Signing at Face in a Book Plus A New Video

The signing, reading, and Q&A at Face in a Book is only a few days away! And if you'll be joining us Saturday at noon, you're in for a treat because I'll be sharing a sneak peek at the illustrated companion to Crow's Rest, which is called A Compendium of the Faer Folke. You might pick up some Faerie lore to help protect you from the Fae!

Here is some more about the Compendium and how this field guide fits in with Crow's Rest:

The town of Crow's Rest may have a California zip code, but it shares a weakening border with Faerie--and Fae forces are making a move into our world.

Good thing there are references like A Compendium of the Faer Folke to help prepare our intrepid heroine, Avery Flynn, for the coming Faeriepocalypse.

Now you can read it too, and discover how to recognize and protect yourself from such creatures as corbin, lycorises, and wyverns.

Don't be caught unawares by the the Fae and their tricksy ways!

If that sounds intriguing, make sure you join us AT NOON on Saturday, June 6th, at Face in a Book in El Dorado Hills Town Center! And don't forget that if you're out of the area, you can also order a signed copy and FiaB will ship it to you after the event. Details on how to order are here.

And if you missed out on watching my episode of Story Connection during its airtimes, you can now watch it whenever you wish on YouTube. In this interview, I talk with host Danna Wilberg about cover art, research and inspiration, and how my writing journey played out. It's worth a watch!

Word Crimes

This video from Weird Al Yankovic deserves its own post, so here you go:

Autumn Postcard

I don't know about you, but it always feels like time compresses towards the end of the year. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's day get closer together, blending into one harried season.

This is also the time of year that I reflect on all the things that were supposed to happen. Like this was supposed to be the year of the agent, the book deal, when fame and fortune came knocking at my door. For me, none of those things happened!

It's easy to get discouraged if you dwell on all the things that should happen, and not acknowledge all the good things that did happen. So if you're looking back, remember to inventory all those serendipitous occasions too.

And if you're already starting to stress for the holidays, here is a video I took up along Carson River, with the autumn colors and quaking aspens:



Happy Autumn Everyone!

And don't forget that the giveaway for the signed copy of Behind the Bookcase by Mark Steensland closes at midnight tonight, so go enter here and here.

Spread the Word: Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week is from September 30th through October 6th this year, and once again the organizers are putting out a call for the public to submit videos for a Virtual Read-Out. This year, they've expanded the criteria and you'll now have three options for joining in:

From their site:
1) You can submit a video no more than 3 minutes long of a reading from a banned or challenged book. The video should include information on where and why the book was banned or challenged. You may also add a comment about why you believe the book is important. Please keep your remarks brief.

2) A video of an eyewitness account of local challenges can be submitted. This video should be no longer than three minutes long.

3) Create a promotional video for Banned Books Week like the videos featured. The video should be no longer than five minutes long. The video’s message should focus on celebrating the freedom to read during Banned Books Week.

Follow the links above to find examples of videos, and the celebrity contributions are well worth watching too. And here's the video I posted last year.

If you choose to make a video, I'd love it if you came back and left me a link in the comments!

Not Another Cat Metaphor!

Those of you who have been following my blog for awhile (Hi Michelle!) may remember that I volunteer at a cat sanctuary, Fat Kitty City. Yes, the same sanctuary that I ran the Pens for Paws Auction for in May, raising some much-needed funds with bidding on critiques and signed books.*

After missing a few weeks of sanctuary visits while I was sick, I've been back to see all my kitty friends once again. And along with all the old favorites, who are mostly permanent residents, we have some newer adoptable cats. Like Gonzo:




And the thing that strikes me the most is, why don't these great cats have homes yet? Gonzo is so desperate to be close to someone that she'll fall asleep draped over my arm (usually because the competition for my lap is too fierce). And another kitty, Thomas, sounds like you've started a wood chipper when you pick him up, his purr is so loud.

All these wonderful, unique cats just waiting to be noticed and matched up to someone who can appreciate them. Sorta like manuscripts, right?

I've lost count of how many times I've read writing samples, or critiqued entire manuscripts, and thought, "Why hasn't an editor or agent snatched this up yet?" Sometimes the agents and editors wise up and sign the writer, but other times that fantastic manuscript continues to languish in slush piles.

Those of us who have been querying projects for awhile, only to get rejection after rejection, continue to write and query in the hopes that someone will come to love our books as much as we do. And in so many "I got an agent!" success stories, that's what seems to be crucial: a series of circumstances that land the manuscript in the right hands at the right time.

Then, that formerly-homeless book becomes a beloved new member of an agency family, appreciated for what it is as much as what it might become. Just like Gonzo and Thomas, and all the other cats waiting for their new people to find them, have the potential to do.

Maybe we need to start an overlooked manuscript sanctuary? And if an agent adopts one, it comes with a cat to watch you while you type.



*I've already gotten a few commitments for the next Pens for Paws Auction, and will be moving it up to March.

If you'd like to do something to help Fat Kitty City right now, you can go to Purina's Rally to Rescue page and vote for our ambassador kitty, Bogey. He is one of four finalists, and the winner's shelter group gets $5,000 worth of food. Our 100+ cats eat a lot of food, and voting doesn't cost anything but your time. Please help us help other cats by casting your vote for Bogey!

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week runs from September 24-October 1, 2011 and this year one of the events to help draw attention to censorship is the Virtual Read Out, where readers can present excerpts from their favorite banned books.

On the Banned Books Week YouTube channel, you can see people celebrating the triumph of the power of words over censorship by reading aloud from books that have been challenged or banned. There is also this short video with Judy Blume, which has some great points about why people try to sensor books for children and what affect it actually has:



For my contribution to the Virtual Read Out, I chose Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. This book was challenged for its religious viewpoint, variously described as anti-Christian and anti-authority.

The controversy stepped up when a movie was made from the book, which is ironic because the movie neatly sidestepped a lot of the issues of religion and stuck to the adventurous and otherworldly parts of the book. Which were the parts I liked the best anyhow! Don't get me wrong, I did appreciate the discussions which his version of the origins of sin stimulated, but to me this book is a marvelous adventure tale.

So I chose to record a reading of a glimpse into another world from The Golden Compass:



Only a few flubs, not bad! What about you--any special plans for Banned Book Week? Did you post a video for the Virtual Read-out?

Revised Video Pitches

If you haven't been following Pitch University, you may not have seen the good news/bad news scenario that followed my video pitch submission. The good news was that both my pitches were chosen for the Pitch Evaluation Lab last Wednesday. The bad--well, more terrifying than bad--news was that I had to finish revisions by that Friday morning. Knowing that I had a dentist appointment Thursday morning, as well as our crit group Thursday afternoon. And to make it more interesting, we had an intense thunderstorm with wind gusts of up to 80mph--all of which will be picked up by microphones if they're sensitive enough.

But I squeaked in under the wire, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. These will come in handy for the SCBWI Spring Spirit Regional Conference next weekend. I'm pasting my revised pitches below, or you can go to Pitch U's site and see the Before & After with Adam Friedstein's comments.

Sneak Peek at My Book Pitches

In case anyone is wondering why I haven't posted in a while, I've been busy making videos. Pitch University's Pitchfest starts up again March 20, with agent Adam Friedstein of Anderson Literary Management viewing and commenting on video pitches.

I've done a new pitch for my completed YA novel, Spirits from the Vasty Deep, as well as my work-in-progress, Crow's Rest. We can't submit our videos until Sunday the 20th, but I thought I'd put them up here for a sneak peek.





Is anybody else submitting a pitch this time around? And you may have noticed that Pitch University is now offering a query feedback option!

RTW and some news!

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors and followers post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on their blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This week's topic: Who are your favorite literary couples?
You know -- the ones you like by themselves, but LOVE together!



First, some nominations in adult titles: Sookie and any of her many lovers (but especially Eric), Claire and Jamie in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, and Jack and Eliza in Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.

For YA: Mary "Jacky" Faber and Jared in the Bloody Jack books, Blossom and Alexander in Ghosts I Have Been by Richard Peck, and Aislinn and Seth from Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series.

What do all these various couples have in common? Each half of the whole is a fully-realized character, with a "real" life taking place offstage. No sitting by the phone waiting for a call for these love interests!

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And now for some news! My video pitch was chosen to be critted for Pitch University's Pitch Evaluation Lab! What's more, I impressed agent Christine Witthohn so much that she asked me to send her the full manuscript of my book!

I would really encourage people to dive in and submit a video--it's a great learning experience, and it just may lead to a request!

P.S. for another example of my burgeoning mad video-ing skills, check out this special video for Valentine's Day

Are You Ready to be Schooled?

Pitch University launches their first "Pitch U Pitchfest Week," wherein agent Christine Wittohn of BookCents Literary Agency will consider your pitches. If a video pitch intimidates you, they've added options for audio and written submissions to ease you into the process.

There are lots of details to get straight, so be sure to read the rules carefully. I recorded a pitch last week that I liked, and after re-reading their rules I discovered that I'd left out the important "completed" tag. So I tackled it again, and I thought I'd post the result today, in case anyone sees some glaring errors I need to fix by Sunday.



And as a bonus, some advice to prospective pitchers on word choice: beware dangerous word combinations like "sets a ship," or you could end up with a blooper like this:


Yes, I said "Olivia Herald sets a shit" before I cracked up. Mom would be so proud.

If you'd like to read the text of the pitch, it's the same one that's on my Novels page above.

Just couldn't let another day go by

without posting something to the blog! I was sick over the weekend and am still getting caught up on things, but I have been playing around with a video book pitch. It's hard to condense an entire book, and I was looking around for examples. Stumbled on this video, which has 50 ultra-condensed book summaries:



Okay, technically they're spoilers, but it's a really quick way to get a feel for the important bits of a book. And I loved their comment on Breaking Dawn, hee hee.

Revision Swamp

Deep in the revision swamp since we've been back from our trip, so I haven't been posting as often. Or trolling my blogger friends' sites, sorry. But the pumpkins ripening in the garden made me feel Halloween-ish and I thought I'd inflict the following videos on you:
P.S. I should warn you that I found these videos as a result of my nephew declaring a "terrible music day" where we all nominated videos in a facebook thread

Fat Vampire is Coming

I'm a big fan of Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday, so I'm eagerly awaiting his next book, Fat Vampire. Here's a tie-in/trailer:



And an interview with Adam Rex on Editorial Anonymous

Nearly Haiku

Short post today, since I inflicted two long ones in a row on my readers. I'm always inspired to write poetry at the turning of the seasons, and despite today's weather feeling more like February than late May I thought I'd post a few of my short poems. I call this form "nearly Haiku":



After a rainstorm,
The grass comes alive
With earthworms and robins.


Lonesome mockingbird
Fills warm nights with his longing---
I would give him rest.



That last line should be read with a certain wry tone, which I'm sure you know if you've ever had a mockingbird singing outside your window ALL NIGHT LONG. My husband says it's only the bachelors that sing at night, so here's hoping our lonesome guy gets lucky.