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ALA Midwinter: In case you can’t make it to Boston…

I’ll be at the ALA Midwinter conference in Boston this weekend, not doing anything official or author-ish, other than ogling all the upcoming books in the exhibit hall.  In fact, the whole family’s going, which brings me to the following offer:

If your upcoming book is likely to be on display at ALA this weekend and you’d like a photo of it, just leave a comment below with your title & publisher.  I’m making an exhibit hall scavenger hunt for my eight-year-old daughter, who will happily hunt down your title and snap a shot of it with my iPhone to share via Twitter or here on the blog when we get home.  (We will also probably jump up and down in excitement a bit when we find your book, and then lavish the ARC with oohs and ahhs, so really…it will be just like you being there. Only you won’t have to eat a droopy twelve-dollar convention center salad for lunch.)

And if you ARE going to be at ALA, I hope our paths will cross. Jo Knowles is organizing a LiveJournal meet-up that I’ll be at if schedules go as planned.  You can read the details on Jo’s blog here.

Why I’m thankful to Patrick (who did not love my book)

As an author, it’s easy to get caught up in who loved your book and who didn’t, and to worry (especially at this time of year) when your book is or isn’t part of the discussions about notable lists and awards and things like that.  I got a letter in the mail a couple weeks ago that I have set aside. I know I’ll want to read it over and over again, because it puts the whole issue in perspective.

It’s not the kind of letter you might expect to be an author’s favorite. It was part of a packet of follow-up letters from a Vermont classroom I visited this fall, the kind that are neatly written and edited for spelling and packaged in a tidy envelope. I read every one of those letters, and I appreciate and keep them all.  But Patrick’s stands out.

It’s a lovely, friendly letter.  He thanks me for coming to visit.  Then he writes about my presentation, how much he enjoyed hearing about my research and how books come to have the covers they have. The next paragraph says:

I am sorry, but I didn’t really like your new book, The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.  I like books with a lot of action, and I felt there wasn’t enough in The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.  I think you could make it more exciting by adding sectionals and have Gianna win by a centimeter or something like that.  It’s just not my type of book. But if it was, I would have thought it was a great one.

Merry Christmas,

~Patrick

I love this letter.  I love that Patrick was honest, and I love that his teacher let him tell the truth.  And I love the way this friendly note, in Patrick’s voice, reminds me that not all books are for all people. And that’s okay. We can still be friends.

Even though sharing the news about someone who didn’t like your book is a little unconventional, I wanted to pass along Patrick’s thoughts as a gift to my writer friends.  The next time you get a rejection or an especially critical review, remember that not all stories connect with all readers.  And that’s okay.  Then imagine the rejection or review written on lined paper in number two pencil, with Patrick’s words tacked onto the end.

It’s just not my type of book. But if it was, I would have thought it was a great one.

P.S. to Patrick…  Thanks.  And also…there is an airport chase scene in my novel-in-progress that you are absolutely going to love.

Great Books Coming in 2010: THE PRIVATE THOUGHTS OF AMELIA E. RYE

This is a fantastic, fantastic upper middle grade…more Let me just say for the record that I predict next year at this time, when we’re all guessing about the 2011 book awards, this title comes up in the conversation quite a bit.  I’ll also say, in the interest of full disclosure, that I know and like the author a whole lot.  Bonnie Shimko is a warm, funny, kind person in addition to being a seriously talented writer. This is her third novel for kids and teens, and while I liked the other two a lot…THE PRIVATE THOUGHTS OF AMELIA E. RYE has absolutely won my heart.

Just one true friend… That’s all Amelia E. Rye’s grandfather says she needs, and when Fancy Nelson comes to town, Amelia knows that it’s true. Fancy is the first black kid Amelia’s ever seen, and she seems to have everything that Amelia lacks…courage, no-holds-barred confidence, and unconditional love from her family. With Fancy beside her, the world looks a little different to Amelia, a little brighter, and a little braver.

This is a fantastic, fantastic upper middle grade novel – great for ages 10 and up – and really, it’s one of those titles that adult book clubs should pick up, too. The characterization is as close to perfect as I’ve seen in a novel for kids, vivid and rich and never stereotypical, and the writing is just brilliant — laugh-out-loud funny one moment and heartbreaking the next. I’m so thankful to have spent some time in Amelia’s world and can’t wait for April so I can share her with my students. This is a really special book.

(Reviewed from an ARC that I was lucky enough to pick up at NCTE… and due out from FSG in April 2010)

Three manuscripts, two rats, and a pile of books

It’s been a busy week at the Messner house. 

Three manuscripts:

The draft of my middle grade mystery, which shall remain nameless for now, is DONE.  I finished in a marathon writing session the night before New Year’s Eve.  Now to finish polishing the first few chapters so I can send off to my critique buddies. I’m going on a writing retreat later this month, where I will be revising like a madwoman.

Reviewed copy edits for SUGAR ON SNOW are in the envelope, going back to NYC tomorrow.  My blue pencil got a workout.

And I’ve just received the copy-edited manuscript for MARTY MCGUIRE, FROG PRINCESS, the first title in my chapter book series with Scholastic, which will be coming out in February of 2011.  The copy edit email came with a special series style sheet that has not only a chart of all my characters and their relationships but also a list of "author’s made-up words" that are to be left alone through the copy editing process, including "flippy, boingy, poofy, floofy, princessy, and blech."  This amused me to no end.

Two rats:

But only one would even sit remotely still for a photo.

This is Chester.  The rat-who-will-not-be-still is named Guy (rhymes with "tree" as in Guy de Maupassant and Guy LeFleur) and they are E’s new pets who live in a cage three-bedroom condo in the basement.  They are Dumbo rats, so named for their big ears on the sides of their heads.  We brought them home from a Dumbo rat breeder in Montreal last week, claimed them at U.S. Customs —

"Anything to declare?"
"Two rats."
"Did you say rats?" 
"Yes, pet rats. Do you need to see them?" 
"No, that’s okay."

–and got them settled in their new home. We constructed a rat playpen out of plexiglass ceiling light covers and duct tape —

— and E and her friends have been building them forts and mazes out of cardboard boxes and more duct tape.  They’re quite cute and very friendly. More photos to come if they ever sit still for a minute.

A pile of books:

I was going to clean out my bookshelves and get rid of some books before they completely take over the house. 

But then I decided to get a new bookshelf instead.  

It’s full of novels I read over vacation.  I’ll post more detailed recommendations on my blog over the next few weeks, but for now, just know that CAPTIVATE by Carrie Jones made me gasp and cheer and cry within about ten pages and that Francisco X. Stork’s next book, THE LAST SUMMER OF THE DEATH WARRIORS is so far shaping up to be just as amazing as MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD.  I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a very good year for books.

Of Rats and Reviews

(Which is not to say that I am calling reviewers rats… these are just two separate thoughts tucked together in one post. And they both started with R, so there you go.)

First the review part...  Fuse #8 is asking people to vote on which 2009 book should be her last review of the year, and THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. is on her maybe-list.  I’ve long enjoyed the thoughtful reviews on this blog and would love to hear her take on Gianna Z, so I’d love it if you’d click here and vote if you haven’t already! 

Now the rats…  We’re headed to Montreal tomorrow to pick up two baby Dumbo rats, a belated Christmas present for my daughter. I thought we’d have her unwrap the cage on Christmas and then drop by the pet store the next day to pick up the rats.  But Dumbo rats are apparently not that easy to find, or so I discovered after calling every pet store in Northern NY and Vermont and some in New Hampshire. Finally today, I found a breeder in Montreal, and after several hours of emailing back and forth in French (those four years of high school French helped…some…), we are headed north tomorrow to pick up two residents for the cage in the basement.  Here’s one of them. 

I think his big ears are cute.  I also think after all this, the rats should probably have French Canadian names, but we’ll see…  Any suggestions?

Great Books Coming in 2010: DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by C.J. Omololu

Book by book, I’m reading and recommending my way through the fantastic ARCs I picked up at NCTE. I had been looking forward to C.J. Omololu’s YA novel DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS for two reasons. First, I know Cynthia online and had read about her book sale. And second, my Walker editor  Mary Kate is also the editor of this book, and I know how excited she is about it. I read DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS in a single sitting — on the plane home from NCTE, actually — and it kept me turning pages long after I should have been sleeping.  

It’s a great, compelling read. This YA novel takes place over a mere 24 hours, but what a 24 hours it is. It’s the day when everything changes for Lucy, a girl whose mother is a compulsive hoarder. For years, that fact has shaped her life. She’s worried about the smells of her family’s kitchen following her out of the house, worried about friends who invite her to sleep over when she can never reciprocate, and worried that someone will learn her family’s dirty little secret. In the very early pages of this novel, a tragic turn forces Lucy to make a decision about how to handle her mother’s hoarding…and her own future.

Powerful and page-turning, this book would be a great choice for literature circles in grades 7 and up, particularly because it has an ending that will get readers talking in a big way. I still can’t stop thinking about it. Highly recommended.

MAGIC UNDER GLASS by Jaclyn Dolamore

My editor was kind enough to send me an early copy of MAGIC UNDER GLASS by Jaclyn Dolamore, and I finished this book so recently, I can still hear the ticking of the clockwork automaton in my brain. It’s a story that will stay with me for a long time, set in a world that was pure delight to visit.  I can’t wait to buy a few more for my classroom. I already have a mental list of students who are going to love it.

The world created in MAGIC UNDER GLASS is one firmly grounded in social classes and politics, yet it still swirls with spirits and fairies that are completely believable. The main character, Nimira, is a dance-hall girl who finds herself taken into the home of a wealthy sorcerer, where she’s commanded to sing with a clockwork automaton who plays the piano. It turns out, though, there’s more to him than cogs and gears, and that "something more" captures Nimira’s heart and mires her in a seemingly impossible plot to save him.

I love the strength of the girl characters in this book, not only the charming, clever Nimira, but also the supporting characters, right down to the maid who pulled out a move that had me cheering near the end of the book.

While the book is officially being labeled as YA fantasy, it’s also perfectly appropriate for younger advanced readers who appreciate fantasy and romance. MAGIC UNDER GLASS a beautifully written story that somehow has the feeling of being completely fresh and a classic all at once. Highly recommended…especially if you need a last-minute gift for a tween or teen girl.  MAGIC UNDER GLASS comes out this Tuesday, December 22.

Note: This is the UK cover, which I think I might like even better than the US cover above.  They’re both gorgeous, though, befitting a beautifully written book.

Agent Appreciation Day: With Gratitude to “Literaticat”

I’m late to the party, but someone has declared today Agent Appreciation Day. Since I think it’s always a great idea to celebrate people who do great work, I’m sneaking in a quick post about my literary agent, Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (She’s here on LJ and on Twitter, where she talks a lot about books and says wise things about the industry.)

For blog readers outside the world of publishing, a literary agent is someone who negotiates much of the business part of writing for authors — the book deals and contracts and any other film or foreign rights that grow out of something an author has written. Some agents, like Jennifer, also offer editorial advice to help get an author’s manuscript in the best possible shape before it’s submitted to editors. Agents help authors to shape their careers and generally act as advocates for writers and their work.

Given all that, I’m so very glad that Jennifer is in my corner. For starters, she’s sold six books for me in the two years we’ve worked together. But beyond that, Jenn is one of the smartest, funniest people I know and works harder than anyone I’ve ever met. She is a great communicator with an unflappable positive attitude, and she’s a tireless advocate for her clients. She cheers for our books both before and after they’ve sold. And she loves books just as much as I do.

Thanks, Jenn, for all that you do!