Come to Shelton and see me and 20 other authors at the First Annual Southwestern Connecticut Youth Book Expo on Saturday, October 15th. There will entertainment of the kids and of course, we’ll all be signing books. A special shout out to Dorothy Sim-Broder, the owner of Written Words Bookstore in Shelton, for putting it all together!
Check out the Expo and Written Words Bookstore.. Please!
I’m off to Wallingford CT on Wednesday October 5th to visit the Mother Daughter Book Club to discuss Prisoners in the Palace. The lovely Donna Marotti and her daughter met me at RJ Julia’s last spring and invited me. I can’t wait to meet the group. Read more here.
Last Saturday a lovely lady named Doe Boyle (you know she has to be writing kidlit!) invited me to be a speaker at her 13th annual garden workshop. (In the order of appearance) Adam Gidwitz (A Tale Dark and Grimm), Rob Buyea (Because of Mr. Terupt), Ann Haywood Leal (The Finder Keepers Place), me!, and finally but definitely not least, Caragh O’Brien (Birthmarked) discussed the choices we make when we write for middle grade and young adult.
This is an issue I’ve thought a lot about. When I write my books, I’m borrowing stories from the past. When I wrote Prisoners in the Palace, I wanted to write about Victoria in the year before she became Queen. She was seventeen. Since one of the easiest rules of thumbs about Middle Grade v. Young Adult is the age of the protagonist…. I guess I’m writing Young Adult. This influenced teh story I told. A sixteen year old can be thinking about marriage (especially back then). Her interests are balls and gowns. And when Victoria is confronted with the unpalatable facts of life, it her naivete that keeps her from recognizing them, not her age.
My next book, Promise the Night is about an eleven year old named Beryl. She grows up in colonial Africa, seeing things that most American children her age would never ever see! But she only experiences adventures her young pre-teen self can handle. There’s not a lot of romance but there are some terrific friendships. Yup, middle grade.
Anyway, I spent a wonderful afternoon in the sun, under the shady trees, in Doe’s amazing colonial house. The attendees brought lawn chairs and a (delicious) pot-luck entree. Everyone was a writer — some well-published, others just starting. What we all had in common was a love of children’s literature and a respect for our readers. I learned so much from my fellow speakers too. Adam made the terrific point (which I knew as a parent, but not necessarily as a writer) that kids understand what they are ready to, and the rest flies over their head! Rob, a wrestling coach, couched writing in wrestling terms — there is no room so large as the room for improvement. Oh yeah, there’s a lot of discipline required too. Ann amazed us with her recollection of and tolerance for her 12 year old self. Caragh reminded us that writing is its own reward — publication, sales, awards are all gravy!
(From left to right) Rob Ruyea, Ann Haywood Leal, Doe Boyle, Adam Gidwitz, Caragh O'Brien and Michaela MacColl
A terrific day!
