"Writing for Guys"

My writer-friend, Paddy Lock, and I spent an informative and hilarious afternoon recently at the Flintridge Bookstore in La Canada, California, listening to authors Michael Reisman and Ben Esch talk about how to write middle grade and young adult novels for and about teenaged guys.

As you may know, Michael is the author of the middle grade novels, The Gravity Keeper and the soon-to-be-released The Octopus Effect, and Ben (a "repeat guest" here at YA Fresh) authored the young adult novel, Sophomore Undercover.

Both Michael and Ben say they write the kinds of books they wished they could have found as kids. (For what it's worth, this is also true for me.) While they both strive for realism and authenticity in their characters, Michael goes more for fantastic ideas like ways to defy physics, whereas Ben says he bases many characters and adventures on people/events from his past.


Ideas that they (and audience members) shared with us for writing for boys:

--whenever possible, listen in on teen boys' conversations, both in real life and reality TV shows;
--revisit your yearbooks and re-read what your guys friends wrote for deeper insight on what they might have been thinking or feeling;
--listen to kids' movies with your eyes closed, focusing on the patterns of the boys' speech.

Other interesting notes:

--action draws in boys more than emotional drama;
--guys don't discuss personal things face-to-face; maybe in the car, or painting a room or other side-by-side position;
--guys typically use fewer words and have shorter conversations, especially with girls or about relationships.

On the topic of teen romance (which of course, made my ears perk up), Michael told us that boys are even more confused and conflicted than girls. And while girls have the outlet of discussing their feelings with each other, guys can't bring themselves to even talk about it, so, he said, "We just hit each other." Which got a big laugh.

Other members of the audience, who shared insights from both literary perspectives and as mothers, were literary agent Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency and multi-published author Amy Goldman Koss.

Here's a picture of Michael, me, Amy, Ben taken during the book signing session:

Some seriously big smiles there, as you can see, remnant of good conversation and laughs.

So check out Ben, Michael's and Amy's books via the links I posted, and if you have any questions about what I've presented, or further questions on the topic of writing for boys, please leave them in the comments. And if I can't answer them, we'll invite Michael and Ben here to take over.

Winners of The Life of Glass

Thanks to everyone for giving Jillian a fresh welcome!!

Okay, so the 3 lucky winners of THE LIFE OF GLASS by Jillian Cantor are:

Thuy!

LiLi!

Mariska!

Congrats!!

Please email me through my website with your mailing addresses so I may forward them to Jillian and she can send each of you your copies. Thank you again and happy reading!!

What's Fresh with Jillian Cantor's The Life of Glass & a Giveaway!!

Before he died, Melissa’s father told her about stars. He told her that the brightest stars weren’t always the most beautiful—that if people took the time to look at the smaller stars, if they looked with a telescope at the true essence of the star, they would find real beauty. But even though Melissa knows that beauty isn’t only skin deep, the people around her don’t seem to feel that way. There’s her gorgeous sister Ashley who will barely acknowledge Melissa at school, there's her best friend Ryan, who may be falling in love with the sophisticated Courtney, and there’s Melissa’s mother who’s dating someone new, someone who Melissa knows will never be able to replace her father.

To make sure she doesn’t lose her father completely, Melissa spends her time trying to piece together the last of his secrets and completing a journal her father began—one about love and relationships and the remarkable ways people find one another. But when tragedy strikes, Melissa has to start living and loving in the present, as she realizes that being beautiful on the outside doesn't mean you can't be beautiful on the inside.

Hello Jillian, it is so great to have you with us. Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?

Jillian: First, let me say, thanks so much for inviting me to your blog today!

When I started college, I majored in English and thought I wanted to be a journalist. The summer after my freshman year, I got a reporting internship with a small paper, and I realized that I actually did not like journalistic writing at all! When I went back to college that fall, I took my first creative writing class, and I immediately fell in love. After I graduated from college, I went to graduate school for creative writing and got my MFA in fiction. I left with a lot of knowledge of craft, a lot of short stories, and a novel, but virtually no knowledge of the publishing industry, and I was never able to sell any of what I wrote there.

My real journey to getting published started about seven years ago, after I’d been out of graduate school for a year. After I got laid off from my job, I wrote the first draft of what would eventually be my first novel, THE SEPTEMBER SISTERS. It took me about three years of revising and querying on and off to get an agent. I originally thought the book was an adult book, and my agent sent it out to some adult editors, with no success. Then she suggested that maybe it was really a young adult book, and she helped me revise it to fit the genre a bit more. She went out with the book again, this time to young adult editors and the book sold to Harperteen in an auction.

I just love THE SEPTEMBER SISTERS. Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

Jillian: In addition to being a writer, I’m also a stay at home mom to two little boys, so I spend the majority of my day with my kids. I usually get to write for an hour or so in the afternoon if/when they’re napping, but I get most of my writing done after I put the kids to bed, between the hours of 8-11 PM. If I have a deadline for a project or a revision, then I might spend weekend mornings writing as well.

Please tell us about your latest novel, THE LIFE OF GLASS, and what we can expect from your characters.

Jillian: My latest novel is THE LIFE OF GLASS (Harperteen, February 9, 2010) is the story of a 14-year-old girl named Melissa, who learns about life, love, loss, and beauty during her freshman year of high school. It takes place a little over a year after her father’s death, as Melissa must come to terms with her mother’s return to dating, her beauty-pageant obsessed older sister, and her new feelings for her best friend Ryan.

Sounds very awesome! What's up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Jillian: This coming fall my first book for adults, THE TRANSFORMATION OF THINGS, will be released by Avon/HarperCollins. It’s the story of a woman who, after a fall from grace, begins dreaming things about her friends and family, only to learn that her dreams might actually be truth, and the truth she thought she knew might be a lie.

I just finished working on a new YA book, that is now out on submission with editors (so cross your fingers for me!). It’s about a girl who is sent to live with her grandmother in a small town on the US/Mexico border for the summer. The book recounts her summer, where she not only falls in love, but also learns that nothing on the border is what is seems.

Jillian, thank you so much for sharing with us! I wish you the best with all your fresh stories. Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Jilliian: The best tip I could offer an aspiring writer is, if you want to be a writer, keep writing, no matter what! Writing can be a long process with a lot of revision and rejection and more revision and more rejection. But learn what you can from the rejection, revise, and move on. A creative writing professor of mine used to like to tell us “a writer writes.” It sounds like a silly thing to say, but I’ve definitely been in a place where I’ve let rejection get me down and have either stopped writing for a while (or wanted to). But I always came back to that idea that if I really wanted to be a writer I had to keep writing -- something. I still get rejection, and I still come back to that idea!

That's not all, YA Freshers! Jillian is donating THREE COPIES of THE LIFE OF GLASS to lucky visitors! If you would like to be entered, please leave a comment from now until Sunday evening, February 7th, 2010. The three winners will be announced Monday, February 8th. Happy commenting!!

Jillian Cantor has a BA in English from Penn State University. She received her MFA from The University of Arizona and was the recipient of the national Jacob K. Javits fellowship. Her first novel, THE SEPTEMBER SISTERS, was called "memorable" and "startlingly real" by Publishers Weekly and was nominated as a YALSA Best Book For Young Adults. Her second novel, THE LIFE OF GLASS, will be available from Harperteen in February 2010, and her debut novel for adults, THE TRANSFORMATION OF THINGS, will be available from Avon/HarperCollins in Fall 2010. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons. Visit her website, www.JillianCantor.com.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else!

Today we are taking a sneak peek at a touching debut novel from Erin McCahan, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else, releasing from Arthur A. Levine Books on June 1st.


Here Comes the Bride -- If She Can Pass Chemistry.

Eighteen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She's really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That's the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother; a kind but distant stepfather; and a brother with a small personality complex. Bronwen knows she must have been switched at birth, and she can't wait to get away from her "family" for good.

Then she meets Jared Sondervan. He's sweet, funny, everything she wants -- and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted too. She falls head over heels in love, and when he proposes marriage, she joyfully accepts. But is Jared truly what she needs? And if he's not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lilywhite do?

I was lucky enough to snag an advanced copy last fall from author Erin McCahan, and I read it pretty much in one sitting! Here’s the blurb I wrote up:

"Fresh, funny, with a hero to-die-for, and charmingly written in a best-friend conversational style, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else is the perfect beach read...or perfect read for any season. Debut author Erin McCahan is a newcomer to watch!"

So yes, put this one on your summer reading list!

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin

Continuing in our series of presenting Fresh Teasers about 2010 releases we are excited to read is a glimpse at a funny debut book, The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin from a funny debut author, Josh Berk!

Here's the blurb:

Being a hefty, deaf newcomer almost makes Will Halpin the least popular guy at Coaler High. But when he befriends the only guy less popular than him, the dork-namic duo has the smarts and guts to figure out who knocked off the star quarterback. Will can’t hear what’s going on, but he’s a great observer. So, who did it? And why does that guy talk to his fingers? And will the beautiful girl ever notice him? (Okay, so Will’s interested in more than just murder...) Those who prefer their heroes to be not-so-usual and with a side of wiseguy will gobble up this witty, geeks-rule debut.

Sounds great, huh?

And one last thing about The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin: it releases February 9th!

And one last thing about Josh Berk: he’s a fantastic Facebook Scrabble player (and has beaten me in every game)!

Our best to Josh on his debut and hope you, too, will check out his fun first book!

Yeah, so did you hear about Carrie Jones's Mom?

Yeah, Carrie Jones, the author. The one who wrote Tips on Having a Gay (Ex) Boyfriend, and Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape), Girl, Hero, and her cool pixie series??

Okay, so you know who I'm talking about. You see Carrie recently hit the New York Times Bestseller's List. Yeah, THAT LIST. Because her books Need and Captivate are just too cool not to read, you know? In fact just to show you how cool the series is I'm going to share the blurb of her latest novel Captivate:

Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

Cool, right?

Anyway, well making the THE LIST and having a fresh release are not the biggest news. The BIG NEWS is what happened to Carrie Jones's Mom. In fact it's so big, I got a little teary as I read it. Because how sweet and cute is her mom?

Here is a little excerpt from Carrie's blog. You'll just have to go and read the entire post because Carrie Jones's Mom is just the sweetest.

"And when she called me after hearing the news about the whole New York Times thing she screamed into the phone, "Oh my gosh. Ohmygosh. Oh God, Carrie. I'm hyper. I'm hyperventilating. I'm hyperventilating I'm so excited. Oh my gosh, I'm hyperventilating. I am so proud of you. Oh I am so very very proud of you."

I'm talking teary stuff. Go and read.

And of course, you can congratulate Carrie for making THE LIST too...just don't forget about Carrie Jones's mom while you're at it.

Just saying.

What's Baking in the YA Fresh Kitchen!

I've enjoyed baking for almost as long as I could remember, but as my writing career has taken off, I've had less and less time for it, and now it seems that baking has become something "I used to do..."

But winter slammed into southern California last week with wild storms that brought record rainfall, lightning, thunder, snow, and even tornadoes. And as I waited to find out if my house in the burn area of the Station Fire was going to be evacuated, I found myself in the kitchen...anxiously baking chocolate chip cookie bars.

And pondering that while some people bake simply for the love of it, others pull out the pans when they're bored, and others--apparently like me--use it for a stress relief.

How about you? Is baking part of your regular routine? Or do you grab the flour and sugar containers for reasons other than the end result of a yummy dessert? And do you have something special that you like most to make? Something with chocolate in it, perhaps???

What's What With Wendy Toliver!

Author Wendy Toliver has a June 8th release, Lifted, that we're anxiously looking forward to, and are presenting as today's Fresh Teaser!


Here's the blurb:

Poppy Browne is none too thrilled to be the new girl in Pleasant Acres, Texas--especially after her mother enrolls her in a private Baptist school. But to her delight, Poppy is pulled into the cool clique on her first day at Calvary High, and her new friends, Mary Jane and Whitney, are as genuinely nice as they are gorgeous and rich. The catch? Her new pals have a nasty shoplifting habit, and before long Poppy is also a theft enthusiast. But when the girls' addictions get out of hand and friendships are threatened, it's up to Poppy to set things right...

Sounds like another wonderful Wendy read!

Check out Tina on Story Secrets!

Check out Holly Cupala's blog for her cool "Story Secrets" interviews. Today she features our Tina Ferraro's The ABC's of Kissing Boys with a chance to win an autographed copy of ABC's!!

Read Tina's secrets behind the book and comment with your best or worst kiss ever to enter for a chance to win!!

Happy commenting!

Coming Soon: The Alpha Bet

Continuing with our Fresh Teaser series of 2010 releases we are excited about, today we are featuring Stephanie Hale's The Alpha Bet:

I was prepared to do just about anything to go from geek to Greek.

Some teenagers use drugs or sex to escape overbearing parents. I used books. All my life my mother has been hovering over me, afraid to let me experience ANYTHING. So I got really good grades, graduated from high school when I was sixteen, and escaped to a new life—my own life—at college.

To jump-start my social life, I decided to rush the Alphas, the most exclusive sorority on campus. And that's when things started to get complicated.

One of the Alphas invoked the Alpha Bet, a super-secret set of alphabetical tasks that have to be completed for a sister's bid to become active. Now, completing the tasks of the Alpha Bet has taken over my life. And one of the tasks involves deceiving my roommate and only real friend, Jentry.

Can you spell B-E-T-R-A-Y-A-L?

Sounds great, huh? I loved Steph's whole Aspen Book series, and can't wait to get my hands on this one. Look for it in April!