Here's some books to add to your (and my) reading for Oh (MG & YA) Canada! reading. And, there's some great picture books and non-fiction in there to check out, as well.
I'm happy to welcome Denise Jaden, author of Losing Faith, to my blog.
You can learn more about Denise, here. And, of course, check out and follow her blog!
Losing Faith (from Good Reads)A terrible secret. A terrible fate. When Brie's sister, Faith, dies suddenly, Brie's world falls apart. As she goes through the bizarre and devastating process of mourning the sister she never understood and barely even liked, everything in her life seems to spiral farther and farther off course. Her parents are a mess, her friends don’t know how to treat her, and her perfect boyfriend suddenly seems anything but. As Brie settles into her new normal, she encounters more questions than closure: Certain facts about the way Faith died just don't line up. Brie soon uncovers a dark and twisted secret about Faith’s final night...a secret that puts her own life in danger.
The Book Trailer :
I've read the book. Twice. The promise delivered, in the synopsis and book trailer, of an emotion and suspense filled book is met. And then some. Denise's writing is vivid and pulls you into Brie's world from the beginning. You feel what she feels and what to know what happened to her sister. What _really_ happened, not what people say.
Thanks for being here, Denise! The book we're giving away is LOSING FAITH, it was your debut novel for 2010. Your next book is coming out in 2012. Can you tell us a little bit about that one?
My 2012 book is called APPETITE FOR BEAUTY and it's another YA contemporary that I imagine will be geared at ages 14 and up. It's another sister story, and it's still in the process of some major revisions, so I don't have much else to share on that one just yet.
Do you have any advice for a first time author going in to do a school or library visit or do you have a great 2010 debut moment you would like to share with us? (or--both?)
I've done one library visit (before my book came out) and have not yet ventured into schools (though I'm hoping that will happen soon). So I don't have much in the way of advice for other authors, except I'd say to be yourself and try to enjoy yourself. I take any opportunity to talk about my books and writing with people who are interested as a real blessing.
As for a 2010 debut moment...I did a number of book signings following my book's release. Many of them were visited by folks of all ages, and there were a number of people who saw me sitting there and ended up buying my book because I was a local author. There were even older men, in their fifties or sixties buying my book! But I still remember the first teen girl who came to a book signing specifically to meet me and pick up my book. That was a really great moment for me.
In my book club I have some keen readers (of course!), but also some keen writers. They range in age from 8 to 13. When did you start writing and do you have any advice for my book clubbers?
I started writing later in life, actually well into my thirties. But one thing I wish is that I started earlier. Writing stories is life-giving for me. As for advice, I'd say figure out what you really connect with in books and why you think you connect with that. It will be helpful to know as a writer, but also as a reader it can help you weed through the multitude of new books out each year and find some favourites.
Speaking of my book club kids. Anything you'd like to recommend they read or we get for our library? Something that is a recent read, or a book you loved when you were a kid?
For ages 8-13, I would recommend LEAVING GEE'S BEND by Irene Latham. Irene is another 2010 debut author, and she writes in such a unique and compelling voice. You'll love it! (EDIT FROM DEB : I'll order it today, Thanks Denise)
And finally...
What is your favourite part of living where you do? Do you have another part of Canada that you love to visit or that you've always wanted to but haven't yet?
Well, part of me thinks I should have been born in Tahiti...but other than that, I truly love where I live. The weather is fairly mild, but still varied. We can ski in the winter and suntan in the summer. Vancouver is a beautiful city, and only an hour away.
As for other places in Canada...I love all the places in B.C. I've had an opportunity to travel to. I dance with a Polynesian dance troupe, and we usually venture to Alberta every couple of years as well. When I was about five my family drove across Canada together, and I'd love to do that trip again, now that I'm older and will remember it better. I'm especially drawn to the Maritime provinces.
Actually, one more question.Anything I didn't ask that you were hoping I would ask?
I think you had a great set of questions, Deb! I can't think of anything!!
Thanks again Denise, for helping me kick off a year of interviews and giveaways for Oh (MG & YA) Canada!
And now...on to the Giveaway. You can win a copy of Denise’s book, Losing Faith. This is open to Canada and the U.S. and you have until midnight (MST), February 7 th to enter. What do you need to do? Just leave and comment on this post and you are in.
And---if you just can't wait on the giveaway of Denise's book (and really, if you end up with two there is always...donate to your local school or public library!) :
Finally, a new blog on the writing process that I am really looking forward to following and learning from. It’s Elizabeth O. Dulemba’s other blog that follows her writing middle grade journey.
A post on “the perfect time to write.” And from that post, “Perfect writing times are made not born and if you insist on waiting for one...well, good luck finishing that book.” CJ Omololu makes her point and makes it well. There was a time when I could write in and around everything else going on...somewhere along the line I have lost some of that. Reading this was a good reminder that it can be done.
I am not quite there yet. On the other hand, maybe I am and don’t know it. There are some posts I’ve been “saving”. Saving? Maybe they just aren’t working!
Revisiting your writing goals. Here Julie Eshbaugh and her colleagues re-visit their goals for 2011-they have three main areas that emerged. Self-Discipline, Patience and Reading. Julie takes those and expands on ways to reach those goals.
This next post ties in with why I write, why I started writing. When I used to do school visits, I would tell stories and read aloud from picture books and novels (parts of the novel, that is.) I loved the energy this created. Kids would come into the library, looking for the books, share books they’d read and loved--get library cards. I remember one mom coming up to the reference desk very excited...her son who apparently didn’t like reading, came home from school with a list of books he’d written out for her to get. They were books I’d talked about at a visit. So, YAY to the authors who put those words to the page and all the people in between who get the books into kids hands! I want to be one of those authors!
Giveaway and I love this one. It is for book bloggers, encouraged to read and review...create more exposure for the books! This is U.S. only and you have until February 11.
A solid read on using the movies to help structure your novel. Liked how she used two very different movies to show what she means. Like she says at the end...”Good story-telling is good story-telling,...” Why not learn from a variety of mediums? Makes sense to me!
Not writing, writing, this next one, but...certainly part of the writing life-I’m heading to the Western Washington Conference in April, so this is a good read!
This is such good good advice. And I came across it because I’m participating in Maw Books Bloggiesta Challenge. I am learning so much about writing a blog it’s craaaazy, man. Craaazy.
Now, many of you may already know this, but just in case in your writing reads travels you missed it, Elana Johnson’s book from Query to the Call is now free. Go to her website (even if you already have it, or don’t need, just go her to website and enjoy--it’s gorgeous! And be sure to put her forthcoming book on your to read list) and you can download it!
After reading posts from several different bloggers who signed up I realized this is something well worth doing. And, let's face it, Pedro's kinda cute. Of course, now that I am in, I am pumped, ready to read, blog, grow, learn!
Here's the list, off the top of my head. Needs some organizing, but but I can work on that as I go!
-while taking part in this....watch, learn, study--there are so many bloggers out there to learn from!-take notes
-Blog Reading -re-organize google reader, fix up the subscriptions and followings (I am doing both so getting feeds for one post twice)
-Oh MG/YA Canada-post reviews, contact writers with the schedule for interviews and giveaways
-Giveaways-create a giveaway page
-Comment Challenge-finish going through the list of participants
-Reading Challenges! Post the books I've read, think I might withdraw from one?
-Figure out what to do with Three Writing Reads and a Giveaway. I was going to stop doing it once I really got going on my Oh MG/YA Canada! But, I am kind of enjoying doing it.
-Grimm Blogger? start brainstorming, thinking about where to go with this--keep it simple to start.
-carry on finding Debut Canadian Authors to add to The Story Siren's Canadian list
-post my Debut Reads so far!
-work on my book talks for blog. Rather than reviews for my reading challenges, I want to share the book talks I would use with customers (when I'm a the bookstore) and patrons (when I'm at the library or doing my book club).
Although I am not marketing myself as a writer (not yet anyway) I am writing and working on my blog to help market, promote, share my absolute passion for kid lit authors and their work. If I am going to do this, I want to do it _well_. Betsy Bird’s post will help with that. I’m thinking “Just Deb” = OH MG YA Canada as the year goes on. But, I want it to broaden...picture books, non-fiction, magazines, illustrators for all the previous. Okay, enough writing thinking out loud. Here is the link.
Read this yesterday, as well. Reading it again today. And most likely tomorrow. Good links within links to follow. This is why I must limit my time on reading writing blogs--I need to be applying what I’m learning. Right? Write.
And...the contest! I have read and _loved_ this book. And now? A chance to win a signed copy! Oh yeah, baby. This contest is open internationally and you have until January 27, 2011. Thanks, Carolina!
And I am thinking you may have already heard that WriteOnCon is coming in August? If not, check it out! And read the workshops, transcripts, watch the vids from last year. They are made of awesome, so much to learn. August 2011--they are adding to the awesome!
Sheree Fitch’s Pluto’s Ghost it’s one of my giveaways for OH MG/YA Canada Reading Challenge. If you’d like to win a copy of her book, or just learn more about it it, go here :
"Murderer. It's one kick in the belly of a word isn't it? Has a taste, too. It tastes like barbed wire and has wild hyena eyes. Murderer. Murder-her. Did he? Did I? That's when I remember what I want to forget."
Jake Upshore has loved Skye Derucci since before he can remember. Volatile, complex and frustrated (he's got a label disorder from all the labels he's been given) at the best of times, Jake's on a desperate quest to find Skye before she aborts the baby he believes is his. As he hurtles headlong toward certain tragedy, Jake relives the fatal choices he's made and the powerful forces that have led him to this to end. A gripping thriller and a heart-wrenching love story, Pluto's Ghost is a raw and powerful novel about anger, escape, and redemptive love.
Leave a comment it you would like to be entered in the draw. The chance to enter ends January 31st and is open to U.S. and Canada.
Recommend abook for my book club kids and me (any MG or YA!-just let me know if it happens to be Canadian) that will get you another entry...if you link to your review of the book, or another review of it, that gets you another entry!
Next on my year of Canadian reads will be an interview and giveaway-Denise Jaden and Losing Faith will be on the blog so stay tuned!
The Story Siren and her 2011 Debut Challenge inspired me to do something with a Canadian spin. So, I created Oh MG YA Canada.
The challenge is to read 12 MG or YA books by Canadian authors by the end of 2011. You can join anytime by adding a comment.
But, if adding yet another challenge to your plate isn't for you, just pick one, two, three--whatever fits or intrigues you. Or maybe add a Canadian title to one of your current challenges.
If you have suggestions or requests for interviews and features you can contact me. Please include Oh MG YA Canada in the subject line.
Authors for you to check out
The following will be doing (and have done) interviews and giveaways with me:
A write read (for your blog). Although this is related to a question on whether or not to include in a query, there is some good information on blog writing in general!
EDITED to add...I thought the Random Generator kept the winning number, lol. It doesn't so, without further ado the number that popped up was number--2
Congrats Angela!!! Happy Reading!
Thanks so much to everyone who entered my first giveaway.
I’m heading to our local SCWBI Social tomorrow night. Part of it is going to include a round table discussion about strengthening scenes in your novels. I’m bring to the table...micro-tension, something I learned about when I attended Donald Maass’s workshops at the Surrey International Writer’s Conference a couple of years ago. Here is an information blog post about it :
And just came across this post from Critically Yours. All about Creating Independent Characters. Liked that she shared what E.M. Forrester once said...good stuff.
The Giveaway (it’s massive!). This one is U.S. only, ends January 31, 2010 and is well worth entering if you can and if you can’t, help spread the word, buy L.K. Madigan’s books, order them for your library! I read Flash Burnout when it came out and can attest to it’s quality and that it’s one to recommend to teens. I will be sure to get it and The Mermaid’s Mirror for my new library (and my own collection). Yeah, what the 2009 Debuts are doing is made of awesome...it’s one of the reasons I love (love) the kid lit community and have since I starting working for library youth services so many years ago. NUFF SAID...here’s the link!
Voice. We hear much of this and we know it is important. It’s “that thing” that jumps off the page and allows you to hear the character, know who they as the story unfolds (even if they don’t know!). I’ve mentioned (I think) that I am switching my middle grade wip to third person. It has more voice now than it did when in first. This got me to thinking about a picture book series of mine-trying to make my mc jump of the page-I thought why not try and switch from THIRD to FIRST? And, you know what...it works. _And_ this is advice I found a couple of months ago in a book on picture book writing. Yeah. It just took some time to sink in. Following is the book and some tips from the Ann’s site.
This is an article from yesterday. All about world-building. And world building is something to do for any type of novel writing. Whether it be a beach front community in the contemporary real world or one in an alternate fantasy world where elves and dinosaurs roam.
Angela Ackerman of The BookShelf Muse is guest posting on Linda Clare’s blog today. Looking forward to finding out the history of the emotion thesaurus and exploring a new writing blog! Her post on “Cracking Open Your Character’s Lives” is one that caught my eye.
Natalie M. Fischer posts about some of her pet peeves. I’ve been sending out queries for a while now and I think oh yes I would never do some of these things. Well. Check out #7 on her list. Going vague on the I have read your blog, your interview your whatever-I’ve done that when I can’t quite find the words to express why I think the agent might be a good match, it’s just a feeling I have. See the impression you could create.
I mentioned Write On Con yesterday and now want to share one of my go to reads for character development. This isn’t the only treasure in there by the way. There’s more, much more! I’m finding this one particularly useful because I am switching a manuscript from first to third person...and oddly enough the story is “singing” now. I was convinced that this was a story that needed to be told in first person to truly capture the MC’s voice. No. It needs to be told in third person so her voice _and_ story come can through loud and clear. First person was not achieving that. AnyHOW. Here is the article!
I've watched Rose's journey to publication. She's shared so much along the way. Things for me to tuck away and learn from as a writer. As a reader I am THRILLED this day is here for her. My book clubs kids will be too--wait 'til I tell them that they actually get to interview her. Thanks so much, Rose. I will keep the questions down to one each, when the time comes.
A slight change to the focus of this particular feature. Moving forward it will be about writing related blog reading. And just changing contest to giveaway...which really is what they are!
Because the deadline for my own giveaway fast (ish-ly) approachs, I thought I would mention it again. It’s open to Canada and the U.S. and is for young adult novel HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT by Natalie Standiford. Here is how GoodReads sums up the book :
New to town, Bea is expecting her new best friend to be one of the girls she meets on the first day. But instead, the alphabet conspires to seat her next to Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, a quiet loner who hasn't made a new friend since third grade. Something about him, though, gets to Bea, and soon they form an unexpected friendship. It's not romance, exactly - but it's definitely love. Still, Bea can't quite dispel Jonah's gloom and doom - and as she finds out his family history, she understands why. Can Bea help Jonah? Or is he destined to vanish?
Good, good book that will pull you in from page one (it did it to me, looking forward to sharing this one with teens!)
Leave comment on this post with your name and email. I will gather up all the commenter names from here and other posts and draw the winner January 16. You have until January 15 to enter.
I am joining this. Am I going into reading challenge overload? Not yet. I chose to do TEMPTED. That is I am going to pick five books off my shelve that I will read this year, books that have been waiting for me to get to them. They will all be writing related, either the writer's journey, the craft of writing or writing inspiration.
I really like the concept behind this. It gets you out there and in the habit of commenting, taking part in conversations. I've discovered that even in cyber space I am hesitant to jump in and take part. The Shy takes over. It took some doing to get going with the YA/MG Canadian Reading Challenge, but I did. This will take me a step further into getting out there and sharing my passion. Okay, couch session over. Time to get out there and comment! Go here to learn more :
A good post for re-reading. Although I am not doing my site for my books right now-it’s mostly about my LOVE of Reading-it still applies. Need to know your audience.
Coming soon, have most everything lined up including interview schedule and giveaways (and a # for twitter #ohmgyacanada <oh yeah, I am so original:) Stay tuned!
This is my so far reading/author list for the 2011 MG and YA Canadian Reading Challenge I will host with giveaways and book reviews. It is a combination of Debut, New Release and Old and Re-Reads of Favorites. Over the next few weeks the list will grow, of course. If you'd like to join me, please leave a comment (or just pick an author to learn a little more about and one of their books to read and enjoy). I have a good friend who is going to design a logo for us!
** Quick Note** This list is still rough and although, in some cases, I only have one book listed, many of the authors have much, much more, so check out their sites and or blogs!
Joelle Anthony-Restoring Harmony Interview and GIveaway TBA
Catherine Austen All Good Children (YA novel), Orca Book Publishers, Fall 2011 & How to Pass Grade 5 in 5 Difficult Lessons (MG novel), James Lorimer & Co, Fall 2011
Helene Boudreau-Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings Interview and Giveaway TBA
Um. Yeah. I agree with what Nathan Bransford says! I’m glad agents blog--I learn from them and about them (makes targeting your queries a little easier for us, and them). And last time I checked they are peoples just like the rest of us. Some people really enjoy blogging, it’s a good way to promote their authors with new releases and a great way to share some of what they know (so, in my view, them taking the time to blog is pretty dang generous). AND--for some it’s an outlet for creative, enjoyable pastime. Some knit, some build cabins, some enjoy sports....some blog!
This whole blog is a treasure trove of book Giveaway! Plus, she hosts something called the giveaway hop--there is a list of blogs you can hop to, each one hosting a giveaway! Can you say LOVE it?