Author of award-winning, adventurous realistic and historical fiction

summertime

End-of-Summer Adventures

Sep 10, 2016 | , , , , , , ,

Today it doesn’t feel like summer is over–it’s sunny, 87 degrees, and super humid. (Although, if you go by the calendar, we do have a couple of weeks left of the season.) But some of the leaves are starting to crisp, and kids and teachers are back in school. Believe it or not, even as a slightly fanatical summer-lover I’m glad. Fall is the time for fresh starts, and I’m ready to tackle The Last Grand Adventure edits with fresh eyes. I have a nightstand full of books to help me research a new project, too.

But I will miss my favorite time of year, especially:

Outdoor movies! I saw INSIDE OUT in the park, and it was delightful.

Outdoor movies! I saw INSIDE OUT in the park, and it was delightful.

Fire Island sunsets. The hazier and moodier, the better.

Fire Island sunsets. The hazier and moodier, the better.

Lake life in my hometown, Madison, WI.

Lake life in my hometown, Madison, WI.

In the middle of all my summer adventures, I managed to read eighteen books. I love summer reading–I try to make it all about discovery and pleasure, making sure that the books I pick from May-September I pulled from the shelf purely because of fun and curiosity. That makes reading a vacation itself. I look forward to this kind of reading all year–in fact, I’ve already started my book list for next year.

What adventures did you have this summer, on and off the page?

My Summer Island

Jul 24, 2016 | , , , , , , , ,

The earliest drafts of Summer of Lost and Found had the book start with Nell anticipating summer fun on a New York barrier island–but those Fire Island sections were cut because “killing your darlings” is a task us authors really have to do. Can you blame me for wanting to sneak a few darlings about my favorite summer place into the book, though? Fire Island is just an hour and change from Manhattan, but a world away. No cars, no chain stores, no tall buildings: just a necklace of friendly communities strung along miles of white sand. I was lucky enough to spend some time on the island earlier this month.

Fire Island architecture

Fire Island architecture

Welcome to the Atlantic

Welcome to the Atlantic

The iconic lighthouse

The iconic lighthouse

Stunning sunset

Stunning sunset

All winter I dream about being back on the beach, where I can dig my toes in the sand while digging into a good book.

What’s your favorite place to read when the days are long and hot?

 

Summertime

Jul 5, 2016 | , , , , , , , ,

Summer of Lost and Found is out in the world, so I’ve started catching up on some of my favorite summer activities. Like chasing the ice cream truck. They’re not hard to chase in NYC because Mister Softee is ubiquitous, but an old-fashioned Good Humor truck is harder to find.

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And sneaking out to the country, where I can read and write in a backyard cottage. Tiny house = big word count. Who knew?

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In other news, I signed the contracts for The Last Grand Adventure; hooray! I’m excited to dig into this story.

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Coming up in July: I have two bookstore panels scheduled. On July 21, I’ll be in Arlington, VA, at One More Page with author friends Tara Dairman and Jen Swann Downey. Then on July 28, I’ll be in Larchmont, NY, at The Voracious Reader with a bunch of fantastic MG authors: Tara Dairman, Laura Marx Fitzgerald, Lauren Magaziner, and Michelle Schusterman. Check out my Events page for updated info.

Happy summer!

 

 

SUMMER is here!

May 24, 2016 | , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

SUMMER_map_StickerFINALSummer of Lost and Found is on shelves today! Hip hip hooray!

I hope readers will have as much fun discovering the past and present Roanoke Island as I did while writing it. Thanks to everyone who helped get this book into the world, especially: my agent, Suzie Townsend, and her assistant Sara Stricker; and my editor, Alyson Heller, publicist, Faye Bi, and the whole team at Aladdin.

If you’d like a signed copy of Summer and you can’t make one of my events, you can order one from Books of Wonder–or send me an email, and I’ll pop a personalized bookplate for you in the mail.

If you’d like to read a little more about the book and my experiences writing it, here are some interviews, reviews, and guest posts to check out:

A conversation with author Caroline Starr Rose

An interview with author Nikki Loftin

An interview in the InkSplat newsletter

A review from Bookshelf Fantasies

A review from Word Spelunking

Interview with YA Reads

Interview with Pop! Goes the Reader

And last but not least–it’s time to announce the winner of the pre-order giveaway! Annette Burns won the beautiful bag of blurber books and school/library donation. Thanks to all who entered.

Happy Reading!

 

 

A Visit to Alice’s House

Sep 23, 2015 | , , , , , , , , ,

On a warm, nearly cloudless day last week, I took a trip out to Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in Oyster Bay, NY. It wasn’t my first time there–I visited in September 2012, shortly after I found out that When Audrey Met Alice was going to become a book. But during that visit, only the grounds of the Roosevelt family’s sprawling estate were open to the public. The inside–the 23 rooms in which the Roosevelts (and their “zoo” of pets) dined, read, learned, and played–was shuttered and empty. Now, after a three-and-a-half-year and multimillion-dollar renovation, people can walk through the house again. I had to go see it!

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I don’t have any pictures from the tour inside the house–to protect the priceless artifacts, no photography is allowed. So I’ll have to tell, not show, how exciting it was to see Alice’s bedroom view, the 8,000 books in the library she begged to be “let loose” in, and the dining table at which she had to ask each guest three prepared questions. I loved hearing details of family life at Sagamore Hill from the knowledgeable and friendly ranger leading the tour–like that Alice refused to share a bedroom with any of her siblings, but did let her privacy-seeking brother sublet her closet.

Vintage postcard of Alice's bedroom at Sagamore Hill

Vintage postcard of Alice’s bedroom at Sagamore Hill

At Sagamore there’s also a museum in the Old Orchard building (where Alice’s brother Ted lived). I took this photo of a “picture letter” that Roosevelt wrote his daughter Ethel while he was away. His sketches are so charming, and I love the thought of the president sitting down to create them when he couldn’t make his 4:00 appointment to play with his kids.

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 If you want to visit the house: visit the Sagamore Hill NHS site for more information!

SUMMER, Fun

Jul 31, 2015 | , , , , , , , , , , ,

In my mind, summer is full of lazy days and long nights, salt breeze and shooting stars, fireflies and fireworks. It’s a time for reading in the sunshine, ideally with an ice-cream cone or a Popsicle dripping down one’s hand but not onto the book. Basically, the season of fun and relaxation in a perfect balance.

In reality, it’s also full of busyness. Family visits! Weekend getaways! All while diving back into a story for a deep revision. Which makes it no less enjoyable–perhaps the rewards of summer are even sweeter if you’re working hard, too.

Last week I turned in Summer of Lost and Found, after an intense month of revision. I’m so excited for this story! Here’s how I’ve been rewarding myself for finishing my work:

Reservoir runs

Reservoir runs

Movies on the Hudson

Movies on the Hudson

Sunsets on the sound

Sunsets on the sound

Frozen in the park

Frozen in the park

2 quarts of cherries, pitted (yes, I consider this a reward!)

2 quarts of cherries, pitted (yes, I consider this a reward!)

How have you been celebrating this season?

Fall Refresh

Sep 9, 2014 | , , , , , , , , , ,

Summer passed in the blink of an eye, right? I’m sad to see the season of outdoor movies, beach days, and ice cream go. But I’m also excited about fall. Even though spring is the season of growth, I feel like fall is when I make a lot of my progress. Maybe it’s the nudge from all those “back to school” ads. But here are some of the things making me feel reinvigorated right now:

–Back to Kid Lit: In August, I didn’t read any kid lit. It was a month for beach reads and grown-up books, and I loved diving into some literary fiction. After reading so many fabulous ARCs and new releases so far in 2014—along with filling some of the gaps in my backlist reading—I needed a chance to read out of the MG/YA categories. Since September started, though, I’ve already read great MG books by two panelmates, K. A. Holt (Brains for Lunch) and Jennifer Ziegler (Revenge of the Flower Girls). I’m loving The Scar Boys by fellow Egmont author Len Vlahos right now. And next on my list: an ARC of Kristin Levine’s historical MG The Paper Cowboy.

–Back to work: Summer hours are over, and while I loved them, it’s a lot easier to fit writing in my weekday schedule now. And get to bed on time-ish!

–Back in the kitchen: Can I use the heat as an excuse for why I barely touched a pot or pan this summer? (Even if it was a pretty mild summer?) There was a lot of pizza . . . and nachos. Anyway, I have a stack of new recipes and a resolution to make my own dinner at least 3 nights a week. Even if it’s a sandwich. Baby steps.

—Back to pumpkin: In truth, I am far less obsessed with pumpkin spice lattes than I used to be–but I remain a huge fan of baking with pumpkins. Or putting them into soup. (Or fermented beverages.) I like that this time of year, you can eat pumpkin-everything.


–Back to writing: I spent a lot of time this summer traveling to talk about When Audrey Met Alice, which was super fun. I wrote two historical short stories that will appear in Scholastic’s classroom magazines Storyworks and Scope, and also Cricket. I also revised Summer of Lost & Found and sent that off to my editor last month. Now, I’m finally writing a new book. I’ve only put 5,000 words on the page so far, and first drafts can be a little scary. But it feels so good to be finding a new story to tell.

 

Not-So-Lazy Days of Summer

Jul 22, 2014 | , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How exactly is it July 22nd already? I swear, I was staring out the window at slushy snow just days ago. And now back-to-school ads are popping up . . .

But even though this has been a busy summer so far, it’s been busy in delightful ways:

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Pre-fireworks in my beautiful hometown, Madison, WI

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Quality time with my adorable nephew

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Sunny days at the beach

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Exploring the Catskills (not pictured: black bear encounter)

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NY’s gorgeous waterfalls

I’ve also read some amazing books lately, like Ann M. Martin’s Rain Reign and the short-story collection This Is Paradise.

From now until I head off to Texas, I’m working very hard on edits for The Summer of Lost and Found. I’m a little nervous about making this the best book it can be, but revising is also my favorite part of the writing process. I’ve had a few lightbulb moments in the past week, and I’m excited.

How’s your summer?

 

Inspiration spots, bubbles, and ideal readers

Jun 24, 2013 | , , , , , , , , , ,

I have many writing spots, in my apartment, from the desk to the couch to the kitchen table, and writing spots in other places scattered around the city and back in America’s Dairyland, too. But I also have an inspiration spot, one for daydreaming and brainstorming and problem-solving, both for writing problems and sometimes IRL problems.
I wasn’t until I started cultivating my inspiration spot that I realized how important a place–or mental space–that is for writers, too. As important as an ergonomic desk chair.

Anyway, my inspiration spot in a makeshift windowseat. From it I get a nice, sunny view of the sidewalk below my apartment. It makes for good people-watching, as they walk to and from the park or in and out of the candy-and-lotto bodega.

In one of the little walkup buildings on my street lives a nice young family. Their daughter looks like she’s about ten or eleven. Her mom or dad sits on the stoop as she and her puppy play on the sidewalk out front. A lot of times she plays with a simple bubble wand. She twirls around the sidewalk, spinning and marveling at the bubbles floating up into the trees. Her parents join in. It’s really charming. I kind of adore Bubble Girl. (Hopefully it doesn’t sound creepy that I watch her play.)

I write books for young readers, but I don’t have kids. Which is fine, because as that quote from legendary children’s book editor Ursula Nordstrom goes,”I am a former child, and I haven’t forgotten a thing.” But sometimes it’s good to let kids remind me, a little more immediately, of being at the age at which bubbles were all I needed to have a happy afternoon. I smile and watch Bubble Girl play, and I wonder what she’d want to read about. I remind myself that it’s actually her I’m writing for. I’d like to write a book that will make her smile or think or laugh.

Generally, I don’t like to give directives, because really how do I know what anyone else needs to get his or her writing groove on. But I do think it’s helpful for most writers to have a reminder of your ideal reader. Bubble Girl is mine.

And I hope I do right by her.

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