squeetus

Working on jack

I mean that both ways--yes, I am working on jack, the sequel to rapunzel's revenge, but it's going so slowly it may as well be jack. We threw away the first quarter, rewrote it entirely, threw that away, and rewrote it again, and now we're working on the rest of it, throwing away enormous chunks, cutting out major characters...I guess it's about as major a rewrite as I've ever done. And I'm inching my way through it, with so little writing time.

And the little reasons for my lack of writing time:

They are so precious, can I be blamed for abandoning all else just to stare at them in astonished admiration all day long? I'm absolutely loving having this little baby in our family. And I'm so lucky that this boy is one of my best friends.

I've posted some tour dates. Besides what I have up for the summer, I'll be doing a little touring in the fall as well (all with toddler and baby in tow!). Right now, it looks like it'll be New York/New Jersey, Nashville, and some parts of Texas. Early next year, I'll be touring with Libba Bray and I believe we'll be somewhere in the northwest, somewhere in the midwest, and somewhere in the southeast. How's that for helpful info? More info, of course, as I get it.

Cover story

The cover for book of a thousand days is up on amazon.com for your happy viewing. The paper is textured, so it'll look better in hand than on screen. A very different look from the Bayern books, but I think it's lovely.

princess academy came out in US paperback last week, and it appeared on the Book Sense best seller list! Right there at #9, doin' a happy dance. I never imagined it'd go back to best sellerdom. Pretty darn cool. There are four (I think) major best seller lists in this country, each one taking its data from different sources. Book Sense gets numbers from the independent book stores, bless them.

river secrets was nominated for the YALSA Teens' Top Ten! For those who don't know, there are yound adult groups all over the country who get to read advance copies of new titles. They pick their favorites, creating a list of about thirty books. The nominations list is announced, and all teens are encouraged to read from that list all year. In November, during Teen Read Week, teens can vote on their favorites, narrowing it down to the Top Ten. goose girl made the top ten a few years ago, and it was so cool for me, especially since it was my first book. Lots of good books on this list for your summer reading. For those interested in joining a YA galley group, you can see if there's one in your area.

I worry that the info on this blog is so North America-centric. For example, the princess academy contest, sadly, is only open to US and Canada residents because it's sponsored by Bloomsbury USA and must be for legal reasons. If there are ever contests or news that apply to other areas of the world, I will certainly post them here, too!

What do you think it takes to be a princess?

With the release of the US paperback edition of princess academy, Bloomsbury is sponsoring a contest. See the back pages of the paperback for complete info and rules, but I'll post here the important stuff:

In Princess Academy, the village girls must attend a makeshift mountain academy to prepare themselves for royal life after the priests divine that one of them will become the prince’s bride. At the academy, the would-be princesses learn much about rules, competition, friendship, and loyalty.
Author Shannon Hale was inspired to create seven “How to Be a Princess” tips for her readers:
1. Learn to walk with a boot on your head.
2. Put on your favorite dress.
3. Read books after everyone else has gone
to bed.
4. Memorize the rules.
5. Break the rules.
6. Save your friends from danger.
7. Most importantly, just be a girl!

To enter the contest, create three more tips and tell us why these tips would help you become a better princess (or a better person!). One grand-prize winner and two second-place winners will be selected by Shannon herself. Entries must be 200 words or fewer. The grand-prize winner will receive a phone call from Shannon Hale, signed copies of all of her books, a $50 gift certificate to her/his favorite bookstore, and a sneak peek at Shannon’s next book. Two second-place winners will each receive a signed copy of Princess Academy, a $25 gift certificate to their favorite bookstore, and a sneak peek at Shannon’s next book.

HOW TO ENTER
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Contest begins May 1, 2007, and ends December 31, 2007. Enter by
printing your name, date of birth, parent’s/guardian’s name if under the age of 18, full address, and
phone number on an 81/2 x 11 piece of paper or via e-mail and create three “How to Be a Princess”
tips, then describe in 200 words or fewer why your tips would help you become a better princess or
person. Mail to: Princess Academy Contest, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 104 Fifth Avenue, New
York, NY 10011 or e-mail to [email protected]. Entries must be received by
Bloomsbury (Sponsor) no later than December 31, 2007. Partially completed or illegible entries will
not be accepted. Sponsor will not be responsible for lost, late, mutilated, illegible, stolen, incomplete or misdirected entries, or entries with postage due. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned, so please keep a copy for your records.

Contest is open to legal residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec, Puerto Rico,
Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and where prohibited by law) to persons over eight (8) years of age.

Austenland 411

I just found out that austenland is a Book Sense pick for June! This is a list of recommended titles that the association of independent booksellers put together, and it's just so freakin' cool to make it. I'm bobbing along today, my feet barely scraping ground. And with that news, let me answer some questions about the book I've been getting.

When will it be out?

The end of May or early June in the US and Canada. Sorry to my friends overseas, it hasn't sold UK or world English rights yet!

What's it about?

Jane Hayes is fairly obsessed with Mr. Darcy, particularly as portrayed by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. She goes on a three week vacation to an Austen-themed resort, where she dresses in empire-waist gowns and interacts with a cast of actors. Other women go there to live our their Austen fantasies, but she goes as therapy to get over her obsession. Also, it's funny.

Is this appropriate for kids to read?

I posted my thoughts on that here.

Is this similar to the young adult books you write?

Not really. I mean, it was still me writing it. But I used a different narrator than I use for my Bayern books, it takes place in the real world in the present day, and all the characters are adults. You might want to read the excerpt I have posted to get a sense of it and see if it's for you. Some younger readers or people who aren't Austen fans might not like this book, and I hope you feel fine about that. Not every book is for every reader. I'm very pleased that it's coming out in June because I think of this as a beach read (if you are so lucky) or a backyard read (if your summer plans are more like mine).

Who is your ideal audience for this book?

Me. My friends. And librarians. If I hadn't dedicated this book to Colin Firth (I mean, it was just too good to pass up) I would've dedicated it to librarians. From experience, librarians and I share the good sense to rather admire that Mr. Darcy perhaps just a bit too much.

And here's an interview I did about the book at trashionista.com for their Austen Week.

Reaching for sun power

I get so excited about new breakthroughs in renewable energy (I know, I'm kind of a nerd that way), so I thought this news bit very cool. Basically, converting sunlight into power was only about 8% efficient, but new technology has shot that up to 40%. At that rate, 265 square miles of American southwest desert fitted with solar panels would supply enough to power THE ENTIRE WORLD. There are setbacks to this idea of course (e.g., how to get that power to the entire world, the economic and environmental impacts of this change), but the advances are very exciting. Imagine a world with no more coal plants! Imagine every home with solar panels on the roof supplying energy for the home, no pollutants burning into the atmosphere. It seems like a real possibility in our lifetime. I love it when the present day catches up with my childhood idea of what the future would be like. But as my husband often laments, there still aren't enough household robots doing our bidding.

B1000 on the way

I spent the weekend going over the copy edited pages of book of a thousand days. I enjoy this, reading through the book for the last time, making minute changes to words, responding to the copy editor's queries. I feel an immense relief and satisfaction with the book, knowing that I did the best by the story that I could. I also received an ARC, which means other people will soon be seeing ARCs, and I'll begin to see early reviews. It'll be out in September, I believe. It's crazy and fun to have two books coming out the same year, and two such different books.

Writing continues to go very slowly. But I don't mind a bit. I find a little time each day to work, but mostly I'm just so in love with this baby and this toddler of mine. Maggie is an utter delight and has incredibly kissable cheeks. Max is brilliant and so kind. I guess I'm the luckiest mama in the world.

Antsy time

I don't know if I can describe how magical it is to write a book and have other people like it. Just like everyone in the world, when I was young I thought I was unpopular, awkward, and unloved . I had ideas, I had a concept of myself that was beautiful, but I couldn't express it right. I'd say things I thought were funny, and they'd fall flat. I'd put forward ideas I hoped were brilliant only to learn they were staid and boring. I'd point out marvels I thought were exciting only to find that everyone else had already noticed or else weren't interested. Or so it seemed to me at the time. I think most of us grow up believing we don't have anything interesting to say or any thought really worth sharing. And so to write a book alone, to share it, and then find others love it too is such a profound miracle. And the waiting for the unknown response is often deathly frightening.

I'm thinking about this because I'm feeling nervous and flighty and vulnerable, as I always do before a new book comes out. Will anyone like it besides me? Will I reveal humiliating secrets about myself? Will I tell a joke that falls flat or share an idea that everyone has already thought and discarded? Am I saying anything new or in a new way? Do I have something worth sharing? I never know. I was pleased with austenland when I finished it. And I know that my reaction is all I can count on. So I bite my lip and wait.

Please know that when I write blogs like this, I'm not fishing for compliments or consolation (at least, I certainly hope I'm not). My main purpose with this blog is to reveal one author's thoughts, so hopeful writers and young people can see that a published author is a normal person, often insecure, sometimes boring, just like everyone else. To pretend otherwise would feel dishonest to me.

Try not to be visible

Continuing from the last post, I think the main crime The Higher Power of Lucky commited was to win the Newbery Medal. We don't make a fuss about books that have "questionable content" or books we don't like unless they do well. Could be wrong here, but I doubt anyone would've said boo about this book if it hadn't won such a highly visible award (then again, many wouldn't have read it).

A while back, someone told me, "You used a swear word in Enna Burning."

"I did not!" I said. Then she told me, and she was right. I had completely forgotten, not thinking of that word as a swear word.

Someone else told me, "You had nudity in Goose Girl."

"No way," I said. I was sure about that one.

Then she told me, and she was right.

I would never put something in a book soley with intention to shock. I only want to tell the best story possible using the right words. And sometimes, as it turns out, the right words are "goat bastard." And sometimes, I think the right words include telling a story, as Enna did in goose girl, about women who bared their breasts. I love that story. It's based on a story I found it in Tacitus's history of Germania, and I cannot retell it without crying. I've never thought of it as vulgar. And I've never had any problems, never met with anger or outrage because of those moments, maybe because as you read the book, they don't stick out but feel right to the story. (At least, I hope so.)

But what if...what if goose girl had won a major prize and was under a lot more scrutiny? Would there be people in the book community who would be scandalized? Who would want to protect "the children" from those books? Would enna burning be condemned for that one word? I can't imagine, but then, neither did Susan Patron. Maybe it's fruitless to ask "what if" questions, but it does make me wonder.

I've never thought as I wrote a book, "I can't put that word in or tell that story because people will be offended and won't put my books in school libraries." I don't know that it's possible to anticipate how people will react to anything. All I can do is try to be a genuine person, to live as truly as I know how, and write stories as truly as I know how, making sure my personal integrity and my stories match. How readers may respond is out of my hands. An author can't control a reader's reaction. Thank goodness. That would take all the fun out of reading.