Author Interview – Alyson Noel
May 29, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives
Cruel Summer – One summer changes everything in this poignant young adult novel about best friends, popularity, and an unforgettable summer romance.
Alyson Noël is the award winning author of the teen novels, Faking 19; Art Geeks And Prom Queens, Laguna Cove; Kiss & Blog; Saving Zoe, Cruel Summer (May 2008), Evermore (Paranormal, 2009), as well as a contributor to the anthology, First Kiss (Then Tell). Her books have been chosen for the New York Library Association’s “Book of Winter 2006 award,†the New York Public Library’s prestigious “Books for the Teen Age†catalog, nominated for YALSA’s “Teens Top Ten award,†selected for Teen Reads “Best Books of 2007†list, finalist for the National Reader’s Choice Award, chosen as a “Favorite Read†for Canada’s largest book retailer, Indigo/Coles, and selected for the CBS Early Show’s “Give the Gift of Reading†segment. Her debut adult novel, Fly Me To The Moon, based on her adventures as a flight attendant, received four stars from Romantic Times, and is being translated into French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
You can visit her at: http://www.alysonnoel.com/
My debut novel, FAKING 19, was a very personal story that I’d been writing in my head for years, until I finally sat down and got it on paper. And the funny thing was, I was so green at the time, knew nothing about publishing, and wasn’t a member of RWA or any other writing organization, that it wasn’t until I’d signed with an agent and we talked about selling it that I realized I’d written a young adult novel! I didn’t write it with a genre in mind, it was always about the story. But I realized I really liked writing for teens, and when St. Martin’s offered me a two-book deal; I’d already started writing ART GEEKS AND PROM QUEENS so I sold them that too!
I’m not all that familiar with the YA genre. How do you decide what ages to write to?
YA generally covers ages 12 and up. Though since kids often read “up†there’s no real distinction between books for younger and older readers. When I’m working on a book, I don’t think about the age group I’m writing for, I’m more concerned with telling the truth of that particular story, whatever it may call for.
Do you have children? Where do you get your vernacular and the latest trends?
Don’t have kids, though I have plenty of wonderful nieces and nephews who serve as great research tools! But mostly, I just never grew up. Despite all outward appearances, inside, I’m still an adolescent a good deal of the time- so writing in a teen voice comes naturally!
What challenges to you find inherent to this genre?
Staying true to the story. Overcoming the urge to protect my readers by portraying the world in a way that I wish it was, rather than the way it really is. The books I got the most out of as a teen where the ones I could relate to, so I always try to write relatable stories too.
Is YA a crowded genre? Do you think it’s harder or easier to get published in this category?
It’s a very crowded genre and getting more crowded by the day! Though it’s definitely not easier to get published in. I think there’s a common misconception that if you’re writing for kids and teens it must be easier. But there’s a real challenge in writing stories that keep their interest while keeping the characters real.
Do you have an agent, or did you go directly to small publishers?
I signed with an agent, who sold FAKING 19 to St. Martin’s Press in a two-book deal. Then later, I switched agents, and have since sold seven more books to St. Martin’s, as well as a story in an anthology for Bloomsbury, FIRST KISS (THEN TELL).
Wow, YA, Autobiographical and now paranormal – you sure are eclectic! Have you found it to be easier to get published as an established author even though you’re breaking into new genres?
Well, like a lot of writers, all of my books contain pieces of my life even though the stories themselves remain fiction. So I guess there’s always a slight autobiographical element no matter what genre I write in. Though the paranormal book, EVERMORE, just sort of happened. I’ve been interested in any thing to do with psychics and ghosts since I was a kid, so it’s kind of funny that it took me so long to write about it! But I’m so glad I did because the research has been a blast! I’ve taken classes with the world famous psychic/medium James Van Praagh, and underwent a past life regression with Dr. Brian Weis—both of which proved to be very interesting! But since all of my books (other than the anthology) are with St. Martin’s Press, I’m not sure if it’s easier or harder to break into new genres. I have a good working relationship with them so I just tell them what I’m interested in writing, and hope the say Yes!
Where do you go for inspiration?
Neophite Adventures by Laura Drake
May 28, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category ArchivesInspiration has been elusive lately. I haven’t been able to come up with a label for this blog, let alone finish the chapter I’ve been chipping out of stone the past couple of weeks. For me, creativity is sparked by being outdoors, and with the Holiday weekend approaching, a road trip was in order! For Gary and I, that’s motorcycle camping somewhere I can fly fish and he can bicycle his guts out.
We had reservations at Silver Lake (in the Sierras above Mammoth) but as of Thursday morning they had two inches of snow on the ground. Brrrr. I quickly reconnoitered, and was lucky – I got reservations in Kernville (in the mountains outside Bakersfield) at our favorite campground on the Kern River.
We left Friday to sprinkles and stop ‘n go traffic through L.A., which graduated to a full-blown rainstorm at the Grapevine. Pelting rain and 42 degrees. We passed a wreck; a car had rolled, helicopter hovered, emergency vehicles flashing warnings to traffic.
Down the hill it was sunny and 72 degrees, and I looked back at the Mordor-like clouds sheeting rain – beautiful. We rode an empty two lane happily through fields of grapes, alfalfa and groves of nut trees. Odd clouds ahead though, with a tan horizon. The wind picked up as we rode into a sandstorm! Gary’s from West Texas, and has told me of them, but I never would have dreamed I’d see one in California.
Everything wet became mud, and my bright yellow motorcycle no longer was. I sit writing this in “Cheryl’s Diner†Saturday morning drinking coffee, my point to this blog obscured by tangents. Then again, maybe not.
Inspiration has returned, like the signs of spring I see all around me. Starved for it? Here’s a suggestion, go to www.smithmag.net/sixwords. They have a challenge; describe your life in 6 words or less. Sounds impossible, but once you get started, it’s like writing odd poetry. The introspection tapped me directly in to my muse, and I created of a couple while riding in the rain. The title to this blog isn’t just about writing…you’ve heard the term ‘old soul’? That’s not me. It may not be my first time, but you can still see the creases from the wrapper.
I think I can, I think…
Mistakes; life in disguise.
I learn slowly, remember long.
Hawk heart, unfortunately same size brain.
End comes, I go. Smiling.
Give it a shot – you may not need an adventure to find inspiration!
A Fantasy Life
May 27, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category A Fantasy Life by Janet Cornelow tagged as Janet Cornelow, Janet Quinn
by Janet Quinn Cornelow
Rayna was the first character in the Augeas series. She had been sitting on the front porch with Grandmother for several years before I figured out who she was and where she belonged. There are now six Augeas stories and more in the works. Unfortunately, I write faster than my artist draws so my picture collection is behind.
Art work by Jasmine Tanner – http://veildandy.deviantart.com
Guest Post: What’s love got to do with it?
May 24, 2008 by Marianne H. Donley in category Archives tagged as HarlequinIsabel Swift, Editor Emeritus, Harlequin
http://isabelswift.blogspot.com/
When I was an acquiring editor for series romances at Silhouette , I was always surprised at encounters with writers when they’d announce they’d sold a project I’d turned down with a tone of glee at having proved me wrong. I think I startled them by my enthusiastic congratulations!
So if an editor’s role isn’t delighting in crushing dreams and chagrin at having let a good one get away, what is it?
My goal as a series editor was to find content —stories that I believed would appeal to the audience I was acquiring for. Not what I personally liked or disliked, but work I thought would deliver a satisfying experience to the readership.
It is also helpful to like the work, because tapping into your emotional response can be part of your assessment tools as an editor. If you don’t personally enjoy the work, you have to rely more on the intellectual aspect of your editorial judgment.
But the elements you need to remember in your assessment are:
1. What is the story trying to achieve/deliver?
2. Does it work—and do I, as a reader, care?
3. Who is your reader?
4. Do you think this story will deliver satisfaction to them?
Not necessarily in that order. And while series is a unique and remarkable animal in the publishing menagerie, I think most of these points are relevant for editors in general.
My job meant I needed to pay attention to my readers—to hear when she said, but especially observe what she did (often two very different things). Our reader—the marketplace—is a constantly moving target. Just as most series authors started as or became readers, the same goes for editors. It’s easier if you have an understanding of trends and can respond with a gut feel. But as an editor, you have to respond with your head as well as your heart.
Some situations—a new direction or line launch, the strength and skill of an author, a marketplace or demographic trend, single titles to a varying degree—can offer more scope for experimentation. Especially in series, though elsewhere as well, a reader can be surprised, amazed, intrigued…but must not be disappointed. Not in terms of delivering on the promise—overtly made or subtly implied—in the distribution, choice of format, packaging, promotion, past experience with the author.
While series is often seen as more limited in scope than a stand-alone single title, authors have experimented with remarkable things—aliens, paranormal, magic, the list could go on—and remained commercially viable. Incorporating elements that a single title author might find hard to include without being established—and willing to risk a drop in sales if the experiment doesn’t work.
As readers, we all bring expectations to opening a book. My goal as an editor was to ensure the story I acquired would deliver on those expectations.
And just getting to that final reader means being able to clear a number of gates and gatekeepers. An acquiring editor usually needs to convince other editors of the strength of the story and have them share the positive assessment. If it’s a significant acquisition, she may need to get other departments on board—sales, marketing, art, publicity—as they will need to be committed to developing the convincing selling package and story to take the material to market. Now the book advocate team will need to collectively convince the sales force that they have the “weapons†they need to convince the booksellers and distributors in turn that they should take the title.
The editor is only the first of a long series of people that must be convinced to take a chance on the title, spending time and money and rack space to make it available to a reader.
Harlequin and Silhouette series romances are amazing because they are not sold in individually but as a series, thus allowing a remarkable opportunity for writers to find their voice—within series parameters—to experiment, to understand what is working/not working with the readership without the pressure to succeed and grow on every title that faces every stand-alone single title. Series can allow writers to perfect their craft—and one of the key and universal elements of storytelling: to create characters we care about.
And in response to that cranky turned-down-now-acquired author, sometimes an editor is wrong in her assessment. Their assumptions about an audience’s interest can be off, and the market turns out to be much broader than past experience would indicate. But also the project may just not be right for the readership that editor is acquiring for, like a strong, but mis-cast actor.
True, you can occasionally edit a square peg into a round hole. But it’s better for that peg to find a square hole. An editor’s role is juggling all this and more.
But there is always the love of storytelling that drives us—of finding a great story and working to make sure it will reach an appreciative audience. I’m delighted when a story finds the right home—with any of the many Harlequin imprints , or somewhere else.
I love when that happens!
Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author
May 22, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author, Ann Carberry, Kathleen Kane, Maureen Child, Sarah Hartby Shauna Roberts
http://ShaunaRoberts.blogspot.com
Today’s Guest: Maureen Child
Maureen Child is the author of more than ninety romance novels and novellas and has been nominated for a Rita five times, including in 2008 for Christmas Cravings (Silhouette Nocturne). More Than Fiends (NAL) is a Bookseller’s Best Finalist and a National Reader’s Choice Award finalist.
Silhouette Desire recently released three books in Maureen’s “Kings of California†series about millionaire brothers: Falling for King’s Fortune (May), Marrying for King’s Millions (April), and Bargaining for King’s Baby (March).
Maureen, if you could travel back in time to before you were first published, what advice would you give yourself?
When I was a newbie, I was ready, willing, and eager to hear advice. All advice. Not to say I always took that advice, but I did listen.
I remember watching the published members of OCC heading off to their PAW meeting every month and wanting to be a part of that crowd so badly I could taste it. I thought if I could just be published, everything would fall into place. Then one of our members, Rita Rainville, gave me some advice. She said, “Being published doesn’t mean your problems go away—it just means you have different problems.â€
True, but even back then, I remember thinking—I’d rather have those problems, thanks!
So, if I could reach back in time to my newbie self, I’d tell me to listen up and make notes!
1. Ask questions. Don’t pretend you already know all the answers. Don’t make decisions when you don’t have all the information. Don’t assume your agent is going to make the right choice for you. Ask.
2. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Yes, you have to write to the market if you want to be published, but just because you’ve written ten Westerns doesn’t mean you can’t try a Regency or a contemporary. If your current house isn’t interested, look around. Try another publishing house. No one says you can only write for one house.
3. Know when to pack up and move on. This goes for agents as well as publishing houses. Fear is a big factor in the writing world. And we all get comfortable and sometimes stay too long at the party because the unknown is just terrifying. We’re sure that the agent or editor is going to come through for us if we just wait long enough. Sometimes they do. But sometimes, it won’t get better until you find the courage to step out of the comfort zone.
4. Be dependable. If an editor knows she can count on you to come through for her, she’s going to be more willing to work with you. Trust me on this. Editors have to deal with hundreds of people. If she’s got the choice between working with a flake who consistently lets her down while playing the diva or working with a professional writer who always makes her deadline . . . well, whom would you rather work with?
5. Find friends you can count on. When the writing world gets ugly—and believe me, it does, regularly—you’re going to need a few close friends to pull you through. Be loyal. Don’t tell tales. Celebrate their successes and let them celebrate yours. Sometimes the only thing that holds you together is the voice on the other end of the phone. Treasure your friends. You’re going to need them. Life’s too short for competition. The only writer you’re really up against is yourself.
6. Keep reading. So many times, you get sucked into your own fictional world that you forget other writers are out there, making up fabulous stories. Reading those books is what brought you to this place, remember? Don’t lose the joy of reading.
7. Don’t be afraid to say no. Looking back, there were plenty of times I zigged when I should have zagged. We all make the best decisions we can at the time, but try to slow down. To look at the offer from all sides. Make sure it’s going to be the road you want your career to take.
8. Rejection isn’t permanent. My first book, a Western historical, was rejected all over New York City for a solid year. Everyone loved it, but no one had room for it. On the second round of submissions, the first house that had rejected it before made an offer, and I hadn’t changed a thing. Different editor, different day, different outcome.
9. Get out from behind the computer! I don’t care what you do. Go to the mall, the movies, the beach, the mountains. Sit in the backyard and laugh at the neighbors. But don’t lose touch with the life you’re writing about. If you never see beyond your computer screen, your stories are soon going to sound just as flat as that screen.
10. Give every book you write everything you’ve got. I work as hard now on book number 102 as I did on book number 1. I still worry about getting it ‘right,’ whatever that is.
Trust yourself and never give up. For all the ups and downs, writing is the best job in the world, and you’re a lucky newbie to be heading down this road.
✥✥✥✥✥
To learn more about Maureen, please visit her Website at http://www.MaureenChild.com or her blog at http://MaureenChild.blogspot.com. Her newest book, Falling for King’s Fortune, is available at all major bookstores and can be ordered online from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
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