Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart

Gretchen Kaufman Yee considers herself to be a normal girl in her Manhattan High School for the Arts, where everyone is different and special.  An artist with a love for Spiderman and a growing collection of comics, Gretchen makes a wish to be a fly on the wall of the boy’s locker room.  Little does she know she’ll actually end up as a fly, privy to seeing the life of her male classmates from a different point of view, including her crush, Titus.  And by see it all, I mean, ahem, she sees it all.  Hello?  I want to know what happens in boys’ locker rooms too!  The storyline of Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart is intriguing and told with her vibrant language.  Lockhart is fantastic at creading multi-faceted, believable characters – the kind of quirky girls you’d want to hang out with.

Now I didn’t intend to pick up another E. Lockhart book, but here is our daily lesson in marketing: if you create a recognizable brand and pretty packaging, readers will be inclined to pick up your books.  Lockhart’s books have a signature circle on the spine bearing her name, and the cover colors I have encountered are eye-catching pinks and reds.  Megan McCafferty‘s Jessica Darling series also has a distinctive look to it, with the books displaying striped color blocks on the bottom.  I know the idea is not to judge a book by its cover, but let’s face it, we do.  When I moved to my new apartment, I color-coordinated the books in my library, and the kid’s section is way more vibrant that my adult section.  The cheerful colors definitely work to attract readers, and I think they also speak volumes about the fun, exciting, messy, and spectacular stories to be told.

Resource Thursdays: The Rejecter

Don’t let the name scare you, The Rejecter is not a scary blog to read.  Written by an assistant at a literary agency, this blog gives great insight into what doesn’t work in the publishing world, as well as what does.  As the theory goes, sometimes it’s just as helpful to know what’s wrong with a query or submission as what’s right.  This blog answers alot of questions about the industry in a straightforward manner.  Even better, The Rejecter is a writer, so there’s advice from both sides of the fence.

Animorphs Book 1: The Invasion

During my super cheap book finding expedition last weekend, I stumbled across the first book in the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate, The Invasion.  I remember when these books first came out.  My brother and I made weekly trips to the bookstore with my dad, and we gravitated towards the Animorphs series, and also the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine.  (Interesting that both series are put out by Scholastic and have authors using initials instead of full names.  Coincidence?)  Since my brother and I both liked the same books, we would always fight over who got to read the newest book first.  Because I’m older, and typically the faster reader, I usually won.

When I came across The Invasion, I knew I had to buy it for old time’s sake.  The story follow five teenagers whose lives are changed when an alien arrives at Earth and gives them the power to change into any animal.  The gift is given by a fallen Andalite soldier, who asks that the kids fight against an insidious invasion by the Yeerks – slug-like parasites that crawl into humans and control their brains.  The book is fast paced and the hook pulled me in just the same as it did when I first read the book.  Applegate’s writing style is so fluid that you don’t get bogged down with learning the names of all the new creatures you encounter, and you feel the excitement and adrenaline along with the characters.  My only problem is now that I’ve read the first book, I want to continue with the rest of the series.  And now there are 54 books!

Bargain books rock

This weekend I had to run to Trader Joe’s, which is conveniently located next to a Crown Books Store.  I wasn’t going to go in the book store, but then I saw a “Going Out of Business” sign in the front window.  Now, I’m not happy that the book store is going out of business, (though one of the employees did explain that the store is just losing its lease,) but considering the books are already at a discount, I had only minor qualms about taking advantage of the sale.  I scooped up four books that I’ve been eager to read for less than $20.00.  A successful day for me.  I’ll post up some reviews once I get through the stack.  The sale might still be going on, so if you’re local, it’s worth looking up.

How much wood can a woodcutter cut?

This weekend Ian and I were watching ESPN when the Timbersports competition came up.  They have these competitions every year, and I remember watching them as a kid, filled with awe.  People race to climb poles of solid wood, tethered only by a hand-held rope.  They have competitions about sawing wood with speed and precision.  They race to run over logs bobbing in water.  It’s seriously amazing to watch, but at the same time it makes you wonder.  Really, how do you discover those talents?

A writing career

In one of my class yesterday, I did a law presentation that I felt good about and was pretty well received.  So here’s yet another career to add to the list of things I could do if I had the time, money, or inclination to go through more years of school (lawyer, doctor, psychiatrist, teacher, etc.)  The good news is, I don’t want to do any of those things.  Top of the list of career choices is writer, which I feel like no one can really truly teach you.  Sure I’m planning on taking writing classes once I graduate to help me stay sharp, but those are fun, not work.  Writing as a career requires a self-education in the publishing and writing world, and the idea of that education makes me excited to be a student.  Remember that concept?  Learning for the sake of learning?  I’m all over that.  I can’t wait for my current education to be over so the real learning can begin.  And the countdown begins…

Resource Thursdays: Janet Reid and BookEnds, LLC

One of the wonderful things about the online community in the writing world is that people are all about sharing their blog love.  Find one site you like and it will usually list twelve more, and those twelve will each list twelve more, and so on.  No wonder they call it a web!

Yesterday I visited the website of Janet Reid, Literary Agent, and from her blog I stumbled upon the blog of Bookends, LLC – A Literary Agency.  I toggled between the two, reading more than I should have given the amount of things I need to get done.  Besides the fact that both blogs are from literary agents, they also share a wealth of knowledge about the publishing world from an insider’s point of view.  What’s so encouraging is that there are industry professionals out there who are so excited about what they do that it jumps off the page.  They want to help all the writers out there, not only in crafting the best work possible, but also in coming across as professionals.  In the end this yields a more polished writer, meaning a market with the highest standards. Though these agents don’t specialize in the children’s market, the advice they give spans the whole writing market.  Educational and entertaining all at once!

Type, type, typing

Q: What’s even better than Butt in Chair?

A: Butt in Chaise!

With my registration for the SCBWI summer conference all set, I’m even more motivated to finish my current middle grade manuscript.  As a bonus, my new couch and chaise combo is boosting creativity by providing a super comfortable work zone. This week I’ve been working on new material as well as organizing some of my handwritten notes.   Who knew that changing up the seating would have such an impact?

Happy Graduation To Me

When asked what they want for graduation, most people I know would say, “a car,” or “a vacation.”  But am I most people?  Certainly not.  My long-anticipated reward for years of toil in academia is registration for the SCBWI Summer Conference!  Yay!!! This conference, held annually, is a jam-packed whirlwind of a weekend.  Filled with amazing speakers ranging from authors to agents to editors, as well as opportunities for critiques, pitches, and meeting other writers, the weekend is going to be a blast.  I didn’t get to go last year since I was busy getting married (guess I can’t use that excuse twice!) so this will be my first official SCBWI conference.  I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things from my writer friends who have attended in past years, so I am very much looking forward to it.  I hear it can be a little overwhelming and exhausting, but I’m unfazed.  Registration starts at 10 AM PST today, so be sure to head over to the SCBWI website.  The site recently underwent a facelift and it’s super pretty and easy to navigate.  If you have any tidbits about the conference, feel free to leave them in the comments section!

When Beggars are Choosers

Let me start this entry by telling your that I’m appalled.  It’s with a mixture of anger and amusement that I tell you that despite the old adage, beggars can be choosers, and sometimes are.

Ian and I recently had our fancy new couches delivered, so we scheduled Salvation Army to come pick up our old ones.  They were on their last legs when we got them three years ago, but they still worked.  Yes their progressive deterioration coincided with my dog’s puppyhood and teething.  Yes there’s a cartoonish bite mark in one of the cushions that even the best sewing skills wouldn’t fix.  Yes the under side of the cushions is propped up with foam panels to counteract the gradual compaction of the cushion material.  Yes they squeaked.  Yes they were ugly as sin.

But still.  They worked.  You could sit on them without hurting yourself.  They reclined.  We had them for three years.

And when Salvation Army got there they took one look and said we can’t take these. (!!!)  Apparently they weren’t in good enough condition.  Now, my goal in donating is to give to those less fortunate than me.  We make regular donations of clothes and appliances to Goodwill.  So my thought process was, if you have no couch, isn’t any one better than none?  Apparently not for the choosy folks over there.  I’m also kind of offended.  I mean, damn, my couches were too crappy for the Salvation Army.