Sidenote: I initially believed Kayla’s skin was a fairly dark brown, since that’s how she is portrayed on the cover of the book, but a helpful Amazon reader pointed out that she is, in fact, much lighter-skinned. In the first few pages, her skin is described as “pale mud” and lighter than the “medium brown” of a trueborn she encounters. I was snookered by the cover and didn’t read carefully enough. I think it’s interesting that the cover made her darker, since it’s usually the other way around.
Archives for October 2011
Cybils and The Hub
It’s that time of year again — Cybils time! This year, both Kimberly and I have a part in the process, and we’re excited to announce it. Kim will be on the judging panel for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, while I’ll be diving into the first round in YA Fiction again.
If you haven’t nominated a title yet, get ye to this form and do so. Make sure you read the rules or else there will be some cranky panel organizers.
Need an idea for what to nominate in YA fiction? I’m shocked at some of the titles missing from the roster so far. Here’s a small list. That is to say, please nominate these titles, darn it. ANYONE can nominate, so even if you’re a casual reader and non-blogger, you can put a title up for consideration. Especially these:
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The Babysitter Murders by Janet Ruth Young
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Popular by Alissa Grosso
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Lie by Caroline Bock
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The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
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Her and Me and You by Lauren Strasnick
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Ordinary Beauty by Laura Weiss
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Taking Off by Jenny Moss
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All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky by Joe Lansdale
- Threads and Flames by Esther Friesner
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Badd by Tim Tharp
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What Comes After by Steve Watkins
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Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe
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Crossing Lines by Paul Volponi
- Mercy Lily by Lisa Albert
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Going Underground by Susan Vaught
Other books notably missing from the list include the new books by Sarah Mylanowski, Deb Caletti, Susane Colasanti, and Kody Keplinger.
Also, I have a new post up at YALSA’s The Hub Blog. They’re doing 31 days of authors in conjunction with the celebration of Teen Read Week, and I got to kick it off (!!!) with a post about Courtney Summers. Check it out (and if you comment, even better).
Twitterview: Steve Brezenoff
Welcome to another Twitterview. This month, Steve Brezenoff is here to talk about Brooklyn, Burning (reviewed here), gender, and a whole lot more. Like usual, there’s a giveaway of this book at the end, but I think more importantly, what I want people to do after reading this is to participate in Steve’s #FridayReads project — those who have read Brooklyn, Burning or have read reviews of it know that at the center of the story are the ideas of gender and homelessness, and through participating in his #FridayReads project, you can help raise money for YouthLink.
Pitch Brooklyn, Burning in 140 characters
Two summers and two loves, gentrification and arson in Greenpoint.
What inspired Brooklyn, Burning?
I was going for a love song vibe at first–“me” to “you.” The ambiguity was initially an accident.
What drew you to write Kid and Scout without gender?
An accident for several hundred words. I ran with it partly due to a listserve with some very old-fashioned ideas.
What was the writing process like in creating gender neutrality/interchangeability?
It came more naturally than I’d have thought. I think it frustrates my editor, publicist, and reviewers, which is fun.
In BB and Absolute Value of -1, you write the voice of both genders authentically. Do you find one harder/easier/more interesting to write?
I don’t give a lot of thought to the narrators’ genders, believe it or not. I give thought to the character, and try to keep the voice real.
As I asked with last month’s Twitterview, what’s your take on/experience with gender appeal to your novels? Do you write with one in mind?
I don’t. I just write what I want to write. It’s not even what I necessarily want to read. I get that most YA readers are girls. That’s ok.
What’s your take on the notion that guys “don’t read?”
First of all: boysdontread.com. Second, as a teen, I stopped reading for personal enjoyment. I picked it up again later.
I <3 Brooklyn, for one thing. For another, the historical aspects took place in Brooklyn. Also, it just came out that way.
What should readers walk away with from Brooklyn Burning?
A receipt! Lol. No, seriously. I just want people to get anything from it at all. Literally anything.
Who or what do you write for?
Mainly I write because I like to write. But I also like controlling people’s minds, which is possible with fiction.
My work for younger readers has been work-for-hire. When it comes to what I prefer to write, it’s mostly YA. The shift is illusory.
What was your most influential read as a teenager?
The Catcher in the Rye
Who are your top three writing influences?
JD Salinger, John Gardner, SE Hinton. Probably.
Who do you believe is breaking ground in YA right now?
Am I allowed to say Carolrhoda Lab? If I’m honest and immodest, that’s the answer.
What’s the best writing advice you ever received?
Butt-in-chair. It might be the ONLY good writing advice I’ve ever received.
What’s your best writing advice to give?
See above. Also: objective correlative
What is your writing routine?
When I come up with one, I’ll let you know.
What gets you jazzed to write?
Reading great writing
Do you have a writing soundtrack? Care to share a bit?
I have a different for every project. My current project is full of Bjork, Nick Drake, and Mastodon. Figure that one out.
What’s next for you?
Lunch. Oh, you mean a project. I’m working on another one that examines gender a little, and also love vs. envy, and online gaming.
Favorite ice cream?
Dark Chocolate Zin from Izzy’s in St. Paul!
Want a copy of Brooklyn, Burning? Fill out the form below, and I’ll pick a winner at the end of the month.
Guest Post: All Hallow’s Read: Creepy Stories You (Probably) Haven’t Read Yet
rock star author Neil Gaiman suggested via his blog that we should begin a
tradition of giving each other scary books for Hallowe’en (British spelling;
it’s cooler). Bookish nerds (like myself) rallied around him, and All Hallow’s
Read was born. If you weren’t aware of this development last fall, you can read
all about it (really not much more than “Hey, give each other books.”) right
here (http://www.allhallowsread.com/).
All Hallow’s Read book last year – a collection of short fiction edited by the
wonderful horror writer Peter Straub – to a friend with a fortuitous October
birthday, and I also spent some time talking here on this very blog about some
essential horror writing from the last two centuries. When I was asked by the
lovely ladies of STACKED to reprise my role as horror geek this October, I
started thinking about the books people might give (and get) to celebrate
Hallowe’en (again, cooler), and I realized that quite a few of them would be
the same book.
essential horror texts, of course. A good portion of the Stephen King canon,
the complete works of Poe (particularly if you get one of the cool black
leather, gilded editions like I have), Gaiman’s own creepy all ages story Coraline and a host of others that
lovers of scary stories have already devoured. But what about the others? What
about those books that you thought about picking up, but didn’t, or those books
written by the bestselling author that didn’t quite go the distance? What about
those stories that have been forgotten by all but the enthusiasts?
mind, here are a few of those stories that I’ve discovered during my life as a
horror reader. If you’re a lover of creepy tales, you might’ve read a few of
these, but if you’re a casual reader who just gets the urge for such a story
around this time of year, you’re very likely in for some new experiences.
Lovecraft praised it in his critical writing on supernatural literature, and no
less than Stephen King labeled it the finest horror story in the English
language. The Great God Pan is the
story of a scientist who performs a horrific surgery in the hope that his
patient can see a god and the terrifying results of the experiment that emerge
years later. Published in 1894, it remains an essential precursor to the
classic weird fiction of the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s, and even more than a century
later is still among the more disturbing horror tales I’ve ever read.
Barker has been noted more for his fantasy fiction, but he began as a horror
writer, perhaps the most effective of the 1980s, and it’s those early tales of his
that I still read with the most affection. Cabal
is a novella from the sixth volume of Barker’s Books of Blood anthologies. It was made into a critically panned
but still interesting film, Nightbreed,
by Barker himself, but it’s the story that sticks in my head. It’s the tale of
a man whose life just feels wrong until he stumbles upon a group of
otherworldly creatures living in a sprawling necropolis. Cabal is one of the great modern monster stories, endlessly weird
and ambitious, filled with the imaginative power of all of Barker’s more famous
stories, and the same visceral punch of each of his other horror writing.
Oates has won loads of awards for her fiction, but she probably never expected
to get one from the Horror Writers Association. Zombie won the HWA’s Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in
a Novel in 1995, and even though it’s hard to find these days, it remains
worthy of the distinction. Oates is no stranger to dark writing, but this is
easily her greatest confrontation with literal horror. Based on the life of
serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, it’s a first person account of one man’s desire
to create a human slave for himself, and the victims he dispatches in the
process.
of Kali by Dan Simmons
Harlan Ellison (who is known as much for his temper as his brilliant writing)
profusely praised this debut by Dan Simmons, who won the World Fantasy Award
for this novel and went on to win a host of other awards for later novels like Hyperion, Carrion Comfort and Drood. Song of Kali is the story of an American who travels to Calcutta and finds himself
embroiled in the horrific deeds of a cult worshipping the Hindu goddess Kali,
but in many ways the real star is Simmons’ layered and gorgeous writing.
didn’t consider himself a writer of horror. He called his work “strange
stories,” short fiction that was deeply evocative, dark and often
unclassifiable. There are Aickman stories that I have finished without even
really knowing what just happened, but I’m left with a feeling of glorious
doom, the kind of feeling that only a really good and creepy story can leave. Most
people don’t remember Aickman, but he’s experiencing a resurgence lately
(thanks in part to Neil Gaiman’s praise of his work). If you absolutely can’t
find any of his collections, do what I did and ask your local library for an
interlibrary loan.
Story by Peter Straub
horror novels of the 1970s, and Peter Straub has written a ton of really wonderful
work since, but I’m always surprised how many people either don’t know about it
or just haven’t taken the time for it. It’s the classic New England hamlet
plagued by evil setup, but rarely has that tale been told so elegantly or
eerily. Straub is one of the greatest living horror writers, and Ghost Story is one of the most effective
and haunting horror stories of the 20th century.
Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola
I can’t get through this without recommending at least one comic book, and Mike
Mignola’s Hellboy was the first that came to mind. Seed of Destruction is the first story starring Hellboy, the
working class demon birthed by dark magic in World War II who’s now working for
the U.S. government, just trying to make the world a better place. It’s not
exactly nightmare-inducing, but it’s a dark, often funny and infinitely
ambitious take on a classic horror subgenre: the monster story. I started
reading Seed of Destruction about a
year ago and have since read every Hellboy story Mignola and company have
produced. They’re that addictive.
for spooky stories. Read your favorites, discover some new ones, and give a few
to friends. Happy All Hallow’s Read.
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