Beginnings are hard for me.  I’m much better with middles. 

When I’m starting a new writing project, I tend to think about it for months before I put words on paper.  I invite the characters over for hot chocolate, hang out with them, ask them about their relatives.  I dream about them.  I start weaving plot threads together in my brain.  I’m good with all that.  But heaven help me when it’s time to sit down and write Chapter 1.

So here we are, two days into the New Year, and I’m just getting around to posting some writerly goals.  I’m beginning late, but beginning…

• I’m going to give myself permission to slow down.  When I have a draft finished or even a second or third revision, it nags at me to get back to it until it’s done. That can be a good thing.  But sometimes, what a story needs is a little distance and perspective, and you can’t do that the day after a revision.  It’s okay if my next novel takes longer.
• My writing schedule works for me.  I get in a few hours a night after the kids are in bed, and they’re productive hours, so I’m going to stick to that schedule.  I’m going to make sure the other side of writing (blogging, answering emails, promotions, paperwork) doesn’t get in the way of telling stories.  I love Laurie Halse Anderson’s advice to keep that part of your writing life in a little box — give it, say, half an hour a day — and then don’t let it out.  I’m going to try to hold myself to that.
• I’m going to blog more about process.   I love reading about other people’s writing process, but I’ve noticed that I’m pretty stingy when it comes to sharing my own. 
• I will strike a better balance when my second book comes out next fall.  When SPITFIRE was released this year, it was thrilling and a dream come true and wonderful in so many ways.  But my schedule just about swallowed me whole, and I found myself yearning for more family time and more writing time.  Sales for my first book have been beyond what my publisher expected, so I’m glad I did so much to promote the book, but now I have a better idea for what works and what doesn’t.
• I’ll remember to take time for wonder.  To remember that moments like these…

Central Park, November 2007

Baker Mountain, Saranac Lake, NY – October 2007

Atwater Market, Montreal, October 2007


Anzo-Borrego Desert State Park, CA – August 2007

Copperas Pond, Wilmington, NY – July 2007 (Yes, that’s me)

Lake Champlain, my back yard, June 2007

…are just as important for a writer’s soul as the time spent at the keyboard.

May your 2008 be full of moments, words, and beauty.

Happy New Year!!

It’s been hard keeping this a secret, but now I can share the goods!  Here are the Middle Grade Fiction Finalists for the 2007 Cybils.  Comments after each title are my personal thoughts.  I was one of seven panelists who whittled a list of 75  nominated books down to the eight you see below.  For the official blurbs and links to more reviews, please go to the Cybils site and see ALL the results for categories posted so far. 

A Crooked Kind of Perfect
by Linda Urban
Harcourt

If you read my review this fall, you already know how much I love this book.  The voice of 10-year-old Zoe Elias is one of the greatest voices I’ve ever read in a middle grade novel.  She’s strong and funny and insecure and so, so lovable.  This is a story with heart — lots of it.  And the central message about perfection and just giving life your best shot is one that kids need to hear.

Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam
by Cynthia Kadohata
Atheneum

“Is Mrs. Messner crying over there??”  One of my students was worried while I was finishing up this title during our lunchtime silent reading session.  Cracker is a tear-jerker and a fantastic dog story, for sure, but more than that, it’s a story about loyalty and about rising to the occasion.  I was SO happy this one made the finalist list. My full review is here.

Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
by Lauren Tarshis
Dial

Emma Jean isn’t a typical kid.  She’s analytical, detached from her classmates, and going through life with more smarts than heart until she decides to reach out to a fellow 7th grader.  That changes everything and launches Emma Jean into a journey that might as well be to the North Pole; it takes her so far from her comfort level.  Again, voice made this book magical.  My full review is here.

Leap of Faith
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Dial

This was one of the last Cybils titles to show up at my door, but I’m so, so glad I read it.  Leap of Faith stands out for a few reasons.  It deals with religion, which isn’t often tackled in MG literature without being overly preachy, or on the other side of the coin, overly cynical.  Leap of Faith strikes a perfect balance with a story that it funny, real, hopeful, and uplifting without ever feeling contrived.  It’s fun to read and kid-friendly, too — a great, great book.

Leepike Ridge
N.D. Wilson
Random House

Despite some difficulties getting this title, those of us who were able to find copies loved it and argued it onto the finalist list.  I reviewed it right after I read it, so I’ll point  you to my original thoughts, when I was still lost in the world of underground caves, lost treasures, and a wonderfully heroic main character.  This one is a fantastic ride.

Louisiana’s Song
Kerry Madden
Viking

Louisiana’s Song is the sequel to Gentle’s Holler, which I haven’t read, so I was a great test of whether this book could really stand on its own.  It does. It stands tall and strong as the mountains in which the story is set.  Louisiana’s Song is beautiful and real, with a huge family of characters who make you want to move right in.  This is a book filled with longing, as the outspoken Livy Two wishes for her father’s quicker recovery from the accident that caused his brain injury.  It’s also a book filled with hope and thankfulness — for morning dew, fairy houses, and the love of family.  It’s beautifully written and an absolute joy to read.

Miss Spitfire
Sarah Miller
Atheneum

Miss Spitfire takes a new look at the Helen Keller story, through the eyes of her teacher, Annie Sullivan.  As I discussed in my review this fall, Sarah Miller does an incredible job taking us inside the mind of the teacher who committed herself so fiercely to giving Helen the gift of language.  This is a surefire hit for Helen Keller fans and for anyone who loves a good story, well told.

The Wild Girls
Pat Murphy
Viking

There were several books in my pile of Cybils nominees that struck me more personally than most, and this was one of them.  I really wish the main characters in this book were real because I’m longing to go hang out in the woods with them and write stories and catch salamanders.  This book is transporting and empowering and wonderful.  You can read my full review here if you’d like to hear me gush some more.

A big, BIG, congratulations to the authors on our finalists’ list — and to all the authors whose books were nominated.  Over the past two months, you’ve filled my brain and my house with marvelous stories and characters I love enough to invite to dinner.  Thanks for sharing your stories with us all.  And many, many thanks to those publishers who were able to provide review copies to make our job as panelists easier.

To the judges for Middle Grade Fiction – Happy reading because you’re going to LOVE these titles.  And good luck – because I can’t imagine having to pick just one.

I grew up the youngest of four kids in my family.  When I was little, my parents and older brothers and sister used to wake me up to celebrate New Year’s with the grownups at midnight.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever.  I didn’t know any other eight-year-old who got to get back out of bed at 11:50 to ring in the new year with carrot sticks and cheese and crackers.  We’d all shout “Happy New Year!” and clink our glasses and sip sparkling grape juice.  Then I’d go back to bed.  I LOVED being awake at midnight. 

That routine faded once I was old enough to stay up without a nap, but I always thought it was just the greatest tradition.  One day, home from college for a family Thanksgiving, I mentioned how great it was that they always woke me up at midnight.  My sister looked at my mother.  My brother looked at my sister.  My mother looked at my father.  They all looked like they were trying not to laugh.

“What?”  I said.

“She doesn’t know,” my sister said, holding her hand to her mouth.

“WHAT?”

Turns out, it was never really midnight at all.  They put me to bed at eight, got into their pajamas, set ALL the clocks ahead, and dragged me back out of bed at 8:20.  We partied, and I went back to bed at 8:30, happy as could be.  I was livid when I found out and swore I’d never, EVER do something like that to a child of mine.  From the time J and E were five years old, they’ve been allowed to stay up as late as they want on New Year’s Eve.

But then this year rolled around.  For the past week, a stomach virus has been raging through our house.  My husband got it today.  The rest of us are on the mend but still run down.  There was NO WAY the kids were staying up.  None.

“Hey!”  I said.  “I have a fun idea.  Since none of us can really stay up that late tonight, let’s pretend.  We’ll set the clocks ahead to say midnight when it’s really eight o’clock, and we’ll count down and have sparkling grape juice and confetti and everything!”

The kids were in bed by 8:30.  I’ll be headed there soon.

Happy New Year, everyone!

(And stop laughing, Mom.  At least I told them it wasn’t really midnight.)

I heard something on the radio this afternoon that made me so, so sad. 

Vandals trashed Robert Frost’s summer home in Ripton, Vermont last night.  Underaged kids — police think maybe up to fifty of them — broke into the historic site and had a party there.  They smashed windows.  Broke his furniture and burned it in the fireplace.  Then vomited on the floor.  CNN ran a story with more details here.

Robert Frost is my favorite poet, one of the writers who taught me to love words and the way they go together.  Our family visited that summer house a few years ago and hiked the  Robert Frost Trail nearby.  The building is nothing fancy — a simple two story farmhouse in the Green Mountain National Forest  — but you can feel Frost’s spirit when you step onto the property.  A feeling of simplicity and peace.  What happened there is so ugly and so wrong.

Middle Grade Fiction Delight
(serves an unlimited number of readers)

Take 7 panelists (must live in several different time zones for appropriate challenge level).
Add 75 middle grade fiction titles.

Allow many hours for reading.

Now stir in 601 email messages.
Pepper with impassioned pleas for personal favorites.
Add generous helping of humor.
Sprinkle in guidance from Liz, our beloved organizer goddess.
Shake vigorously.

Yields one list of finalists (though not necessarily a “short” shortlist).

And guess what?!  We’re DONE!!!!  Finalists for Middle Grade Fiction will be posted at the Cybils page tomorrow!  I’ll also post the list here and probably crow about it some more because I’m so excited about how many great titles we read over the past few months, and I’m thrilled with our final list.  I’ll be posting more reviews, of finalists and of some of my personal favorites that didn’t quite make the list, over the next couple weeks.

I loved serving as a Cybils panelist . It was an absolute joy to read so many great books, share them with my kids (my home kids and my school kids), and discuss them with brilliant, fun people like Little Willow, Erin, Sherry, Jocelyn, Amanda, and Kerry.

2007 was a very, very good year for middle grade fiction.  Be sure to look for our list tomorrow!

I’ve been waiting and waiting to see this guy…

Every winter, when the ponds in the Adirondacks freeze over,  a bald eagle moves into our neighborhood.  We first spotted him on New Year’s Eve two winters ago, in this very same tree along the shore of Lake Champlain, near a state park close to our house. 

A few days before Christmas, I was sprawled out on the couch reading (ahh…vacation…), and I looked out the window while a big bird was flying past over the water.  A really big bird.  With a white head and white tail.

“Eagle!”  I jumped up, scared the dickens out of the family, and ran to the porch.  We could tell the bird was a bald eagle and guessed by the direction he was flying that he was headed to his old favorite perch.  Sure enough, when we drove by the park on the way to visit family the day after Christmas, there he was in the tallest tree. 

If past years are any indication, he’ll be our neighbor for a few weeks, until Lake Champlain freezes over, and then he’ll move on.  For now, we’re awestruck and thankful for this New Year’s tradition that’s flown into our lives.

I’ve been tagged by

 to share five things that most people don’t know about me.   When I joined the LJ Community last spring, I had no idea what this sort of thing was all about.  What’s a meme?  And how do you say that?  Meem?  Mame?  Meemee? Maymay? (Maybe it’s French?)  All the tagging business seemed a little cultish, though in a friendly, not-dangerous way.  Anyway, I get it now and will happily share, since being tagged is a nice included feeling, like being picked for a kickball team in gym class.  I’ll share five little stories from my first career — as a tv news producer & reporter.

1. In 1992, I interviewed Bill Clinton while he was campaigning in Vermont.  Okay, interview is a strong word.  My camera person and I chased him down.  I got to ask him a question, and he answered it.  He walked off into the crowd to shake hands, and as soon as he was gone, I realized that my wireless microphone had been turned off the whole time.  I caught up to him, explained that I was a technological idiot, and asked the question again.  He was kind enough to answer again without making any snarky comments at all.

2.  In the same campaign year, I covered a speech by vice presidential candidate Al Gore.  It ended late, and the photographer and I were rushing to get back to the car to get tape back for the 11:00 news.  Except there was a problem.  The car was gone. Turns out it was parked a teensy bit illegally and got towed away.  We flagged down a passing car and somehow, though hand gestures, explained our situation and convinced the driver, a recent immigrant from Russia who spoke almost no English, to give us a ride back to the tv station.  He took several wrong turns, went the wrong way on the highway, made an illegal u-turn, and got us there at 10:55.  We made the deadline.

3.  While shooting a story at the New York State Fair one summer, I did a stand-up holding a 12-foot python.  We had to stop taping four times because the snake kept wrapping itself around my leg.

4. I was doing a live shot from the newsroom once when a photographer came running into the room behind me with a late tape.  By the time he realized he was running into a live shot, he was going too fast to stop, tripped over a chair, and landed at my feet in the middle of my report.  I kept talking as if nothing had happened, even though all the viewers had clearly seen a running man fall to the ground over my shoulder.  I did pause just for a second, and in that break, if you listened carefully, you could hear a whispered curse from the floor.

5.  I used to wear suits, high heels, makeup, and hair spray.  (If you know me now, this one is really funny.)

I tag anyone who wants to play, since I can’t be responsible for tagging someone in particular and created added holiday stress while you’re trying to finish baking nut bread or something.