Teen Writers Bloc

When I saw the cover for my first novel, Wuftoom, I immediately fell in love. I had to find out who was responsible for this piece of art that represents my book so perfectly. Recently, I was fortunate enough to get in touch with Neil Swaab, and he graciously agreed to answer a few questions about his creative process. Thank you, Neil!

1. Tell us a little bit about your background. How did you begin doing book covers?

I graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in Illustration. Immediately after, I started illustrating for newspapers and magazines as well as working at HarperCollins as a fulltime book designer, where I got the opportunity to create and art direct many jackets for children’s books and young adult books. Since then, I’ve gone freelance where I act as an illustrator and/or art director for a variety of projects in the publishing and media sphere.

2. As a group of new authors, we’re dying to know how the process of creating a cover works. First of all, do you read the book?

Of course! Not all designers do, but I try to read every book I’m assigned. It’s just so much more helpful. Sometimes, though, the book may not even be written yet when we have to make a cover, so we’ll just have to work off of a synopsis. On the few occasions that I’m just too busy to read an entire manuscript, I’ll at least read several chapters to get a feel for the tone.

Cover creation is a long and drawn out process and my work on it depends on what my role is. If I’m just illustrating, it’s far less work than if I’m art directing, which is far less work than if I’m art directing AND illustrating, which I’ll do from time to time. As an art director, I’ll read the book, talk with the editors about initial things we feel are important to convey on the cover, and then go off on my own for a week or two and mock up concepts and ideas and include any relevant artist or photographer samples. We’ll then try to get everyone onboard in-house and then the author as well. Once that’s all set, we’ll commission the illustration or photography and start designing.

In the case of your book, I was just an illustrator. I was contacted by the art director to create the cover image based on the work in my portfolio that she was responding to. After reading the manuscript, I went to work sketching out various concepts and mocking them up in a way that would show what I was getting at. The art director picked one of the concepts and, with some slight tweaking based on her feedback, I went and created the final art.

3. How much instruction does the publisher typically give you? Do you have free reign to create a cover that fits your interpretation of the story?

It really depends. Some publishers have no idea what they want and give you free reign while others may have an extremely narrow focus. The more freedom, usually the more fun the project will be. In general, though, publishers will have a particular audience they’re trying to reach and will want the book to be compared to others in the market and that may influence a lot of choices like whether to use photography or an illustration, for instance.

For your book, I’m sure the art director had a lot of those conversations before I came on board. When I was commissioned, I was told very specifically, that they wanted the silhouette style of art I had in my portfolio and that the book was a Kafka-esque middle grade story about a boy who turns into a worm-like creature. Other than that, I wasn’t given any other direction, which is actually pretty rare. More often than not, they’ll tell you exactly what they want on the cover. So, for this book, I just went off on my own and let my imagination work.

4. What medium or computer program do you work in?

Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are my main tools. I also combine those programs with a lot of hand-drawing. For your cover, I drew the entire thing by hand in pen and ink and then scanned it, imported it into Photoshop and then arranged it and added flourishes and textures.

5. Do you typically work alone, or in collaboration with an employee or partner?

I work alone. I share a studio, though, with three other illustrators and always have them to turn to if I need another set of eyes. Sometimes, I even work at the publisher’s office when I’m doing a long-term gig.

6. How long does it typically take you to create a cover?

It really depends. Every cover is different and has its own unique set of challenges. Your cover actually went very easily and only took a week and a half from beginning to end. Most covers, though, tend to live with you for months as you’re going through rounds of sketches, approvals, tweaks, final art, and revisions.

7. For Wuftoom, was the final cover the first idea you came up with?

It wasn’t the first idea, but was in the round of initial concepts I sent off to the art director.

8. Can you share some of your other ideas?

Sure! I’ve attached some in the email. These are all rough mockups of concepts that I would take further based off of the art director’s reaction. [At left, see the final cover and a few of Neil's mockups!]

9. Why did you choose this particular idea to run with? Did you consult with the publisher during this process?

That part of the process is all up to the art director, the publisher, and the sales staff. They let me know which one they responded to best.

10. What other book covers have you done recently?

I just finished up illustrating the cover to Paolo Bacigalupi’s novel THE DROWNED CITIES, a few Lois Duncan novels, and art directed and designed a children’s book by Karma Wilson and Jim McMulllan called HORSEPLAY! (none of those are on sale yet). I’m currently doing some illustration cover concepting work on a middle grade James Patterson book.

11. Aside from book covers, what other projects are you known for? Where else can we find your work?

I animated the first season of the show SUPERJAIL! on Adult Swim and the pilot of UGLY AMERICANS on Comedy Central; I do a weekly alternative comic strip called REHABILITATING MR. WIGGLES that runs in a bunch of newspapers and magazines around the world; and I contribute illustrations for various clients when the opportunity arises. You can see my work at neilswaab.com and my weekly comics at mrwiggleslovesyou.com.

Neil Swaab is a freelance illustrator, art director, cartoonist, animator, writer, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. As an illustrator, Neil’s work has graced the covers and interiors of magazines, CD’s, newspapers, and books for clients throughout the world including The NY Times, The Utne Reader, The Village Voice, and Little, Brown. As an art director, Neil worked for years at HarperCollins Publishers where he oversaw the design of many bestselling children’s books and young adult novels for Laura Geringer Books and Joanna Cotler Books and continues to freelance art direct for them and other book clients on a regular basis. As a cartoonist, his weekly alternative comic strip, Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles, has been published in newspapers in over six countries and has been collected into books in America, Russia, and Italy. As an animator, Neil served as a character layout artist on the shows Superjail! for Adult Swim and Ugly Americans for Comedy Central where he created and drew many characters and key frame poses for the first season and pilot respectively. Additionally, as a writer, Neil’s first screenplay, Eddie Fantastic!, was a finalist for the prestigious Nicholl Fellowhsip and he’s currently hard at work on its follow-up. Finally, Neil is an adjunct professor at Parsons The New School For Design, where he teaches in the illustration program. Neil’s work has been recognized by The Society of Illustrators, Print Magazine, Communication Arts, American Illustration, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

All images © Neil Swaab

Popularity: 18%

When I was living in Paris, I got in contact with the Parisian chapter of SCBWI and found a group of like-minded, English-speaking writers who lived in the city. We started meeting in cafes to write and discuss our various projects, and I had the pleasure of reading chapters from what was a novel — or traditional book — by Sarah Towle, the developer of an innovative and creative app called Time Traveler Tours, a journey through Paris and back to the heart of the French Revolution with murderess Charlotte Corday.

It’s been fun to see how the pages I fell in love with have transformed into an accessible and fun application. Charlotte’s story comes to life via the app and Sarah broadened the way to tell a story. We caught up with Sarah about this endeavor and how she took a story for children and merged it with digital media.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself (bio) and how you became a writer and developer of this special app? What did you do before you “officially” became a writer? Do you write/create full-time now?

Once upon a time, right out of college, I worked at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in the development office. Those were fun years. I learned a lot and met a lot of very talented people and experienced a lot of great performance art for free! But the summer I took an extended holiday to Central America there was no turning back. I was bitten by wanderlust and smitten with the experience of learning and communicating in a language other than my native tongue. I decided to get my Masters in Linguistics and use it to work my way around the world. And that’s what I did for the next 15 years. In 2004 I landed in Paris with my husband and 8-year-old daughter after living in Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, China, Hong Kong and New York. But in Paris, I was the trailing spouse and the French government wouldn’t grant me the right to work. So I took up language study and writing full time. I had been chewing on an idea to create a travel guide for youth that would bring history and culture to life through story. This was my chance.

2. Can you tell us exactly how TIME TRAVELER TOURS works?

Each tour is a journey back in time to a specific historical era in the company of a character who lived at that time and whose actions helped shape that time. As my narrators spin their personal yarns, taking you to the museums and monuments of relevance along the way, the story of their age is also revealed, but from the storyteller’s (not historian’s) point of view. Woven through each story are hunts for historical treasure, trivia challenges and orientation games, making them fun and highly interactive. This is now possible thanks to digital mobile formats, which allow us to combine audio with visual and gaming elements. History through story – enhanced by archival images, treasure hunts and other context-driven games – in the palm of your hand. I call it a new generation of travel guide for the next generation of traveler.

3. How did you come up with the concept for the interactive application? Can you talk a bit about your process, from conception to the launch?

It happened sort of by accident, to be honest. The project, in its original conception, was to be a book, actually a series of booklets, what the French pochettes, small enough to fit in a daypack or pocket. They would be sold separately or in groups of three and if you wanted all 12 tours, spanning the Roman era to the period between the two World Wars, they would sell together in a decorated box no bigger than a traditional guidebook. But just as I began the query process of finding an agent to editor, the global economy crumbled and the publishing industry as we knew it was turned on its head by advancements in digital technology. Though many industry professionals loved the concept and admired the execution, they did not want to take a risk with a project that didn’t have one obvious place on a bookstore shelf in such an unstable environment.

Buoyed by their positive responses, I thought about self-publishing. But I wanted to test it first. I chose one among the three sample chapters, took some time to learn graphic layout and set up Beware Madame la Guillotine: A Journey to the French Revolution with Charlotte Corday, Murderess as an A5 book. I then organized a group of 48 13 -14 year olds – 8th graders from the International School of Paris – to pilot the tour. (They were studying the Revolution at that time, so their teacher was happy to complement her classroom curricula and the kids were happy to have a learning day outside school.) Through a follow up questionnaire and focus group I learned that students and teachers alike appreciated learning history through story; they loved Charlotte and found the interactive elements and optional sidebars both enjoyable and educative. But they didn’t like having to stop at each location in the itinerary to read aloud. It bogged the story down. It was “too much like school”.

That was just about the time, spring of 2009, that I got my hands on an iPhone for the first time.

“Do you think it would make a good app?” I asked the kids. Their answer was unanimous: “Yes!”

So that’s how the idea to publish the project as an app was born. And that’s when I first understood that some projects lend themselves better to print, while others may be better as digital products.

4. What’s your writing process? What does a typical writing day look like? Where/when do you write? Where does your inspiration come from?

Well, to be honest, I haven’t had a “typical” writing day since propelling myself into development, submission and launch of Beware Mme la Guillotine.  But now that it’s finally in the App Store and I’m preparing a second StoryTour for production as an app, I’m thrilled to be getting back into my old, familiar writing habits once again!

My process generally reflects whatever phase of a project I happen to be in. The early stages of developing a story for the Time Traveler Tours involves as much, if not more, reading and research.  I devour anything and everything of relevance to the historical period of focus – books, movies, archives, guided visits to museums and monuments, online resources – keeping always on the look out for my narrator. I search for the characters lurking in the shadows, the ones who are there but not typically heard from. Once I’ve found the right voice, the writing comes more easily.

In this middle phase, the time I spend writing and researching is about equal. I write best in the morning when I’m fresh and clear-headed, so afternoons are for research and/or chores, exercise and appointments. I start the day in my journal, at my desk at home, writing by hand. Sometimes I just talk to myself, exorcise demons or tether all those ideas floating around in my head or play with plotting details. Other times I talk to my characters, flesh out descriptions or work through transitions. After about 2-3 pages of journal writing, I’m usually ready to go back to the computer and pick up where I left off the day before.

If I’m in drafting mode, I don’t write for very long: one hour, maybe two, before I run out of gas. If I’m revising, however, I can sometimes be in my chair all day without noticing the time pass. Of course, by the time I’m revising, I’m usually pretty well finished with research so I don’t need to set aside as much time for that. So my process tends to really go with the flow.
5. What has your path to launching the application been like? What’s been the most surprising part of the process for you?

I’d say my path was pretty herky-jerky, reflecting both the newness of the mobile format as well as the huge learning curve I brought to the endeavor. Having decided that my story tours would make better apps, I went to the Bologna Book Fair in 2009 to look for someone to publish them. It was clear right away that the children’s book industry was not then ready to start paving that road. Though we are seeing more and more apps coming to market today, mostly using tried-and-true content, in 2009 children’s publishers were resisting the coming digital revolution with all their might. At the entire Fair (some say it’s football five fields wide but I think they mean European football), I found only one person talking digital: Stephen Roxburgh of Namelos. I approached him with my project idea and he loved it. But his focus is not in app production. He offered Namelos’ to edit my content, to help me make it the best it could be, but if I wanted to realize my content as an app, I would have to publish it myself. That was surprise #1.

Surprise #2 was coming to find that while there are a lot of app programmers out there, there are not a lot of good ones.  I went through two before I found the team capable of grappling with the challenges posed by my particular project. You really have to take your time to vet and select the right programmer for your budget and your needs.

I was also slow to realize, surprise #3, that neither a programmer nor I was capable of making my app something worth looking at. I needed an Art Designer, of course, to round out the team. It took a full year and a lot of trial and error that cost me both time and money, unfortunately, but by March 2010, I had finally pulled together a good working collaboration.

From that point, the process went very quickly. But it turns out that one’s work is not done with submission and approval. Now you have to market the thing! Surprise #4.

But the biggest surprise of all: Beware Mme la Guillotine: A Revolutionary Tour of Paris (revised title) is a hit! Folks now want more story tours of more cities. And I’m in a position to deliver. So through this process, I went from a writer of creative non-fiction cum app developer to a small business entrepreneur as well.
6. What was your favorite book when you were a kid/teenager? What are you reading now? Does what you read affect your creation of interactive media?

Oh, I never had a favorite book, but I went through phases of loving different genre. Mostly I loved stories that transported me to other worlds, places and times. In early middle school I couldn’t get enough of King Arthur stories. Then I discovered the Narnia Chronicles; then the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In high school I was really into dystopian science fiction like Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World. But when I read Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird that was it. I still love the sensibility, the odd mixture of pathos, humor and the grotesque, that you find in southern fiction. I still re-read Mockingbird and Huck Finn every two or three years, both of which I discovered as a teen.

I always have a stack of books by my bedside. Right now it consists of Fever, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet, Enchanted by Guy Kawasaki, In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes our Lives by Steven Levy and Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt (recommended by my 15 year old) by Beth Hoffman. What I choose to read is very much influenced by what I’m working on as a writer, and now as a newbie entrepreneur. Likewise, what I read both informs my stories as well as enables my understanding of interactive media.
7. What’s next for you media-wise (and otherwise!)? What else is coming from Time Traveler Tours?

Next for the Time Traveler Tours is the release of the French-English bilingual version of Beware Mme la Guillotine in early November. We’re recording and editing the audio now. When that is complete, we will have established our publishing prototype upon which to base future iOS apps (at least until the technology changes again!). Then production can move more quickly. We hope to produce four more StoryTours in 2012: two additional Paris stories, to the ancièn regime and the Napoleonic era; and two London stories. As I have my hands full revising and storyboarding the Paris stories, I will be soliciting manuscripts for the London StoryTours.

You’re the first to know: I seek children’s writers with an intimate knowledge of London history and geography to create the first TTT London StoryApp Tours. Send queries to stowle@timetravelertours.com.

8. Do you believe in being part of a “bloc” of writers as you create your written content? Are critique groups and writing communities helpful to you? Were they helpful to you as you envisioned your interactive media application?

Oh, yes! Essential! Beware Mme la Guillotine is the result of one of the best writers’ critique groups I’ve ever been a part of. Unfortunately, that group has since broken up. If any of you have room in your crit group, let me know. I may like to join! Only problem: I live in Paris.

9. How does the TIME TRAVELERS TOURS blend writing for children with an interactive application?

Well, I believe that the central and most important aspect of any StoryApp, just as with a traditional book, must be the story. The interactive elements are secondary and, in my opinion, should act only to enhance the story, to deepen understanding or offer a gateway into a broader perspective. There are a lot of apps out there that are little more than bling, wherein interactivity is defined as bells and whistles that may even detract from the story. That’s fun and interesting for a minute. But just as with good books, the apps that will endure, the ones that people will keep going back to, and that kids will continue to ask for, are the ones that contain great story content.

I’m thrilled that reviewers of Beware Mme la Guillotine have focused first on the value of Charlotte’s story and second on the interactive elements that serve her story. Check out this great review from School Library Journal’s Touch and Go here and this one from Kirkus Reviews here.
10. In your opinion, how do you think APPS will change or affect the children’s book market?

The App Store is now a very noisy place, in part because it grew faster than Apple ever imagined and is not terribly well organized as a result; in part because more apps come to market everyday. Where children’s StoryApps are concerned, most have been developed outside the children’s publishing industry and have not been vetted by the traditional gatekeepers, agents and editors, and quite honestly, it shows.

This has forced the major publishing houses to finally get with the program.  Many are now “experimenting” by creating apps using tried-and-true content. But things are moving fast. Remember that in April 2009, at Bologna, I found no one even talking about apps. Now, two years later you have Frankfurt Sparks and Digital Book World and other conferences dedicated to nothing but. So publishing apps from original content is right around the corner. Indeed, more and more publishing houses are adding departments to oversee digital acquisitions and production. This should bring greater quality to the App Store over time, I hope, as well as compel the most widely read and authoritative reviewers, like SLJ and Kirkus, to critique apps alongside their print cousins.

I personally think it’s a very exciting time for writers and illustrators. The book is not in jeopardy, not at all. We all love our books, but there’s no shame in admitting we love our eReaders as well. It’s so nice not to have to lug around a bunch of books when I travel! Digital media have opened up myriad news ways to create and communicate – consider the storyworld of a gaming environment: it took a writer to come up with that. As the possibilities for story creation expand, so too will we realize that some projects should become books while others, like mine, should never be. And thanks to mobile applications, everyone, even children, can consume written content more often – waiting in line at the grocery store, riding in the train or car – and at a greater rate than ever before.

The key, as always, is to expose children and youth to the best content possible. That is the fundamental intention behind my Time Traveler Tours: to deliver great creative non-fiction to teens, tweens and the young at heart via mobile device while making history and culture come to life. I can only hope that I have achieved that goal.

Thanks, Sarah. For those of you interested in digital media and children’s books, check out Sarah’s app and this article.

Popularity: 21%

Write what you know, they always say. So it’s no surprise that debut author Jessica Martinez  —  whose first book, Virtuosity, about a musical protege, came out a few weeks ago  —  is a gifted violinist. We caught up with the Florida-based, Canada-raised author to talk about protege pressure, catching the writing bug and balancing work, motherhood and and fiction.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became a writer? 

I’ve always been a writer, but it took me a long time to get serious about it. I studied English in college with music minor, went on to teach high school English, and then played violin professionally for a few years. When I started writing Virtuosity, I was mostly a stay-at-home mom, but playing as a sub with the Orlando Philharmonic and teaching violin too.

It was actually my obsession with reading that made me realize I had to write a novel. I couldn’t read without thinking, “This is beautiful — I wonder if I could do this?” Or “This isn’t that great — I think I could do better.” At the time, I had no idea how hard it would actually be to write a book!

Can you give us a quick synopsis of Virtuosity? How did you come up with the concept for the book? 

Virtuosity is about a teenage violin prodigy who falls for the one person who can take her dream away — her biggest competitor. She’s also dealing with a pressuring stage mom and an addiction to anti-anxiety meds that she takes to perform. With the biggest competition of her career approaching, she has to decide whether taking control of her own life is worth losing it all.

It started with a single image.  I pictured the scene from the prologue: a girl lying on a balcony hanging her million-dollar violin off of the edge. As a violinist, I can think of all sorts of reasons she would want to drop it, so I started writing some of those reasons. I wrote a lot — almost a full novel — before I realized it wasn’t the story I wanted to tell. I could do better. It took several very different drafts for me to determine what kind of challenges I wanted Carmen to face and exactly who I wanted her to become.

Music obviously plays a major role here — do you play? Where did you draw from for this aspect of the book? Were you a child prodigy yourself? Talk about pressure! 

I started playing the violin when I was three and played fairly seriously throughout my childhood and teenage years. Every moment I wasn’t at school I was at the music academy or practicing, and I went to a unique high school that let me do most of my work by correspondence. While I was a teenager I competed in major competitions, and performed as a soloist with professional symphonies. I knew lots of stage moms like Carmen’s (though my mother was not like her at all), I knew people who used anti-anxiety drugs, and I had teachers like Yuri. Actually, I had a few teachers meaner than Yuri. I also loved and still love music intensely, so Carmen’s dilemma is very real to me.

Pressure! What can I say? It was always there, and I’ve often wondered which of my personality traits (the good and the bad) I owe to it.  I had trouble sleeping for most of my childhood, and although I learned to control my stage fright, that anxiety was a constant companion during my formative years. In many ways it separated me from my peers—their experiences were so different than mine — so I bottled it all up in and dealt with it in some less-than-healthy ways.

It wasn’t all bad, though.  I learned to work hard in the face of discouragement and exhaustion.  And I learned not to cry when being yelled at in public.  That sounds sick, but seriously, I can always hold it together and save my breakdowns for later!  I also had incredible experiences that shaped the way I saw the world, and still do.  So, as difficult as the pressure was to handle, I wouldn’t change anything about my childhood.  It made me who I am, and I kind of like that girl.

What’s your writing process? What does a typical writing day look like? 

I’m a slow writer, and I think drafting is brutally hard. Once I get to the editing, though, I’m in love. I plot, but I almost always change the outline as I go along.

I used to write just at night and during naptime when my two children were sleeping, but now I have three hours every morning while my youngest is at preschool. It is divine! I write at home, or at Starbucks if the piles of laundry are distracting me.

What’s been the most surprising part of the writing/publishing process for you? 

Finding an agent involved a good number of rejection letters, but once I’d revised my query (it was pretty lame at first), I got a bite from Mandy Hubbard. After revising, I signed with her, and she got Virtuosity to all the right people quickly. I was lucky, and it sold right away.

Honestly, everything about publication has been a surprise. My big dreams all had to do with the writing, so I don’t think I ever really envisioned what it would be like to go through the publication process and be a published author. I will say I’ve been amazed by how much work authors do to promote their novels. Generally, I’m more comfortable with the artistic side of things. I prefer to let someone else handle business aspects, so all the self-promotion has been a little difficult for me at times.  I’m learning, though!

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten? What advice would you yourself give aspiring authors?

The best advice I’ve received is to write every day. I’ve learned writing is like any other skill — there’s no substitute for repetition and consistent hard work.

The advice I’d give other aspiring authors is to lay off the delete key. I was so self-critical for so many years that I didn’t produce anything at all — or I did, but I deleted it! You have to be merciless in the editing, but don’t let that mindset infect your drafting process.  Just write.

What was your favorite book when you were a kid/teenager? What are you reading now?

When I was a teenager I loved Jane Eyre, Anne of Green Gables, Pride and Prejudice — all of those romantic novels with spunky heroines. Now I alternate between contemporary YA and adult books. I just finished Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins and I’m downloading The Marriage Plot by Geoffrey Eugenides today. Oh, and I’m dying to read Past Perfect by Leila Sales, so that’s my next YA.

What’s next for you writing-wise (and otherwise)?

My second novel (title in the works) comes out next October, also with Simon Pulse, and I’m working on my third novel right now.

Do you believe in being part of a “bloc” of writers? Are critique groups and writing communities helpful to you?

I’ve found that being a part of the Elevensies (debut YA and middle grade authors in 2011) has been incredibly helpful. Writing is such a solitary process, it’s nice to connect with people who are going through the same things as you are. Also, I’m touring with a group of YA authors who write about the performing arts called Stages on Pages. Getting out there and doing store signings and school presentations with other authors makes all the difference. There’s safety in numbers! As for critique groups, I’m not a huge fan, but I know I’m in the minority. I’m not opposed to them in theory, I’m just so busy, it’s all I can do to squeeze in my writing time.

Popularity: 15%

I recently caught up with Tracey L. Pacelli — friend of Teen Writers Bloc and author of the new paranormal YA novel Time Warped.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became a writer? What did you do before you “officially” became a writer?

In 5th grade we were given an assignment to write a sci-fi short story. My teacher  chose mine to read in front of the class, declaring it the most inventive. I never forgot the thrill it gave me to be singled out that way. Afterward, my best friend said I was talented and that was basically it for me. I knew I was a writer and would someday follow that path.

Before writing, I chased those “glamour” positions that pay very little, working administrative type jobs at CBS, HBO and the NBA, all in New York. It was fun, especially HBO, but I could barely pay for the Upper West Side closet my landlord creatively called an apartment, so I jumped ship and headed to a financial office in a little place called The World Trade Center, building #7. Beautiful area, but I didn’t mesh very well with the Trump wannabes. So, I fired myself and headed for Charleston, SC, with my new hubby. In Charleston, I worked for a scary police chief in the paralegal dep’t and about a year later I was a ballroom dance instructor at The Fred Astaire Dance Studio. The ballroom had no bathroom, and the students had to go across the street. After only one month of lessons, I was expected to teach! I wasn’t ready, so I headed for that bathroom across the street and never came back.

What made you want to be a writer? Do you write full-time now?

Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek made me want to write. Since I couldn’t actually share in the crew’s adventures, I had no choice but to imagine myself on the Enterprise as a red-headed, Venusian navigator in love with Captain Kirk, and penned many exciting episodes for myself over the years.

Can you give us a quick synopsis of Time Warped? How did you come up with the concept for the book?

Time Warped is about a troubled teen, Lanie Landry, who wakes up one day to find herself in an insane asylum, back in 1969. There she meets her biological mom for the first time and falls for a mysterious inmate.

I’d just seen Shutter Island and knew immediately I was drawn to the setting of an insane asylum. Call me crazy–and many do–but I thought, how about we put a teen in one who didn’t actually belong there, and I’ll add some Twilight Zone twist to the story. I’ve always been fascinated with time being a man-made construction and I like to fool with the idea of taking that construction apart, till it no longer makes sense. In other words, I think time travel is really cool.

What’s your writing process? What does a typical writing day look like? Where does your inspiration come from?

It used to be I’d spend the larger portion of my day writing and leave the marketing, cleaning, preparing meals and listening to my daughter and husband’s rants, for my evening chores. Now, everything’s basically gone to Hades, including my family’s basic needs, and I find myself knee-deep in the gorilla marketing trenches, unable to climb out. Of course, the novel only just launched and there’s a need for me to push it out into the world, much like a newborn. But it’s a labor of love, and I actually am enjoying finding ways to hammer my book over the heads of unsuspecting readers. Hmmm…wonder if Vistaprint sells hammers with book image?  Must look into that.

As for inspiration, pop culture usually feeds it nicely. Whatever I’m watching on TV, at the movies, or reading in my daughter’s teen mags (don’t tell her I borrow them), becomes fodder for the muse I keep locked up in my basement.

There are a lot of pop culture references in Time Warped, which I found really helped develop the character of Lanie and grounded us in a real place and time. Did you do this intentionally or was that a happy accident?

Funny, I just answered your question. Must be psychic. I really do love pop culture, which is probably why The Gilmore Girls is my second all-time favorite show, right after Star Trek. Lorelei is a master of pop culture and I can only bow to her greatness. Rosie is another pop-culture goddess. I hope one day I may be in their league and maybe go bowling with them sometime.

What has your path to publication been like? What’s been the most surprising part of the writing/publishing process for you?

I wrote it and they came! But, first I had to walk thousands of miles barefoot over sharp rocks, swim through a feces infested moat, use my body as a battering ram to knock down the castle door, and sleep atop a thousand mattresses with this annoying pea underneath. Only then was I given the keys to the castle. Translation: As a writer I cried waterfalls of tears over the years, facing overwhelming rejection to finally land this amazing deal at Gypsy Shadow Publishing. And, I’d do it all again.

What was surprising part? To Quote Sally, “They liked me…they really liked me!”

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten? What advice would you yourself give aspiring authors?

Every rejection moves you one step closer to success!

What was your favorite book when you were a kid/teenager? What is your favorite children’s or young adult book today? What are you reading now?

Pride and Prejudice and Pride and Prejudice. I know, every girl loves that book, so why should I be any different? I’ve always loved to laugh at ridiculous people. Jane Austen had such a gift for exposing them. Though I used to think I wouldn’t be caught dead in a room with Mr. Collins, I actually now have a couple of friends who are very much like him and I thoroughly enjoy their company!

Presently, I’m reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

Do you believe in being part of a “bloc” of writers? Are critique groups and writing communities helpful to you?

I actually belong to The Royal Book Club in downtown Asheville for parents who like to read young adult books. Sounds crazy, right? But we’ve already established I’m a bit off my rocker. At the meetings, we dissect the writing to such detail, it becomes a great learning tool for me as a teen author.

What’s up next for you?

I’ve completed the first draft of a new teen trilogy I’m quite excited about called Already Gone. It takes place just a wee bit into the future and then travels back and forth to Atlantis during its final days before the apocalypse.

There’s also my littleredwriter paranormal blog, where I try to mix in a little humor with weekly paranormal news at www.traceypacelli.com.

Thanks so much for this interview. I’m a great fan of TWB and wish all the writers much success!

Thanks so much, Tracey! Time Warped is available now in print and e-book format!

Popularity: 19%

Since Black History Month I’ve been wanting to catch up with Christopher Grant, the author of one of my favorite 2010 debuts. After a few unanswered emails, I decided to track him down over the summer. David Levithan moderated a Teen Author Reading Night in July at the Jefferson Market Library, and I spied that he would be reading there, so I met my friend J.A. Yang, and decided to bombard him after the presentation. The ambush worked out well and I discovered that my emails had been eaten by his website form, and got to secure an interview with him. We caught up with Christopher about his inspiration, his newest endeavor, and rejections.

Tell us a bit about yourself (bio) and how you became a writer? What did you do before you “officially” became a writer?

I love to tell stories.  If you let my friends speak on it, they’ll say I love to flap my gums.  In jest, one suggested that I should share my stories (they were probably thinking stand up comedy but that’s never going to happen), and I decided to give writing a shot.  That was about eleven years ago, right after I finished grad school.  Around the same time, I began my career as an equities trader, something I continue to do it to this day.

What made you want to be a writer? Do you write full-time now?

As I mentioned above, I love to tell stories.  By the grace of God, I’ve been blessed to see and hear a lot crazy things, many of which appear in my book. I am of Caribbean descent and I feel that there isn’t much of a representation of that population in contemporary literature.  My folks, all islanders (Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada) have a unique and colorful way of expressing themselves.  It was great fun attempting to incorporate some of that vivid language into TEENIE.

I have been an equities trader for the past eleven years, and do my best to balance that with my writing career.

Can you give us a quick synopsis of TEENIE? How did you come up with the concept for the book?

Teenie is desperate to be accepted into a prestigious study abroad program in Spain, so that she can see what life is like beyond the streets of Brooklyn.  She wouldn’t mind escaping from her strict (though lovable) West Indian parents for awhile either.  But when the captain of the basketball team starts to pay attention to her and Cherise, her best friend, meets a guy online, Teenie’s mind is on anything but her schoolwork.  Can Teenie save her friendship with Cherise, save her grade point average so that she can study in Spain, and save herself from a potentially dangerous relationship?

TEENIE is like the sister I never had.  Many of the situations in the book are based on things I’ve heard and/or seen.  For instance, Teenie’s father Beresford has an eating utensil called a spife, half spoon, half knife.  One of my uncles used to eat with something very similar to it.

What’s your writing process? What does a typical writing day look like? Where does your inspiration come from?

I do the majority of my writing on the NYC subway.  During my commute to and from work, I get about an hour and a half (forty five minutes each way) to create new material.  More often than not, I keep my headphones off and listen to the banter around me.  There is no place like a crowded subway car to pick up authentic dialogue.

My inspiration comes from my routine.  I try my best to make the most of my time during my commute.  My schedule is so hectic, it’s pretty much the only time I can really get any writing done.

What has your path to publication been like? What’s been the most surprising part of the writing/publishing process for you?

It took a long time to get published.  I worked on TEENIE (on and off) for about nine years.  In the process, I received over a hundred rejection letters from various agencies.  I kept clippings of the rejections and Bible verses pasted to my wardrobe to keep me motivated.

The most surprising part is how much I’ve enjoyed doing TEENIE related readings and events.  I always thought public speaking would be my biggest issue, but thankfully, I’ve gotten pretty good at it.  I have a couple of events coming up in September and October.  Those wishing to hear more can check me out on twitter, @nycsubwaywriter.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten? What advice would you yourself give aspiring authors?

The best writing advice I’ve ever gotten was from an article  I read awhile back.  There was one line in particular that really resonated with me.  “You may not be published if you write, but you’ll never be published if you don’t.”

For the aspiring author, make sure you are as well versed in the process as possible.  Agencies and publishing houses get inundated with material and will look for any reason to send out a form rejection letter.  There are several basic things that a writer can do to help push their MS beyond the initial culling.  The Novel and Short Stories Writers Market is a great resource to make sure that the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed.  Taking a creative writing course is another way to get technique up to snuff.  These are resources that I used during my process.

What was your favorite book when you were a kid/teenager? What are you reading now?

There are too many to name.  I always had a book in my bag.  My mother would get upset because I would take all her paperbacks, read them, and return them with the covers mysteriously missing.  That tends to happen when you put a book in the same bag as football cleats.  As a kid, I liked Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, and Archie comics.  As a teen, anything by Marvel Comics, Michael Crichton, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and whatever I could find on my mother’s bookshelf.  I tried to read one of her romance novels but couldn’t figure out what quivering love pudding was.

I just finished the HUNGER GAMES Trilogy, and am currently reading WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE.

7. What’s next for you writing-wise (and otherwise!)?

I am working on a sci-fi/fantasy novel.  It’s exhilarating and nerve-wracking all at once.  There are times when my main character, Genesis, is asking questions that I don’t know the answers to yet.

Genesis lives in Harlem with his grandmother Selva.  She beats the living daylights out of him, but for good reason.  She doesn’t want him getting too excited and giving his location to people that might want to steal his blue blood.  Then there’s the issue of him leaping to different time periods before Selva’s had a chance to teach him everything he needs to know.

Do you believe in being part of a “bloc” of writers? Are critique groups and writing communities helpful to you?

Whether it’s a writing group, or in my case, a focus group, every writer needs honest opinions from people they trust.  There are times when I think I’ve written something so good that the page should be bronzed, only to have someone in my focus group say, “That’s not going to stay in the story is it?”  I have three readers for my new novel and their input and critique, both negative and positive, really help me to get through the story.

Did the race and ethnicity of your characters help or hinder your publication process?

I would hope not.  It’s obvious that people of color are underrepresented in all forms of media, but I was fortunate enough to have the book published by one of the largest publishing houses in the world.  I received a lot of rejections, but only a fool would have been brazen enough to cite race as the reason.

Thanks for catching up with us!

Photo Credit: Tara Holland, Knopf Books for Young Readers

Popularity: 26%

I got the wonderful pleasure of meeting Amanda Cockrell during my first masters program in Children’s and Young Adult Literature at Hollins University. This talented author is both the Program Director of the Children’s Literature Masters Program as well as a prolific writer (not sure how she does it all!). After graduating college, I jumped right into this program and I’ve missed it ever since. Don’t get me wrong, I love The New School and my workshops, but Hollins University has the best literature courses on children’s literature (take a peek at the course list). We caught up with Amanda about her latest novel, her day-job, and use of magical realism.

Tell us a bit about yourself (bio) and how you became a writer?  What made you want to be a writer? Do you write full-time now?

I grew up in Southern California, in Ojai, a town that was the template for Ayala in What We Keep. It was a wonderful  place – still is. I could ride my horse down Main Street and there was a hitching post outside the library. It was a bedroom town for Hollywood and a lot of recognizable people lived there. We were mostly polite and pretended we didn’t recognize them. I usually didn’t anyway, since I had my head in a book.

My parents were both writers – a screenwriter and a novelist — so it always seemed like the family profession.

Very few of us manage to write full time. Writing is not the best get-rich-quick (or get-rich-slowly either) scheme in the world. So I keep my day job, which I actually love, at Hollins.

Can you give us a quick synopsis of WHAT WE KEEP IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT WILL STAY? How did you come up with the concept for the book? 

Here’s the plug from the back of the book. I’ll steal that since I’m not good at short, snappy descriptions, but I like this one:

“Angie never used to think too much about God – until things started getting strange.  Like the statue of St Felix, her secret confidant, suddenly coming off his pedestal and talking to her. And Jesse Francis, sent home from Afghanistan at age nineteen with his leg blown off. Now he’s expected to finish high school and fit right back in. Is God even paying attention to this?  Against the advice of St. Felix (who knows a thing or two about war), Angie falls for Jesse—who’s a lot deeper than most high school guys. But Jesse is battling some major demons. As his behavior starts to become unpredictable, and even dangerous, Angie finds herself losing control of the situation. And she’s starting to wonder…can one person ever make things right for someone else?”

The idea started because I always thought that sainthood might take a person by surprise, so to speak. Felix claims that God de-sainted him because he wasn’t holy enough. And the war had been on my mind and I thought the saint might know a thing or two about that.

What’s your writing process? What does a typical writing day look like? Where does your inspiration come from? 

I generally try to write in the office, first thing in the morning if possible, or if not, in the afternoon when I have got everything else out of the way. My usual thing is to re-read what I did the day before, revise that until I like it, then write about 3 more pages, re-read and revise that when I quit, print it out and let it sit. The next day, I look at it again, rework it, and go on. Then at the end I do a complete read-through and realize how much revising is still left to do.

I have no clue where inspiration comes from. Sometimes it just drops out of the sky, a nice little gift from the gods. Other time I achieve it through a lot of biting and chipping.

What has your path to publication been like? What’s been the most surprising part of the writing/publishing process for you? 

I have published a lot of books, through varying paths, with and without agents (I vastly prefer with), some series, some stand-alone, some with major houses, some with a small press. Nothing surprises me anymore. Annoys, perplexes and possibly makes me shriek, but not surprises.

This is my first YA novel, and it has been a lovely experience all the way through. I have never had a publisher give me input on the cover before (I adore the cover) and they sent me to ALA which no one has ever done either. I am completely in love with Flux.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten? What advice would you yourself give aspiring authors?

I was once asked for the three aspects of writing craft that have been most important as I’ve developed as an author. I would say that paying attention to detail is probably the first. That is what makes a story live. Followed by being willing to revise. To embrace revision. Which I am currently being forced to do with my new book, and I admit that the process is not inherently embraceable. And finally followed by going after the hard things to write about. Not dodging something because it makes you uncomfy. If you get to a scene or scenes that you just don’t want to write because they make you uncomfortable, that is a sure sign that they touch on the heart of your story and you had better write them.

So: detail, revision, discomfort. Or, you could stack those three in reverse. Or sideways. They’ve all been equally important.

What was your favorite book when you were a kid/teenager? What are you reading now?

As a child I adored Kipling’s The Jungle Book (and am still incensed at what Disney did to it). I wanted to be raised by wolves. I adored my parents, mind you, but wolves are so cool.

As a teen I discovered Georgette Heyer and British mysteries—Margery Allingham and Dorothy Sayers.

Right now I’m happily reading Ellen Kushner’s The Privilege of the Sword and Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna.

What’s next for you writing-wise (and otherwise!)?

I just sent my agent the first draft of a new YA novel, and she (wise woman) pointed out that not much important stuff is actually happening to these nice characters. If I have a besetting writing sin it’s dreaming up interesting characters and then not having them do enough. So I am making them do things.

Do you believe in being part of a “bloc” of writers? Are critique groups and writing communities helpful to you?

When I have a good writers group, it’s heavenly. I think they are enormously useful. If I was part of one right now, someone might have said, “Amanda, when are these people going to do something?” But you have to have a group that’s willing to say that, and also one that knows what they’re talking about. It’s no good if they just love everything you do. And it’s no good if they indulge in what I have heard described as “owl criticism” – “There is an owl in this poem, and I don’t like owls, so I don’t like this poem.”

In What We Keep Is Not Always what Will Stay, your use of magical realism is so deft and light and not once do readers question St. Felix, so how did you decide to use magical realism?  

I have always been a huge fan of magical realism, and several of the previous books for adults that I have done employed it, so it’s just a natural urge for me. The premise of a saint coming to life, declaring that God threw him out  for not being saintly, pretty much demands magical realism right there.

Thank you Amanda for catching up with us, and I just love your book cover.

Photo Credit: Flux

Popularity: 17%

One boring day in the library, I was searching Amazon for books with debut authors coming out in 2011 and I came across the name Anne Heltzel. Huh, I thought, that sound familiar. Upon further inspection I discovered that this debut author was not only a graduate of our fantastic program at New School, but also attended my alma matre, The University of Notre Dame (Go Irish!). It dawned on me that I had actually met Anne Heltzel at ND (through my musical-comedy writing brother, Danny Carter) long before any of us were writers. I caught up with Anne to congratulate her on Circle Nine which is debuting in September, and to catch up with her on life post-ND and post-New School.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became a writer.

I’ve wanted to be a writer as long as I can remember, but I always assumed it was unattainable as a career. I’ve always been passionate about books (and in particular, what books do for kids). I wrote for myself, in local contests, and later for undergrad electives. I did it because it brought me all kinds of enjoyment, but there are so many things that seem impossible when you grow up in a small Midwestern community. (Namely: creative/impractical careers.) I imagine it would have been different had I grown up in New York and been exposed to professional writers on a regular basis as a kid. (Not better, just different.)

I didn’t really do anything much post-college before “officially” becoming a writer. Once I decided to work toward my MFA, there was never a moment when becoming a published author was not the final goal. But I did random filler things to make money while in grad school. I had a bizarre experience working for a fitness company (where I was lawsuit-worthy harassed, by a Brazilian jiu jitsu master). I babysat every day after work for two years for a family I am still close to. (They now live in Paris, and I’m visiting them in the fall!). I was an assistant to a literary agent; I was an editorial assistant; I tutored algebra and geometry and writing on the weekends; and I moved to India for a year to travel and write. I also sold old clothes at Beacon’s Closet or on eBay when short of cash, and I came frighteningly close to nude modeling for a painter and, on a separate occasion, a photographer. (In the end I just couldn’t do it. I mean, I was trying to write children’s books, for God’s sake.) Right now, I’m working as an Associate Editor at Penguin.

Can you give us a quick synopsis of Circle Nine? How did you come up with the concept for the book?

Circle Nine is the story of Abby, a girl who loses her entire identity following a traumatic incident. She wakes up near a burning building next to Sam, a guy who says he knows who she is. She trusts him because she has no memories and therefore no choice. They have an intense romantic relationship that, to Abby, seems perfect…until memories of her past slowly begin seeping through the façade of the life she and Sam have built. Then she realizes that the things she thought were perfect have a sort of sinister underbelly. She has to figure out who she is and who Sam is and make some difficult choices about moving forward.

This book was so weird to write. It started as a story about a girl who meets a guitar-playing guy in the subway, and she gets off at his stop and realizes he’s from a totally different world. Aside from the obvious (though not purposeful) Harry Potter-rip-off aspect, it sounds way better than Circle Nine, right? Anyway, I kept writing it and writing it and it just didn’t feel right. Then this random voice popped into my head in the form of a sentence, so I wrote it down. That was the voice that felt right, so I scrapped 100+ pages and started over. Once I had the voice, I wrote the story in two months. I dreamed about it all the time. I was in a very difficult emotional place, and I think that’s where the darkness that permeates the book came from. So then I gave it to my agent (Adams Literary, whom I’d signed based on a different project) just before Christmas in 2009. Josh called me just after Christmas to tell me he’d stayed up all night reading the book, and he took it on submission right away. It sold a couple of weeks later in early 2010 to Hilary van Dusen at Candlewick. The book is coming out in September, so it actually sold a full 20 months prior to publication.

We notice that a lot of the reviews call Circle Nine a “psychological thriller.” Do you agree with this categorization? Did you realize that’s what you were writing while you were writing it?

Yes, I guess it’s a psychological thriller. (Heavy on the psychological, light on the thriller) No, I had no idea what I was writing. I just went with it. The voice had me so tight in its clutches that (this is going to sound insane and melodramatic, sorry!) it felt like Abby was telling me the story and I was just transcribing. It was the weirdest writing experience I’ve ever had, and it has not happened to me again since, alas!

What’s your writing process?

When I was writing full-time, my typical day looked like this:
-Wake up obscenely late. (Say 10 or 11.) Make coffee. Make eggs! Or maybe go to the bakery for a muffin. Read the news. Answer emails (if by some miracle my unreliable Indian internet was working). Dawdle. Open Word Doc. Stare at previous day’s writing. Write furiously for an hour or five, depending on level of inspiration. (Write 5 pages minimum, sometimes up to 20.) Go to gym? Or maybe just watch movie. Read book. Make dinner. Die of boredom. Even though I was in India, I lacked a community of fellow writers (at least for the first six months or so), and I felt lonely and claustrophobic. It was difficult. Amazing, but difficult.

Now I’m working full-time, so writing is relegated to the occasional weekday morning (at Café Regular across the street from my Brooklyn apartment) or weekend afternoon/evening. But I have writer-friends to hang out with, so writing has become a community-oriented experience for me. I usually write in cafes or bars in Brooklyn – anywhere out of the apartment! My inspiration can come from anywhere – any weird detail I notice during the day (like a burned-out jeep I noticed on the street, or a quirky exchange I had with my barista). I use basically anything that moves me emotionally, EXCEPT my personal relationships. Those are sacred, and I never want the people who are close to me to feel exploited. Okay, I broke that rule maybe once in Circle Nine. But never again. And I’m not telling you where.

What has your path to publication been like?

It’s been long and ever-intriguing! I suppose the most surprising part has been dealing with the public aspects of this private craft. Writing is so personal – and then there’s your manuscript in the world, for anyone to comment on. So far, people’s reactions (good and bad) have been much stronger than I anticipated. In terms of The New School: some faculty members were particularly supportive when I was a student there. Tor Seidler was emotionally supportive, because he seemed to believe in my talent. And David Levithan was the first to suggest, via my agent, that I try a YA voice — up to that point I’d been focusing on MG — and that paid off in a big way.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten? What advice would you yourself give aspiring authors?

I once read or heard somewhere that 80% of getting published is finishing the manuscript. I think there’s a lot of other stuff that goes into it, but knowing that a large part of writing is sheer work – and that you just have to sit down and do it, much like any other difficult task – has been somehow comforting.

My advice: care about your novel. If you’re emotionally attached to your subject matter, it will automatically seem more authentic and powerful.

What was your favorite book when you were a teenager? What are you reading now?

When I was a teenager, I was in love with This Side of Paradise by Fitzgerald. When I was extremely young, I loved Little Brother and Little Sister by The Brothers Grimm. Now I like to skip around. I’m reading Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. (So far so good! The writing is beautiful.) And I’ve been flipping through Nine Stories (Salinger) and some other short story collections while I’m on the train. I have a lot of reading to do for work, so personal reading is a rare and treasured experience.

What’s next for you writing-wise (and otherwise!)?

I’m writing a dark, grounded YA for Candlewick, and I have a thriller signed up with Penguin under a pseudonym. They’ll both be out in 2013. I think I might like to give fantastical Middle Grade another try after that. Otherwise, who knows? As long as my writing and my relationships continue to grow, I am not averse to adventure and change. Maybe more travel! I just want to live a good story. =)

Do you believe in being part of a “bloc” of writers? Are critique groups and writing communities helpful to you?

I do believe in the wonders of being a part of a supportive writing community. I don’t personally belong to any writing groups, mostly because of my day job – I read and critique manuscripts all day long, and I’m not sure I could take on any extra editorial-esque endeavors right now. Plus, I’m private and don’t like many people to read my writing prior to completion of a semi-respectable draft. But I do have one friend whom I exchange with on occasion, and I frequently write in close proximity to a bunch of amazing, Brooklyn-based writers (many of whom I met through the editing world). Going through the process with a bunch of other like-minded people helps a lot. And then when the successes (and setbacks) come around, it’s great to have people in your life who really get it.

Thanks so much for stopping by TWB, Anne! Readers: be on the lookout for anneheltzel.com coming soon!

Popularity: 28%

A couple years ago, through Cynthea Liu’s “Take the Dare: Show You Care” on-line auction, I had the privilege of having author Sydney Salter critique a few pages of my novel-in-progress. Not only did Sydney help me craft a stronger first chapter, but she was also very encouraging. (My ego was nicely stroked when she told me I could “definitely write”!) Since then, I’ve become a fan of her books and was thrilled when she agreed to an interview.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became a writer?

I became a writer when I first started keeping a daily diary in high school. I thought I was just mooning and swooning over various boys, but it turned out that I was developing my YA voice.

I continued writing in my journal, working into short stories after I graduated from college with an English degree. I worked a lot of really boring jobs, but I’d fill notebooks with writing practice during my lunch hour. I started writing children’s stories once I had children, but I quickly realized that I’d rather write 50,000 words than 500!

Now I work on my novels while my daughters are in school. I’m grateful to have so much time every day.

Can you give us a quick synopsis of Jungle Crossing? How did you come up with the concept for the book? 


Jungle Crossing is actually the first novel I wrote. Before a family trip to Mexico, I decided to write a little something to show my daughters the amazing Mayan culture. I ended up writing a 50,000 word novel that they weren’t nearly old enough to read! Here’s a synopsis:

Jungle Crossing is the intertwining coming-of-age stories of two girls, one who reluctantly travels to Mexico with her family over summer vacation, the other an ancient Mayan royal stolen from her town and forced to make the treacherous journey back home.

What does a typical writing day look like?

Usually, I race home from driving carpool, make a cup of coffee, sometimes do a quick writing exercise in my practice notebook, and dive into my WIP—whether I’m drafting or researching. I take a quick lunch break and watch the Hot Topics on The View. I continue to work until my daughters get home from school.

Inspiration is lovely when it comes, but I find that diligent work produces better results. I love this Anthony Trollope quote, “A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.”

What has your path to publication been like? What’s been the most surprising part of the writing/publishing process for you?

Too bumpy! I spent five years working daily, writing five novels, before selling my fourth manuscript. I had little things to celebrate along the way: contest wins, magazine sales, a close call here and there.

What’s surprised me: it doesn’t get any easier. I’ve spent the last two years working on stories that haven’t sold—yet, I hope.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten? What advice would you yourself give aspiring authors?
  

Read, read, read. I do a lot of conference manuscript critiques these days and I can immediately tell when a writer is a reader–or not. I advise writers to read anything and everything.


What was your favorite book when you were a kid/teenager? What are you reading now?

I loved Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte. Right now I’m reading a lot of nonfiction on a bunch of crazy topics for the WIP I’ll be starting in September. But I set all that aside to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Great characters!

Do you believe in being part of a “bloc” of writers? Are critique groups and writing communities helpful to you?

I’d be so lonely without my writing group! I meet with a group of writers one morning a week. I don’t always bring writing to share (I like to finish projects first), but I do think that creating a writing community is essential. That’s why I also volunteer my time as a Regional Advisor for SCBWI.

You’ve also written My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters and Swoon at Your Own Risk. You have a knack for humor, even while your books cover serious subjects such as self-esteem and family secrets. Do you find it easy or difficult to mesh humor with the serious side of life?

If I couldn’t laugh about my problems, I’d spend my life curled up in a ball in the corner of my closet–the one my old-almost-dying cat just peed in. Sigh. I naturally mix humor with the serious side of life. Every. Single. Darn. Day.

What’s next for you writing-wise (and otherwise!)?

I’ve got a new idea that I’m super excited to start writing once school starts, a manuscript that I plan to workshop at an upcoming SCBWI retreat, and some short stories that will be published as e-books. The First Time, a collection of stories written by the 2009 Debutantes, will be available in October.

To learn more about Sydney Salter visit her webpage: www.sydneysalter.com.

K.L. Gore is resides in upstate New York with her husband and two children. A part-time writing instructor, she gives writing advice on her blog: www.klgore.com. Her stage play Something Blue (not to be confused with the novel of the same title) was performed on the theater stage, and she’s written and performed puppet shows for local schools and libraries. She loves to read just about anything. Represented by Regal Literary, she is now focusing her efforts on YA contemporary novels. (Although she is sneaking a little MG fantasy on the side.)

Popularity: 14%

Debut author Jesse Karp wrote what would become his first novel, Those That Wake, more than eight years ago — so it’s no wonder that his advice for writers on the road to publication is “don’t give up!” We caught up with the New York City-based school librarian to talk technology, writing while parenting two girls, and, of course, perseverance!

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became a writer?

I grew up in New York City and work there still as a school librarian. This is a fine example of my urge towards storytelling, which I can’t remember ever not having. The moment I could listen to and understand stories, I wanted to tell them, too.  I’ve been writing for real since I was in college, for all anybody cared to notice. I had piled up ten manuscripts before someone showed interest in Those That Wake. As it is my first published work, I’ve not launched myself into writing fulltime just yet. There are lots of ways to express yourself in stories and writing is a great one, but reading to kids is pretty fantastic, too.

Can you give us a quick synopsis of Those That Wake? How did you come up with the concept for the book?

Those That Wake is about two teenagers who stumble onto a hidden machinery that secretly runs our world and must pay the price for this knowledge.

The concept grew out of three things for me: 1) My love of cinematic paranoia/conspiracy thrillers, movies like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Parallax View, Marathon Man and All the President’s Men, which suggest that the world does not actually work the way it appears to. 2) Reading a book called Dark Nature: a Natural History of Evil by Lyall Watson, which introduced me to a fascinating theory about how ideas are transmitted. 3) Looking around me and seeing how we are giving more and more of our attention and resources to electronic media and communication technology, which sometimes works to our advantage and sometimes really, really does not. 4) Underlying all of this was the fact that I was writing Those That Wake as my first daughter was about to be born. I was trying to distill a single, powerful message that I would like to pass along to her and I came to one which I think is of great value these days: don’t give up.

Why did you decide to set your book in New York City versus other American cities?

Having lived in New York City all my life, I know it well and it’s close to my heart, two elements that are crucial to creating a sense of realism in setting, I think. New York is also an ideal representation of the modern urban world and so served as a good microcosm of how, it seems to me, much of society is developing technologically and socially.

You incorporate an interesting message about technology in Those That Wake. What inspired this?

Just looking around, really. Once upon a time, we envisioned the future as an exploration of the vast reaches of space, moving outwards to meet our potential. We have, in fact, gone exactly the opposite way: into the digital innerspace of the internet and focusing back inwards on ourselves through social networking and communication technology.

Those That Wake appears to have a very extreme stance on technological progress, which is not altogether analogous to my own. Writing suspense, conflict and speculation is, of course, partially dependent on exaggerating things. I absolutely see the extraordinary advantages we’re getting out of our technological evolution, but I think these technologies are changing us psychologically, socially and culturally in ways we’re not even aware of. Imagine hurrying down the street without looking in front of you. Could be dangerous, right? It’s the same thing with rushing headlong down the pathway that technology has opened for us. That’s the message about technology I hope Those That Wake manages to convey: look where you’re going.

What does a typical writing day look like for you?

As a father of two girls, a husband and a guy with a day job, I’m sorry to say that a typical writing “day” for me begins after my family has gone to bed. I can get anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour done per night, which works pretty well if I’m disciplined about it and supplement it with lots of focused writing on days when I’m not working.

Where I write is pretty much always at home, though occasionally I’ll head out to a public library if I need to assure myself of quiet and have absolutely no distractions.

When I travel for work (to conferences and conventions), I can get a LOT of writing done.

Inspiration, I suppose, comes from everything I see, hear or do, though the truth is I barely think about that anymore. My head is so filled with ideas now that I’ve had the validation of getting a book published, the trick is in slowing the inspiration down so that I can write enough to catch up with it. I’ve also found that, once I get going on a story, the characters and situations begin demanding their own paths and resolutions, and it becomes easier to lay that out before them.

What has your path to publication been like?

I wrote Those That Wake just before the birth of my first daughter nearly eight years ago. Like my other manuscripts, it collected dust and rejection letters for a good long time before, in trying to get a short story published, I was asked whether I had a manuscript with a similar tone. That was how Those That Wake found an agent.

Two things have been a great surprise to me. First, how much can change about a story while the nature of the characters, the basic structure and the essential themes remain intact. This is a tribute to a truly talented editor (who, in this case, was my agent – he and I went through extensive revisions before it ever saw an actual editor’s desk).

The second thing that surprised me was just how powerful certain forces in the book market are. Barnes and Noble, for example, has an extraordinary amount of influence on everything from the cover that’s chosen for a book to the way the book is actually sold. Much of a shopper’s experience is very carefully guided within the stores by the by where and  how certain books are displayed. There’s a great deal more going on behind the marketing and selling of a book than most of us ever know.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten? What advice would you yourself give aspiring authors?

The best writing advice I ever got is, possibly, the best plain old advice I ever got: “Don’t complain.  Work harder.”

I would add to that the very simple to say but very hard to do “don’t give up.” Seriously, it took me twenty years to get a book published.  It CAN happen. Do. Not. Give. Up.

What was your favorite book when you were a kid/teenager? What are you reading now?

The House of Stairs by William Sleator was hugely influential in my reading life and in how I viewed the world. I didn’t even realize how much my view of things and my early ideas about Those That Wake owed to Sleator’s book until I reread it just recently. It’s a riveting and relevant piece of work.

I just finished Among Wolves by Scott O’Connor, about a boy who starts to believe that his family has been replaced by impostors; a fast, clever and chilling read. I’m about to go back to some of Thomas Ligotti’s short stories, which capture a disturbing tone and a sense of the deeply (and darkly) weird unlike anything else I’ve ever read.

What’s next for you writing-wise (and otherwise!)?

I have a non-fiction book coming out in October called Graphic Novels in Your School Library, which is about using graphic novels in an educational context (I teach a graduate class on the history and analysis of comics and graphic novels when I’m not working with little kids or writing).

I’m also finishing up the first draft of the sequel to Those That Wake.

Do you believe in being part of a “bloc” of writers? Are critique groups and writing communities helpful to you?

The only community of writers I’ve ever really belonged to were the one or two writing classes I took in college. I do find constructive criticism very helpful (necessary, even), if sometimes difficult to hear. If ego can be kept out of the exchanges, I find the idea of writing communities absolutely agreeable, though as I said, this is sheerly in the abstract as I have no real experience with them.

Photos courtesy Houghton Mifflin and Jesse Karp

Popularity: 18%

In the chaos that was Book Expo of America in New York City, I met a wonderful author named Dawn Metcalf over lunch thanks to the wonderful Kate Milford. Along with another debut author, Shari Arnold, we discussed books, agents, publishers etc, while eating overpriced food. We also attended the YA Buzz panel together, and learned about many of the new YA books pubbing next year. I was so excited to learn about her book because 1) she’s a fascinating and funny person, and 2) she features a minority character in the starring role of her novel. Despite her busy schedule, I was able to catch up with her for an interview.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became a writer? What did you do before you “officially” became a writer. What made you want to be a writer? Do you write fulltime now?

6. What was your favorite book when you were a kid/teenager? What are you reading now?

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