It's been so long!

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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 . . .

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!

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?