Author of award-winning, adventurous realistic and historical fiction

verisimilitude

The Disaster Days Virtual Book Club

Mar 26, 2020 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The scariest thing about writing The Disaster Days was realizing how the heightened scenario I put my characters in–which really felt like capital-F Fiction when I started working on the book, despite all that research–was, actually, pretty realistic. Natural disasters do happen, and when they do, they turn our worlds upside down.

As we all understand now, pandemics also happen, and they are just as unsettling and devastating.

Readers have reached out to me over the past couple of weeks to share how The Disaster Days has some new layers of resonance and relatedness now that most of us are hunkered down at home. And I started to think that maybe readers–especially young readers–might enjoy discussing Hannah’s story of resilience right now. But, of course, we all need to practice social distancing! #flattenthecurve

So I’d like to host virtual video book club discussions for any interested readers–of all ages, including kids, educators, and parents–on Google Hangouts. Up to 9 readers* and I will discuss the book for a half hour, and there will be time for an open Q&A. The first is scheduled for Thursday, April 2, at 3:30 PM EST–but I’ll keep scheduling sessions if more readers are interested.

How to join? Send me an email and I’ll add you to the list. You’ll receive an email a few days beforehand to confirm. If you’d like to think up some questions or discussion ideas ahead of time, check out the book club discussion guide and other resources.

Hope to see you there, and be well!

*I think Hangouts can only handle 10 email addresses in one video chat. If I’m wrong and the max is higher, there can be more. And please feel free to attend as families, siblings–whoever is in your shelter-in-place pod!

Talking fact and fiction on diyMFA Radio

Sep 4, 2018 | , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I love talking about writing about as much as I love writing (so, a lot). And I had a great time talking about historical fiction and the writing life with one of my “Write Nite” pals (and directly-across-the-street neighbor) Gabriela Pereira. We get into:

  • How to weave a famous historical figure into fiction
  • Crafting rich supporting characters in a road trip story (when they only get a scene or two)
  • Why it’s important to represent real people accurately in your novel
  • Using setting to develop characters and share history

Check out Episode 215 of diyMFA Radio for our discussion here, and be sure to browse all the wonderful resources on the diyMFA site!

Best of Blog Spam

Dec 5, 2012 | , , , , , ,

I switched the settings for comments a while back, mainly so people could link to their URLs in their names. It was a good tweak to make, but it has resulted in an impressive influx of comment spam. Whatever, Blogger generally does a good job of weeding out spam comments automatically, so I’m not going to change back to the “registered users only” setting.

The only annoying part is getting all the notification emails about faux comments, typically from “Anonymous.” Usually Anonymous is trying to get me to visit web sites about tribal tattoos, which is kind of random, or treat acne, which sadly is already a routine part of my post-teenage life. However, reading the comments has taught me a lot about a bot’s strange grasp of grammar and syntax. Behold, some of my favorite spam comments, with their original weird formatting, along with my imagined replies:

The entire glance of your web site is fantastic, as neatly as the content!  
I appreciate that you took the time for an entire glance.

I wish to read more things approximately it!  I hope to provide more things approximately it!

That is very attention-grabbing, You are an overly professional blogger.
I’ve
joined your feed and sit up for in the hunt for more of your
magnificent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your web site in my social
networks.  That’s me: a true overly professional.

It’s amazing to go to see this website and reading the views of all
friends regarding this post, while I am also zealous of getting
know-how. It’s a good thing to be zealous of getting know-how.

An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who
was conducting a little homework on this. And he actually bought me dinner simply because
I found it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this.
… Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this matter here on your web site. Hey, any time a post gets a reader free dinner is a win, as far as I’m concerned.

Hi to every one, the contents existing at this website
are actually amazing for people knowledge, well, keep up the nice
work fellows. The “fellows” and I thank you, and are happy to provide “people knowledge.” As opposed to robot knowledge, I guess.

Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message
home a little bit, but instead of that, this is excellent blog.
A great read. I’ll definitely be back. Thanks for the unsolicited advice. I’m glad that despite the lack of pics, you will definitely be back. (Ironically this was on a post about the White House, and I did sort of write a “book in it.”)

Fortunate me I found your website accidentally, and I am stunned why this twist of
fate did not took place earlier! I bookmarked it. I am also stunned why this twist of fate did not take place earlier for fortunate you!

bear grylls bear grylls bear grylls Dude: anyone who knows me knows that I watch I Shouldn’t Be Alive, not the Bear Grylls show.

Seeing your Settings

Oct 24, 2012 | , , , , , ,

The White House Social Fall Garden Tour was an incredible experience for a lot of reasons: meeting the very cool and accomplished other attendees; hearing White House administration staff and officials speak on a variety of topics; viewing the beautiful gardens; and, you know, getting to explore the White House, or at least its grounds! But it was also a very special day for me because I got to visit one of my settings in person (and it was a setting I thought it would be unlikely for me to ever experience firsthand).

Writing When Audrey Met Alice and revising it (many times), I spent hours researching the White House: poring over every photo I could find; reading books and websites and blogs; watching films and TV shows set and filmed there; studying maps and floor plans. Although I hope the WH I created in my story is authentic, it’s definitely a fictional place. Despite all that research, I still had to make tons of stuff up. Sometimes that was because I just didn’t have access to information and other times it was in the interest of good storytelling.

My brief visit to the White House grounds gave me some of the firsthand knowledge I couldn’t get from my research: How the area smells; what the ambient sounds are like; how open or closed the outdoor spaces feel when you’re in them. I got a taste of the oxymoronic atmosphere: the White House is serene at the same time it’s bustling. There are people everywhere working (administration officials, secret service agents, landscapers and groundskeepers, etc.), but it feels very calm and controlled (at least to a visitor). I witnessed the security procedures for guests, from the info you disclose prior to your visit to the metal detectors to scanning a badge to let you leave.

One of my characters has a joyride in a golf cart at the WH.
I saw the vehicle in this photo and pictured her on it. Awesome!

I also uncovered some details more directly related to my writing about a fictional and a historical first girl. When asked a (pretty benign) question about the habits of Sasha and Malia, the administration staff politely declined to answer–they maintain the privacy of the girls, even when it comes to matters like “do they like eating their vegetables from the garden.” I have to admit that I was really pleased at that response–it’s great that the WH staff are so protective of the rightful privacy of first kids! (I know my characters would have appreciated that.)

Some settings are easier to visit than others and some downright impossible–a fictional planet, the 16th century, the inside of a volcano. But whenever possible, it’s important to visit the places that inspire our stories. Not only for the authenticity it can give one’s writing, but for the way it can energize and reinvigorate. Looking ahead to edits on my book, I can’t wait to incorporate some of what I experienced last Friday into the book. I’ve totally reconnected with my setting, and that’s a wonderful thing.

WH Garden Tour in Pictures

Oct 22, 2012 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last Friday I attended the White House Fall Social Garden Tour. In short, it was awesome. You can read more about how I lucked into the Social here, and you can see a wrap-up from the White House here: A Fall Social in the #WHGarden. (Excuse me while I freak out that my name/tweets/photos are on the White House’s web site.) My twitter feed from Friday is also chock full of observations and photos.

I’ll be posting some of my thoughts about visiting the setting of my book later in the week. But first, here are some of my favorite photos from the day:

 
The quiet before the public tour starts
The view from the South Lawn
The White House Beehive. Best quote of the day, from Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses: They didn’t add a second hive because then the bees might fight each other for territory and, “we didn’t want any more conflict in Washington.”
Veggies growing in the Kitchen Garden
The swing set. How badly did I want to go for a swing? (Badly!) See the Oval Office behind it.
The Oval Office. Guess who was inside working?
Me, thrilled to be in the Rose Garden and standing in front of the West Wing (Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the background, too)
Crowds of people outside
Who knew there were so many grills at the White House?

ETA: Thanks for all of the compliments on my dress! It was nice to fold up my writerly pajama pants for a day. 🙂 That dress was a gift from my mother in law, and she made it!

Scents and Writeability

Sep 25, 2012 | , , , , , , , , ,

We talk a lot about how some senses contribute to the writing process. The music playlists we listen to as we power through revisions, the pinboards we gaze at to visually inspire our WIPs, the chocolate we savor to help us deal with bad news, even the way our fingers feel tapping the keys (and the way our backs feel after slouching in a desk chair for hours while drafting). But there’s one sense that I feel like gets neglected in discussions of the writing process, and that’s smell.

Smell can be an important and influential part of the writing process. I’ve started incorporating scents into mine, and I swear it’s not related to neglecting laundry so I have more time to write. (I’m a freak who likes doing laundry, actually.) When I sit down to work on the first draft of my WIP, I use the smells of specific candles to get me into the atmosphere of the story. My current favorite? A cedarwood and rosewood blend that I think smells like a barrier island in summer, hot pine needles and driftwood and the Atlantic. Whether the candle objectively does or not smell like that is besides the point; when I burn it while I write, it connects me emotionally to the place I’m traveling on the page.

My current favorite candle.

Not every story is told in a place that smells like flowers, though. I’m not suggesting you make your desk area smell like sulfur if you’re writing about hell. But I do suggest CB I Hate Perfume, which has some fantastically unique scents, like In the Library, a “warm blend of English novel, Russian & Moroccan leather bindings, worn cloth, and a hint of wood polish,” or Walking in Air, which was inspired by Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. (Uh, I think I need At the Beach 1966. I love the smell of Coppertone. Happiness in a bottle.)

Bath and Body Works also has a line of candles out now that includes French baguette and macaron blends, to which I say: I WANT. It’s enough to make me think that the next project I work on needs to involve French bakers, so I can make my writing space smell like bread and cookies all the time.

And then there’s good old Demeter Fragrance Library, which has the normal (almond; mulled cider), the cool (paperback; New Zealand), and the just plain weird (earthworm; dregs, as in the bottom of a wine barrel; and turpentine).

Obviously, you don’t need a delightful or weird potpourri to write. But sometimes a little ritual, like lighting a candle or spritzing a room spray, can help you get into the mood of your story. Or it can help you unwind and let the words flow.

So, have I convinced you to get into aromatherapy for writers?

YA Research: Interview with an Urban, Public-School Teacher

May 3, 2012 | , , , , , , , ,

Back in the day, I went to a large public high school in a small city. I’ve realized that most of the YA and MG books I (personally) read are set in suburbs or small towns. It made me wonder: what’s it like to be a teen in a larger city these days? I turned to my sister, who is a super-awesome, National Board-certified teacher and basically my hero. She agreed to answer some questions about the school she teaches at and her students. It’s a cool perspective on life at a large, diverse urban public school.

Tell us a little about the high school you teach at.
My school is a large, urban (some would say inner city) high schools with 3600+ students. Our school is diverse, like our city, with its majority of students Latino but also with many African-American, Chinese-American, Polish-American, Pakistani-American and Palestinian-American students.

What are your students’ biggest school-related concerns?
My students are stressed! They often feel like jugglers–they are learning to balance seven classes, which in junior and senior year are all college level, with other extracurricular clubs and sports and their service learning obligations. Most of my students have at least five hours of homework nightly, but many do not get home until 6 or 7 p.m. because they stay after school for activities like Physics study groups, History essay writing workshops, soccer practice, lifeguarding training, stained glass art club, or school musical rehearsal. Plus my students are under a lot of pressure from our school to improve their ACT scores!

What are some outside-of-school problems, issues, or concerns your students face?
My students live with a range of issues outside of school. Since our school is located six miles southwest of downtown Chicago, the surrounding neighborhoods have many socioeconomic issues common to inner cities. If you walk around our school’s neighborhood you see some boarded up buildings, both homes and businesses. You see tagging. You do not see many public parks, and our local library cut its hours recently. My students live among the problems of their environment: family money problems, parents working two jobs, high rates of unemployment and homelessness, gang violence and related drug and alcohol abuse. Yet my students balance living with these problems as well.  They help their parents when take their little sisters and brothers to school, pick them up afterward and help them complete their homework. They walk around in small groups to stay safe, and scorn drug and alcohol usage. They even volunteer with our school’s urban ecology club to pick up trash in the neighborhood, and have been writing letters to local government officials to try to get more resources for our school’s neighborhood like green space, lengthened library hours and a community health clinic.

Is bullying a problem at your school?
I think that our school is somewhat of an urban oasis from bullying due to its large size. We are large enough that there is no one popular group– instead, there are the basketball players and cheer squad, the soccer team, the musical theater group, the dancers (we have a classical ballet program), the goths, the emo kids, the Key Club, the manga lovers, GLBT Pride and numerous study groups. Among freshmen, there is a tendency to verbally bully left over from elementary school, but teachers do NOT allow this behavior to continue. A big part of our Social Studies curriculum is to deter bullying by teaching social understanding and civic competence. This helps greatly– students learn that there is tremendous diversity among our school population in terms of ethnicity, religion and sexuality. Furthermore, they learn that discriminating against each other due to differences is NOT acceptable.

What do your students get excited about, in terms of academic subjects/topics, the news, music, pop culture, etc.?
My students pay some attention to the news and pop culture via the internet, but their passions really come alive for music. Some of them participate in after school dance programs where they learn traditional ethnic dances of Mexico, West Africa and Poland. Others just dance to their iPods at home:) In terms of academic subjects, in History class students really connect to learning about the Age of Exploration, the Age of Imperialism and the Holocaust. I think that a universal part of being in high school across cultures is that kids are defining themselves, and asking questions related to “who I am going to be?” History class lets them time travel and ask related questions about their values and identities: “If I were alive in 1519 when Cortes arrived in Mexico would I resist or collaborate with his conquistadors? In 1933 Germany, would I support Hitler or join youth movements against him?”

What things aren’t your students interested in?
Their homework?!? Seriously though, one misconception about urban students is that they are disengaged from their schoolwork as well as from communities. Based on my experiences, that is NOT true. My 60 graduating seniors last year earned $640,000 in college scholarships. If I asked them this question, they would respond: “drugs? reality television? doing chores at home?”

What is prom like at your high school?
Since our school is in a large city, every year our senior student committee chooses a downtown ballroom for prom. Students tend to choose a different venue each year, to personalize their graduating class’s experience. They choose a theme, like “Red Carpet Nights,” that ties together with the decorations, catering and favors at the hosting hotel. Prom begins with a formal dinner for all to enjoy, followed by dancing with a live DJ until midnight.   Professional photographers take formal and informal pictures of students throughout the night. As for attending students, some come as couples but many others come as groups of friends. Their fashion sense is the best part of prom night– many fashion forward girls design their own dresses and have them custom made by local seamstresses. Some make their dates get custom tailored vests and ties for their suits to match their dresses! We even have a prom fashion show to fundraise for the main event to see their gowns early. Also at prom, it is common for our goth and emo kids to show up wearing Chuck Taylor All-Stars along with vintage dresses. Prom is awesome!

Do your students have time to read for fun? If so, what do they enjoy reading?
My students LOVE reading. They are especially captivated by manga, as well as fantasy and science fiction novels for young adult readers… especially the Hunger Games trilogy this year. They recently competed in a school wide trivia contest about Hunger Games, complete with parachutes. Since then the Katniss braid has definitely increased in popularity.

What makes you most proud of your students? What surprises you most about teens today? 

My answers to these last two questions are interconnected. My students’ strength, resilience and ability to be down-to-earth both surprise me and make me very proud. My students are often stereotyped differently, but in reality they are devoted to their families, friends and educations. They are facing numerous problems, both in their neighborhoods and the larger society, but are striving to overcome them. They continue to impress me daily with their diligence, perseverance and optimism about being able to make their lives and our world better.

I told you about someone else!

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