Cover Stories: Personal Statement by Jason Odell Williams

Jason Odell Williams is an Emmy-nominated producer, and his first novel was just optioned for a three-picture deal. Whee! Plus, Jason tells a good Cover Story. Here he is:

"I never had a cover in mind while writing Personal Statement. I never really picture a cover or poster for any of my work (books, plays, films) until the writing is at least mostly finished. So with Personal Statement, I never had a preconceived idea; I was so focused on just finishing the manuscript.

"So once I had a solid first draft, I sat around over dinner and drinks with my publishers Carey Albertine and Saira Rao and we started brainstorming cover ideas. We thought about something hurricane-related, like a trashed backyard that could look like either the morning after a storm or a wild party. But that didn’t really say enough about the 'Personal Statement'-college application part of the book. Another idea we floated around was having a shot of the major players in some sort of pose like an album cover or action shot during the Hurricane prep, but again that felt too linear and only dealt with the volunteer aspect of the story.

"So we came up with the idea of crumpled up paper, all of these false starts when trying to write a personal statement and succinctly tell strangers at college 'who you are.' The one we had sort of settled on was the one with the can of Red Bull and the 'cover' page of a personal statement with a boot print and coffee stains on it (right). And we were pretty happy with it and were going to go with that. But Carey & Saira wanted to punch it up a little, so they asked Nick Guarracino, who had recently been brought on to do the illustrations for another book they were doing, to take a look at the cover and make it pop more.

"He read some of the book, looked at our cover, and instead of punching up the old one, he came up with 6 completely different options. My publishers looked at them all and knew right away it was the hand thrusting up from the pile of pages. They texted me the image and I took one look and was blown away. The last I knew, our cover was going to b the page with the coffee stain on it, so to then suddenly see this amazing, bright, dynamic, bold arresting cover, I was so excited and thrilled. I immediately texted back and said 'YES that’s the one.' (I may have used some profanity in my excitement... as in 'Holy SH*TBALLS that's amazing! I love it! Yes!')

"And I actually never saw these other options (left) until this week. And while the girl’s face was a close contender, there is something sad and melancholy about it that’s not quite right for the book. Also, it’s hard to put a real face (even half of a face) on a book cover. And I never liked the idea of 'casting' a character before someone reads the book. (What if the Rani on the cover doesn’t match the Rani in your head?) So in the end, I know we made the right call with the hand thrusting up from the pile of balled up pages.

"Nick told me the photo was made by taking a picture of a friend’s hand and then using photo shop to add the balled up pages and the color in the background. Then he made the hand look more feminine and ethnically ambiguous. What I like about that is then the hand becomes like a mirror… you see what you want to see. When I first saw it, I thought it was a white guy’s hand. Others see a white girl or an Asian or Indian-American girl. And now when I look at it I can't decide if it's Emily Kim's hand or Rani's. So it’s cool that the hand has that 'every-person' quality to it.

"And now, the more I look at the cover, the more I see how right it is for this book. The hand at first seemed to be simply frustrated to me, but now I also see defiance and breaking free and standing out from the crowd. The hand is coming up for air after drowning in expectation for so long. Of course, I’m reading a lot into it and people looking at the cover for the first time might never see any of that, but I think what the cover does convey, even at first glance, is a sense of being bold and explosive and exciting. It would make me stop twice if I saw it on a shelf (even a 'digital' shelf!) And for all of those reasons, I love this cover couldn't be happier!"

rgz Newsflash: Kickstart Grey Griffins: Night of Dragons and Anthology

In this new age, books are being published in so many ways. Here's a fresh example and a chance for you to participate in the launch yourself. Listen in as Jon S. Lewis shares the latest news about Grey Griffins. What caught my attention is that 100% of his profits from the accompanying anthology will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Kids Need to Read.

readergirlz who write, there's an opportunity for your query letter or partial manuscript to be reviewed, a possible Skype session with Jon, and a chance your short story might be included in the final Grey Griffins Anthology. Check it out, and let us know what you think.

Best to you, Jon!





THE SEARCH FOR DRAGONS (Cover)
by Scott Altmann 

How to Unlock Stories By Bestselling Authors
I’ve been lucky enough to publish nine books with Scholastic, Little Brown, and Thomas Nelson. I hope to work with them again one day, but I’ve decided to selfpublish my next book (Grey Griffins: Night of Dragons).

According to BookStats, sales of e-book trade titles rose 44% in 2012 and e-books represent 20% of all books sold, which is up 4% from the prior year. It won’t be long before digital overtakes print.

Companies like CreateSpace have made it easy for authors to go direct to market without a publisher, which means we have the ability to take control of our careers. Look at Amanda Hocking. She  couldn’t find an agent to represent her (much less a publisher) and yet she went from an unknown commodity to a literary rock star in less than a year. Amanda isn’t alone, either. There’re authors like Hugh Howey, John Locke, Rachel Van Dyken, H.M. Ward and dozens of others who are flourishing in the new paradigm. And don’t forget Barry Eisler, who turned down a $500, 000 advance to publish his own books.

I’ve talked about publishing my own books for years but I was always worried about the stigma of being a self-published author. But everything is different now and it’s time for me to jump in.

Why I’m Going to Publish Two Books Instead of One
When I decided to self-publish I knew that I had to make a splash, so I asked some author friends if they would help me out. So while I write Grey Griffins: Night of Dragons, they’re going to write Grey Griffins short stories. We’re going to collect those stories in an anthology, which means I’ll be releasing two books instead of one. And the best part is that 100% of the profits from the anthology will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/) and Kids Need to Read (http://www.kidsneedtoread.org/).

Check out the roster of authors who are involved:
• Brandon Mull | NY Times Bestselling Author, Fablehaven
• Aprilynne Pike | NY Times Bestselling Author, Wings
• Frank Beddor | NY Times Bestselling Author, Looking Glass Wars
• Michael Spradlin | NY Times Bestselling Author, Youngest Templar
• Dean Lorey | Co-Executive Producer, Arrested Development
• Shannon Messenger | Let the Sky Fall, Keeper of the Lost Cities
• Tom Leveen | Party, manicpixiedreamgirl, Sick
• Joseph Nassise | International Bestselling Author, Templar Chronicles
• Matt Forbeck | Leverage: The Con Job based on the TNT television series
• Janette Rallison | My Fair Godmother, Slayers

The Drawback
Each short story in the Grey Griffins anthology will be professionally edited. It will also have a cover painted by the incredibly talented Scott Altmann (http://www.scottaltmann.com/). The final product will look every bit as good as what the major publishing houses produce, but there’s a drawback. When you publish your own books you have to come up with the money to pay the artists and the editors. That’s why I’m turning to Kickstarter.

Crowdsourcing with Kickstarter
Right now those short stories are locked and they won’t be released unless I can make enough money to cover the costs of the artwork and the editorial. I want to be able to make a ton of money for those amazing causes, and here’s how you can help…

Kickstarter provides a way for you to pre-order the book and in return I’ll invest that money in the product. And trust me, I know what it means to have a tight budget. It’s why I made sure the pledge levels started at $1. There are some fun rewards, too, like custom Grey Griffins short stories, collectible character trading cards and sketches from the cover artist. For the writers out there, we’re offering the chance for a query letter review, a partial manuscript review, and even a Skype brainstorm session where I’ll help you come up with ideas for your story. You can help fund the Kickstarter campaign here. http://kck.st/1aXVQQC

You Can Even Get Your Story Published in the Grey Griffins Anthology
Because I also have a passion for helping new writers break into the industry I thought the best way to do that with this project was to give someone a chance to get a short story published in the anthology. Your story will end up in the same book with all those New York Times bestselling authors. If it sounds like something you’re interested in, you can find the submission guidelines here: bit.ly/gg-anthology.

Thank you
Thanks for taking the time to read this and for your consideration to back the Kickstarter campaign. I’m going to need your help to make this project a reality, and I know that together we can do something incredible!

Photo by Scott Mitchell

Jon Samuel Lewis is an American writer best known for the acclaimed Grey Griffins series published by Scholastic’s Orchard Books. After selling nearly a million copies in the original trilogy, Lewis and his writing partner, Derek Benz teamed with Little Brown to publish the Grey Griffins Clockwork Chronicles. He is also the author of CHAOS Novels, a young adult urban science fiction series published by Thomas Nelson and has written for DC Comics. Lewis is also a marketing executive and content strategist who works with Fortune 500 companies on their digital marketing strategies.

• Blog: http://www.greygriffins.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greygriffins
• Twitter: @jonslewis

Cover Stories: Mirror, Mirror by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Diana Rodriguez Wallach has a fast-releasing trilogy of stories coming out this fall, and each has a different cover. Here's the story of #1, and the full-series cover:

"I told my publisher that I really wanted a mirror in all of my covers. I wanted that to be the element that tied the series together visually.

"My release is a little different from your average book. Reflecting Emmy is the first short story in my Mirror, Mirror trilogy. Each of my short stories—Reflecting Emmy, Nara Gazing, and Shattering GiGi—will be released individually as ebooks in September, October, and November, respectively. Then they will be compiled together to create the Mirror, Mirror trilogy, with an additional short story prequel and bonus material, to be released in December.

"So if you add it all together, that’s a whopping FOUR different covers for this series..."

Read the full Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Timepiece by Myra McEntire

I have long been a fan of Myra McEntire's gorgeous cover for Hourglass, and Timepiece is just as lovely. Here's Myra to share her perspective:

"I loved the Hourglass cover so much (below right), and I hoped my publisher would stick with that photographer. There was an original image I didn’t think did the story justice, and when I expressed my concerns, they listened..."

Read the rest of Myra's story at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Sophie's Mixed-Up Magic by Amanda Ashby

Amanda Ashby has been here before to share stories about her covers, and she's back today with the story behind the Sophie's Mixed-Up Magic covers, her first middle grade series.

"I’ve been lucky with my covers and I’ve loved them all, but without a doubt the covers for my Sophie’s Mixed-Up Magic series are my favorite! And I’m not just saying that because they are my first covers to have a head (though heads are cool!) but it’s rather because as soon as I saw them, I just knew that the girl on the cover 'was' Sophie!!!! From her straight blonde hair, her expressions through to the clothes that she was wearing, it was all the Sophie of my mind!

"Sometimes I get asked if I have any thoughts on the cover, but this time I wasn’t and I hadn’t even realized that there was even a shoot until after it was all over..."

Read the rest of Amanda's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Surrender by Elana Johnson

Elana Johnson was here last year to share the very cool cover for POSSESSION (read that Cover Story), and she's back to talk about SURRENDER, the second in this series.

"Honestly, my first thought when I saw the cover was 'No. No, that can’t be the cover!' The POSSESSION cover was so perfect, with the butterfly in ice. The SURRENDER cover seemed so pedestrian in comparison. I lovingly call it 'when taxidermists make mistakes.'

"My editor and agent and I had quite the discussion about the cover. Everything from the color of the hummingbird to the shape of the jar. It’s a fascinating process, this cover making. But... the cover you see now is the same one I was sent in January..."

Read the rest of Elana's Cover Story on melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Being Friends With Boys by Terra Elan McVoy

Terra Elan McVoy has been here before to share her adorable covers for Pure and After the Kiss (read those Cover Stories), and now she's here to talk about Being Friends With Boys. How great is that title? Here's more about the cover, from Terra:

"I never have any idea about my covers; I’m so lucky to have been assigned to such smart, clever, amazing people at Simon Pulse to work on them. This team does such an incredible job, and I figure it’s best to leave that work in their capable hands!

"Admittedly, my very first thought when I saw the cover was, 'But there aren’t any coffeehouses in the book! They never drink coffee!' Very quickly though, I realized that was a pretty lame and limiting response.

"My editor was incredibly patient with me and let me just sit on my first reaction until I came to my senses and realized this was perfect.

"The cover did change, in one important way..."

Read Terra's full Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Morgan Matson is here! You know I love her, and this is her latest book (out in paperback this summer) so we must read it asap. Also: The Cover. Here she is to tell its tale:

"I had absolutely loved my cover for Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour [read that Cover Story here]. I wasn’t worried about how the cover for the second book would turn out. I was still in the midst of writing the first draft of the book when my editor asked me what I had been thinking about for the cover.

"I mentioned that since the book takes place in a summer lake community, with a dock being a very important part of the story, maybe there could be a dock featured somewhere.  An initial idea I’d had was two sets of bare feet on a dock, or hanging over the edge and skimming the water.  And then I basically just gave her vague, summer-conjuring words – pine trees! Mountains! Lake!

"By the time I saw the first cover proof, we’d actually been going back and forth a lot on the title.  I tend to pick long, not-particularly-evocative-titles, and then cling to them stupidly...."

Read the rest of Morgan's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

Too Cool for This School by Kristen Tracy

Looking for a fun book to read as summer winds to a close? Here's a recommendation for our younger readergirlz: Too Cool for This School by Kristen Tracy!

Lane's sixth grade year isn't quite going how she planned it. When her same-age cousin Angelina unexpectedly comes to stay with Lane and her parents for a month, she totally disrupts everything at home and at school. Within days of her arrival, Angelina destroys one of Lane's favorite shirts, clashes with Lane's friends, and clicks with Lane's crush and sort-of boyfriend. Angelina decides to go by her middle name, Mint. Lane tries to give her cousin advice on how to blend in, but Mint doesn't take it. Soon, pretty much everything Mint does or says rubs Lane the wrong way.

Anyone who is or has been 11 to 13 years old can tell you a horror story or two about their social life during middle school. Some kids stress out about fitting in, while others stand out for any number of reasons, whether they want to or not. While Lane thinks Mint is eccentric, other classmates embrace Mint's exuberance. Likewise, some readers will probably think Mint's outfits are zany while others will applaud her daring-do. As in her previous middle grade stories The Reinvention of Bessica Lefter and Bessica Lefter Bites Back, author Kristen Tracy reminds us of our best and worst moments in middle school, handling both the triumphs and the mortifying moments with just the right mix of surprise and worry. 

Click here to read the rest of my review!

rgz Seattle HOST: Stephanie Guerra interviews Jennifer Bradbury

A MOMENT COMES by Jennifer Bradbury (Atheneum, 2013) is hands-down one of the best young adult historical fiction novels I’ve read. Set in 1947 during a bloody moment in India’s history, the novel traces the intersecting lives of three teens: Tariq, a Muslim working as translator for a British cartographer; Margaret, the cartographer’s daughter; and Anupreet, a lovely and wary Sikh girl who is one of the cartographer’s domestic staff.

The Partition of India, or the division of the subcontinent along sectarian lines, was a turbulent divide which produced the predominantly Muslim Pakistan and the majority Hindu Republic of India. The three main characters are placed squarely in the crux of this struggle, fighting for their own and their families’ safety as India boils to a fever pitch around them.

Tariq is driven by dreams of Oxford—and a forbidden admiration for Anupreet, whose people are the enemies of his own. Margaret is chafing under oppressive heat and an oppressive mother, and finds Tariq’s good looks a welcome distraction. And Anupreet is hiding painful secrets as she endures the daily violence of her surroundings. Although each character is representative of a larger class in conflict, they are finely drawn, believable people with distinct and engaging voices. Margaret’s wry, humorous personality brings many laugh-out-loud moments which contrast nicely with the suspense unfolding around her.

The focus of the story is never didactic, and remains squarely on the entangled lives of the three characters—but it also illumines an important and often unknown (in our country) event in history. The ending was delicate, satisfying and thought-provoking, and left me with a sense of the tremendous impact of Partition on human history.  Also important for me as a reader, the danger and tension of the setting were captured masterfully without devolving into graphic violence. And perhaps most important of all: despite the themes of political turmoil, the mystery and depth and aching beauty of India were captured with clarity and affection by an author who has clearly lived in the country and loved its people.

Jen kindly agreed to share some insights about her inspiration for telling a story set during Partition, her research process, and what we can look forward to next. I hope you’ll check out A MOMENT COMES and Jen’s other acclaimed works, SHIFT and WRAPPED. Here’s Jen:

The story started for me in 2005 when I was teaching on a Fulbright Exchange in Chandigarh.  Chandigarh was created post-partition to serve as capital of both Punjab and Haryana and is full of people with vivid recollections of partition.  I was very lucky in that the friends I made and the students I taught were kind enough to answer my questions and share some of their stories with me.  But the more I learned, the more I wanted to know. I was sort of stunned by how little I knew about the roots of the conflicts between Pakistan and India.  The partition still stands as the greatest human migration in history, and some estimates at the loss of life rise as high as two million.  Those staggering numbers, and the fact that more people don't know about them, still surprise me. 

Years later, when the seeds of the story still hadn’t left me, I began writing the book as a means to try and find my way to a better understanding.  A few books were really helpful in that process—Alex von Tunzelman's Indian Summer and Pammie Mountbatten’s India Remembered: A Personal Account of the Mountbattens During the Transfer of Power are two that come to mind.  I was also able to get copies of Margaret Bourke White's Life magazine pictorials.  She was the field photographer for Life during the time the book takes place, and the images are haunting and powerful.

Since finishing the research and rewrites on A Moment Comes, I’ve been happily tramping about in 1838.  My next book, tentatively called Giant's Coffin, is set inside Mammoth Cave at the tuberculosis hospital that was established inside the cave.  There are mysteries, adventures, odd medical cures and river pirates.  I’m very excited about it both because it is my first middle grade novel and because it’s my first set in my home state of Kentucky.  It should be out in the next couple of years. 

Thanks, Jen - and thanks, Stephanie, for a great piece!

rgz Diva Delight: Words with Wings

So happy to recommend our rgz Circle of Stars, Nikki Grimes' new release, Words with Wings. The verse novel poetically explores protagonist Gabby's propensity to daydream. Amidst the turmoil of her parent's separation and a move, escape through thoughts is easy. Gabby preserves her memories and protects herself in her new situation by slipping away in her mind.

Stuck in Dreamland

Maybe something
is wrong with me,
all this fancy dancing
in my mind.
Where I see red and purple
and bursts of blue,
everybody else sees
black and white.
Am I wrong?
Are they right?
Too bad
I can't ask Dad.

When the daydreams interfere with life, Gabby learns to find power in her ability. The step from daydreaming to writing is made with the aid of a perceptive teacher and a new friend.

With succinct, vivid words, Nikki brings to light the thoughts and aims of two opposite characters, mother and daughter. The reader gains sympathy and understanding for both points of view.

Find Words with Wings and take the challenge to find the strength in what some see as your weakness.

Words with Wings
by Nikki Grimes
WordSong, 2013

Cover Stories: Rogue by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann has been the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. Her most recent novel, Rogue, features a main character with a mild form of autism, which Lyn also has. In an interview with the Times-Union, she says that she, like her character, "got into a lot of fights. I beat up boys. I literally cried every day at school. The stress was overwhelming. I made really good grades, and I hated school." Early reviews are very positive.


The book also has a very cool Cover Story, and she's here to share it: 


"My YA novel, Gringolandia, had an unusual and powerful cover closely connected to the story, and I was heavily involved in the design process. A small press published the novel, and in general, small presses do give authors far greater input than large corporate publishers. Thus, when I signed the contract for Rogue, I knew I’d get a chance to see the cover beforehand but I’d have little or no role in the ultimate decision-making.

"That said, the result exceeded my wildest expectations. My wonderful editor, Nancy Paulsen at Penguin, commissioned Marikka Tamura, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker and other prestigious venues. We all agreed that the cover of Rogue needed a bicycle, because bicycles of all kinds play an important role in the story. Once we decided on the title of 'Rogue,' after the X-Men superhero with whom my main character, Kiara, is obsessed, we all knew the cover needed a comic-book superhero motif. 

"When I first saw the cover design, the only thing that concerned me was the thought bubble that contained the novel’s first line: 'It usually took the new kids two weeks to dump me, three weeks at the most.' The reason is that when I was in school, I used to descend on the new kids, to make them my friends before the more popular kids stole them away. It never worked, and my own friendships never lasted more than a few weeks. So I was nervous about advertising unpopularity—Kiara’s and mine—on the cover.

"My editor did not agree with me. The one change that the publisher made from the galley to the finished copy was to change the thought bubble from pink to blue (see galley cover on the right). And here’s where we did have outside input—not mine, but my seventh grade student’s recommendation.

"When I told my seventh graders that my novel had been accepted, under the title KIARA RULES, and read them the first chapter, a student named Dan said, 'This is the kind of book I’d read, but not if it has a girl’s name in the title and pink on the cover.' So KIARA RULES became ROGUE, but the graffiti 'Kiara Rulz' on the cover recognizes the earlier title and Kiara’s generally fruitless efforts to be 'cool' and in control. And, of course, the pink thought bubble became a blue thought bubble. That was a good move because it turns out that boys do enjoy reading Rogue. It’s rare to have boys pick up a novel with a girl protagonist—The Hunger Games is a notable exception—so I’m thrilled that Rogue is in that company. At the same time, Kiara, like Katniss, doesn’t take on traditional gender roles, and every other character is a boy. Like many girls with Asperger’s syndrome, myself included, Kiara’s first real friends turn out to be boys rather than girls.

"The gender-neutral cover captures perfectly my main character, her tendency to get in trouble even though she wants to be good, her sense of being an outsider, and her superhero obsession as she struggles to find her own special power. It’s also an lively cover that hints at the outdoors setting and the action and suspense that should keep the pages turning."

Thanks, Lyn! I love the idea that seventh graders weighed in here and got a voice at the table! Can't wait to read it!

Non-Fic Pic: The God of All Comfort

Hey rgz,

As I was down with a lupus flare this last September to April, I read many books on peace and comfort. This one rose above the stack with its devotions of encouragement for those living with chronic illness.

In The God of All Comfort, by Judy Gann, my own feelings were confirmed, and then I was lifted by truth. A simple example is loneliness. As illness continues, friends and family must resume their normal lives, so there are extended periods of being alone for the chronically ill. Gann quotes Henri Nouwen:

"To live a spiritual life, we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into the garden of solitude."

Short examples of Gann's own suffering, along with a few others living with illness, are followed by truthful reminders, prayers, and quotes. The work itself is a comfort in the reminder of God's comfort.

If you or your loved one live with physical difficulty, find solace in The God of All Comfort.

The God of All Comfort
by Judy Gann
Living Ink Books

Rgz Salon: Lyn Miller-Lachmann Reviews The Language Inside by Holly Thompson

Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann has been the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. Her most recent novel, Rogue--a spring/summer Junior Library Guild selection for middle school--is out this month!

We're honored to have Lyn here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Today, she discusses The Language Inside by Holly Thompson:

"Emma Karas is a 'third culture kid.' Her parents grew up in the United States, but she calls Japan home even though she is not ethnically Japanese. When her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer and decides to return to the U.S. for treatment, Emma is uprooted from her Japanese friends and her efforts to help survivors of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and dropped into a world that she doesn’t understand. The stress causes her to suffer severe and frightening migraines. To take her mind off her mother’s health, her parents’ separation due to work, and her loneliness, she volunteers at a nursing home near her grandmother’s house in Massachusetts. There, she meets Samnang, a volunteer of Cambodian heritage with a troubled past, and Zena, a middle-aged poet with 'locked-in' syndrome. As she becomes comfortable in her new surroundings, she feels guilty that she is not helping her friends in Japan as they rebuild from the tsunami. Ultimately, this thoughtful, good-hearted teenager finds herself torn and having to make choices that weigh her own needs and the needs of others.

"Thompson is a poet and novelist from the U.S. who lives in Japan, Her second novel in verse is a strong follow-up to the acclaimed Orchards, which mostly takes place in her adopted home. The elegant and heartfelt poetry in The Language Inside allows the reader to explore Emma’s internal transformation as she navigates different cultures and the people in her life. Emma writes, 'it’s not just losing / Japanese words / and phrases / it’s as if I’ve lost / half of myself here / but no one knows / because I’m a white girl' There is very little dialogue, but through Emma’s eyes we see other characters clearly and Emma’s changing relationships with them. The most original aspect of this powerful and compelling story is Emma’s interaction with Zena via poetry, as we see the growing friendship between two people who, in distinct ways, understand that 'lonely is when the language outside / isn’t the language inside.'"

Teens Wanna Know: Extraordinary Stories

Hey, sci-fi/fantasy fans - I have another batch of book recommendations for you! Read my brand-new guest blog at Teens Wanna Know.

Today, I've recommended The Jenna Fox Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson, His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass, et al) by Philip Pullman, The Cold Awakening trilogy (aka Skinned trilogy) by Robin Wasserman, The Gemma Doyle trilogy (A Great and Terrible Beauty, et al) by Libba Bray, and The Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. These books are packed with magic, mystery, action, and romance.

Which of these series do you like best? Drop by my Extraordinary Stories post at Teens Wanna Know and leave a comment!  

A #rockthedrop recap, Phoenix-style!

Author Sara Francis Fujimura wrote in to tell us about the great time she had organizing a special Rock the Drop workshop in her hometown! Along with Shelley Coriell and Amy Fellner Dominy, middle school and high school students participated in a bevy hands on, interactive writing exercises. 

Here's what Sara had to say about the day: 

Amy did 2 warm-up exercises. Shelley did a workshop on characterization. I did one on plot and one about writing stories to music. All of them were hands-on and interactive, and the teens appreciated that.

What made this writing event a little different than other community ones was that I relied on the teens, specifically my JH/HS-level Girl Scout troop, to help me run the event. I wrote the scripts, but the girls (and 2 brothers) welcomed everyone to the event, introduced all the speakers, invited people to refreshments, collected & facilitated the redistribution of books, & gave out the door prizes. All I had to do was teach my workshops and give a few directions, the girls did all the rest from set-up to tear-down. Thankfully, our troop has done several events like this in the past, so they were able to pick up the ball and run with it with little notice. We had our snacks donated by the community. For fun I printed out some literacy statistics on labels and attached them to the water bottles and snack bags before the event. Kids Need to Read in Mesa donated several autographed books as prizes, and I added a few Starbucks and Barnes & Noble gift cards. Cassandra Clare was in Phoenix last month, so I had her autograph CITY OF BONES for me as a grand prize. Some of the teens brought extra books to donate. The other books I picked up at our local library, were donated by KNTR, or were donated by friends and family.

One of the biggest positives about doing this kind of event is that teens who come are there because they truly want to be. Amy was able to get the crowd warmed up and sharing very quickly. The momentum kept going all afternoon, which was amazing.

Amazing, indeed! Thanks so much for sharing, Sara! And thanks for supporting teen literature and rocking the drop with the readergirlz!

rgz Seattle HOST: Stephanie Guerra reports on the FREE BOY release!

Hi Girlz,

I went to Seattle Public Library’s downtown branch to see Seattle authors Judy Bentley and Lorraine McConaghy read from their new book, FREE BOY, the story of a thirteen-year-old slave who escaped from Washington Territory to freedom in Canada on the West's Underground Railroad. Charles Mitchell was the property of James Tilton, Surveyor General of Washington Territory, and this book is a twined biography of the two.

A fascinating, lightly fictionalized account, the story answered (and raised) some questions for me about my home state: In the Pacific Northwest during the Civil War era, what were the predominant attitudes toward race? How did people of the territories—not yet States, and therefore with no voting rights—feel about slavery? What might it have been like to be one of the only slaves in Washington Territory?

Written with deft, lucid prose, this book is a reminder of why lightly fictionalized biography is a marvelous genre. Without taking as many liberties as historical fiction, FREE BOY provides richly detailed settings and imagined conversations (based on documented events) that bring the story to life. This is a book for YA and upper middle-grade readers alike—and frankly, adults. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. The author presentation was one of the best I’ve seen; relaxed and funny, but also reflective of serious scholarship.

Judy Bentley and Lorraine McConaghy will be speaking again soon:

Saturday, May 4, 1 p.m. Village Lights Bookstore, Madison, Indiana

Wednesday, May 29, 7 p.m. Village Books, Bellingham, Washington

For more information, see her site: www.judybentley.com

Teens Wanna Know: Otherworldly YA Books

Looking for an awesome YA book that will take you out of this world? Love sci-fi/fantasy series? Check out my guest post at Teens Wanna Know! 

I've recommended five fantastic stories by Christopher Golden (Prowlers), Thomas E. Sniegoski (Fallen), Scott Westerfeld (Uglies), Justine Larbalestier (How to Ditch Your Fairy), and Holly Black (The Curse Workers). These books include angels, shapeshifters, surgeries, good luck, and bad luck, among other things. 

If you haven't read them yet, you should. If you have read them, let me know which one you liked the best.

Check out my Otherworldly YA post at Teens Wanna Know and leave a comment!  

A Visual Take: We All Have Stories

Stories to Tell by lorieanngrover on Polyvore

rgz Newsflash: Horn Book Recommends Dia Calhoun's Eva of the Farm

So happy to see rgz co-founder Dia Calhon leading the list of notable verse novels in the Horn Book Guide. Congratulations, Dia! Eva is so deserving and sits in great company.

Happy Poetry Month, rgz!

rgz Newsflash: Thank you, everyone!

As we look back over the day, you all rocked the drop from Glasgow to Georgia, from zoos to restaurants, from one reader to the next, and we thank you! What a celebration for Support Teen Lit Day. You all posted, tweeted, tumbled, and pinned. The photos are awesome on #rockthedrop and the readergirlz facebook page. Be sure to scroll through and enjoy what we did together. It's AMAZING!

Crissa, rgz HOST, always rocks the drop with style! Take a look at her video drop. Thank you, Crissa!

And here are just a few pics to remember the day:

Thank you, publishers, such as Team Egmont!

Thank you, libraries, such as San Diego County!

Thank you, authors, such as Sara Zarr in Salt Lake City to...

Liz Gallagher in Seattle.
Thank you, schools:
Courtney Craig Merritt
I am a Spanish and English teacher at Del Norte High School and a bunch of my Education In Action club kids will be dropping off books in the 4S Ranch community. Keep your eye out! We're so excited to be a part of this wonderful, literary cause.
and thank you, readergirlz!



Bravo, everyone! Bravo!

Continuing to #rockthedrop

If you were not able to rock the drop yesterday due to time, weather, or other such uncontrollable things, don't fret - you can totally drop a book today, this weekend, whenever time allows! When you do, leave us a comment here at the readergirlz blog or on Facebook, and tweet @readergirlz with the hashtag #rockthedrop - and include a picture if you took one!

You can also participate on a larger scale, if you'd like, by donating a bunch of books to the place or cause of your choice. Visit a local shelter, a school, a library, a children's hospital, and ask if they take donations. Once you've gotten the okay, gather up new or gently used books from your friends, family, classmates, and co-workers, add the bookplates, tuck in some bookmarks, then drop the books off!

For example, you could send Ballou High books from their wish list via Powells books! That would be a cool way to tie-in both readergirlz and GuysLitWire. Here's how you can help out Ballou High: It's Time for the Annual Spring Book Fair for Ballou High School Library!

You can also donate books to 826NYC, a non-profit organization that assists young writers between the ages of 6 and 18 as well as the awesome folks who teach them. If you'd like to send them books, here's the address:

826NYCAttn: Joan Kim
c/o: readergirlz Rock the Drop
372 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215 

During yesterday's tweets and texts, we heard about World Book Night, which is happening on April 23rd.  Learn more about that, and see if an event is happening in your neck of the woods.


Is this the first time you've heard of Operation Teen Book Drop? Anyone anywhere in the world may participate. It's free, it's fun, and it's global. Want to learn more about it? Click here!

Rock the Drop, Today!

It's here! Celebrate Support Teen Literature Day by dropping YA titles for happy readers to find! Rock the Drop with rgz, Figment, iheartdaily, Soho Teen, and 826NYC.

•Print out the below bookplate (by Lindsay Frantz) and drop your book in a public place.

 

 

•Follow @readergirlz on twitter and tweet #rockthedrop. Post your pics at our facebook page.

 

•Donate books to 826NYC. 

826NYC

attn: Joan Kim

c/o: readergirlz Rock the Drop
372 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215

 

Ready, set, go! Rock the drop!

rgz Newsflash: Figment will Rock the Drop!

Word is coming in left and right for tomorrow's plans to Rock the Drop for Operation Teen Book Drop. If you are in NYC, check out the below from Figment!

 

Figment will be manning a table outside our Upper East Side office on Thursday with a bunch of free books -- we're encouraging people to come and take two: one for keeping, one for dropping. If you could tweet this out, we'd appreciate it! Our Twitter handle is @figment. Link is below.

http://dailyfig.figment.com/2013/04/16/love-books-come-get-some-free-ones/

And of course, if you want to add some books to our pile (we'll have bookplates), drop em by!

Let us know where you are dropping for 2013! Full details and bookplate here! Can't wait to see your #rockthedrop tweets and pics at the rgz facebook page!

Happy TBD Eve!