squeetus

The Secret (that there is none)

Nathan Hale's Yellowbelly is interviewing Dean (love of my life, apple of my eye) this week. Check it out--special Halloween episode!

We're working hard to finish up Stage 1 of Der Secret Project before November. It takes up a lot of my life these past months. Soon I will have much to report! 

The conversation with Sara Zarr at the library was fun. When we asked how many people there wanted to be a writer, almost all the hands went up. So we talked a lot about process. Then Sara said something I've often observed myself. She said that during the years she was writing books before publication, she often went to author events, always hoping for that Secret. How to write a book. How to finish it. How to make it perfect, publishable. And she's since learned that there is no secret.

I remember feeling that way. And I often meet hopeful writers who seem to want the same from me. "But how do you do it?"

I don't know. I can talk about my process, but of course, all processes are different. I can explain how I motivate myself, but every writer is different. And I think the unhelpful conclusion is, How I do it is I just do it. I just write the darn book.

I wonder if it would shock some people if I revealed how often I consider quitting writing. (Daily? Honey, would you agree that it's a daily consideration?) It's HARD. It comes with a lot of bumps and bruises and moments of crisis, and sometimes I just want to be the mom who reads and watches TV and makes Halloween costumes. I can't, of course. I can't quit, any more than I can quit being me. But I don't have any secret about how to keep going anyway. How to write that book, how to get it published, how to keep going when the nasty voices start shouting you down or when the books don't sell or when life gets sticky and it seems impossible.

I just do it anyway. And I still read daily (though not as much as I'd like). And a couple days a week I still watch TV (Community is funny). And Dean makes Max's costume while Maggie and I do a puzzle. And while I'm doing the puzzle I'm thinking two things: 1. Maggie is unbelievabely cute, and 2. That one scene in the book I'm writing isn't working. I wonder how I can fix it...

Squeetus exclusive: Sara Zarr

Today I'm proud to host fellow Utah writer Sara Zarr! Sara's writing career got off with a bang when her first novel, Story of a Girl, was a finalist for the National Book Award. She followed that with the award-winning Sweethearts. Her latest is Once Was Lost. Sara and I will be "interviewing each other" (yeah, we're a little unsure how that works too) this Saturday, Oct. 24, from 4:30-5:30 at the main branch of the Salt Lake City library. It's part of the Utah Humanities Book Festival. As she's busy with the new book, I'm keeping her interview short and sweet.

SH: Sam's story parallels the abduction of a girl from her congregation. Without revealing any spoilers (of course) I'm curious about the ending. Had you always intended that ending?

SZ: I went back and forth on the ending for awhile. I had to think a lot about what this character needed, and also think a lot about my idea of "realistic" since I always write realistic fiction. Some stuff happened in real life that helped me know for sure how I would end the book.

SH: There is very little religion in novels, especially YA novels it seems, unless the religious leaders are evil. I love your straight approach. As a Christian and the daughter of a pastor, religion is a central part of Sam's life and you deal with her fears and hopes and doubts honestly. Do you find in general that people are uncomfortable with this topic or have been welcoming?

SZ: Since I almost completely avoid reading reviews on Amazon, GoodReads, Shelfari, and most blogs, I really have no idea what kind of conversation may be going on about that. I like to stay out of it unless asked. I'm sure it makes some people uncomfortable, and I get that. There are plenty of other books (most of them) that never make the merest mention, so the uncomfortable people will still have stories to read. I wanted to write a book for everyone else---something that hadn't yet been done (as far as I knew/know) about a character with a sincere faith, that was not a religious/Christian marketplace book and also not a total loss of faith/cult book. I didn't want to write a testimony or anything with answers---just one teen character's first dark night of the soul. As a reader, I enjoy reading about people like me and I also enjoy reading about people different than me. I hope this book finds an audience on both sides of that equation.

SH: If you were to, say, have me over for dinner, what would you cook for me? What sort of entertainment would you provide? And are you free next weekend?

SZ: I would make you a casserole, Shannon, because when I think of you I think of home and hearth and pie. I'd get my husband to play piano for you while I flambed the Baked Alaska. Sadly, I'm not free for...a while.

OH! Taunted me with casserole and Baked Alaska and live music, but in the end--DENIED. It's official, Sara Zarr is ruthless! Fortunately, she's also an extremely fine writer. We're gonna rock the festival on Saturday.

Typing as I run out the door...

I'll be on VoiceAmerica radio program Thursday. You can see the website for details. The program's theme is Strong Women Characters and the other guests are Meg Cabot, Kristin Cashore, and Diane Gabaldon. Meg has a great post about it--love her. And I agree that the host, Matthew Peterson, was super great.

Also, I've neglected to say that book of a thousand days is now out in paperback! (and has been for a  month...sorry) 

Three more weeks (I think) till I can reveal my super secret project...

Seeking a good home: Books

So, we've kind of got this recession going on, and I don't know anyone who hasn't felt it, but add the book business to the list of those treading water. As this industry is obviously close to my heart, I'd like to make a plea--buy books. Please buy books. I don't mean mine, just any. If you aren't already, consider becoming that person who only gives books as gifts. Birthdays, holidays, whatever.

As December approaches, fill up your shopping list with books. And consider buying those at your local bookstore. Bookstores are going out of business, and we can't have that. For those of you who are hoping to be published writers one day, you especially have an interest in keeping bookstores alive. Without them, debut writers get lost. Without booksellers who hand sell, readers won't discover unknown authors. And without a book industry, known and unknown writers alike get lost.

Buy books. And God bless us, every one.

p.s. If after buying all those books, you have another $88 dollars to spare, 88 Bikes is one of our family's favorite new traditions for the holidays.

A little bit of kindness

Friends of Lulu nominated rapunzel's revenge for two awards! There's online voting, if you go for that sort of thing.

I'll be attending the Costume Ball charity event for the South Jordan Community Theatre on Friday. This is a ticketed event to raise money for our local community theater. Tickets are still available, and there will be an auction, including (embarrassingly enough) lunch with...me. Yup. This was not my idea, obviously. There is no good outcome for me. Either it will be embarrassing when nobody bids, or it will be so uncomfortable if someone pays a lot for it and I know I can't possibly be entertaining enough to be worth that amount. So...what the hey, it's for a good cause. And I always say that one of the best exercises for becoming a professional writer is to expose yourself to public humiliation.

So after I lamented my lack of photos at the National Book Festival, kind reader Meredith emailed me some and then gave me her lovely sum-up of the event. With her permission, I'll quote parts:

"I laughed so hard at the Exquisite Corpse reading.  You were all so wonderful and funny-- it was one of the best talks I went to all day.  Was it the interaction between all of the authors on the stage?  Was it because you were all as sleep deprived and caffeine hyped as I was?  Or did you seem so funny because I was so sleep deprived and hyped on caffeine?  Or was it just the surreal wonderfulness of being surrounded by hundreds of people who loved books enough to brave the weather and connect with authors and other readers?  There was a very special energy in the air that day.  It seemed like the wonder had been awoken in everyone I looked at-- we were all looking around ourselves, a little amazed.  And once people started talking to other people there, sparks of static electricity bounced from tongues and minds.  The little zings connected us.  Maybe because in one way or another, every person there had been saved by books, the way Kate DiCamillo said that the library saved her.  The importance of stories lies in that desperate and beautiful rescue.  They restore us not just to safety, but to a place more wonderful than that."

Here's Megan McDonald, Steven Kellogg, Nikki Grimes, Kate DiCamillo, me, and Jon Scieska. I could not stop laughing between Jon and Kate there. And Megan, Steven, and Nikki were just as sweet and cool as you could want them to be.

By the way, Episdoes 1 & 2 are now up at read.gov. A new episode goes up every two weeks. Katherine Patterson is the latest. (The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is supported by the Library of Congress and the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance and will feature the collaborative work 14 writers and 3 illustrators, including yours truly.)

Here's some more from Meredith:

"When I got in line to get my books signed, I loved how the people in line around me all became a sort of Sisterhood Of Shannon Hale Book Lovers over the hour or so that we stood waiting.  Age mattered not-- we were students, teachers, librarians, booksellers and moms all talking on exactly the same level.  I listened to a snowy-haired librarian soberly discussing what kind of a person a princess should be with thirteen-year-old girl she had met five minutes before.  They had very interesting and earnest ideas on the subject.  The members of our Sisterhood could be identified by the fact that they laughed and gushed, traded book recommendations and directions on how to get out of the city at the end of the day, discussed favorite books and most-loved characters, took pictures for each other, and carried bags and books for each other.  I used to run the Children's department at Barnes & Noble, and I'm used to being considered just a bit precious by my coworkers for making Kids Lit my field.  I wasn't precious in your line.  I was perfectly normal.  I loved every moment of it.

"There is something very special about book lovers who get together for an event such as that, but I think that there is something particularly special about people who love Children's books.  Some of the lines for other, "adult" authors seem to me competitive-- people defended their places in line and were jealous of how many books they could get signed, etc.  It wasn't that way at all in the Shannon Hale line.  We were all instantly friends, and friends don't quibble about places in line.  As a matter of fact, the little knot of de facto friends I was with encouraged a girl to dash off to the Jodi Picolt line just one over just as that line dwindled to its end so that she could get a book signed.  We cheered when the line managers let her get in line, and we not only held her place in the Shannon Hale line, but I think we held about half of her other books, as well.  The Shannon Hale line manager was amazed by us."

This is just so sweet. I've found it to be true as well that people who love children's books experience a kind of team loyalty. And nothing I find more flattering and honoring than to hear that people who like my books tend to be kind. Hooray indeed.

Girls, books, and cribless nights

I returned from tour Saturday and thanks to my generous husband fell into a nap, followed by an all-day stupor. Sunday I went to bed early and slept straight for 10 hours. It's Wednesday and I still haven't unpacked. I don't know where my make-up is. I can't seem to get a grip on the routine again. Vacations are often like this, but book tour is especially exhausting. So good, but draining too. I've been contemplating why this is. There are some obvious reasons, like 5 hotels in 9 days, getting up at 7 am and returning to the hotel at 11 pm, driving through eight states, not to mention traveling with a two-year-old! But it's more than that.

I'm not a very good saleswoman. I don't like "touting my wares," and I'm bad at it. So I don't try. I've gotten a little better than the first few years, when I wouldn't even mention my books when I gave talks. I've learned that people usually want to hear about them a little. But when I go to an author event, I don't want to hear someone read from their book. I want them. I want to feel like I know them, have a personal interaction, hear stories that make me laugh or think. So when I do events, I try to do that, give my energy to every person I meet. When I do one book event at home, by the time I'm done, I want to curl up and go to sleep. On tour, I usually do 3 per day. Somehow I keep going and going, but when I can, I crash. I still feel crashed now.

I often hesitate writing things like this, because I know it can sound complainy, and I don't mean that at all. I am so honored to get to tour, to have a publisher willing to invest in me, to get to go to these amazing bookstores and schools and libraries and meet readers (and potential readers!). But this blog is for honesty, and you should know, book tour is not glamorous.

Since I brought my two-year-old (out of necessity), I also brought my awesome neighborhood babysitter Kayla, age 15, whose amazing parents let her come along and miss school. Poor Kayla. I think she found firsthand that book tour isn't as glamorous as it might sound. She was so WONDERFUL! And kept Maggie in truly blessed spirits.

I need to finish my tour account! I'm sorry I don't have better photos. I hauled my huge ol' deluxe camera along and it stopped working, so I just managed to snap a few lame-o cell phone shots, and I kept forgetting to use it. So bummed I didn't get a photo with the Exquisite Corpse team. They were all so great. How fun is it to love Kate DiCamillo's books all this time and then discover that she is just as fabulous in person?

Wellesley Booksmith (MA) took me to this amazing all girl private school, grades 6-12, the older girls having the option to board. An idea that intrigues me to no end. A boarding school! How story-worthy! Awesome girls. I have noticed that girls at all-girl schools tend to be more confident in speaking out, asking and answering questions. What do boys do to us? Here's a photo of a display the bookstore had up. My publisher made these amazing pamplets about my books with a q&a and such, but they freak me out. They have my huge photo on the front! I had to get a picture because I find it so bizarre.

That evening I did a chat for Wellesley at the library. I met so many memorable readers but got a photo of this family. Awesome mom brought her five kids. The youngest (I wrote down their names somewhere so I wouldn't forget...then I forgot where I put it) rushed me and said, "I'm such a huge fan!" He was like one foot tall and had more energy and spunk that ten adults on their best day. His eight-year-old sister was equally zealous. She has read goose girl and princess academy 30 times each. This is what I'm talking about, people! How can you not love these kids! Even the toddler was chewing on books. Praise the mom.

Here's a photo of two lovely girls I met at the National Book Festival who came back for seconds in Boston! Lovely gals.

Moving on to Hartford, CT, I attended the NECBA dinner (New England Children's Booksellers Assoc). I love speaking to booksellers. Great senses of humor, great passion. I got to present with the likes of Shaun Tan (who I admire so much) and Mo Willems (who inspires me to do prat falls). I don't have any photos of this! I got to meet Mo's daughter Trixie again in DC. Cutie. Her mom told me she's read rapunzel's revenge about 75 times. (Mo said "80 cachillion.") Clearly a child with discerning taste! The next morning we took Maggie to Hartford's Science Museum, which is awesome.

On to Madison and the fabulous RJ Julia. I don't get to see many sights on tour, but I get to know bookstores, and such a great way to travel. R.J. Julia is a beautiful store where you just want to spend hours and hours. We drove to NYC that night and stayed at a JFK hotel before flying out the next morning. They were out of cribs so I had to put Maggie in a cot. Um...it went okay...you know, night crying, trying to keep her in bed and out of the bathroom, waking up to hear a thump on the floor and a cry of pain and bewilderment. But home again now! And she's safely back in her nighttime barred prison.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and all the wonderful bookstores. I'll be back on the road again in November, to Balitmore, DC, and Philidelphia. See you then! (and now back to working on my secret project...ooh, I am such a tease! I can reveal by the end of the month, I think.)