The Temp, The Actress and The Writer

The Self Publishing Debate

2009-12-04T19:38:00.004-05:00

These days it seems like more and more legitimate news sources are pointing to the concept of self-publishing as if it was just invented this year. There is talk of the democratisation of literature, how now with the internet and POD (print on demand) technology, self-publishing is more than ever a viable option for an author. What's more, some have been pointing towards self-publishing as a viable FIRST option for an author.

Two commercial publishing houses: Harlequin (yes, THE Harlequin) and Thomas Nelson (a Christian Publisher), have created self publishing arms. It seems, that the industry has a desire to legitimize this form of publishing. Well . . . at least cash in on it.

So, some of you, I am sure, have been sitting at your computers for weeks now wondering "I wonder what Adrienne thinks about all this?"

And now I'll tell you.

Sort of. Okay. So here's the thing. I think self-publishing has its place. I think if you have a niche market, maybe are on the lecture circuit, self publishing is an excellent venue for you. If, let's say, you want to put together a collection of poems for your family, or print up a story you've written so you can share it with your loved ones, that too is awesome.

However, if you want to know what I feel about self-publishing as a viable means of making a living as a writer of fiction, check out these blogs which articulate my opinion perfectly:

The Great Underground Myth: Why Self Publishing Doesn’t Work - by Max Dunbar

Self Publishing Rant - Agent Rachelle Gardner

(In short, I don't think it works for most people, and though I do think the current system is flawed, it is still much better than the current self-publishing model. Also I have to snicker a little at those articles pointing to the few self publishing successes - which are considered successes because they were picked up by commercial houses. First off the irony is obvious. Second, there are so few exceptions to the rule that it makes it so easy to point them out.)

My issue in this post is about something a little different, which agent Rachelle Gardner touches on in the post I linked to:

Writers had to endure rejection, and be persistent. They had to keep trying harder, improving their writing, to get to the point of being published. And they had to impress a lot of people.

Sure appealing to the gatekeepers sucks (trust me, I know, I really do, I've had my fair share of rejection lately), and sure all the rejection sucks too. But see, what self publishing is taking away is the next step after the rejection. The steps are becoming the following:

Submit MS
MS gets rejected
Try again
Gets rejected again
Self Publish

Not only is this happening more and more, but the two publishers I listed above say that they plan on recommending WITHIN THEIR REJECTION LETTERS that authors use their self publishing arm instead. They are totally pushing this last step in the process.

But see, that last step, as I mentioned earlier, is new. That didn't use to be the step. Quick, let's rip off that step and see what lies beneath:

Submit MS
MS gets rejected
Try again
Gets rejected again
WORK ON MS

What is this you say? Work? What is this "work" you speak of?

Rejection sucks. Yup. Totally man, like dude, bummer. But it is part of a very important process. Rejection prompts the writer to take a step back and take a hard look at her work. To really coldly analyse why, maybe, it has been rejected. It gives the author the opportunity to think, "You know what, maybe I should go back, re-write this thing. Or maybe I'll set it aside and try something else."

I can't tell you how many authors I know who, with the wisdom of distance, have looked back at their rejections as blessings. Have taken that initial anger and frustration at being rejected, and channeled it into creating another work that is so awesome that no one could possibly turn it down.

Rejection makes us stronger, it makes us hungrier, and it makes us better writers. And this concept, the one of working on your craft, dealing with the gatekeepers, and just keep pushing on, that concept is quickly vanishing. What's more, the idea of putting in the work is getting so foreign to us, that authors are considering self publishing as a FIRST option, before they've even tried to get an agent/publisher interested in their work.

I'm not stupid. I know that there have been works out there that have been rejected and it isn't because they aren't any good. It's because they just don't fit the market, or they're too much of a risk, or any other number of reasons. But again, that is the exception to the rule. That is actually the same exception to the rule as the one with the successfully self published authors. Because those successful authors were probably the ones that had that book that actually was awesome but rejected for other reasons in the first place.

EXCEPTION.

Most people aren't. We just aren't. And now legit publishers are telling new authors that they don't need to go back and take a good hard look at their work, no! Now they can PAY THESE PUBLISHERS to print their books for them, so that the author doesn't learn anything from the experience and can play at Author the Role Playing Game. These publishers, who are extremely well respected in their genres, who are obviously so by the authors submitting to them, are using their position of power to suggest (just suggest, they're not forcing anyone, no, it's just a little suggestion - never mind how much the authors submitting to them respect their opinion) something that will make the publisher money, and deny an author the chance at real improvement.

That's one of my biggest issues with self publishing. The idea that rejection is an insult. That it can't at all be possibly a sign that you need to work a little more.

Why shouldn't books be rejected?

At any rate. That is my added little thought to the debate.

And please don't think I'm closed minded about all this, I've already said self-publishing has a place. I also don't begrudge anyone who does it. But please, for those of you who do choose to go down that path, do it with respect for those who have gone before you and were successful at it. Those people had to work ten times harder than a commercially published author to get to the success they enjoy today, they spent time, energy and money. They were incredibly talented, and I bet they had an outside eye work with them on perfecting their book. It's darn hard to do what they did. Don't just think you can print off a book and voila!

No one can simply print off a book.

It just doesn't work that way.

And we come to the end.

2009-11-20T19:32:00.005-05:00

Yes folks, that's all she wrote. Well . . . no . . . I have way more to write about a good many things, but that's all she toured? Yes? I dunno.

Well whatever.

It's been: 5 days. 17 talks. Hundreds of kids. Endless rain.

And now it's over. This is my last night on the island, so it is time for reflection. . .

First the remaining schools need to be named:

George Bonner Middle School
Khowhemun Elementary
Cowichan Branch - Library
Vancouver Island University
Ecole Hammond Bay
Cilaire Elementary
Nanaimo Harbourfront Branch - Library
Ladysmith Intermediate School

Some observations:

The views from the schools on the island are far nicer than the ones in Toronto. I'm sorry to say it, but it's true:

Cilaire:

Ladysmith:

The kids, as ever, as always, are totally awesome. In fact this whole trip would have been far far less entertaining without them. Doing the same presentation so many times becomes truly a mind over matter situation, but when you are doing it for different kids who are all at the same time totally enthusiastic, it makes it all so worthwhile.

And fun.

Lee Losell rocks. Lee organised the entire trip, made sure I had a nice comfy place to sleep, and drove me everywhere. In the rain. And over the Malahat. The man knows no fear. And his daughter is beyond adorable. Thank you so much for everything Lee! Here's a blurry picture of us, and no I'm not that short, he's just 6'5":

When the fire alarm goes off in your hotel at 1am you really do have to get up and go downstairs.

When you are on the island and the mother of the lovely Lesley Livingston is also on said island, it is important to meet for drinks. Thank you for coming all the way out in the rain Margo!

I owe Doug and Lynn Scott another thank you for loaning me their camera since I stupidly forgot mine at home. Thank you!

Though it's not like I am particularly physical doing my presentation, my body has totally broken down. My knee is now killing me, and my back, and my head. I don't know how teachers stand on their feet for so many hours a day. I bow down to you.

And the trees here are still very tall.

In all it was a truly lovely time, though very very mentally and physically exhausting. I am thrilled I got to do it, but I have to be honest, I'm glad it is over too. Not sure if I'll be able to do something like this again in the near future. Thank you to everyone on the island who has been so lovely and kind and supportive. You've made the experience that much more special. Thanks too of course to TD and The Canadian Children's Book Centre for having this book week in the first place.

And that's all for now. Will resume regular blogging next week.

Until then, enjoy the following pictures of trees:

Thoughts at the close of day 3

2009-11-19T00:06:00.002-05:00

1. Vancouver Island is twisty. Every few metres a road curves, bends, winds, what you will. I love it, but am glad I'm not doing the driving especially not in the . . .

2. Rain. Typical and yet I am told a-typical. It rains on the West Coast but evidently not like this and not this consistently. . .

3. Which makes it tough when the sun does come out and is reflected in the road, practically blinding you.

4. The trees here are super tall.

5. The people are super nice.

6. No one seems offended that I'm from Toronto and yet I'm a little paranoid confessing I am.

7. Kids are awesome here, but kids tend to be awesome most everywhere.

8. My joke about the French cover for "Alex" is the only one that works consistently for any age group.

9. This is a truly exhausting experience.

10. I am so thrilled that I have had this opportunity.

Two more days to go, many more people to meet. Let's see what happens next . . .

Two Days In . . .

2009-11-17T20:42:00.005-05:00

So I've been on the island actually technically for three days, but really my tour of schools etc began yesterday.

Sunday was quite something, getting up at 4:45am to catch a 7am flight for Vancouver, then connecting flight to Victoria. Watched The Taking of Pelham 123 and Julie/Julia (which I'd already seen). Pelham 123 was actually quite a lot of fun, John Travolta was ridiculous.

Got into Victoria, got to the hotel, and slept for a few hours, before getting up to go for a walk around downtown. Not sure if you've ever been, but the place is beautiful, even in this rainy cold weather. Stopped into Munro's bookshop, signed some books and chatted with one of the employees there, Ellen. Was great, and the bookshop is GORGEOUS:

On the way to meet with my friends Doug and Lynn Scott, I passed Darth Vader playing the violin on the street. Just fyi.

Had dinner with Doug and Lynn (SUCH good food, omg) and another friend of theirs, and then was back to the hotel to SLEEP.

Monday was the start of the tour. 3 school groups and one evening talk:

Central Middle School
Sidney/North Saanich Branch Library
Cordova Bay Elementary
Victoria Children's Literature Roundtable

Let me tell you guys, the kids on Vancouver Island are AWESOME. Enthusiastic, kind of nutty (like me!) and very smart. It's been crazy fun, and today was no different.

Oh, and also I've been provided several lunches, and I think the residents of Vancouver Island must take a mandatory sandwich making class in school, because I've never had such good sandwiches. Odd to say, but the truth.

Went back to Cordova Bay Elementary today after going to Torquay elementary (both awesome again). And then I ferried over to Salt Spring Island which is absolutely gorgeous. Spoke at a school there, to a group of just 29 but with the enthusiasm of three times as many. Signed paper. Signed journals. Signed bags and shoes. Arms and faces. I'm so sorry parental units, they made me!

And now I am in Nanaimo, getting the evening off.

Couple of points. Really having a lovely time with the guy who organised the whole trip and who is also my lovely chauffeur - Lee. He is a former forest fire firefighter turned librarian, which I think is awesome and I think you may find someday a character in one of my books with a similar story . . . Poor guy's had to sit through the same presentation many many times over now, but he does it with a smile. Also it's been raining almost non-stop since I've been here. I don't really mind, but everyone here keeps apologising to me for it. I've tried to explain to them that I'm the variable, that if anything, I ought to be the one saying I'm sorry. But they refuse to hear it.

People on this island are just way too nice.

I've also been canvassing for votes for the Red Cedar award, for which "Alex and the Ironic Gentleman" has been nominated. The Red Cedar is voted on by kids in BC (so cool), and I've got some serious competition - Jean Little, Gordon Korman etc. So I need to take advantage of this situation. And I mean, come on! Those other authors have already won like tons of awards, so I think it's only fair that it's my turn! So kids of BC . . . we can do it! Yes we can!

[To be perfectly honest, I'm just having fun hanging out with the kids, I'm no politician, but it's fun to pretend . . . :) ]

And that's it for now! Here are some pics of Salt Spring Island for your enjoyment!

It's been so long!

2009-11-14T16:48:00.002-05:00

It's been a long hiatus. Like seriously long. I don't think I've ever been away from you guys for so long. I've really actually missed you guys! I know I took time off because I really really needed it, but still, I wound up quite missing the old blogging community and I am happy to say that I am back.

But not with a very long post.

I am here today to announce that tomorrow I will be jetting off to Vancouver Island to take part in the TD Canadian Children's Book Week Tour. I'll be spending the week doing readings and talks around the Island and I am really excited! Maybe a little terrified, but mostly super excited!

There are a couple events open to the public, if you are in the area and keen to attend:

Monday, November 16, 19:30

Victoria Children’s Literature Roundtable

971 Bank St., Victoria

Tuesday, November 17, 14:00

Salt Spring Island Public Library
129 McPhillips Ave.
Salt Spring Island, BC

If you can't make it to the island this week, have no fear I will be blogging about it, so do stay tuned!

Lastly, here is a picture of me with my very fabulous Heart of Hawick Children's Book Award (all the way from the UK)! Thanks again to all the kids who voted for "Alex", you totally rock!

And now I'm off, but not for long. Feels too good to be back! Thanks for your patience everyone, I really really appreciate it.

Time Off

2009-09-25T14:26:00.002-04:00

Yes I have vanished off the blogosphere (though I have been twittering more of late, if people are interested you can always follow me here). Not for good, definitely not for good. But for a little while.

I invest a lot of time and thought in my blog posts, I really don't want them to just be either a catalogue of my accomplishments, nor little anecdotal updates on my day to day life. I don't mind interspersing such elements on occasion, but my goal with this blog was always to open a door into worlds that others might not know much about. I wanted to be a bit like the behind the scenes featurettes on a DVD. Because I happen to like that stuff myself. And if I can educate along the way, well, that's even cooler.

And right now I just have a lot going on on my plate. Some good, some frustrating, all time consuming. And I just can't devote the hours that I used to in creating my blog posts.

However. My hope is that in a month or so, things might be a bit more sane for me and I can start up again. My hope too is that all that I am going through now will also serve as excellent fodder and lessons for my blogging to come.

Oh and I am planning, when I venture forth on my TD Canadian Children's Book Week tour (November 14 - 21), to blog about the adventure as it happens - I'm getting to go to Vancouver Island and I am SO excited!

So you see, this is not the end. But a longer hiatus than usual. Thank you for your patience and support, it means a lot to me.

Also keep your fingers crossed for me for the next little while, I need all the luck I can get!

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FYI - I will be doing a reading this Sunday at Word on the Street here in Toronto for any and all who are interested:

The Word on the Street
Queen's Park, Toronto
Sunday September 27, 2:30pm
Children's Reading Tent (Event Tent D)
Reading - Timothy and the Dragon's Gate

When It's All Over and Done

2009-09-03T13:07:00.002-04:00

It's a very common feeling. We get it after returning from a vacation. We get it after finishing a piece of writing. And you'd better believe we get it after a show comes down.

That kind of "eh" feeling. That "what now" feeling.

And kids, I've got it.

It doesn't help too that I've been away from the city for a month. Returning home after being away is a surreal experience. I used to feel it most acutely when I was living in England and I'd come back home to Toronto every six months or so for a visit. You feel like you've never been away. And yet you feel like everything is different. You see things with slightly different eyes, and yet so easily fall back into the same old routine.

I knew this week would be tough. I'd arranged plans with so many friends so that I would remember the awesome part of being back (you know, the whole seeing everyone again). Heck I got to go for drinks with Bruce Campbell after Fan Expo on Saturday. That's pretty cool.

But I still feel . . . "eh". I still feel "what now". I feel the old patterns starting up, the ones I was so happy to leave behind at the end of July.

Anyway. I'm not trying to vent, or asking for sympathy. Merely trying to, in my own special way, express what I'm going through in the hope that some people might relate. And get that we all go through this sometimes.

This too shall pass. And hopefully when it does, I'll be a little wiser, my patterns will be a little different, and I'll be a little happier.

But right now?

Eh.

Twelfth Night's Up and Running!

2009-08-20T13:35:00.011-04:00

So yes, since I last wrote we've completed dress and tech rehearsals and opened on Saturday. Have to say, the show is a heck of a lot of fun, and we are getting excellent word of mouth.

It's been a very quick rehearsal process, but it is becoming the norm (at least with Canadian theatre). What's more when everyone is able to open a show after only two and a half weeks with full set and costumes, and actors who know what they are doing, I guess it just proves that it can be done. Should it be done? I dunno, I know the actors feel a bit like they just got things together last minute, the crew too . . . but with the lack of financial support for the arts here in this country, it's tough really to give more. Can't blame the producers who have been fantastic, or the sponsors, who are responsible for the show existing in the first place. Maybe I'll just blame the government, it's easy to do. Done and done.

Anyway, this wasn't meant to turn into a rant about poor funding for the arts in Canada (though as both an author and actress, I can say it is rather the issue), but more info on the rehearsal process and some more pics.

The rehearsal process is, as I already said, very quick. My last post ended with us having stumbled through the entire show after just one week. The second week was devoted to fine tuning, to truly getting into the meaning of each scene, adding some awesome business and comic moments, and as an actor just trying to understand what the heck your character is up to.

About halfway through week two we moved into the theatre, which is a converted Bank in downtown Barrie. The stage is a decent size, the playing space surrounded on three sides by audience. It is great getting as much time to work the show in the space itself, and has been a great advantage.

Just before our dress, the producer brought in a fight director to watch a couple of our fights (this play has minimal fight choreography, a few punches really and that's it). This is for two reasons - one: fight directors can help make even the simplest of fights look awesome, two: fight directors help keep the fights safe.

We had two previews before we officially opened, which was great as well. Previews are kind of like dress rehearsals except they are open to the public so you get to perform in front of people and get a sense of what is working and what isn't. Not every show is afforded such a luxury. Then we opened to a very supportive audience (many family members and people involved with the theatre company).

And now we are open. And now things become a bit more relaxed. The days are free, as we perform nights mostly (though we did have two matinees this week). What do actors do during the day then? Well many enjoy the gym (though I did something to my knee so not me unfortunately). Many also enjoy the beach. Almost the entire cast went to see District 9 on Tuesday (which was rather awesome and I highly recommend) - and we popped into the Chapters on the way home so I could sign some books - ah the convergence of the Actress and Author, a magical thing to behold.

And we play poker. Well, we've only played twice, but there seem to be quite a few people here who enjoy it. Now it isn't for a lot of money, and personally once I am out I never buy in again - I can't really afford to. But it's fun, and people act silly, which I always approve of.

Before I post pics here is some info on the show for those of you who might be interested:

Twelfth Night - Theatre by the Bay

Remaining Dates for the Show

Thursday 20th - 8pm
Friday 21st - 8pm
Saturday 22nd - 8pm

Monday 24th - 8pm
Tuesday 25th - 8pm
Wednesday 26th - 2pm/8pm
Thursday 27th - 8pm
Friday 28th - 8pm

And now, some pics!

Sarah Sherman taking pictures with her iphone.

Jody Stevens - yup those actors and cameras - so natural . . .

Waterfront downtown Barrie.

Gazebo on waterfront.

At the beach - I'm on the phone . . . not sure exactly to whom.
Tim Walker is happy.

Now for some poker shots:

Andy Pogson is ready to play.

The gang - the players and the spectators.

Ditto - different angle.

Mike Spasevski and Sarah - the last two left standing. Mike wound up winning, but Sarah gave him a good run. I came in third. But there is no way you would know that.

Rehearsal shots:

Kristian Bruun (Malvolio) rehearsing infamous letter scene. In the back, Ryan LaPlante (Fabian), Michael Rawley (Sir Toby), Andy (Sir Andrew), spying on him. They are pretending to hide behind a Tiki Hut. Tiki Hut being played in this rehearsal by a large piece of cardboard.

No idea what's going on in this picture. We are under the fabric that we use to start the show. I look uncomfortable. Again, no idea why.

Sarah attempted to curl her hair using rags. It worked, but wasn't quite the look the director was going for. She now uses a curling iron. But doesn't she look cute here?

My opening scene costume - 1950's beach resort chick.

First Week of Rehearsals . . . done!

2009-08-03T17:20:00.003-04:00

Yes I am still alive, yes I am still blogging, yes I kind of maybe disappeared for a little bit . . .

But I am back now!

As you all know, not only do I author on occasion, I also act. And last week was the start of rehearsals for a production of Twelfth Night (in which I play Antonia - who is technically Antonio but whom I am playing as a woman . . . because I am one) with Theatre By The Bay up here in Barrie, Ontario. Canada.

I thought you might want to know a bit of what the rehearsal process is like, especially one that is only two and a half weeks. And so . . . I'll tell you. Now.

It began on Monday officially, though the cast made their way to Barrie to the college residences, where we are all living for the month, on Sunday. It's actually quite funny, feels like I am in university all over again, the boys in one dorm, the girls in another.

Our first read through was Monday morning. The day began with the director telling us about his vision for the show, followed by the producer and then the set, costume, and lighting designers. We then began to read through the script, which we got through just after lunch, only to begin all over again, this time discussing each scene as we went along.

Then the day was done. The actors returned to their residence, and we got to hang out a little.

The rest of the week consisted of going through each scene and roughly blocking them out. This is quite lovely for yours truly as I am only in five scenes, and so after a few hours of rehearsal in the morning, I (and some of my fellow cast members) would head to the beach. Yes the life of an actor is just that distressing.

Saturday we finished blocking the show with enough time in the afternoon to do a "stumble though" - which is running the show beginning to end and hoping you make it to the finish line in one piece. We did. It was a bit of a struggle, but we did.

This week we start working on the scenes all over again, this time with much more attention to detail.

So there you go! Pretty straightforward really. We've had a bit of dance choreography, fight choreography, character discussion etc. And considering everyone involved is ridiculously lovely, all seems to be moving smoothly.

So far.

I shall report at the end of this week whether this remains the case . . .

And now . . . some pictures!

Andy Pogson (Sir Andrew Aguecheek), Tara-Dawn Winstone (Maria) and Kristian Bruun (Malvolio) pretend that they are having a meaningful conversation for the sake of the camera. Actors have no sense of the word "candid".

Alex Dault (Sebastian) and Ryan LaPlante (Fabian) look directly at the camera. Still these actors do not understand.

Finally, some candid shots. In rehearsal (director Brett Christopher on the left). See how much fun everyone is having! See how they smile!

Andy in his Sir Andrew wig.

A nice general rehearsal shot, once more utterly candid, with Jody Stevens (Viola) in the foreground.

More shots to come!

Polaris 23 - the definitive recap

2009-07-14T13:49:00.006-04:00

Polaris is a Toronto held SF/Fantasy convention. While they tend to focus more on television and film, they do have a literary component, and this year I was invited to participate. I was on several panels (crashed two of them - I've never done that before, but it wasn't without the request of the other panelists), and got to meet some cool people (for a full list of guests go here). So, as ever, the usual recap must follow!

We begin our definitive recap on the first night of the con, it was a Friday night as I seem to recall. The charming Lesley Livingston and I were both guests for the event in an author-y capacity, and Jonathan Llyr (I work for his website HardcoreNerdity.com and we were also there as media) was a super special guest as well as presenter for the Constellation Awards. Screenwriter Joe O'Brien came along as our guest, though he really should have had a pass of his own, his video advertising our site (a parody of "The Most Interesting Man in the World" commercials - "The Most Interesting NERD in the World") was the star of the award ceremony and he was responsible for an awesome interview with Claudia Black which we will be featuring on the site soon.

Friday night was the meet and greet. It was quite lovely. It had free food. That makes Adrienne happy. We ran into several speculative fantasy author friends including (in no particular order): Julie Czerneda, Michelle Rowen (with whom we also had dinner), Violette Malan, Derwin Mak and Douglas Smith.

Of course there were actors a plenty as well, each doing a wonderful job at mingling and being utterly delightful, including: Claudia Black, Michelle Forbes, Matt Frewer and Michael Hogan - who was incredibly sweet and sociable the entire weekend. He played Colonel Tigh on the Battlestar Galactica series (even if you aren't into Sci-Fi, it doesn't matter, that show is quality - so much so it won a Peabody award. See it.). I had been commissioned by my friend Meghan to get an autograph from him. You see, she had sent along a photograph taken at another convention they had both attended of herself dressed as one of the major female characters (and she actually looks like the character, it's crazy) giving him a full kiss on the lips. Needless to say Hogan took one look at the picture and, grinning ear to ear, said, "I remember her!"

We got to chat with him for a while, got pictures taken with him (I act all cool and stuff, but I am pathetic when it comes to actors, I get star struck in a second - my little heart was going a mile a minute before asking him to sign Meghan's picture for her). We also chatted with Matt Frewer, who was utterly delightful as well. Though we learned even he is not entirely sure why his ears were pointy in Watchmen.

The evening was great fun, and we left at a decent hour, knowing we'd have to return in first thing in the morning (thanks Lesley).

Day 2

This was the day where we all had "stuff" to do. Lesley and I had several panels to sit on, I confess actually I wasn't meant to have quite as many as I wound up having, but since I was following Lesley around to hers, I wound up crashing two of them. We talked a great deal about YA fiction. A great great deal. Conclusion: It rocks, but doesn't get the respect it deserves. Also, YA isn't what you think it is (see last blog entry "The New YA" below). Lesley also signed books and did, as expected, a fantastic reading.

At the same time Jon and Joe were getting interviews in the media room with Michael Hogan and Claudia Black. They were also preparing for the Constellation Awards. Considering how many times they had to go off to rehearse with the Constellation Awards team, I was expecting to see a finely choreographed musical number to open the show.

There wasn't one. Constellation Awards people: get on that.

Mark Opausky (another founding member of our site) joined us for the award ceremony, which was highly entertaining (the ceremony, not Mark. I mean, not that Mark wasn't entertaining . . . I just mean . . . oh never mind . . . ). Of course Jon just totally rocked as a presenter, and, he'll be embarrassed for me to point this out, but he got huge cheers when his name was called and he stepped up on stage. We love you Mr. Llyr, we really do!

Our video was awesome. I say "our" because I like to take as much credit as possible for Joe's work.

I had to rush off early to be on another panel (which means I missed Hogan tossing Hewlett off stage, boo-urns!), the moderator of which decided not to show up so I took the job. It was called "It might be too scary for you, but your kids will love it". Oddly the panel was rated PG, which I found rather amusing as the whole point of the panel was that kids can handle way more dark than we think they can. If anything it should have been rated: "Awesome for kids, may offend some adults". At any rate. It was a very interesting panel, and I have to admit to rather enjoying my first time as moderator.

Then I returned to my friends to discover they were in the process of getting Michael Hogan rather intoxicated. And thus an evening none of us had expected to go past 10pm, went into the wee hours of the morning. Hogan was delightful, as a matter of fact, he seemed to be having a pretty darn fabulous time. But I have to say, I think us lot were also pretty delightful too, and, I at least can attest, had a fabulous time as well. In all it was just a really laid back fun time, hanging out, nothing fancy, just shooting the breeze.

Of course here's the thing . . . none of them had to be back at the con first thing the next morning.

I did.

Day 3

With around 2 hours of sleep I returned for the final day of the con to do a book signing and reading. To my great pleasure I had people show up to both (and just in case that gentleman from the signing is reading this, here is that link to the audio books I was telling you about: Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate). I have to admit a small hint of pleasure when after reading my first choice of chapter and about to move onto a later bit, my audience insisted that before doing that they needed to know what came next. Of course I indulged their fancy, how could I not?

And then I was done, and it was good.

Very very good.

In all, for a first time Polaris attendee/guest, I have to say the event was lovely. I enjoyed the hotel despite the long trek to the squash courts for that one panel, and everyone I met was just so friendly and supportive. Well done all!

And here's hoping Michael Hogan survived. Has anyone heard what became of him?

Me, Hogan and Lesley. We is all very happy.

Hogan and Jon. They is extra happy.

Frewer and Lesley. No really it is. Trust me. Beneath the shadow that is Matt Frewer. Who the dude in the background is standing all superhero like, I have no idea. But it's a good picture of him.

Proof, I tell ya, proof that Joe bought a copy of my book! See that smile? See? I'm not pointing a phaser at his head or anything . . .

. . . oh. Um. How did that picture get in there?

Boys and their toys. Yes these are the phasers Jon and Joe acquired at the con. They are, I must confess, super awesome. They are the latest Star Trek film version of the phasers so they spin from "stun" to "kill". They "charge" up. And of course, baby, they light up.

If only we could make Mark understand just how cool that is. As it is, or at least as is evidenced in this picture, he's not amused.

Me signing books! (these next three photos are courtesy of author Derwin Mak)

They had these really cool posters of all the guests up along one wall. Derwin called it "The National Portrait Gallery". And so we posed next to our portraits. A portrait of a portrait as it were. How post-modern of us.

Cute story. As we are taking pictures of each other and just chatting in the hall, a group came by and one girl stopped at my photo and, touching it, said, "So pretty!" Well I was standing right there, so I turned and said, "Thank you." She looked at me for a moment. "Um . . ." I said, "that's me." She continued to look at me. "Okay, I know I don't look quite as good in the photo as in person but I mean. . . I don't look that different do I?" I laughed (though inside I was crying . . . no, no, I wasn't - I joke I joke). Finally I think it all clicked for her and she put her hand over her mouth and started to laugh too.

She said that she thought the picture was so pretty she had been tempted to steal it, and so we took this picture of her attempting to steal it and me preventing it. Because I like taking pictures that amuse me.

The New YA

2009-07-07T14:42:00.007-04:00

YA stands for Young Adult. It is a literary category. It is tricky to quantify, it encompasses many different genres from fantasy to gritty reality. It encompasses many ages.

YA is not MG.

This is the most important thing that people need to realise when buying books for kids/teenagers.

YA is not MG.

MG is middle grade. Middle Grade is typically 8 -12. My books are Middle Grade. The first three Harry Potters are MG. Again, it encompasses many different genres, and while the age range is more specific, there are divisions within it as well. Within Middle Grade you can also have Upper Middle Grade which can be read too by 13 and 14 year olds (that awkward tween stage of literature).

So what is YA then? YA I suppose is anything above that in theory. And yet a YA will rarely have a protagonist younger than 14. Kids like to read up you see.

So what is YA then?

YA is a very new genre. People might argue that, they point to fiction for kids that has been around for forever. They point even to Judy Blume, who remains quite popular. But the new YA isn't that. I'd argue that these days those books you think of when you think of your childhood as being YA are actually Middle Grade. Even if they involved teenagers, these books were primarily read by kids in the tween age range. Once a kid got to high school, if they indeed even kept up with reading, they moved on to adult books. Teenagers don't much want to feel like kids.

I know. I remember that feeling.

I'd argue that the new YA, the YA of the last decade, is the first time YA is being written for YAs.

So what is YA then?

If we suppose that in the past teenagers moved on from what was at the time considered YA to adult books, and that now teenagers are reading actual YA books as actual teenagers, then how can we assume YA ought to remain in some category belonging primarily to middle grade fiction? If they can handle the adult stuff, why then can't YA have adult themes?

The question is asked all the time, "What is acceptable for YA?", "Am I allowed to do this in YA?"

The answer is very straightforward. Anything. Yes.

But remember these two important details. Your main character has to be a teenager. And the plot must have something to do with coming of age.

I'll also add that a faster pace than some adult literature is quite desirable. But then again in adult literature, there are times, dude, when it could also be quite desirable.

Other than that: Anything. Yes.

The new YA respects that teenagers get that the world isn't perfect. That there is sex, drugs, violence and bad language. That bad things happen. But the new YA still for the most part remains a genre of hope. It is rare you will find a YA book ending on a desperate note.

Granted I think this might frighten some adults/parents. Because we look back to our YA reading experiences, back when YA wasn't really YA but MG. We forget the texts we studied in highschool, the adult books we had to analyse, the adult content we were faced with. In our minds, YA still is innocent, because our YA was much more innocent.

There were authors pushing the boundaries, Ms. Blume of course, and the odd YA actually meant for YAs, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (you could consider both of them the inspiration and forebears of the new YA), but for the most part the books were much safer than they are now. However. They also weren't truly meant for teenagers. Because teenagers, again may I repeat, were reading adult books.

Because YA is also a very new genre we have to understand that books that in the past were categorised as adult, could quite conceivably have been categorised as YA had the genre existed at the time.

All very complicated, I know.

Why am I saying all this? I guess because I see articles like these and I just shake my head. The article is about a "children's book" called Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan, and asks whether publishers should not take more responsibility for content. Aside from the absurd notion that it is up to publishers to censor what comes out onto the market to preserve one group's idea of morality, what the author of this article neglects to mention is that the book is not MG, is not a "children's book", but is YA. And the author of this article clearly has no concept as to what YA is. Nor do many of those interviewed. This false premise alone is the greatest frustration I have with this article. It means every argument postulated for or against, is discussing the wrong subject. It's like saying, "I read this slice of life book and was shocked to find dragons in it!" when the book you are talking about is clearly a fantasy.

Look, I write MG, I understand that there are certain topics I can't write about, or at least must handle very delicately. This is simply not the same with YA.

I will not pretend that YA with very mature themes are not a harder sell, and much harder for a publisher to market. I also will not pretend that even adult works dealing with certain themes do not get the public's ire raised as well. It is much easier to sell a work about chaste vampires, than one that deals in gritty real world issues. It is naive to say what I have said: Anything. Yes. I really should have added, "But you'd better do it darn well."

But we also have to stop pretending that the literary market is anything like it was when we were kids (and I wasn't a kid that long ago compared to some, and even since then, it has changed considerably).

JK Rowling made kids' books profitable. The MG market exploded with the advent of Harry Potter. She actually changed the face of publishing. This seeped into the YA market, which was already experimenting, and now with Twilight, it is not just a force to be reckoned with, but one of the few genres where sales have gone up in this economic climate.

Go into a bookstore and look at the YA section. It is an incredible thing. So many different styles and genres all shelved side by side. The opportunity to try new things is right there at your fingertips, not isolated from each other like over in the adult section. There is lovely PG rated work to be found, it isn't like it has disappeared, but there is the tougher stuff out there too.

And it's okay. It's good to have choice. I know parents are complaining that they need age banding on books so they understand what it is their kids are reading. But I just don't think that's the answer. A child is not universally ready for something at 12, and then ready for something else at 14. It depends on their upbringing, their reading level, their likes and dislikes. Gasp! On being an individual human being. I could not, and still can't, read/watch horror. Doesn't mean there weren't kids back when I was little reading the Goosebumps series. If we age banded based on my example, no one would be allowed to read horror ever at any age.

The answer, in my mind, is understanding the new YA. And the answer to understanding what it is kids are reading is to read what the kids are reading. To understand that YA for YAs is meant to be read by intelligent discerning minds, by teenagers who are far smarter than a lot of adults give them credit for. Let's not forget that many teenagers are heading off to university by the time they are 17.

You don't want your 12 year old reading YA? There is still MG. There is some amazing MG out there (if I do say so myself). But you need to understand that difference between MG and YA. Because it didn't exist before recently. It's new. YA used to be MG. It isn't anymore.

And again, that's okay.

One final thought: Shakespeare is taught in, I'd venture to guess, almost every highschool in the English speaking world. Shakespeare was a genius. He can express thoughts and feelings in a way that is beyond perfect, you just want to roll his words around in your mouth they are so glorious. However. Shakespeare was also a naughty boy, and his plays are rife with blatant sexual jokes and innuendo. He was also a violent boy, writing about eye gouging, suicide, fights to the death. . .

Your teenagers are reading Shakespeare.

Is all I'm saying . . .

Lauren Conrad's book

2009-06-24T14:01:00.004-04:00

So there has been some chatter on the forums I frequent about Lauren Conrad publishing a novel (for those not in the know, and I seriously envy you your ignorance, Lauren Conrad came to fame starring first in the "reality" television series "Laguna Beach" - about rich kids in California - and then graduated to her own reality show "The Hills").

This is a conversation that comes up every once and a while, and with sadly more and more frequency, as celebrities, particularly those famous for just being famous, announce they have just "written" and published a book. Real writers, and by this term I mean it not as an offense but quite literally, as very few of these celebrities write their own books, get a wee bit annoyed by such announcements and of course enjoy venting with one another online about it.

Their reason for venting is straightforward:

1. It's darn hard to publish a book. People who have spent their lives in the pursuit of such a goal, who have studied the craft in great detail, who are just in general passionate about reading and writing, suddenly discover some celeb who otherwise refuses to give a toss about books, profiting from the same industry they diss*. What's more they are getting published with relative ease. In fact often publishers will approach these celebs to ask them to write a book. I mean, what real author wouldn't love that? So of course there is just straightforward jealousy and frustration from those people out there who have dedicated their lives to writing and seeing their words in print.

* A sadly hilarious example of this is Kanye West dissing books as a whole, while at the same time promoting his own (seriously, this quote is from an interview about his book), talk about your serious oxyMoron:

"I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book's autograph . . . I am a proud non-reader of books. I like to get information from doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life."

2. Celebs give the false impression that anyone can get a book published. It does a great disservice especially to the reputation of the picture book industry, because a lot of celebs have figured since they have kids they must know how to write a picture book, plus they're like super short, how hard can that be? It makes the public think, "Well how hard can it be to write and publish a book?" It contributes to the influx of queries that agents receive from people wanting to be published who seriously should never ever have had even the idea of writing a book in the first place. Besides which it kind of sucks that so many people think the job that you sweat blood and tears over is easy.

3. The books themselves wind up typically not being very good. Nor contributing anything particularly meaningful to society (not that all books need to, I'm just saying that celeb books rarely do this either). They come out in a flurry of hype, sell tons, make the celeb even more money than he/she probably needs, and then vanish off the radar just as quickly.

However.

I don't take issue with celeb books.

Sure I do find it somewhat sad that the public believes these celebs actually write their own books (9 times out of 10 it's a ghost writer), and sure I'd love it if my books would become instant bestsellers, and being an actor I seriously would not mind taking a tour of the talk show circuit.

But what authors, real authors, need to remember is that celeb books don't take away shelf space from other books. I know it seems like they do, but they really don't. They are their own market, and, what's more, serve a very important purpose in the industry. They make money. They make money predictably and quickly and by the truck load. And you know what happens when a publishing house makes money? They feel more financially secure. And what happens when they are financially secure? They can afford to take risks.

Celeb books, as well as the Dan Browns and Stephenie Meyers of the world, make it possible for smaller books, for more complex books, for, dare I say it, innovative books, to get published. The publishing house is willing to take a financial risk because it has a couple Lauren Conrads in their back pocket.

I know a lot of people don't think original interesting books are being published anymore. This is probably because all the attention goes to these celeb like books and it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. But the good stuff is out there too. Believe me, I've seen it, I've read it. I've blurbed it.

So maybe the biggest issue with these books is that they do take away attention from the good stuff. Even though now the good stuff is allowed to exist thanks in part to the celeb books, it still can flounder while once on the shelves - having been eclipsed by those same celeb books. Maybe that is the greatest negative I can point out. The noise from those books deafens us to the good stuff that IS out there. And once and a while you kind of wish publishers would take a small little interesting book and just promote the heck out of it like they do with the guaranteed successes.

And there's the rub. Those two words: guaranteed success. Because truly, it doesn't exist in the publishing industry. There is no path to bestsellerdom, even being a famous person does not guarantee success - there have been accounts of million dollar celeb book deals totally flopping once the book hit the shelves. So it's pretty hard to imagine a publishing house calmly willing to promote in the same manner a risky complex novel by an unknown author, not when even some celebs fail.

The celeb books are the closest the industry is ever going to get to a sure thing. That's why they aren't ever going to go away. And we real authors need to just sit back, relax a bit, and accept that as truth. And remember, behind most celeb books is a ghost author, and at least he/she is getting some work out of it. That's something!

Let's try to turn the tables on the celeb books. Instead of being frustrated, let's feel secretly smug. Let's thank them for getting us past the bouncer, let's watch them dance with frenetic energy, the centre of attention, until they burn out an hour later, and go off, limping towards home. And then we'll slowly get up, smooth out the wrinkles in our skirt, walk quietly to the middle of the room. And dance. And dance. And dance. Until we're the only ones left on the floor.

To mix my metaphors: Just keep swimming everyone. Just keep swimming.

**I am adding a caveat here, I realise that the term "real author" is provocative, and to be honest it is meant to be. However there are some celebs out there (typically they are not the celebs who are famous only for being famous) who ARE real authors, who happen to be multi-talented and actually write their own books, and are good at it. I'm talking Julie Andrews here, and John Lithgow etc. I think we all know to which celebs I am referring in this post.

Neil Gaiman at Luminato

2009-06-09T14:06:00.002-04:00

Hey all! Just a quickie.

I wrote about the Neil Gaiman event that took place last night (which was awesome!) over at HardcoreNerdity.com. Check it out here (and I must say I am uber proud of the picture what I took).

Also I am officially up on the Polaris Convention website (July 10 - 12 here in Toronto), so yay!

I like being officially up on websites!

Off days . . .

2009-06-07T12:33:00.005-04:00

We all have off days.

Especially us artistic types. Oy.

We can have off weeks, months . . . hopefully not years . . .

I must confess that I personally have been struggling for a little while now, dealing with all the usual fears associated with an artistic temperament. The usual worries, self doubts. And yes, despite my new year's resolution to be more confident (or again, as my friend puts it, "Be confident stupid!"), it isn't like I can automatically become something without a great deal of effort. New Year's resolutions aren't magical, they take work.

But I am feeling much better. I am. I am lucky because I have some amazing support, the coolest friends, the best family . . . people who will listen to me when I am down and cheer me on when I'm going for it. And awesome blog readers who make me smile with all their comments. So first off, I want to express my immense gratitude to all of you for your continuous support. It means a lot to me.

Thank you.

Next I want to talk about Kermit the Frog.

Now many of you will know that Kermit the Frog is Adrienne's ideal man (. . . frog, whatever). For those of you new to my blog, I shall explain briefly why. First off he is sensitive and very talented (can sing, dance, act, write his own material, produce and direct). He is also level headed and practical. However he can also cut loose, knows how to have a good time, and can be very funny. I mean his sense of humour in general is just fantastic - that laugh . . . Adding onto all of that he is also a leader of men . . . women . . . bears . . . pigs . . . chickens . . . rats. . . whats-its . . . etc. You feel better knowing he's around.

And he also owns his own theatre, which for an actress is a very attractive quality.

He is also wise, but not in an obnoxious pretentious way. He is wise in a simple perfectly put kind of way. And he does it through song.

Now the first half of my post and my second merge.

When all else fails, and you are feeling still a little down in your artistic endeavors, and even though your friends and family and blog readers have all made you smile, may I offer the following musical interlude to set your mind to purpose. It works wonders for yours truly, I do hope it can have the same effect on you guys.

"Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name. . . I've heard it too many times to ignore it, it's something that I'm supposed to be . . ."

For those of us seeking our rainbow connection:

Now that you have been inspired by my ideal man, may I offer you some more aquatic advice, this time of the more pragmatic variety. You now know what you want to do, so here's how to do it:

So there you go. Most importantly I think we need to remember that yup we can have off days, but that doesn't mean every day following will also be off. This too shall pass. And if it takes a little longer than usual . . . well . . . we've always got Kermit the Frog to keep us believing in the magic.

It ain't true if it ain't a little cheesy. :)

Book Expo of America (BEA) 2009!

2009-06-02T13:06:00.009-04:00

First off let me apologise with my extra long absence. I realise that I have been starting many blog entries like that of late, but it doesn't make the sentiment any less sincere. Life has a way of being life you know? Getting in the way and all that . . .

At any rate, I am back, and with one of my uber extra long posts sharing every minor irrelevant detail of my adventures that was BEA this year. So put the kettle on, curl up with the cat, and enjoy the following tale!

Our story does not begin well unfortunately. I shan't go into great detail about what happened, but needless to say it involves an 8 hour delayed flight. I was supposed to get into the great and wonderful New York City at 3:30pm. Instead I arrived at the hotel at 1:ooam. This was a bit of a pity. However I did meet the delightful Marian Jarkovich who works for Robert Rose here in Toronto who was also attending BEA and so we hung out for the day in the airport, and shared a cab into the city.

Here is a picture of me pouting about the delay in the airport in Toronto:

I had to get up at a reasonable time Friday morning because that's when I was doing my official signing of copies of Timothy and the Dragon's Gate. I was of course really looking forward to it because there is nothing like a book signing to make an author feel special. That is, so long as people are there waiting for you to sign for them, otherwise it is uber depressing.

Fortunately once I was escorted to signing table number 6 there were a few people waiting for me, and once I started, there was a constant stream of people. It was so awesome, and everyone was just so sweet. I have to say though the highlight of the experience was that I was signing just two tables away from John Rocco, who I have mentioned many times on this blog as he is responsible for my awesome covers (and is a brilliant author/artist of his own work). He came over and we hugged and I might have been just a little too giddy about meeting him, I hope I didn't scare him . . . oy.

Since I only had an hour, we had to end the line for books. But when I went upstairs to the Weinstein Books booth to sign some stock I was kind of followed and I wound up signing books for another hour. I did not mind in the least. How can one mind something so very flattering?

Finally at 1pm we were done, and I met up with my amazing fellow Toronto author Tish Cohen for a brief lunch in the convention centre. We sat on some chairs and people watched and talked all about our experiences and general chat about the book world. Then she was off in a cab and I wondered around the centre for a bit to check things out.

Now I know a lot industry pros are saying the conference was way different this year, and I totally believe them as they kind of know what they are talking about, but from where I stood it seemed just as vibrant and packed as two years ago when I first attended. The only famous face I saw though was Neil Gaiman and that was a bit of an odd moment. See we follow each other on Twitter, but we of course don't actually know each other. The internet though is a strange place, and as I walked right by him I almost stopped and said "Hey" as if we were old friends. Until of course I realised he has no clue who I am. But it was quite a close call. He was of course signing copies of The Graveyard Book with the world's longest queue.

Then I went back to the hotel to wait for my friend Carrie (who lives in Boston) to come join me for the weekend. The rest of the weekend was awesome. Friday evening we had drinks with friends of Carrie's mom, then a late dinner with her friend Faran, her cousin, and her cousin's two just lovely friends. We walked on Saturday (glorious weather btw) from Rockefeller Center (which was right where the hotel was) all the way down to Battery Park - stopping off at lunchtime to meet with my friend John from LAMDA.

For dinner we met up with some amazing author ladies who I've met on the internet over at Verla Kay (aka The Blue Boards). We had so much fun, and were maybe just a little too giddy at the fact that we were meeting each other in person:

(left to right) Me, Shana Silver, Bettina Restrepo, Jenny Moss, Jean Regean, Megan Crewe, Ashley Formento, Aprilynne Pike, Laurie Compton)

Then Carrie, her cousin, and I went to a massive bar on a barge on the Hudson. We climbed up to the top where we had a wonderful view of the city.

Next Carrie's cousin got a text from the two gents from the previous night inviting us to tag along to a midnight showing of "Up" which I have been dying to see. And so we saw it. And so we wept like babies (from sadness and laughter). This is a very good movie. See it.

Sunday, Carrie and I met up with Faran once more for a delectable lunch, and then we parted ways, she to go back to Boston, and me to check out the Guggenheim for the first time. I have to say, it was smaller than I expected. And very crowded.

I walked back to the hotel through Central Park which was just glorious, the weather was beyond perfect. My favourite bit was the ramble where despite the fact that the park was packed, there were very few souls to see.

The evening prompted another walk, where I wandered over to Times Square which was terrifying in how packed it was. I went up Fifth Avenue, and got to watch some fireworks going off in the distance. Then I stopped by Tiffany's to check out their window display and it was totally made for me: a combination of doorknobs and keys! (for those of you who know Alex and Timothy you'll know just how perfect that is) And so I took a picture:

Monday was my last day and I was doing a presentation for the Jewish Book Network as well as joining them for a luncheon. It went very well. I think it helped that I demonstrated to them all the proper way to die melodramatically. Yes, you read that right. And I got to meet a lot of lovely people.

And then I was off home. The flight was not only right on time, it got in early. I went from the airport to the pub to meet up with some friends. And then finally home where my glorious pillow was waiting for me.

And then I slept.

And it was good.

Some pictures!

Outside the Javits Center which was where the BEA was being held . . .

Signing books with enthusiasm!

Inside the lobby area of the Javits. You'll note in the above picture posters for the latest Dan Brown book. I understand that they felt they needed to hang 30 ft posters because they are concerned no one will have heard of this book otherwise. Kind of have to feel sorry for this Dan Brown guy . . .

The Hachette Book Group section (they distribute Weinstein Books - whose booth you can see in the distance).

Just loved looking at the seeming infinite numbers in the sky . . .

Carrie and I stopped into St. Patrick's Cathedral, we'd never been inside before!

Proof we made it to Battery Park (doesn't Carrie look proud of herself!).

Me just hanging around at Battery Park. Gorgeous day right?

Radio City Music Hall - right across the street from my hotel. Purdy ain't it?

Agents abroad

2009-04-29T11:49:00.003-04:00

In my last post Chris asked:

"Is it worthwhile for a Canadian would-be author to submit to an American agent? There looks to be all of thirty agents in Canada (I could be wrong) and no one's ms will fit everybody's criteria. It seems like the States would improve your odds, if nothing else, but I really don't know what I'm talking about here."

The answer is yes.

Done and done. Next?

Let me expand on this. As many of you know, I am a Canadian author with a British agent. Several of my other author friends are Canadians with American agents. In this world of the interweb it's pretty easy to have such long distance relationships.

But here's the catch. You have to have written something marketable in the agent's home territory. Anyone who has read my books will know that I have an obsession with the British Isles that verges on the silly. I am quite openly an Anglophile, heck I lived in England for three years. When Scholastic UK bought my book and I met with them for the first time they were shocked to discover I was Canadian because, as they said, my book "was quintessentially British".

Canada has a very unique voice. It might be one of the few English speaking countries out there that holds literary fiction on the same plateau as other such countries hold up general popular fiction. We are awesome at the literary stuff. We are not as awesome as supporting the other stuff. And even less so when writing is set anywhere other than Canada. This comes from the simple fact that our country is very small. We have a very real need to maintain our identity through our culture (which is understandable), a culture that many outsiders see as interchangeable with the USA. I have a friend who published with a Canadian publisher. Her book was actually set in NYC. Awesome, right? Well her next book was also to be set there and the publisher asked her if maybe she could make the location Canadian instead. That's sort of the norm up here.

Thus you will find many Canadian authors looking south of the border for representation. Especially authors of genre fiction. And there's nothing wrong with that. But make sure what you are writing would appeal to an American audience. If what you're trying to sell to the States is a literary novel about a small Northern Ontario community, then that's going to be a tough sell and you might be wise sticking with agents here, or even going directly to publishers. If however you are selling an urban fantasy about two werewolves who fall in love in Chicago, you're probably better off to go South.

As ever always do your research. Let me link you to two articles I've written previously for this blog to help you with that.

So You Want To Get Published - Getting An Agent

General Advice with more links

So yeah, hope that answers the question! I wouldn't count out Canadian agents by any stretch of the imagination, but yes, if you feel so inclined, there's nothing wrong with looking abroad.

Some more links . . .

2009-04-21T13:14:00.004-04:00

Sigh, I'm really sorry guys. I've been overwhelmed with my writing projects lately and every time I think I'm in a lull ready to wax philosophical to all you guys, something else crops up.

But I do feel guilty that already a week has gone by without word from yours truly. So I thought today, because it takes little time for me to do, I'd do one of those link salads things. Basically link you to a couple of blog entries I've read recently about the writing industry that I just thought you might be interested in.

First today there were two blog entries by two different agents detailing how much they love their jobs. It might seem like a strange subject to write about, one would hope they loved their jobs, but seeing as lately there have been a lot of negative blogs out about the relationship between agents and writers, I thought some positivity was in order:

Janet Reid: Publishing may not be perfect but . . .

Jessica Faust: An Agent's Passion

Meanwhile agent Kristin Nelson is in the UK for the London Book Fair (which takes place at Earls Court which was so close to where I used to live, le sigh) and has been reporting about it here.

Next I was directed to this interesting article from 2008 about appearance (specifically female appearance) and being an author. Considering my post a few weeks ago about gender and publishing, I thought it would be interesting for you guys to check out:

Writer's Digest: Does This Book Jacket Make Me Look Fat?

Another topic I often like to discuss is trends. Often I talk about how it's impossible to gauge what the next trend will be, and jumping on bandwagons is silly because what is published today was bought two years ago. But there is also the flipside, the worry that one shouldn't write a certain book because the topic has been so trendy lately (a current example might be Vampires). The ever amazing Nathan Bransford has a great post up today about the fact that there are few original concepts out there, and writing has more to do with execution than idea. It's good reading:

Nathan Bransford: On Concepts

And lastly, and ridiculously, most of you know I am also a correspondent for a website called HardcoreNerdity. Well my latest task has been writing the "Manly Monday" article (I know I know. We also have a "Foxy Friday"), where I get to basically objectify some actor in some genre role and say why he is so awesome. This week seems especially appropriate to my writing blog as I chose Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook. You can check out the article (complete with pics) here. You can also then click through to some previous entries that include Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, and The Men of Middle Earth.

Very silly, true. But fun!

That's all for today, hope this post will do for now. Uber apologies again for my poor posting of late!

My Winter Coat

2009-04-14T12:00:00.002-04:00

A story about my winter coat.

So it's mid April here in Toronto and I'm still wearing my winter coat. This isn't all that unusual for the time of year, but you do get tired of it. Slowly the temperature is rising, and hopefully by the end of the month I will have officially switched to my leather jacket.

The switch is important to me because it means the weather will be warmer. It will also mean that I will have fewer embarrassing moments which I am afraid I must blame entirely on my winter coat. Specifically its hood.

My ears are very sensitive (ah what a delicate soul I am), even in above freezing temperatures they can get so cold so as to give me ear aches. So I wear the hood of my coat up often. I prefer the hood because not only does it block the cold from blowing in at many different angles, it keeps my hair from getting messy unlike a hat.

But. It is also the source of great humiliation for me. You see, I have no peripheral vision in the hood. I have to be extra vigilant when crossing the street etc. But when walking along a sidewalk where it doesn't matter what's to my sides as much, I tend to forget I can't see around me.

And see here's the issue.

I like to sing. A lot. It makes me happy. And I've been taking singing lessons for years and I am very excited how much my ability has improved. When I think no one's looking I go all musical theatre on the world, and will totally belt any and every showtune loudly in public.

Problem is, with this hood of mine, I don't always realise that I'm not as alone as I think I am. Several times this week I have been singing, again, loudly, only to discover that following almost directly beside me is another individual most clearly within earshot. This being Toronto, as well as being a big city in Canada, they never say anything. People in Toronto are used to strange people talking to themselves etc, and being Canadian are also too polite to stare.

Let me reiterate. I sing loudly. I mean, as if I was on stage. There's no way to pretend I wasn't just singing, or that I am cutely singing to myself. Oddly though, I stop right away and try to anyway, but I always feel ridiculous.

I feel the heat rush to my face, I quickly walk away from that person, and get mad at myself for getting caught.

It's really quite embarrassing.

And then two seconds later, I start singing again.

There's not much point to this story. Nothing that is really analogous to writing or acting. I suppose if I was to make it meaningful I could say something about making yourself vulnerable doing something you love, being true to yourself. Even though at times you may feel really dumb, or people may judge you, it's more important to sing loudly in the street than to walk quietly, head lowered, afraid to be yourself. Maybe I'll even take this lesson myself and apply it when I switch up jackets, and sing proudly still as if I was wearing my hood.

Actually, that's pretty good. But it wasn't the reason for telling the story.

I just wanted to tell the story.

Gender in the Publishing World

2009-04-07T14:48:00.006-04:00

(there will be many generalisations in today's post, I realise there are exceptions to every rule, and that people are individuals first, categories second . . . but today I am afraid I will be indulging in generalities. My apologies.)

Today I wanted to ask a question that's been on my mind a lot lately:

how big a role do you think gender plays in the world of books?

This is a broad question and meant to be. There are so many different levels on which one can discuss this topic. And it of course depends on your role in this world, there is a different perspective from each area: publisher, agent, author, reader . . .

For example, as an author, I often wonder whether men (or I suppose boys in my case with my audience) are put off reading a book with a female author's name obviously at the bottom. I know lots of boys read JK Rowling, but there was a reason her publisher suggested she use her initials only. Not only did they hope to widen her potential market, they also felt that because her main character was a boy, it was the best way not to alienate that audience.

I have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of boys who read Alex and really enjoy it. We are told often that boys will not read a book with a female protagonist, and I actually had a boy the other day look at me in shock when I mentioned Alex was a girl. This boy had already read the book, in which I say often that Alex is a girl, and yet I suppose because it isn't about the fact that she is a girl, that she isn't particularly "girly", whatever that is, he actually forgot he was reading about the opposite gender and saw her more as an "everyman" (everywoman?) kind of character. Something, I must be honest, that was indeed one of my goals with the book, so I am immensely pleased. But at the same time, does this mean that if I write a "girly" protagonist I will lose the boys who so enjoyed my other books simply on that fact alone?

As a reader . . . I have noticed that a novel written by a woman that centres around romance (though isn't necessarily a Romance Novel), tends to be shuffled aside as "chick lit", while similar novels by men are categorised as general fiction, and tend to be treated with a bit more respect. I have also noticed that men keen on writing Romance Novels feel a need to change their names to appeal to that audience as well. I have also heard tell of men being frustrated with an industry and audience that is predominantly female, and that the male audience/POV isn't always taken into consideration.

This disparity between the genders seems to exist in every genre. Agent Kristin Nelson wrote in her blog post entitled Dad Wisdom & Publishing:

"From my personal experience (and I really can only speak from that perspective), I truly believe that for literary fiction, it’s much easier to sell boy writers than gals. I know. Who can possibly make such a general statement but I have to say that I’ve encountered several worthy manuscripts that I’m rather convinced that if the writer had been male, the novel would have sold."

She also wrote another very interesting blog entry about the genders entitled PW Survey Says about the differences between genders within the publishing industry itself (an industry, one will note, that is heavily female).

And I find it all so distinctly odd. I do think that there are certain types of fiction in which, for whatever reason, certain genders prefer to write, but if someone from the opposite gender has done a decent job of it in their "wrong" genre, why shouldn't they be allowed the same chances and same level of respect for it? And why is it that two people can write a very similar story, and be shuffled off into totally different categories?

On a personal level I have met some interesting reactions with being a woman who is also funny. Many people (usually men - again generalisation) simply refuse to believe at first that I am as funny as I wind up being in my writing. Even in person I have had men look at me in total shock and say, "Actually you're quite funny." My books get that same response, and I must confess there are times I wonder what sort of reaction they would have got if the name on the cover had been Adrian, and not Adrienne. I wonder if by reading a book with a female name, readers (another sweeping generalisation) expect a certain sincere offering, and when a woman makes an ironic/satirical or cynical joke, the reader gets confused and sees it as not meant to be funny in the first place.

I have no proof to back that last statement up, it truly is just a question lingering in my mind that I'm not sure will ever be answered. But I do think there is an inherit prejudice (either in favour or against) an author of the "wrong" gender in a certain category. Someone will see the name, not even process it consciously, but somehow it will still affect how they read the work.

In fact I would suggest you try this little game at home, where you pick up a book by a female author say, and open it up and pretend it was written by a man and see if that changes your perspective on it (and vice versa)? I have, and I have to admit that there are times where it really changes the way in which I read the book. But maybe that says more about me, than anything else.

So what do you guys think? Am I totally off my rocker? Does gender matter in writing? In the publishing world? Is there a bias for one over the other in certain genres? And really anything else you feel like contributing to the discussion!

Ad Astra 2009

2009-04-01T14:24:00.018-04:00

Yes my third Ad Astra convention was this weekend, and I have to say that it was by far the most exhausting one I've been to. But this of course had something to do with the fact that I was on many more panels this time round, and was doing a co-signing/reading with the lovely Lesley Livingston (author of Wondrous Strange). I've also made some amazing friends over the years at the con, so there were also their events to attend as well. In all, it was an amazing event, but I'm not sure I've quite recovered yet!

So . . . the story!

Lesley and I arrived around 9am on the Saturday to put up some posters about our reading. We'd changed the time so as not to conflict with the awesome and extremely prolific Ms. Julie Czerneda, so we needed to inform the general populace of this. We had decided to call our event, "Dark Power and Mouthy Cleverness: together at last!" in honour of our awesome shared Globe and Mail review.

We were both a wee bit tired that morning. It did not bode well for the rest of the weekend.

Then we had to hustle to our first event which was a panel on getting into writing YA, which we shared with Michelle Rowan and Marc Mackay. We were certain no one would show up, it being first thing in the morning, but as we went on, by the end of the hour, we had a full house. 'Twas awesome.

Next was Lesley on a panel about putting combat in books. Lesley was fantastic and more than held her own despite the fact that she was slightly hidden behind a post.

We then went to listen to Julie Czerneda read from her latest book, in a very crowded room, and then we were off to support the amazing Douglas Smith, who has had a collection of short stories published: Impossibilia. This really impresses me because in the publishing industry I'd say short story anthologies, along with poetry and picture books, are one of the hardest things to get commercially published. So it was very cool. Got to buy a book and have it autographed of course.

Then Lesley and I parted ways as I was to help Julie Czerneda teach a writing workshop to teens. Really I'm more like her assistant and comic relief, Julie is so awesome at leading these workshops, but we had a great time with the teens, and they seriously came up with some truly original ideas. Really fantastic ideas. Pretty marketable ideas too.

Then, finally, I got a bit of a break. By now it was 3:30pm and I hadn't really had anything to eat. Of course I actually didn't get a chance to eat anything at that moment either as Lesley and I had to set up for our reading, but I did snag a few of the mini cupcakes I brought along for the event. Heck they were my cupcakes and I can eat them if I want to.

The reading was well attended, despite the change in time and location. We hadn't really prepared what we would say or how we would start it, so we kind of just looked at each other, and then Lesley read first. She did a great job, getting tons of laughs, and then I read, doing a great job and getting tons of laughs. We really are fabulous, what can I say?

Then we had a draw for a cover plate of her book, and the audio book of Alex. And then we signed books (which had been provided courtesy of the lovely Chris Szego at Bakka Phoenix Books).

Finally we were done for the day. At least, professionally. It was 6pm and we stuck around until midnight, hanging out in the bar with the likes of Martin Springett, S.K.S. Perry, JM Frey, Steph Lalonde, Joe O'Brien, Caitlin Sweet, Jonathan Llyr, Gabrielle Harbowy and Russell Winkelaar (and many more, but there was so much coming and going it was hard to keep track, apologies for leaving anyone out, trust me I adore you all!). I had a ridiculously long and wonderful conversation about how awesome Pixar is with Karin Lowachee and Derek Molata (which basically consisted of us saying, "What about Finding Nemo!" "Oh yeah that one is awesome! You know what part I like best. . . ." and then "What about The Incredibles!" "Oh yeah that one is awesome! You know what part I like best . . ." etc etc).

Then Lesley and I got rides home from the lovely Mr. Perry, and I fell asleep the second my head touched the pillow.

DAY 2

I didn't need to be at the hotel until 11am the next day, and my dad was kind enough to give me a ride again. I met Lesley at the coffee stand. She was very frustrated that she had only managed to fill her cup half way before the pot had run out of coffee. But we had no time to wait for a fresh one as we had to go to the launch of Julie Czerneda's latest anthology Ages of Wonder, for which the amazing Caitlin Sweet had written a story. All the authors came dressed up in a manner that reflected what they had written. Caitlin was tiny bit late curling her hair, but she looked fab so it was worth it.

They drew for prizes.

I did not win.

Then I headed over to be on a panel about adding humour into serious works along with Steven Kerzner (for those Canadians out there, Mr. Kerzner's alter ego is Ed the Sock), D.K. Savage, and Ed Greenwood. It turned out that most of us on the panel really tend to add humour into humourous works, but I still think we managed to keep on topic. In fact it was a heck of a lot of fun, and fortunately also pretty hilarious. There's also always that added pressure of talking about humour that people expect you to be funny talking about it. Not sure why. I think it could be pretty entertaining to have a very serious, dry conversation about humour. It also doesn't help that I'm still a bit uncomfortable in my role as humourist (despite the fact that it seems to be something I'm quite good at). For a blog entry about my said discomfort, please click here.

I would also like to add that despite his alter ego Ed the Sock being a rather crass individual, Steve Kerzner himself is just lovely.

Just so you know.

Then I had to fly off to see Mr. Jonathan Llyr in action. As you may know, I work as a correspondent for his website, harcorenerdity.com, as well as am a member of his theatre company, Tempest Theatre. He's a pretty big name in the geekish parts of Canada having worked for the Space channel for around a decade and interviewed just about every SF/F celebrity out there. So of course they asked him if he'd be interested in being on a panel about the upcoming Star Trek movie.

Thing is, he'd actually seen around 20 minutes of the film in a special screening, so while the rest of the panel were speculating, John actually had the serious knowledge. The panel for that reason wound up really interesting, because it wasn't just all speculation, but fact as well. And it was fun. And now I REALLY can't wait to see the movie.

(btw I should add that John was VERY skeptical about this film, kind of almost against it, and then he saw those 20 minutes and totally did a 180, so I'm pretty confident it will be pretty good)

Then Lesley and I dashed off to join Violette Malan (MOD), Fiona Patton and the amazing Tamora Pierce (who is so funny and deadpan - love it) on a panel about YA reading for Grownups. I think this panel was my favourite. It was all about what makes YA (and MG) so worth reading as an adult, what makes YA/MG unique. It was just really inspiring, talking about the hope the genre offers. How we are all so sick of everything in adult literature being so ironic, world weary and cynical. I pointed out that in Timothy, the main character IS world weary and cynical, but the difference is that attitude is meant to be perceived as foolish, not heroic. Truly we just missed the grand heroic stories from our youth. Tamora Pierce pointed out that she felt MG was where the true innovation was these days, and that made me feel happy as sometimes even in talking with YA authors you can feel a bit like a lesser author writing MG.

In all it was just fabulous, we laughed a lot, we also just got so excited about the genre. Because, really, there is so much there to be excited about.

And then we were done. And then we were exhausted. And then John, Lesley, Russell and I went to the Keg for linner (lunch/dinner). And then I went home, watched the Star Trek Family Guy (Rob Lowe? What the heck?). And then I went to bed.

I begin to drift off. Let my mind wander. Yay, think I, I get to sleep in . . . I get to . . . Holy ****! I sit blot upright, "I have an audition first thing in the morning!" Set alarm early to allow myself time to go over my monologues in the morning. Lie back down.

And finally . . . .

Drift off to sleep.

And now. . . some pictures!! Yay . . .

Getting into writing YA panel, left to right: Me, Lesley, Michelle Rowan and Marc Mackay.

Lesley on the fight panel. Slightly hidden behind the speaker stand.

Douglas Smith reading from his anthology.

Me and Lesley at our reading: "You go first" "No you go first. . ."

Me reading from Timothy.

Me finding myself utterly hilarious.

Me and Lesley FINALLY done for the day and able to relax.

Things get a little silly.

Then, for some reason, sophisticated.
(with that hat and the wine, it's hard for Russell not to appear so . . .)

Day 2 at the Ages of Wonder launch. The trio together again, Lesley, Caitlin (all greeked up) and me. Aren't we just fab?

The adding humour into serious works panel. Left to right: DK Savage, Steven Kerzner, me, Ed Greenwood.

We found ourselves terribly amusing.

John at the Star Trek film panel. Sitting next to moderator, David Clink.

John noticing me taking his picture. He is not amused. Odd.

Tamora Pierce, Violet Malan and Fiona Patton: the left hand side of the YA reading for Grownups panel.

Me and Lesley: the right hand side of same panel.

And now we rumble.

No.

Not really.

Not at all.

But Lesley and I get to be the Sharks. Is all I'm saying . . .

Reviewed in the Globe and Mail!

2009-03-23T12:01:00.006-04:00

Hey all!

I must apologise for my long absence. I've been busy working on edits for my YA (to be utterly clear, this YA has not been sold yet to a publisher or anything, when I say edits, I mean that I am currently working with my agent to make the book as super awesome as possible before sending it out to editors). It was a rather time consuming activity, and managed to make my back feel rather uncomfortable. But they're done, yay! And now I have some time to do . . . other stuff. Including blogging. I have some blog posts planned for this week (I've been brainstorming even if I haven't been blogging), so I'm looking forward to sharing them with you.

However today, I'm catching up on fun things, like paying bills and food shopping, so instead of composing something particularly dense, I thought I'd share with you all some awesome news that happened this weekend..

Timothy and the Dragon's Gate was reviewed in the Globe and Mail on Saturday! For those of you who aren't Canadian, the Globe and Mail is the largest national paper in Canada. Getting a review from them alone is next to impossible, getting one of a children's book even more so . . .

And getting a review that ALSO reviews your good friend's book? Well the odds are astronomical.

Yes by sheer amazing coincidence, I got the distinct honour to be reviewed in the SAME article as my amazing friend, the lovely Lesley Livingston (whom I've written about many a time here on this blog, and who's first book, Wondrous Strange, is doing wonderfully well). We also share the article with Charles De Lint, but really, I'm more excited about us.

So that alone is super cool. Super cooler is that both our books garnered reviews that could be called nothing short of glowing. However the coolest bit, in my opinion, can only be found in the print version. At the top of the article you'll find our pictures with the following caption: "Livingston and Kress: dark power and mouthy cleverness".

Technically Lesley would be dark power, I would be mouthy cleverness, but to look at our pictures you would think the opposite.

Still, pretty awesome superpowers to have. Well . . . maybe not mouthy cleverness. I can't see how that would really save the day . . . in fact I could see it causing more grief than good. Could be really annoying.

Anyway . . . it was a great way to start off a Saturday, and so special that I got to share it with Lesley. Gots to love happy coincidences!

The Linking Queen

2009-03-02T12:19:00.002-05:00

Yup, gots another good link for y'all today.

Agent Colleen Lindsay twittered (or is it tweeted?) about this website today: Forgotten Bookmarks. It's just amazing the stuff people left behind in books as placeholders. Who would have thought there was a website in this? But there totally is. There's also a book in this, be it non-fiction or the catalyst for a novel. Writer's Craft teachers take note, send your students here, seriously.

One thought, I'm glad though that I never really got into bookmarks and preferred destroying my books by folding the top corner down. Some of the stuff that they've retrieved seems awfully personal. I don't mind being a voyeur, but I'm glad it isn't the other way around.

Confidence Part Deux

2009-02-27T14:38:00.003-05:00

You'll probably find this blog entry already all over the interweb, and even though I am not a bandwagon kind of girl, sometimes the music its playing is just up my alley. This time it's 1940's swing music, which is just my favourite, so I couldn't help but jump on board as it passed.

Thus ends my extended metaphor.

Anyway . . .

The always "tell it like it is" J A Konrath has a great post about the difference between confident writers and delusional writers. I would like to add that all his examples tie in nicely with my personal slight obsession with "thoughtfulness" (see blog entry on said topic here). It's a really nice straightforward post and pretty darn apt.

Apt.

I really like saying the word apt, and making sure the "T" sound is clear.

ALSO

I am pleased as punch to announce that Timothy and the Dragon's Gate has finally been reviewed by Publishers Weekly (it's been a crazy time for everyone, including PW), and I have to say, it was well worth the wait. They seem to whole heartily approve of the book's existence, and call it both "action packed" and "a spirited follow-up". To read the full thing check it out here, but be warned there is a bit of a spoiler in it.

The launch . . .

2009-02-23T16:21:00.024-05:00

. . . was a success!! Huzzah! Thanks in no small part to my amazing parents, Cynthia and Flemming Kress. They had been working on this thing for weeks, sending out invites, printing flyers, getting the food all ready, buying the decorations . . . seriously, the event would not have been half so wonderful without all their help.

It also wouldn't have been half so wonderful if Wendy and Liana from Indigo Books at Yorkdale hadn't been quite so enthusiastic in their help. This was the second time Wendy has launched a book of mine in her department and she is just amazing. If there is anyone out there who loves kids books more . . . well I'm afraid I just can't picture such a person.

I got to the store with my Mom around 1pm, where my dad had been guarding the decorations since that morning. Yorkdale you see is a HUGE mall in Toronto, the weekend a very popular time to shop, and Indigo a very popular store - there was concern the decorations might not make it to the launch if someone wasn't protecting them. The decorations were fantastic. Behind the book signing table they had hung two rows of tiny Chinese lanterns, and framed the table with these awesome red and black pirate balloons. Actually the balloons served as a bit of a bread crumb trail as my parents had strategically placed them from the entrance downstairs along a route that led to the stairs, at the top, and then ta-da! The children's book section!

The entrance to the children's book section has this convenient arch. One could call it rather gate-like. And seeing as my book has a fair bit to do with gates, it seemed only appropriate that my parents hang a red Chinese dragon in the archway along with another lantern. They also made a big sign with a picture of yours truly on it, and placed it at the side.

The food was fantastic. There were these awesome cupcakes with red icing and a chocolate coin in the top of each, and a cake with the cover of my book somehow copied onto the top in icing. The cake making technology available these days is astounding. We also had juice for the kiddies . . .and me . . . and coffee for the grownups. My friend Heather (yes THE Heather from Alex) had also shown up early and she took it upon herself to be in charge of the food, embodying her character from Alex extremely well in making sure only people who were coming to the launch got a cupcake . . . or piece of cake.

At around 1:30pm my pirates showed up. Yup I had pirates again this year. Different pirates. Yup. I know enough people who are willing to dress up as pirates that I don't need to repeat the same ones. My social circle is just that awesome. They were so fantastic, they mingled, and got everyone's attention when it was time to do the reading. Also Kevin (the male pirate) was followed upstairs by a bunch of teenagers wanting a picture with him. Yup not only do I have pirates, I have hot, teenage girl approved, pirates.

The place was packed by 2pm, and I was so thrilled because to be honest I had no idea if anyone was going to come. But it turned out I was worried for nothing. Friends and family showed up, making me all emotional like usual. Sue Plant and Mark Fillator from Scholastic came in a show of support, and we even managed to engage the interest of some book shoppers passing by.

Wendy introduced me with a lovely speech, and then I came forward and spoke. I read a bit from the eleventh chapter, which is a pretty action filled moment, and aside from stumbling over a few words I think it went pretty well. I like to act out my readings, and by the end was really getting into it. Maybe a little too into it . . . ? Nah, no such thing.

And then it was time to sign books, which was awesome, and again overwhelming. We sold out. Made me a bit sad as some people didn't get a chance to get one. And then . . .

It was all over.

But it was an awesome time and . . . I have pictures!!

Poster for the launch.

Me and Wendy

Me and Wendy . . . and pirates!

Heather at her post at the food table. Note the cake and pretty cupcakes!

My awesome cake!

Me cutting my awesome cake . . . with pirates!

Charlie enjoying a cupcake, while his sister Ariel (right) and his mom wait patiently for yours truly to start reading.

Me reading. With a LOT of enthusiasm.

Emma and Stella not quite sure what to make of my enthusiasm.

A nice long shot of the event. With me still reading enthusiastically.

Crowd applauding appreciatively . . . for my enthusiasm. I hope.

Signing books!

Signing . . . books . . .

Yet more . . . signing books . . . for a very cute kid in pink!

Me and my friend Emily - who is featured in Timothy, and is also responsible for taking most of the pictures in this blog entry (the rest were taken by my dad).

Lesley Livingston - author of the amazing YA urban fantasy Wondrous Strange.
Smiling enthusiastically.

Me and Rob Weston standing under the dragon's gate. He's the author of the awesome middle grade rhyming novel Zorgamazoo.

Me and Heather. She isn't an author. But she is still totally awesome (also a great actress). And no, despite the fact that we are both brunettes with bangs, we are not sisters. Though many people thought so that day.

Book Launch this Sunday!

2009-02-18T10:38:00.004-05:00

Timothy and the Dragon's Gate Book Launch

Sunday February 22
2 pm
Indigo Bookstore, Yorkdale Mall, Toronto
Reading and Signing

Yes it's that time again! As you all know, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate came out in January and now I am celebrating its existence officially with a launch party! This means a heck of a lot to me, and I really do hope people will come. It's mid-day this Sunday, only a couple hours, free snacks, a reading and signing by yours truly, what could be better?!

Also, FYI, the event is totally kid friendly, in fact the whole reason I'm doing it on the weekend in the afternoon is so that they can attend, so please do bring along any kids you might happen to know!

I do hope you all can come! Truly.

BTW, I should remind people arriving by car to give yourselves PLENTY OF TIME... or take the subway... as it is YORKDALE ON A SUNDAY!
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"Kress employs a deceptively casual tone, an ease that belies the complexity of her prose style. . . Timothy and the Dragon’s Gate
is an old-fashioned tale, being told by a gifted storyteller. . ."
- Quill and Quire, starred review

SYNOPSIS OF TIMOTHY AND THE DRAGON'S GATE

With a father who can’t control him and a mother who is always out of town, Timothy Freshwater has finally been expelled from the last school in the city. As if that were not enough, events conspire to ensnare him in an ancient quest.When he meets Mr. Shen, a mysterious Chinese gentleman who is a mailroom clerk at his father’s office, Timothy finds himself deeply entrenched in a rescue operation centuries in the making.

It turns out that the diminutive, elegant Mr. Shen is a dragon, banished and forced to take human shape for a thousand years until he can resume his true form by scaling the Dragon’s Gate during a festival for the 125th year of the dragon. Until that time, he is sentenced to enslavement by the holder of the golden key. It is, of course, Timothy who finds himself the latest keeper of Mr. Shen. The boy too smart for his own good is reluctant to assume the task, but tackles the challenge, after being stalked by a stealthy ninja and chased by a menacing trio of black taxicabs. When Mr. OR_8">Shen falls into the wrong hands, Timothy is flailing in treacherous waters, literally. And then a strange-looking black brig with red sails, called, for some reason, the Ironic Gentleman appears on the horizon.

Relying on his own ingenuity and an annoying new ally, a girl called Alex, Timothy must face up to his responsibilities and rescue the dragon from a fleet of Chinese pirate junks. Above all, he must have enough faith in himself to take on that fleet’s commander, the Man in the Beige Linen Suit.

" . . . the tale’s snarky dialogue, sudden twists, authorial asides and daffy characters will keep readers turning the pages." - Kirkus

"An exciting read that's action-packed from cover to cover." - KH, The Magazine

"Kress has the knack of writing child characters who could be my next-door neighbors . . . Like 'Alex and the Ironic Gentleman', 'Timothy and the Dragon’s Gate' charmed me into staying up way too late to finish it. No syrup here. Instead, there’s adventure, derring-do, attitude, and danger. All wrapped up in a clever and fascinating take on the reluctant hero, courage, loyalty, and—of course—dragons." - Alice Loweecey, Buddyhollywood.com