Audacity Jones Steals the Show

Just finished this beauty.

So much to love.

Audacity Jones Steals the Show by Kirby Larson

Two words: TOTAL PACKAGE

It has mystery and humor and adventure.

It has a cat and an elephant.

It has HOUDINI!!!

So many things to love about the writing.

I love how Kirby speaks to the reader so seamlessly, without pulling us out of the story. In fact, quite the opposite...she lets us in on the fun:

I know, dear reader, it causes you to shudder as it does me.

I love the absolute SEAMLESS incorporation of historical details:

Not a kid-leather boot nor starched pinafore to be seen in either direction.

Audie inhaled deeply of the automobile fumes, the horse dung, the frankfurter carts, the fishy aromas from the Hudson River. "Just smell all that life!" She turned in a complete circle, arms wide, opening herself to the wonders of Manhattan.

I adore the language, sometimes soft and lilting, sometimes just plain old sparkly:

It smelled of hay and apples and something else: The young thing reeked of sorrow.

A murmur wobbled its way through the crowd.

And Kirby has never been one to write down to young readers. She tosses in so many yummy words, like PERFIDY. 

So much to love about this one.

COMING JANUARY 21

AND.....I'll send this ARC along to the first person to tell me in the comments that they would like it. 

#TrueFriends and a Great Giveaway

Back in this blog post I told y'all about a writing retreat I went to a couple of years ago.

It was at the beautiful vacation home of Kirby Larson.

(l to r) Kirby Larson with Winston the Wonder Dog, Susan Hill Long, Augusta Scattergood, and me

The amazing result of that writing retreat is that ALL FOUR of the manuscripts that we worked on there were published this year!

 
So we decided to keep the Sisterhood united and work together to help our books wing their way into the world.

We have some #TrueFriends goodies for you!

Here are 4 quick videos from us, telling a bit about our books.

HERE is a fun activity kit.

And...drum roll, please...a fantastic giveaway!!

Go HERE to enter to win books and/or a Skype visit.

The Sisterhood

In June of 2014, Kirby Larson invited Augusta Scattergood, Susan Hill Long, and me to have a writing retreat at her beautiful vacation home in Washington state. We all jumped at the chance.

What a special time we had!

Here we are with Winston the Wonder Dog. (l to r): Kirby, Susan, Augusta and me

Writing all day.

Then critiquing (so important).

Then breaking to watch the sunset and drink a little wine.

And here's the coolest part:

All four of the manuscripts we were working on at that retreat were published this year!

What are the odds? Seriously.

Here they are: 

AND Augusta's book and my book are publishing on the SAME DAY (August 30).

What are the odds?

Here's the fun part: we call ourselves the Butterfly Sisters. Here's why (as I remember it....we might all have variations of the story).

In an early draft of WISH, I had a scene where the main character hurls some very harsh words at her friend. Harsh and sharp. I then wrote that she wished she could take those words back...scoop them up like butterflies in a net.

My brilliant peers pointed out to me that that metaphor didn't seem appropriate for gathering harsh, sharp words.

Dang it! They were right. 

But I loved that phrase so much I was determined to keep it. I just moved it to a more appropriate place.

So we had a running joke about butterflies.

And all four books have some sort of reference to butterflies. (Go read the books and see if you can find them.)

So there you have it. 

AND...this year Kirby invited us to have another retreat. BUT...Delta Airlines dealt me a lousy hand and cancelled my flight. So I couldn't go!!!

But we got together to critique the best we could:

Long Live the Sisterhood!

Audacity Jones to the Rescue

AUDACITY JONES TO THE RESCUE

by

Kirby Larson

I love this one so much.

Why, you might ask?

Well, first of all, it's KIRBY LARSON, y'all.

I started circling sentences I loved and before long the whole dang book was circled.

For instance, "Miss Maisie's barley-water breath traveled the length of the scarred mahogany table arriving well before her reprimand."

"Miss Maisie's smile wobbled in her pasty face."

"He felt the wings of freedom sprouting at his shoulders."

And it's funny.

"I don't like danger," said Bimmy. "It's too dangerous."

"Her sit-upon especially ached."

The descriptive details are luscious.

"...the scent of the desert about him."

"...the gray flannel afternoon sky.."

 

The word choices are perfection.

Squinched

Quailed

Gustatory

Salubrious

Olfactory conundrum

It's adventurous

and mysterious

and a darn good yarn. 

AND

There's a character named Mrs. O'Connor who was named after me! (But that in no way influenced my opinion of this lovely book -  but might have made me love Kirby Larson a SQUINCH more than I did before, if that's possible.)

So run,

Don't walk,

To your nearest indie bookstore

For this one.

Summer Check-in

Hey, y'all!

I know this blog has been quiet this summer but I have a good excuse.

I've been here:

And here:

And here:

With these folks:

(l to r) Kirby Larson with Winston the Wonder Dog, Susan Hill Long, Augusta Scattergood and me

 

Doing what, you ask?

WRITING!

And now:

Light at the end of the tunnel (sort of)

 

Diversity

I love this quote from author Kirby Larson SO much, and not just because she references me (but, um, shucks, thanks), but because I so totally agree:

Thinking about the diversity in children's books conversation: So glad it is happening! But worried that it might get narrowed to certain criteria. As a kid who grew up without much, I know I would have died and gone to heaven to read Barbara O'Connor or Frances O'Roark Dowell or Watt Key or Lois Brandt (Maddi's Refrigerator, due out in the fall) to find kids like me who bathed in gas station restrooms or didn't have enough to eat or always wore hand me downs. So write your story. Tell it true. Because there's a child out there for whom that story will be a mirror and an escape. A very important escape. And perhaps, perhaps, even a ticket out. That is what diversity in literature is all about.

How to Make a Friend in One Easy Lesson

A million, trillion years ago (okay, okay, 9 years ago), I received the following letter:

Dear Ms. O'Connor [that just kills me],

I just finished Taking Care of Moses and, after also reading Moonpie and Ivy and Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia, I had to write a fan letter! 

I love the immediacy of your writing and the Southern settings and sensibilities of the stories that enhance rather than overshadow the situations your characters find themselves in.

Thank you for caring so much about writing good books for kids.

Warmly,
Kirby Larson

I had no idea who Kirby Larson was.

But I was, of course, touched by this letter. [Side note: a handwritten letter....not an email....big difference]

I put her info into my contact list on my computer and in the "notes" section I wrote: Writer who wrote me a nice fan letter.

Fast forward two years: Kirby Larson won a freaking Newbery honor for Hattie Big Sky.

I loved that book so much.

Now Kirby was one of my writing idols.

The following year, I like to died (as we say down South) when I saw that she named me as one of her "literary crushes" in this interview online.

I was floored.

There I was with all those other amazing authors. (And what a dinner party that would be!)

I confess that I clicked on the link to my name because I couldn't believe it was really me.

*Swoon*

Call me mushy, but that was sort of a turning point for me with regard to how I viewed my own writing career.

I saw myself through the eyes of someone whom I admired and respected. 

I will be forever grateful for that.

Over the next few years, Kirby and I stayed in touch via email.

Finally, in 2010, we met in real life at a conference in Orlando.

She was horrified by my Cafe Francais addiction but agreed to remain friends.

We hugged and gushed and chatted like old friends.

From that point on, Kirby has been my go-to gal in my writing world. 

If I snivel and gripe via email, she picks up the phone and calls me.

If she knows I'm struggling with a writing issue, she picks up the phone and calls me.

When I've hit some bumps in the road, she picks up the phone and calls me.

When I got a new puppy, she sent puppy gifts.

She sends heartfelt, hand-written notes of encouragement when least expected and sorely needed.

This past November, we presented together at NCTE in Boston with our mutual idol and friend, Karen Cushman.

I call Kirby The Great Connector. 

She is forever connecting writers to teachers to librarians to writers to teachers, etc. etc.

So, what's the One Easy Lesson?

Do what Kirby does: Write. Call. Connect. (And send puppy gifts)

P.S. I still have that note about Kirby being "the writer who wrote me a nice fan letter" in my contacts info on my phone. 

What a long way she and I have come! 

Kirby? *fist bump*

NCTE Recap

Only one word to say about the NCTE conference in Boston: wow!

I met so many teachers, Twitter friends, Facebook friends, authors, etc. 

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

 Kirby Larson, Karen Cushman and I presented a program on Creating Story Worlds. We were so psyched to see such a great group of teachers who came to listen.

It was so nice to see some of our favorite Nerdy Book Club friends right there in the front row. Thanks, pals.)

Afterwards, we celebrated.

(l to r) Karen Cushman, Kirby Larson, Miriam Martinez (panel moderator), Nancy Roser (panel moderator)

 Throughout the conference, I ran into so many teacher friends and had lunch with my pal, Patrick Allen.

(clockwise from top left) Donalyn Miller, Patrick Allen, Colby Sharp, Katherine Sokolowski, Paul Hankins)

(top row l to r) Cindy Minnich, Cynthia Alaniz (bottom l to r) Megan Ginther, Holly Mueller

Karen Terlecky, Kirby Larson and I got to recreate our selfie from NCTE in Orlando in 2010. We haven't changed a bit!

Here we are again:

 

 There was lots of fan girl time with some of my favorite authors.

Karen Cushman

Kirby Larson

Tanya Lee Stone

Deborah Wiles

Linda Urban (and Loree Griffin Burns was there, too. Where'd she go?)

Laurie Halse Anderson

 AND, I scored an Advanced Reader Copy of Laurie's new book. Look what she wrote! Sweet? SWEET! (I'm not sure everyone would agree with that, but I'll take it.)

Special thanks to Colby Sharp and Jenni Holm for hosting the super fun Nerdy Book Club party!

P.S. The only negative: My Cafe Francais (aka according to Kirby: "That evil concoction") spilled into my suitcase. 

Things I Love Thursday

I love dogs.

I love to cry.

I love great books.

I love Kirby Larson.

And so.....

I love DUKE!

So full of heart. I adored Hobie, the main character. I ached for him. I cheered for him. 

Wonderful historical fiction about a little known piece of the World War II story - kids who donated their PETS to the war cause!

I hear voices

There's nothing I love to read more than a distinctive writer's voice. 

Some writers have it.

Some writers don't.

I believe that writing can be good - even great - without a distinctive voice. A great story - a skillfully developed plot - perfect dialogue, well-drawn characters.

But the voice is what sets one author's writing apart from another's.

It's like the blindfold taste test - can you read a passage of unidentified writing and know who wrote it?

Maybe lots of writers could write the same story, but only a writer with a distinctive voice can write it THAT way - that particular way - that way that tells the reader - "This is clearly HER writing. I'd recognize it anywhere."

For me, distinctive voice usually involves rhythm and word choice. It also involves the ability to write about ordinary things in an extraordinary way, so that small things become more important. And last, distinctive voice is the ability to show the perfect emotion.


The writing voice I love most in the whole world belongs to

Cynthia Rylant. She can weave together concrete, detailed description with perfectly described emotion and the words just flow together so flawlessly. Like this from Missing May:

Whirligigs of Fire and Dreams, glistening coke bottles and

chocolate milk cartons to greet me. I was six years old and I had come home.

And she can drop in a heartbreak of a sentence when you least expect it:

May was gardening when she died.

Or this:

When May died, Ob came back to the trailer, got out of his good suit and into his regular clothes, then went and sat in the Chevy for the rest of the night.


Next up? Linda Urban. Ooolala....that distinctive voice. Linda's got the gift of making the ordinary extraordinary - and for nailing emotion.

From The Center of Everything:

Ruby is an underreactor, Lucy says. So they are yin and yang -

which are not the names of twin zoo pandas, like ruby thought at first, but two opposites that fit together.

Lucy is dramatic; Ruby is calm.

Lucy is impulsive; Ruby takes time to figure things out.

Ruby does what she is supposed to do, and Lucy? Well, "I count on you for balance," Lucy always says.

Which is why they are friends, Ruby thinks.

And which is why she hasn't told Lucy how out of balance she felt since Gigi died. Instead, Ruby pretended things were normal. That she was normal.

And it worked.

Mostly.

Until yesterday.

"We're supposed to be best friends!" Lucy had said. Yelled, really. Her eyes had been slits, her voice as loud as it had ever been on the Hungry Nation Youth Theater stage. "I tell you everything and you didn't tell me anything!"

Ruby's stomach hurts remembering what she had said back. "Mind like water."

"This is not a stupid pebble, Ruby Pepperdine! This is a meteor! You have hurled an enormous meteor into the lake of our friendship. You've caused a tsunami!" Lucy had balled her fists and dashed away, and Ruby was left bobbing stupidly in her wake.

Bobbing stupidly in her wake?  Really? Love that.

I don't own a copy of Hound Dog True. Why? Because I am lame, is the only reason I can think of. So...I can't offer up an example. But here's what you must do: Go immediately and get a copy of that book. Then immediately turn to the scene where Mattie is in the cloakroom (coatroom?) and a classmate steals money from backpacks and mispronounces the word ogre. OMG! I'm kicking myself for not writing that scene before Linda did. Dang! (But then, I couldn't write with her distinctive voice, of course.)

Ordinary turned to extraordinary.


Kirby Larson. Sigh...what can you say about Kirby's writing voice?

Here's a word that comes to mind: perky. I know, kind of a stupid word choice. Maybe lively? Upbeat? I'm sure there's a better word but I can't think of it. All I know is that her writing voice sings. You'll get my drift with the examples below, from Hattie Ever After:

I needed to find my own place in the world. My own true place. And something in me believed that place was connected to the working end of a pen, not a plow. And certainly not a polishing cloth!

And this - which I adore:

As I scrubbed, two voices whispered around me. Hattie Go spoke into my right ear: "Don't you see? This is your chance to do something Grand."

Hattie Stay buzzed in my left ear. "What about Charlie? What will he think if you move even farther away?"

"He'd want you to have that adventure," urged Hattie Go. "Want you to pursue your dreams."

"He wants you to marry him!" protested Hattie Stay.

"The Pacific Ocean!" sighed Hattie Go. "Think of it!"

See what I mean about lively? Hattie Stay and Hattie Go? (Not to mention those dialogue tags.)

Here's one more:

It was him, too, who'd given me Mr. Whiskers, that sassy old tomcat. I don't know how Charlie knew that that bundle of fur and purr was just what a lonely orphan girl needed, but he did.

What about Rita Williams-Garcia? Her writing voice is just pure personality. I've never had the good fortune to meet her, but I'm sure I would love her. Her personality JUMPS off her pages.  

Only she could write the following (from P.S. Be Eleven): 

"Delphine." The "Del" pulled down low and quick and the "phine"

had no choice but to follow like a shamed child.

I love this:

You put on a smile and say it again. "That's nice, Pa. Very nice," because none of Miss Merriam Webster's words will show up in time to save you. You remember how Mrs. Peterson forbade the use of the word very in book reports because very was fine for fourth graders, but too lazy for fifth graders. Yet here you are, getting ready to start the sixth grade using fourth-grade words. You can't help yourself and add another very. "Very, very nice, Papa."

And only the character of Big Ma could use words like ooga mooga and some-timey friend and a grand Negro spectacle.

Such personality! Rita! Call me! Let's do lunch.

Now who could talk about distinctive writing voice without

mentioning Kathi Appelt? Not me. Her voice is melodic, like a song. Only Kathi can write sentences like these (from The Underneath):

She sniffed the air. It was wrong, this place. The air was heavy with the scent of old bones, of fish and dried skins, skins that hung from the porch like a ragged curtain. Wrong was everywhere.

Who else could write that sentence: It was wrong, this place?

Who else could write: Wrong was everywhere?

Who else could write: Hatred, like sweat, coated his skin.

Or this: Glory, glory, the warm dry sun bounced onto his silver fur. It sank right in. He walked farther into its goldy beams.

 Goldy beams? Really? *fist bump, Kathi*

That book is just so full of bluey blues and greeny greens and piney woods. Lovely.

Sara Pennypacker has a super duper funny dang voice. She has a wonderful way of dropping little unrelated nuggets into a sentence or paragraph that provide a great glimpse into the main character (for instance, those ceiling snakes in the second example below). I also love the way she varies the length of her sentences - some long and run-on - some short and choppy.  

From Clementine:

While Margaret was looking under the bed for Mascara, I accidentally touched her lamp, which is a china poodle with an umbrella that Margaret calls a parasol because she is a show-off. Margaret turned around fast, but my hands jumped into my pockets even faster.

And:

If they had a special class for gifted kids in art, I would definitely be in it. But they don't, which is also unfair - only for math and English. I am not so good at English, okay, fine. But this year I am in the gifted class for math. And here is the bad surprise - so far, no gifts.

I told Principal Rice about that problem when she got back from calming down Margaret's mother.

"So far, no gifts," I told her, extremely politely.

Principal Rice rolled her eyes to the ceiling then, like she was looking for something up there. Ceiling snakes maybe, just waiting to drip on you. That's what I used to be afraid of when I was little, anyway. Now I am not afraid of anything.

Okay, fine, I am afraid of pointy things.

[And notice that she didn't say the ceiling snakes were ready to DROP on you - she chose DRIP. Perfect. *fist bump, Sara*]

Since this blog post could become the longest in the history of the internet, I'll only add one more: Kerry Madden. What I love about Kerry's writing voice is her great word choices. A perfect word sprinkled here and there, like this from Jessie's Mountain:

No wonder I can't sleep, worrying over spiteful letters saying PAY

UP OR ELSE!

Don't you just love that word spiteful? 

Two-year-old Appelonia races straight into Louise's arms and starts crawling up her like a tree frog.

A tree frog? How perfect is that? 

Though I can't help but feel a sadness that she's throwing her life away marrying Mr. Pickle. Maybe I ought to sing "Single Girl, Married Girl," an old Carter Family song, to her today to get her to rethink her plans of disaster.

Plans of disaster? Love that.
 
The plum sky is filled with crystal stars.

Those words plum and crystal = perfect. 

In the end, it's Uncle Buddy who gives us the miracle we need. He does something so terrible, so generous, and so unexpected that nobody can believe it. He has himself a heart attack on a moonshine run somewhere over in East Tennessee. 

I love the combination of the words, terrible, generous and unexpected. (Okay, I have to do it here...*fist bump, Kerry*)

I could add lots more but then you will get tired of reading and click over to TMZ to find out what The Biebs is up to. So I'll stop here.

Hattie Ever After

Run, don't walk....run over to Kirby Larson's blog and see the cover reveal for the sequel to the amazing Hattie Big Sky

What Kirby Read

Love this post about reading as a child by my pal, Kirby Larson. (Well, okay, okay, I like her even more after she wrote this article.)

Love Nerdy Book Club!

Some great advice for writers

....from the brilliant Kirby Larson.

Votive candles

Anyone who has spent a summer evening on my porch knows how much I love candles.

I have everything from cheapo Target votives to lovely Waterford votives.

Now, thanks to this blog post by friend, Kirby Larson, I MUST have these hand-blown Glassybabys.

(photo lifted from Kirby's blog)

They are gorgeous!!!!!

While you're at it, go vote for this talented artist for Entrepreneur of the Year.

The Friendship Doll

Kirby Larson is a master at historical fiction.

I am in awe.

The Friendship Doll follows the journey of a Japanese doll as she makes her way from one owner to the next over the years.

The history is seamlessly woven throughout.

Each character's unique tale grabs you from the get-go.

Kirby isn't afraid to tell the tale the way it needs to be told. (See why I need an editor?)

She's not afraid to try something totally unique (i.e., the doll's point of view).

Loved this one.

NCTE Orlando Part 2

The next morning, I FINALLY got to meet my dear friend, Kirby Larson.

Kirby and I have been friends for years now but have never met in person!
I could have spent all day talking to her.
We have decided that we MUST figure out something we can do together in the future.

Here she is wearing her fabulous 40's hat in honor of her Dear America book, The Fences Between Us.

Kirby Larson (left) and me


So, of course, I had to try on her fabulous hat:



Here is Kirby in her 40's dress:

While we were chatting, my pal Karen Terlecky came by and joined in the fun. (Doesn't Kirby look diabolical here?

Next I headed over to the Macmillan booth for my signing.

(l to r) me, author/illustrator George O'Connor, Lauren Wohl

Me and Jack Gantos


My last event was a "speed booktalking" session for the 2010 Notable Children's Books (which included The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis)

And then....home....with two empty seats beside me!