The NAACP Image Awards: Youth Literature Nominees

Thanks to Hip Writer Mama for the heads up on the fantastic Literature nominees for the NAACP Image Awards!

The nominees for Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens are...

Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice – Phillip Hoose (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Farrar Straus and Giroux)
Just Another Hero – Sharon Draper (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing)
Mare's War – Tanita S. Davis (Random House Children's Books)
Michelle Obama: Meet the First Lady – David Bergen Brophy (Collins-An Imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books)
Rock and the River – Kekla Magoon (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing)

Congratulations to these awesome authors and publishers! We'll be chatting with Sharon Draper about her amazing novel Copper Sun right here all through February! Woohoo!

HipWriterMama interviews Cynthia Leitich Smith

HipWriterMama, one of our fabulous postergirlz, interviewed author Cynthia Leitich Smith as part of the Winter Blog Blast Tour. Cynthia is the author of Rain Is Not My Indian Name, one of the recommended reads in this month's issue of readergirlz. Here's an excerpt of their interview:

HWM: November is all about celebrating Native American Heritage Month over at readergirlz. I was shocked how difficult it was to find good books, that treated Native Indians with respect, rather than as a stereotype. Why do you think this is the case, even in 2009?

Cynthia Leitich Smith: Big question. It’s a combination of reasons.

The first is that many folks in the United States—including some in youth literature--are still in an active state of denial (or ignorance) about the nation’s history with regard to Native people and our reality today. Especially the former is painful—after all, we’re talking about child abuse, rape, land theft, and genocidal efforts.

Perhaps because of misplaced ancestral guilt, it’s easier for some to believe that we all had a great time together at the first Thanksgiving and then Native people either (a) became savage warriors who had to be exterminated or (b) mysteriously died out through no one’s fault.

Certainly, that’s—to a significant degree—what’s still taught in American schools.

Of course there are some terrific teachers and school librarians trying to counteract this, but possibly the majority of Americans are carrying false information about Indians, delivered by our educational system itself.

I’ve had my share of school visits where the very young students had already been taught that Native people were either scary or extinct or both—taught not only at school and through books but also from other media and influential adults.

Grandma says, “My, aren’t you the savage little Indian!” (I overheard this in a bookstore, said to a young child who was misbehaving.).

To further complicate matters, a significant number of people who think of themselves as open-minded tend to equate “Native American” with either (a) supernatural, super-ecological largely inhuman creatures or (b) a tragic, defeated and dying people whose glories (and achievements) exist only in the misty past.

It’s a mess.

That’s the big-picture challenge.

Extend that to books, and often you’re looking at authors (a) who’ve been raised in that mainstream (sometimes contradictory) belief system, (b) who honestly don’t begin to realize how off-base many/most of their assumptions are, (c) who’re consulting “original” resources drafted by enemies of Native people, and (d) are trying to connect with a mainstream audience that shares many of their same biases. You get the idea.

It’s entirely possible to write across race successfully. I do it, and I have no intention of stopping. Miranda, the protagonist from ETERNAL (Candlewick, 2007) is Asian (Chinese), and I’m not. Kieren, the protagonist from TANTALIZE: KIEREN’S STORY (Candlewick, 2011) is Mexican American, and I’m not. And I fully realize that we’re humans. We all make mistakes.

But in writing cross-culturally about Native people, it’s critical for non-Indians to begin as if they know absolutely nothing, take a significant amount of time to acquaint themselves with the truth, and proceed in a patient, open-hearted, and respectful manner. It can be done. I’ve had friends and students and colleagues who’ve done it. But you have to stretch, perhaps more than you might realize at the beginning.

That said, writers are only a part of the equation. For the reasons I mentioned above, readers—including gatekeepers—may be more likely to find that an inaccurate book that embraces popular stereotypes rings “true” to them than one that reflects Native realities.

For example, over the years I’ve had several readers mention—some in a questioning way—my inclusion of Native characters with a higher education in my books. Cousin Elizabeth from JINGLE DANCER is an attorney. Aunt Georgia from RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME (HarperCollins, 2001) is a retired school teacher and a science teacher at that.

The final big reason is numbers and interest level. Native people are 1.5 percent of the population. As I mentioned, there are certainly writers who succeed in writing cross-culturally about American Indians, but when it comes to writers from within the communities, the pool is small. We need to nurture interest and aptitude where we find it.

Likewise, our numbers of Native teachers, librarians, reviewers, editors, agents, marketing people, and bloggers are small and in some cases non-existent or at least statistically non-existent.

We need more friends, more loud mouths who advocate for quality Native voices and visions and well-executed cross-cultural additions to the body of youth literature.

Read the full interview at HipWriterMama's blog.

Winter Blog Blast Tour (WBBT)

For the past two years, Colleen from Chasing Ray has organized series upon series of author interviews. These blog tours, hosted and posted at various blogs, have been dubbed the Summer Blog Blast Tour (SBBT for short) and Winter Blog Blast Tour (aka WBBT). Each event is one week long and involves a multitude of authors, bloggers, and readers.

Many authors whose works have been mentioned here at the readergirlz blog will be participating, as will four out of the five postergirlz - Shelf Elf, Miss Erin, HipWriterMama, and moi. (I'm sure Jackie will be following, too!) I conducted five interviews for WBBT, one of which will posted at my book blog, Bildungsroman, each weekday morning this week. I kicked things off this morning with author Courtney Sheinmel, who has posted here at readergirlz about hope and family.

Visit Chasing Ray for the master list for this year's WBBT. I also posted the full schedule at Bildungsroman.

The Sweet Far Thing Roundtable

We were talking about you, Libba...Thanks to Little Willow for heading these up for rgz!

Readergirlz Roundtable: The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

Welcome to the readergirlz roundtable! Today, we're discussing A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing, Libba Bray's three exquisite Victorian novels featuring the risk-taking Gemma Doyle. Join us!

Lorie Ann Grover: Welcome to the table, ladies. Let's chat!

Dia Calhoun: Byron could have penned his immortal line, "all that's best of dark and bright" in praise of Libba Bray's The Sweet Far Thing. For in this fantasy novel, the dark and bright powers limning Gemma's passage from girl to woman enthrall the reader's heart from beginning to end.

Lorie Ann Grover: Dia said it so beautifully. Is that not perfect? So, let's go through the door and enter the realms! *shivers*

Little Willow: What did you think of the time and place? Do you enjoy stories set in Victorian England as much as I do?

Melissa Walker: I love this setting! The juxtaposition of proper Victorian England with a wild and supernatural world is perfect for the tempestuous teenage years. I also loved how many "proper" people were involved in both worlds, and the commentary on class and status as well.

HipWriterMama: I don't often read books set in Victorian England. Once I do, I wonder why I don't more often. Libba Bray did a wonderful job building this world--Melissa says it so well.

Holly Cupala: Yes! It reminds me a bit of the historical romances my grandmother used to read, though with the added intrigue of the realms. Jane Austen could never have imagined it so well!

Lorie Ann Grover: I love reading about Victorian England! The society is primed for a good female struggle for voice and independence.

Dia Calhoun: Ever since I read The Secret Garden I have enjoyed novels set in Victorian England. And are not the realms a kind of secret garden? Though with delicious dangers. But I think there is something always hidden and secret in such a strict world.

Little Willow: I love The Secret Garden! I can definitely see the Realms as a secret garden of sorts, Dia. I love stories in which the main character goes through a portal and finds herself/himself otherwhere. In fact, many of my favorite fantasy novels travel to magical lands: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende, Strangewood by Christopher Golden, and The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I also love the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane, which was selected by the postergirlz and divas to be listed in this month's recommended reads. I would love to travel to Wonderland or Fantastica (called Fantasia in the TNES films) as well as the Realms in Gemma's stories. What are your favorite other realms?

Holly Cupala: I loved The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende - one of my all-time favorite reads, Little Willow! I first read it at age nine on a camping trip with my cousins - not that I actually did any camping, only reading. I finished it in the middle of the night and cried because I didn't want it to end! I've probably read it a dozen times since. Note: the movie doesn't compare to the book, especially the one printed in red and green.

(Little Willow rejoices over Holly's response.)

Lorie Ann Grover: You know what came instantly to mind? Pern! I love Anne McCaffrey's Pern. Does that count?

Dia Calhoun: I would like to travel to Daria, I think it is called, in Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword. And Middle Earth, of course. But I'd like to have some kind of magical powers to help me deal with the darker elements always found in other realms. Aren't many of these other realms really stand-ins for the subconscious world?

Little Willow: I think so. I am also a sucker for books set in boarding schools. Are any of you? I never attended such a school, but that coupled with the time period, the location, AND the supernatural elements all intrigued me.

Holly Cupala: The idea of boarding school is so intriguing, though I did attend a small private school where everyone knew everything about every moment of your life and imagine that boarding school would be something like that (the panopticon, to bring in a theme from another boarding school book!). However, authors like Libba and John Green and E. Lockhart and Rachel Cohn all make them seem rife with possibilities. That sort of environment could be a crucible for all kinds of experiences.

Dia Calhoun: Yes, I too, have always loved the idea of boarding school, thought I imagine the reality might be quite different. When I got to Mills College--a small liberal arts women's college--living in the dorms where we all had private rooms and sit down candlelight dinners on Wednesdays was very much like a boarding school in some ways. And I did love that! I think any kind of environment where you bring a small group of people together is excellent for fictional possibilities. I want Felicity's tent!

Lorie Ann Grover: I don't want Felicity's tent, Dia! I was ALWAYS worried people could overhear through the cloth. Do you know how when you think you have privacy and you don't? I've never had a boarding school experience. But I could imagine living at Hogwarts! Or having Snape as my headmaster. Oh, my. Holly, I may need a photo here. :~)

Little Willow: (singing) Snape, Snape, Severus Snape! (normal voice) Would you like to have visions like Gemma?

Lorie Ann Grover: No visions for me! I have a plethora of information to deal with without them.

Melissa Walker: I would not want this power. It comes with such great responsibility that I'd feel more burdened than magical, I fear.

Holly Cupala: That would depend for me on the purpose and origins of the visions. Occasionally I dream that I am supposed to say something to someone, or do something, or I dream in symbols about situations or events. Some dreams I wouldn't want to come true. Wisdom and discernment would be important gifts to come alongside visions.

Little Willow: Consider the dark times that Gemma and other "visionary" fictional characters, such TV's Cordelia Chase and Johnny Smith from The Dead Zone, went through physically and emotionally. If this vision talent permitted only good visions, their stories would be so different from what they were.

Dia Calhoun: I think the power of visions would be a very uncomfortable power -- as it is for Gemma. If one could control them--designate when they come and when they end--that would be more bearable, but Gemma cannot do that. Think of Cassandra. Very unpleasant to know the future tragedy and be unable to change the future. Sometimes I have little visionary moments when I am working on a novel -- a different kind of vision -- but very rewarding.

Little Willow: Would you like to have any of the other girls' powers?

HipWriterMama: Every once in awhile, it would be nice to have some extra powers, especially if I could use them to help my family and friends. However, can you imagine the problems? Who do you tell? Do you keep this a secret? What kind of expectations would people have if they knew of your power?

Dia Calhoun: Imagine if the government found out you had powers. Instant, unwilling guinea pig. I would love to have the power to fall asleep at will!

Lorie Ann Grover: Well, Gorgon had some pretty kickin' powers. I can see myself as Gorgon.

Little Willow: Bring Pegasus to our next roundtable, please, Lorie Ann, so that we may take flight. I'll teach him how to read! Back to serious matters: What makes Gemma a readergirl?

Melissa Walker: Gemma reacts to her world, but she also thinks critically about what's happening to her, and that combo makes her a great readergirl.

Holly Cupala: Read, reflect, reach out - exactly, Melissa! (laughing)

Little Willow: That's our motto! I agree with both of you. She was found her strengths and was daring when need be.

Holly Cupala: She doesn't just sit by idly, but instead learns from her own and others' experiences, then takes action.

Lorie Ann Grover: And she admits her weaknesses. She looks in her dark corners and marches on. Perfect answer, Holly!

Dia Calhoun: And because she loves Jane Austen!

Little Willow: Who was your favorite main character?

Dia Calhoun: I really liked Ann, as the odd woman out, as the underdog with a burning ambition and with the desire to change her bleak future. She seemed more sympathetic to Gemma than Felicity, more understanding and compassionate.

Holly Cupala: How about Kartik? I found the parallel secret societies, his goals versus hers, and the conflict of duty and personal wishes to be fascinating. Plus in my mind, he kind of looks like my sweetheart. :)

Lorie Ann Grover: I knew you'd say that, Holly. :~)

Little Willow: Ditto!

Holly Cupala: I'm so transparent!? (Hi, Honey!!)

Lorie Ann Grover: Hm. Counting only the girls? And Kartik? I'd have to go with Kartik.

Melissa Walker: Ooh, yes, I did adore Kartik. And now I will picture him as Holly's husband.

Holly Cupala: Okay, now I'm really laughing, since we all just met you in person!

Little Willow: Who was your favorite supporting character?

Melissa Walker: I loved Felicity! She had such spirit and conviction and spunky love inside her. Even when she pulled away from Gemma, I felt her fierce affection for her friends.

Holly Cupala: I liked Felicity, too. What I really admired about Libba's writing is that she was able to make the characters so complex - not always likeable, not always good.

Lorie Ann Grover: I love Mrs. Nightwing! She doesn't have magical powers, but she has that staunch English character and one amazing bustle.

Melissa Walker: I do love a good bustle!

Little Willow: Speaking of fashion pieces we love, I love how Gemma is depicted on the covers of this series. I read A Great and Terrible Beauty as soon as it was released, then hand-sold it like crazy. I talked it up to every customer I thought might like it, and it became a top bestseller in my store that season! I spoke not only of the beautiful writing and settings, but also of the friendships. What bonded the girls together?

Dia Calhoun: Being thrown into unusual situations created a bonding among Ann, Felicity, and Gemma. Shared secrets, shared experiences, and the magic of course.

Lorie Ann Grover: Well said, Dia. I'd add that they are three girls searching for their place outside of their circumstances.

Little Willow: Which book in the trilogy is your favorite? Do you want more in the line?

Dia Calhoun: My favorite is The Sweet Far Thing. I think this book finds Libba Bray in full power.

Lorie Ann Grover: I would guess it's The Sweet Far Thing. Certainly it must contain all of Libba's skills at their height! It's been awhile since I read the first two. It is always delightful to meet new characters though in a first book. I shall have to go back and see which I prefer. Yet maybe I'll choose to keep the works as one in my mind. One grand epic. I could read more if Libba continued, but I also have a firm sense of completion. As long as Kartik keeps appearing in her dreams...

Holly Cupala: I think probably A Great and Terrible Beauty. The power, the passion...her courage will change the world...oh, wait, I think that's from something else. ;)

Little Willow: Have you read Libba's other works? I give her two thumbs up for her short story Primate the Prom, which appeared in the anthology 21 Proms, and her new novel Going Bovine is in my to-read pile.

Dia Calhoun: I have not yet had that privilege.

HipWriterMama: I'm looking forward to reading Going Bovine, especially after watching her video. It's pretty amusing.

Little Willow: Absolutely hilarious.

Holly Cupala: I remember her talking about Going Bovine when she came through Seattle with Shannon Hale, and I've wanted to read it ever since. Quite a departure, and Libba is hilarious! I'm glad she's having a chance to show that in her work.

Lorie Ann Grover: I'm on page 4 of Going Bovine. Laughed all the way through her acknowledgments alone! This is going to be a grand month as we host Libba. I can't wait to walk through the Realms with the author herself!

Dia Calhoun: Do you think Kartik will show at the chat!!!

Holly Cupala: Hmm, I could ask him. ;-)

Little Willow: That reminds me: Have you all watched the trailer for A Great and Terrible Beauty? It's fantastic! I wish I knew the names of the actors; I think they did a great job. The book has also been optioned for film. As far as I know, it's still in pre-production and no one has been cast just yet. I'd love to audition for the project. (Holly, should we pre-cast your husband as Kartik?)

Lorie Ann Grover: Who would I want to play? Gorgon or Nightwing. Yep! Okay, off we go!

Melissa Walker: I want to be Gemma, Gemma, Gemma! I think she shines. But I might be a little old. Realistically, I could have fun being Circe!

Little Willow: I hope the screenwriter(s) stick closely to the original story and dialogue.

Dia Calhoun: One final thought for authors: This book is a masterpiece of pacing. The way the suspense is drawn out, the clues slowly revealed, I learned so much from that.

Visit readergirlz to learn more about our interactive book group.

Read the October 2009 issue to learn more about The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray.

Check out other roundtable book discussions at Bildungsroman.

Graceling and Hipwritermama

Hey rgz!

Postergirl Hipwritermama

has a most excellent interview up at her site with Kristin Cashore AND the publisher is offering 10 Graceling books as a giveaway!

Run over and check it out! The deadline is Wednesday!And let me just say you are going to need a copy of Graceling in the near future at rgz. *squeee*

Peace, Swings, & Book Giveaways!

I dared author Lauren Myracle to describe her newest book, Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks, solely in song titles - and she did! Only she didn't list the arists - just the songs - to test my song-recognizing prowess.

Do YOU recognize the songs and know who sang 'em? Read my interview with Lauren Myracle, figure out who sang what, and then leave a comment with your guesses before midnight PST on Sunday, May 24th. One random commenter will receive a signed copy of Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks. Good luck!

Update: Congratulations to Jenna, who was selected to be the winner!

View the complete Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks playlist.

Fellow postergirl HipWriterMama is, thanks to Candlewick, giving away 10 sets of Jo Knowles' two novels, Lessons From a Dead Girl and Jumping Off Swings! Leave a comment at her blog (after reading the awesome interview and the rules!) before Friday, May 29th.

A Popular(ity) Discussion

In honor of our December book club pick, How to Be Popular by Meg Cabot, readergirlz divas, advisors, and postergirlz shared their thoughts about popularity.


Martha Brockenbrough, author of Things That Make Us [Sic] and founder of SPOGG, the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar:

I grappled with the idea of popularity in middle school, and realized it could come from wearing a certain type of clothes, having a certain type of hair, and more nebulously, projecting a certain kind of attitude. I was a little behind in the clothes department, but probably could have convinced my mom to buy me more stuff if I really wanted to. What I decided, though, was that I would rather not have to do some of the things I saw the really popular girls doing. I wanted to be popular, but I wanted to be liked for the positive stuff I did and the kind way I treated others. I wanted to transcend the social norms. It wasn't that I *didn't* want to be popular, though I'm sure I would have said at the time that I didn't care about it. I just didn't want to have to sell my soul for it.

It was painful at times. I got invited to a lot more parties in middle school. Some of those parties were annual events, and I felt it acutely when my name was no longer on the list. I heard people talking about who was there and what happened, and I had to erect a protective barrier around myself so that I wouldn't have to feel the pain of exclusion. In part, I protected myself with achievement. Even if I was not popular, I was still a good athlete. I was still smart. I still played music well. Also: I had a fierce perm, which was decade appropriate so do not judge. Few people had larger hair. It makes a fine piece of armor.

I'd say I still carry this barrier to a degree, and I have to remind myself that I'm perfectly likeable -- that my presence is welcome and that I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not to find friends. I don't seek popularity in the way that you'd define it in high school...there is no longer a cool lunch table, and no one I know checks the label of your pants to make sure they're an OK brand. But I still want people to love me for who I am, and I still carry fear that they won't.

It's funny. I'm a writer now ... I get fan mail and hate mail in equal quantities. My pulse races when I see new mail in the inbox, for fear it's someone hating how I think or write. I'm not going to change who I am or what I believe to win false friends, but I would love to be in a place -- 20 years after high school graduation--where I am not wounded by the rejection of others.

I really feel for people who are struggling with this, and I think this is one reason I have such love and compassion for teens and such affinity for YA literature.


Melissa Walker, author of the Violet books:

I admit it: I longed to be popular when I was a teenager. Outwardly, I made fun of certain cliques and pretended not to care when I wasn't included in certain parties, but the truth was, I wanted people to know me. More importantly, I wanted people to like me.

But what I know now (and oh, how I wish I knew it then!) is that the truly "popular" people were the ones who were confident enough to be nice to everyone around them. I was in LOVE with a guy named Jeff in high school. Why? Because he was on the football team, was cute, was smart, and - here's the key part - he actually talked to me. He smiled, said hi, took time to ask about my day. I realized that the other "popular people" were objects of my admiration in a superficial way, but Jeff was someone I truly liked because he was a confident and caring person. And that's always the best - and most lasting - kind of popular. We're still friends today!


Lorie Ann Grover, author of On Pointe:

I'm thinking middle school is when popularity is defined most narrowly. If you can grind through it, you will have the rest of your life to find your peeps. That's really the bottom line: find people that matter to you, those you can relate to.

If you find yourself in the "popular" group, know you have a much bigger responsibility. Your influence is wider and people are watching. Don't lose yourself to maintain your position. If you are tempted to do so, maybe you haven't found your peeps after all.

Once you find a group that has meaning to you, foster your friendships. Who cares if everyone knows or watches? You've found a place to nourish others and be nourished. That's what matters.

It's good to remember that whatever popularity is gained, there's always a bigger group out there that never recognizes it. Actors, statesmen, even countries pass from popularity and are forgotten. So, find your small corner of the world, and be a good friend. Matter to your peeps.


Dia Calhoun, author of Firegold:

I went to an alternative high school where the kids were so involved in individual pursuits and being individuals that there were no issues around popularity. Everyone was unique, and we were all pursuing interesting projects. The same was true at the ballet school where I took class every day. So I never tried to be popular, or felt that I was unpopular. I did worry about what other people thought of me, but that is a little different. The whole concept of popularity is a teen concern, which fades away once you become an adult. (Have you ever heard adults talk about trying to be popular?) I believe that if you just be who you are, and pursue your own interests, you will find friends.And being true friends with a few people is far more rewarding than being popular. The pressures of having to maintain popularity are enormous! Always worrying whether what you do or how you look will affect your popularity rating. This is existence for the sake of how others perceive you. You can never be authentic that way. Just be who you are!


Holly Cupala, author of A Light That Never Goes Out:

I think acceptance and community are basic human needs – too often, the popular community is perceived as more valuable when really, the most valuable community is one that supports you for who you are and helps you become who you were meant to be, and vice versa. I learned this the hard way, but luckily my true friends forgave me and are still in my life. Those kinds of friends are a gift for life.


HipWriterMama, member of postergirlz, the teen lit advisory council for readergirlz:

I will never forget my brushes with popularity during my high school years -- from the time one of the wrestling jocks had a major crush on me (!) in my freshman year, to when one of the most popular girls in my junior year became a true friend, to when a group of senior girls looked at me with a whole new set of eyes. All fascinating experiences for a girl who was not popular, who didn't always fit in.

I was one of those fortunate teens who could mingle with almost any group, but only in the fringes. To be in the core center of a group required an effort, a true belief that one belonged. I was a consummate rebel and unwilling to jump through hoops. Perhaps I was scared, or maybe I just didn't want to commit. It's funny, I'm really not sure now.

But I do know, looking back, that I always wanted to be accepted for who I was, not for what I represented. I hated being pigeon-holed as the Asian, the smart kid, the first chair violinist. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the people who were most likely to see me for who I was, were the teens I thought were the least likely to.

This knowledge has been invaluable over the years and has shaped how I interact with people. There are people who will defy the definition of what it means to be popular, what it means to be beautiful, or exceptional. Yes, there are those who will always play the popularity card to the hilt, and be the epitome of every teen angst movie out there, but there are also the people out there who yearn to be seen for themselves, who believe in letting others shine, of letting people have their moment, and being true.


Little Willow, readergirlz webdiva and member of postergirlz:

I was never the most popular girl in school, though I admit I was possibly the loudest - volume-wise, not sassy-wise. I'm naturally talkative and outgoing. I always knew what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be when I grew up. I knew what I liked and what I didn't like, and no one could change my mind or my opinions. In high school, I knew a lot of people, and a lot of people knew me, but I didn't hang out with the same people all of the time. I often said I had a lot of acquaintances, but not a lot of close friends. That was and still is fine by me.

I once saw a poster that declared, "What's right is not always popular, and what's popular is not always right." As hokey as that sounds, I think it's true. I am a big fan of doing the right thing. I certainly hope that others like me, but I'm unwilling to change my beliefs, my plans, or my priorities to fit in. No way! I have a strong moral compass that I follow every day. My true north has nothing to do with popularity or fame and everything to do with personal truths and happiness.


Submit Your Feedback

How about you, gentle reader? What have been your experiences with popularity? Feel free to leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments below or at Bildungsroman.

2008 Winter Blog Blast Tour Schedule

Per the fabulous Chasing Ray, here is the schedule for the Winter Blog Blast. Lots of great author chats at super blogs. What are you waiting for?

Monday
Lewis Buzbee at Chasing Ray
Louis Sachar at Fuse Number 8
Laurel Snyder at Miss Erin
Courtney Summers at Bildungsroman
Elizabeth Wein at Finding Wonderland
Susan Kulkin at The YA YA YAs

Tuesday
Ellen Dalow at Chasing Ray
Tony DiTerlizzi at Miss Erin
Melissa Walker at Hip Writer Mama
Luisa Plaja at Bildungsroman
DM Cornish at Finding Wonderland
LJ Smith at The YA YA YAs
Kathleen Duey at Bookshelves of Doom

Wednesday
Ellen Klages at Fuse Number 8
Emily Jenkins at Writing and Ruminating
Ally Carter at Miss Erin
Mark Peter Hughes at Hip Writer Mama
Sarah Littma at Bildungsroman
MT Anderson at Finding Wonderland
Mitali Perkins at Mother Reader

Thursday
Martin Millar at Chasing Ray
John Green at Writing and Ruminating
Beth Kephart at Hip Writer Mama
Emily Ecton at Bildungsroman
John David Anderson at Finding Wonderland
Brandon Mull at The YA YA YAs
Lisa Papademetriou at Mother Reader

Friday
Mayra Lazara Dole at Chasing Ray
Francis Rourke Dowell at Fuse Number 8
J Patrick Lewis at Writing and Ruminating
Wendy Mass at Hip Writer Mama
Lisa Ann Sandell at Bildungsroman
Caroline Hickey/Sara Lewis Holmes at Mother Reader
A.S. King at Bookshelves of Doom


PS-Check out even more Bookish Sites To See at SparkLife!