…that when one visits one’s book in a real live bookstore for the first time, one is overcome by an almost insurmountable urge to hide behind a bookshelf and watch to see who picks it up and what kinds of faces they make.
I restrained myself, though, and went to find the other historical fiction titles I wanted for my Fall Fireside Basket of Historical Fiction to raffle off at the launch.
Spitfire is about a girl who disguises herself as a boy and fights in a Revolutionary War battle on Lake Champlain, and tomorrow is my first signing. I’m scared and excited …but mostly excited. Bonnie Shimko will be there, too, signing Letters in the Attic, which is out in paperback now. This makes me feel better because a) I won’t be alone, and b) Bonnie is friendly and warm and funny, which is always a good thing.
We’re celebrating Spitfire’s official release this weekend… with an event from 12-2 Saturday at Borders in Plattsburgh, NY. I’ll have treats, a raffle, teacher resource packets, bookmarks, and (giggles uncontrollably) temporary tattoos. If you’ve ever considered having a Revolutionary War gunboat tattooed on your arm, this is your chance to try it out. Bonnie Shimko will also be signing on Saturday. If you haven’t read her Lambda Award-Winning Letters in the Attic, you should, and it’s out in paperback now. Jan Stanley and illustrator Tamia Gastio will be there, too, signing their playful picture books.
One more thankful Thursday thing…
After school, the phone rang in my classroom, and it was one of the 6th grade ELA teachers.
“Hey- I’m having a computer problem, and I can’t figure it out. Can you just come down and help me real quick?”
When I opened her classroom door, there was no computer problem — just a bunch of giddy English teachers and a big chocolate mousse cake (don’t tell the HeartSmart committee) to celebrate the release of my book. Have I mentioned that I love my department?
And now… the winner of the Spitfire Writers & Characters Contest…. (I would have posted more of the entries on my blog, but it turns out that spitfire writers are busy people and often leave things to the last minute, so I got hit with a slew of 11th hour entries and no time to post them.) Thanks for playing along; all of your entries were fun and spitfirey.
And now… the winner… drawn at random from all the entries…out of an 18th century bonnet… by my kids… is………..
AMBER HAMILTON!!
(You may be asking now how two children drew one name out of a hat. The parents among you realize that when a child is called upon to pick a contest winner, the other child will invariably shout, “NO! I want to pick the winner!” So for the curious… E picked three names from the hat, and then J chose one at random from those three. Anyone wishing to appeal the contest results or protest this procedure may email J and E, care of me.)
Hey Amber…email me with your address, and I’ll send along your signed book and chocolate early next week. Have a great weekend, everyone!
I’ve been keeping the emotions of my book release in check so far. (This is an accomplishment for someone who cries at Folgers commercials.)
My box of author copies arrived from North Country Books this week, and inside were hundreds of shiny Spitfire bookmarks. They were beautiful, but they didn’t make me cry.
That was the subject line on the email my husband sent me at school this afternoon. Look what was waiting for me at home…
My first author event with books is this Saturday from 12-2 at Borders in Plattsburgh, NY — part of the Educators’ Weekend. If you live in Northern New York, please stop by and say hello!
is making waves with her Scientists in the Field award-winner TRACKING TRASH: FLOTSAM, JETSAM, AND THE SCIENCE OF OCEAN MOTION. Here’s her entry in the Spitfire Writers & Characters Contest:
Me? A spitfire? Nah.
Okay, well, maybe a reformed spitfire. A once-upon-a-time spitfire. Yes. That fits better. I’m a recovered spitfire. Which is to say that I have spent a good deal of my adult life learning to control the fiery outbursts of my youth and to maintain—at all costs—a peaceful demeanor. It has been a long process, fraught with missteps and setbacks. But becoming a wife, a daughter-in-law, a mother, and a teacher has steadied me in ways that have allowed me to let go of the idea that I have everything figured out and that it is my job to share my wisdom with the rest of humankind. I have learned to accept that people will not always believe what I believe, behave in ways that I approve of, or do the things I think they should. That is their right and no matter how angry it makes me, spitting fire won’t help.
An open mind, now that helps. Respect and tolerance help too.
And so even though I am passionate about my world views, even though I share them in appropriate venues, I no longer rile when they are challenged. I work hard—very hard—to maintain a peaceful outlook and a respectful approach. As I say, there are missteps and setbacks constantly.
Just recently my six-year-old daughter and I were waiting for the schoolbus.
“Girls can’t spit,” she told me, innocently.
The feminist in me roared to life. I counted to ten, calmed the beast as best I could, and pointed out that girls can spit every bit as well as boys. And then, well, I spit. Literally. Right there in our driveway in broad daylight, I hawked a good one.
My daughter stared at me in horror. Her little hand actually covered her mouth for a moment before she let loose on me, “Mom! Boys can’t spit either! Girls can’t spit and boys can’t spit! It spreads germs!” She paused for a moment before going on. “It’s the school rule and you’d be in trouble if Mr. Caruso found out.”
She let the threat of my shame hang in the air a moment before going on. “It’s okay, Mom. I won’t tell on you. Just don’t let me catch you doing that ever again!”
That daughter of mine? Now she is a spitfire. Long may she spit!
If you’re a world class spitter or spitfire (or something else with the word spit in it), you have one more day to email me your entry! The contest wraps up when the clock strikes midnight Tuesday night. A winner drawn at random gets a signed copy of SPITFIRE and some Lake Champlain Chocolate, which is organic and fabulous. I’ll announce the winner on my blog this Friday — the day of SPITFIRE’s official release!
Time to feature another entry in the Spitfire Writers & Characters Contest!
Some of you have already met this Spitfire Writer…Sheri Goad…aka goadingthepen. She’s a children’s writer and blogger and finalist in the ABC PB Contest. If you haven’t already done so, you’ll want to check out her Awesome Author Contests. Here are Sheri’s thoughts on being a spitfire:
Spitfire: Little Me
My momma’s little spitfire; Ask her she’ll admit. I was quiet the feisty thing, She had her share of it.
I filled my drawers with shaving cream, Cracked eggs onto the floor. As if that wasn’t just enough, I broke the bathroom door.
I decorated every wall, With markers red and blue. Then flushed them down the toilet, The moment I was through!
I threw spaghetti on the floor The dog wanted a snack. She shook her finger crazily, Some day you’ll get this back!
And though I had no clue What she was talking about… As I catch jello shooting from the fan…. I think I’ve figure it out.
Sheri Goad aka~goadingthepen
As the mother of a spitfire, I TRULY appreciated this one! Are you a spitfire? Do you have a favorite spitfire character? Email me your entry by the end of the day Tuesday, September 25. It’s kmessner at katemessner dot com (no spaces). Your name could be drawn to win a signed copy of SPITFIRE and a box of Lake Champlain Chocolates!
2. Do not think that you are safe from rejection letters for the weekend once you’ve checked the mail after 5pm on a Friday. They can always zap you with an email from the West Coast.
3. Aforementioned rejection letter lit a fire under me, so I’m now within 20 pages of my first revision goal for
4. This is the week my author copies of SPITFIRE should arrive in the mail.
5. Here is an excerpt from Linda McCrary’s entry in the SPITFIRE Writers & Characters Contest:
A spitfire, in my mind, has always been someone with energy. Someone who speaks their mind. Someone who won’t take no for an answer. Someone who isn’t afraid of a challenge. I grew up in the country catching and riding my own horses by age 8. I was writing about horses when I wasn’t on them. I fought with and survived 4 siblings including an older and younger brother. That deserves some recognition! At my current place in life I’m a spitfire for different reasons. At the age of 48 I’m avidly pursuing publication of my first picture book. Last year I auditioned for and appeared in my first play. I refuse to be submissive and follow the “rules” set for slightly over middle aged women. I won’t believe that I’ve waited too late for anything, except maybe becoming Miss America!
Go, Linda! And you other spitfires… only two more days to submit your entries to win a signed copy of SPITFIRE and Lake Champlain Chocolate!
6. The truth is, I didn’t really have six things, but “Five Things on a Sunday” isn’t as catchy. I wanted to be alliterative, so I just plunged in and assumed that I would have a sixth thing by the end of the post. Alas…I don’t. Have a great week, though!
I promised to start featuring some excerpts from the SPITFIRE WRITERS & CHARACTERS contest, so today…meet Amber Hamilton, a wife, mother, writer of magazine articles and books (in progress) for kids, and undisputed spitfire. Her essay will make you smile if you’ve ever tried to juggle writing with kids!
Whether people would call me a spitfire or just a glutton for punishment, I’m not sure. Still, no one will stop me from doing either of two things. Number one is writing, no matter how deep I spiral into the abyss that is brokeness. (Don’t tell me you hold on to that ancient concept of grammar that says I can’t make up a word like “brokeness.”) Number two is entering a contest where you can win a free, signed copy of a historical novel, especially when everyone who enters has an equal shot.
But, personally, I believe that anyone who changes two pooooooooooooopy diapers while listening to “Popcorn, Popcorn!” being screamed into one ear from one knee and breastfeeding a one-month old who’s teetering on the other knee while typing the finishing line of your third chapter (Well˜ OK, that scenario does describe almost all of my writing time now. I just wrote that part about it only being during the last line of a third chapter to make myself sound like a better mother.) deserves the title SPITFIRE, don’t you? (And don‚t argue with my spelling of pooooooooooooopy. I‚m telling you, “poopy” just doesn’t cut it.)
It is for those reasons that I hereby, being of frazzled mind and worn-out body, qualify myself for the title of “spitfire.” Now, I must go. I may be a spitfire, but I still haven’t figured how to keep typing when it’s time to swap kids to different knees.
I’ll feature at least a few more SPITFIRE Writers & Characters on the Book Blog this week & next, and I know there are more of you out there. Don’t forget to send me your entry. You can win a signed copy of SPITFIRE and a box of Lake Champlain Chocolates. (Mmmm…chocolate….). Just email me a short essay (Heck, did I say essay? How about a sentence or two?) about why you’re a spitfire in your writing life OR your favorite spitfire character in children’s literature. Feel free to introduce us to a character in your book or someone else’s. The email is kmessner at katemessner dot com (no spaces).
The winner will be drawn at random from all entries I receive by the end of the day on Tuesday, September 25. And If you mention this contest on your blog or website so others can join in the fun, I’ll enter your name in the drawing twice.
Sarah Miller’s novel Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller has been showing up on some early mock Newberry lists, and for good reason. If you read my review of this book last week, you know how much I loved it (I would have loved it even if its title wasn’t similar to mine!). I was thrilled when Sarah agreed to stop by my blog for an interview.
So often, a work of historical fiction starts with that spark of interest in a particular topic. Anyone who has read your book or visited your website or blog knows about your fascination with Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller. What sparked that interest, and when did you decide to take the leap and write a book about Annie?
Miss Spitfire got started when I saw The Miracle Worker on stage at MeadowBrook Theatre in October of 1998. We came to that famous scene at the water pump and when the audience stood up to applaud, I realized I was crying. I don’t do that. And it’s not like the climax of the play was a surprise – I’d seen the movie, and I knew the story – but bam! there it was, and I got it. When I saw Helen’s mind fill with words, I understood for the first time what it was like to be empty of language, and the notion fascinated me. It still does, in fact – nine years later, I still have the ticket stub, and the movie still makes me cry.
It’s probably hard to believe, but I really don’t remember when I figured out I could write a book about Annie. I certainly didn’t leave the theater with that thought in my head. I just knew that I wanted to know more about Annie and Helen. At some point in the next few years, my not-so-casual interest turned into truly focused research with a purpose.
What’s your favorite thing about writing historical fiction?
So far, I’ve spent my time writing about real people – people I’m fascinated with and become quite fond of by the time I’m done. I love the idea of spreading that fascination, and of maybe even forming a sort of vicarious friendship between my characters and my readers. As a writer and a middle school English teacher, I’m a bit of a revision nut. What are some of your favorite strategies for revising a manuscript?
I don’t think I have any solid strategies. I just love to tinker – I can fool endlessly with everything right down to commas and semicolons. Mostly, I like to revise as I write. I take a step forward and lay down some new territory, then take a couple steps back and smooth out what’s already there. Revision is way more fun for me than drafting, so I like to spread it out over the whole process. It’s important for me to see improvement as I go.
What did the first draft of Miss Spitfire look like?
It was actually fairly similar to the finished product, mostly because I do that simultaneous write/revise thing, and also because I do almost all of my writing on the computer. There were changes, of course: Donna Jo Napoli read my second draft and took me to task on a couple important linguistic issues in the climax. When my editor got his hands on the manuscript, he pointed out a number of places I needed to bulk up and expand on Annie’s emotions – I have a strange ability to make even a first-person narrator sound like a third-person observer in my initial drafts. He also helped me smooth out Annie’s emotions somewhat. She was very volatile in real life, but a novel requires a more gradual, even development of the characters’ feelings to engage and satisfy the reader.
What do you think Annie Sullivan would say if she could read the words you wrote for her?
Holy Ned, what a question! I know what I’d like her to say, but the strange truth of it is this: after all my years of reading and research I feel like I know Annie, but I can’t – not really. It’s impossible to know someone completely in a vicarious sense, so I’m reluctant to predict her reaction.
My best guess is that she’d feel rather exposed by some of my words – she was very proud, and very private – but I think she’d understand and accept what I’ve written. As Annie herself said, “The truth of a matter is not what I tell you about it, but what you divine in regard to it.” That’s exactly how I approached Miss Spitfire – it’s my reflection and interpretation of the information Annie left behind.
You’ve posted some hints about your next project on your website – another work of historical fiction, set this time in the last years of Russia’s last imperial family. How’s that project coming along?
Heh. Today I hate it. 😉 I like the beginning very much though, so there’s hope. I think….
Name a few books — for kids or adults — that you’ve read recently and loved.
Easy one!
My hands-down new favorite for adults: Lottery, by Patricia Wood.
The kids’ and YA books I love/wish I’d written this year: Aurora County All-Stars, by Deborah Wiles Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, by Robin Brande Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt
In addition to your writing life, you also blog often about your work in an independent bookstore. What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you there?
That honor goes to the lady who came in and asked for an abridged copy of To Kill a Mockingbird for her three-year-old. Apparently the toddler was “really enjoying” Moby Dick.
What’s one question that I didn’t ask that you’d like to answer here?
Here’s one I don’t seem to get tired of answering: What do you hope people will learn from Miss Spitfire that they might not from another Helen Keller book?
There are a lot of fine things to take from the story of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller: determination, courage, loyalty, and so on. So these two things I’m about to say may seem trivial in comparison, but I think they’re essential to understanding Annie:
1. Annie did not travel to Alabama on some lofty mission to free the mind of a child from its dark and silent prison. She needed a job and a place to live, and she took quite a risk when she accepted the Kellers’ proposal. Annie had no training as a teacher, and nobody knew if she could do it.
2. Annie didn’t sacrifice her life for Helen – she needed Helen every bit as much as Helen needed her. Helen’s friendship was probably as life-changing for Annie as the “miracle” at the pump was for Helen. In a sense each saved the other from her own form of darkness. Even so, just as Annie couldn’t cure Helen’s blindness, Helen couldn’t completely erase the scars on Annie’s heart. But in the end, I think their bond to each other brought them father than they could have dared hope for in the beginning. Sarah, thanks so much for joining us, and best wishes with your new project (even if today wasn’t the greatest writing day!). I know I’m not the only one looking forward to your next book.
No- wait…not that kind of snow (even though I am a skier and start to get excited when the temperature drops below 50).
I’m excited about ROBERT’S SNOW: FOR CANCER’S CURE — a huge, bright, and beautiful fund raiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. You’re probably familiar with children’s book author-illustrator Grace Lin, who began this incredible campaign with her husband Robert Mercer after he was diagnosed with cancer several years ago. Robert died at the end of August, so this year’s fund raiser is a bittersweet tribute to his life and his work. Children’s book illustrators — more than 160 so far this year — have created breath-taking, original snowflake ornaments to be auctioned off to raise money for cancer research. This year, kid-lit bloggers are helping to spread the word about the auction by featuring interviews and profiles of these illustrators on their blogs, as well as their snowflakes and a link to the auction. I’ll be featuring Judy Schachner, Amy Young, Sara Kahn, Cecily Lang, and Shawna Tenney on Kate’s Book Blog some time in October or November. I hope you’ll stop by to meet these generous artists, enjoy their creations, and bid if you can.
I love projects that bring people together like this. I love it when kindness counteracts all the cynicism out there in the world. And I love it when kids have a chance to be a part of it. My 7th grade students are going to be exploring the work of my five illustrators, helping out with the interviews and profiles, and creating their own snowflake ornaments to sell in our community so that we can make an extra donation to the Dana-Farber Institute. I cannot WAIT to tell them about this project.
I know there are others on my LJ friends list — like
— who will be featuring illustrators, too, so be sure to visit them over the next few months to meet some incredible artists. If you want to learn more about Robert’s Snow, you can drop in on Jules at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, whose organization on this project amazes me, and whose belief that written words can help change the world is an inspiration.
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Time to feature another entry in the Spitfire Writers & Characters Contest!![[info]](https://stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
