The Awesome Julia

So most of you would know by now that I was super lucky to have the fabulous Julia Churchill from the Darley Anderson Literary Agency as my agent.

But what you won't know is that . . . she's leaving me!!!!!

Okay, so she's not just leaving me, she's leaving the entire company and that includes many an author, as well as Darley himself.

But still . . .

. . . she's leaving me!!!

She's leaving the agency for many brilliant and jealous inducing reasons, and I do not begrudge her any of them . . . but I am sad, I must confess.

You see, two years ago, Julia changed my life.

I had sent out several queries to agents and the next day she called for the full manuscript. She was the only one, I was to learn in the coming weeks, who would be interested. She helped me edit it and had an unwavering belief in it, even as we started getting rejections from publishers (in fact I think she got even more upset than I did about those rejections). She has been there to listen to me and my author neuroses. Heck, she even came to my going away party, when I left the UK.

She is also the reason I go into uber defense mode when people diss agents. She is the perfect example of how they go above and beyond the call of duty, are genuinely passionate about books, and . . . you know . . . are human.

So you'd better believe that I will miss her.

At any rate . . .

Thank you Julia. I've already said it to you like a million times, but I wanted to do it uber publicly, because really if you are going to say anything personal, it makes so much sense to do it online. And I wish you all the best with your upcoming adventures, and success with your life beyond that (though I do hope the adventures continue as well), because, as I always tell you . . .


You totally rock!


ETA - some of you have expressed concern over what will happen to me now, which is awfully sweet of you! Have no fear, I am definitely staying with the Darley Anderson Agency - everyone who works there is just wonderful, so I am not concerned in the least. Darley is looking for a new children's book author agent, and in the interim will be representing me. But thank you for the concern, my readers are the best!

The Magic Potion

On Friday I attended an all day conference hosted by the film actors' union here in Toronto, ACTRA. I had signed up for one panel discussion and a workshop, both on the subject of auditioning.

Now I know a fair bit about auditioning, having taken courses on the subject, and also heck just plain auditioned a fair bit. I feel quite confident about the activity, and even enjoy doing them. So I didn't really learn anything new. But I was quite pleased to discover, or at least be reminded of, that even the most successful of actors still go through periods of no work, and yes, still have to audition. Sitting listening to these actors speak, I also felt like I belonged, like I hadn't made the wrong choice to pursue acting, despite the insecurity one can sometimes feel from all the rejection.

So I am very glad I went, and there were one or two small things I hadn't known about the process that were also quite interesting to hear about.

Then, later that day, I was on one of my usual writing forums at home and a thread was started discussing the nature of query letters. It had less to do with the typical, "How does one write a query letter" and more to do with "Why do we follow a certain formula when writing query letters". It was far more philosophical than practical, in other words. Many people weighed in with excellent advice, but I couldn't help but feel we were all overthinking the issue a bit much.

Having just been at that acting conference discussing auditions, and having had one yesterday, and also having also gone through the querying process myself, and being rejected by all but one agency, I decided that I wanted to post my thoughts on the process.

The fact is, there is simply no magic potion that will get you an agent (acting or literary) or get you the work (acting or literary). You can follow all the guidelines down to the letter and not hear a peep from anyone, and meanwhile some person you know will do everything "wrong" and become a huge success.

There is simply no tried tested and true method.

So what on earth are we supposed to do? It's maddening reading the stories from successful authors or actors on how they got to where they are today, because each story is different. We can drive ourselves to distraction trying to extrapolate that one universal thread of truth found within each tale of glory.

Yes, there are certain things you can do that will be unlikely to be frowned on. Show up on time to the audition, be polite, put in the work ahead of time, memorise your lines. Write a grammatically correct query letter. Double check the spelling, especially of the agent/editor's name. Make your story sound exciting and fresh.

And above all, in both cases, be yourself.

Ah.

Yes.

Be myself.

Myself which is so confused as to what myself should do or what myself should be that myself is just that blithering crazy person in the corner? Is that the myself to whom you are referring?

It ain't easy my friends. It ain't easy.

But I am afraid the "myself" factor . . . that's the key.

So this is what I have gleaned. Partially from my success in the writing world, and partially in my . . . not as great success (yet) . . . in the acting world.

In the end, dude, you have to find what works for you.

Listen to the advice. Listen to all of it. Read the stories, watch the interviews, be a sponge and absorb it all. Hmm . . . wrong metaphor. Don't be a sponge, be a sieve. Let the information pass through you, let it register, and then catch the larger bits that make the most sense to you. Those bits that work for your personality. That honours who you are. Steal the good stuff, and let the other stuff just go away.

It'll take a few tries to find what suits you best. And, while you're trying, people who don't like the method you chose will try to convince you to do something else. They could be right, they could be wrong. Just let it pass through you and see if anything remains.

But don't look for the magic potion. It doesn't exist. It would be nice if it did. But it doesn't. There simply is no one way, no one path, to achieving our dreams. It's what makes each of our journeys special. Would you really want to walk down a path with everyone else? It would be crowded, and you wouldn't be able to see anything except the other people around you. What about the sights man, what about the sights?!

Look, this whole acting/writing thing is really hard. And what sucks even more is that the kind of people who tend to be drawn to the arts tend to be more emotional, more empathetic, tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves more obviously than the average Joe. So not only do we have a really tough road ahead of us, we feel the pain all the more acutely (not meaning to diss other people and other jobs. Again, sweeping generalisation here.).

But don't let all the white noise confuse you. You can only do what works for you, not what worked for someone else. Trust your instincts. Trust your gut. Be open to advice, but protect your heart.

Advice in the arts tends to be very impractical. You try taking a voice class. Seriously. "There is a fire in your belly and the smoke is slowly moving up your throat . . . " You learn everything by friggin' metaphor. And the reason you learn everything by friggin' metaphor is because the teacher is trying so darn hard to find one universal way to teach an entire class something very personal, something that you can't see, something visceral. You've got to give them serious props, that is so not easy.

Anyway, advice in the arts is impractical. It is the best someone can do at the moment. And so, this is very important, one must learn not to look at the words, but rather to look at the spirit of the advice. Really that's a good idea in general I think. Don't get wrapped up in the technicalities.

Just remember to be practical. Be professional. Be thoughtful.

And yes.

Be yourself.

Anonymous

A couple of posts ago, Book Lady made a comment in the comments section (a thoroughly appropriate place to put a comment I might add) that said this:

P.S. I had to stop by because you were the only commenter brave enough to actually put your name on your comment over at The Rejector. In a sea of anonymous commenters, you stood out. :-)

I thought it was important to post this as another example of my amazing wonderfulness.

And also because it really set me thinking in the last few days.

Everyone knows one of the joys of the internet is the ability to be anonymous. Everyone also knows it is one of its greatest dangers. Who exactly is the person behind the avatar? How can we trust anyone online? People have built relationships based on playing make believe, fall in love with someone they thought was a hoolahoopist and turns out to be a doctor, etc.

And hopefully when we enter the world of the wide web, we take caution, we don't trust completely, we are careful not to give out personal information to just anyone. We are responsible.

I have always been aware of the anonymity and its sinister evilness on the web. Of the extremes of horribleness. But now that I have become more of a participant, not just an observer, in the past few years, I have to say, it is the more subtle moments of anonymity, that have really begun to surprise me.

I exist in a part of the internet that is populated by more of the thoughtful, mature, and intelligent people out there. I am talking about the writing world. I have a lovely group of bloggers with whom I can have a very interesting exchange of ideas, as well as am a member of several very reputable writing forums - where, for example, a newbie will quickly be chastised for using "text speak".

And so I find it all the more upsetting when I read certain blogs by very intelligent professionals, and people in return post extremely nasty defensive comments. Okay, everyone is allowed their opinion, but here's the crux . . . they do it anonymously. And that is just . . . well . . .chicken.

To put it more eloquently, people have stopped taking responsibility for their actions. People are hiding behind the pseudo-anonymity (no one is truly anonymous on the internet as ISP's prove) of the internet to let the basest of emotions take over. You would think in an environment that forces you to write things out, to take the time to put words down, there would be a thoughtfulness associated with it. Not so.

And it isn't like these really strongly opinionated offensive posts (comments) are even helpful to the debate. I have never seen a nasty comment help move a discussion towards any direction other than mud slinging.

What happened to thoughtfulness?

Now some people claim they wish to be anonymous because they don't want the crazies to track them down, fair enough. But it has been my experience that these same people are also the ones who just run off at the mouth, feel free to insult whomever, and then run away as quickly as they can.

There are many reasons I am not anonymous on the internet. One of them being that I am here to try to promote my work, and it would do a great disservice to say, "Go buy my book, I won't tell you what it is called, or what it looks like . . . but you'll figure it out." But another is I knew that by being myself, I would have a responsibility to think before I spoke. To remember that ANYONE can read these blog entries, and that, this may sound cheesy, but I wanted to make sure that my parents would be able to read what I wrote, and I would not feel ashamed.

I have very strong opinions. I also talk loudly, you might not know this as I haven't chatted with many of you in person, but believe me, it's true. And I get carried away emotionally far more than is necessary in a debate. In short, I am far from perfect. No one is perfect, and, my word, EVERYONE makes mistakes.

But these days so few people own up to them. It isn't just the anonymity on the internet, it's the false apologies given by the media: "I'm sorry if this article offended you", or by politicians, "While things have turned out differently, we did what we thought was right at the time".

Heck it is the lack of apologies in general. The admitting you were wrong. We are so focused on feeling good that even when we know we did wrong, we can't admit to it because that moment of, "I'm sorry, I was wrong" is such an icky feeling. Can't we just get over ourselves?

What happened to people taking responsibility for their actions?

At any rate, that is one of the main reasons I do not post anonymously on the internet. It keeps me honest. It keeps me humble (yes humble, sometimes . . .sheesh, I too can be humble!). It keeps me kind. It keeps me embarrassed at times too when I do say the wrong thing, or just put my nose where it doesn't belong.

And it keeps me human.

Advice

Occasionally I get asked for advice. Most of the time I get specific questions about specific issues a writer is dealing with. But sometimes I get:

"What advice can you give an aspiring writer?"

. . .

This is a pretty big question as you can imagine. There is a lot a lot of advice that can be given out. About writing. About the publishing process. About marketing. About maintaining sanity. Of course I always have opinions on any subject, and I thought I would maybe write a couple of posts in the coming days on each of these topics.

But today's entry is going to be a nice list of links. Because there is no way I could feel comfortable giving my relative newbie advice without sharing the knowledge of some pretty smart and more experienced individuals first.

So . . . check out JA Konrath's blog if you are interested on advice on self promotion, he has some truly amazing insights.

John Scalzi just recently posted a very interesting entry on Writers and Money (but his blog in general is an excellent read).

There are also a gazillion agent blogs out there all trying to help writers find their way through the mysterious querying process, as well as just being informative about the agenting business. Start with Pub Rants, and follow the links on her page to other agent blogs.

Interested in writing for children? I've just come across this blog by an anonymous editor of children's books. There are also these two websites devoted strictly to writing for children: Verla Kay and Write4Kids.

For general information about agents and a good introduction to the world of query writing, check out Agent Query.

And to check up on the legitimacy on any agents or editors, we have Predators and Editors, as well as Writer Beware (and its fabulous blog). Writer Beware is also the site that introduced the Twenty Worst Agents list, well worth checking out.

I also have already linked to several other blogs and websites in the sidebar here at The Temp, The Actress and The Writer, totally check them out.

Lastly, if any of my fabulous readers would like to add to this list in the comments section please do so! I only learned about many of these sites through online friends like yourselves!

Next post, I shall attempt to answer the writing advice question myself. Until then . . .I think these links will totally keep you all rather occupied!

I have the best readers ever!

Okay, I don't know who it was, or even when it happened, but I have to say it really made my day when I checked out the Amazon listing for Timothy, and noticed that I had a sales rank!

For those not in the know, on Amazon it tells you where your book is in terms of sales. Alex for example is currently at 44,028 (the rank changes hourly and really reflects a general state of your books, it really isn't an exact science. If your book is in the top 1000, you are doing very well, in the tens of thousands, not bad, hundreds of thousands . . . well you get the idea).

But you only get a sales rank once someone buys your book (obviously). Until then there are no numbers. So if you see numbers, that means someone somewhere bought a copy of your book! And I see 747,446 over at Timothy!

So thank you to whomever bought my book! I feel very JK Rowling (obviously I'm on a JK Rowling kick this week) with all my pre sales. Or should I say, pre sale.

Silly, but it really made my day!

The Great Defender . . .

Maybe it's because I adore her books. Maybe it is because she is so cool under pressure. Maybe it's because I think we would maybe actually get along really well and I would love someday to go for coffee with her in a very civilised absolutely non-stalkery way.

But I feel a need to be JK Rowling's great defender.

Not that she needs my help, of course, she can more than take care of herself.

Still, I get a bit sick and tired when I read in various different locations (blogs, articles, forums), that all JK Rowling is interested in is the publicity and the money. People said this when she announced Dumbledore was gay. People said this when she made those seven books (oh, and gave away six of them, auctioning off only the last, you know, for charity, but whatever). People say this as a general rule, as if J K Rowling sat down one day and decided to be an author to make the big bucks.

And it gets me . . . grr.

First of all. Anyone who has seen any interview with JK Rowling knows that she is a writer through and through. All she has ever been since she was little was an author. It's so obvious how passionate she is about writing, that even if you don't like her work, you simply can't deny she loves what she does.

But.

EVEN if let's say she was doing this for the money (uh . . .right . . . because there isn't any easier way out there to make money than writing books), there is no way on this green earth that she could have predicted the kind of success she was to get. Because the kind of success she's had? Has never happened to any other author ever.

Yes Dan Brown, very successful. Yes Mr. Grisham does splendidly. But the attention, the money, the world wide phenomena, the awesome parties, the changing the nature of an entire genre (by which I mean demonstrating to publishers that writing for children is indeed a viable market, and making said market one of the hottest of all markets right now)? That distinction belongs to JK Rowling, and JK Rowling alone.

And if she could have predicted all that . . . well then I think the ability to see so clearly into the future itself is a pretty admirable thing, and she still deserves accolades.

So yes, as you can see, I am quite obviously JK Rowling's great defender.

Or so I thought.

Until I found this article, and I realised that of course there is one out there who has always been in her corner, who has always been supportive of her books. He has written many an article about her, but this one I think is just brilliant. Forgive me if any of you have already read it. I am often late to the game. But it's a good'un, and really shares just how impressive a thing JK Rowling has done.

May I present to you the true bearer of the great defender title: a one, Mr. Stephen King.

Another Interview

Hey all!

Quick post today. I was interviewed over at the blog of author Auria Cortes. If you feel so inclined, please have a quick peek, and if you feel even more so inclined, maybe post a comment or two over at her blog!

Thank you so much for the lovely interview Auria, your questions were very interesting, and good fun to answer!


My Place Card

Okay, some of you have already pointed out that Timothy is up on Amazon (and thank you my fab readers for doing so, because if it weren't for you I wouldn't have known!) .

So I thought I might as well share the cover of the book with you, seeing as you can see it easily there. However, you should know that this isn't the finished cover, more of a place card while my publishers and the artist do some more stuff to it. To be honest I have no idea if the final cover will look like this, or in a completely different style.

Nonetheless, it is kind of interesting to see the evolution of a cover. And normally I wouldn't post a first version because I consider creating visual art just as personal a process as creating any other kind of art, and I know as an author I wouldn't want my rough draft posted for the world to see. But because Amazon has posted this version of the cover, it gives us the chance to see how a cover will change and stuff. Which I think is pretty cool.

So for all and sundry . . . here is the totally gorgeous current incarnation of the cover for Timothy and the Dragon's Gate (made fabulous as ever by the amazing John Rocco - who just won the 2007 Original Voices award for picture books I hasten to add):

What Are Your Intentions

So okay, there haven't been tons of questions (darn you all for not doing my work for me! You should feel deeply ashamed!), but at least I have two assignments now.

The first is to share with you all my intentions with the Alex series.

And the second is to write poetry based on my favourite moment in Canadian history. (JMM, I never said I wouldn't do a Shakespearean sonnet. In fact I said I WOULD do a Shakespearean sonnet on any topic of your choosing, so I will write my fav Canadian moment as a sonnet, if you approve).

So, to the first question!

I don't know.

Next!

Sorry sorry . . .

But it's kind of true. I know I have plans for more books, but I don't know how many or in what direction they will take me. I wish I could be as amazing as JK Rowling and have a very complex plan, and introduce clues in book one that will matter in book six etc (man I always loved that about her). But for me, I've always been a sort of, "Let's see where this is going to take me" kind of girl.

As to how the books will work - I've mentioned it before, but it is now buried deep in the archives, that my series is a bit different. The next book for example, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate, starts off by introducing a new character, Timothy Freshwater. We then follow his adventure until two thirds of the way through the book when he meets up with the end of Alex's adventure. Like he meets her the day after her adventure has just concluded, and then the two of them complete Timothy's adventure together.

Basically this makes the book standalone, in that if you haven't read Alex, you can still read Timothy because the adventure is totally new and different. At the same time, there are certain inside jokes, and a certain depth to characters, that you can enjoy had you read Alex first.

I hope this all makes sense.

So that's the plan for now! I hope this answered your question Anonymous 4:37, thanks so much for asking!

Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger has died.

There will be a myriad of blog posts and articles discussing the event. Mine will be probably one of the least enlightening entries as I have no idea what happened and only knew him through his films. I never knew him as a person.

But I felt a need to post nonetheless.

You see, I'm very very sad.

And I am not exactly sure why.

Yes he was an amazing young actor, with an amazing future and he had a small child. And yes that makes the whole thing really horrible. But I don't know. What I'm feeling is so visceral, so not putting thoughts together like his daughter will never know her father. Just deep, hollow. Emptiness like when someone you know dies. Just . . . sadness.

And I guess it's like that sometimes. I was very little when Jim Henson died, but it struck me quite profoundly and in very much the same way. I know it might sound odd, but there was something about him that made me think he was an uncle or some relative of mine. Someone I had a personal connection with.

Heath Ledger was not even my movie star crush. But he was someone I would talk about often. I think he just impressed me so much in Brokeback, and I hadn't expected such a performance from him, that he just sort of stayed with me. The whole his playing the Joker thing I have talked about with so many people I could write a treatise on the subject.

It's silly. But I can't help how I feel. I didn't know him. I didn't even know much about his background (I only stalk my crushes). But . . . I cared about him.

Anyway, just wanted to post my feelings. I don't typically use this blog as therapy, so please forgive me this one time. I needed to get it out. And of course in this day and age "getting it out" means sharing it with the entire world as if my one opinion on this subject really is that interesting.

But, it does make me feel a bit better having shared it with you guys.

Again . . . silly.

Any Questions?

So I decided to revisit that blog post where I asked you all what you would be interested in having me write about to try to come up with something to write about, and I realised I had really basically answered those questions already.

(Although JMM, I still have yet to write a Shakespearean Sonnet, so if you have a good topic suggestion I will definitely indulge you.)

Anyway, I thought it was about time I got you guys to do the work for me again, and since some time has passed since I last asked for your help, I thought there could be some new interesting thoughts/questions that had developed!

So yes, ask me anything! Be it about acting or writing! Feel free to ask about both techniques within creating either art, and the industry surrounding them!

With any deeply personal questions, I reserve the right to ignore them. Or to turn a dark shade of maroon. Or both.

Some More New York Pictures

Hey all!

I know I haven't been living up to my usual blogging standard as of late. I think it's because I'm trying to figure out the best schedule for myself for this year of 2008. But I miss you guys, and feel bad not updating regularly (aside from which I also really just enjoy blogging), so I'll try to post at least twice a week like I used to from now on. I promise.

Today's blog post though is the lazy man's blog post, but also the show off's blog post. I wanted to share some of the pictures from my trip to New York that I took this past weekend. As ever it was brilliant, and as ever it was with my dear friend Lesley Livingston (in honour of her birthday!)!

So I just wanted to post some of my artsier shots, just cause, you know, I likes them! I promise my next blog entry will be very profound and controversial. Well . . . how about simply: my next blog post will be.

At the MET

The Huron Hotel where we went for drinks - just fabulous!

The view of Manhattan from Williamsburg Brooklyn (where I was staying)

A giant eagle statue in Battery Park

A New Year

In case you hadn't noticed, it is now 2008. A new year. What does that mean? Not much really, the breakdown of years is quite arbitrary. After all the Chinese New Year is in February, the Jewish New Year in the early fall, and I have always truly believed the the year turned over at the start of the new term at school.

But for all intents and purposes, we are facing a new year. And as I posted around this time last year, I think there is something really lovely in the idea that we can start afresh, really try to make some lasting resolutions. In that way, a new year is vital. It helps us keep the hope going. I really really like that.

This new year though I would like to reflect on the one that has just passed. I mean, I am looking forward as well, I have set several goals for myself and I have high hopes for the months ahead. But this year has been quite an important one to me, so I think I should take a second and think about it.

Things have happened this year. Things tend to happen during years, but this may be one of the first that I've taken stock of them.

Acting wise, the biggest thing was getting an agent. And not just an agent, but someone who is incredibly supportive and loves Shakespeare as much as I do. I also produced and directed a show for a theatre festival. When I think of how much work that was, I am shocked I managed it actually. I went on several auditions, to the point where I can't keep track of how many they were (which may not sound like much, but trust me just getting an audition is special), and of course I had a total blast reviving the Third Witch in the fall in Macbeth.

And all of this would be considered rather impressive on its own. But I am neglecting that other part of my life, the path that I was surprisingly and pleasantly thrown down around three years ago.

That would be the writing part of course.

And this year . . . well this year . . .

I became a published author.

I started it entrenched in edits and feeling slightly lost, and ended it by being accustomed to seeing my book on a shelf in a bookstore. I saw my cover for the first time, I learned what an ARC was, I saw the fonts my book would be published in and I saw it in a completely different language. I flew to cities I'd never seen before, learned how to order room service like a pro, and discovered that, despite my fears, I can be reliably funny in front of a large crowd.

I have made some wonderful friends in the writing world, in person and in the blogosphere. People without whose support would have made this journey far less pleasant.

I have also written a second book.

Now, I will always feel slightly in awe that my life ever considered going down this path. I know I have talked about it before, so I won't go on about it now, but my life has changed so drastically from what I ever expected it would be. I can't imagine where I would be, what I would be doing, how my social circle would be different, had I not decided, just for fun, to start writing a children's novel while spending a weekend in Bath. The smallest of choices. I guess that's why we have movies like that one with Gwyneth Paltrow, "Sliding Doors", about how one small decision can make all the difference. It's really crazy to speculate.

Anyway, it's been a good year. And I am very grateful for that. I hope that 2008 proves just as exciting. Well whatever it turns out to be like, I will always feel pretty darn lucky to have had a 2007 like I did.


So what about the rest of you? I hope you all had a lovely year, what were the highlights do you think? And what do you hope for next year?

Grr. . . I mean . . .ROAR!

So I have been awarded twice 'The Roar for Powerful Words Award' from The Shamless Lions Writing Circle. Once by Catherine J Gardner over at The Poisoned Apple, and once by LindaBudz over at Just Like A Nut.

First I want to say thank you so much to the both of you, it is a genuine honour. And next, as the rules dictate, but also because it is an awesome thing to do, I shall now award some fellow writers.

Drum roll please . . .


Holly Kennedy - not just because she is a fellow canuck, but because her blog has kept me sane on the craziest days. Holly is able to find humour in the most trying situations (namely being a professional writer while raising kids - some of the stories about her kids make you cry they are so funny), and shares what it is like to be a writer in a unique and profound way.

Miss Erin - there is nothing "only" about being a teenager. This fab blogger has not one, but two blogs, both based on her passions: books and acting. She posts regularly and with well observed and wise insights. She reviews everything, and also has regular guest bloggers. Truly an industry in and of herself!

Dawn Rotarangi - the sad news is this lovely blogger (and author) is bowing out of the blogosphere. The good news is you can still read her archived entries on her blog. This kiwi is down to earth, quirky and sweet. Learn all about her writing journey, also the tales of a day in the life (which include working at a gas station, breeding puppies, and working with calves. . . ).

Patricia Wood - author of the wonderful novel Lottery. What makes her blog special is not only her willingness to share every step of the way in her writing journey, but her incredible photographs (yes I know this is an award for writing, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words . . . ) that perfectly illustrate her posts. Part philosophical contemplation, part day in the life of - this blog is definitely worth checking out! (also for all the contests!)

Hick Chick - and another canuck, what can I say, I'm loyal. Hick Chick is unbelievably entertaining and draws quite a crowd to her blog. Her posts vary between observations on daily life, to her journey as a writer (okay so I know that's a common theme in my list . . .). What makes her unique is her wry humour and her virtual parties! (make sure you go to her post on Hallowe'en, you'd be hard pressed to find a better Jack Sparrow than Johnny Depp himself).

Magical Realism

What I am most proud of about my book, aside from the fact that I actually, you know, wrote a book, is that it doesn't easily fit into any one genre. Heck it isn't even necessarily Middle Grade, my American publishers say it's Young Adult.

It's adventure. It's comedy. It's pathetic (in the true sense of the word in that it contains pathos). It's a pirate adventure. It's also a modern day Alice in Wonderland story. It's about about teachers. And a big plot point hinges on correct grammar usage.

And no one seems to mind any of this, which is just lovely.

But there is one thing that can sometimes confuse, one thing that I get called upon to clarify most often, and that is . . .

Is it fantasy?

It's a good question.

On the one hand no. It takes place in our world where movies are made, people drive cars, and use laptops. Where kids go to school and face the same grade system as any kid today. Everyone talks with a modern vernacular and syntax. And existing countries are referenced, such as France and Spain (in the next book they go to China).

And on the other hand, yes. We have a talking octopus, tall ships, art deco party trains stuck in time loops, and pirates that are most definitely from a time gone by.

So what the heck is up with that? Alex doesn't go through any portal. Her world is unusual from the start. Even her local police station has a two way mirror put in the wrong way. Yet her world is also our world and our world simply does not obey the same rules as hers. And yet, wait a minute, it does.

This is where your head explodes and I make a tick in my notebook, "Sigh I lose more good readers that way . . . "

Well friends ponder no longer! There is a genre for our confusing tome. And it is . . .

Magical Realism! (echo echo echo . . . - I once had a lovely calculus teacher who when he'd introduce a new concept he'd say, "And now for some Trigonometry, echo echo echo . . ." I really liked that. So now I do it too. Though not in reference to math.)

What is magical realism you ask?

Okay that's a way too long answer really to make. Needless to say it is a very complicated genre and is usually associated with much more literary works (and usually, for some reason, Latin Americans - ie Alejo Carpentier, Jorge Luis Borges, Juan Rulfo, Carlos Fuentes, and Gabriel García Márquez). But I shall endeavor to explain it to you all using the tried and tested technique of cutting and pasting other people's explanations. So get ready for some fun intellectual stuff folks!

First we start with a very nice article written by a one Lindsay Moore (which is you are interested in learning more about this genre please click on the link, it's very well written and clear to follow) which states:

A literary mode rather than a distinguishable genre, magical realism aims to seize the paradox of the union of opposites. . . Magical realism is characterized by two conflicting perspectives, one based on a rational view of reality and the other on the acceptance of the supernatural as prosaic reality. Magical realism differs from pure fantasy primarily because it is set in a normal, modern world with authentic descriptions of humans and society. According to Angel Flores, magical realism involves the fusion of the real and the fantastic, or as he claims, "an amalgamation of realism and fantasy".

Moore then offers a list of some of the elements found in magical realism, most of which seem to perfectly describe Alex - the one listed that I think is not quite right is Hybridity, though even there I do think Alex may even have something in common with it still, but the rest are perfect:

Irony Regarding Author’s Perspective—The writer must have ironic distance from the magical world view for the realism not to be compromised.

Authorial Reticence—Authorial reticence refers to the lack of clear opinions about the accuracy of events and the credibility of the world views expressed by the characters in the text. This technique promotes acceptance in magical realism. In magical realism, the simple act of explaining the supernatural would eradicate its position of equality regarding a person’s conventional view of reality. Because it would then be less valid, the supernatural world would be discarded as false testimony.

The Supernatural and Natural—In magical realism, the supernatural is not displayed as questionable. While the reader realizes that the rational and irrational are opposite and conflicting polarities, they are not disconcerted because the supernatural is integrated within the norms of perception of the narrator and characters in the fictional world.


Then we move onto Wikipedia for a slightly more straightforward explanation:

The characters' reactions to the 'inexplicable' is key to the definition of Magic-Realism: inexplicable phenomena occur in extremely mundane circumstances and the character(s) tend to not respond adequately (or at all) to the supernatural or magic nature of the event. On the contrary, they often treat the magical event as an annoyance, a setback, or an unwanted obligation. . . Indeed, this blase response to the supernatural is what distinguishes Magic Realism from other more traditional representations of magical phenomena in narrative fiction. It is also what gives Magic-Realism its characteristically ironic and humorous quality.


Now the thing is, I have done that thing with the cutting and the pasting to show how magical realism totally works for my book. This means I have left out the bits from another article where the author, Bruce Holland Rogers, explains that magical realism is very literary serious fiction and never escapist. My book is clearly escapist. And I do see where he is coming from, the roots of magical realism are to show something quite profound. As Rogers puts it in his definition of "serious fiction":

Serious fiction helps us to name our world and see our place in it. It conveys or explores truth. . . magical realism is always serious, never escapist, because it is trying to convey the reality of one or several worldviews that actually exist, or have existed. Magical realism is a kind of realism, but one different from the realism that most of our culture now experiences.

There is therefore a lot more to the genre than what my children's novel is doing. But I nonetheless strongly believe that Alex belongs in the category. Aside from being able to check off almost all the qualities listed to distinguish a magical realist novel, I do think the book is trying to convey a worldview that actually exists, to explore and comment on this worldview. Before I did any extensive research on this subject, I had always called my book a satire for children. I always saw it as a social commentary on the way our world functions. Alex is basically the only child in the novel and it is her experience of the adult world that I was keen to explore.

At any rate, I do define Alex as magical realism for all the obvious reasons (and by "obvious" I mean for those who have read the book, I apologise to those of you who have not for not giving clear examples, but I didn't want to give too much away and thus ruin the story for anyone just in case). And I find it very exciting that I can fit my book so well into such a distinguished genre. I would never attempt to hold myself up to some of the greats who are mentioned, but every genre has a great in it, and we can't allow that to mean we can't join the club just because we aren't as fabulous (or as Franck in the remake of Father of the Bride would say, "Faboolos!").

So there you go. Thus ends today's lecture. I do hope you found it interesting, learned a little something new perhaps? Personally I think the genre is completely fascinating (obviously)!


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On a different note, I am very excited to announce that Alex is going to be featured with a dozen other titles this Saturday morning (ie tomorrow) on the CBS Early Show!

The president of The Book Report network (www.bookreporter.com) is going on the show to talk about books that you *should* know about this holiday season if you don’t already. The segment is airing at 7:40am.

So if you aren't partying till the wee hours tonight, and can get up early enough, why not check it out! (here's hoping that they don't cut to commercial just as they get to my book: "And now, for the pirate in all of us, Alex and the . . . " "I'm afraid I have to cut you off there as we need to go to break! Thank you so much for coming on, I'm sure we'll all want these books under our trees come Christmas!" lol!)
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Sources for post on Magical Realism:

Moore, Lesley. Magical Realism
Rogers, Bruce Holland. What is Magical Realism Really?
Wikipedia. Magical Realism

Backstage

I thought I would write a little about the world backstage during the run of a show, seeing as I am also The Actress in The Temp, The Actress and The Writer.

I just thought it could be kind of interesting. Since our Macbeth is performed to highschool students, I often wonder what they think of us. If they think we must be as formal as Shakespeare's text, or as dry (granted I don't find Shakespeare formal or dry at all, and I think the company - Tempest Theatre - does a brilliant job in making Shakespeare fun and exciting, still I imagine the stigma attached with Shakespeare can prejudice an audience member, despite what is going on on stage.)

Because backstage has got to be one of the silliest places anywhere.

You know what it's like. You have to keep quiet for whatever reason, and the second you have to keep quiet you turn into a 5 yearold, whispering and giggling. Well that's what it is like backstage. Now, compound that with certain actors who treat the company more like a hockey team, and you get many a fart joke and actual expulsion of smelly air, silly dances, and oh the fun to be had with kilts.

Sometimes people are simply reading the paper or books. Sometimes they are playing video games on the computer.

But these are all in the calm moments.

Suddenly there is a flurry of activity, lighting quick costume changes, swords need to be picked up, a shield falls noisily to the ground. In other words, chaos.

For example, aside from third witch, I was also playing "Gentlewoman" to Lady Macbeth. I was in many scenes with Lesley (who played Lady M), just standing quietly behind her and then exiting with her. Then the two of us would rush backstage so I could help her change costumes. It really was in a way like I was her gentlewoman.

Then of course there are the few actors who may forget they are in a scene. This time round one actor returned to the backstage area after having just finished a scene and was chatting with us, when an arm from the wings reached out and grabbed him, "You're on right now!" The actor ran for it into the wings, and then casually walked onto the stage as if nothing had happened.

My favourite things that go on, of course, are the things that happen on stage itself. The things that the audience has no idea is happening. In large group scenes, usually someone is trying to make someone else laugh. The banquet scene just before intermission for our Macbeth is pretty silly. Several of the guys on stage are wearing wigs to hide their identity and they just look utterly ridiculous. Doesn't help that they also make faces at each other, and quiet jokes while sitting at the table.

Another example occurs at the end of the scene where everyone discovers the king Duncan has been killed, as I was helping Lady M off stage (she had just "fainted"), Macbeth would whisper something to her than me. Something different each time. Once he asked me for my character's email. (After thinking about it backstage I decided my it would be gentlewoman@inverness.com.)

Personally though, in this past run, the weirdest thing that happened to me was during a rather quiet scene in Act 1. I'd had a cold all week, and was now at the stage where all you can do is cough. So whenever I was on stage and had no lines, I'd be sucking on a Halls just in case.

Well we come to a scene where Macbeth and Lady M are talking with Banquo, and I and Seyton are standing in the background as servants with no lines. The other actors are standing in front of us acting their hearts out, and suddenly I feel a tickle in my throat. I do a quiet clearing of my throat, hoping that that will do the trick. Suddenly I feel the compulsion to cough. One of those horrible and uncontrollable coughs that will probably turn into a bit of a coughing fit. So I think about it for less than a moment. And then, with a slight bow of my head, I calmly turn and walk off stage right in the middle of the scene.

And then run for backstage where I proceed to hack up a lung.

Of course nothing was really ruined by my early exit, though the actors were surprised to notice I was no longer on the stage when they turned to look at me. And in fact the few people we knew in the audience couldn't even remember the moment of my exit.

But that's the world of acting. Constant chaos, and unpredictable crazyness backstage and on, while all the time maintaining an illusion of sanity and grace for the audience.

It's bloody brilliant!

The dressing rooms downstairs.

The boys enjoying their wigs.

Macbeth (Jonathan Llyr) getting his chain mail fixed. And his makeup touched up.

The rest of the cast sitting on the stairs backstage waiting while the show is going on.

The noble rebels who hope to usurp Macbeth.

Macbeth's unfortunate army. No wonder he loses.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Don't they just look like figures on top of a wedding cake? Two crazy, power hungry, bloodthirsty figures on top of a wedding cake?

A Lovely Review

I have some more entertaining, or at least what I consider entertaining, and artsy, or at least what I consider artsy, pictures of Macbeth, along with a nice behind the scenes description of what it's like to be in a play (for those of you who may not know) to post here. But right now I wanted to post a truly lovely review of Alex from the Canadian Materials Magazine website. By now I'm sure you all know my appreciation of well written reviews (not simply when they are good towards Alex, but rather when you can see real talent behind the writing itself), and this is definitely one of them. Maybe I should start a review site reviewing reviews!

(And yes I acknowledge that I am a little unfair to well written negative reviews in not posting them, nor praising the talent behind them - and there is most definitely talent to be seen in some of them too - but I mean . . . this is my blog after all, and I like the positive stuff!)

So here is the lovely review by Caitlin Berry: Alex review

The first of many tales!

And now I shall tell the tale of the Texas Book Festival (Nov 3 - 4). Finally. After all this time.

It was awesome! But you are going to have to forgive me, I forgot my camera for this trip. I do have a few photos courtesy of others, but not as many as I would have liked. Sorry.

Anyway.

I arrived in Austin and was picked up by this lovely woman named Charlotte in one of the biggest white cars I have ever seen. Seriously. Very very big. Now I'm not doing this whole, everything in Texas is bigger thing, Austin didn't come across as stereotypical Texas at all and I have to say I was a bit disappointed to have only seen one cowboy hat my whole visit. But this car, it was huge. Anywhere it would have been huge.

Where was I?

Ah yes. I was driven to the hotel and soon after I met up with Katie Finch (publicity with Weinstein Books and a very lovely lady) to go to this party in honour of the festival hosted by Eddie Safady in his private home.

OMG. This guy's home (and it is this particular event that makes me very sad I didn't have my camera with me). This is a guy who decided he'd like to live in downtown Austin, and so converted a building on one of the main streets into his private residence. The place is three stories tall. Has a rooftop patio complete with an infinity pool. He'd opened up the whole house so that we walked through his bedroom and bathroom and went through his drawers (just kidding folks, just kidding - his drawers were locked . . . again just kidding! Didn't even try to snoop, I'm a good girl!). All the rooms were just stunning. Absolutely stunning, the whole place. And there's a wall on the bottom floor lit by fluorescent pink lights.

So no pictures of its amazingness. I do however have a lovely photo taken on his patio of me, three lovely librarians who helped organise several of the events (Alison O'Reilly, Nichole Chagnon and Michelle Beebower), as well as authors Perry Moore, and April Lurie:



So the house was packed, and considering it was a big house, that's saying something. I got to meet Padma Lakshmi who is another author with Weinstein Books (Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet), as well as the utterly gorgeous model/actress/host of Top Chef (and ex-Mrs. Rushdie). She was very sweet, but we didn't get to chat long as I was being taken away to participate in one of the events for the festival which was called "Not For Required Reading" and took place at this awesome movie theatre where they bring you food and drinks and stuff to your seats.

I was on the panel with a number of other authors:

(Right to Left: Jacques Couvillon, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Perry Moore, Neal Shusterman, April Lurie, Me, Brian Yansky, and Sherman Alexie. photo courtesy of Oops . . . Wrong Cookie)

First we went down the panel and talked a bit about ourselves and then read from our books. I wasn't expecting to read from my book, and I couldn't think of a bit short enough so that when they got to me I said that I was unprepared and so I was just going to open my book and read whatever page was in front of me. It turned out okay.

Then we were asked some very silly questions (ie Coke or Dr. Pepper?). And then we signed books.

I had arranged to meet my friend Sean, who I went to LAMDA with and who now lives in Austin with his wife, for drinks after. And it was so cool to see him again! It's so weird how several years can pass, but it can feel like nothing at all.

The next day I met up with Katie again and we went to watch Carl Bernstein give a talk about his new biography about Hilary Clinton, very interesting. Then it was my turn, and I joined April Lurie and Cynthia Leitich Smith again for our "Tough Girls" panel. The room was packed and it was so cool because the whole event took place in the capitol building so our panel was located in a room that I am sure judges or something usually use because we were sitting at this curved desk with these little microphones and I felt like I was in some 1950's movie and doing something . . . political. But I wasn't.

The panel went well and I got to talk about children's books to adults, which is very refreshing as there is a lot to say about the nature of writing children's books that isn't necessarily directed towards kids (not to say that talking about it with kids isn't great as well, just different).

After the panel we signed some books in the tent and then that was it. Katie and I went to the airport, hung out a bit, and then went our separate ways.

The whole weekend was just lovely. The weather I am told was unseasonably warm (and by that I mean hot), so I got to wear my summer dresses one last time. The festival was so well organised, I got emails weeks in advance prepping me for the panels I was to do, and once I was there everything worked like clockwork. And Austin itself is just such a lovely city. It's a very arsty town, and the people are just so warm and lovely.

A really fab trip.

Just wish I had pictures of it.

Sigh.

Prelude

I am almost back in the blogosphere. Not tonight though because I am pooped.

However I just had to share . . . drum roll please . . . .

Timothy and the Dragon's Gate is finished!

Okay, finished is a relative term. I still have to do edits with my editors and stuff, but as of last night I have emailed off the manuscript to my agent and editors and I am thrilled.

Seriously.

Wasn't sure I had it in me. I've been working on this book for almost a year now. It's been on my mind longer than that. Heck, I even had the stereotypical sleepless nights because of it.

And it's finished.

Sort of.

Relatively.

And I am pooped.