What Century Am I In?

Any of you who follow my blog or my tweets regularly know that I don't normally go on a political rant - no matter what issues are making headlines.  But there are just a few things that I can't let go.

I write about women in history.  About women who lived five hundred years ago.  A time when they were treated little better than possessions - and sometimes worse.  When women didn't have the right to choose anything - not a life-partner, not a career, not a leader and certainly not her reproductive options.    A time when any and all reproductive issues were blamed on the woman - the ability to get pregnant, the health and physical strength of the baby, even the sex of the child.  A time long before science caught up with reality.

Reading the news today, I felt transported back to another century.  Because science hasn't caught up with a man who claims that a woman's body can "shut down" and "not get pregnant" if she is attacked. And humanity hasn't caught up with the emotional, reproductive and legal rights of a victim of rape.

Today, in the United States of the 21st Century, women have rights.  We have rights to choose our careers - we can be teachers, doctors, governors, Navy SEALs.  We can choose our life-partners, and we can choose which gender we prefer to become our life partners.  In many states, we have control over our reproductive options.  And we have the right to choose our leaders, and the right to demand that they respect our choices.

We have an election coming up, my friends.  I loathe the runup to November in election years.  I'm pretty good at hiding my head in the sand.  I can't access television programming in my house.  But I vote.  In every election.

One hundred years ago, three states granted women suffrage.  The rest of the world caught up eventually.  Choices are what make us human.  Our "ladder to the stars" as Mumford & Sons say.  Don't you think we ought to exercise that?  We have a voice, unlike the women in Tudor times.  That's something to celebrate.

For more information on what inspired this post, take a look at today's BBC News article on Todd Akins.

And check out Kami Kinard's blog for a fabulous post on women in politics and women voting.

Friday Five -- Kristen-Paige Madonia

I'm very excited about this week's Friday Five!  Kristen-Paige Madonia is an award-winning writer, a creative writing teacher and has published several pieces of short fiction, but FINGERPRINTS OF YOU (published by Simon and Schuster on August 7th)  is her first novel.  She is a sister Apocalypsies author, and I'm delighted to have her on the blog today.

THE FIVE:

1.  What is your most treasured possession?

My photo albums from my childhood - I still keep them at my father’s home where I grew up, but whenever I’m there I always make time to sift through them. There’s one set in particular, a group of scrapbooks that my mother put together as a gift when I graduated from high school, that are especially important to me.


2.  What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Having Fingerprints of You published is by far my greatest achievement so far. I began the novel in 2008 and sold it to Simon & Schuster BFYR in 2010, and to know that it exists in the world, to be able to talk with readers about the book, well there’s just nothing like it.

3.  If you could edit your past, what would you change?

In terms of my writing life, if I could give my younger self a piece of advice, I would suggest worrying less about what’s to come and focusing more on the now. It’s so easy to get bogged down by the rejections and by wanting the successes to happen more quickly, to always be looking at what comes next versus enjoying what’s happening in the present. I’d slow down, celebrate the small successes more often, and worry less about the things I still hope to achieve. Less stress and more celebrating starting back when I first got into grad school for creative writing, that’s how I’d edit the past.

4.  What one word do you think describes you best?

Stubborn. I’m a Taurus, and while I’m not argumentative, I never give up on something once I’ve set my mind to it. I think being stubborn is a job requirement for being a writer. Truly successful authors have an element of raw talent, of course, but you also have to be persistent in studying the craft. And relentless in terms of sticking with it. So many people will tell you “no” during the process of publishing short stories, of looking for an agent, and of finding the right editor, but if you’re stubborn enough you’ll eventually find the person that tells you “yes”.

5.  Who are your writing heroes?

This is an easy one – Judy Blume. One-hundred percent. Not only is she an incredible author, she’s revolutionized the writing world in terms of her fight against censorship. As one of the country’s most prolific and most frequently banned authors, I’ve always been in awe of her dedication to advocating the first amendment. I love her books, no questions asked, but more importantly I love her passion for the art of writing and the importance of freedom of speech. She’s written more books than I can count, and just this year she co-wrote her first screenplay based on her novel Tiger Eyes. She works vigorously on her art form but makes time to contribute to a wide variety of organizations such as the Author’s Guild, SCBWI, and the National Coalition Against Censorship. I hope one day I can give back to the literary community in the same way she has, not only through my creative work, but through my involvement organizations such as the ones that she supports.

ABOUT FINGERPRINTS OF YOU:

Seventeen year old Lemon Williams has spent her life buried in the shadow of her free-spirited mother, Stella, and Lemon’s childhood has been spent on the move – dodging disasters and mastering the art of packing up apartments, of being the new kid, and of leaving the past behind. But when Lemon begins her senior year at another new school, she realizes she’s taken an inescapable part of their last life with them: She’s pregnant. In an attempt to fill in the gaps of her history and to avoid repeating Stella’s mistakes, she decides she must set things right by going in search of her father, a man she’s never met. As new life grows inside her, Lemon boards a Greyhound bus and heads west to San Francisco in hopes of freeing herself from her childhood mishaps and discovering the true meaning of family.

You can order FINGERPRINTS OF YOU here!

ABOUT KRISTEN-PAIGE:

You can find Kristen-Paige on her website.

And on Twitter.

Upcoming Events!

On Sunday, August 26, I will be speaking with a panel of YA authors (Veronica Rossi, UNDER THE NEVER SKY, Talia Vance, SILVER and Corrine Jackson, IF I LIE)  for the Palo Alto Litquake festival.   We will be talking about genre and writing and answering questions.  Books will be for sale courtesy of Books, Inc. (including early copies of SILVER and IF I LIE!)  Stop by and like the Facebook page for updates of the event.  Our panel is from 4 to 5 pm, but there are a lot of great events, so come early and enjoy!

The four of us will be speaking again on September 29 at 2pm at Bay Books in San Ramon.  This event will be relaxed and intimate - a real chance to get to know us better!

On October 25 and 26, I will be speaking with the YA Muses (Veronica Rossi, Talia Vance, Bret Ballou and Donna Cooner, author of SKINNY) at the Your Best Book workshop in Charlotte, NC.  We hope to do a bookstore event in Charlotte, too, so stay tuned!

On Saturday, November 3, I will be with some of my Class of 2k12 siblings - J. Anderson Coats (THE WICKED AND THE JUST), AC Gaughen (SCARLET), Lynne Kelly (CHAINED) and Jennifer Shaw Wolf (BREAKING BEAUTIFUL) at the YALSA Literature Symposium in St. Paul, talking about The Next Big Thing in Author Visits.  Can't wait to mingle with some of my favorite people - librarians.

On November 15, I will be at Book Passage in Corte Madera, launching the anthology DEAR TEEN ME with authors E. Kristin Anderson, Marke Bieschke, Stacey Jay, Mike Jung, Katherine Longshore, Erika Stalder and Mariko Tamaki.  We will be speaking briefly about our essays and our other books.

Hope to see you soon!

Friday Five -- Heather Anastasiu

This week's Five features my Apocalypsies sibling Heather Anastasiu, author of GLITCH, just published by St. Martin's Press this week.  Heather is funny and honest and a fabulous person to know online - I hope one day to be able to meet her in person!

THE FIVE:

1.  What would your super power be?

Super endurance. As a person with a debilitating chronic illness, I can’t imagine anything better than being indefatigable.

2.  Who would play you in the film of your life?

Kate Winslet. She’s spunky, passionate, and often has fabulous hair.

3.  What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned since becoming a writer?

I think the most surprising thing was that the book deal was only the beginning of the journey as a writer. Before that, I’d always imagined it as the end goal. Even though I’d been writing and facing tons of rejection for years, the actual work of writing became more difficult and intense after the book deal. But it’s also so much more worth it because my writing continues to get better and better.

4.  What other profession would you like to learn?

I’d definitely love to become a professor. I love the academic atmosphere where people are passionate about continuous learning.

5.  What is your favorite writing motto/mantra?

Butt in chair! You’ll never get anywhere as a writer unless you can develop that basic discipline of getting your but in that chair and writing regularly.

ABOUT GLITCH:

Zoe lives in a world free of pain and war. Like all members of the Community, a small implanted chip protects her from the destructive emotions that destroyed the Old World. Until her hardware starts to glitch.

Zoe begins to develop her own thoughts and feelings, but nothing could be more dangerous in a place where malfunctions can get you killed. And she has another secret she must conceal at all costs: her glitches have given her uncontrollable telekinetic powers.

As she struggles to keep her burgeoning powers hidden, she finds other glitchers with abilities like hers, and together they plot to escape. But the more she learns about beauty, joy, and love, the more Zoe has to lose if they fail. With danger lurking around every corner, she’ll have to decide just how much she’s willing to risk to be free.

You can order a copy of GLITCH here!

ABOUT HEATHER:

You can find Heather on her website.

On Twitter.

Radio Silence

Have any of you watched Apollo 13?  Or do you know anything about NASA and the space program?  I have to admit that most of what I know comes from the movie.  Remember when the moon capsule is coming back to earth?  It enters the earth’s atmosphere and starts to heat up pretty quick. And then….silence.  Houston loses contact.

This, apparently, is normal.  Something about the heat or the atmosphere or the rate at which they’re traveling.  And it’s supposed to last for about three minutes.  Three minutes of not knowing where they are or how they are or when – or if – they’re going to land.  Radio silence.

I recently experienced something like this.  Perhaps the modern equivalent.  I’ve been struggling to finish the revisions for Book 2 – in part because I’m a perfectionist and in part because there has been a lot in my life conspiring to take up all my time.  And in part because the modern world offers a huge amount in the way of procrastination.

So I checked out.  Traveled up into the mountains to a little cabin with no phone, no Internet and no cell coverage.  It’s not quite as isolated as it sounds – there are neighbors on either side, close enough to shout.  And a tiny little town 10 miles away where I could get Wifi at The Saloon and cheap wine at the market.

I wrote.  I revised.  I revised again.  I chose the right words and then double-checked that they fit.  I lay down on the floor and thought about my characters.  I went out into the cricket-filled night and watched the stars and listened to the river and let the subtleties of the story come to me in the still night air.

Radio silence.

Sometimes I felt like I was missing something.  I would have loved to send an e-mail to writer friends to hear how their writing lives were going – sometimes this process is so lonely it hurts and you feel you’re the only one in the world lying there on the floor watching the ceiling fan spin.  And it’s nice to hear someone else say, “This first draft is killing me.” Or “I love my revision, but can you just take a look at this scene?”  It’s nice to see what people are talking about on Twitter.  Or to find out if someone tried to message me on Facebook.  Or just to hear my husband’s voice on the other end of the phone.

Honestly, though, I’m glad I didn’t get that.  I’m glad I stayed in the silence.  For three days.  Until Book 2 was done.

What would you do if you encountered radio silence?  Relax?  Go crazy?  Drive down to The Saloon twice a day?  More?  Revise?  Listen to the crickets?

Friday Five -- Martha Brockenbrough

Martha Brockenbrough is a crusader after my own heart - she founded National Grammar Day (March 4!) and the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar.  Always good to know there's someone out there who knows where their prepositions are supposed to be at.  She is also the author of DEVINE INTERVENTION, published by Scholastic in June!


THE FIVE:


1.  What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?


This is a fun question to answer. There are so many ways I could take revenge on … but no. No one has ever said anything worse to me than the things I’ve said myself. As I get older and theoretically wiser, I realize that I’m not doing myself any favors by being hard on myself. One of the characters in my book hears a voice in her head, which I intended as a metaphor of sorts. Here’s hoping any voices we choose to listen to are kind and compassionate ones.

2.  What is your guiltiest pleasure? 


I homeschool my girls, and there are some days we just don’t want to do any book learnin’. We’ve escaped this by going to a beach that’s close to our house, by spending the afternoon drinking tea and eating buttery toast, and a couple of times, by watching movies under the covers together.It’s a great guilty pleasure to get to spend this kind of time with my girls.

3.  What do you consider your greatest achievement?


I don’t give up. When there is something I’d like to do, I keep working at it. For me, it’s not about any sort of accomplishments list I keep, but rather, that I give everything my all. For example, it took me many years to learn how to do a handstand in yoga. It’s not a huge deal. Lots of people can do it. Small children can do it! But I had to keep trying and that day my feet finally went up and stayed up, I was elated.

4.  Who would play you in the film of your life?


Tina Fey or Janeane Garofolo. Think of someone slightly too loud for the library—but likely to be found there anyway, getting Cheeto dust on everything.
 
5.  Who are your real-life heroes?


I have many. Marla Smith-Nilson, who founded Water1st, and works tirelessly to make sure the world’s poor have clean water and sanitation. (Water1st.org) My childhood swim coach, Christy Shake, whose son was born missing parts of his brain and now struggles with epilepsy. She blogs aboutthis journey every day at Calvin’s Story, and it’s a reminder to me of how much courage and grace one woman can summon.  And finally, in my neighborhood, the guys who run St. Cloud’s restaurant. They make meals for the homeless once a month, inviting people to pitch in. It’s a great reminder of the difference you can make doing what you already do.

ABOUT DEVINE INTERVENTION:


Jerome Hancock is Heidi Devine's guardian angel. Sort of. He's more of an angel trainee, in heaven's soul-rehabilitation program for wayward teens. And he's just about to get kicked out for having too many absences and for violating too many of the Ten Commandments for the Dead.


Heidi, meanwhile, is a high school junior who dreams of being an artist, but has been drafted onto her basketball team because she's taller than many a grown man. For as long as she can remember, she's heard a voice in her head - one that sings Lynyrd Skynyrd, offers up bad advice, and yet is company during those hours she feels most alone.


When the unthinkable happens, these two lost souls must figure out where they went wrong and whether they can make things right before Heidi's time is up and her soul is lost forever.


You can order a signed copy of DEVINE INTERVENTION here!

ABOUT MARTHA:

You can find Martha on her website.
On Twitter.
On Facebook.
And find her other books here!

The Important Things

I've been learning a lot of important life lessons these past two weeks.  And I tell you, the big stuff really shows you what the small stuff is.  They aren't lessons that I wanted to learn.  They are, probably, lessons I needed to learn - everyone does - but that doesn't mean the timing is welcome.  But it has really made me review my perspective and my priorities.

What's important?  Family.  Health.  Love.  Courage.  Comfort.  Kindness.

And to me, writing a good book is important, too.  Probably not up there with the stuff I listed above.  But still a huge part of me.  I'm about to finish revisions on Book 2.  And I am about to take myself to place where I can do that without distractions.  This means setting aside some of the really important stuff for a few days - family, especially.  And that's hard.  But I'm lucky to have a family who support that, and who wouldn't want me to stick around and sacrifice a good book for their sake.

That's one of the reasons family is so important.

So think about it.  Think about it hard.  Imagine life is dealing out lessons to you - some of the hardest ones you'll ever learn.

What's important to you?