On Place: Writing YA Set in Cleveland and the Rust Belt

                The term Rust Belt was coined in the early 1980’s and refers to the geographic region of the  U.S. where industry once thrived but is now in a state of economic decay. (Basically, it's the whole state of Ohio and the adjacent areas in neighboring states like Michigan and PA....) For a lot of people the term "Rust Belt" conjures negative images…that of defunct smoke stacks and residual pollution, unemployment lines and homeless shelters, boarded up houses and vacant strip malls. Having grown up the daughter of an autoworker in the Cleveland area and now living and working in the Youngstown area, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It’s true, the Rust Belt has all of the above mentioned things and more. But what many people don’t realize is that we have a lot of fabulous things as well. Symphonies, fine dining, beautiful park systems, a ton of professional sports teams, and even opera! We have a very low cost of living for the most part and you can actually own a decent home in the Rust Belt and not have to be a millionaire. (You may have to work two part-time jobs in the process but still, at least it's possible, right?) Oh, hey...did I mention that we have OPERAAAA?

 (Click here, I swear!)

However, the best thing about the Rust Belt is not these big city attractions but the people who live here. Most Rust Belters are no frills, hard-working, call-you-out-for-bullshitting types who know how to take a hard punch as well as a good joke. The Rust Belt is home to people who brown-bag it to work everyday, who use the term “garage-sale” as a verb, and who don’t apologize for loving corn dogs and drinking too much pop. 

I have lived in NE Ohio all of my life and have come to believe that it takes a certain type of person to grow up and thrive here. It takes a person who is tough, resilient, and doesn't just get up after they've fallen down but jumps up when they've been knocked down. Cleveland has been called "The Mistake By The Lake" for years. It's home to the infamous Cuyahoga River disaster that writer Richey Piiparinen states "caught our lifeblood on fire making your country."  It is home to a struggling football team that's been lovingly referred to as The Factory of Sadness, and a basketball team that was callously dissed on national television by....um...that guy...you know the one ...He Who Must Not be Named.

Don't get me started on the jobs situation here. Or Orange Barrel Pothole Season which lasts, like, nine months out of twelve. And, trust me, however bad Cleveland has it on these fronts, it's nothing compared to what the people in my adopted hometown of Youngstown face. We were named poorest city in the nation, ya'll! Ugh!

But despite the adversity, we keep getting up. Because that's what we do in the Rust Belt. WE KEEP GETTING UP.

 

"Thubthumping" By Chumbawamba. 

(Also goes by: "Rust Belt Anthem" 

or "Stuck in Your Head All Day Now Song." 

You're welcome.)

Most Rust Belt kids learn this mantra early on. They learn quickly that they’re probably not going to be prom queen but that they can still have a fun time dancing with their friends. They realize that they’re probably never going to own a Lexus but that their mom’s used Ford Focus drives just fine. Like they’re parents, they can stretch a buck like nobody’s biz and are sensible dreamers who (when they aren’t working after-school jobs to help make ends meet) still find time to make art , music and literature.

And guess what? I get to write about all of this! Man, do I love writing YA fiction set in my home state of Ohio. I get to create characters who rise to the challenges of living in the Rust Belt. I get to write about everyday fighters. And it's not all doom and gloom, I promise! My characters get to go great places...to the gritty downtowns of Cleveland and Youngstown or aboard fishing boats off the shores of Lake Erie. They take field trips to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame or ride roller coasters with their friends at Cedar Point. Or they simply head home to their extraordinarily ordinary young lives in the neighborhoods, apartment complexes, and trailer parks of the Rust Belt.

(Typical Rust Belt Dwelling. And only costs about 80K! A steal, I tell you!)

I am so proud to set my first contemporary YA novel WHAT HAPPENS NEXT in the Rust Belt, specifically Northeast Ohio. It is truly the heart of America and I hope that this October you will read it and maybe get to know this part of our country through my character Sid and her family and friends. Maybe you will even come to Cleveland, Youngstown, and other parts of the Rust Belt for a visit someday. That would be nice...and totally affordable...don’t you think?

XO/YA Colleen

***Some Young adult, middle grade, and YA-Adult crossover books set in the Ohio are: One For Sorrow by Christopher Barzak (Coming-of-Age/YA-adult crossover...a poignant ghost story that I highly recommend), Zane’s Trace by Allan Wolf (YA), All of the Above by Shelley Pearsall (MG), The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (YA Fantasy), Heaven by Angela Johnson (YA), Before, After, and Somebody In Between by Jeannine Garsee (YA), What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb (Middle Grade), The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (Adult-YA crossover).  

If you know of any other YA, YA-Adult Crossover or MG books set in Ohio or the Rust Belt, please list in the comments section, we’d love to hear about them! 

Oh...and P.S. 

This is a POP...m'kay?     ;)

Colleen Clayton is a former social worker who has worked at residential treatment centers for teens and as Program Supervisor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mahoning Valley. She earned her MFA from the NEOMFA and now teaches writing at Youngstown State University. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT is her debut contemporary YA novel and will be released October 9th, 2012 by Poppy, an imprint of Little Brown Books for Young Readers. You can visit her on her website at www.colleenclayton.com or like her Facebook page or even follow her on twitter by pressing here: @ColleenYA . (Or you can just break up with her right now. She'll be sad and miss you, but she'll try her best to stay friends...)

Eleven Up: Interview with Helen Landalf, author of FLYAWAY

Today we're joined by the lovely Helen Landalf, author of FLYAWAY, which comes out tomorrow (December 20).

Here's a little bit about the story:

Stevie Calhoun knows how to take care of herself. It’s not like her mom hasn’t disappeared before. So why is Aunt Mindy making such a big deal of it now? It’s not like Mom’s really doing meth. Stevie makes sure of that.Whatever. She’ll go home with Aunt Mindy if it will keep her from calling Child Protective Services—but it doesn’t mean she’ll stay. Mom will come back. Mom always comes back. And Stevie will be there when she does.

But when Stevie meets Alan—frustrating and fascinating and so-different-from-everyone-she-knows Alan—and she starts helping out at the bird rehab center, things begin to look different. Even the tutoring and the ridiculous outfits Aunt Mindy’s forcing her into might not be so bad. Not that Stevie would say it out loud. She can’t. Because how can anything be good if it doesn’t include Mom?

Sounds awesome, right? I recently got to chat with Helen about FLYAWAY, her journey toward publication and, of course, some apocalyptic-type matters.

Hi, Helen! Tell us a little about your journey toward publication.

I actually started writing about 20 years ago. I've published two picture books and seven nonfiction books for teachers, but my dream was to publish a YA novel. I worked toward that dream for 10 years before it became a reality. It took me two "practice" novels and countless rejections before I finally landed an agent and sold FLYAWAY.

In FLYAWAY, your main character, Stevie, works with birds. Did you have to do any special research for that, or have you had any experiences working with birds?

I had no experience with birds before I started FLYAWAY, so I had to do tons of research. In order to make my bird rescue scenes authentic, I volunteered at PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, in their bird nursery. I also visited a home-based wildlife rehab center where teens volunteer for court-ordered community service. It was amazing to see how dedicated and caring they were with the birds and other animals, and that center became my model for On the Wing, the bird rehab clinic in my book.

That sounds like an amazing experience. FLYAWAY also deals with family relationships – the relationship between Stevie and her aunt, and most importantly, Stevie and her mom. How did you make those relationships realistic and honest?

To make those relationships honest, I just dug into my own heart. I'm a daughter, a sister, a stepmom, and a wife, and although my relationships aren't terribly similar to the ones Stevie experiences in the book, I still know how it feels to love unconditionally, to be abandoned and rejected, and to learn to accept another person for who they are instead for how I wish they would be. And of course I also drew from observing the relationships between people around me.

Great advice for writing authentic relationships! What is your favorite part of the writing process? Least favorite part?

I'll answer the last part of your question first: I hate writing first drafts. I have this nagging inner critic who sits on my shoulder the whole time and tells me what a boring, useless book I'm writing and what a sorry excuse for a writer I am. It's a wonder I can complete my first drafts at all. (Sarah's note: AMEN to all of this!)

But revisions are a different story. I adore revising, especially with the guidance of my critique group, my agent, and my editor. I love digging through the muck of that first draft to find the gold nuggets that are the heart of the story and then polishing those nuggets till they shine!

It’s been over a year from book sale to book debut. What has been the most surprising part of the journey?

First of all, I've been surprised at how long everything takes! There's so much waiting involved in getting published: waiting for the contract, waiting for the advance, waiting for the revision letter, and so on. I was also surprised at how much revising goes on after the sale. I had rewritten my novel at least eight times before submitting it to my agent, then it went through two more major revisions with him. I thought for sure it would just breeze on through the editing process, but of course I revised it yet again for my editor. The attention to detail required, especially in the line edits and copyedits, is simply amazing.

Can you tell us something about your next project?

Well, I can't tell you too much at this point, so I'll just say that my next book is another contemporary realistic novel starring an urban girl. But no birds this time.

Ooh, sounds intriguing. Can't wait till you can share more about Book 2. Quick: it’s the apocalypse! Which five literary characters do you want by your side and why?

1.Katniss, from The Hunger Games, to remind me that I'm strong and powerful.

2. Harry Potter, to help me fight the forces of evil.

3. Alice in Wonderland, so I can see the absurdity of it all.

4. Emily Dickinson, who will keep me aware of the startling beauty in each moment.

5. Winnie the Pooh, to remind me that even the apocalypse will go down better with a bit of honey.

Excellent choices! Thanks so much for stopping by, Helen. To find out more about Helen and FLYAWAY, check out her website.

Eleven Up: Interview with Anna Staniszewski, author of My Very UnFairy Tale Life

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky: TODAY!

I talked with the delightful Anna Staniszewski, whose middle grade debut, My Very UnFairy Tale Life launches today.  Okay, so the first thing you need to know about this book is that it's immediately engaging.  You can read the first chapter and see what I mean.  After I read that chapter, I just had to ask the following question:

Maybe you could start by giving us a sort of public service announcement.  What is the best thing to do when one is being chased by a herd of unicorns?

This Message Brought to You by the Author:

If you find yourself chased by unicorns, the best thing to do is to run really really fast. And if you have the misfortune of being cornered by unicorns, don't bother trying to reason with them. They only know the word "nay" which doesn't exactly make them great negotiators.

Is your magical kingdom falling apart? Twelve-year-old Jenny is on the case, whether she likes it or not. Saving the world might sound exciting, but for Jenny it’s starting to get old — even staying in the real world long enough to take a math test would be a dream come true! And when you throw in bloodthirsty unicorns, psychotic clowns, and the most useless gnome sidekick ever, Jenny decides that enough is enough. She’s leaving the adventuring business and not looking back. Or…is she?

I love it that Jenny is a strong girl main character, a plucky adventurer.  I also love the concept of a girl whose life is very magical and eventful longing for the life of a regular girl, complete with math tests and well, sleep.  Which of Jenny’s adventures (or misadventures) was your favorite to write?

In the story's main mission, Jenny is asked to travel to a land filled with magical animals and defeat an evil clown. Populating a land with magical animals was so much fun, especially since I was doing my best to annoy Jenny. I kept throwing pretty obnoxious characters at her to see how she would react. I'm not sure she's quite forgiven me yet.

When you were Jenny’s age, who were some of your favorite adventurers, in books or in real life?  What are some of your favorites now?

When I was Jenny's age, I was shy and a total nerd, so my adventures usually happened through books. I loved stories that transported me to other places, magical or otherwise, including Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

Writing funny stuff is hard—do you have any tips for getting a laugh, or for how you manage to tap into the sense of humor of your audience?   

I'm a total goofball in real life and am always trying to make people laugh (not that I always succeed). When I was writing UnFairy Tale Life, it was a welcome break from other, darker projects. My goal was to make myself laugh. Then I used my husband as a joke-o-meter to tell me if what I had was actually funny. Usually, when something makes him laugh then I know I've done a good job.

Jenny as a character is instantly engaging—she has a snappy voice that keeps the pace quick and the tone light.  How did you go about developing Jenny’s character and voice?  Was there anything surprising about her that came out as you were writing? 

Developing Jenny's voice was a bit of a process. For a long time, the story was written in 3rd person with a snarkier, more mature narrator. But as I went through several revisions with my agent, she pointed out that the voice didn't seem to be working. I finally tried writing the story in 1st person and everything clicked into place. I could almost imagine Jenny saying: "Finally, you're letting me tell my own story! What on earth took you so long?" 

Your website says you’re interested in doing Skype visits with classes.  What kinds of topics might you talk about with a group of students, and how could they prepare for their visit?

I'm happy to do all kinds of visits, from a general Q&A to a more detailed discussion of the writing and publishing process for UnFairy Tale Life. In addition to the book's fairy tale themes, I also think of it as a satirical spin on a traditional quest fantasy. I'd love to see how students feel about the fairy tale and fantasy threads in the story, and how those relate to other books they've read.

I’m super excited about the release of My Very UnFairy Tale Life, but I’ve seen on your blog that you participated in the Camp NaNo project and started working on a picture book, too.  How do you as a writer balance the load of preparing for a release, first-drafting, and working on revising other projects?  Do you stick with one until it’s done or hop between them?  How is it different working on new writing since your debut sold?

Balance? What's that? *twitches* I actually like to work on a few different projects at once since it allows me to keep writing even if I get stuck on one story. I find, though, that juggling different projects works best if they're all at different stages: drafting one, revising another, etc. Otherwise, my brain starts to get too crowded and I have a hard time focusing on anything. As for working on new projects after selling my debut, I do feel like I put a bit more pressure on myself to write something sell-able. I try to hush the business part of my brain and let the creative part have its fun, but I don't always succeed.

And this is, after all the Apocalypsies, so let’s talk about the end of it all.  If the Apocalypse is now, what are your top three reasons why you do NOT want a gnome named Anthony as your sidekick?

This is a very important question. First, Anthony is obsessed with candy to the point where he needs to be munching on it every second. I'm not sure surviving the apocalypse and feeding Anthony's sugar habit are manageable. Second, Anthony rarely takes anything seriously, especially injuries. So if a flesh-eating zombie rips off your arm (in what I assume will be a zombie apocalypse), Anthony would probably just shrug and declare that it's just a scratch. And finally, remember how I said I put characters into the story who would annoy Jenny? Yeah, Anthony is definitely at the top of that list (though he does mean well most of the time). If he annoys Jenny, I have a feeling he'd annoy just about anybody. I'd say it's probably better to brave the apocalypse without a wise-cracking sugar addict by your side.

Thank you so much to Anna Staniszewski, and congratulations on your debut! 

Q & A with A.S. King

A.S. King, is a YA author who is known for her generous spirit and willingness to give back to the writing community. It's in this spirit that she agreed to do a Q & A for us about her writing process and life as a writer. First, the official bio:

A.S. King's first published work was an article about patios and several poems that a lot of people didn't understand. Her short fiction for adults has been widely published and was nominated for Best New American Voices 2010. Her most recent YA novel, Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, an Edgar Award Nominee, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book for Teens 2010, a Junior Library Guild selection, an Indie Next List Pick for Teens and a YALSA Best Book for Young Adults. Her first YA novel, The Dust of 100 Dogs, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an Indie Next pick and a Cybil award finalist. Next up: Everybody Sees the Ants from Little, Brown in 2011.

Amy now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and children and is a huge fan of Kurt Vonnegut, corn on the cob, nice weather, and fleece socks.

Q & A

Let me start by saying: These were awesome questions. I wouldn’t usually go into such detail about writing, and I’ve had a turbulent few years with many of the issues you raise, so I used this interview as a weird sort of self-centering exercise and I thank you for that. I keep this kind stuff to myself these days, but considering you’re the Apocalypsies and the world could end, I figured I’d use every last minute I’ve got to ensure my place in literary history.

1. I fell in love with Amy's writing back when Dust of 100 Dogs came out ... her books are gutsy and innovative. In the age old debate of outline versus organic writing, do you go into a story with a full outline or do you start with just a character, theme or plot idea and let the story unfold?

First, thank you for the compliment! I’m so stoked to hear that you dug The Dust of 100 Dogs. That book has been an interesting ride!

Confession: I am a full-fledged organic pantser. I usually start with a character—a few paragraphs of the character’s voice and a glimpse of what the struggle is, if there is one. After I have that, I think on it awhile to figure out the plot. Themes usually bubble up midway through writing a first draft. In between all this, weird things happen. Pagodas talk. Flow charts get drawn. Ants do what ants do. I save those parts until I can figure out why those things are happening. Then, they tend to find their way into the book.

I did try to outline a few times. All those books died partway through because I was forcing them down a path they didn’t seem to want to go down. Or, in the case of ASK THE PASSENGERS, my 2012 title which I outlined vaguely and sold on a partial, the outline for the final part was scrapped once the book got rolling past page 100 because it was all wrong. So, it seems pantsing is the way for me even if I try to envision the outcome beforehand.

2. I'm always curious about how full-time writers structure their days. Do you have a regular word count goal when you’re drafting? What other business/promo/etc is part of your regular routine?

I’m not really a full-time writer. I have two little kids and I run another business so I have very little structure at the moment. Frankly, I can’t wait until I can have some sort of structure. For now, when I write a first draft, I try to carve out a month to six weeks to write every day until I’m done. Maybe 2k a day or so, but really, until whenever I finish. I usually check my email first thing and answer anything pressing, and then I turn off the internet for large chunks of the day and write. Then, most promo stuff (designing promo materials, blogging, answering mail, etc.) is done at night between community board meetings and kid stuff.

I think the answer to this question is changing for me, too. This year, I was on the road for most of April, May and June and will be again in October and November. From the looks of my autumn, I will be writing on airplanes and in hotel rooms a lot. I have no idea how that’s going to work out, but my plan is 1k a day at least, which will be 1k more than if I didn’t write at all. Cross your fingers for me.

3. I would like to know your views on author "branding." You write one stand-alone after another, and they're all rather different; I think of you as a writer with tremendous range and creative freedom. I'd like to know how you view your "brand" or that concept. And do you pitch new book ideas to your agent before writing? Thanks!

Fact: I had to Google “author branding” to make sure I knew how to answer this question. So, when it comes to any previous views on it, I have none. I’m sorry for the lame answer, but if I had to Google it, I couldn’t really lie and say I had thoughts on it, right? But now that I read a bit about it, I guess the way you put it is perfect. I write stand-alones that are all rather different. Also, I agree with the way those people who signed my yearbooks put it. They always said, “To a weird girl I met in. . .” So, I guess in my case, their brand works: A.S. King writes kinda weird books. How do I view that brand? I think it’s probably accurate, but I’d never aim to write more weird books just so it could fit the brand. I’d rather just write what comes out and see what happens. I know that’s probably not a very good answer, but I also think that when I write what comes out, it’s usually weird and fits the brand, if that is the brand.

Can you tell I’m uncomfortable with the word brand? I think your question has just made me realize something about myself, so I thank you for asking it. It’s been difficult being a former self-sufficient weirdo and present anti-consumerist weirdo alongside being an author who has to sell books in order to eat. I guess I could say that brands freak me out. Any brands. It’s safe to say that I mute all commercials if I ever turn on my TV. So considering myself a brand in any way is kinda uncomfortable. Not because I think my books poop Hagen Das and are some sort of brandless anomaly, but just because I’m weird about stuff like that on a normal day. When I’m writing, I try to keep things simple like it was back on the farm when I wrote 6 books over a decade and didn’t really care if they ever got read. I know that might not fit a lot of people’s way of doing stuff, but as much as a businesswoman as I am, I’m a writer first, and for a long time, I only talked to chickens and dogs. And a few cats. And vegetables. A lot of vegetables.

To your second question: I don’t so much pitch my YA ideas to my agent. I give him snippets of what I’m working on. I’m usually a few books ahead. So, the 2013 book I have to write in the next few months, for instance, I mentioned to him first last winter while we were selling ASK THE PASSENGERS. He hasn’t read any of it and he won’t until I have a proposal together. Two nights ago, I wrote the basic overview for the 2014 book. I won’t mention that to him for a while because I have no idea if I can actually pull it off. It may end up the 2015 book. (As I wrote this, I just realized that this is totally possible. I think I have the 2014 in my head already.)

I do pitch other ideas to him like for younger readers or other genres. At the moment, though, with my limited time schedule, I’d rather concentrate on YA and continuing to deliver what my readers expect. (Which is a brand, Amy. Deal with it you hippy freako.)

4. How do you prepare for your book launches? You'll be up to #3 in October. Does it get easier/harder in terms of preparation, nerves, etc.?

I do basic stuff to prepare. I design bookmarks and launch invites. I get tour dates in line and plan my annual trip to Arizona because Phoenix people have always treated me so well. I plan a small blog tour with my favorite bloggers.

The entire process of launching and having books out in the world changed dramatically when I stopped looking at Goodreads, Amazon, etc. or most reviews. My Google alerts go to my husband who screens. Every week or so, I’ll see him checking sites from across the room and I’ll ask, “Everything good?” Usually he answers, “Golden.” Sometimes he says, “You got a one star from someone who thinks you’re the devil.” At that moment, I have zero interest in reading that review or seeking it out at a later date.

This has been the single most impactful thing I’ve done as a working writer. It helps my mood, my focus, my time and everything I do to promote. I am not thin-skinned by any means. This has nothing to do with skin. And I’m a curious person by nature, so it did take a little getting used to after the reading-a-lot-of-reviews first book launch period.

So, that was a long way to say I’m not nervous anymore, for the most part. At the moment, I’m working two or three books ahead, so my mind isn’t really on the launch two months down the road.

5. I’ve heard you have a special method of editing whereby you color-code your drafts. Can you elaborate a bit on that?

I color code a lot of stuff. I write a first draft on white paper and get it into shape to call it a real “first draft.” Then, I print it on blue paper and I let it sit for about a week and go through my 40+ pages of notes looking for bits to cross out and bits to highlight and then I do a huge digital revision based on that read. Then it goes to yellow, more digital drafts, then it goes to pink. Then my first reader reads pink and then it goes back to white after a few last revisions. Then to my agent. Then to my editor.

Those digital revisions all have an additional color coding. I print tables of contents, staple them together, and highlight each thread in a different color. I make about 20 or more of these for each book. This isn’t something I always did, but after a lot of books, it’s become my habit. And it really helps me with timing and plot.

Thanks again so much for having me! Rock on all of you with your upcoming releases! I can’t wait to cheer you from my windowless cave!

Thanks for this amazing insight into your process and a little peek into what life is like for A.S. King, the author! We're so looking forward to your fall release of Everybody Sees the Ants! And for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, check out the new paperback cover for Please Ignore Vera Dietz, which will be out next spring.

LIVING VIOLET Cover Revealed!!

Hey guys!

Good news! The wait is over! Well, some of it anyway. I recently received the sample book jacket for LIVING VIOLET. My book now has an actual cover! A COVER, y’all!! On top of that, it’s available for pre-order. Yay!

I’m super excited to see all the work and effort come to fruition. It’s surreal—kinda like an outer body, this-isn’t-really-happening-to-me, thing. This high is going to get worse as the release date draws closer.

I do have mixed feelings about the cover art. I’ve never been a fan of covers with human faces on it. There are WAY too many in YA and it takes away from the reader’s imagination. The characters’ appearance really shouldn’t matter that much and the key focus should be the overall premise and plot. I mean yeah, the guy can be hot, but is he interesting, or does his abs do all the talking?

With that said…

The main character and narrator of the story is Samara (Sam) a biracial teen who works at a bookstore. This feisty chick is a force to be reckoned with and for some reason she’s placed in the background.

Caleb is a lovable flirt with a deadly secret and a weird eating habit. Though a major character in the book, he’s not the narrator, yet he is placed in the foreground like a Boss!  He’s described in the story as having messy brown hair that reaches his jaw. He also has (bluish-purple) eyes that cast a very interesting light. He looks a bit hard core and kinda reminds me of Eminem. Just sayin’. He’s still a cutie though.

It’s a provocative cover, no doubt, but I’m worried if it portrays my characters accurately. I’m on the fence about it because no matter how stoked I am about releasing a book, I want to do my characters justice. Or, it could be just me being picky.

On a more awesome note, the printed version of the cover has a reflective disk over Caleb’s eye so it almost looks like it’s glowing. I found myself staring at it for almost an hour, fascinated at how the light bounces off of it. His eyes suck you in just as it does in the story. Super creepy. Hella cool!!

I would love to get your take on it. Let me know what you think.

Cheers!!

Jaime Reed

Living Violet: The Cambion Chronicles

Dafina Books (Kinsington)  January 2012

Eleven Up: Interview with Angela Cerrito

Today's Elevensies interview is with Angela Cerrito, author of THE END OF THE LINE, which is being released by Holiday House today, April 4^th, 2011!

Jacket Photography by
Edward McCain/Workbook
Stock Collection/Getty Images

Here's a summary: Robbie is locked in a room with nothing but a desk, a chair, a stack of paper and pencil. No belt, no shoes, no socks. He’s starving, but all they give him is water. Robbie has reached The End of the Line, AKA Great Oaks School, and at Great Oaks there’s no time off for good behavior. All good behavior will get you are points. Enough points and you get something to eat, a bed, bathroom privileges. Thirteen-year-old Robbie’s first-person account of his struggles at the school—at times horrifying, at times hilarious—alternates with flashbacks to the events that led to his incarceration. If Robbie is to survive The End of the Line, he must confront the truth: He is a murderer.

Hey Angela!  What inspired you to write Robbie’s story?  

I don’t hear voices, but I do have characters that live in my mind. I found Robbie and his story to be irresistible.

You’re a big traveler. Where’s the one place you haven’t been that you really want to go?

I like to revisit places. I have a dream of driving across the U.S. again, this time with my kids.

If forced to name a place you haven’t already been, where would it be?

The Ice Lantern Festival in Harbin, China or the island of Crete.

How do the places you visit influence your writing?  Has visiting a certain location ever inspired you to write a story?    

I lived in the southern U.S. and that is the setting for my current WIP.

Is THE END OF THE LINE your first novel? What are you working on now? Can you tell us a bit about your writing process?

Yes, it is my first novel. I’m working on a middle grade novel about a girl with impossible dreams and a rare talent. My writing process usually involves candy.

To me, THE END OF THE LINE makes me think about hope, and how even if things are terrible, hope is one thing we all have. At the beginning of the story, what does your main character Robbie hope for?

Robbie wishes he could change the past, but most of all he wants to go home.

There are two sections of your website open for readers to contribute; can you tell us a little bit about this?

Readers Words (http://www.angelacerrito.com/readers-words.html) is the place to post a list about who you are. This was Robbie’s first assignment at Great Oaks School.

Students Speak (http://www.angelacerrito.com/students-speak.html) was started from email exchanges with Ms. Anderson’s YA lit class in my home state of Michigan. In addition to providing answers for Students Speak, Mrs. Anderson’s class interviewed me for her Y.A. Love blog (http://addicted2reading.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/students-want-to-know-angela-cerrito/)

What are your five books for the Apocalypse? What are the books you couldn’t live without?

      THE ANIMAL FAMILY by Randall Jarrell

      WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS by Fran Cannon Slayton

      NATURAL HEALING FOR BABIES AND CHILDREN by Aviva Romm

      I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE by Wally Lamb

      And the biggest collection of poetry I can find

Chanelle Gray: MY HEART BE DAMNED

Chanelle Gray is a twenty-something graduate with a degree in psychology and counselling. She lives and writes and works in London, where she also enjoys shopping and eating out!

She is a huge animal lover with two dogs that are practically her babies. When Chanelle isn't working, writing, or socialising, she's with her baby nephew who she looks after whenever she begins to feel broody.

If you want to find something to talk about with her, food is always a good option. So long as it's not about cheese (which she hates, but ssh! don't tell anyone).

You can find her online on her twitter account, on her personal blog, her website or her Goodreads page.

DEBUT: My Heart Be Damned (KRP; Fall 2012)

In Amerie's world, the evilest of souls can escape from Hell and take up residence in human bodies. It's Amerie's job to send the 'Damned' back. But when her mentor, and mother, dies on the job, Amerie quits and falls off the map.

Until Marshall turns up offering her information on who killed her mother in exchange for her to begin hunting again. As Amerie focuses on revenge (and on winning Marshall's heart), Marshall focuses on deception, and his secret could be more dangerous to her than all of the Damned in the world combined.

FIVE TRAITS TO SURVIVE THE APOCALYPSE:

1) The ability to kick some serious zombie ass. The training to roundhouse kick, or decapitate a zombie with your bare hands will always come in handy.

2) To know how to keep quiet. If you're hiding and something is slithering past, you don't want to be drawing attention to your hiding place with loud breathing or crying.

3) A quirky 'glass half full' kind of personality. Nobody likes a whiner. They usually end up dead. Positive thinking, my friend, positive thinking.

4) Know your allies. You have to know the people who will throw you to a pack of zombies in order to get away and the ones who will turn back for you when you fall.

5) Some serious 'Katniss' hunting skills would be great. No point in surviving all the way to the woods where you soon run out of water and food and die anyway.

Jay Kristoff: STORMDANCER

BIO: Jay Kristoff writes sci-fi/fantasy (specifically steampunk) and is represented by Matt Bialer at Sanford J. Greenburger & Associates. He grew up in the most isolated capital city on earth and fled at his earliest convenience. Being the holder of an Arts degree, he has no education to speak of. His debut novel, STORMDANCER, sold at auction in January 2011 – Jay expects the hangover to wear off some time in August. Until then, please be vewy, vewy quiet. He blogs utter nonesense here, tweets meaningless twaddle here, haunts the Book of Faces here and reads good here.

DEBUT: STORMDANCER (St Martin's Press/Tor UK Spring 2012)

The Shima Isles are verging on the brink of environmental collapse; decimated by clockwork mechanization and toxic pollution. Sixteen-year-old Yukiko is the daughter of the Shogun's Hunt Master, gifted with the ability to speak telepathically to animals, but forced to hide her talent for fear of the murderous Lotus Guild and their campaign against "impurity". Befriending the last griffin alive on the islands, Yukiko pits herself against the Shogun and the Guild in the hope of seeing her homeland saved, her family freed and the crippled griffin fly again.

FIVE PLOT DEVICES FOR THE APOCALYPSE:

• Zombie mutant vampire werewolf ninja assassins


• Non-threatening boy with Dark Secret(tm)


• Some kind of prophecy


• Love quadrangle (25% better than a triangle)


• The Last of the V8 Interceptors

McCormick Templeman: THE LITTLE WOODS

BIO: McCormick Templeman is descended from musicians, revolutionaries, and criminals. She holds a BA from Reed College and two master’s degrees, but she only owns one pair of shoes. She lives in California with some people and some stuff. She is represented by Kate Garrick of DeFiore and Company.

DEBUT: THE LITTLE WOODS (Schwartz and Wade/Random House, July 10, 2012)

The history of St. Bede’s Academy is one of excellence and rigor, tarnished only by a single tragic event: the night that Clare Wood disappeared from her bed, vanishing without a trace. Ten years later, Clare’s disappearance is still unsolved, and for many people it is nearly forgotten, but when her sister, Cally, arrives at St. Bede’s, everything begins to change. While Cally struggles to navigate social etiquette and burgeoning romance, her presence is awakening old ghosts, and soon Cally finds that St. Bede’s is not what she expected, and that the woods behind it whisper of another night, another girl gone missing, and of a horrifying secret that burrows deep into the heart of the school.

FIVE TELEVISION SHOWS FOR THE APOCALYPSE:

1. Twin Peaks
2. Flight of the Conchords
3. Arrested Development
4. The Mighty Boosh
5. The Sopranos