According to my Instagram, these nine photos sum up my 2019:
I see a lot of books (launching The Disaster Days and receiving an honor for The Last Grand Adventure), writing (I took my 2020 release from blank page to revised, final manuscript in 11 months!), and one throwback to my very delicious wedding cake from several years ago. Cakes and books: that seems like the best of a year to me!
Hope you had a happy year, with plenty of opportunities for joy, creativity, and growth.
It’s the last Wednesday of March, so it’s time for one more Women’s History post!
[One of my favorite things about writing historical fiction is getting to explore the lives of real, and sometimes famous, women—like Alice Roosevelt. When Audrey Met Alice allowed me to spend a lot of time researching the women who have made 1600 Pennsylvania a home in addition to a historic site. (Check out the Resources page of my website for more information on my research, along with a Women’s History Month lesson plan!) But this month, I wanted to devote some words to other female historical figures I find inspiring. Each Wednesday this March, I’m sharing a short post about a fascinating woman in honor of Women’s History Month. I’d love to hear which women interest and inspire you–please tell me in the comments! I’ll (randomly) choose one commenter on each post to win a preorder of the new When Audrey Met Alice paperback. Tweet about the women who inspire you with the hashtag #WomensHistWednesday for an extra entry.]
Last week, I wrote about Nellie Bly. Giora won a WAMA preorder with a comment about Eleanore Marx.
Inspiring me today is: Jackie Mitchell
Jackie with Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth (Source: LOC)
Do you know who struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig during one exhibition game in 1931? A seventeen-year-old girl named Jackie Mitchell. She was playing for the Chattanooga Lookouts, a minor-league team that offered her a contract after seeing her pitch for a local women’s team. There is plenty of controversy about her striking out two of the greatest players in history—some think it may have been a publicity stunt. Regardless, it’s amazing to think of a teen girl pitcher leading to Babe Ruth being pulled off the field in a hissy fit. The baseball commissioner canceled her contract shortly after, saying that the sport was “too strenuous” for women, but Jackie continued playing ball until 1937. Women were officially banned from signing baseball contracts in 1952.
I loved Jackie’s story so much that I wrote about it for two Scholastic classroom magazines: “Thatagirl!” in the November 2014 issue of Storyworks and “Girls Can’t Play” in the January 2015 issue of Scope.
Learn more about Jackie:
The Woman Who (Maybe) Struck Out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig: a Smithsonian video
Exploratorium’s Science of Baseball: Jackie Mitchell
Historical Women Who Rocked: Jackie Mitchell
The Jackie Mitchell Story: a documentary video
Which women inspire you?
And thanks for helping me celebrate women making history!
First things first: I survived my move, and so did all of my books! Phew. Now if only I could find where I packed my shoes and my chargers in this mess . . .
Anyway, I’m excited that today is the inaugural MG Monday post for mad for Middle Grade, a group of OneFour Kid Lit-ters. On the first Monday of every month, we’re going to be blogging about all things middle grade. Today, we’re introducing ourselves by sharing our favorite MG characters. You probably won’t be surprised about mine, since I’ve posted about the book seventy-billion times before. Go here for the post:
Mad for Middle Grade: It’s All About Character!
How was your weekend?
Thanks to Katy Upperman for tagging me. I loved reading about her fabulous WIP, Cross My Heart. Here are some answers about my upper-MG WIP:
What is the working title of your book?
When Audrey Met Alice
Where did the idea come from?
It’s kind of a long story. I knew a little about Alice Roosevelt from my dad, who has always been a huge Teddy Roosevelt fan. I have always been fascinated by the lives of first daughters, and I suppose that interest was re-sparked when the Obamas moved into the White House.
But the specific idea for a book about a first daughter who “meets” Alice Roosevelt came to me while I was walking home from work one day. That’s not very special, but I later found out that I was walking past a home where Alice once lived, as a young person, right at the time that this concept popped into my head. Which is a little spooky.
What genre does your book fall under?
A blend of contemporary and historical fiction
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
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| Alice Lee Roosevelt (from Wikipedia.org) |
I am a huge Mad Men fan, and one of my favorite characters is Sally Draper. I would love to see the very talented Kiernan Shipka as Audrey. As for Alice, I’m not sure. Any suggestions?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Lonely first daughter finds Alice Roosevelt’s long-lost diary, and shenanigans ensue.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I am so fortunate to be represented by the amazing Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Hmm, I got the idea in summer 2010, and I had a finished first draft by the end of that year. I wasn’t working on it continuously, though: there were some distracting life events (e.g., a move) and some revisions on a previous manuscript that pulled me away at times. So I’d say about five months. But that was a first draft of two completely separate narratives, which I had to try to weave together.
What other books would you compare this story to?
In some ways, the structure is similar to Revolution, which I read long after the first draft. But my manuscript is upper middle grade, so the subject matter is a little lighter. Promise the Night, an MG about famous female aviator Beryl Markham, is also kind of similar. I like to think that both Audrey and Alice have strong voices, and there is a lot of humor in the stories they tell. So I might compare it to some of my favorite voice-driven books.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Alice Roosevelt, of course. She was a scandalous White House wild child at a time when girls had a lot of social constraints. Also, there was a photograph of Sasha Obama on a beach that I found really poignant–she’s in her swimsuit, playing in the sand. But you can see behind her a horde of people gawking at her and taking pictures. First kids are afforded some incredible opportunities and experiences, but I imagine they also lose a lot of privacy, freedom, and normalcy. I wanted to explore that situation.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
There is a very cute boy. And lots of descriptions of food.
Have you shared about your WIP? If you’d like to, consider yourself tagged for the Next Big Thing!