YA Highway

Field Trip Friday: The Big News of 2010

Excuse the cobwebs while I dust out the corners of my left brain and bring you something a little more scientific than you're used to seeing on the highway.

Yes, I'm aware a fifth grader could do this, but humor me.

*This graph comes with the standard margin of error associated with making tally marks on a piece of scrap paper.
*This graph also doesn't include the random category of fun/funny/bizarre posts we made :)

So before you head into the lampshade wearing hangover of New Year's, wake from your holiday goody induced hangover to let us know what you've found helpful or most enjoyed over the year. Got suggestions for new things you want to see? Let us know!

A Year of YA

Welcome to our 60th Road Trip Wednesday!

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

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link in the comments - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic:
What is the best book you read in December?

Kate: "It made me cry like a baby."

Amanda: "Dude."




Road Trip Song of the Week:
"We Wish You a Merry Christmas (And A Happy New Year)"




Next Week's Topic:
TBA

Road Trip Wednesday #60: Best Book of December

I'll be the first to admit, I tend to have a few characters that don't do much of anything in my WIP's. Oh, they are there for a reason (in my mind) but have no real depth. It's something that gets pointed out to me during edits.

The dreaded questions appears as a Word comment from betas and/or agent and I cringe.
"But what does he want?"
"But why is she doing that?"
Or even worst, "This character adds nothing to the story."

When I first started writing I was a pantster, ie, writing on the fly. It worked good for MY motivation, but my plots were all over the place. I knew I needed to figure out my own style, so I tried to plot an entire novel. It worked decent, I was able to stay on track and finish the book. But again, my characters were a little flat.

After a few moments of "I can't do this" whining, I begged my betas to help me figure out where I was going wrong. My AHA moment came when I realized I may have planned out the entire novel, but I really had no idea what was driving my characters to do what they were doing.

I've seen writers who spend days on character worksheets and I watch from afar (So not to catch the craziness! LOL) but in doing so, removed myself too much. So I bought one writing book. The first one ever. It was Deb Dixon's GMC. It was brilliant. I didn't need to spend weeks fleshing out my characters because there was a handy little chart in the book to help you break down the G-Goals, M-Motivation, and C-Conflict. In one chart I could see everything and a lightbulb clicked.

Doh! THAT's what I was missing. Sure my character may be obsessed with order and control, but why? Because that's 'just how she is' doesn't cut it and can't carry a storyline for an entire book. I thought about what had happened to her and realized she was scared of abandonment. Her mom left when she was younger, and now she thinks that if she's not absolutely perfect, everyone else will leave too.

AHA! Now I have walls to break down and wrenches to throw into her plans. I can make her suffer and grow because I know what makes her tick. This adds a whole new dimension to her and to her interactions with her family and friends. It was what the story needed.

A simple grid with a few words and suddenly it all clicked into place. IMO you don't need to do pages of character interviews or delve into the psyche of them at $300 an hour, just ask yourself the questions, Who, Why, and What If.

Then sit back and diabolically plan how best to make them suffer. (You can twist your Snidley Whiplash mustache for effect too.) Tear them down, make them give up, then....then the magic happens. This is where they grow and change and endear themselves to your readers. (Or instill a loathing that would rival any CW show's bad girl.)

The main point is that the reader needs to feels something. The one thing you don't want is for someone to close your book after that last page and look up and think, "That book was just okay."

Okay is not good enough. Strive for great! :)


**If you want to buy Deb Dixon's book, don't use Amazon. For whatever reason, they charge $80 for a $20 book! Go right to the publishers website and you'll get it for $19.95.

GMC - Or Why Are They Doing That?

Publishing Interviews: Vicki Lame, Editor for St. Martin's Press

Winter Giveaway WINNERS!!

We're so excited to host author Julia Karr for Week 2 (as in second-to-last!) of her 16 Weeks of XVI Tour! XVI, her YA dystopian debut novel, will be released on January 6th, 2011. (note: there is a GIVEAWAY at the bottom of this post!)

About XVI:

Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world—even the most predatory of men—that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear.

That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past—one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.


And now, a guest post by Julia Karr...

Week Two!!! Oh. My. God! XVI will be out there on the shelves (I hope!) in two weeks! SQUEEEEE!!!!!

Oops! Am I being a bad blog guest? Thank you so much for having me here, Kirsten! It’s getting so close to release that I’m having a hard time concentrating on much of anything, but... this week, in honor of the twos... I’m going to give everyone a little insight into two of me. My sixteen-year-old Julia and my present Julia.

Sixteen year old me... in the past

Living in Chicago is the coolest thing ever! I’m not stuck in a small town any more. My friends here are so cool, so fab. I just wish... well, honestly, I wish school was more of a challenge. The only class I can stand is my Honors English class. The teacher lets us write whatever we want. She gives us these prompts and then the rest of the class is spent writing. I love it. Well, I hate it sometimes, too. If I have to tell the truth, some of the things I think about make me really sad. Like that poem about what happened in first grade. And how we moved to live with Gram. Not that I don’t love Gram, but I wanted to be with my mom. Now that I am living with Mother... it’s not at all what I thought. And, I still wonder about that little clay dish.

Present me... about the past

Oh, dear Julia! You were dealt some difficult cards early on. A totally absent father. An alcoholic mother. Thank God you did have Gram and your first fifteen years were spent safely. You certainly did the best you could, navigating a sea of shifting values and morals for women with a compass two generations old. I do so wish you hadn’t been forced to set aside your creative aspirations because you had to get a job and support yourself. No sixteen year old should have to be an adult. *hugs* But, you so did it. And, at enormous expense, you will someday have a treasure trove of memories to draw from for future creative endeavors.

Sixteen year old me... about the future (now the present)

Shit! (Yeah, I can say that, my Honors English teacher let us write whatever we wanted to write, swearing allowed. She was that cool.) Hell, yes! A writer? Me? Who’d have thought that what’s in my head is good enough to be a book? Oh wow! And, look at me. I mean, damn! I have my own really nice house and it’s full of books and cats and dogs. And, I’m not just doing okay, but I’m happy even though I don’t have a boyfriend. (Wow. I can hardly believe that.) And... Yeah. I’d give anything if Mother and Gram were here to see all this. To see me. And to see that I wasn’t totally screwed up forever.

Present me... about the present

All those things in the past that can’t be changed, can be building blocks for a good life. The more I look at me at sixteen, the more I understand exactly what it was like. Why I did the things I did. What I wanted, both good and bad. And, how I am giving that to my present self. I’m able to see that the adults in my life then were just doing the best they could. It wasn’t always good for me, but I learned and I tried things out and I stored up emotions and memories and events that are helping me make my writing real. The time frames may be different, but the basic emotions of teens don’t change. Many of the events don’t change either, because the framework of growing up - being in school - falling in love for the first time - having friends, being a friend - having enemies, being an enemy. Fears, hopes, dreams - they may change as to form, but the basics are always the same.

Life was hard for me at sixteen, even though I didn’t acknowledge it at the time. But, I made it through. I survived. And, honestly, look at me now. That sophomore Honors English teacher would be proud. My mother would be proud. Gram would be proud. You know... a little part of me is proud, too.

Now for the giveaway! Those of you who’ve been along since Week 16 of the 16 Weeks to XVI blog tour know this routine. Please leave a comment and you’ll be in the drawing for this week’s pre-order of XVI. Winner will be chosen by Random Number Generator on Friday next. All commenters will be eligible for the Grand Prize drawing on 1/6/11.

~Julia Karr

• Julia's website
• Julia's blog
  
• XVI on Amazon
• XVI on Indie Bound
• XVI on Goodreads

XVI Author Julia Karr Channels Her 16-Year-Old Self

Picture by Salvatore Vuono at freedigitalphotos.net

Welcome to our 59th Road Trip Wednesday!

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

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link in the comments - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.






This Week's Topic:
Give a book character a Christmas present!

What would you give your favourite characters for Christmas, and why? Would you give Harry Potter contact lenses? Bella Swan a copy of He's Just Not That Into You? Or maybe a lifetime supply of cherry cola to Bianca Piper, so she always has something to throw at guys who don't behave?


Leila: “This is going to make me sound psychotic crazy..."



Next week’s topic:
TBA

Road Trip Wednesday #59: Give a Book Character a Christmas Present!

In our Publishing Interviews Series, we sit down with people on the other side of book publishing -- agents, editors, and more -- providing insight into industry happenings and just what goes into getting a young adult novel on shelves.

I had the great pleasure to interview Ruta Rimas of Balzer and Bray for YA Highway's editor series, and let me tell you, I laughed out loud more than once. We asked her profound, insider questions just for you, our readers. (Well okay, we wanted to know too!)

For Readers:

What book do you think every teen should read?

Classic: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World is such a remarkable piece of art with such relevance to adolescence. It’s thematically apropos for that age group: the search for identity. The use of technology as control. Consumerism as destructive. Challenging the status quo. That and the story is so incredibly compelling and thought-provoking. In spite of the fact Huxley wrote the book in 1931, so much of what it has to say is relevant today. Perhaps even more so than when the book first published.

New Classic: Feed by MT Anderson

Um. See thematic description of Brave New World.


What up and coming books/authors should we be watching for?

Heidi Ayarbe

Freeze Frame (Available); Compromised (Available); Compulsion (Summer ’11)

Heidi is the real deal—her writing is unbelievably fluid; her characters, fully realized; her stories, visceral. She is one of those rare talents that has the ability to write with raw, gripping realism and unfiltered emotion. She’s a risk taker on all counts, but I’m floored most by how she plays with structure, especially in her forthcoming book COMPULSION. COMPULSION is a fascinating and gut-wrenching account of a seventeen-year-old boy living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Obviously, it is easy for me to gush about the book because I edited it. But don’t just take it from me—

“COMPULSION is a starkly honest, compelling read. It will grab you and plunge you into the unusual, yet strangely familiar mind of Jake Martin and you will come out different.”--Francisco X. Stork, award-winning author of MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD

“COMPULSION is one of those books that immediately grabs the reader by the heart and won’t let go, even after the final page is turned. Compelling and real, Jacob’s story of grappling with devastating and frightening OCD is a must-read for anyone who ever thought they ‘knew’ what ‘normal’ looked like.”--Jennifer Brown, author of HATE LIST


Rae Mariz

The Unidentified (Available)

Rae Mariz, like Huxley and Anderson, has written an engaging, fast-paced, thought-provoking account of the destructive powers and collateral damage caused by a consumption-driven world.

And various others—Marianna Baer, Amy Huntley, Maryrose Wood, Suzanne Young, to name a few.


For Writers

What would you love to see in your sub pile? (The hundred dollar question right there!)

Intelligent writing. Unexpected plots. Controversial themes. Multi-layered characters. I need to be challenged as a reader and as a thinker with the books I take on. Books should have something to say.

Think: FEED by MT Anderson. THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by E. Lockhart. THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPIONS by Nancy Farmer.

I also would love a high-stakes mystery, a psychological thriller, and a creepy ghost story.


What are your manuscript pet peeves?

Specifically…. no special birthmarks as identifier of magical powers.

Generally…Triteness. Please, I want to see something new. I want the unexpected.


Your best piece of advice for aspiring writers:

If you want to make it as a professional writer, you have to take it seriously. What does that mean? For one, educate yourself on the art and craft of writing. Critique groups are great, but critique groups are also support groups who can sometimes err on the side of detrimental encouragement. Critique groups have their place, sure, but in addition to a critique group, why not enroll in a creative writing course at a local university? Challenge yourself as artistically as a writer. Surround yourself with the literati. And grow a thick skin—you’ll need it in this industry.

Education also means learn about the business of writing. Research how this industry works—and I don’t only mean the submission process or the acquisitions process. Learn about the various publishers, their imprints, the departments, production schedules, book distribution, digital initiatives, etc. Keep a pulse on the goings-on of the publishing world.


For Industry Hopefuls

How did you come to be an editor?

Short version—the stars aligned. And through a friend of a friend of a friend (literally), I was able to get my resume into the hands of my first boss in publishing. It was so impressive (please note my sarcasm) that I was called in for an interview. From there, I took a writing test, which entailed me writing a reader’s report and flap copy. What I did seemed to qualify as good enough, and voila, I was hired.

Now, to make a short story long…

I’ve always had an interest in books and writing so while pursuing my undergraduate degree at NYU (I have a BA in Journalism--media analysis and criticism), I minored in creative writing. I loved the workshop setting—evaluating others work and giving feedback, and seeing what my classmates could do with the suggestions I offered.

By the time I graduated, though, I decided to do something completely unrelated to my degree. My parents were thrilled (not).

I was accepted into the NYC Teaching Fellows program as a candidate to teach high school math. Yes. Math. Unlike most, though, I not only enjoy math (and science), I am particularly adept at it, so I was never daunted by the idea of teaching algebra, geometry, and trig to teenagers. In fact, I was excited by the prospect, even though the last mathematics class I had taken was AP Calc my senior year of high school (it was the AP Calc credit on my transcripts that qualified me to teach match, by the way).

I ended up teaching at a new public high school in Brooklyn. Those years were some of the best! I definitely miss teaching and miss my students (they were the main reason I stayed as long as I did), but in 2007, I made the very difficult decision to leave teaching and pursue books. I began asking my friends if they knew anyone in publishing, and, through a series of fortunate events, I met up one night with that friend of a friend of a friend who happened to work at HarperCollins as an associate editor. She and I got along well, and over the course of the evening, she let it slip she was leaving Harper at the end of the summer…and would be happy to hand my resume to her boss. Which she did. And here I am now.

I always start with the joke that the stars aligned to get me here, but in reality, I think people make their own luck. I made mine several ways—1.) by living in New York. 2.) By putting myself out there. 3.) By not being afraid of failure. 4.) By learning as much as I could about book publishing. And 5.) By taking risks.


What are your most and least favorite things about the job?

Love: Reading awesome manuscripts. Working with fabulously talented, creative-minded people. The marriage of art and business.

Dislikes: Paperwork. Deadlines. Paperwork. Not enough time in the day. Paperwork.


Fast Five:

Last book you read: I tend to read multiple books at a time, and am currently finishing up Little Bee by Chris Cleave and The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking. The last YA I read…do my authors’ manuscripts (or my publisher’s authors’) count? Kidding. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

One thing you can't live without: Sappy answer? My very patient and caring boyfriend. GROAN, I know! He’s not a thing, so I guess he doesn’t qualify. Neither does my cat, Odie, who I also cannot live without. How about this—a big cup of coffee. Milk, just a pinch of sugar. I cannot live without that.

Something no one would guess about you: I’m an active person and love sports in general--I am a rabid Chicago Bears fan. I love NFL season.

Best title: Some Day This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron. I’ve never read it, but that title is so arresting. It’s on my to-read list. Also, Don’t Go Where I Can’t Follow by Anders Nilsen. Oh god, just thinking of that book chokes me up. Google it. Read the copy. Have your heart break.


If you weren't an editor, you would be...a math teacher or a personal trainer.


And finally:

Where can we find you on the internet? Twitter (@RutaRascal), but I’m fairly inactive on account of laziness. Facebook, too, but I keep much of that private, so if you request me as a friend and I do not know you personally, you receive very limited access. I do not have a blog (no time!).

Thank you Ruta!


Check back next week for an interview with Vicki Lame, editor for St. Martin's Press!

Publishing Interviews: Ruta Rimas, Editor for Balzer and Bray

Oprah says: We get it, you're very happy!

I love my mom more than anything, but she sucks at getting to the point of stories. Case in point: I was talking with her the other day about an '80s Tom Cruise movie she'd watched on TV. She started outlining the plot, taking time to remember details like the name of Tom Cruise's girlfriend and the reason he was at the grocery store when X event happened. It was taking a while, so being an annoyingly impatient teenager, I asked:

Me: Mom, what's your point?
Her: Well - it's just that Tom Cruise was a good actor!
Me: ...Oh.

That little exchange made me smile - and it made me think of the importance of "getting to the point" when it comes to writing. O' course, novels are longer than movie summaries! Still, the concept felt relevant. Here are three mistakes that can stop you from getting the point - and can therefore lead to reader impatience and that anticlimactic "...oh" moment. Avoid them, and you're in the clear!

1. Including "extras"
This is something we've all been taught - don't include it unless it matters. But sometimes, our own deep involvement in our story makes certain "extras" slip by. Whether it's a flashback, a run-down of a new character, or a whole scene, every part of a book should be evaluated: does this matter? Would it better fit under an "extras" tab on my future author website? Does it push the story forward?

When you're writing a first draft and aren't yet sure exactly which story you're trying to push forward, it can be especially tough to do this. That's why having an idea, if not a set-in-stone picture, of what you want your end product to be can be so handy. Of course, that's what first drafts are for - getting it all down on paper and evaluating it once revision time comes around. Yay!

2. Detail detouring
When it works, detail works. It makes the reader connect with a character. It makes a scene that much more visceral. It makes the reader laugh and squirm. But details are kind of like candy, too - when there's too much of it, the reader feels bloated, tired and slowed down.

Oh, Tom, you highly ka-powful man.

While my mom was carefully recounting the plot of that Tom Cruise movie, I was fidgeting, and I couldn't help but want to pluck out all those details that didn't feel relevant. Often, a too-slow pace is really the result of too many detail detours. So during a snappy argument between two characters, consider whether that sentence explaining why Character 1 was at the grocery store in the first place is really necessary - you might find deleting it adds ka-pow to the argument's snap. (Ka-pow!)

3. Including something that seems important but really isn't in the end
Here's where you risk disappointing the reader and retrospectively causing that "...oh" moment. While reading, we tend to collect everything as important and part of a larger picture. I mean, just the fact that it's on the page injects it with this gravity, this sense of buildup.

So when a main character spends a page telling us how they're scared of puppies (what!), they should have to actually face that fear at some point. If not, we think back to that page and think "...oh" - or, if we don't quite remember it by the end, we feel strangely unfulfilled. Wasn't there something about puppies...?

The flipside to all three of these mistakes is that when they're avoided, they create a story that is so swift, slick and engrossing, it's nearly impossible to stop reading. And at the end, everything ties together so well that the reader will bask in your genius! What are your techniques for getting to the point? Have a ka-powful day, everyone!

Getting to the Point with Tom Cruise

THE STORY

There were approximately seventy pieces of disassembled Christmas tree in front of us, and my roommate and I had no idea where to start.

"Okay," said The Roommate. "I think this must be the tree stand..." She tossed me a pile of scrap metal and some screws. "And these pieces are color coded, right? All these colored tape...no, that's not right..."

It took approximately fifteen minutes before we were cussing out the plastic bits of branches, trying to snap the fake tree trunk, and generally arguing about who had gotten us into this mess.

"Why couldn't we have just gone to the tree lot and donated $30 to the boy scouts like normal people? Why did we have to inherit this ancient ghetto Christmas tree from your boss?"

"SHUT UP. He was so excited, you don't even know! I had to! How am I going to tell him that his stupid Christmas tree is defective?"

"Let's burn it. Can we burn it? Please?"

Finally we both sat on the floor of our apartment, staring at the discarded tree in complete silence.

"Okay," I said. "The way I see it, we have two options. We can fight with this tree until two in the morning, or we can go to Wal-Mart and buy a $15 tree with built-in lights that'll take us two minutes to put up, and then we'll drink cider and watch A Christmas Carol."

Needless to say, we decided on Option Two.


HOW THIS STORY APPLIES TO YOU, DEAR WRITER


So you've got your box of plot devices sitting in front of you. There are roughly seventy themes, characters, and subplots in that box, and somehow you have to find a way to fit them all into your story. You spend months, maybe even years, wrestling with all those screws and heaps of scrap metal, only to find yourself exhausted and discouraged in the end.

But you have another option.

You can simplify. You can buy that $15 plot, with easy-to-assemble themes, characters you relate to, settings you know from personal experience.

Because, dear writer, simple does not necessarily mean not as good.

When The Roommate and I finished decorating our $15 Christmas tree, it looked pretty dang good. Sure, it was simple - a Charlie Brown tree - but it sparkled with lights and snowflake ornaments and it brightened the room with the feeling of the holiday. Maybe the seventy-piece monstrosity would have been more impressive...but then again, maybe not. Sometimes more isn't better. Sometimes more is just...more.

So if you want to gather up those dozens of subplots and themes and organize them into a brilliant, complicated story, go for it. But don't count out the simple boy meets girl formula just because it's less complex. Your job is to write a good story, no matter how many pieces in your box of plot devices.

O Christmas Tree...

Revisions: When you look at your novel from a fresh perspective, usually with the aid of critical beta/agent/editor eyes, and rethink, redefine, reorganize, and revive the story.

Rewrite: In the immortal words of Kate Hart, "it's like writing fanfiction with your own characters."

There's an in-between area so broad it's difficult sometimes to really understand the difference between revising and rewriting. In the middle of my own heavy-revision-turned-rewrite and wondering just what that difference was, I turned, like a good little geek, to research. From The University of North Carolina in their article on what it means to revise a draft:

Sometimes it means revising the thesis to match what you've discovered while writing. Sometimes it means coming up with stronger arguments to defend your position, or coming up with more vivid examples to illustrate your points. Sometimes it means shifting the order of your paper to help the reader follow your argument, or to change the emphasis of your points. Sometimes it means adding or deleting material for balance or emphasis. And then, sadly, sometimes revision does mean trashing your first draft and starting from scratch. Better that than having the teacher trash your final paper.

Let's translate in fiction terms.

Sometimes it means revising the plot to match the themes you've discovered while writing. Sometimes it means coming up with stronger scenes to illustrate those themes, or coming up with higher stakes to motivate your characters. Sometimes it means shifting the scenes in your plot to help the reader follow your story, or to change the impact and meaning of certain key moments. Sometimes it means adding or deleting material for balance or emphasis. And then, sadly, sometimes revision does mean trashing your first draft and starting from scratch. Better that than having your agent ask you to trash your WIP.

Okay, maybe that's not a perfect translation. But they're all valid points. And let's say you do end up with that option – rewrite or trash. What then?

An interesting discussion with Lee, Kate, Kirsten and Kaitlin led to this unanimous decision: The most important thing when embarking upon a rewrite is distance.

Taking a break before revising is important too; we've all heard (and hopefully heeded) advice on getting away from that first draft for a week or so before tackling it with fresh eyes. But with a real rewrite, we're talking serious time.

For both my books, I had over a year in between. That long's not necessary -- necessarily -- but I strongly believe you need a gap long enough to sever a lot of your emotional ties to the work. Because rewriting means total chainsaw massacre. (Kirsten)

You can just see things you couldn't before, and you aren't as precious about it. (Kaitlin)

Kate's comment at the beginning of this post made me laugh, but like all of the hilarious and/or snarky comments she makes daily, it is also wise. You've got the characters, you've got the voice...but one change in theme, one change in character motivation, one change in world-building or plot or anything – and it's a different book.

And when you're so close to the story itself, rewriting it has got to be like flying from Georgia to Alabama via Buenos Aires. Get your head in a different place. Get some distance. Drink something fruity with rum. Then come back and write the story you want.



Inspiration for the pic goes to Lee Bross.

Revisions vs Rewrites

• Saundra Mitchell has a whole collection of articles about marketing.
• The Book Publicity Blog lists the things to include on an author website.
• How Rebecca Skloot organized her own book tour. (link is to a PDF)
• Inside a Grass Root Marketing Campaign by author Jeannie Lin
• Shrinking Violets Promotions: Marketing for Introverts
• Via @elizabethscraig: Get creative with these ideas for extras on your website. 
• Via @sarazarr: "When's the Best Time to Publish Blog Posts" and "The 5 Critical Errors Most People Make When They Start Using Social Media For Business," at ProBlogger.

Field Trip Friday: December 17

I was lucky enough to score an ARC of Fall for Anything, and let me tell you, when I saw the big manila envelope in my mail box, I freaked out. And then I ignored my family for the rest of the night to read it.

First off, this is the blurb from Courtney's website:


When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on… but are some questions better left unanswered?

I love Courtney's style and have devoured her other books, so the expectation going into FFA was already pretty high. I wanted to love it, and let me tell you, I did! Eddie tugged at my heart from the very first line.She was vulnerable and broken and so unlike Courtney's other main characters, that I immediately empathized and wanted her to find the answers she needed to heal.

Also, the interaction between Eddie and Milo was fantastic. Who wouldn't want a best friend like him? One that had your back no matter what. Who you could count on for anything at all. (As an added bonus, Courtney has a short story from Milo's POV that is stand alone and rocks here.)

Then, Culler Evans shows up, and it seems he might have the answers Eddie's been desperately searching for. Together they backtrack to try and understand what made her father do it, and along the way, Eddie has to figure out how much to believe and more importantly, how much to trust this stranger.

Courtney writes in a sparse, yet poignantly beautiful way that reels you in, wraps around your guts, and tugs at you until that very last word. I can't say enough good things about Fall For Anything, and in one week, if you don't go out and buy it, you're missing out on a fabulous read.

I Totally Fell for Fall For Anything!

Welcome to our 58th Road Trip Wednesday!

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

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link in the comments - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.


This Week's Topic:
You spot Santa at the mall, climb onto his lap, and whisper that you've been a good boy or girl in his ear. What do you want Santa to bring you this year? Go wild! Have fun! After all, you earned it!

Kaitlin: "A device that slaps me every time I chew on my sweatshirt strings."

Kate: "I started to write a brand new post in response, but when I looked back at the Writer's Wish List I wrote last year, it all still holds true."

Road Trip Wednesday #58: Santa Baby...

Nineteen-year-old Duff author Kody Keplinger's LUSTSTRUCK, a contemporary reimagining of the Greek play "Lysistrata," that explores the issues of teen sexuality as high school senior Lissa decides it's time to end her school's ridiculous sports rivalry once and for all with a hook-up strike, to Kate Sullivan at Poppy, for publication in Fall 2011, by Joanna Volpe at Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation (World).

Kody Keplinger's LUSTSTRUCK sold to Poppy!

Publishing Interviews: Martha Mihalick, Editor for Greenwillow Books