Cali Plans

I don't know if I mentioned this, but next week I'll be in California for my brother's wedding.

There will be some Disneyland action.

And the dashingly handsome sidekick gets to take the son to Lego Land.

But best of all, my family from Hong Kong will all be there-- mom, dad and sister.

Plus, we're staying in a section of Los Angeles that is in close proximity to Little Saigon and Korea Town. So yeah, the food should be amazing. 

On the blog that week I'll be participating in Kelley Lynn's bloghop:

... which should be a load of crazy fun. Have you signed up for this one? If not, check out Kelley's post about it >>here<<.

I never went to Prom or Homecoming in high school because we didn't have those things in Hong Kong. Kelley said I could post anyway, so I'm trying to decide between an elementary school dance, middle school dance party at my friend's house, and college Homecoming.

Any votes? Let me know in the comments. (Hint: the further back in time you go, the tackier the outfit.)

Have a wonderful Monday, everyone!

Interview with Krista Van Dolzer ... and Winners!

My dear friend and critique partner of two years, Krista Van Dolzer, signed with Super Agent Kate Testerman (a.k.a. Daphne Unfeasible) a few weeks ago. I am over-the-moon excited for her!! To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to do a little interview and pick her brain about writing and what it's like being newly agented.

 

Welcome Krista! I know it's early in the author-agent relationship, but what are the top three things you've come to appreciate about your agent?

 

I appreciate how enthusiastic Kate is, both in general and about my manuscript. I'm an exclamation-point person (online, anyway), and Kate is, too, so that works out well. As for my manuscript, Kate offered representation a few hours before leaving for the Bologna Book Fair because she couldn't stand waiting, and I loved that. It actually factored into my decision to sign with her.

 

I also appreciate how patient she is, especially with me. I'm kind of a worrywart, so I e-mail her more than I probably should. But she's never been anything but kind and enthusiastic in her responses. I never feel like I'm bugging her.

 

Finally, I appreciate her tenacity. As another of her clients told me, she's committed to having success with every one of us, so she's not afraid to submit a manuscript as many times as it takes. 

 

Can you tell us a little about your current novel? Tell us about genre and subject, but also a nutshell version of what the querying process was like for you this time around.

 

THE REGENERATED MAN AND ME, whom I affectionately call Steve, is an MG historical with a dash of science fiction. I was lying in bed one night, just on the verge of sleep, when a first line came to me: "Mama said it was plum foolishness to keep my cousin's dog tags like that, with his blood still stuck between the ridges of his name." I wondered what kind of story would start with that kind of line, and Steve was born.

 

Steve is the fourth manuscript I've queried, but to be honest, I thought my third manuscript was going to be the One. When it didn't land an agent, I was devastated, heartbroken. I started querying Steve in this weird in-between place, with absolutely no expectations as to how it would turn out. Happily, the first query I sent turned into an offer (although it did take a few months).

 

Have you always written Middle Grade? Do you see yourself continuing to write in this genre?

 

Steve is the first truly MG manuscript I've tackled; my previous novels were YA. Eventually, I want to build a career like Shannon Hale's or Lauren Oliver's, in which I bounce back and forth between YA and MG, but for the time being, I plan to stay in this category, just for continuity's sake.

 

(Oooh, I'd love to bounce back and forth between YA and MG, too!)

What's it like being on submission?

 

Exhilarating, terrifying, surreal. Mostly surreal. I've been on submission for less than two weeks, so I guess I can't say for sure:) I can say that I'm still having a hard time believing that real-life editors are reading my manuscript. And after spending so long in the query trenches, I'm still trying to figure out how to relinquish control of the process. Thank goodness for Kate's patience:)

 

Do you have a favorite author who inspires you in your writing?

 

You know, I've never really thought about it. I certainly have authors whose books and writing I admire. I love Lauren Oliver's work and how effortlessly she writes both YA and MG. I just finished Maggie Stiefvater's THE SCORPIO RACES, and the soul-deep realness of the relationship between Puck and Sean thoroughly engaged me. And then there are those authors--A.J. Paquette, Ally Condie, a bunch of others whose names I can't think of right now--whose prose just makes me sigh. I wish I could put words together half as beautifully as they do.

Thank you, Krista, and congratulations again! And if you aren't already following Krista's blog (or Kate's for that matter), you really need to. Besides blogging fantastically, Krista holds Agent Inbox contests regularly, which are golden opportunities for aspiring writers.

And, very quickly, I want to announce the fabulous winners of my little celebration critique contest:

Full Manuscript Critique: Andrea Berthot 

Ten-page Critique: Suzi

Ten-page Critique: Julie DeGuia

Congratulations, winners! And thank you to everyone who entered. I wish I had time to give a critique to every one of you!  


Happy Writing!

I'm Back!

Thank you, everyone, for all the birthday wishes and hello to all my new bloggy friends! I am floored by how many people are actually entering my little contest for a critique. Thank you! And everyone who attempted to guess my age ... you did a great job. Some of you got it and everyone else was close. ;)

I'm back from the conference and just have to say how much

I LOVE SCBWI!

If you're a children's book writer of any variety (picture book, middle grade, young adult or anything in between) I hope you know about the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators.

I learned so much this weekend.

It was actually guilt-inducingly amazing to be away from my kids, to actually dress in professional-ish clothes (rather than my daily uniform of jeans and t-shirt), to carry on adult conversations for longer than two-minute intervals, and to be able to totally focus on a speaker or a presentation without distractions.

But the part of the conference I most enjoyed was that I met my personal goals while I was there.

I decided I wasn't going to be shy, that I was going to get out there and talk to the faculty and not hold back.

And I did it!

I ate lunch with agent Jenny Bent (she was so nice!) and introduced myself to agent Chris Richman (he was so nice!). I said hi to agent Tricia Lawrence (she was so nice!) from her clients who are my bloggy friends, Melodie and Adam.

I introduced myself to editors from Dial and Carolrhoda books. (They were awesome!) 

I approached Matt de la Pena (I'm a fan girl!) and told him how his book MEXICAN WHITEBOY had fooled my subconscious into thinking main character Danny was a real person. (My review >>here<<)

And I saw old friends and made new friends with fellow aspiring writers.

It was all such a treat.

How about you? Do you enjoy conferences? What's your favorite part?

Celebration Critiques

I'm celebrating some stuff.

First, I'm getting absurdly close to 300 bloggy friends. (Yay!)

Second, it's my birthday tomorrow. (Yay!)

Third, I'm heading to the SCBWI Western Washington regional conference this weekend. (Yay!)

In honor of all these YAYs, I want to have a little giveaway.

This is going to be easy, I promise.

There are THREE prizes, all for writers:

• One (1) full manuscript critique
• Two (2) first 10 page critiques

All you have to do to enter:

1. Make sure you're a blog follower (Can you see your tiny avatar under Friendly Followers in the sidebar?)
2. Leave a comment.
3. If you tweet, facebook or spread the word on your blog, I'll give you extra entries. Just let me know in the comments that you shared.

I'll leave this little giveaway open for a week (April 19-April 25) and announce the random winners on April 26. I have a very special interview planned for that day, so you'll want to make sure to check back anyway.

And just for fun, try taking a stab at guessing how old I'm turning in the comments. Don't worry, you won't offend me. Age is practically a virtue and I'm very good-natured. But I will give you some hints (this has nothing to do with winning or not winning the critiques ... just for fun):

• My oldest child will be eleven this summer
• I was born in the Year of the Snake
• The hit song in the US the day I was born was by someone named Thelma Houston

Go have fun in the comments & thanks for stopping by to celebrate with me! 

Photo credit: earl53 from morguefile.com

Poetry Month Verse Novel Read Along

Although I'm jumping in a little late, I'm participating in Caroline Starr Rose's Poetry Month Verse Novel Read Along this month!

To participate, I need to read at least three verse novels during the month of April.

Here are the four verse novels I've chosen:

If you'd like to join in, there's still time. Believe me, verse novels have a lot going for them. They're not only beautiful reads, but they don't take as much time to read as novels in prose. Two weeks is plenty of time. If you haven't read one before, now is your chance to dive in to a new reading experience.

Check out >>Caroline's blog<< for more information.

Here are some other verse novel titles I highly recommend*:

Have you read a verse novel that you would recommend? Any of you up for Caroline's Read Along? If you haven't read a verse novel before, is there something holding you back? I remember feeling very uncertain when I picked up my first verse novel, so don't feel alone. 

*I haven't read AUDITION yet, but man, it looks so good! Waiting for my library to get the print version so I don't have to read it on my computer. 

What's Your Reading Style?

I was thinking about this the other day as I stared at my little Goodreads page. I think I'd entered a contest for a book and everybody else who entered had thousands of books on their lists and I had some pathetic number--42, I think.

Don't let this number fool you. I love to read.

But when I started thinking about it, although I love reading and I make reading a regular habit, I don't get through a huge number of books in a year. My writing definitely takes precedence over reading. Also, I'm not a fast reader. Editing has trained me to be slow and careful.

When I sink into a book, it's like sinking into a hot bath. I'm not a woman on a mission. I'm there to enjoy it, savor the moment.

I'm curious ... what's your reading style? Do you devour book after book or are you more of a tortoise? If you're a writer, do you spend more time reading than writing, or are you primarily a writer? 

It's my birthday next week, and since I'm sneaking up close to 300 hundred followers, I'm planning a little critique giveaway. I have one critique in the lineup that I promised a friend, but after that, my schedule is wide open, so I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate a birthday and a milestone at the same time. I hope you'll check back next week to enter!

Also, on a side note, Sharon Mayhew has a little critique fest going on right now at her blog. I'm entry # 2 if you'd like to head over there and leave a comment. These are lots of fun and I always walk away learning something from the experience. (My writing friend Grace, who guest blogged for me once before, also decided to enter. This is her first time putting something up for public critique, so if you have time, check out entry #8. Thanks!) 

Photo credit: grafixar from morguefile.com

I Love Being a Novel-Writing Mom

It might seem illogical, but being a busy mom really can work  well with a writing schedule.

Why? Here are five reasons I love being a novel-writing-mom on this fabulous Monday afternoon:

(1) When I get a quiet moment or two, I'm focused (usually). Writing's on the agenda. I don't have the luxury to say, "I'll write later today." When the kids are napping, the time is now.

(2) Lots of opportunity for percolation time. Lots of brainless activity goes into keeping a household of seven running: laundry to fold, dishes to wash, vacuuming, and even cleaning that green bathtub every couple years. This is the best time to think through my novels and plan my writing goals for the day.

(3) Writing gives me a creative outlet. I don't have to stare at a screen all day doing "other stuff" or using up my creative energy in my day job. (I know a lot of wonderful moms who use a lot of their creative energy on their kids, but I'm not really that way. I adore my kids, feed them, clothe them, clean them ... and let them play on their own. *grin*)

(4) Though I'm busy, my time is flexible. I'm not required to go on business trips or be in an office for eight hours a day. If I really need to get something done, my kids entertain themselves for awhile.

(5) Living on one salary with five kids and a mortgage makes you poor. *smile* We don't have a lot of extra money to spend on trips or outside entertainment, which means we are at home a lot, which in turn means more time to write. Writing is my #1 form of entertainment.

So, how about you? Anything to add to the list? How does your day job help or hinder your writing goals?

My sweet bunch!

Winner! & Review: This Burns My Heart

Well, Sam, you did it. I have you to thank for these dark circles under my eyes, because there were three nights in a row I stayed up WAY too late reading THIS BURNS MY HEART when I should have been sleeping!

This novel was not only beautiful, but it was an interesting exploration into the anatomy of a wrong decision.

Here's the back copy to give you an idea of the plot, because I'm terrified of giving away too much:

On the eve of her marriage, beautiful and strong-willed Soo-Ja Choi receives a passionate proposal from a young medical student. But caught up in her desire to pursue a career in Seoul, she turns him away, having impetuously chosen another man who she believes will let her fulfill her dreams. Instead, she finds herself tightly bound by tradition and trapped in a suffocating marriage, her ambition reduced to carving out a successful future for her only daughter. Through it all, she longs for the man she truly loves, whose path she seems destined to cross again and again....

What I loved about this book:

• The characters felt real and I think this was because Samuel Park did an expert job giving each one depth. As a writer, I know what a temptation it can be to make our characters extreme. We want to make our villains purely evil and our heroines purely good, but Park's characters were never wholly evil or wholly good. They were a mix and balance, just like real people are. Soo-Ja does make a bad decision when she marries her husband, Min. But Min isn't purely bad. Park could have easily made him a drunk wife beater, but he held back so that I liked, pitied and hated Min at different points in the novel. I felt this way about all Park's characters. I was in awe of main character, Soo-Ja, and of course liked her and could relate to her, but I was aware of her flaws, too.
• There is a portion of the book that I cannot describe without spoiling it for other readers ... but in this portion my heart bled for Soo-Ja and I could not put the book down even though I knew it would mean I would only get a few hours sleep. Perhaps it was the mother in me that related to her so strongly and it's true-- Soo-Ja had a three-year-old daughter and I also have a three-year-old daughter. I could imagine myself going through her situation, imagine the panic attached to it, imagine my own daughter as the victim. Ugh! It was intense! (Incidentally, my dreams after I finally went to sleep were very weird that night.) Bravo, Samuel, for making me feel so strongly for your characters!
• You all probably know I have a soft-spot in my heart for Asian novels. I love novels set in China, especially, but Korea has to be a close second. When we worked in China, seventy-percent of the kids in our international school were Korean nationals. Koreans were some of my husband's favorite students and my kids' best friends. I also got to rub shoulders with many Korean moms and eat their kim bop. So, even though I've only been to Korea once, I found the setting for this novel and the cultural nuances absolutely fascinating. I love enjoying an amazing, heartfelt story and also learning about a different part of the world at the same time.
• Along those same lines, I loved the time period Park chose for this novel. I didn't know a lot of Korean history from this era (1960's & 70's) and I feel more educated now. The descriptions of the protests at the beginning of the novel were fascinating, as were the details about the city of Seoul near the end.

Overall, this was a beautiful, heart-felt read. I won't quickly forget Soo-Ja, Yul or Min. Even Eun-Mee burrowed her way into my heart, although this was more for pathetic, pitying reasons (...which shouldn't surprise you at all if you've read the book).

If you missed it, I interviewed Author Samuel Park last Wednesday about query letters and first pages, and thanks to Simon and Schuster's generosity, I'm able to award a free paperback copy of THIS BURNS MY HEART to one lucky commenter from that post. 

Without further ado, the winner is (thanks to Random.org) :

SAM Posey

Congratulations, SAM!

 

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week. We're on spring break here, which, when you have five kids, translates into craziness. I'll be posting again next Monday. Until then, enjoy your spring!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.