I’ll be honest, coming up with an image that encapsulates me and my work was a task I found daunting. Over the years I had tried a few different types of logos, but nothing that really stuck. Most of them revolved around a lighthouse theme, but for no other reason than I like lighthouses. Which is frankly not enough of a reason to make something your logo. There should be some sort of significance. Then, when getting ready to attend a conference, my agent, Italia Gandolfo, told me I needed up my web game and to get a logo. So my entire site got a revamp and I commissioned a logo. The problem is that I still had no idea what I wanted, so she said she’d take care of it, that I should focus on the rest of the site.

I was in very good hands. Italia knew better than I did what type of logo I needed and once I saw it, I loved it and the symbolism. Because I write for a broad spectrum under the banner of Children’s or Juvenile Fiction, I had trouble conceptualizing how to encompass that same spectrum. What is more perfect than the symbol of a butterfly? Butterflies are powerful symbols of life — they represent significant transformation. On the young end of my writing spectrum, I write for seven to eight-year-olds, but I also write for preteens, and on up through Young Adult. So my target audience encompasses the gamut of the butterfly life cycle.

Children are like the caterpillar exploring the world with fresh eyes and a hunger for new experiences that just won’t quit. Preteens and young teens become introspective and go through a phase of change as they try to figure out who they are and what they want to be, much like when the caterpillar constructs the cocoon. Older teens burst through that shell, dry their wings, and take flight going off to explore the world in a way they couldn’t before.

Besides, butterflies are pretty. But I honestly cannot think of a better image than the butterfly to be the icon for my work. I ran across a video from the Dodo about the life cycle of the Lunar Moth. If you have a few minutes, it is well worth the watch.

The post Behold the Butterfly appeared first on Be the Cat.

The amazing artist of the cover, is Mister-Sam Shearon … if you’re a fan of the dark side, you should definitely check out his work.

Details:

Jaclyn and the Beanstalk
by Mary Ting
Published by: Vesuvian Books
Publication date: September 4th, 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Blurb:

What fate awaits a girl who hears monsters at night…

Sixteen-year-old Jaclyn looks up to her father. An honest man who once fought for the king, he now teaches Jaclyn how to use her wits—and her sword.

But he has a secret. And his secret may have a connection to the one thing Jaclyn is hiding from him.

Upon hearing “monsters” are terrorizing the small villages around Black Mountain, Jaclyn’s father and his friends head out to hunt them … but they don’t return.

Armed only with her sword and three magic beans—a gift from a mysterious old woman—Jaclyn sets out for Black Mountain to save her father.

On her climb, one bean drops and grows into a beanstalk, catching her when she falls.

She isn’t the only one that takes the ride. Jack, her childhood friend and secret crush, is following her.

Together, Jaclyn and Jack must battle to save not only their fathers, but the townspeople the beasts plan to lay waste to before it’s too late.

Goodreads Link

Author Bio:

International Bestselling Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one — Something Great. Why the pen name, M Clarke? She tours with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children’s chapter book — No Bullies Allowed.

Official Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

The post Cover Reveal: Jaclyn and the Beanstalk by Mary Ting appeared first on Be the Cat.

Print   |   Ebook

ISAN
Mary Ting
Publication date: May 1st 2018
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult

The world has changed.

Scientists warned it would happen.

Meteors devastated the Earth. World Governments developed plans to help surviving citizens. The United States disbanded and salvageable land was divided into four quadrants—North, South, East, and West—governed by The Remnant Council.

Struggling to survive, seventeen-year-old Ava ends up in juvenile detention, until she is selected for a new life—with a catch. She must be injected with an experimental serum. The results will be life changing. The serum will make her better. To receive the serum Ava agrees to join a program controlled by ISAN, the International Sensory Assassin Network.

While on a training mission, she is abducted by a rebel group led by Rhett and told that not only does she have a history with him, but her entire past is a lie perpetuated by ISAN to ensure her compliance. Unsure of who to trust, Ava must decide if her strangely familiar and handsome captor is her enemy or her savior—and time is running out.

Add to Goodreads

Author Bio:

International Bestselling Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one-Something Great. Why the pen name, M Clarke? She tours with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children’s chapter book — No Bullies Allowed.

Website / Blog / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

The post Cover Reveal – ISAN by Mary Ting appeared first on Be the Cat.

By Oxyman – Own work, CC BY 2.5, Link

Recently, I was discussing the arc for the Middle Grade (MG) series I am currently researching with an author friend who asked, “Are you sure this isn’t YA (Young Adult)?” My response was an immediate and unequivocal, “Yes.” The question was valid as what we had been discussing could potentially be morphing into the YA realm. But I am firm in my gut feeling that the series is MG and not YA. But why is that?

I could make an argument based on the ages of my characters. There is a core group of kids, the oldest of whom is twelve. Firmly in the realm of Middle Grade. Except that isn’t the only thing that drives the difference in the age categories. My friend’s argument was that the situations felt more YA than MG. And she does have a point. However, one of the best-selling MG series of all time is Harry Potter and the situations in that series are life and death. Plus, my personal opinion of the series is that while it starts as MG, it ends as YA. Is that solely based on Harry’s age and the fact that he is a year older in each book?

Not entirely. For me, the series morphs into YA with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Now does it do that because Harry is fourteen in that book? Which would support the age-based category theory. I say no. The book starts for me as MG and ends as YA and the defining moment for the change is the loss of innocence … the loss of trust … the loss of belief. Harry returns to Hogwarts happy because he feels like he is home again, he has a family — in his godfather Sirius Black, who remains on the run from the dementors — he has his friends, and he and all the other students are under the protection of the castle, the teachers, and Albus Dumbledore. Voldemort cannot win against such things.

Except immediately, he is once again thrown into a situation not of his own making, only this time, he loses a friend (if only temporarily) in the process. The upset between Ron and Harry is strictly MG material. But later in the book, through the machinations of someone he thought he could trust, Harry is taken out of Hogwarts, beyond the protection of Albus Dumbledore, and must fight Voldemort completely on his own. In a mockery of his earlier noble act which gained him points, Harry’s noble act of sharing the win with Cedric cost Cedric his life. It his through his blood that Voldemort fully returns. In the graveyard, Harry loses his innocence having been responsible for taking another to his death, he loses his belief that good can triumph over evil, and he loses trust in the authority figures he expected to be able to protect him.

This is where for me the difference between MG and YA lies. Harry stops seeing everything in terms of black and white or good versus evil where good will prevail, but sees things from a more jaded perspective through shades of gray. He stops seeing things through the innocent eyes of a child. My challenge is to portray my kids, who frankly have seen the seamier side of life, to still see the world they live in through innocent eyes.

It’s a good thing I’m always up for a challenge.

By Rstoplabe14 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

The post What Makes a Book Middle Grade? appeared first on Be the Cat.

Wallpaperswide.com

Previously, I spoke about being a plotter or a pantster and how I fall in the middle of the spectrum. I’d like to add that for me, every book is different. Some require much more detailed planning in advance of starting, others simply have to be written and forget the outline you dashed down because we’re going on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride with this one.

I am very much a character-driven writer, so no matter whether well-plotted out or using the sketchiest outline possible, I need to know my characters well. They need to become real people to me. I imagine different scenarios, outside the story line, to see how they will react. I have imaginary conversations with my characters to get a sense of who they are and what their opinions and attitudes are.

Not all authors have to know their characters like I do, but for me, if my characters are not real people to me, I can’t write the story. So before I put one word on the page, I will spend a lot of time staring at the screen, the ceiling, off into space … listening for my characters to speak. One method that usually works for me is putting in headphones and going for a walk. Or going for a long drive. Until I know WHO I’m working with, I don’t have their story.

Writing the story is just the beginning. Once you get the story down on paper (or on a computer file), you then go back and re-read and revise. You are looking for mistakes (like missing words) as well as changing some of the story. EVERY writer makes changes to their work because they always find something that they want to change, something that will make it better. No one starts with a story that doesn’t need changes. It doesn’t matter how many times I review a story, I will always see something I want to change, so for me the hard part is determining when the story is polished.

One writing teacher I had stated the ability to write a story was the ability to keep your behind in the chair long enough. Inspiration of what to write is the wonderful part because your brain is bubbling with ideas and they take hold and haunt you until you put them down on paper. Then comes the work of staying in a chair long enough to get the whole story down — and to review it more times than you can count.

The post YWS: How Writers Write – Take 2 appeared first on Be the Cat.

Wallpaperswide.com

I’d like to share with you a little about the writing process. Of course, I can’t tell you how all authors write, but I can share my process as well as those of some authors I know.

There is a popular theory that if you had a room of monkeys typing on a keyboard and infinite amount of time, they would be able to replicate all of the great works of fiction or indeed any book ever written. It is called the infinite monkey theorem—and the idea has always tickled me because I cannot conceive of a roomful of well-behaved monkeys sitting for as long as it would take to create the complete works of Shakespeare. Jesse Anderson created a fun visualization of what it would take for the monkeys to recreate Shakespeare … hover the cursor over the text and the box on the right shows how many attempts it would take to create the highlighted phrase. And at the bottom of this post I have included a computer simulation of how those random phrases might occur. So I guess my biggest problem is not having enough monkeys to do the writing for me.

Another theory is that to write a story, you start at the beginning, keep writing until you reach the end and then stop. This sounds easy, but when you start to put the words down all sorts of questions start cropping up. What is the beginning? How will I know when to end? How do I get from the beginning to the end? Getting started is tough when looking at the blank page, but sometimes knowing when the story is done is even harder. YIKES!!

Some authors create a very detailed outline of their story before they start to write it. They need to know every plot point before they can start writing the story. Once they have all of the details mapped out, they put the words on the page and the characters in the story follow the map. They are called plotters.

Some authors don’t know where the writing is going to take them, they don’t map out their story line first, but just start with a concept (a setting, a character, an event) and see where it takes them. They approach writing with a “let’s see what happens next” attitude. They are called pansters.

I actually fit in between the two. I need to know the basics of my story, but as I write, there are twists that happen that I didn’t know were going to happen. It’s almost like the story takes on a life of its own and the characters go in directions that I didn’t know they were going to go in, but eventually, they meet me back at the story line that I started with. It’s fun when your characters start taking on a life of their own, because at that point, they start writing the story for you. Maybe I do have monkeys in a room somewhere. Or maybe I’m the monkey.

Another thing to keep in mind, is how you approach the story may depend on the story itself. Some take more planning and others need to be left more to where the characters take you. Where do YOU fall on the spectrum? What is your writing comfort zone?

The post YWS: How Writers Write – Take 1 appeared first on Be the Cat.

Wallpaperswide.com

One of the questions that most fiction authors are asked at one point or another is “how did you get the idea for the story?” Sometimes this is a hard question to answer.

The easy answer is: LIFE

Actually, there are several ways in which an author can come up with an idea for a book.

Through reading or hearing about a current or past event. Maybe you read about a historical event and something about the situation intrigues you and you start imagining characters and how they deal with the events occurring. This can be through newspapers, something you see on TV, or even other books you read.

Visual imagery — You might see a picture that draws your attention and you can start building up a story about what happens in the picture. I still have one book that I haven’t written where I came up with the idea in this very same way. I was visiting a friend’s house and she had a picture on the wall of sketching of two girls and just looking at the picture, I started to imagine the story of what was happening in the life of those two girls. I even knew their names just by looking at the picture (Cassandra and Alexandra). I have jotted down my ideas for this story and one day will get around to writing it.

A setting — I once went to school in Owatonna, Minnesota, and realized that the school I went to would be a great setting for a story. I knew that my main character would be someone who was not used to having any rules enforced, and the school rules were very strict. This story will actually (when I finish it) cover the course of 3 books, because the story that I want to tell with it is too long for one book.

Daydreams — Sometimes your mind wanders off on its own and something you see or hear sparks a line of “what if” thinking or imagining and you realize that when you get through to the end of the “what if” that you have the basis for a story.

Dreams — Believe it or not, the first book I completed writing was the result of a dream that I had. When I woke up from my dream, I knew that I had the making of a story — I knew the beginning, the middle and the end. I didn’t know all of the details of course, but the major points of the story were all there and all I had to do was write it.

Reading another story — Sometimes you read a story and think to yourself “that’s not the way I’d write it”, and then write your own version of the story. Or maybe it’s just part of the story where you think an underlying part of the story was left out.

Tips for generating story ideas:

Study an author whose books you like. Identify what it is that you like about how they write. It’s also important identify things that you don’t like and know why. It helps you to avoid the same thing in your own work.

Some writers carry a notepad wherever they go so they can jot down ideas as they come up. Or they will keep a journal to at least write something down every day. The more you write, the better you can become.

The internet is like a cornucopia of ideas waiting to be found. Google or Yahoo writing prompts and you will find several exercises to give you ideas. Something like: Start with a character that has an unusual fear. What is the fear? How does the character react when he/she has to face that fear? If you start with an idea like that, you are well on your way to creating a story, as well as character development.

These are just a few of the ways in which you can come up with a story. Can you think of others?

The main thing to remember is that you shouldn’t try to force yourself to come up with ideas. Sometimes the biggest obstacle to coming up with an idea is the fear of not being able to come up with an idea. Just relax and let your mind wander. Something will pop in sooner or later.

The post YWS: How Authors Get Story Ideas appeared first on Be the Cat.

Wallpaperswide.com

This is the third of three posts focusing on 8 tips for the writing environment. In order to help you do your best writing, you have to know what it is that helps you focus on the writing.

Missed the first post on Location, Essentials, & Time? Find it here.
Missed the second post on Noise and Light? Find it here.

Temperature, Snacks, & Clutter

6. Temperature: Pay attention to the temperature of your writing area. If it is too cold, or you get too hot, you will start thinking about your comfort, which interrupts your writing process. I usually need to cool my writing area down or at least get some air flowing. I’m super sensitive to a stuffy atmosphere, and sweat easily. And trust me, when sweat is dripping in your eyes and stinging the heck out of them, you won’t be accomplishing any word counts. I have been called a polar bear by some (yes, I’m looking at you, Hope Collier) because I’m comfortable at temps where others are thinking about putting on a jacket. But an environment that is too cold is just as bad as one that is too hot. If you’re shivering and blowing on your hands and your toes are so cold you can’t think straight — again your word count suffers. What is the right temperature? The one that feels the best to YOU.

   Do what you need to, to make your environment comfortable. While most of me is hot most of the time, my toes and fingers easily get cold, so I make sure I have something soft and fuzzy for my feet and in the winter, I use fingerless convertible gloves to keep my hands from getting too chilly.

7. Snacks: Do you write better with things to eat close to hand or not? Writers on deadline have notoriously bad eating habits because they are working furiously to get the current task done. So often times healthy eating goes by the wayside to be replaced with junk food like Cheetos, chocolate, chips, candy — sweet and salty items that don’t have to be refrigerated, can be kept on hand by the bagful to allow the butt to stay in the chair long enough to accomplish what needs to be done. A friend of mine, Branli Caidryn, shared the neat little trick of eating cheesy snacks with chopsticks to keep the cheese dust off the fingers and keyboard.

   I am definitely not recommending the above snacks as normal fare. It is much better to keep some healthy snacks on hand, or maybe even better yet, take snack breaks to get up and stretch and get away for a moment to rejuvenate and refresh. I like to write with a big mug of tea to the right of my keyboard, within easy reach, so I don’t have to think about where the mug is, but can just grab it while I am thinking. And in my office, I keep a small refrigerator, a portable kitchen island, and a tea kettle.



Photo: Alamy

8. Clutter: Is your writing area well organized? Some people believe an uncluttered leads to an uncluttered mind, but I have always liked this quote by Albert Einstein: “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” Some people like to have toys around to help them in the creative process. I like to have a few familiar things around me as a stark writing area for me creates a blank mind rather than an uncluttered one. And while I start with a neat desk, throughout the writing process, more clutter accumulates, and then I purge once again. It’s cyclical. (And no, that is not a picture of my desk.)

By the way, all of the these tips are also good for creating a good environment for doing homework as well.

The post YWS: The Writing Environment – Part III appeared first on Be the Cat.

Wallpaperswide.com

This is the second of three posts focusing on 8 tips for the writing environment. In order to help you do your best writing, you have to know what it is that helps you focus on the writing.

Missed the first post on Location, Essentials, & Time? Find it here.

Noise and Light

4. Noise: Noise is definitely a factor. Some people can’t work with noise and some people can’t work without it. I find the noise of television or conversation a distraction and will most times listen to music while drafting and have been known to sing along. What do I listen to? Whatever will make my characters talk to me. I have learned to make it their choice because I get a lot more done that way. Some characters are very specific about what they will work to.

   Melody and Katie are my most finicky about music. Katie loves to listen to Country, Sara Evans is her current fave. And Melody loves Pentatonix and Chase Holfelder, but is much more eclectic in her music tastes, so we’ll see how many different varieties of music and artists the book will take. My crew of Seventh Graders prefer music with no words — which is good because with so many kids all talking at once it is sometimes hard keeping up with their conversations. And Angela likes 70s pop. Whatever will take me into the writing zone as quickly as possible with the characters is what I listen to … always low volume, so as not to distract or clash with the words in my head. After all, I have to hear what the characters are saying above the music, don’t I?

   Oddly enough, one of the sounds I have the most difficult time in blocking out is the hushed tones of a library. The low-level noise keeps me from being able to sink into the manuscript, and pretty soon I’m frustrated and packing up my things. If you do like noise while you work, then play music or have the television on low sound. The last thing you want to do is to distract yourself from what you are working on.

5. Light: Light makes a difference in your concentration factor as well. Do you like the light soft, or bright, or even no light at all? I do the majority of my writing while looking at a computer screen, so my optimum light is a soft, indirect light — if I use any light at all. The mole and I have something in common — a love of the dark.

   Overhead fluorescent lights tend to bother me, so if I am in a place that has those, I turn them off so I am do not get a headache from the glare that they cause. In the workplace, my desk is known as the dark side because I do keep the fluorescents off in order to ease the strain on my eyes and keep me from getting a headache. Others need a great deal of light to keep from causing eye strain or fatigue. Writing outdoors? Is the day sunny enough to require sunglasses? Do you need the sunglasses even on a cloudy day to cut down the glare (answer for me is yes.) Be sensitive to your needs and figure out the optimum light to reduce eye strain and keep you focused on your writing tasks.

That’s it for this segment on the writing environment. Check back soon for the next installment of tips. And happy writing.

The post YWS: The Writing Environment – Part II appeared first on Be the Cat.

Wallpaperswide.com

Since I am getting ready to start working on some new material, I thought it would be a good time to share some of the things that are important to determine before you begin writing. In order to help you do your best writing, you have to know what it is that helps you focus on the writing. This is the first of three posts focusing on 8 tips for the writing environment.

Location, Essentials, & Time

Anna Tan

1. Location: Where do you do your best writing? Is it in your bedroom, the living room, the local coffeeshop, or somewhere outside? Where do ideas seem to flow for you? Wherever that place is for you, that’s where you should set up your writing space.

   I recently met up with a long-time Twitter writing friend, Anna Tan, and we discussed our preferences in writing environment. Some writers seem to focus better while life swirls around them. I have several friends who go to Starbucks for writing time. I get too distracted writing in public because I can’t reach my writing zone because I’m too busy eavesdropping and looking around — even when I use headphones. So, confession time — any time I post that I’m going to Starbucks to write … it really means I’m going to socialize and pretend to write.

   While I was writing my first book, my best place was the kitchen table. I thought it would be my bedroom because, after all, it was my sanctum, but for some reason, in my bedroom I kept getting off track and couldn’t focus on writing. Perhaps the bookshelves were calling me too loudly. Now I do my best writing in my office. Wherever your best place to write is, make sure it is comfortable and you have everything you need to hand.

2. Essentials: Make sure you have a comfortable seat — it could be a chair, a bean bag, a nice tree to lean against. And don’t forget to get up and stretch and move around every so often. Unless you’re able to write while walking on a treadmill, writers tend to stay in one position, usually sitting, for far too long of a time, which is not good for your body. When I get in the zone while writing, I completely lose track of time, and my back reminds me later that I didn’t get up enough.

   What are your essential writing utensils? If you write using pencils, make sure you have several sharp pencils and erasers available. Or if you use pens, keep more than one on hand so you won’t run out of ink. The last thing you want to happen is for the lead to break in your pencil or your pen to run out of ink right in the middle of a scene where the words are flowing. If you don’t have spares, you may not be able to recapture the moment.

   Do you have enough paper? I work on the computer, so I don’t have to worry about pencils, pens, or paper during the creative process, however; what happens if I’m working without an electrical outlet? How long will my battery last? And MOST importantly, if I do cut it down to the wire, will I save my changes in time? For me having a nearby electrical outlet is essential because I will lose track of time and would hate to lose my work because I didn’t plug in. And above all, I need to make sure that where I am working is properly setup and comfortable.

3. Time: What time of day do you get your best ideas? Is it morning, during the middle of the day, or at night? The middle of the day can be problematic because of school or work.

   Are you prepared to capture your ideas no matter what time they come? Some writers keep a mini-recorder with them, or use their phones to capture ideas when they hit. Some use notebooks for jotting ideas down. Once again, the computer is my friend (and I make sure I have copious backups of everything in case of mechanical failure.) While I have a method for notating story ideas for the future, I’m still searching for my best way to capture things like priority, status of the project, etc. What happens if an idea hits me while away from my machine? I keep the files on dropbox, so can use my phone if necessary to jot down the essentials and get it posted. Even that is not always convenient … I once had a story hit me hard while driving, complete with the opening lines. I nearly had to pull over to the side of the road, but kept going and repeating the lines over and over until I reached a point where they could be recorded.

   Do the times you get ideas correspond to your best working time? Ideas will hit me at any time during the day or night, but I have always done my best work at night going into the wee hours of the morning. For some reason, the creative juices seem to flow much better for me then and I can concentrate more clearly while my characters become alive for me. It’s almost like I can feel the creative vibrations in the air. Others work best when they first get up … or before the household is awake. And others need that first cup of coffee, and a little time for their brains to wake up before attacking the page.

That’s it for this segment on the writing environment. Check back soon for the next installment of tips. And happy writing.

The post YWS: The Writing Environment – Part I appeared first on Be the Cat.

Anyway, yesterday I happened across an already much-maligned article published by Slate by Ruth Graham. The title of the article really says it all: Against YA: Read whatever you want. But you should feel embarrassed when what you’re reading was written for children. Really?? Should I then take a seat in the second-class citizen section because I write for this category? Books which ought not to be read by adults??? Here’s a tip… don’t tell me what I should be embarrassed to read.

At the time I was incensed by the entire article, the fallacious “points” made by the article writer, the tone, and the snobbery and arrogance which bled through every line. But at that moment, I was itching to dive into edits and didn’t have time to express my feelings in a constructive manner, so I flipped the link over to Italia Gandolfo with a few choice words about wanting to bang my head against wall in the face of such stupidity, and dove into edits. Italia then posted the link on Facebook and started a conversation about it. This morning, my agency-mate and fellow cub, Hope Collier, posted the following thought provoking response.

I think a lot of this was written simply as an article to stir up controversy and drive traffic to the site. Not reading YA because you’re an adult makes no more sense than not reading crime fiction because you’re not a detective. Adult, YA, children’s, they all have something unique to offer. IMO, if you can’t enjoy each for its diversity and age-compelled storyline, you lack imagination. Not all YA is fluff and happiness just like not all adult isn’t. Literacy is a gift, and no one should diminish it for you no matter which packaging you prefer.

I don’t know what it was exactly about Hope’s post, but I couldn’t hold the flood back any longer and went off on a rant (okay, so I can rant about most things at the drop of a hat.) Here it is:

I think one of the things the article author was trying to assert was that all YA novels wrap up too cleanly and lack the ragged edges of life. And this is going to get lengthy because I’m going to quote from the article and then go on a mini-rant (with any luck it’ll be mini)

Most importantly, these books consistently indulge in the kind of endings that teenagers want to see, but which adult readers ought to reject as far too simple. YA endings are uniformly satisfying, whether that satisfaction comes through weeping or cheering. These endings are emblematic of the fact that the emotional and moral ambiguity of adult fiction—of the real world—is nowhere in evidence in YA fiction. These endings are for readers who prefer things to be wrapped up neatly, our heroes married or dead or happily grasping hands, looking to the future. But wanting endings like this is no more ambitious than only wanting to read books with “likable” protagonists.

If the article writer thinks all literary fiction needs to end with emotional and moral ambiguity, I’d like to be the first to say HOGWASH!!!! As a reader, I happen to hate reaching the end with a feeling of “but what happened after that?” When it feels like there is no conclusion to the novel — not that it has to be a happy ending, or tied up with a cute little bow — it angers me as a reader. I feel short-changed by the author because they DIDN’T FINISH THE STORY.

Yes, life has ragged edges when we look at it from the perspective from the present, but WE’RE NOT DONE WITH OUR STORY YET. We’re only looking from the perspective of where we are now. And I have news for the article author… we ALL end in death, so if that is one of the ways in which YA “neatly ties up the ending” then that is a DIRECT reflection of life. Should every little thing be tied up in every book? No. And I don’t believe YA books do that anymore than I think adult books do.

I LIKE a satisfying ending (okay, I know we can all debate whether I truly fit into the adult category, but let’s set that aside for a moment). Whether the ending is sad or whether it is happy, I like to have the feeling of conclusion of the story — otherwise it feels like I’ve been ripped unceremoniously out of the world I’ve been immersed in. I don’t think that life is going to continue on for the characters as it has ended. So if it’s a ringing declaration of “I’ll love you forever.”, so what???? We, as adults, should know that life doesn’t freeze in that moment, and we should also not expect for the author to chronicle the life of the character until such time as the character dies. In essence, a book is simply a chapter in the lives of the characters within. And we get to share that world for the time we’re reading the book.

I’m anti-snobbery in reading ALL THE WAY. I don’t care whether you’re reading children’s, comics, YA, mysteries, romance, sci-fi, the back of the cereal box, or what is classed as literary. Reading one category/genre does not make you better than someone else reading another category/genre. What is important to me is that people read. That they are able to immerse themselves in the world of their choice.

I’m eclectic in my reading tastes. I read and enjoy things all over the map and have my entire life. I have also read things in each category/genre that I really don’t care for. It’s why ALL the books are written. To give us a choice, and NO we’re not all going to choose the same books to read. Again, I ask, so what??? If you find someone else doesn’t love the same book you did, somebody else will. And for me, reading is an intensely personal experience. I don’t really care whether someone else enjoyed the book, as long as I did. And perhaps enjoy is not quite the correct word. It’s not that I only read “pleasurable” books, which the article author appears to disdain. I like when a book disturbs me and turns my personal perspective on its ear. Those are important things to read as well, but I want to intersperse my reading with things that have pleasurable elements as well. And even if I didn’t on either side, Who Cares????

Okay, I’m putting the breaks on because I can obviously keep going on forever here. I agree that the title of the article is one that was designed to stir things up and drive traffic to the site. But the snobbery and sheer arrogance that ANYONE has a say in what I should or should not be reading gets me going. (End rant)

As a writer, I’m even pickier about my reading selections while writing than otherwise. I was once ridiculed by another writer because I opted not to review his book because it was more depressing than I wanted to read at that time. I was embroiled in writing part of my young adult series, and didn’t want to read about a suicidal character in a mental hospital. It wasn’t the right thing for me to read because it would have blocked me from getting my own work done. The writer of the book ranted back at me because I had stated it was too dark and depressing, and mocked me for only wanting light happy reads. Other than ensuring I would never read a word he has ever written or ever hoped to write, his rant against my reading habits did nothing. The bottom line is when I’m working with my characters, I have to protect and preserve my environment and OH BY THE WAY—reading and reviewing someone else’s book is a gift, not something that should be expected and we ALL have the right to personal preference.

The bottom line to this is stop the snobbery. Stop the arrogance. Stop the shaming. There is no point in it and it’s a form of bullying. You won’t sway anyone with your arguments (because they are not valid) and it is none of your business who enjoys what for reading material. Now I have to get back to edits.

The post Rant About Reading Shaming appeared first on Be the Cat.

I had the great pleasure to be part of a promotional effort just prior to Christmas organized by Jillian Dodd. Jillian had an idea to gather 99 authors together to join forces to promote 99 books all for 99 cents. Jillian’s plan not only included step-by-step instructions for developing a plan for marketing, sample tweets & Facebook posts, but she also planned to include fabulous prizes for bloggers who helped to spread the word as well as readers. It was a WIN-WIN-WIN experience for all involved.

During the December 21st sale, ten of us made the top 100 in the Kindle store. The majority of us sold hundreds of books and saw our rankings soar. Many were in the top five of their specific category genres. We occupied eighteen of the first 21 slots on Amazon’s Movers and Shakers list. We were excited, and readers loved getting a deal on quality e-books and the chance to win fabulous prizes.

An event such as this takes a lot of planning, tireless effort, and the skills of a good field general to keep everyone on track and marching in the same direction. Sometimes a quiet, private thank you doesn’t seem enough. We authors wanted to show our appreciation, but what was the best way? Author Charles Sheehan-Miles came up with the idea of a coordinated “thank you,” from authors and bloggers on the same day. A surprise for Jillian, because everyone loves surprises. A public thank you to a wonderful lady. So the public salute:

THANK YOU, JILLIAN DODD

You are a very special lady. It was a wonderful experience and I hope to be able to participate with the wonderful authors who were involved in the event again in the future.

She’s the author of the young adult Keatyn Chronicles. Book one, Stalk Me, published in August 2012, has 139 reviews with an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Book two, Kiss Me, published November 2012, already has 157 reviews with an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars. Also by Jillian Dodd, That Boy, with 141 reviews with an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars, and the sequel That Wedding, 64 reviews, 4.7 out of 5 stars.

It was such a great experience and Jillian was so fantastic, I’d like you to meet her as well. To do so, just visit one of the sites below:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

The post A Big THANK YOU to Jillian Dodd appeared first on Be the Cat.