Selfish Shamelessness?

I love posting the bi-monthly shameless updates here at the Inkpot.  I really do.  I get to (a) keep track of everyone's good news and (b) sing their praises to the highest heights!  It's awesome.

But I do have a one problem with it: what to do when I have good news to share.

I've shared news before, but I usually tuck it into the bottom of the post.  I don't know, I just feel weird about it, you know?  Like it's not part of my job so sing my own praises.

That said, I'm slightly uncomfortable about announcing my own good news.  Especially when it's something cool like this.

TEN is a 2013 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, as chosen by ALA and YALSA.  I'm not used to making lists, so this is kind of new territory for me, so I'm kind of smiling from ear to ear.  I hope you'll forgive my self-promotion.

Enough about me.  How about a new cover for Jennifer Nielsen's THE FALSE PRINCE?

The paperback was released this past week with this amazing new cover. Book 2 of the series, THE RUNAWAY KING, will be released on March 1. Can't wait!

And we've got another amazing announcement!!! Amy Butler Greenfield is thrilled and honored to have fabulous new blurb for CHANTRESS (McElderry/S&S, May 2013) from one of her favorite writers:

“I simply loved it. It was a delicious journey into a fantasy world that mingles music, magic, altered British history, and romance.” (Cinda Chima, New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Realms Series and The Heir Chronicles)

How awesome is that?

So, a short Shameless week, but full of awesome. As they all are. :D

Interview with Laurisa White Reyes

With me today is the wonderful Laurisa White Reyes, author of the middle grade fantasy, THE ROCK OF IVANORE.  Here is the description from Amazon:

The annual Great Quest is about to be announced in Quendel, a task that will determine the future of Marcus and the other boys from the village who are coming of age. The wizard Zyll commands them to find the Rock of Ivanore, but he doesn’t tell them what the Rock is exactly or where it can be found. Marcus must reach deep within himself to develop new powers of magic and find the strength to survive the wild lands and fierce enemies he encounters as he searches for the illusive Rock. If he succeeds, he will live a life of honor; if he fails, he will live a life of menial labor in shame. With more twists and turns than a labyrinth, and a story in which nothing is at it seems, this tale of deception and discovery keeps readers in suspense until the end.

Middle readers will find that The Rock of Ivanore fits nicely among the traditional fantasies they so enjoy. They will also appreciate its fresh and inventive take on the genre.

1. Where did the idea for Rock of Ivanore come from?

When my now 15-year-old son was 8, I read to him every night. One night he asked me to make up a story instead. Every night he would tell me what he wanted to hear, which usually involved dragons, magic or sword fighting. Eventually I started writing the story down and ended up with a rough draft of the novel.

2. I know you've had quite the journey to publication, care to fill in our readers?

I spent thirteen years writing for magazines and newspapers, but all my life I dreamed of writing novels. When I finally decided to live that dream, I quit the periodicals cold turkey and wrote my first book, which was really awful. But my second book was The Rock of Ivanore. Like many brand new writers, I thought I had written the greatest book ever. I sent it out to 50 publishers (that was before e-subs) and waited. And waited. I received more than 40 rejections over the course of two years. Naturally I got pretty discouraged, but then one day out of the blue I received an email from Tanglewood Press asking if my book was still available. Of course I said yes! Then it was another three years before it was actually published. From the time I wrote the first word to the day it hit the shelves was five years and eleven months.

3. Who is your favorite character - yes I'm making you choose - and why?

That is hard to say. I like them all since they are all, in some sense, a part of me. But I really fell in love with Jayson, the adult in the story. He is half human and half Agoran (a feline-type race). Long before the book begins he fell in love with a human and was exiled for it. I actually have written rather hefty novel about him called The Crystal Keeper, but I haven't found a publisher for it yet.

4. I hope you do! The sequel to this book is slated to be released in November 2013. Can you tell us a little about that?

Lord Fredric is dead.

Months have passed since Marcus and Kelvin succeeded in their quest to find the Rock of Ivanore. Now Kelvin is in Dokur living a life of luxury, Jayson is preparing to bring the Agorans back to their homelands, and Marcus is studying magic with Zyll. When Fredric is murdered and Kelvin becomes king, Zyll and Marcus head for Dokur in hopes of protecting Kelvin from meeting the same fate. Dokur, however, has worse troubles. An Agoran rebel has killed several of Kelvin’s guards and has set one of his ships on fire. In response, Kelvin refuses to allow the Agorans to return to their lands, a decision that may result in civil war. To make matters worse, someone is trying to kill Marcus.

Plagued by pain caused by bringing Kelvin back from the dead, Marcus vows not to use magic again. But dark forces are at work in Dokur and Marcus must make a choice: protect himself or save his friends. With the help of Clovis, Bryn, and Lael, a feisty girl in search of her mother, Marcus uncovers a powerful secret that will change the course of his life forever.

5. Sounds amazing! What's been the best part of publishing THE ROCK OF IVANORE?

Visiting schools. Three things I've always enjoyed doing are writing, public speaking and teaching. Authoring a children's book allows me to do all three on a regular basis. I love talking with students about books and about living their dreams. I try to encourage them to never give up on their dreams even when challenges arise. I call this "finding your magic."

I love that! Thank you so much, Laurisa for stopping in. 

What We've Learned About Writing Fantasy

As I've been chipping away at the third book in my Unfairy Tale series, I've been reflecting on how much I've learned about writing fantasy over the years. The main thing I keep coming back to: Be patient with your story. The characters, plot, world, etc. might feel flimsy at first, but every round of revisions will make them stronger. 

That's my bit of wisdom. Let's hear what some other Inkies have to say.

Hilari Bell's 3 rules for writing about magic:

1st Rule: Magic must cause more problems for your characters than it solves. 

The title of the writing tip in which this appears is: Taking Away the Easy Button--'nuff said.

Corollary 1 of Bell's first rule: If the climax of your novel is a magical duel, it better be something besides magic that lets the hero win.

Corollary 2 of Bell's first rule: Don't make your magic so powerful that there's no excuse for the hero not to use it to solve his problems.

2nd Rule: Magic can't happen offstage.

Which not only means that the POV character can't just shut her eyes while magic is happening, it means that the author has to describe it in detail.

3rd Rule: All characters in your novel must react to magic in the way that a real person in that situation would.

Because the way to make your reader believe in the unbelievable is not to have the POV character accept it, but to have the POV character doubt it, and have it proven to him.

Dawn Metcalf's three magical tips: 

1) Read, read, read & write, write, write. (True of all genres, but still!)

2) Believe it. If you, the author, believe in yourself and your world and could answer any question that might come up in order to explain how everything works, then that will read true on the page.

3) Don't go with Idea #1. Your first idea lights the spark, but it's usually the easiest idea, the one that floats on the surface of your thoughts. Keep pushing, delve deeper, ask hard (and often contradictory/devil's advocate) questions in order to have what Terry Pratchett's witches might call Second Thoughts and Third Thoughts about your idea. It's amazing how it will gain width and breadth and spread in directions you never would have imagined. That is it's own kind of magic!

Lisa Gail Green's short but sweet advice:

1. Always write about what excites/interests you the most.

2. Write what scares you. Let go of your inner editor at least for the first draft.

3. READ.

Erin Cashman's writing encouragement:

1. Allow yourself a lot of imagination time. Take walks, turn off the radio if you're driving alone . . . really let the What ifs play out in your head. Have the courage to take a big leap of faith.

2. Don't talk yourself out of something because you're afraid it seems stupid. When I first wrote the scene when my main character communicated with a hawk I worried it seemed cheesy. It ended up being my editor's and my agent's favorite part of the book.

3. If a character has a power or gift, it should feel authentic to that character. Don't just put it in as a plot device. Think about what it would be like to be him or her, and write accordingly.

4. Have fun and have faith!

Jennifer Nielsen's words of wisdom:

I've learned that magic has to have rules. As a beginning writer, I looked at magic as the er, "magical solution" to any sticky situation in which my characters might find themselves. Now I understand that within any world that I create, there must be strict definitions for what magic can and cannot do, where it originates from, who can and cannot use it, and whether there is a price for its use. Defining those rules gives structure and authenticity to a fantasy story.

Okay, now it's your turn! What's the biggest thing you've learned, as a reader or a writer, about fantasy?

Featuring A. G. HOWARD and SPLINTERED

Hi, P. J. Hoover, here, and I'm so happy to be here today featuring A. G. HOWARD and the release of her debut YA novel. I adore everything about this book, from the cover to the author to the words inside!

SPLINTERED by A. G. Howard (Amulet Books, January 1, 2013)

You can read my review here!

And now here is A. G.

*****

PJHoover: You’ve run into an old classmate from high school and you tell them SPLINTERED just came out. They ask what it’s about. What do you say?

AGHoward: It’s a modern spinoff of Alice in Wonderland, in which Alice Liddell’s granddaughter has to face the darker side of Wonderland’s whimsy to fix Alice’s mistakes and the resulting curse on her family.


PJHoover: I love hearing happy publication stories. Can you tell us the path to publication for SPLINTERED?

AGHoward: Wow, that’s a tough one to sum up in one answer. To really get the full effect, you’d have to know how low I was just after writing it. I actually left my first agent over this book, and worried I’d never find representation again. As any good writer knows, showing beats telling, so these three links can show you my journey better than I can tell it:

http://author-aghoward.livejournal.com/tag/agent#asset-author_aghoward-20744

http://querytracker.net/success/ag_howard.php

http://authoraghoward.blogspot.com/2011/08/overwhelmed-ever-grateful-blessed-and.html


PJHoover: I love the blend of classic literature and fantasy both above ground and down the rabbit hole! What made you decide to create this wonderful, twisted retelling for ALICE IN WONDERLAND?

AGHoward: Thank you! I’ve always been a huge fan of Carroll’s masterpieces, but the actual spark lit back in in April, 2010, when I first saw the Tim Burton & Disney Alice adaptation. I’m a very visual person, and the Burton cinematography was so vivid, techno-colored, and evocative that I didn't want the movie to ever end. So I came up with my own settings in my mind, and played out Wonderland continuations and scenarios. The idea became too big to contain in my head and I needed to get it out on paper.


PJHoover: There are tons of books out there. What are five awesome reasons why SPLINTERED should be the one for them to read?

AGHoward:

1. SPLINTERED’s main character, Alyssa Gardner, has been blessed (or cursed) with the power to talk to bugs and hear their whispers, the very thing that sent her mother to an asylum. So to keep herself from going crazy, Alyssa does the only thing she can to silence them: capture and smother them in bug traps. But, being a frugal and artistic gal, she doesn't waste the corpses ... she preserves them and uses them in her mosaics. The girl's not squeamish, which is a good thing, considering some of the creatures she encounters in Wonderland.

2. Alyssa’s best friend/secret crush, Jebediah Holt, is a bit of a bad boy due to his scarred childhood. He rides a souped-up Honda CT70, wears a lip labret, and is fiercely protective of Alyssa and his younger sister, which sometimes triggers glimpses of his white-hot temper. But like Alyssa, he relies on his art for therapy, curbing his violent side through sketching and painting. His favorite subject? Gothic faeries with veined-wings—black tears pouring from their eyes as they stand over withered human corpses in haunting depictions of misery and loss.

3. Alyssa’s sexy-but-enigmatic guide through Wonderland’s warped landscape is Morpheus, a fae-like creature who may have dark motives all his own. His characterization, wardrobe, and smug sneer were heavily influenced by two of my favorite anti-heroes in fantasy movies from my teen years: Jareth from The Labyrinth, and the Crow from, you guessed it … The Crow.

4. Both Alyssa and Jeb skateboard, proof that an author’s passions sometimes bleed into their books. Although I never actually learned to skateboard, I can rollerblade with the best of them. In fact, when I get stuck on a story and need inspiration, I go to a neighborhood park and roller-blade several times around. It opens up my mind to new ideas and directions I might never have come up with while sitting boxed inside four walls.

5. Throughout SPLINTERED, Alyssa often turns to her mother’s copy of Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece to help her solve riddles. I’m hoping this will set my book apart from the other Alice in Wonderland young adult spinoffs being released in the near future. From what I’ve seen, SPLINTERED is the only one that is actually a tribute to the original Lewis Carroll tales, with creepy counterparts of the characters from both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

PJHoover: When it comes to marketing, what do you think makes the biggest difference in whether a book is successful?

AGHoward: An online presence. Especially for YA authors. You need to be on FB or twitter and have a blog / website where you can connect with your fan base and let new readers know about your books.


PJHoover: What is next? WIPs? Future publications? Please tell all!

AGHoward: I was signed for two YA novels, but the contract didn’t specify a series, so I’m working on another contemporary fantasy. I’m not at liberty to give any more info than that yet (but soon, I hope!). I also have one New Adult novel, a Victorian gothic paranormal love story, that I hope to sell sometime this year, if my agent and I can find a publishing home for it!


PJHoover: What has been your favorite experience as an author thus far?

AGHoward: Hanging out and chatting with the readers who love your book and characters. THEY ROCK!


PJHoover: Please share your favorite inspirational thought!

AGHoward: You always pass failure on the way to success.


AGHoward: Thank you for having me, PJ! <3

PJHoover: Thank you so much for being here!








From Amazon:

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

*****

About A. G. (Anita):

A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would've happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

*****

P. J. Hoover is the author of the upcoming dystopia/mythology YA book, SOLSTICE (Tor Teen, June 2013), the upcoming Egyptian mythology MG book, TUT (Tor Children's, Winter 2014), and the middle-grade SFF series, THE FORGOTTEN WORLDS BOOKS (CBAY, 2008-2010). You can read more about her and her books on P. J.'s website or blog.

Would You Wear It?

So I was trying to think of a post, and I came up with the topic of jewelry (or jewellery, for our British and British-spelling Canadian friends), but when I tried to come up with some kind of angle that was deep, or insightful, or compelling in any way...well, let's just say Holiday Brain hit, and this is what you get:

Would You Wear It?

Good Jewelry: Good Jewels help you. They guide you somewhere important/safe/hidden, they gift you with untold powers, they make dead-ish, super old, mind-numbingly beautiful Faerie Queens get all glowy and come talk to you in the middle of the night and show you stuff you need to see. (oh, and if you've never read Sarah posting about her own jewelry talismans and the stories behind them, and how one inspired the design of Eye of Elena, you should).

Verdict: WEAR IT

Powerful, Ambiguous Jewelry: Amplifiers in SHADOW & BONE...trying not to give too much away...suffice to say if you're from Ravka, you might have certain powers, and those powers would benefit from a magical amulet of some sort, called an amplifier. Anyway, if you've read the book you'll understand why this one's ambiguous (I guess, technically, they could all be considered ambiguous). 

Also included here are the magic rings from The Magician's Nephew that transport the wearer to the Wood Between Worlds, which could be either the most awesome adventure EVER or terrifying beyond imagination. Seriously, be careful with those things!

Verdict: Depends on how you feel about amped-up power and possibly dangerous adventures

Cursed Jewelry: Cursed Jewelry is Bad News for the wearer. Just ask Katie Bell, who somehow survived the Floating Brain Death curse of the opal necklace, but will probably never wear another necklace. 

Verdict: Yeah, this one's a no, no matter how purty it looks in the shop window

Bad Jewelry: Bad Jewelry does Bad Things to Good People. MOTHER OF ALL EXAMPLES: Onering, Lord of the Rings. Need I say more? It bends hearts intent on good to betrayal, turns Galadriel into an alarmingly skinny photo negative of herself, and swells Frodo's eyes to alarming and greedy proportions. Good thing Gollum is there to take the fall for EVERYONE. *cries* (why is Gollum my favorite? always has been, even in the books) (well, Gollum and Samwise)

Verdict: NO NO NO NEVER DON'T DO IT REMEMBER SCARY GALADRIEL

Those are all the examples I could come up with, but that's because I am horribly underread, in spite of all the times I was caught with a book in my lap during class (Babysitter's Club does not count as fantasy, and, as babysitting does not support the buying of much jewelry beyond the plastic variety found at Clare's, there weren't really any jewels of significance in that world). Feel free to school me in the comments! 

P.S. Jewelry is officially the hardest and most annoying word for me to type. It even beats 'appropriate'...well, almost. I HATE typing appropriate.