Guest Post with Elizabeth Eckhart: Cooking With Books

Cooking with Literature

Great food and enticing literature are a draw to many for their leisure time. So, it’s no surprise that there is some great literature about food. Below, we’ve gone through six books (many adapted into movies in recent years) that discuss friendship, life, and the healing power of the kitchen.

Julie and Julia

Julie Powell is nearing 30 and in a dead end career. Trying to break the monotony of her every day life, Julie gives herself a challenge: cook every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. Testing both her perseverance and her husband's patience, Julie and Julia is truly a witty tale of one woman rediscovering herself through food. The film is a good rendition, made better by the excellent Meryl Streep starring as Julia Child.

The Hundred Foot Journey

Hassan Haji was an unlikely talent. Raised in his grandfather's restaurant in Mumbai, India, Hassan was born with cooking in his blood. When tragedy forces the Haji family to leave India, they try to recreate the world they knew in the world they've found. They open a small Indian restaurant in their new town of Lumière, France, introducing the locals to the recipes and spices of their native land. Unfortunately, this challenges Madame Mallory, the famous chef who runs the esteemed French relais across from their small restaurant. The hundred foot distance between the kitchens of the Hiji family and that of Madame Mallory seems to be an uncrossable expanse, until the bond of food and a blending of cultural tastes creates an unlikely friendship. The novel has just been recently adapted into film, and arrives in theaters August 8th, starring the incredible Helen Mirren as Madame Mallory.

 Chocolat

Vianne Roche and her daughter, Anouk, arrive in the French city of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes at the beginning of Lent. Vianne, a chocolate confectioner, bewitches the small town by opening a new chocolate shop, called La Céleste Praline. Unfortunately for Vianne, she finds herself at odds with the local parish. Not only is her shop directly across the street from the church, but the clergy takes exception to the decadence she represents during a holiday of fasting and self-denial. Roche, however, manages to spread chocolate and teach the joy of small indulgences despite the priest’s protests. The novel was adapted into a film starring Johnny Depp and Carrie-Anne Moss in 2000, and is now viewable online through Amazon or DirecTV (click here for more info).

 Eat, Pray, Love

This 2006 bestseller is a memoir that follows author Elizabeth Gilbert as she rediscovers herself following a difficult divorce. Determined to find herself again, Elizabeth spends a year after her divorce traveling. She journeys to Italy where she discovers the joys of good, homemade food and a forgiveness for her own waistline, to India where she investigates her spirituality and in Bali, where she finds love. In this novel food is largely equated with a zest for life, a notion that came across well but was somewhat lost in the film version. Viewers felt that the gaunt Julia Roberts declaring she had “gained a muffin top” wasn’t entirely accurate (the film is also available on Amazon).

 Starting From Scratch

Following the death of her mother, Olivia Tschetter's family expected her to return to graduate school along with her siblings. But the heartbroken youngest child found herself somewhere else, in her mother's kitchen, consoling herself among the cookbooks. Drowning her grief in their shared love of cooking, Olivia volunteers for a local Meals on Wheels, where, through others, she discovers a side of her mother she had not previously known. As her family dynamics shift, Olivia discovers her true self and her voice through cooking.

 Blood Bones and Butter

For every stage of her life, Gabrielle Hamilton has had a kitchen that has made an impact on her. In her childhood, it was the rural kitchen of her parents, with her mother standing over the stove, making her feel cared for and safe. As an adult, the kitchen of her Italian mother-in-law recreated that feeling. In between, kitchens in France, Greece and Turkey taught Gabrielle lessons about life, some easier and more nourishing than others. The result of lessons learned in these kitchens is Gabrielle's ability to run her own kitchen in the New York restaurant, Prune, where she has championed the art of wholesome cooking with a gourmet touch. Rumor has it that Gwyneth Paltrow will be starring in a film version sometime in the future.

 

Guest Post: Elizabeth Eckhart on Maleficent

I'm very happy to have Elizabeth Eckhart back with another guest post! This time she discusses the new Disney movie Maleficent!

Many people have grown up hearing the stories of the Grimm brothers, whether they’re aware of it or not. The German duo is infamous for their dark fairy tales preaching morality and punishing the wicked, however, many of those stories were slowly changed and reinterpreted over time into the much more child-friendly versions most of us are familiar with today. In fact, one of their most famous stories, Sleeping Beauty, is undergoing another reinterpretation in the new film Maleficent, which is hitting theaters this weekend. In honor of the film, let’s take a look at some of the other interpretations of famous Grimm stories.

Little Red Riding Hood

This European folk tale was originally published by French author Charles Perrault as Le Petit Chaperon Rouge (meaning little red cloak/cape) in 1697. His version was very moralized, so much so that he even finished the story with a warning to little girls to not listen to strangers. The Grimm version was undoubtedly influenced by Perrault's version, but the little girl and her grandmother are instead saved by a huntsman looking for the wolf's skin. They also wrote a sequel, where the townspeople trap and kill wolves based on their knowledge of the wolves’ moves from the first encounter. However, both versions were modified and watered down by the brothers in later publishings far before it became the well-known story it is today.

                Of course the story has been adapted even further by different authors and artists, the most recent of which is the 2011 film Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried. It’s also a featured plotline on the NBC television series Grimm which is based off of the brothers’ stories (both the series and film are streamable online or available on demand through your cable provider). In addition to adaptations on screen, there’s the extremely popular musical Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, which incorporates not only Little Red Riding Hood but also themes from other fairy tales as well. And, of course, there is Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran, which is said to have been inspired by the wolf in the story.

                The tale has even been transformed into YA lit, with titles such as Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright and the more gory, popular interpretation, Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce which follows a one-eyed werewolf slayer named Scarlet.

Snow White

                While Snow White’s modern popularity is obviously credited to Walt Disney thanks to his internationally known animated version of the fairy tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Grimm Brothers were telling this story long before Disney was. Their original publishing of this German folk tale was in 1812, and their version was largely copied by Disney for his film adaptation. In fact, it is the Disney fairy tale adaptation that remains most true to its original story.

                The numerous similarities between the two include an evil stepmother consumed by vanity, a magic mirror, seven dwarves, a huntsman, a poisoned apple, and a glass coffin. Like most Grimm fairy tales, the brothers’ tale included some elements that were excluded from later adaptations, including the fact that the Queen requested Snow White’s liver and lungs to eat, not her heart, the fact that the Queen tried twice to kill Snow White before giving her a poisoned apple (one of the times she disguised herself as a seamstress and pulled Snow White’s corset so tight she fainted), and finally that the evil Queen’s final punishment was to wear red hot iron shoes and dance until she died.

                The latest film adaptations of this classic story both came in 2012 when two films that built off Grimm’s story were released; Mirror, Mirror with Lily Collins and Julia Roberts follows the original for the most part, while taking a much more saccharine approach to it, while Snow White and the Huntsman starring Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron takes many liberties from the original story – such as the Raven Queen being able to transform into a flock of birds.

                The book version of Snow White and the Huntsman received poor reviews, but so far Maleficent’s novelization seems to be faring better. Other written renditions based on Snow White are Six Gun Snow White, where the heroine’s tale is transported to the Old West, and Snow White And Rose Red, which is a renaissance version by Patricia C. Wrede.

Rapunzel

                This is yet another example of a folk tale making its way around Europe and taking on new forms. The story of Rapunzel was first recorded in 1698 by French author Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force under the title Persinette. The Grimm brothers published their version, called Rapunzel, in 1812, which helped solidify it as a classic fairy tale.

                It took Disney a while to tackle this classic fairy tale; their version, Tangled, came out in 2010, and goes far more off plot compared to the original story than past Disney adaptations ever did. The stories both include the trademarks, like Mother Gothel, Rapunzel being trapped in a tower, and, of course, her long hair, but that’s more or less where the similarities between the two end.

                In the original, Rapunzel is sold by her parents in exchange for her father not being punished by Gothel (who is a witch) for stealing from her garden to feed his pregnant wife’s cravings. Eventually Rapunzel is courted by a stranger, but it’s a prince, not a thief like in Disney’s film. Also, in Grimm’s tale Rapunzel becomes pregnant, which is why Gothel then cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and banishes her to the woods. Gothel then tricks the prince to climb the tower again – he then jumps from the tower and is blinded by the thorns below. However, he eventually finds Rapunzel (with their twin children) and her tears cure his blindness.

                The most famous modern literary adaptation is Cindy C. Bennett’s Rapunzel Untangled and Alex Flinn’s more traditional The Towering.

Thanks Elizabeth for your commentary!

Guest Post: Elizabeth Eckhart on Dystopias

With the recent movie release of Divergent and the upcoming release of The Giver, dystopias are a hot topic right now. Elizabeth Eckhart is here to tell us what makes a dystopian novel great:

With dystopian fiction all the rage, and Divergent having just premiered on March 21st, one might be feeling the urge to dive into as many dystopian novels as possible. Or, you might even be considering writing one yourself, whether it be short story, script, or full-length novel. Like any other genre, dystopian fiction has a plethora of fantastic, average, and not-so-great works floating around. If you’re wondering what sets the entertaining apart from the simply silly, or preparing yourself to create a dystopian world of your own, perhaps looking through some qualifications below might clarify why some dystopians rock our world and others, unfortunately, fall a little flat.

Proper World Building: Dystopian settings are generally our world at a different stage of time (generally the future), although they don’t have to be. Even if they do, it’s better not to think of it as simply this civilization in a few years. The best dystopian fictions operate successfully as their own world, and benefit from not depending on writing the history as if it were Earth with a few tweaks. Readers notice when an author has failed to expand their world to its full potential. For example, Hunger Games was critiqued for showing nothing outside of Panem (was there another government on the planet? more people?) and failing to even enter all of the twelve districts the country is broken into, while Divergent depends a little too heavily on the concept that Tris’s world is a futuristic, decaying Chicago. The best fiction writers will write a deep, planned-out world, detailed down to its history, government creation, character’s roles within this society, and the general public opinion on all of these happenings.

Motivation: Much like fantasy, sci-fi, and similar works of fiction, the element of motive behind actions must still come into play.What these means is that despite the awesome setting of a dystopian novel, characters must act with recognizably human motivation and drive. This goes for individual actions as well as movements in the history and major plot of the novel as a whole. In the Hunger Games Katniss stays true to her character —even when her reluctance to lead can become frustrating— which results in a believable character whom we can depend on to act according to her personality. Tris, likewise, in Divergent, often puts her relationships on the line as she follows her gut and partakes in risky, sometimes unnecessary behavior. The characters must have their personalities, faults and all, and can’t be changed on a whim in order to please readers or forward the plot.

Go Easy on the Social Commentary: Some writers and readers expect all dystopian fiction to function as some sort of commentary on our current or possible future state of affairs, when in reality, this isn’t always true. Some people just enjoy reading or creating dystopian worlds as a form of escapism. However, if the intention is to provide commentary, a dystopian should do so through the plot of the novel - not through long-winded speeches by characters, or heavy-handed over-symbolism that leaves readers rolling their eyes. Subtly here really is the key, no reader wants to be hit over the head with an author's beliefs if they didn’t expect it coming in. If a writer feels like humanity is becoming too dependent on technology, the narrative should show this reliance through characters’ actions and the story as a whole, and refrain from having every problem in the book the fault of technology directly (it simply isn’t believable to blame technology for every single problem). Ender’s Game, which was also transformed for the big screen last year (more details here), does an excellent job of discussing the blurred moral lines that are often crossed in war -especially when technology reduces face to face interaction with an enemy to minimal, if at all. Instead of outright discussing this issue, we watch as Ender, by far the most talented young army commander in the world, struggles with his knack for killing, and the repercussions of his actions in war. It’s a more nuanced, subtle approach to taking on technology that leaves room for the reader’s interpretation.

At the end of the day, Divergent and Hunger Games both succeeded at implementing most, if not all of these tactics. Where the two books both tend to fall flat is their lack of world building, which can be a common trend with dystopian novels. Some dystopian novels that do flesh out their world, without weighing down the text, include Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, or The Giver by Lois Lowry (which is also arriving on film soon!). Given the fact that all three of them are now considered classics speaks to the importance of putting in the effort to create that world.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with us, Elizabeth!

 

The Forest's Heir Blog Tour: Guest Post with Ley Hayley

 

Publishing is hard. Traditional or self-publishing, whichever route you go, there’s a lot of work involved. And I had to do a lot of work to get The Forest’s Heir out there and published.

   

I tried the traditional route first. I went looking for an agent, sending out query letters and doing a thousand different things to get people interested in the novel. There were a few people who were interested in reading a little bit more of the book, but no one was interested enough to take it on as a project. So I decided to do it myself.

I thought self-publishing would be easy. Ha! Boy was I wrong!

 

Self-publishing is like another job. It’s like being a writer, editor, graphic designer, publisher, and publicist all at the same time. I’m lucky that I have an amazing sister who helps out with a lot of the graphic design stuff. She designed my website and takes care of most of it for me. There’s little I have to do there, but the rest of the stuff is all on me. I have to edit my novels, format them for publishing, and do all the other work all on my own.

I published my first novel through self-publishing in August of last year. The second will come out in June of this year the same way. The third will be released this fall through self-publishing as well.

 

That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to try to go the traditional route. I’m always sending out emails and queries to agents. But I’m not going to stop writing or publishing in the meantime. Maybe one day I’ll have my book in bookstores where there are five or six copies. Maybe one day I’ll be doing book signings across the country at the same time I’m doing blog tours. Who knows?

But I do know one thing. I wouldn’t change the way this has happened for the world. Because it has taught me a lot about myself and how dedicated I am to my writing. Everything that I have to do is time and energy consuming. But I love it. And that is why I do what I do. For the love of writing. The love of the written word. And the hope that my words will touch one reader, that they’ll mean something to one person out there somewhere. 

 

Thanks so much for visiting Ley! You can follow the rest of the blog tour at http://leyhayley.blogspot.com/

Guest Post: Tony Viardo, CEO of Astor+Blue Editions

I feel honored to post a guest article from the CEO of Astor+Blue Editions, a publishing company. The CEO, Tony Viardo, will be discussing e-books and digital publishing, and specifically how they affect the industry. The article is a very interesting read, so I encourage you to check it out! Also, Astor +Blue Editions has put its entire first season’s list of e-book titles on a holiday promotional sale for $0.99 or $1.99. The sale will continue through January 7, 2013. For more information, please visit http://astorandblue.com/catalog/ 

Digital Publishing: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas?

So how many articles have we read about E-books and Digital Publishing this year? For anyone who generally follows the book world (rabid booklover, book-blogger, industry pro or casual reader), we’re literally inundated with the amazing numbers—“E-book sales up 125% (again) over the 175% they were up from last year’s 225% increase!”—and equally amazing technological announcements—“Next Fall, the new ZimWittyZoomDitty tablet not only updates your Facebook and Goodreads friends whenever you snort in disgust … it cooks dinner for you at the same time!”

This leads many to take at least casual stock of what’s going on/going to happen to the “Publishing World” as we know it.  And if your friends are like my friends (hardcore print book consumers), that stock is usually pretty morbid (sharp Greenwich Village angst not included): “Print books are doomed, so are brick-and-mortar stores.  Goodbye literary quality. Oh and some pajama-wearing techie living in a basement with a laptop is going to be the new Sulzburger; we’ll all have to bow down!”

If you (or that good friend of yours) fall into the mortified category, my take (for what it’s worth) may come as positive news:  E-books are not, and will not be, the Grinch Who Stole Christmas; in this case, the “Print World’s” bacon. Now, as the owner of a “Digital First” publishing house (Astor + Blue Editions, www.astorandblue.com) my opinions may easily be written off as self-serving and invalid.  But bear with me for a minute… these are fact-based observations and I might just make sense (Someone tell my mom and dad).

 As someone who earns a living from publishing, I have to follow numbers and industry trends as closely as possible.  And while some see doom and gloom for Print, I see exciting developments for both Print and E-book formats.  What do the numbers show?  Digital book revenue is skyrocketing, print revenue is declining.  Natural conclusion?  E-books are killing print books. But not so fast.  Historically, Print revenue has always seemed to be declining (even before E-books were invented), but that doesn’t mean the book market is dying or shrinking.

We have to remember that in fact the book market is growing. Readership always grows because population always grows.  Every year, new readers enter the vast pool of the club that is “adult readership,” (despite Dancing with the Stars). And every year more readers are being born and theoretically being inspired by Ms. Crabtree’s elementary reading class.  **So why the decline?  Readership grows gradually, but the sheer number of books and book vendors grow exponentially, showing an investment loss almost every year. (Basic statistics: the widening universe makes it look like a shrinking pie when it isn’t).

So what does this mean?  If you look at the numbers (historically), revenue for print books may have declined, yes, but not more than “normal,” and not significantly more than it did when there were no E-books around. (This is arguable of course, but the long term numbers do not show a precipitous drop-off). The yearly revenue decline, if there is one, can just as easily be written off to economic conditions as to E-book competition.  Bottom line:  Any drop in print revenue that may be caused by E-books are not significantly sharp enough to declare that E-books are destroying print book sales.  (Hence no Grinch).

What may be happening, and what I believe is happening is that a whole new market for E-books is developing, while the print book market growth, like Publishing as a whole, is still growing at a historically gradual pace. (Boringly flat).  Come up with your pet anecdote here, but I believe that more new readers are entering the market (who otherwise wouldn’t have) because of E-readers; existing readers are consuming more books (both print and e-book) than they did before; and while it would seem that a certain print title is losing a sale whenever readers buy it in E-book format, this is offset, at least somewhat, by the fact that more print titles are being bought (that otherwise wouldn’t) because of the extra marketing buzz and added awareness produced by the E-book’s cyber presence.  All of it evens out in the end, and I believe, ultimately fosters growth industry-wide.

So take heart Print fans, E-books are not the dark villain you think they are.  And here, I should correct my earlier analogy—that E-books are not the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.  They may actually be the Grinch…in as much as, at the end of the story, the pear-shaped green guy ended up not only giving all the presents back to the singing Who-villers, he created a flash mob and started a big party as well.

Guest Blog: Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Ok, I know I've been bombarding everyone with guest blogs, but there have been a lot of 2012 debut releases recently! Today we have Lynda Mullaly Hunt, whose new MG book One for the Murphys, was released on May 10. Lynda will be discussing writing!

Aspiring Authors: Take an Aspirin and Call me in the Morning

First of all, aspiring authors. Let me tell you this. It’s no coincidence that the word, "aspiring" begins with the word, "aspirin." This journey merits plenty of it.

Most writers I know (including myself) have insecurities. What made the difference for me in going from writer to author was the ability to ignore those insecurities. Notice I didn’t say I cast them off; you can’t get rid of them completely. Nope. When the insecurity monster sat on my shoulder, whispering, “You’re never going to do this, you know.” I’d tell it to take a long walk of off a short pier. Got my revenge by writing more and better.

So, my advice? Work on craft.  Be open to less-than-stellar feedback; although hard to hear, some will be on target. However, also be confident in your own voice—you know what’s right and what isn’t. Believe in your book. Ignore “the odds.”

Work and rework your book. Foster your connections in the industry. Rework your book again. Build a support network for yourself.  Don’t give in to fear. Not in your dealings with industry professionals. And, more importantly, not on the page.

The first time I ever entered a “first pages” activity at an SCBWI event, I submitted some silly PB manuscript. It was read out loud and then there was the dreaded pause. Long enough that I celebrated a couple of birthdays. Until the most prominent editor said, “This is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard. Horrible. Some terrible throwback to the 70’s or something.”

Okay. So not what I’d hoped for, exactly. But, I did not despair. I sat back and thought about it, ultimately deciding to write novels. And you know what? I had to write a lousy one before I was able to write a good one. I gave myself the time to learn, and I didn’t submit until I knew the work was ready. Looking back on those “cheesy” stories, I was really just avoiding going deep, afraid to put emotion on the page.

Lastly, I know this is a tough one, folks, but try not to focus on wanting to be published. I think that when we focus on the contract and not on the work, we diminish our chances of that kind of success. Honestly, I never thought I’d get published. No, I really didn’t. Oddly enough, I think that’s why I ended up with a contract. Because I focused so much on the work. Writing to my strengths and revising to my weaknesses.

Believe me. I if can do this, so can you. I do ask you, though, to never take the power that faith in yourself has lightly. It’s just as important as talent or perseverance. I’ve been there—believe me. I know that sometimes it feels like wading through glue, but I’d like to help you on your journey. So take that aspirin I talked about, and call me in the morning.

Thank you so much for visiting, Lynda! Don't forget to check out her new book and her Twitter!

Guest Blog: Katherine Longshore

I have the pleasure of having Katherine Longshore on Simply Books. Katherine is the 2012 debut author of Gilt and today she will be discussing one of my favorite subjects, the Tudors!

Thank you, Megan, for having me on your blog!  It is always such a joy to connect with other people who love books, but more so when I find someone as obsessed with Tudor fiction as I am.

Why do we find the Tudors so fascinating in general?  And Henry VIII and his succession of ill-fated wives in particular?  I have my theories, and thanks to Megan, I have a place to share them:

The Tudors are opulent.  Dazzling.  Gorgeous.  All those rich fabrics – velvets and silks and brocades.  The sumptuous colors – crimson and midnight blue, gold and silver and deep purple.  The gowns with long, luxurious trains, sleeves of flowing silk, all decorated with gold braid, pearls and jewels.  Those doublets with cinched-in waists and broad shoulders.  And jewelry.  Coronets and rings, brooches, bracelets, necklaces and diamond collars.

The Tudors are sexy.  Even before Showtime gave us Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Henry Cavill, the historical period grabbed the collective prurient curiosity.  A King with six wives?  Half of whom he left/divorced/beheaded so he could marry the next one?  A royal court in which flirtation won popularity and acclaim and sexual innuendoes were tossed like golden coins to those not clever enough to think of them?  Men in tights!  And codpieces.  Let’s not forget codpieces.  The very quintessence of sexual suggestion.

The Tudors changed the world. They changed religion.  They changed political geography (Virginia, anyone?  Named after Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen).  They changed the very idea of marriage and relationships between men and women.  Whatever else we can say about him, Henry married for love more times than not.  This was virtually unheard of – previously, marriage in the sixteenth century was based entirely on political/economic alliance.  For commoners as well as kings.

The Tudors remind us of ourselves.  They were selfish, ambitious, ill-tempered and cruel.  They were generous, beautiful, diligent and thoughtful.  They loved music, theater, sports and games.  They enjoyed the out-of-doors.  They created heart-breaking poetry.  They spent a great deal of time at war.

But I think what has always fascinated me most about the Tudors is how they are viewed by history.  And I have always wondered, what if that isn’t true?

Historians describe Catherine Howard as a promiscuous, empty-headed flirt.  They use words like harebrained and frivolous, bubbly and silly.  I looked at contemporary accounts and saw a girl who wore a new dress every day, was showered in jewels by her husband, insisted on court parties and plays and (horror of horrors) had relationships before she married the king.  I didn’t see harebrained and silly.  I saw myself as a teenager.  I loved clothes and shoes.  I went to parties.  I fell in love more than once.

I asked myself what if Catherine Howard was a cunning, ambitious, sensual girl?  And then I asked: what if she was the Queen Bee before she became Queen?

And that is how GILT was born.

The opulence and the sexiness and the changing social mores and the similarities to the modern world just made it that much more fun to write.

Thank you so much for visiting, Katherine. I'm really looking forward to reading your new book. Don't forget to follow her on Twitter!

Guest Blog: Lynne Kelly

I have the pleasure of hosting Lynne Kelly on Simply Books today! She is the 2012 debut author of Chained, an MG novel released last week. Here she is to tell us about writing and editing.

On Santa frogs, creepy dolls, and questionable turkey recipes

I've come across some interesting things while packing up my house to get ready to move. In looking through conference notes, I saw this quote from Isaac Asimov:

"The reader will remember not the phrase, but the effect it has. If the phrase does not have an effect on the reader, change it or cut it."

I don't know what conference presenter relayed the quote to us, and I couldn't confirm that was the exact quote or find where Asimov said that, but that's what I scribbled down at the workshop, so let's just assume he did say something like that at some time.

'Cause I think it works really well with sorting through ten years' worth of stuff. Plus, deciding what to keep and what to throw out reminded me of editing.

By some miracle of physics, the entire contents of one closet filled up the living room. Not all of those things can be worth keeping.

What is this thing and why do I own it? It's-- a frog, I guess? Wearing a Santa hat for some reason. Maybe it's cute, but it doesn't elicit any warm feelings from me. There's nothing wrong with him, really. I love frogs. I love Santa. But the amphibious hat-wearer needs to go.

Maybe when you're revising a manuscript you'll find some phrases or scenes that are like the Santa frog: nice, but they don't serve any purpose. It might even be a favorite scene you've written. But does it advance the plot? Will it have an effect on the reader? If not, there's no reason for it to take up space. So, toss it out like 1997's tax receipts.

Some things worth saving have an effect on us, but not a pleasant one. Like these gals:

Yeah, I know. Lovely, right? Just the kind of thing a little girl would love to cuddle with before falling asleep at night. They live in a box in my closet. Yes, I do worry they will leap out and murder me in my sleep. But they're antique, and they were my grandmother's. So they will stay.

Some scenes are hard to write. I don't mean the writing part, although that's hard too, but I mean because they're unpleasant. Something bad happens to the characters we love. Maybe someone's broken his heart, or punched her in the face. Or your character has lost her home, or her family, his innocence, or everything he's ever loved. You've read books like that, too; anyone who's read Laurie Halse Anderson or Ellen Hopkins knows about scenes that are hard to get through. We identify with the characters and hate to see bad things happen to them, but that's part of their story. And we remember them. They have an effect on us.

On to my favorite kinds of things to find:

That first paper is one I post on the refrigerator every November. It was a "How To Cook a Turkey" assignment my daughter had in 2nd grade. Is it well-written? Sure, for an 8-year-old, I think it is. Is the recipe accurate? I wouldn't recommend using it unless you want to spend Thanksgiving in the emergency room with all your family members. And the turkey's missing a foot. But after ten years, I still laugh when I read the instruction, "Bake for 30 minutes at 104 degrees." We're keeping the turkey.

The yellow paper looks like something the daughter drew at age 2. I think it's a family portrait. Sure, our legs are attached to our heads, but she could write "Dad." No one has arms, but we have ears and knee caps.

When we look over a drafts of our manuscripts, we always find things that need to be rewritten. Maybe the words aren't exactly right, or the sentences are too wordy. There isn't enough detail, or there's too much. Or you're revising something you wrote last year, and you've grown as a writer since then, so you'd write it differently today. But the feeling is there. The scene has an effect on the reader. It isn't perfect, but it's worth keeping.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting a padlock for that box of dolls.

Thank you so much for visiting, Lynne! She included pictures with her post but I was unable to include them :( But please read her book and visit her twitter!

Guest Blog: Eve Marie Mont

I love having authors write guest blogs because I think it's a great way to get some insight into a writer's head. Today the lovely Eve Marie Mont, 2012 debut author of A Breath of Eyre (published March 27, 2012) talks about her inspiration for her new novel:

I fell in love with Edward Rochester in my junior year of high school after reading Jane Eyre, and I’ve never quite gotten over him. So much so, that I ended up writing my first YA novel about a girl who gets lost in the book, Jane Eyre. Literally. As in she gets struck by lightning and wakes up to find herself living in Thornfield Hall, working for a mysterious man named Mr. Rochester, and falling in love with the ultimate bad boy. Even though I’m very happily married to a man I would describe as the ultimate nice guy, I still love Rochester almost in spite of myself. Because let’s face it: he’s dark, arrogant, moody, and he’s made a few mistakes in his life that are seriously hard to overlook. Besides, I’m too old to fall for a Byronic hero, right? Who do I think I am, a swoony teenager trying to reform the flawed hero?

But ultimately that’s the allure of Edward Rochester. He’s bad, but he’s not beyond redemption. Every time I read those long passages between Jane and Edward and watch their relationship evolve from master-employee to star-crossed soul mates, I am swept up in the romance of it all over again. Despite his flaws, I find myself rooting for Rochester, hoping he’ll get his act together and praying that Jane will forgive him and give us all the happy ending we’re longing for.

Thanks for visiting Eve! Make sure to check out her blog!

Guest Blog: Mary Pauline Lowry

I am really excited to share with you a guest blog from author Mary Pauline Lowry. Her new book, The Earthquake Machine was released back in September.

"How I came up with the concept for THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE"

The summer I was 15 I climbed out my bedroom window in Austin, Texas and ran away from home. I left a note for my parents with a quote from John Irving’s novel THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE. The note said, “Life is serious, but art is fun!” I made it all the way to Matamoros, Mexico.

I knew even back then that I wanted to both immerse myself in great adventures and in literature. But sometimes I felt that being a girl held me back from being as daring as I wanted to be. First off, I felt like being female made many things more dangerous and risky. And most of the stories of great adventurers I read were about men and boys (ex. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Count of Monte Cristo, etc).

I decided to commit myself both to writing books with interesting female protagonists and to living life fully. At 21, I became a forest firefighter on an almost all male, elite Hotshot crew. I then wrote a novel about it called THE GODS OF FIRE. (The novel has not yet been released, but has been optioned for film. I wrote the screenplay and the film is in pre-production).

I then moved to Durango, Colorado and began to work as an apprentice carpenter. I kept thinking about my adolescent fascination with running away and my wild trip across the Mexican border when I was only 15. And so finally I began to write THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE about an American girl who runs away to Mexico and “passes” as a Mexican boy while she searches for her one true friend, who has been deported to the state of Oaxaca.

Thank you Mary for visiting Simply Books! If you would like more information, just scroll down for a book synopsis and author bio.

Book synopsis:

The Earthquake Machine

The book every girl should read,
and every girl’s parents hope she’ll never read.

The Earthquake Machine tells the story of 14 year-old Rhonda. On the outside, everything looks perfect in Rhonda’s world, but at home Rhonda has to deal with a manipulative father who keeps her mentally ill mother hooked on pharmaceuticals. The only reliable person in Rhonda’s life is her family’s Mexican yardman, Jesús. But when the INS deports Jesús back to his home state of Oaxaca, Rhonda is left alone with her increasingly painful family situation.

Determined to find her friend Jésus, Rhonda seizes an opportunity to run away during a camping trip with friends to Big Bend National Park. She swims to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and makes her way to the border town of Milagros, Mexico. There a peyote- addled bartender convinces her she won’t be safe traveling alone into the country’s interior. So with the bartender’s help, Rhonda cuts her hair and assumes the identity of a Mexican boy named Angel. She then sets off on a burro across the desert to look for Jesús. Thus begins a wild adventure that fulfills the longing of readers eager for a brave and brazen female protagonist.

Author bio:

Mary Pauline Lowry has worked as a forest firefighter, screenwriter, open water lifeguard, construction worker, and advocate in the movement to end violence against women. Due to no fault of her sweet parents, at 15 she ran away from home and made it all the way to Matamoros, Mexico. She believes girls should make art, have adventures, and read books that show them the way.

Guest Post: Megan Bostic

I'm really excited to share with you a guest post by debut author Megan Bostic. Her first novel, Never Eighteen, was just released today, which is very exciting. Here she explains where she finds inspiration:

My muse has a split personality, sometimes making her hard with which to keep up. (Except for those moments she takes an extended smoke break and I have to go outside and around the corner of the house with arms crossed over my chest, huffing and glaring at her to get back in the house so I can get some writing done.)

I draw inspiration from many places, nature, my own life experience, and many times, my muse comes to me in the form of music. When I wrote Never Eighteen, I was listening to a lot of indie (not when I wrote, I have to have complete silence when I write, as my multi-tasking abilities suck). In fact, originally I had song lyrics at the beginning of each section of my novel. Death Cab, Badly Drawn Boy, Tiger Army, The Airborne Toxic Event started the four sections of my book. I also had more Death Cab lyrics in the novel, as well as the song Weighty Ghost by Wintersleep. Unfortunately, unless you're a big famous author like Stephenie Meyer or have music connections, it's near impossible to get permissions to use lyrics in your novel. Unfortunately, I had to cut them.

I love evocative music for writing. So much of what I listen to when I need inspiration is indie. Songs that make you think, songs that make you cry, songs that break your heart. This is because I truly believe I’m a better writer when my emotions are raging to the point that I'm almost in tears. I know this sounds completely and utterly insane, but it's true. In fact, I actually write certain scenes with a soundtrack. For instance, there was this scene in my Superhero novel, when the protagonist and the love interest kiss for the first time, and all I could think of was Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

I bring up this topic because I decided my protagonist in my current work in progress needed to be a songwriter and musician, and thus, I had to write a song for my novel. This isn't new to me. Back in my teens and early twenties, I used to write angsty rock songs in a spiral notebook. I have a feeling that poetry and music are going to be an ongoing theme in every novel I write, if not in the novel, than an inspiration to write.

I guess what I'm saying, is music is a big part of my life and always has been. It's a constant source of inspiration for me when I hit a brick wall while writing.

What inspires you? What gets you past those difficult moments, whether it be while writing, or just life in general? In what form does your muse manifest itself to you?

Thanks for visiting, Megan. And I must say that I love Death Cab for Cutie and The Airborne Toxic Event as well!

Guest Post: Caroline Starr Rose

I am very happy to welcome Caroline Starr Rose to Simply Books today! She is the debut author of May B., which is released today! Please check out her book and guest post below.

Marketing Plan: A Post For Aspiring Authors

I picked up a copy of Jacqueline Deval’s PUBLICIZE YOUR BOOK! while my novel was on submission. Deval’s book ended up being exactly what I needed at the time: an intentional way to think through my book. I spent a few days applying Deval’s suggestions to my novel, and once the book sold, I had a framework for the all-important Author Questionnaire, a key document used to market books.

With Jacqueline Deval’s permission, I’ve created an overview of a marketing plan.

"A marketing plan tells the publishing staff what's interesting, unusual, and special about you and your book and how you think the book can be promoted."

There is no one way to write a marketing plan. Here are some things Deval suggests you include:

- Target Audience: Remember to think beyond your initial audience (the reader typical to your genre). Brainstorm a list to broaden your thinking about those who might find your book appealing.

- Positioning Statement (or Pitch): “The positioning statement is one or two appealing sentences that make the listener highly curious about the book…[It]will become the basis of how everyone in your publishing house can talk about the book…Why should we care about the book? The positioning statement answers this question.”

- The Background Story: “A short background piece – a couple of paragraphs to a couple of pages long – about how and why you wrote the book.” This can include your publication journey, “any unusual events in the research and writing of the book or specific influences on your work.”

This is the story of your story. It’s a chance for publicists (and hopefully readers!) to talk about your book.

The Marketing Strategy and Campaign: “The marketing plan addresses how you or your publisher will reach your readership, and will probably require the most time and thought and continual refinement on your part. This section is really the heart of your campaign – the blueprint for how you will reach your target audience.”

Here’s a list of some of the things Deval suggests “to stimulate the marketing side of your brain”:

• “Can your book tie in with a local or national event?”

• Does your book have “a strong spiritual or social message” that might interest religious or community groups?

• If you have a niche readership, “what media vehicles reach that readership?”

• “Can you team up with other writers in your genre?”

• Does your book tie in to a holiday or anniversary? (For example, last year was the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. I remember several wonderful picture book and mid-grade titles released to correspond with President’s Day.)

• “Does your book tie into current social trends and concerns?”

“Can you host a fund-raiser or other charity event” that connects to your topic?

Sales Handles and Media Angles: “Sales handles are the specific facts that prove the book’s appeal to its market and why the book will do well.”

“Sales convey what’s new and different about your book – your authority as the writer, the marketplace for your book’s topic, its advantages over the competition, and its marketability.”

Books That Compete or Compare With Yours (Comp Titles): “What books are similar to yours, in terms of shared audience or similar literary quality or subject matter?...Comparative titles…help your publicist frame a pitch for the book.”

Your in-house publicist might want to take your book on a different route than what you've planned. Maybe the only thing to come out of your marketing plan will be a way to answer the questions: "You're an author? So what do you write?"

Whatever happens, the process is a wonderful way to re-learn your story, your audience, and your book's appeal.

Thank you Caroline for visiting!

Changemakers for Children in Partnership with UNICEF

A few days ago I got an email about a live broadcast with Tatiana Grossman, the founder of Spread the Words, which campaigns for literacy in Africa. If you're interested in this great event, check out the link at the bottom of the this guest post:

"Children are the future of tomorrow. They are the next generation of leaders bringing joy and innovative design to the world. However, not all children are fortunate enough to achieve their dreams or live their lives. In Africa, there are nearly 75% of children who could not read or have access to books. These are impoverished children who lack the means of a proper education. But, we’re here to change that.

The World of Children Award is the only global funding nonprofit that recognizes individuals who are committed to improving the lives of children worldwide. Who are these individuals? They are humanitarians – people with compassion, motivation, and perseverance to take charge of making a difference in society. We are dedicated to finding heroes who are doing extraordinary work for children, and we share their amazing stories and programs with the media and others who are part of the global community working for the rights of children everywhere.

On November 1st at 5:30pm - 6:30pm, EST on Fora.tv - LIVE from UNICEF, the World of Children Award will broadcast “Changemakers for Children in partnership with the US Fund for UNICEF,” a live stream featuring social changemakers who are working to benefit children, including Tatiana Grossman, who founded Spread the Words, an organization dedicated to increasing early literacy in Africa.

Tatiana Grossman will be attending live and will be answering questions about her work. She recently also conducted an interview with CNN. Tatiana transforms the lives of children by collecting thousands of books through a solo book drive that now serve 62 schools and villages in Botswana and Lesotho. To this date, she has created libraries in 115 African Villages and primary schools for the first time. This year, Tatiana is prototyping digital projects and gathering free digital textbooks and content to equip classrooms in Africa.

Please take your time and watch the broadcast here: http://fora.tv/live/word_of_children/changemakers_for_children Learn more about how these individuals are committed to creating social change and how you can make a difference. If you have any questions, our changemakers will be available to answer them via live chat."

Thank you!

Guest Post: Anthony Garcia on Why Writers Write

I feel so lucky to have a guest post to share with you guys! I'm glad I have something different for Simply Books because I feel like a lot of the content is the same. Writer Anthony Garcia offered to discuss why writers write which I think will apply to a lot of people. Enjoy!

Why do Writers Write?


Professional and amateur writers alike will likely one day be asked the big question: Why do you write? What compels you to put pen to paper -- or, more likely, fill up that empty white page on your computer -- to create stories, poems or journal entries? This question is good to consider, if you are taking English classes in an online graduate program, giving answers in a job interview, or if you are just writing for fun in your journal. Thinking of why writers write can be an especially good reflective writing exercise, as odd as it may sound. In answering this question, you may be surprised by the answers that come up.

What motivates writers has been examined by quite a few people. It's a question that vexes most writers and non-writers. Ask both the famous and the unknown scribes, and many will hesitate. Many don't know why they write; for some it seems to almost be a compulsion, for others, it becomes a dedicated meditation.

As it turns out, though, there are plenty of good reasons to write. For example, writing is a form of stress relief for many people. The stress relief theory supports the idea that people will be better equipped to deal with the challenges and burdens of everyday life if they write about them, because it allows for them to process and consider action steps.

Of course, stress-relief is far from the only valid reason to write. Just ask columnist Mark Coker. While writing for the Huffington Post, Coker turned to his fellow writers for answers, using Twitter to ask these scribes what it is that compels them to write. Some of the answers were simple. One writer tweeted back that she writes because she can't paint. Some were more philosophical. One writer responded that he writes because he believes that it is the best gift that he can give back to the world. Writing is a skill that he holds. It would be selfish, he said, to hold back that skill from the rest of the world.

Others responded that when they don't write, it actually hurts them. Another said that writing is a way to make sense of an often confounding world. Another had perhaps the most satisfying answer of all: He tweeted that he writes because it's what he loves to do. It brings him joy.

This last answer is an important one. And it's the one that Stanley Fish, writing for the New York Times, turned to when he tackled this same question. In his column, Fish writes about listening to a writer being interviewed on the radio. At one point, callers asked whether the writer turned to creating novels and stories as a way to deal with the death of his brother at a young age. The writer said, " him.
The writer explained that he wrote simply because he enjoyed the art of turning words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into compelling stories. There was no greater reason for his love of writing than that.

Fish, in his column, appreciated that answer. Why does anyone do anything? Why does a professional baseball player hit home runs? Because he's good at it and he enjoys watching the ball sail into the seats. Why does a painter spend hours painting landscapes and sunsets? It's something that she enjoys. Why does the sculptor sculpt, the lawyer argue in a courtroom and the long-distance runner pound the pavement every morning? You get the idea.

Fish and the others remind us that we often look for bigger reasons for why creative people turn to their craft. For example, in his column for the Huffington Post, Coker discusses the mixture of chemicals that occur in the brain when people are working at their creative peak. But he admits that this reason for writing -- it's for the high that it brings -- isn't quite as satisfying as saying writers write because they're passionate about the art of crafting spellbinding sentences.

If you enjoy writing and it brings you joy, don't worry too much about the reasons behind your motivations for writing. Just write. Each person writes for personal reasons, but if it makes you happy, it's legal, and it could be good for you, what more can you want from a passion?

Anthony Garcia recently completed his graduate education in English Literature. A New Mexico native, he currently resides and writes in Seattle, Washington. He writes primarily about education, travel, literature, and American culture.

Guest Blog & Contest: J.R. Turner

Hello, Everyone!

I am really excited to be part of J.R. Turner's blog tour and I have a guest post written by her to share with you today. J.R. Turner is the author of DFF: Dead Friends Forever, School's Out 4-Ever, and Detour 2 Death, all part of the Extreme Hauntings series.

Guest Post:

Hey y’all! Thank you, Megan for hosting me, today. I’m thrilled to share with your readers a bit about the Extreme Hauntings series.

Years ago, my publisher asked me to write a YA series for their Quake imprint. I agreed, but tentatively. As with any book I choose to write, I need to be passionate about the story and the characters. Up until this point, all my novels were high on action and gun play, so I worried how I might handle this with a younger heroine.

For many months, I explored one idea after another and nothing seemed to really take. One of my favorite television shows is Supernatural and as I was watching it one evening, it occurred to me I didn’t have to arm my heroine with a gun—I could arm her with a supernatural ability. This got me thinking about what I miss as a reader. Great ghost stories are far and few between. Finally, I found my passion and DFF: Dead Friends Forever, became the first book in the Extreme Hauntings series.

DFF introduces Kaylee, a jock girl who loves to skateboard and wants to live a normal life. Once she enters a haunted house, her life drastically changes. By the second book, she’s been convicted of grave robbing and arson and sent to Barclay Hall, a reformatory for girls. In School’s Out 4-Ever, we learn a lot more about her powers, the way her feelings for her neighbor and best friend Davey are changing, and her relationship with the archangel Raphael.

In Detour 2 Death, Kaylee has run away to see Davey, who has fallen into a coma in the hospital. For the first two books, he’s been confined to a wheelchair. Now that she knows one of her gifts is the ability to heal, she wants to get to him before he dies. I loved the way this story came together. I’ve been looking forward to writing this book since I first created the outline for the series. Kaylee gets to visit the dark side of the hospital and enter Davey’s coma, giving me a chance to play with paranormal settings.

After my editor read this book, she told me she was firmly on Team Raphael. Others may end up on Team Davey. I’m looking forward to building on this love triangle as the series continues. Kaylee is in for a great many surprises as we move forward!

Thank you again for hosting me, Megan! I’m excited to picking three winners from the comments today. One will win a copy of DFF: Dead Friends Forever and a book thong. Two others will win a book thong in their favorite color!

About the Author:
J.R. Turner is a huge fan of all things fun and thrilling. She gets a kick out of surprising her kids and loves to tell goofy jokes—that aren’t always funny. She lives in Wisconsin, a state known for cheese, bratwurst, and beer—and 1001 recipes for Cheesy Bratwurst Beer Soup. Between writing books, enjoying the outdoors, cooking exotic recipes like Kitty Litter Cake, and trying her hand at all types of arts and crafts, her life is one adventure after another. Visit http://www.jennifer-turner.com to learn more!

Contest:

If you would like to win a copy of J.R. Turner's book DFF: Dead Friends Forever or a book thong, please leave a comment and I will pick the winners on Saturday, February 12!

Guest Post: Sean McCartney on His New Book

I am very excited to have author Sean McCartney on Simply Books to do a guest blog. His newest book, The Treasure Hunters Club: Secrets of the Magical Medallions, is going to be released tomorrow, July 6, 2010.

First off I would like to thank Megan for allowing me to talk with all of you. This is my first blog so it is quite exciting for me.

My name is Sean McCartney and I’m currently on a blog tour to promote my new young adult action adventure novel entitled THE TREASURE HUNTERS CLUB: SECRETS OF THE MAGICAL MEDALLIONS. It’s being released on July 6th, 2010 from Mountainland Publishing.

The story is about Tommy Reed and his treasure hunting friends Shannon McDougal, Jackson Miller and Chris Henderson. One day Tommy receives a rather ordinary looking medallion from his very famous treasure-hunting uncle “Diamond” Jack Reed and finds himself the object of an evil treasure collector named Manuel de la Ernesto. Now Tommy and his friends must find the secret behind the medallion before Manuel can get to them and the medallion.

When I set out to write The Treasure Hunters Club: Secrets of the Magical Medallions I wanted to pull together all the things from books and movies that I liked. The mystery of the Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown, the adventure of Percy Jackson, a little magic from Harry Potter and the action and history of the movies Indiana Jones and national treasure.

Though this is the first book in the Treasure Hunters Club series, with your help to make it a success, the next books will follow. I have planned six treasure hunting books as they follow the club through the 8th grade and into high school. Of course, as they get older their treasure hunts get more dangerous and more exciting.

I have been asked why I created a series around treasure hunting. The truth is I believe treasure hunting is something everyone can do. You don’t need super powers just a desire to do research and find where to look. Also treasure hunting touches on the sidebars of history, the stuff not in the textbooks. That is usually the most interesting and provides a solid building block for the series.

My goal has always been to be published and have a series that kids can enjoy and have a lot of fun reading. I was lucky to find a publisher who believes in the series as much as I do. What I was surprised to find out was how much the publishing world has changed since I started this journey toward “being published.” The emergence of ebooks has shaken the publishing world like never before and I believe we have only scratched the surface of what this new technology can do to help promote reading.

In the meantime, I hope you take a moment to check out my website www.treasurehuntersclubbook.com and learn more about the series and read some short stories about the characters.

Thank you again for this opportunity and allowing me to be here and I hope you enjoy the book and the series.

Thanks,
Sean

Click here to view the book trailer. Thanks again, Sean!