover art on the front:
  
  
  Pretty cool, huh? And there's this lovely early blog review just posted by Shelley Watters. I'm going to post sometime this week about the surreal and overwhelming oddness of ARCs being out in the world--exciting and nerve-wracking all at once. But, in short, to everyone who's requested eARCs so far and to those reading and/or reviewing e- or paper galleys: Thank you a million times over for being interested enough to spend your valuable reading time on my book. (And, of course, I really hope you like it! I love hearing from you!)

ARCs of the Covenant (Okay, Not Really)

At least, I hope that no eye singeing and unfortunate melting will occur from looking directly at...Blackwood ARCs. Or, more precisely in this case, eARCs.

Which are now available at NetGalley! As are eARCs of the other Strange Chemistry September launch title, Kim Curran's Shift. So, reviewers/bloggers/combinations thereof who use NetGalley, request away; you can search or they're listed under Angry Robot. I hear that hard copy ARCs are going out this week as well.

(Oh, and if your pleasure is pre-ordering--well, then I love you. But seriously the purchasing links have been updated AND I believe the correct cover image is now up everywhere or nearly everywhere.)

Thus ends today's nauseous- and nervous-making self promotion. And back to writing the next book.

Friday Hangovers

• Feeling lucky? You can still go comment at the Book Smugglers to win a shiny Blackwood ARC until tomorrow night at 11:59 p.m. Central; open to everyone, regardless of home country.
• Speaking of the Smugglers, they also have a fabulous interview with Barry Lyga (and giveaway) up today. I cannot wait to read I Hunt Killers.
• Ann VanderMeer just announced the TOC for the Steampunk Revolutions reprint anthology she's editing and, boy, is it awesome--and I'm not just saying that because Christopher's "Nowhere Fast" from Steampunk! is one of the stories.
• At the Awl, Jim Behrle on How to Write the Great American Novel: "The desire of adults who are not YA authors to place themselves inside the lives of kids to make a more-perfect and more beautiful version of themselves in youth: Puking sound. YA authors are actually performing a vital service: Please continue doing that, YA authors! There’s nothing self-conscious and plodding about what you’re up to." The whole thing is hilarious.
• The delightful Gabrielle Gantz has a great interview with Michael Ian Black at the Rumpus.
• Robin Wasserman has a fancy new website design. And soon her super-fancy new book, The Book of Blood and Shadow, will be out. You really, really want to read this one. I LOVED it. And not just for the alchemical mystery at the heart of it (though obviously that is one of my favoritest favorite of things), but because of everything.
• A super post from the wonderful Elizabeth Bluemle of The Flying Pig bookstore: "He Won't Read Books About Girls."
• Gavin Grant, Small Beer Press magnate, interviewed!
• Art installation of 28,000 potted flowers at an abandoned mental health center. Gorgeous. (Via Kat Howard.)
• Have a good Friday, y'all. Get it? *wink*

Tuesday Hangovers

I'm beginning to hit the point in the new book where I usually disappear from the blog, but will attempt not to go poof entirely.

• "Elephant rescued from 36-foot pit after three days."
• Jodi Meadows on fighting The Doubts.
• Best sandwich idea ever. Seriously.
• "Apparently I am a failure at success" comic at Hyperbole and a Half. (Via Erin Morgenstern.)
• USA Today talks to Pam Spengler-Jaffee and Nancy Berland about publicity. I don't know Berland, but Pam is one of the best publicists in the business.
• Oldie but goodie: (The now NYT bestselling author! yay!) Austin Kleon's post about The Gift by Lewis Hyde. I love that book so. (And Trickster Makes This World is kind of the bible of my new project.)
• Julie James on the art of research interviews.
• I can't remember where I first saw these, but gorgeous long-exposure photographs.

April...Fools

The one and only Liz Burns has a great post about swearing off YA because all the past year's articles waxing on its darkness or inappropriateness are just too convincing not to. (Hilarious; go read it.)

*waits*

While I was writing up my April Fool's contribution in this vein, I kept getting mad! And so it was not funny, but ranty. Because those articles are crazy-making. Instead I just bring you two examples of foolish opening statements, which are remarkably similar and incredibly dumb, both from NYT articles in the last year:

"A literary novelist writing a genre novel is like an intellectual dating a porn star." - from Glen Duncan's ill-considered review of Colson Whitehead's Zone One (really, no one said it better than Charlie Jane).

And from this past week:

"The only thing more embarrassing than catching a guy on the plane looking at pornography on his computer is seeing a guy on the plane reading “The Hunger Games.” Or a Twilight book. Or Harry Potter." - from Joel Stein's screed--which I admit I didn't read past the headline and first paragraph of--about how adults shouldn't read YA.

So, no fooling...can we have a moratorium on opening your piece about some part of the literary world you think is downmarket* with a pornography reference to make it clear you really aren't being serious, but just baiting everyone? Also, NYT editors**, perhaps suggest a rethink when the next one of these comes in? It's getting a little obvious.

*In a perfect world, the people who write about these things would, I dunno, respect them at a minimum, but our world shall never be perfect.

**Kudos to Pamela Paul, by the way, for majorly improving kidlit coverage in the Times since she took over. Even the Stein piece was surrounded by far more sensible ones, which is progress.

Thank You & Some Miscellany

Thanks to everyone who tweeted/blogged/facebooked the cover reveal yesterday. As any author can tell you, the hardest battle for most books--especially first ones--is simply making people aware they exist. There'll be more of that to come and I'll try to make it fun and not obnoxious. And please know that every shout out, recommendation, link/tweet is very, very appreciated.

The Blackwood ARC giveaway at the Book Smugglers will be open until Saturday, April 7, at 11:59 p.m. (PST). All you have to do to enter is comment on the post. So, it's not at all too late to enter or spread the word.

Reading the comments has been truly fascinating--obviously I am so glad that most people seem to be keen on both the cover and the premise, and it's fun to get to share them. The reason the contest is running for two weeks, by the way, is because the ARCs are currently in the production process. Soon they will be winging their way out into the world. This is both nervous-making and exciting...but mostly exciting. I tried to put all the things I like best into this book--mystery, romance, humor, smart characters, creepiness, some subversiveness, a girl who says frak, SPOILER, and etcetera--and so fingers crossed you lovely people like it. I've often said that my favorite kind of book is the meaning-of-life page-turner.* That is, more or less, a book with something to say that's also into giving the reader pleasure. I hope Blackwood is that kind of book.

A teensy round-up of some links from yesterday, besides the Book Smugglers: Heroes and Heartbreakers did a nice post, Leila at Bookshelves of Doom cracked me up (I am no John Grisham, madame!), and Colleen Mondor is too good to me, as always. Also, thank you to the wonderful Book Smugglers ladies for being so, well, wonderful.

I've updated my Blackwood page with the cover and also pre-order links. The cover is already up at Amazon, though for some reason it has kind of a neon glow there (I assure you it won't have that in real life--unless you get a rare radioactive copy), and at goodreads, and I imagine it will show up other places soon too. Bonus points for asking your favorite indie bookstore to order it for you and/or encouraging them to stock it. September 4 will be here before you--or at least before I--know it.

OH, and I just added a new (and soonish) event to the Travel & Events page (note to self: must start thinking about fall events soooon). At 7 p.m. on April 26, I'll be part of the Southern Kidlit Writers Cabal Panel at Malaprop's Bookstore in Asheville, N.C., with a whole bunch of people WAY fancier than me--Alan Gratz,  Carrie Ryan, Beth Revis, Megan Shepherd, Megan Miranda, Tiffany Trent, Laurel Snyder, and Kristin Tubb. If you're in the area, check it out. We'll be almost a week into a workshop by then, and probably a bit punchy.

Have a great weekend, everybody. And, again, all the ♥ in the world.

*As coined by the brilliant Sean Stewart.

Cover Reveal Revealed!

The cover reveal and ARC giveaway are live at the Book Smugglers' site. Go forth and comment to win!

*beams*

This Just In!

Excitement! The ultra-fabulous Book Smugglers* will be hosting a reveal of Blackwood's final cover tomorrow, complete with an ARC giveaway.**

I hope y'all love it as much as I do.

*I'm beyond excited, since theirs is one of my favorite favorite blogs in the history of the world. Eep!

**ARCs coming very soon = another thing to be anxious about. But also excited, obviously. (Yes, new imprint efficiency is efficient. If only publishing always moved this fast. *smile*)

Wednesday Hangovers

• Amalie Noether, little-known mathematical genius: "For her part, Noether left little record of how she felt about the difficulties she faced as a woman, or of her personal and emotional life generally. She never married, and if she had love affairs she didn’t trumpet them. After meeting the young Czech math star Olga Taussky in 1930, Noether told friends how happy she was that women were finally gaining acceptance in the field, but she herself had so few female students that her many devoted pupils were known around town as Noether’s boys."
• A new story by the fabulous Nancy Hightower, "Evangelical Wonderland."
• Every time I hear more about The Diviners, I seriously can't wait. Libba Bray interviewed at Booklist online: "Coming very soon is The Diviners (September 18th, 2012), the first book in a four-book, supernatural series set in 1920’s New York City. This one has jazz babies, speakeasies, shadowy conspiracy, a creepy museum, ghosts, Follies showgirls, rakish pickpockets, political intrigue and all manner of things that go bump in the neon-drenched night." Yes, please.
• Jane Friedman talks to Avery Monsen and Jory John about book publicity.
• Justine's delightful "I'll know I've made it as a writer when..." is, well, delightful. And so true. Oh, our neuroses, they contain multitudes.
• Lev Grossman on public speaking. 
• E. Lockhart saves The Sisters Brothers. Yay! A very entertaining decision to read, plus bonus excellent conversation from the commentators, joined by Max and Carolyn, who talk about what makes a book jump out of the reviewer stack. (I so agree--it's the promise of surprise, something (at least a bit) different than the rest.)
• I certainly hope this is true too (for *cough* Blackwood's sake *cough* since it's both).
• Holly posts her daily word counts from the writing of the new middle grade novel she just finished, Doll Bones. I love these posts so much. In fact, I love the whole idea so much I just started keeping a daily word count file for the new book I'm writing. Hard to cheat or live in denial when you have to look at it every day and explain why if it's lower than it should be.

I Heart ICFA

Another International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, another fabulous time. I loved Jeff VanderMeer's post about the conference; what he says is true. I think part of what makes it so special is the size--fairly small, very relaxed alongside all the serious and academic conversations, and then there's just some indefinable magic that can't quite be quantified (but which is probably the cumulative effect of having so many amazing people in one place).

In many ways, for me, this year felt like a family reunion--it tends to feel like that every year, but especially this one. Christopher and I actually met at an ICFA just over 10 years ago, introduced by our common friend Kelly Link. Kelly was guest of honor this year (along with the delightful China Miéville). In fact, lots and lots of my friendships if they don't go back to ICFA directly, certainly deepened there. By far the highlight of this particular weekend was getting to see Ursula in action.

Anyway, silly pictures were taken, there was writing talk and gossip, there was me trying to show my cover art to people on my tiny phone screen, there were froofy drinks. I learned important lessons, like that Barb and Kelly will take advantage of my weak swimming with the borrowed water weapons of young girls. And we all--except Chris Cevasco, who already knew--discovered that first edition D&D had a quite detailed...prostitute class. EEP. (Seriously, you must look at the designations on the hilariously-named Harlot Encounter Table.) I stayed up until 3 Saturday night and still made it up for a breakfast at 8:30--I'm usually early to bed, late to rise, but there were just too many wonderful people to spend time with. In fact, as always, there were far too many people it was wonderful to see for any sort of comprehensive list.*

This was also the year we finally got a good look at the alligator, which entertained with some hair-raising growls during the banquet-refugee gathering on Saturday evening. Swamplandia = necessary ICFA reading, and not just for fun.

Other recommended reading: Fantasy Matters will be talking about the conference for the rest of the week. Check it out.

*I will say, however, that Charles Vess let me have a little peek at the graphic/novel hybrid he's working on and, wow, is that going to be *gorgeous* when it's done.

I Heart Monsters

Over at the Weird Fiction Review, 12 Days of Monsters continues with a whole slew of people talking about their favorite monsters. Here's a snippet of my response:

Greek mythology is filled with so many appealing (and unappealing) actual monsters that my choice may seem like a stretch of the term, but since she’s often portrayed as the ultimate monstrous mother I believe it fits. And you’ve probably guessed just from that vague description – yes, I’m talking about the one, the only, Medea, famed assassin of everyone from her own brother, to her ex’s would-be bride and father-in-law, and, of course, most damningly, her own children.

Go read 'em all. I'm going out in search of coffee and Floridian sunshine.

p.s. Thank you for all the cover art love. Next stop final cover! *beams*

Sneak Peek At Some Cover Art? Anyone?

So... I really can't tell you how lucky I feel about my whole experience so far with my editor, the lovely and supersmart Amanda Rutter of Strange Chemistry, and her robot overlords, the team at Angry Robot Books (which is known for producing some fabulous covers, among many other things). I know many first-time authors have no clue what their cover art might come out as and aren't consulted at all.

When I was filling out my author questionnaire one of the questions was whether I had any ideas about cover art and especially any no-nos. I very helpfully responded, essentially, "Not Bad. I like Good Covers." And when Amanda came back to me a couple of weeks later with a cover concept, I was like, "This is why I am the author and you are the publisher." Because the concept was so perfect and cool, and of course nothing I'd have ever thought of. But, you know, one is still NERVOUS. But then a first version of the art came in and I got a little peek and I thought, whew, I really like it. Today, however, Amanda has posted the final cover art and it is Even Better. I truly think it's striking (no pun intended--the artist is Steven Wood), and I love that it's also thematically right and will be even richer in meaning for actual readers.

The basic concept comes from the fact that protagonist Miranda Blackwood's father has a strawberry-colored snake-shaped birthmark that symbolizes the Blackwood family's supposed curse. I'm putting a smaller version here, but: Go look! Ogle! Admire! Embiggen! Leave Comments!

What think you? I personally can't wait to see the final cover composition.

More about le book itself here.

Tuesday Hangovers

• The Printz prediction blog is making some changes as they get ready to embark upon this year's reading.
• Kat Howard with a great entry on realizing the essential help other writers can provide: "I don't know where I got the idea that being a good writer meant being able to write by myself. I mean, I'm one of those people who always reads the dedication and acknowledgements. I'm not sure what I thought those people being thanked had done - provided moral support and sandwiches, maybe? But I'm very glad that I've been able to recognize this false idea for the insanity it is."
• Edan Lepucki at the Millions on finding inspiration and a story skeleton exercise she put a recent class through.
• That article from the New York Times about how fiction works in the brain. I knew we were all secretly adventurers.
• David Coe shares some things that surprised him about the business of writing; Carrie Ryan responds in turn with things that surprised her about the business of writing YA.
• Received a pointer recently to an interesting-looking new site, Book Lamp, which did a recent computational post about average book length and most common POV by genre--with handy dandy charts even. 
• A 'Where Are They Now?' on the cast of Buffy (ended in 2003! doesn't seem possible;still miss it). (Via editor Amanda.)
• You are following the 12 Days of Monsters at the Weird Fiction Review, right? It is filled with wonders. (I contributed a response to a question for a whole bunch of people about their favorite monsters that will run at some point, btw.) And it's in honor of ICFA. ICFA = can't wait.
• Cheap tips for relieving back and neck pain, aka the writer's lament.
• This story about a whale with a 19th century weapon embedded in its skin is a marvel; sadness for the weapon, fascinating for the sheer age of the whale.
• Laura Bogart's essay about Katniss Everdeen and how the character speaks to her at the Nervous Breakdown is one of my favorite pieces of writing on the internet in a long, long time. An absolute must read: "Every time I spilled the milk, slammed the door, or looked at him the wrong way, I was as noble as Katniss ascending that stage. The Hunger Games has gifted me with a new way of perceiving the lowest moments of my life. I am not just the girl whose skin burns from the sting of leather; I am the girl on fire." Must. Read.

A Glorious End...

...to the Season of Blurbs. This just in from one of my writing (and life) heroes and the author of many fabulous books, including the bestselling The Jane Austen Book Club, Karen Joy Fowler:

"A deft and clever debut! Bond takes some reliably great elements—a family curse, the mark of Cain, the old and endlessly fascinating mystery of the Roanoke Colony—and makes them into something delightfully, surprisingly new. How does she do that? I suspect witchcraft."

*practices witchcraft*

And I do believe that's it, though I suppose it's possible a stealth blurb could also sneak in.

I can't express how incredibly grateful I am to all these writers--Marcus Sedgwick, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Micol Ostow, Scott Westerfeld, and Karen Joy Fowler--for taking the time out of their insanely busy lives to read my book, and how humbled I am that they were willing to offer words of praise. There is a lot of smack talk about blurbing and certainly it's so nervous-making that no one enjoys asking. And it's hard to say exactly what their impact truly is...but I don't think anyone would argue with the fact that it's debut authors, people at the start of their careers (or perhaps further along but making big changes in their careers), who blurbs can help the most. I have always felt tremendous respect for established authors willing to help out other, less established writers in this way--and I feel it even more keenly now.

Anyway, I've updated my tiny proto-Blackwood page with all of these quotes and a little teaser about the book. The next excitement will probably be the cover, which is indeed very exciting. (And at some point, I've got to overhaul this site, but that is less exciting than terrifying and potentially painful.)

Happy Monday!

Puckiversary

While we were stuck in St. Patrick's Day parade traffic on the way home from grocery shopping, we realized that we adopted Puck the Dog exactly five years ago today. The anniversary is easy to remember, because we got stuck in parade traffic that day too. We still had a small SUV back then, and Emma the Dog was making her feelings known about Strange New Dog by refusing to sit anywhere but the very back and ignoring him and us. Strange New Dog sat on my lap nervously and...threw up all over me and my giant messenger bag a mere five minutes from his new home. (Even in the traffic, we were so close.)

We kept him anyway.

(As if there was any question!)

Here's me and him together on Christmas Eve night (note: it were late):

And here's the first post I put up about him. It features an adorable video of he and Emma romping together (she got over her attitude) and a picture of him looking tiny and stubborn.

Okay, ONE More To End Off The Week (!)

The full quote from AMAZING writer, homo sapien, and NYT bestselling author Scott Westerfeld on Blackwood:

"With whip-smart, instantly likable characters and a gothic small-town setting, Bond weaves a dark and gorgeous tapestry from America's oldest mystery."

*glows*

What a week!

Character Reference

And another blurb just came in for Blackwood that made me OH SO HAPPY, this time from the fabulous Micol Ostow, author of many extremely awesome books including family and So Punk Rock (the girl's got range!). She says:

"Miranda Blackwood's battle against her own history is utterly modern--and utterly marvelous. She's truly a heroine all readers can rally behind."

My Miranda winning friends and influencing people. *beams*

(Yes, it is the Season of the Blurbs. And I do hope that sharing them isn't getting too obnoxious. It's the opposite of obnoxious for me, more like a season of delight. And like all seasons this too shall pass. Promise!)

This week I am Doing All The Things and attempting to get into a writing rhythm on the new book, which seems to be finding a groove. It turns out this planning the plot in advance business may be a good idea. Who knew? The only thing of DOOM has been daylight savings time (yes, I know it's really saving not savings, but that always looks and sounds weird so not using it). Truly, you would think they had reversed the way time worked or something...

But they haven't, which means that this time next week will be ICFA. Florida, lovely people, pool, poolside bar. Perhaps an excursion to the The Hunger Games movie? (I know Genevieve's in.) I can hardly wait.

More Goodness

So...I know some of you might be surprised by this, but having good news to share makes me feel so, so very self-conscious. This is the standard writer neuroses kicking in big-time, I'm sure, but, well, there it is. And yet it fills me with such joy to get a blurb for my little-book-that-could like this one, just in from New York Times bestselling author (and extremely amazing writer and person) Cynthia Leitich Smith:

"This haunting, romantic mystery intrigues, chills, and captivates."

How can I not be over-the-moon and share? (Long-time readers of this blog will know just how much I adore Cyn's work.) So. YAY.

I've also seen the very first rough cut for the Blackwood cover and I may have squealed. Actually, I may have squealed both at this blurb and the not-yet-finished cover.

I need to be getting more words on the new work-in-progress (and I shall; 700 today, which is not bad at the beginning), but I also know that it's important to stop and appreciate moments like this. Blurbs from writers whose work I LOVE, the very first cover comp of my first ever Actual Book... Sometimes I have to remind myself it's okay to stop and squeal! over these things, and that some of you might even want to squeal! with me.

Monday Hangovers & Etc.

Whoopsie, disappeared again there, but lo! I am back.

The final version of Blackwood has been turned in after a last round of changes and copy edits, and I wrote my dedication and acknowledgements--or Ded & Acks as I titled the file, noting that it would be an excellent name for a band. I got a little teary. We also clobbered tax prep over the weekend (commence the waiting and hoping it's not too painful). And, best of all, I now have approval to proceed on the new book. (I am SO excited about this book.) Anyway: whew! And it's only Monday.

Oh, and I have a looong feature in this week's issue of PW. If you're a subscriber and interested in the state of parenting and child care books, there you go. And now a few little links.

• Laini Taylor says John Carter is good and that's more than enough for me to go see it. (I've actually heard lots of positive stuff, and am looking forward to it. The other night when I asked C if he wanted to go see it, he at first acted as if I was trying to trick him...which I'm assuming can be credited to the negative pre-movie chatter Laini talks about.) (While not a quid pro quo, I did use the opportunity to make him agree to see Hunger Games. Mwahaha!)
• Treasure trove of lost Hollywood jewelry discovered; pictures to swoon for. And not just any jewels--behold an entire drawer of bejeweled daggers!

 

 

• In less happy news, YA legend Francesca Lia Block is having some major struggles with Bank of America to stay in her home, after being trapped in a bad mortgage. She's asking for help spreading the word. (Via Dave Elzey.) Her influence on the field can't be overstated. I hope she gets the resolution she clearly deserves.
• This gorgeous edition of Kelly Link's "Stone Animals" illustrated by many authors and artists is just, well, gorgeous.
• Betsy reviews Katherine Applegate's new middle grade book, The One and Only Ivan, which I loved. My review's in this month's Locus.
• It's time for the DABWAHA, aka the online book tourney coordinated by Sarah Wendell and Jane Litte that always expands my TBR by a metric ton.

Soundtracks Are Important

"Tuck the Darkness In" by Bowerbirds from Secretly Jag on Vimeo.

 
Phillips* in Blackwood LOVES this band. So do I.

Thanks to Richard for the pointer to this new video. Also, thanks to the band for releasing a new album just when I'm in need of things for a shiny new playlist. (And for generally being AMAZING.)

Their last album, Upper Air, was perfect background for my gothic Roanoke Island story, and lots of its songs were on my writing playlist.** Plus, Phillips was really into music, enough so that I really had to think about what he'd listen to given his eclectic taste. And the band fit there too.

Aside: I may be absentee for a couple of days working on copy edits and the various other things of life (including taxes! they can be put off no longer). But back soon.

*I can't wait for you guys to meet these characters. I hope you like them. I should say, you might not know he LOVES them without this secret information, just that they're on one of his playlists. This is Imaginary Inside Dirt right here.

**Doubly perfect because they are a North Carolina band. Perfect squared.

P.S.

I don't think this will affect anyone, but just in case--I switched off the feedburner connection, as I've been hearing from lots of places that it's super-buggy of late. Again, I wasn't warned when I did it that this would create any problems, so I don't believe it will...but the fail-safe always-works feed is this one or your reader will find it for you from the main URL. As you were.

Monday Hangovers

Don't worry, I'm not planning a return to all-links-all-the-time, promise. But I got waylaid by a little cold last week (which meant missing AWP--boo), and then had to deal with a deadline that needed vanquishing (vanquished!), and so today I'm closing some open tabs and playing catch up.

Also: thanks to everyone who checked in with us after the terrible storms that hit here late Friday. Both we and our families escaped unscathed. Others were not so lucky, and many of the hardest hit areas of the state are the ones least financially able to recover from such losses; here's a simple way to donate to the Red Cross's Kentucky-specific efforts, if you're so inclined.

• Banksy on advertising: "Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head." Updated to add: Apparently Banksy ripped this off without attribution. Here's the info on the real source.
  
• The GORGEOUS book art of Brian Dettmer.
• Young women are pioneers of language: “If women do something like uptalk or vocal fry, it’s immediately interpreted as insecure, emotional or even stupid,” said Carmen Fought, a professor of linguistics at Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif. “The truth is this: Young women take linguistic features and use them as power tools for building relationships.” (Via Scott Westerfeld.)
• Headline of the week: Teen Exorcists Shopping Reality Show Can't Possibly Be Faking. (Via Robin Wasserman.)
• Tansy Rayner Roberts has a great post about why editing stresses her out (and why that's what she needs in order to do it). I love reading about other people's processes like this. (Don't most of us? Makes us feel less weird/crazy/alone.)
• The divine Sara Zarr has started a new podcast, The Creative Life, and hosts Tara Altebrando for the first episode.
• Five unsung heroes who changed modern life at Brainpicker.
• How to name your first novel at NPR.
• Kate Messner is officially a rock star; see this post about her TED talk last week. Can't wait until the full recording is available.
• China Miéville on apocalyptic London in the NYT.
• A must-read post from Megan Crewe (it's an older post recently unlocked; looking forward to her new book): "Very few journeys are smooth or straightforward."
• Speaking of things I can't wait to read: I hear wonderful things about the fabulous William Alexander's debut middle grade novel Goblin Secrets, which is out tomorrow. Just look at that cover: swoon! Pick it up. Check it out. Etcetera.
• Somebody in Dublin has St. Laurence O'Toole's heart. No, really. They stole it. (Via Kat Howard.)

Tuesday Hangovers

• Chuck Wendig offers some of his inimitable wisdom about fixing a broken (or just sprained) book. Lots of good stuff there.
• Everybody dance now: There's a new story by Genevieve up at Lightspeed, "The Gravedigger of Konstan Spring."
• Stephanie Anderson (aka Bookavore) offers some recommended books that she keeps in her back pocket for special moments. 
• Anindita has two fascinating entries: the first about being caught by chance at the twitter intersection between a friend who wrote a (pretty snarky) NYT review and author Matthew Pearl and the happy follow-up about a nice exchange with Pearl after her first post. Lots of excellent points and questions raised about this miniscule world we're all inhabiting.
• William Gibson on personal microculture: "We [are] shaped as writers, I believe, not much by who our favorite writers are as by our general experience of fiction. Learning to write fiction, we learn to listen for our own acquired sense of what feels right, based on the totality of the pleasure (or its lack) that fiction has provided us. Not direct emulation, but rather a matter of a personal micro-culture."
• Interesting PW piece about whether teens are embracing e-books.
• A roundtable with the ladies of Community (via Dave).

Whee!

I just got my very first blurb. And let me tell you, as someone capable of convincing herself that Everyone Will Hate It, why yes, I did a dance of joy. It's from Marcus Sedgwick, an author whose work I absolutely love, and when my editor* sent it to me, I might have fallen over. But I have picked myself up and here it is:

"Weird, wise and witty, Blackwood is great fun."

*beams madly*

*p.s. My editor ROCKS.

Friday Five

1. This is primarily a Friday Five about why I was MIA all week.

2. Vacations tend to have that effect, don't they? You get home, rested but with all the things you would have done during that time waiting, plus the new stuff of the week at hand. So lots of things. Deadlines swirling, massing, menacing. And I had two episodes of The Vampire Diaries to watch. A girl's got to have priorities.

3. And some of those priorities included line edits! Yay. I do love to edit. Now those are all done and Blackwood is off to be copyedited. I happily clink my glass with yours. And fabulous editor Amanda also sent cover art thoughts this week too, and let me tell you, I am excited. The concept is thematically perfect and I do believe it will be COOLMAZING.

4.  Also this week I've been working hard to nail down all the details of the synopsis for the second book of my contract. Synopses are hard, even if you have a handle on most of the book already (and had a massively helpful brainstorming session with lovely geniuses in Mexico). This book has a pretty seriously involved world, which I want to make sure the story lives up to. So...yes, hard. But it is beginning to fall in line, and once I finish figuring out the exact details of the ending, I think I'll have a good road map for the book. And then I will turn it in and see if we're all agreed. And then--fingers crossed--write like the wind if the wind could write.

5. All of which adds up to: I am taking tonight off. Oh, yes, I am. Couch, Bitterblue, television (Castle two-parter! Fringe!), and a glass of wine. Or two. Here I come.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Monday Hangovers

• A few quick links to close tabs.
• I always love Jennifer Crusie's writing chats with her friends--the latest one is about the difficulty of writing sex scenes in first person.
• Lisa Lutz in the Wall Street Journal on (the breaking of) writing rules: "Readers are a curious lot; they want answers. Give them a really good question and they'll keep turning the page."
• Deborah Biancotti on writing 80,000 words in a month...don't try this at home, unless you want to. If so, she has provided helpful tips.
• A great obituary of John Fairfax in the NYT: "At 9, he settled a dispute with a pistol. At 13, he lit out for the Amazon jungle. At 20, he attempted suicide-by-jaguar. Afterward he was apprenticed to a pirate. To please his mother, who did not take kindly to his being a pirate, he briefly managed a mink farm, one of the few truly dull entries on his otherwise crackling résumé, which lately included a career as a professional gambler."
• Editor Amanda posts about the process of reading manuscripts over at the Strange Chemistry blog: "Because here’s the thing: we have to pick the novels that we are prepared to champion to the hilt. We can’t waver in our belief of them. These are novels that we will be closely working with for the foreseeable future – we will have to read them a number of times, to a great depth of detail, and we will have to shout about them to the whole world. We can’t take on a novel that we have any uncertainty about, because we can’t then do the best job for the author and their book. But another publisher might – what you’re uncertain about, another editor will have read and gone into raptures over. It’s all subjective." Good stuff.
  
• A friend just sent me a pointer to Scape, a YA SFF-focused webzine now on its third issue. It's a truly gorgeous site, and I look forward to checking out the stories. We need more YA short fiction markets.
• And last but most! exciting! of! all! What a great Nebula and Norton ballet this year. Congratulations to all the nominees--so excited to see many people (and works by those people!) that I adore on the ballot.

Sunny Days, Home Again

We're home, and a catch-up on posting is in the offing in the next day or two. In the meantime, I put up some photos on flickr that Christopher and I took on our last full (and sunniest) day, part of my resolution to take more photos this year. Here are my new cowboy boots, aka my book sale present to myself.

They are divinely comfortable, and were purchased on a fun adventure into the wilds of the market of San Miguel led by adventurer-in-chief Theo. My thanks to Robin Wasserman (whose fabulous The Book of Blood and Shadow is out in April and just got a starred PW review) and Sarah Rees Brennan (who has not one but TWO fabulous new books due out later this year) for helping select just the right pair. Said boots have already proved their magic in a mad dash through the Dallas airport, in which we made the flight but our bag did not.

The rest of the photo set is here.

Travel Check-In

So we're down in Mexico on a writing vacation (a vacation for writing, not from it). The weather isn't entirely cooperating; it's been warm-ish and cloudy-ish most days. But the company more than makes up for that. Many writing talks being had, about specific projects and more generally, in that way that kicks the story brain into gear. I just finished my revision pass and sent it in to editor Amanda, managed a couple other nervous-making business-y emails, and tomorrow will start thinking in detail about the plot of the book I'm writing next. I'm hoping to get a synopsis written in the next couple of days, so that I can get into the real work of it once we're home.

There is guacamole with most every meal, and later there will be margaritas. The pool is warm, even if the outdoors isn't quite.

Basically: I can't complain. I wouldn't even dream of it.

The Future Will Be Here Before You Know It

So...here's the thing they tell you: Publishing moves slow. It takes FOREVER.

And this is usually true. Certainly there is a large amount of waiting involved for every writer on earth (and probably on any other planets with publishing industries). But since Strange Chemistry is a brand new imprint and launching later this year, things are moving at lightning speed comparable to the norm. From interest to offer to announcement happened pretty fast, but that's not unusual. (I know these things because I hang around with a lot of writers, so indulge first-time me here.) My contract showed up yesterday and is now winging its way across the ocean, and editor Amanda emailed me ISBNs for the US, UK and e-book editions of Blackwood first thing yesterday morning, and even now their digits are making their way into the machinery that feeds Nielsen and Amazon and such. The book already exists on Goodreads. Coverless, of course, but exists.

Today or tomorrow, I'll get my edits. And also today I'm thinking about blurbs. (That is just as nauseous-making as expected, and there's no time to wait! Or waste! September is coming! Ack! Nothing like a time crunch to induce bravery. Still nauseous-making. Send bourbon.) AND I have a few lines from a Bowerbirds song I really would love to use as an epigraph, and so I need to contact the band and their label and see if there's any possible way that permission can happen, and quickly. (Luckily, I also have a non-copyrighted snippet from a Sir Walter Raleigh letter on epigraph standby.)

On Saturday morning, we leave for a week's writing retreat with a bunch of wise and lovely writers, and the timing couldn't be better. A whole week to concentrate on edits and figuring out the next book. In the sunshine. Bliss. Perhaps they will also talk me down when I lapse into hysterics. The universe was smiling when the timing worked out this way.

Small aside: I have a cold, which I re-gave myself by not switching out my toothbrush head after I was sick a week and a half ago, so perhaps am a bit loopy. Am attempting to think cold into submission; maybe not the best strategy since last time I self-germ warfared. Anyway. All this by way of saying, it hit me yesterday:

September will be here before you know it.

Sure, in the meantime there will be edits to do, and other people will be reading the book (some of them reallly soon--hold me), and other Exciting! Things! and, soon enough, probably within the month, I'll be back at work on another book due later this year, even while Exciting! Things! happen. But I'll blink and it'll be September.

The future is tricksy. It sneaks up.

Tuesday Hangovers, aka A Few Little Links

• Laura Miller and Maud Newton are combining forces at The Chimerist. Color me intrigued.
• The stories behind the animal logos for various publishers. (Love. Via Sarah Weinman.)
• Charles Tan interviews Delia Sherman about The Freedom Maze: "Now I come to think about it, probably one of the main reasons I needed to write this book was because I’ve never been comfortable with talking about politics.  I think the arguments of racism are stupid and short-sighted, that the justifications of the prejudiced are irrational, that oppression of any kind rots the souls of the oppressors, and that people are much stronger when they work together than when they work against each other.  But I don’t often say so, not in so many words.  I don’t actually say any of that in The Freedom Maze.  But I try to show it in every way I could think of."
• Sherman Alexie and Neko Case talking in The Believer. So much fabulous.
• An interesting post from Jordyn at Ten Cent Notes about book appeal, aka what makes her pick something up. I always find such discussions fascinating.
• Writing rules from various luminaries--Henry Miller's are far more charming than I expected.
• A look at Myrna Loy's career.

The Fast-Talking Smarties

So...I was trying to think of something to post about, and I thought I'd tackle one of the complaints that bugs me greatly (and that I see again and again) about certain types of characters in YA. The contention in question is that given characters aren't "how teens really are," usually said to mean that teens don't think or talk in a complex or sophisticated way, and almost universally applied to bright, precocious characters or a certain type of stylized dialogue. Maggie Stiefvater did a great post about this some time back, on the myth of the "teen voice."

This complaint tends to surface more frequently whenever John Green has a new book out, which is why the topic came to mind. Let me say right off the bat: I haven't read The Fault in Our Stars yet*. I'm definitely going to; I love all John's books with great and huge buckets of love. In fact, one of the reasons I loved Looking for Alaska so much was because I had an immediate sense of recognition when I read it. THESE were the smart Southern** teenagers I grew up around.

But I digress. The problem, of course, being that teens aren't a monolithic group. They--just like adults--are individuals. If a character doesn't work and isn't believable, that's one thing. But I will buy just about any type of speech or action from a character as long as it feels developed, specific, and honest to that character or story. And for every person who has trouble buying into hyper-verbal or branier-than-the-norm characters, I think there's also a counterbalancing number of us who adored, say, Buffy, Gilmore Girls or Veronica Mars because of those qualities (among others).

My suggested rule of thumb is that if you'd never say, "That's just not how adults are" about an adult character (and, really, you wouldn't, would you?), then don't vary the same theme about teen characters in YA.

*This is primarily because I lost a good friend to cancer when we were both 16. I'm so glad that TFiOS exists, because being a bookish girl as I was, back then I really wanted to find a book that might help me understand that loss. And I couldn't. Because most were too saccharine, and not at all funny, and I hated saccharine inspirational (not least because so did my friend) and my people are funny people. So I know this book needed to be written, and believe John was the perfect writer for the job, and I can't wait. I just need a weekend when I can be Completely and Utterly Wrecked, and retroactively grateful.

**My "Southern" cliché rant will be saved for another day.

You Guys Are The Best, Officially

I've said this elsewhere already, but wanted to put it here too (in the more permanent record and all):

Thanks to everyone for making an excellent week that much more so. Your congratzies and excitement for my news made it all the better. ♥

Friday Hangovers, aka All The Links Fit To Link (Well, Not Really)

• Nova Ren Suma's fabulous Turning Points Blog series continues; today is Courtney Summers and there's a list of all the essays so far at the end of the entry.
• Cyn Leitich Smith has a fascinating summary of a talk by Canadian book wholesaler Maria Martella.
• Two interactive storytelling/enhanced ebook-related posts worth reading: Rachel Stark on Sleep No More and the potential of nonlinear narratives and Laura Miller on some of the issues with adding bells and whistles and music and video.
• Jennifer Paull at Book Riot on her genre kryptonite: Girls in Crumbling Estates. I second the ones mentioned and add We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
• Austin Grossman on the new Watchmen and the need for more innovation in the halls of DC.
• Two writing posts I endorse: the value of taking a walk to your writing (YES! I do it daily, unless prevented by weather--walk, then writing time) and Toby Buckell on productivity in bursts.
• The fully wonderful A.N. Devers interviewed about Writers Houses at the Big Read Blog. A snippet, in response to where she still wants to visit: "I’d say all of them, but it makes me sound like some kind of cheap writers’ houses floozy. It’s really a tie between The Bronte Parsonage and Virginia Woolf’s Monk House. Woolf visited The Bronte Parsonage and wrote an incredible essay about it called “Haworth, November 1904.” Rounding out the tipsy-top of my wish list: Dostoevsky’s house in Saint Petersburg and the Japanese horror and mystery writer Edogawa Rampo’s house in Tokyo. Oh, and that guy Shakespeare. Here’s a fun fact: P. T. Barnum actually tried to purchase Shakespeare’s birthplace and move it to America."
  
• The Boston Herald on the popularity of fantasy, particularly among younger readers, including comments from the lovely and wise Dora Goss, whose The Thorn and the Blossom is just out.
• The Astrobiology Magazine images of the day are GORGEOUS. (Thanks to Tiffany for the pointer.)
• "The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World."
• Interesting piece on The Power of Introverts.
• And, finally, if you don't read Kate Hart's Friday round-up of YA publishing wisdom and wit from twitter, why not? This week's is here.

Wednesday Hangovers: Or, All The Open Links In My Tabs

I think it's time for some links! so it's not all mememe around here. But...

A couple of little housekeeping items first. I FINALLY mapped my domain; your old links will work, but so will http://www.gwendabond.com. (When I say I mapped it, I mean the Web Bunny (aka Richard) and Christopher managed to fix the process I had begun in my typical flailing manner with all things technical.) Also, you may notice the book recommendations sidebar isn't on this page--but it is not gone. I gave it and the blogroll I'm in the process of recreating a page of their very own instead, which is also linked in the nav bar.

And last, I awoke to a tweet this morning from the lovely Strange Chemistry twitter account that you can add Blackwood (and Shift and Poltergeeks) to your to-read list on goodreads. So, if you're on goodreads and you'd like to, it would make me do a little chair dance. Am doing a lot of that of late. And now on to OTHER things.

• There's a brand new shiny online literary magazine devoted to YA short fiction called Sucker. Their first issue has just been posted, and the delightful Mima Tipper (who has a story in the issue) has interviewed the editor, Hannah Goodman, at Hen & Ink. 
• Jenny Davidson asks Colleen Mondor about The Map of My Dead Pilots: two of my favorite people talking about fascinating things. What could be better?
• Sara Zarr posted a link to a serial movie that you will want to watch if you like dancing and happy things, Girl Walk//All Day. And it solves the mystery of the riveting dancing tutor from this season of The Good Wife, who is Anne Marsen, the star. HAPPINESS.
• Elaine Showalter in the Guardian on some of the best literary novelists working today: women all. A snippet: "But the main reason why women do not figure in American literary history is because they haven't written it. Women writers need to be seen in larger contexts than their most recent novel, placed in relation to their contemporaries and their precursors, understood in terms of the themes and issues of their generations. Only then can we rewrite American literary history overall to reflect its full evolution and significance."
• A letter from a freed slave to his former master, upon being requested to come back to work. Via everybody.
• A great post from Diana Renn about challenges young sleuths face in mysteries at Sleuths, Spies, and Alibis.
• Victoria Schwab with an honest and wonderful post about her move to New York. I bet she gets an A in everything she samples from that course catalogue.
• Lindsay Goldwert at the NY Daily News on Sassy's impact as a recommender of literary wonderfulness (they were also indispensable in forming my tastes in music and movies), especially Weetzie Bat. I very much discovered those books because of Sassy, and our wonderful h.s. librarian ordered them, and they stayed checked out constantly. Anyway, must get the Weetzie prequel.
• Genevieve on Dermot Mulroney being an idiot about the fact he's gotten to act opposite so many fantastic ladies.
• Kristin Bell's sloth love. It is a beautiful and hilarious thing.

Of Goodwill

So, you are all kind of amazing. All your congratulations and good wishes and interest in the book--here, on twitter, on facebook, etc.--have been so, so appreciated. I couldn't manage to respond to everyone individually, but please know how much it means. As most of you know, I've been working toward this first novel sale for years (which is not at all unusual--interviewing writers for PW is always a great reminder that we only ever see the tippy tops of people's careers and the iceberg of all the work and setbacks and the rest of it is beneath the water, concealed from everyone but those people in our daily lives). And I always have a tendency to expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised if things don't go down in a flaming ball of fiery doom.

All this positivity is disconcerting. I'm not used to it.

Anyway, io9 did that great piece (how much do I love those guys? they are so great for SFF and YA and the world in general, so pinch moment number two--pinch moment number one was when the initital announcement from SC hit). And today the deal made it into Publishers Marketplace--and was mentioned in the daily Publishers Lunch newsletter, surreal pinch moment number three. I have read that newsletter every day FOR AGES and to see my book mentioned...my little #nerdromancethriller-that-could. Here's the text of the PM listing:

Gwenda Bond's BLACKWOOD, a young adult novel about a modern-day Lost Colony; when 114 people disappear from Roanoke Island, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back, to Amanda Rutter at Angry Robot, in a two-book deal, for publication in Fall 2012, by Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (World English).
Translation: Taryn Fagerness Agency

It's listed as an international deal because Angry Robot is based in the UK, but for those who've asked, like Angry Robot, Strange Chemistry will be a global imprint, and the book will be available in the US, the UK and I believe Australia as both a physical object and as an e-book (and Angry Robot also sells DRM-free e-books at their web store). And for booksellers (I LOVE YOU), Strange Chemistry/Angry Robot's US distribution is through Random House.

I really can't wait for you guys to get to read this book. Which I started, oh, back in 2005, I believe. I had the initial idea then, started it as a screenplay, realized I really should be writing YA and so re-started it as a novel...and set it aside for a lot of years because I didn't know the solution to the mystery. And I felt like if I was going to write a fantasy about Roanoke Island and the Lost Colony, I had to solve it, one way or another. Cut to last semester of grad school, a desperate need for a workshop piece, and I pulled out the opening I had. The group (led by the divine Cynthia Leitich Smith) were very, very helpful, but still, even though I knew the overall shape of the story, I didn't know what was causing the disappearances, so I shelved it again... And then, finally, the third time I started to work on it was the charm. Lightning, research, reading: Alchemy. Though, of course, I'm not going to reveal exactly *how* alchemy figures in.

The title Blackwood is actually from the masterminds of Angry Robot, by the way. My original title was too similar to the imprint name. And I like this so much better. It fits the story in every way and...

I really, really can't wait for you guys to get to read this book. So soon! In September. And I can't wait to get my edit letter from the fabulous Amanda and get to work on it again. And then on book two (which will be unrelated to this one; Blackwood is a standalone).

Also, just an aside: Jennifer Laughran is a goddess among agents. There are agents who wouldn't have hung in there with me, lo, these several years, and continued to be wonderful and excited about my work. Jenn did. So...

PINCH ME. But, don't worry, my head won't stay in the clouds, not when I have this: 

Pirate Hemingway Don't Care About Books

(Note: No actual eye-patches were used in this photo. Am playing w/ Typepad's new photo editor Aviary.)

 

 

And now back to work. More soon.

Book Deal News (!!!)

 And now it can be told:

Strange Chemistry are thrilled to announce a two book deal with Gwenda Bond, concluded between Amanda Rutter and Jennifer Laughran, of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc. The first book, Blackwood, will be one of the imprint’s September 2012 launch titles, with the second following in 2013.

 

More info at the Strange Chemistry website. You could say I'm over the moon.

ETA: YOU GUYS, I am overwhelmed by all the congratulatory notes. Each and every one makes me tear up. You are all the best.

See also: io9's great round-up of the first THREE announced Strange Chemistry books; so excited to be in such good company. SQUEE.

Trapping The Wild Time Monster

A couple of posts I really liked lately that might not immediately seem related:

• Nora Jemisin on the price of time (and how sometimes spending money to get yourself time is a wise calculation): "So I’ve had to reassess my life as a writer, and decide whether some things that I’d previously dismissed as too expensive on a financial basis were, in fact, costing me far more in the long run due to lost time."
• Miriam Forster on "emotional flu" and taking downtime when you need it, like after finishing a giant project: "When you're physically sick, you need rest. Same goes for the emotional flu. So this week I'm going easy on myself.  No writing, no being productive at home unless I feel like it or it's urgent, like my husband running out of socks. No yelling at myself.  I'm going to go to work and spend time with my husband and pet the cat."

I recommend reading both in full. *waits*

Both of these really resonated with me, because of course we all have our own battles with time. And I get asked a lot how I manage to juggle all the things I regularly juggle (true answer: sometimes with little effort, sometimes with lots, most of the time somewhere in the middle). I definitely use both the techniques above.

I'm not particularly wise on the money front, but I agree that there are some things that it just pays to, well, pay for. For instance, if I have completely wrecked my neck hunching over papers or the laptop on a deadline or it's likely I will, I book a massage because I know I'll need it. (Yes, I realize this makes me sound like a brat, but I have learned from experience that it will often save emergency appointments and days of pain. Worth it.) The DVR, as Nora mentions too, is something I would sob and be very unhappy without...because:

One thing I do is try to give myself nights off. This isn't always possible. But we don't have kids, so more often than not it is. (Seriously, I'm in awe of anyone who manages to write and keep a household with children going, and I know there's often a day job in the mix too. *bows*) So, generally speaking, unless I'm on a major deadline, after 6 or 7 is play time. Brain dead time. Reading time. Going out to dinner time. Having a glass of wine and watching TV time. Twitter, blog reading or writing, etc. Guilt-free, all of it. This isn't exactly what Miriam is talking about, because that's something different--when you need a big chunk of relax, no-obligations-on-self, no-self-recrimination time to recharge. I'm not always so smart about taking that. But I do try to take some time every day that's "off." Otherwise, I go a little crazy.

I get up early just about every day and try to clock an hour minimum and two hours maximum of writing time before work. I also work during lunch. So that's three hours or so a day on the wip on a good day, at least an hour and a half on the bad days. Sometimes other things have to get subbed in here, but if I'm really in the middle of a book, I try to make sure I get the morning writing time in at a minimum.* During my writing time I don't mess around, and I don't have access to the web. That time is for writing only. Generally, that's about all the good time I have in me per day during a first draft anyway, so it's enough. Much more, and I'm burned out the next day. Revision takes bigger time chunks, so that's a little different, but.

Big freelance projects--proofing, PW pieces--mostly get done on the weekends, though they can slip into writing time on days I make word count and have time left over. For me, it's all about prioritizing. It's all about what's most pressing and how can I give it as much undivided time as possible until it's done? Because I find that multi-tasking is largely a fiction. It's a last resort. When I'm multi-tasking, the car is in the ditch, I am in the weeds. (I admire greatly those who can do it.)

And now...I have to go write an article. I'm definitely curious though, if anyone wants to talk about how they manage their days and writing time, feel free to in le comments.

*This is not to act like there aren't times when this gets disrupted because I really need the sleep instead or hit one of those natural pauses where there are a few days off, because there most definitely are.

MIA

I know! I know! But not for long. Promise. More posts coming sooooon. Seriously.

Empaneled

Charles Tan, aka the hardest working man in science fiction, recently hosted an email roundtable on YA speculative fiction with Malinda Lo, Tehani Wessely, Cheryl Morgan, Tarie Sabido, and yours truly. It was great fun to do, although apparently I was trying to see how many times I could use the word conversation. (Answer: LOTS.) I blame holiday madness.

The resulting conversationpanel is now live at SF Signal. Check it out if you're so inclined.