Interview with Middle Grade Novelist Royce Buckingham by Clete Barrett Smith from Through the Tollbooth. Note: "Royce Buckingham is a Pacific Northwest author who specializes in boy-friendly fiction. His latest book, the supernatural mystery/thriller The Dead Boys, was released by Putnam on September 2 and is a Junior Library Guild Selection." Peek: "It’s a knife-edge, so to speak, because you’re trying to scare them but you’re not trying to traumatize them." See also Clete on Things I've Learned about Writing Novels from Reading Comics.Twitter Book Parties! a celebration of new books for kids, tweens, and teens. Peek: "The day your book releases (full list here), we'll spread the news, raise a glass, break out the chocolate, and virtually party with you. I’ll also provide a link to an independent bookseller of your choice (send me the link featuring your book) or to IndieBound so that thousands of tweeps can buy your book."
Nominate the Best Books of the Year for the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (the Cybils). Books published between Oct. 16, 2009, and Oct. 15, 2010, are eligible. Note: my upcoming picture book, Holler Loudly (Dutton, 2010), is not eligible; it's official publication date is Nov. 11.
Congratulations to Georgia McBride, founder of YALITCHAT, on signing with Mark McVeigh of The McVeigh Agency, and congratulations to Mark on signing Georgia! Read a Cynsations interview with Mark.
Defeating Your Inner Critic Part I: Track the Problem by Carolyn Kaufman from Query Tracker. Peek: "The Inner Critic can be the writer’s worst enemy. Each time we sit down to work, it feeds on our insecurities, reminds us of past failures, and criticizes everything we put down on paper." See also Part II: Put the Critic on the Stand.
When Back List Books Go POD from April Henry. Peek: "One downside to this idea is that a book might never be considered out-of-print, so the rights would never revert back to the author. Speaking as someone who made a few dollars putting her out-of-print backlist on the Kindle..."Susan Hawk of the Bent Agency from Shelli at Market My Words. Peek: "We all know that promotion continues to become a more central part of any book’s success, and as that has changed over time, agents’ focus on the marketing plans that publishing houses create has grown as well."
Dystopian Worldbuilding Worksheet Part One and Part Two from Kate Messner. Peek: "Even imaginary worlds need rules. Consider Hogwarts. The incantation 'Expelliarmus!' always results in an opponent being disarmed, if it's done right. As readers, we wouldn't be on board if a character used 'Expelliarmus!' to disarm an enemy in one scene and then cried 'DroppusWandus!' five pages later. Things need to be consistent."
What Do Amazon Rankings Mean to Authors? by Richard Mabry from Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent at Rants & Ramblings on Life as a Literary Agent. Peek: "The first consideration is that Amazon isn’t the only place people buy books."
Agent Advice: Jen Rofe of Andrea Brown Literary from Chuck at Guide to Literary Agents. Excellent in-depth interview in which Jen talks about her preferences. Note: She represents "children's fiction ranging from picture books to young adult" and is open to diverse voices and characters, especially where race is not the primary issue.
Spooky Giveaway Reminder
Enter to win a copy of The Wish Stealers by Tracy Trivas (Aladdin, 2010)! To enter, email me (scroll and click envelope) with your name and snail/street mail address and type "The Wish Stealers" in the subject line (Facebook, JacketFlap, MySpace, and Twitter readers are welcome to just privately message or comment me with the name in the header/post; I'll write you for contact information, if you win). Deadline: Oct. 31. Sponsored by Simon & Schuster; U.S. entries only.More Personally
Quirky & Quintessential Writer Series: Featuring Cynthia Leitich Smith by Mahtab Narsimhan from Moonlight Musings. Peek: "...what about the stuff totally unrelated to books? The quirky stuff that makes them the quintessential writer? I've wondered the same thing about a lot of writers I've greatly admired and so, was born the idea of asking them questions mostly unrelated to the world of writing. Fun stuff that makes them come alive for me!"
Two Chances to Win Blessed ARC
Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith Review and ARC Giveaway by Insert Book Title Here. Peek: "The world of Tantalize and Eternal combine in Blessed (PDF) to create an amazing story that is captivating. I loved both of the previous novels, but Blessed has blown them both out of the water. This is Cynthia at her best." Note: U.S. and Canadian citizens are eligible to win. Deadline: midnight Oct. 31. Enter here.Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith ARC Giveaway by P.J. Hoover from Roots in Myth. Deadline: midnight Oct. 15. Note: P.J. is also giving away an ARC of her upcoming novel, The Necropolis (CBAY, 2010), an ARC of Brains for Lunch: A Zombie Novel in Haiku?! by K.A. Holt (Roaring Brook, 2010), and an ARC of Alien Invasion and Other Inconveniences by Brian Yansky (Candlewick, 2010). Newly added: Truth with a Capital T by Bethany Hegedus (Delacorte, 2010). Click titles for details!
Spooky Event
"Beyond Feathers and Fangs: Crossing Borders in Realistic and Fantasy Fiction, with Cynthia Leitich Smith" at The 33rd Annual Mary Calletto Rife Youth Literature Seminar - Kalamazoo Public Library. The seminar costs $40 (lower student rates are available) and is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m Nov. 5. Note: Maria Perez-Stable and Beth Amidon will also present a book talk, and additional speakers are Gillian Engberg, Booklist editor, and Debbie Reese, UIUC professor. See more on the speakers. Note: I'll also be speaking on Nov. 4 in a public event at the Kalamazoo Public Library!
