BATMOBILING: putting up emotional shields. It comes from the retracting armor that covers the Batmobile. "She started talking marriage, and he started batmobiling."
BLAMESTORMING: sitting around in a group discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed and who was responsible.
BLOWING YOUR BUFFER: losing your train of thought.
COBWEB: a World Wide Web site that never changes.
ELVIS YEAR: the peak year of something's popularity; Barney the dinosaur's Elvis year was 1993.
OHNOSECOND: that minuscule fraction of time in which you realize you've just made a big mistake.
"I was cleaning out the e-mail. Between hitting the delete button and seeing a message disappear, I realized it was a personal message for me." Thus, the OHNOsecond. In SI units, it is the period of time between slamming your car door and realizing that you left the keys inside.
PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: the fine art of whacking a device to get it working
RODENHINEY: rat's ass; used in the phrase, "I don't give a rat's ass," which mutates to "No rodenhiney."
SALMON DAY: An entire day spent swimming upstream, only to get screwed in the end.

I've decided, since I'm not going to be able to get the hot new books being published in the US, that I will read 10 books each month from the posted list of the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die". It's part of this book reviewing website where you sign up to read the books and then post your reviews of them: The 1% well-read challenge.
.

I'm going to read:

What I Loved – Siri Hustvedt
Kafka on the Shore – Haruki Murakami
The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
The Swimming-Pool Library – Alan Hollinghurst
A World of Love – Elizabeth Bowen
Farewell My Lovely – Raymond Chandler
To Have and Have Not – Ernest Hemingway
To The Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf
The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

I got the idea from

Lenore

Thanks, Lenore!

The newest issue of The Edge of the Forest, a children's literature monthly, is now available! There are many contributors to the Forest, and I'm glad to be one of them. Check out the many book reviews, author interviews, and reader responses in the May issue.

I contributed a piece about prom (and my lack of desire to attend) that was initially inspired by Erin Downing's novel Prom Crashers. I added in my prom booklist for good measure. Visit http://www.theedgeoftheforest.com to read all about it!

Because I'm sneaking in, I'm posting a little early about my signing time at Book Expo America http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/.
And because I'm looking forward to snagging books from my lj and real life friends, I'm posting a list of people I know who will be signing. Feel free to add your information!

Marlene Perez (that's me) will be signing DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK on Friday, May 30 at 3:00 p.m., Table 23, Autographing Area

 
The rest are by date & time

Melissa Marr, melissa_writingsigning INK EXCHANGE on Friday, May 30 at 9:30 a.m.
Mary Pearson, marypearsonsigning THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX on Saturday, May 31 at 9:30 a.m.
Debby Garfinkle,dlgarfinklesigning SUPERNATURAL RUBBER CHICKEN on Saturday, May 31 at 9:30 a.m.
Debbi Michiko Florence,d_michiko_fsigning CHINA on Sunday, June 1 at 11:00 a.m.

And correct me if the times are wrong. I'm operating on very little sleep these days.

Mar

If you think that I only like reading very literary, fancy-pants, thinky kinds of books -- well, you don't know me very well. In fact, I love candy-flavored books! And there's something about a 90-degree day that makes me want to veg out and read something just for sheer, silly pleasure. (I guess if there was a beach here, these would be beach reads. Instead, they are lie-on-couch-with-popsicle reads).

Enter MODEL by Cheryl Diamond. It's the book equivalent of a True Hollywood Story about America's Next Top Model... which is to say, it is awesome. I seriously stayed up almost all night to finish it.



When Cheryl Diamond was 14, she went to NYC for the first time to try her hand at modeling. She got some attention, took some great pictures... and then 9/11 happened. Everything shut down, and Cheryl went back home. At 16, she tried again. This time she moved to NYC, by herself, was briefly homeless, slept in a freaky storage unit, but managed to pull it together despite brokeness, drama, predatory men, drug-addled photogs, mafia stalkers, etc. She became a real working model, successful, a great book, headed for the top... until disaster. OMG.

Nothing I like better than a good old-fashioned rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches-to-? story. And Cheryl herself has a very compelling voice. She can be kinda obnoxious, but she's also funny and smart, and she seems to have her head on straight despite being in some seriously weird situations. And, whoa, talk about mature. I liked her. Nice one, Simon Pulse!

--

If you are between the ages of 14 and 18, Simon Pulse wants to hear from you. Click here to get free books and be a part of the Pulse IT Board!

If anyone who reads this blog is in New York City, I'll be down on Monday. I'm going to a political event at a restaurant called Dip on 29th and 3rd. Really, it's just an informal cocktail hour and meet-n-greet. My close friend, Darius Shahinfar, is running for Congress and I'm going to show a bit of support.

I'm also going to meet my editor during the day. I can't wait to see FSG's new offices (and maybe pick up some ARCs!!!).

In any case, if you are interested in some free hors d'ouvres and some time to chat face to face, drop me a note via my website and I'll get you on the list for the triple-secret VIP members-only mezzanine level. It's supposedly a really cool place. And it would be great to meet some of you guys!

Hope to hear from you!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak with the 7th and 8th graders at Hudson Middle School. What a great bunch of young men and women. We began the day with lunch (how can a day begin any better?) and I had the chance to sit and chat with teachers, administrators, and a few authors and illustrators. And I had the chance to eat the yummy wraps donated by a local deli.

Here I am between Caldecott Honor recipient, Barbara Lehman, and author and blogger extraordinaire, Nancy Castaldo.



Then author, Liza Frenette, came along so we took another picture.



We were scheduled willy-nilly all over the building so it was great to have the chance to spend time with them. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to see any other presentations with the exception of about 3 minutes of Nancy's:



Then it was off to my auditorium.



Now, imagine this auditorium filled with 150 energetic 8th graders. Then imagine it filled with another 150 7th graders. Here I am talking to them.



I talked about how a book is born, in other words how an idea for a book becomes a novel sitting on the shelves. I talked about the writing process, the submission process and the editorial/publishing aspect of things. Afterwards, I found out that Todd Strasser had been there earlier in the week and he talked about many of the same things I did. Grrr.

But everything was good after that when several of the teachers took me to Spotty Dog Books, one of my favorite bookstores in the world, and bought me a beer. Yes, you read that right. They have beer in a bookstore. If there is a heaven, there is a Spotty Dog Books there.

#1  
She's a Southern girl. Part Border Collie with a little bit of Aussie Shepherd and Spitz.

I got Chelise in New Orleans. Yes, I know that is not the way most people spell Chelise but trust me, it was the only small battle I could win about her name at the time. I wanted to call her something literary. Sigh. I did not intend to get a dog. I had a cat. I was living in an apartment (albeit a nice sized one) and I was working a full-time job. But I went to the pound with a friend (always a big mistake) who was looking for a replacement dog. Replacement because he had adopted a dog there and then when they went to spay him, the dog had some disease and they had to put it down. So he basically had a gift certificate to the pound that he didn't want to use.

Then I saw Chelise who was scrawny and covered in bugs. I figured she was about 9 months old back. She leaned against the cyclone fence and it was love at first sight. I remember being worried about have the same pound spay her. When I went to pick her up she was still out cold, sleeping in a pile of urine. They let me take her home even though she wasn't awake and I remember carrying her up those very many stairs of the apartment and hoping I didn't drop her. Benjamin (my cat) was fascinated with the sleeping dog who didn't move even when he poked it with a paw.

I gave her a sponge bath and waited for her to wake up.

This is the oldest picture I have of her. I think she was about a year old.

Here she is a few years later. Filled out a bit more but she still has the goofy black eye that I fell in love with.



#2 
When I lived in New Orleans she was always happy to see me come home from work.  I thought she was part kangaroo the way she would jump into my arms. I'd have to be quick to put my purse down so I could catch her.



Not so much anymore. I often have to go find her to let her know I am home. Part of it is I think she is starting to go deaf and part of is she just doesn't care as much as she used to.



For the longest time my cat Benjamin was her best buddy. (She mourned him for months after he died.) The two of them would wait anxiously for me to come home from work. We had a special cushion made to fit on this chest so they could look out the only window in this very tiny place we lived in when I first moved back to California.

Back then she could still jump up on all sorts of things but now that she is older and has had back surgery, she hesitates before deciding if she really wants to make the next step up or down between the library and the rest of the house. Now that we finally have a big house with a yard it is sad. She doesn't go upstairs at all and really doesn't care to be outside for any longer than it takes to do her business.


#3 
She is the least food motivated animal I have ever had in my life. At least now. When I was in New Orleans and she was still so afraid of everything and hungry she would do more for food but not anymore. She saves her treats until after dinner. No matter when you give them to her. No matter how many you give her. She just lets them pile up. At the end of the night she could have 5, 6,7 treats piled up. And while she will eat a milk bone or a greenie, she would much rather have a piece of a plain tortilla or lick the ice cream bowl.



She does, eventually eat them though. 



#4 
She's a bit of a snob.

She's not fond of most men and doesn't like other dogs. She takes a while to warm up to anyone new.

And she's easily bored.

She is also the first dog I've ever had who didn't know how to play with a ball. In all the years I've had her I've never been able to teach her how. She doesn't play much at all. Never did. She has some stuffed toys and will sometimes run after one once if you throw it, but only once.

She's also a bit silly. 

Whenever I sneeze, she leaves the room. And my office has two sets of French Doors, one from the library (where she spends most of her time) and the other from the living room (where no one spends any time.) If I close the ones to the library and leave the ones to the living room open, she can't figure out how to go around and get in the other way.


#5 

She appreciates a good nap.

In fact, nowadays that's what she spends most of her time doing. Sleeping. Behind the chair in the library or in the corner of my husband's office. Sometimes in my office but not often. Getting her to eat anymore is a major chore and she doesn't want to be petted or brushed so it is always a struggle. She just wants to be left alone and sometimes I find myself resenting the caretaking I am doing without any of the fun of having a dog. 


But then I remember being in New Orleans with only Chelsie and Benjamin to keep me company. I remember how Chelsie and I would run laps around the inside of the gated apartment complex (because it was too scary to run anywhere else) and how she would always stop to roll in a muddy puddle (of which there were always many) and then jump up and shake like it was the best joke she had ever heard. I remember when a stray mama cat deserted the last kitten in a litter and I brought it home. My own cat wanted to eat it but Chelsie let it sleep between her outstretched paws and growled whenever Benjamin came close. 

But most of all I remember how very lost and alone I felt living on my own for the first time (even though I was in my 30s) and how easy it was to get depressed and feel like my life was never going to get any better and how knowing I had to get up and take her outside was often the only thing that got me through the day.

And I figure being a caretaker to her in her old age is a mighty small price to pay for all she has done for me.

The artist Robert Rauschenberg died this week. I liked his art very much. Always stopped to look at it when I saw it.

But it wasn't until I read this paragraph in an opinion piece that David Byrne wrote about Robert Rauschenberg that I realized that Robert Rauschenberg had helped me with my art.

Bob was extraordinarily generous. I don’t mean he gave away art — though he did that, too — but he was generous with his time and with his ideas and spirit. He started Change Inc., a foundation that awards grants to emerging artists who can’t pay their rent, utility or medical bills. No questions asked.


A few years back, when the dot.com boom had fallen and I could not for the life of me get a job, I spent my unemployed days working on a novel because I knew that was what I wanted to do for my real life. But my money had run out and I had no idea how I was going to pay my rent or my utlities, which were all being cut off. My friend Andrea suggested that I apply for an emergency grant from Change, Inc. I did, and I got it, paid my rent and my utlities and it gave me some breathing room, bought me some time to get my poop together, find a job and pretty much saved my ass.

I sent them a thank you card, but let me say it again here and now: Thank you Robert Rauschenberg. You totally helped me.

CHANGE, Inc. awards artists emergency grants of $100-$500 for medical, living, or other expenses. Contact Change, Inc., Box 705, Cooper Station, New York, NY 10276; 212-473-3742

On the way to my visit to Hudson Middle School, I had to cross the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. I love the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. It's really high, gives a great view of the Hudson Valley, and has such literary relevance. Here's a pic:



As I approached Hudson, I noticed I had about an hour to spare, so I stopped here:



Center of the world? Perhaps not, However, Olana was the home of Frederic E. Church, famous American landscape painter. He really was an interesting guy and he had a wicked cool house. Really, it's more of a fortress. And it overlooks the Hudson Valley like a sentinel. Check this thing out:



And check out the view (this is a cloudy day...there are MORE mountains back there):



Another pic:



What a great region for writers and other artists. There is so much creative history around here! Now, I just have to figure out how to sell enough books to afford a house like that. More about the actual Hudson school visit later!

On Tuesday evening, I had the opportunity to speak at the annual dinner for the Children's Literature Connection. Now, this was a very special event because December 2007 saw the passing of children's literature champion, Micki Nevett. She was a dedicated librarian, active in children's literature associations, and on last year's Newbery Committee (apparently, she was a strong advocate for Wednesday Wars). Her passing is a great loss to children's literature.

Anyhow, the good people of the CLC decided to start an annual award called the Micki Nevett Sparkler Award. This trophy and cash award are given to a true champion of children's literature as well as to the library of his/her choice.

All my photos came out crappy, but here is one of the better ones.



In honor of Micki, two young women sang a tear-jerking song from Gregory Maguire's Wicked and everyone was sharing stories of her. Needless to say, it was daunting to get up there and do my thing after all this. But I did my best. Fortunately, I spoke during dessert so people were in somewhat better spirits. There were around 60 people there, all of whom had some interest in children's literature (author, illustrator, teacher, reading specialist, librarian, etc).

I spoke about my Muse, my Inner Critic and the creative process... and how they battle it out in my head. I was nervous about this one because I had scrapped my original speech and rewrote everything at around 4pm that same afternoon.

Here I am talking from far away. If you look closely, you'll see rear views of artistq, Kyra Teis, and Coleen Paratore. You'll also see my empty seat at the right where a penny appears on the table. That penny meant I won the yellow flowers in the center of the table! Yay me.



Here I am closer up but still far away. I'm actually wearing a tie:



I enjoyed speaking at the event and hope to do this talk again in the future. I felt very unpracticed and know I will knock it out of park next time I do it. And if you were there, I hope you enjoyed it!

We have a new kitten.
She is made of magic and fur and cuteness.
I love her. Even when she attacks my toes and tries to eat them, I love her. Even when she crawls along the back of the sofa and jumps onto my head with her claws fully out, I love her. Even when she boxes with my legs when I'm trying to get to the kitchen, I love her.
Kittens are yummy.

When Barry asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day, I said, "I want a kitten. Bring me pint-sized, fuzzy adorableness so that we can take pictures and write LOL Catz captions beneath them."

So last Sunday, we went to the kitty adoption bus that I frequent on my weekend walks. (Yes. I am one of those people. I sit and hold every kitten and cat and wonder just how many animals you can have before you fall into that eccentric category and start wearing housedresses with socks and having a wallet with a chain of fold-out pictures of all your pets that you show to strangers on park benches while telling them how much you've spent on various kitty medical procedures: "This is Mr. Fido P. Beagle, who has incontinence and that's why he's wearing a diaper in this picture. Now, Matilda Poufytail is a calico and will only eat wet food because of her intestinal surgery...")

Anyhoo, we adopted an eight-week old tortoiseshell kitten with a face like a bat's and a purr like a revving hotrod and brought her home whereupon Little Squeak GLARED at me and did everything short of holding up a paw and saying, "Oh hell to the no!" In the past week, Squeak has been playing Bette Davis's part in "Who's Afraid of Baby Jane." I have not heard that much hissing and mewling and growling since I attempted the Barney's Warehouse one-day sale ages ago. I found cigarette stubs in front of my house yesterday, and I'm pretty sure they're Squeak's.

I had also forgotten that having a kitten is a lot like having a new baby, and nobody gets any sleep. Hoo boy. We kept the kitty in Josh's room, away from Squeak, and not only did she do that cat thing and sleep during the day so she'd have plenty of energy to play and knock things over and make noise in the night, but she somehow learned how to climb the ladder to Josh's loft bed (I'm telling you this runty thing fits in one hand) so that she could pounce on him while he tried to sleep. This resulted in much waking in the night and a zombiefied household for three days straight. My favorite thing, though, was the day I was sitting on Josh's floor and I watched his Ugly Doll Wedgehead being slowly dragged into the mysterious closet lair of the kitten-monster. Wedgehead was four times her size but he didn't stand a chance.

The naming process took a few days as we all attempted to see what would stick:

Kitty Pryde (my first choice)
Bandit
Scamper
Shellshocker! (Josh's choice)
My friend Tortoro
Kitty McKittykins
Trixie Superhero Fuzzkins III (my choice. The boys graciously looked away into the distance when I said it)
Moxie (an early Barry offering due to kitten's intrepid nature)
Daisy Danger (thanks, Shannon)
Killer (another Josh choice)
Sugarpie
Wolverine (X-Men names ran fast and furiously)
Godzilla Jane, Rodan, Mothra-Kitty
Sweetpea
and so on

And finally, Barry looked at her fuzzy chocolate face and said, "Cocoa?" which I am spelling "Coco" in my head, just like Chanel, and we all agreed. Not that it matters. I'm sure I will resort to calling her "Kitty" just like I do Squeak. (My favorite stuffed animal from ages ago, a pig, is named...Pig. Really, it's a miracle that Josh is not named "Kid" though I do call him "Boy" a lot of the time. It's good he has a father.)

So our days and nights have been occupied by all things kittenish, because you know what? Kittens are an instant cure for what ails you. They are adorable and funny and fun. And even Squeak is slowly coming around. Last night was their first sleepover together and I did not come down this morning to find a fat Squeak licking her paws amidst tufts of brown fur. It is, however, very funny to see Squeak playing mean girl cat. She likes to flick her tail, knowing this will draw Cocoa's attention. Predictably, Cocoa will try to play with Squeak's tail and then Squeak will act indignant and hiss and look at me like, "You see? You see what she did? Why am I being tortured by this interloper?" And I will say, "Squeak, be nice." And she will glare at me as if to say, "No one here understands me. I'm going to my room to listen to Radiohead" before sauntering away to sulk in the big chair.

Cats amuse me.

BTW, thanks for all your thoughts about MySpace versus Facebook. It was enormously helpful. I realized I am far too lazy to have more than this one blog on LJ for now, but I probably wouldn't have been able to come to that conclusion without your invaluable input.

Now I am off to buy another cat dancer so I can enjoy me some kitty insanity this afternoon. Will post a picture of Miss Cocoa as soon as I can.

A few weeks ago, we sat in on several author panels at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I know, I know...I promised to post my notes, but I've been procrastinating busy. Little by little, though, I’m transcribing them. Here are a few memoirists' observations:

 

1. At some point in your life (or several), the world -- or your body -- forces you through the narrows. Writing your story helps you find your path and to mine the meaning of those experiences. Cry through the pain. Weep if you will. But keep typing. Sara Davidson

 

2. My father unintentionally taught me about the disequilibrium of power – who has it and why they do. World events reinforce the fact that we should do something when it [the disequilibrium] happens. Mike Farrell

 

3. [At a turning point in his life] Everything I thought I believed in was dismantled. I spent time at a halfway house, where you learn to tell the truth and know the truth. Otherwise, you will die. Mike Farrell

 

4. Writing memoir is an act of self importance. But it’s also an act of generosity. Mike Farrell

 

5. When I could no longer sing [a side effect of surgery], I realized I could use my voice by writing books. Julie Andrews

Happy weekend, everyone! Get out there and do something memorable. :)

  

One of the things I really love about Patrick Carman is that when he visits the schools, he gives out tickets that the kids can redeem for free signed posters at his signings. We have several very poor school districts, and this means that the kids can come, meet him, and get something signed without having to pay for a book. The kids feel really special to be able to hand him one of those tickets and they love that he takes the time to talk to them when they come through line. I like that it makes a book signing a community event that all the kids can participate in. (I would say that maybe a quarter of the kids who come in only get a poster--but now that one book is available in paperback, that percentage has dropped a little, more kids can afford a book.)

Five things about visiting my friend Mark Ellis and his third-grade class on Wednesday at Granada Hills Elementary School in The Valley:

1. I felt so bad about not taking pictures at the IRA conference that I reminded myself a million times to take my camera to the elementary school. So of course, I forgot my camera. But on the way up, I realized I could take photos with my cell phone/camera. I spent several hours at the school, and completely forgot to take pictures. Sigh. I must subconciously have photophobia.

2. Mark Ellis and I have been friends forever. Literally. Well, not literally, but a long time because we're both old and our parents went to high school together. He's always been a lot funnier than me. He used HIS sense of humor for good-- helping to make school as fun as possible for his students. Well, I guess if I can help kids enjoy reading, that's pretty good too.

3. One of the third graders read her story out loud, and it sounded as if an adult wrote it-- as if a talented adult writer wrote it. Amazing!

4. The kids gave me many great suggestions for superpowers Ed the rubber chicken could bestow in the last book of the series, the only one I haven't written yet. Why oh why didn't I ask for suggestions from them five books ago? I may hire the girl referenced above to ghostwrite the last book.

5. For the first time ever on a school visit, I passed around my collection of rubber chickens. Some of them make noise. A lot of noise. That was also the last time ever.

Have an awesome weekend!

THE BOOK: The Second Virginity of Suzy Green

THE PITCH:

Suzy Green used to be one of the coolest nonconformist “almost-Goth” party girls in Australia. That was before her older sister Rosie died and her family moved to a new town. Not even her best friend would recognize her now. Gone are the Doc Martens and the attitude. All she wants is to be like Rosie—perfect. The new Suzy Green makes straight As, hangs with the in-crowd at her new school, and dates the hottest guy around. And since all her new friends belong to a virginity club, she joins, too. So what if she’s not technically qualified? Nobody in town knows . . . until Ryan, Suzy’s ex, turns up.

As the past and present collide, Suzy struggles to find her own place in a world without her sister.

THE BLOG: www.sarahantz.com/blog

THE EXCERPT: http://sarahantz.com/books/ (scroll down a bit - it's past the reviews)

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

"he topics addressed here - sexuality, friendship, family relationsships - all add depth to the plot and should provide much fodder for discussion." -KLIATT

"Reading this book is like hearing your best friend tell you the story of her life. It is fun, sweet, and hilarious. Sara Hantz really knows how to get into the teenage mind and tells us that we are okay just the way we are. Another great addition in teen chick lit." -Young Adult Books Central

THE INTERVIEW:

What is your favorite word?
Fabulous.

What is your least favorite word?
No.

What turns you on, creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?
Music.

What turns you off?
Blood.

What's your favorite curse word?
Crap.

What sound or noise do you love?
Waves on a beach.

What sound or noise do you hate?
Dentist's drill.

What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
Movie star.

What profession would you not like to do?
Surgeon.

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
"Hurray…you’ve arrived… now we can have some fun."

BONUS QUESTION: If someone were to make a movie of this book, who would you want to bring your characters to life?
Rachel Bilson and Zac Ephron.


Sara Hantz started writing when she ran out of degrees to study and decided it was much more fun to make things up than to comment on dry academics. Born in England, she moved to New Zealand a few years ago. The Second Virginity of Suzy Green is Sara's first novel. You can visit her super-cute web site at http://sarahantz.com/.

Hello, dahlings! Long time, no talk! 
The day job has kept me busy/travelling the last few weeks, so *yay!* for everyone's successes and *hugs* for any sadness.
Tonight, I go to Avant Salon to lop off my locks. I'm going for a hairstyle that ends at chin level, which is the shortest I've gone since "Mmm Bop" was popular. 
Yeah. It's been a while. 
Hopefully, the stylist will take into account the waviness of my hair, the laziness of my person to style said hair, and... my over-the-top fear of catching head lice in a hair salon. I'm sorry, but if I don't see those scissors soaking in that jar of blue liquid, I get a little nervous.

Then, tomorrow at 11:00 am, I'll be giving a talk at the Westlake Barnes & Noble on The Great Agent Hunt. 
I'll be covering the entire process from query letters to choosing an agent that's right for you. I'll even be critiquing query letters sent in by real live people!!
If you'll be in the Austin area, consider swinging by. I may need hugs if this haircut goes awry.

Enter to win one of three copies of Violet by Design by Melissa Walker (Berkley Jam, 2008).

From the promotional copy: "I was going to get out of the modeling business for good.

"But now I'm having trouble sticking with my decision. After all, if it weren't for modeling, I might still be the invisible wallflower. Hot guys like Paulo wouldn't be interested in me. And I'd never have seen Brazil or Spain--and now France! On the other hand...

"I also wouldn't have to choose between my best friend from home and my agent's shrill demands. Or anguish over my body the way only runway models do. Not to mention all this trouble I'm getting into for speaking out in the press about eating disorders.

"Maybe the life of an international model isn't for me. But if I quit for good, I might always wonder... What if?"

To enter the giveaway, email me with your name and snail/street mail address by 10 p.m. CST May 20! Please also type "Violet by Design" in the subject line. One copy will go to a YA librarian (please indicate if you are one in your entry email). Good luck!

Reminder

The Cynsations grand-prize May giveaway is an autographed paperback set of all three of Lauren Myracle's New York Times bestselling Internet Girls novels (in chat-room-style writing)--ttyl, l8rg8r, and ttfn, all published by Amulet!

Read a Cynsations interview with Lauren. Read Lauren's blog, and visit her at MySpace!

To enter the giveaway, email me with your name and snail/street mail address by 10 p.m. CST May 31! Please also type "Internet Girls" in the subject line. Note: one autographed set will be awarded to any Cynsations YA reader.

For Authors

Source: Jennifer Echols:



More News & Links

Faith in Fiction by Carla Sarratt at The Brown Bookshelf. Peek: "Within African American Christian fiction, there are several well known authors including Jacquelin Thomas, Kendra Norman Bellamy, Michelle Andrea Bowen, Vanessa Davis Griggs, and Reshonda Tate Billingsley." Read a Cynsations interview with the founders of The Brown Bookshelf, and join the new Brown Bookshelf Forum at MySpace!

The Power of Family Conversation: School and community programs help parents build children's literacy from birth by Laura Pappano from Harvard Education Letter. Peek: "Mounting research that links language-rich home environments with reading success and school achievement is driving educators and community groups to target families long before children register for school." Source: Pen Weekly NewsBlast.

Congratulations to April Lurie on the release of The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine (Delacorte, 2008)(excerpt)! Read a Cynsations interview with April!

Blogging helps encourage teen writing: Survey reveals that student bloggers are more prolific and appreciate the value of writing more than their peers from eSchool News. Peek: "Forty-seven percent of teen bloggers write outside of school for personal reasons several times a week or more, compared with 33 percent of teens without blogs. Sixty-five percent of teen bloggers believe that writing is essential to later success in life; 53 percent of non-bloggers say the same thing." Source: Pen Weekly NewsBlast.

"New Vermont College of Fine Arts is almost ready to take over Union Institute" by Sarah Hinckley from the Barre Montpelier Times Argus. Peek: "The three masters of fine arts programs being purchased from Union Institute and University are in Writing, Visual Art, and Writing for Children and Young Adults. They range in age from 10 to 25 years and have produced several published authors and award-winning works." Note: congratulations to the administration, my fellow faculty members, students, and our partners! Thank you to all who contributed to the establishment of our new college!

Kids' Comics: this blog "is an online publication of RAW Junior, LLC, publisher of the Little Lit Library and TOON Books. The blog is maintained by Bill Kartalopoulos with contributions from TOON Books artists and authors." Source: Anastasia Suen's blog.

"Child's 'One Hen' Lays Microlending Success" from National Public Radio. Peek: "That part of the story also mirrors Darko's experience: 650 people now work at his farm and he has granted small loans to entrepreneurs such as bakers, dressmakers and traders in his own community. His repayment rate? 98 percent." Note: features One Hen by Katie Smith Milway (Kids Can, 2008). Don't miss the official One Hen website--a model for the best in book sites!

The 2008 Skipping Stones Honor Awards: "recognize 26 exceptional books and teaching resources. Together, they encourage an understanding of the world's diverse cultures, as well as nature and ecological richness. The selection promotes cooperation, nonviolence, respect for differing viewpoints, and close relationships in human societies." Source: Mitali's Fire Escape.

The Nonfiction Author-Illustrator Relationship by Sneed B. Collard III at Interesting Nonfiction for Kids. Peek: "Not long ago, another one of 'my' artists, Joanna Yardley, who lives here in Montana, took an especially daring step." See also "My Tune Has Changed: Writers and Photoresearch" by Tanya Lee Stone.

Dialogue: Writing for Children and Young Adults: an interview with authors Linda Urban and Micol Ostow by Carrie Jones from Through the Tollbooth. Peek from Linda: "Longtime friends have a shorthand for things. They speak in private jokes. They tease. They sidestep. They shield." Peek from Micol: "There's always a temptation to cram exposition into dialogue but to do so is to give in to lazy impulses." See also Tami Lewis Brown's discussion this week of showing versus telling and literary time.

Thick-skinned, Thin-skinned, The Skin I'm In: Books about Bullying, Teasing, Relational Aggression and School Violence by Tessa Michaelson from the Cooperative Children's Book Center (2008). Peek: "From books depicting the heartache of gossip and social invisibility to books portraying the struggle of feeling comfortable into one’s own skin, these titles will have relevance and resonance with readers." See also BulliesinBooks.com.

Teacher's Guide to My Life as a Rhombus (Flux, 2008). Note: novel by Varian Johnson; guide by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. Learn more about Tracie's teacher guides. Need a guide?

Asian American Book List from the National Education Association. Peek: "a bilingual reading list of titles appropriate for K-12 students. The following titles are listed by grade level and include fiction, non-fiction and poetry." Source: NCTE.

The Perfect Blend from Lensey Namioka from Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup. Peek: "Lensey's most recent book is a young adult novel called Mismatch (Delacorte, 2006), which I devoured over the weekend. Fifteen-year-old Sue Hua, a Chinese American girl whose family moves from culturally diverse Seattle to a mostly white suburb, falls for Andy Suzuki, who plays violin in the school orchestra. They are seen as an ideal couple since they are both Asian, but this is just one of many misconceptions that are examined and dispelled in the course of the novel."

"I'm Talking to You, Corded! The mismatch of technology and picture books" by Erica S. Perl from Slate Magazine. Peek: "And yet there is one place—a whole world, actually—where children are safely walled off from wired and wireless devices. That is the world of picture books." Note: just FYI, my Santa Knows, co-authored by Greg Leitich Smith, illustrated by Steve Bjorkman (Dutton, 2006) featured a more modern take as Alfie takes his campaign to the Web. Source: VCFA.

Attention Austin Writers: author Jo Whittemore will be speaking on "The Great Agent Hunt" at the 11 a.m. May 17 Austin SCBWI meeting at the Barnes & Noble in Westlake, Texas. Read a Cynsations interview with Jo.

Attention Austin Event Planners: famed fantasy author Franny Billingsley has a particular interest in visiting the Texas Hill Country! Drop her an invite! Check out her newest release, Big Bad Bunny, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Atheneum, 2008). Read a Cynsations interview with Franny.

Celebrating Young Writers

READ and WRITING magazines present the 2008 Student Writing Showcase. In the Student Writing Center section, check out the honorees. Note: You can hear me read two of them aloud--"Veiled Water" by Nadia Qari and "House at Bodega Bay" by Hari Srinivasan.

More Personally

Attention authors/publicists: interested in submitting a book for Cynsations review/interview consider? See guidelines.

Thank you to Betty Bird and everyone in my warm and enthusiastic audience at the Daughters of the American Revolution-Austin Woman's Club luncheon on Thursday! It was a pleasure to meet y'all. Thanks too for the tour!

On a more dramatic note, Austin is still cleaning up from Thursday's early morning storm.

It hit the center of town between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. with four-inch hail and winds clocked as high as 47 miles per hour.

Trees still block many neighborhood streets (including mine, headed north), three elementary schools were closed yesterday, and up to 40,000 people lost power. More than 3,000 are still without. Here's the latest from the Statesman.

We were lucky, losing only a medium branch and one west-facing second-floor window. West-side windows were hit (and broken) hard across town; at least one east-side apartment complex lost all of theirs. The problem was that the large hail was flying fast and horizontally toward them. If your angle was right, it looked like a blizzard.

I was on the second floor at the time, rushing to unplug my laptop and grab my flash drive (priorities?) when hail broke the window behind me. We never lost power, though our cable service was out until about 4 p.m. yesterday.

The kitties weathered the storm in their cat carriers in the first floor central hallway, except for Mercury, who was temporarily in hiding and then decided that clinging--claws out--to my shoulders was the only way to go.

Of course many other cities have been hit much worse by spring storms. It appears that none of our funnel clouds actually touched to cause tornado-level damage. From the reports, it appears that our damage was to property--not people. There was time enough to secure animals, etc.

Still, quite a night. See Greg's report and Don Tate's.

Finally

Check out the book trailer for The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman (Greenwillow, 2008)! Read a Cynsations interview with Jody, and learn more about the Class of 2k8!



Don't miss the book trailer for A Difficult Boy by 2k8's M.P. Barker (Holiday House, 2008)!



And take a peek at this new entry for Impossible by YA superstar Nancy Werlin (September, 2008)(author interview):

So I'm thinking about getting my first tattoo. Yeah, I'm finally getting
inked. The tattoo is going to be an ambigram, a graphical figure that spells
out a word not only in its form as presented, but also in another direction or

orientation (usually backwards or upside down).

My original intent was to get an ambigram tattoo that said "NOLA," which
stands for New Orleans, Louisiana. But the artist said the letters don't work

well graphically. Then I asked about getting the numbers 8295, which stands
for August 29, 2005, the date of Hurricane Katrina. However, numbers don't
make good ambigrams.

The artist then suggested NewOrleans. Visually it will be stunning. There
are a number of styles to choose from, and I'm looking for feedback. If you
go to his website, there are a list of styles (Style A, Style B...Style M).
Which one do you like best? Why?

Here's the link: http://www.wowtattoos.com/index-75.html

Thanks for helping.

Peace,

Phil