Oscar Night

I’m sitting on the couch, eating Cajun trail mix, glad, so glad, I’m not an actress. It’s Oscar night and they’re walking the red carpet and you can bet they’ve been avoiding any and all salty foods and agonizing over their skin and hair and gown and shoes. For months now (or, at least, since the nominees were announced) they’ve been getting ready for this night, working hard to make everything perfect.

And then the fashion police will come along and tear them apart. Those shoes! That dress! What was she thinking?

I hate the fashion police. They’re mean. And petty. And cruel. And what I really want to know is, who gave Kelly Osbourne a badge? Does she have the authority to arrest herself? Why isn’t she exercising it?

Having Kelly Osbourne as a style critic is like having William Hung as a judge on American Idol.

My take on all the carpet walkers is, if they made the effort to show respect for the event, they look great. What they’re wearing and who they’re wearing is not the reason they’re walking.

Now back to my Cajun trail mix.

Rule Breaker

I remember receiving a letter somewhere in the early stages of the Sammy Keyes series where Nancy (my editor) sent a cover letter with a marked-up manuscript that mentioned somewhere in it that, yes, she was asking me to work on three Sammys at once.

It's been a long time since that first time, but I find myself, once again, needing to work on three Sammys at once.

There's the second pass galleys of Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack, the rewrite of Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City, and the new one--Sammy 17 for a lack of a better name.

Of course I can't physically work on all three at once. I have to tackle them one at a time. So, going by deadline, I've been up to my eyebrows in reviewing Justice Jack. In theory it should be easy because I could jump from one copy editor comment to the next and simply address the specific notes without reading the entire story.

I do feel sorry for my copy editors. I think manuscripts are mostly "farmed out" to freelance copy editors, so it's not like there are in-house comma queens or grammar gurus waiting to review your work. And I imagine that freelance copy editors do work for all the publishers, so there are good odds against getting the same one twice.

Which is too bad because I drive each and every one of them crazy.

Well, there was the one who read Runaway and made wonderful comments in the margins, but that's unheard of.

(Except that you just heard of it. Right.)

Anyway, mostly copy editors pay attention to the nitty-gritty details of punctuation, style, consistency, and grammar. Well, they try to reign in the grammar, but dangling prepositions abound regardless. They also sometimes make comments about dogs that make you realize they have cats.

But never mind about that.

By and large they stick to the facts, ma'am, and the fact is that Sammy Keyes books break a really big rule of writing--they flex back and forth between present and past tense, sometimes within the same paragraph.

It drives copy editors NUTS.

Switching tense like that is just WRONG.

But you know what? Speech is fluid. When people (especially kids) talk, they move from past to present all the time. So if I'm going to capture the voice of a 13 year old, I have to break the rules. At least I choose to break the rules to portray an authentic voice. Sammy Keyes is, after all, a rule breaker.

So fifteen books into the series and I am, once again, feeling very sorry for yet another copy editor who is trying to edit by the rules. Past or present tense?  Which is it? What am I supposed to do with this? You can't switch like this! It's against the rules!!!

Poor dears. I know they're pained by the struggle to figure out how to professionally deal with this doggone rule breaker who must not know even the basics of writing.

Nancy sees the manuscripts first, and winds up crossing out all of the copy editor's tense notations (which are often done in red). And then I get the bloodied manuscript with a note from Nancy saying something like, Not as bad as it looks! The CE notated tense.

Again?

Really?

So I'm rereading the whole of Justice Jack and, tense notations aside, it's a good thing I didn't just jump from mark up to mark up because I found (what I consider to be) a pretty big mistake (which I can't believe nobody else caught!) -- I had previously edited out something on one page, but the reference to what was now gone still existed two pages later.

So even though it was "optional" for me to review the "2nd pass galleys" (I'm sure Nancy just didn't want me to see another 300 pages of bloodied verbs) I'm glad I'm going over it, and going over the whole thing. Again!

Glamorous life, huh?

Next week I'll tell you about Sin City, and then #17. And one of these weeks I am going to do a Justice Jack ARC giveaway, so I hope you'll check back for that. Meanwhile, break some rules. Or at least a tense situation!

(Sorry, that was bad.)

Have a good week!

Distracted By Onions

I've been distracted by onions. The green ones. The ones I buy at the store in bundles of eight or twelve, then slice and put in salad or tuna or scrambled eggs or soup or...well, you know--anything on the salt side of the culinary aisle.

Sometimes the store trims off the roots of their green onions.

I don't buy those.I buy the kind with a good stub of white left at the base, because I have a little planter box on my deck where I replant the onion ends. They grow back quite easily--all you have to do is remember to water them. It's not that replanting green onions saves you bunches of money, but it's nice to have fresh onion sprigs anytime you're in the mood for say, salad or tuna or scrambled eggs or soup.

Lately it's been blustery and, okay, I admit it--I'm a wind wimp. I also don't like it cold. Rain's okay. So's fog. Sunshine is wonderful. But wind? It makes me nervous. We're on the side of a canyon so it comes whipping through, upending all the deck furniture, flinging cushions overboard, and if we haven't taken down the umbrellas?

Even Mary Poppins couldn't handle it.

So wind is wicked, and if it's a cold wind? Brrr. I'm plugging my ears and hiding in the back corner of the house where I can't hear furniture scraping and cushions flinging and green onions flapping around for help.

Because of the weather, I started putting my last bunch of green onion stumps in a little two-inch espresso cup. I don't make espresso, but the tiny cups get used for all sorts of odd things. Like holding onion stubs until the wind and cold let up so I can go out to the planter box and plug them in the dirt.

I've done this lots of times before--I just put a little water in the bottom to keep the roots from shriveling up, and they've always held on just fine. This time, however, I wound up adding all the stumps to the cup. It's been that windy. And each time I'd add new stumps, I'd rinse the roots of all of them and add clean water. And although I've had the stumps start to shoot up in the past, I've always transferred them to the soil soon after they started sprouting. I've never grown a whole bunch before, but having so many in the tiny cup seemed to actually work better than just having a few. The stumps were held upright, supported by each other. It's worked so well, in fact, that I've been harvesting from these guys for weeks now! I rinse the roots and give fresh water every other day (or so), then pop the bunch back in the cup, put it on my windowsill and delight in how they continue to spring forth.

While I was doing the dishes last night it occurred to me that those green onions on my sill are pretty representative of life. We don't need as much as we think we need. With some decent roots, a little support, some water, and some sunshine,watch us grow and produce. Even when we're cut down, with a little time and nurturing we'll spring right back.

So, yes,  I've been distracted by onions.

Onions that make me want to thank you for the water and sunshine you bring to my life.

I Did My Homework!

Thanks to everyone who gave feedback on the post from two weeks ago. Lots of good discussion and suggestions and input!

So what did I do with it?

I thought you might like to see.

First I printed out all the comments, highlighted the important data and made a spreadsheet with a column for each actor. Then I looked each actor up on imdb.com and decided whether they were a real possibility or not. Mostly this decision was based on the actor's age. I didn't eliminate anyone because they didn't match the picture in my mind. After all, if my picture doesn't match your picture, that's most likely due to my lack of description, not your lack of detection. (As a rule, I dislike reading overly descriptive portrayals of characters, so, as a rule, I avoid doing that in my books, which can lead to under-describing, which can lead to different mental pictures.)

The one character I must have under-described is Marissa. I see her as having long curly (or, at least, fluffy and full) dark hair. Her mother's name is Yolanda, and I see Marissa as being at least part Hispanic... although I've never mentioned this overtly in the book.

About actor age: Unfortunately, in this case it really matters. If it takes, say two years to get to the "and...action!" part of this process, someone who may seem a tad old to play a character now will be way too old in two years--especially for a series. If there's a strike-through one of the names, that's why.

I embedded a link for each character, then realized I should probably transfer everything into a Word doc, so I did that, then imported pictures and birth dates for each actor to coincide with the linked list of names.

Then I divided the cast into generations (because I've been told that this is one of the appeals of the project), removed Holly and Dot in an effort to limit the 'kids' to one page. (Don't worry--they're not gone. They're just not represented at this preliminary phase.)  Then I put a * next to the actors I liked best. The image posted is actually the reduction of what took up three sheets of paper.

This was actually a whole lot of work, but I wanted a concise, visual representation of your input, and I wanted it to give an easy snapshot of a potential cast. My agent said it was "inspired" to ask for your input, and the producer got back to me right away with a "This is great!"

So I want you to know that the time and thought you put into this is appreciated and your input has been passed along. (And for those of you who did late-week comments, I will check those out, too!)

Glad you're out there--have a good week!

The Secret In The Teapot

Let me start this week's post with an official and enormous Thank You! for all the comments made at last week's post. Wow! I appreciate all the time and energy that went into your suggestions. I have just printed everything out so I can sort through your input in a somewhat sane manner and check who you see as who. This will be very interesting!

 BTW, I can't believe I didn't list Officer Borsch. But thank you for picking up on that and adding him.

I should make very clear (and allay the fears of some) that this is all just talk at this point. Nothing is signed. We're just exploring. You know--to see if we have similar vision before moving forward.

So there will be feedback from me later - after I've dissected and digested all your comments. Meanwhile, two comments from last week had to do with "The Schneider" -- The Schneider Family Book Award -- so I want to explain that a little and tell you about my new teapot.

Yes, my new teapot.

First, let me tell you that winning the Schneider is actually a big deal to me, but it's one of those things I have trouble sharing. I just don't ever want to come across as being too big for my britches. And I'm sensitive to the fact that there are plenty of authors out there who held their breath all night last Sunday hoping to get a call from one of the American Library Association committees telling them that their book (which they put their heart and soul and a good year, or two or three or more into writing) had been selected as award-worthy.

So I was one of the lucky few who got a call, but I didn't shout this from the mountain tops or anything. Actually, I told, like, three people. But somehow I'm comfortable telling you guys.

Which says a lot about you guys, and I just want to say thanks for making me feel that way.

Anyway, here we go--what the heck's the Schneider?

Let's back up and say that if last Monday was the "Oscars of Children's Literature" (as some people call it), the Newbery would be "Best Picture", the Caldecott would be...what? "Best Animated Film"? The Printz would be, say, "Best Actor" and the Coretta Scott King award would be "Best Actress" (or whatever attributions you want to ascribe in whatever politically correct terms people now use for female lead.). The Oscars have lots more awards, but there are only a handful that get big attention.

Same in kid lit. There are 18 award categories total, and although people's attention and interest wanes after the Big Four, winning any of them is huge to the recipient. and for me, winning the Schneider Family Book Award which "honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience," had me crying happy tears.

It's just nice to have the result of your hard work and passion acknowledged.

So in all future issues of The Running Dream, there will be a blue award seal, and the super cool thing about the SFBA seal is that it is also in Braille.

Awesome, huh?

Which brings me to the teapot.

I like to buy something to remind me of life's happy milestones or accomplishments. I know I'll get a plaque to commemorate winning the Schneider, but I'm not a plaque hanger. I keep them in a bookshelf. Or behind the door. Or under the couch. And every great once-in-a-while, I'll come upon one and go, oh, yeah! Then back it goes. Into the bookshelf. Or behind the door. Or under the couch.

And I'm not going to enlarge, say, my book jacket with the SFBA seal, mat it with three layers and frame it and hang that.

Please.

But I do think it is good to remind yourself of the happy moments and savor them. So this week when I happened upon this teapot in a shop window, I knew it would be the perfect thing to commemorate the event . Blue, circular, with raised symbols, it looks enough like the SFBA seal to remind me as I pour my afternoon tea, but looks only like a (wow, where'd you get that really cool) teapot to anyone else.

It's symbolic.

A secret.

No one will know.

Except, that is, me and you.

Who Do You See As Sammy Keyes?

Thanks for checking in! Here as promised is the paperback cover for Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack. I LOVE this cover! I think it's a perfect capture of Justice Jack, and I think it's so Rolling Stone, the way the artwork overlaps the KEYES. My favorite paperback cover so far!

So you regular followers have now been privy to both the hardcover and the paperback artwork...and the book's not even out yet! The hardcover is slated for May 2012 and the paperback? I think it's due out in November. But the thinking ahead, working ahead, planning ahead is all necessary if we're going to stick to our schedule and have things done right.

So along those thinking-ahead lines, I've decided that you are the group to ask the BIG question:

What actress do you see as being the best screen version of Sammy Keyes?

As you know, I've been quite hesitant about this whole Sammy to TV prospect. But there is a well-established producer who is an actual fan of Sammy's (as in he's--gasp--read the books and loves her), and has been steadfastly keeping tabs with me over the years,  hoping something would eventually work out.

What became of paramount importance to me (after a sobering reality check involving what optioning 'a property' [the Sammy books] really meant) was the integrity and quality completion of the book series. Sure it's nice to have Hollywood people interested in developing your books to film, but allowing them to do so is a crap shoot. Maybe it'll come out great and help the books...maybe it will be awful and create an unshakable association.

But, once again, I met with this producer, and, once again, I came away more positively inclined about his potential care and handling of Sammy Keyes as a TV series.

He always asks me who I see as various characters, and, honestly? Sammy is the Sammy in my head, and there's nobody who could fill that image 100%  Besides, I don't follow the industry. I don't know who's who, so I would LOVE your input / help.

Let's start by my telling you that the producer likes Bailee Madison and thinks in a couple of years (which is how long these things take, at a minimum) she would make a great Sammy. So what do you think? Who do you like? Not just for Sammy, but for any / all of these main characters:

Sammy:

Casey

Grams:

Hudson
Heather:
Billy!:
Marissa:
Holly:
Dot:

Lana:

Warren:

Others?

Just copy the list, paste it in a comment, and write in your vote for any or all of them. I will check them out and pass them along. Thinking caps, people! If we want this to develop in a direction we like, we've got to give input while they're soliciting it.

Thanks for your comments, thoughts, and input!

Hot Pink Trailer

Yes, it's true.

I lived in a hot pink trailer.

It was, as my brother would have said, "Funky-do."

And not actually hot pink, that's just what Robin and Ben, the friends who let me live in it, affectionately called it. But it was pink with black accents and if I remember correctly, cool black and white diamond linoleum.

It was long and narrow and boxy and had it's own unique smell, but there was something uber cool about it. Definitely "vintage," but, more importantly, a place for me to stay.  It was parked in the back of my friends' large, sandy lot, behind their house and amidst eucalyptus trees, and if I could use only one word to describe how I felt living in a funky-do (not-so hot) pink trailer, it would be grateful.

The challenge at the end of each of the previous posts has been to identify in which book the place (or in the case of Max, the concept) wound up. This week I'll have to tell you which book the hot pink trailer appears in because it hasn't been published yet--it's in Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack. And because I'm a big believer and remembering the people who have helped me through my life, the dedication in Justice Jack will be to Robin & Ben.

Now, if you've read the previous posts about my nightmarish living experiences, you'll recognize that this one doesn't quite fit the mold. A funky-do trailer does not measure up to dangling black widows or psycho landlords, and I would never dream of dedicating a book to someone like Max. But this brings me to the reason behind telling you these stories about places I've lived.

In writing, place can be as much a character as the people in your story. I know that many of you aspire to be published, and, as you almost certainly already know, being a writer can make for scrappy living. So what I want to encourage you with this week is the reality that hard times (and funky-do landlords and living quarters) will give you much  more to work with as far as setting and character than a smooth, easy life or a swanky apartment where the toilet always flushes and you've never had to wield a plunger or patch the roof or smash a black widow spider.

Or, for that matter, escape a man who thought you were his long lost Athena.

So if you're someone who's going through a tough time, chin up! Just think of all the material you're collecting! There are so many things in my books that come from life off the smooth lane. And they include so many things I know how to do because I had to figure them out or do them to 'survive'. Many I cursed or hated or asked myself why me?  But now that I have survived I have those real life experiences (and funky-do places) to draw from. Sammy is Sammy because I didn't lead a smooth-lane life. Scary times, hard times, strange people, scrapes with the law...all of it gives you character which can't help but transfer into your characters.

So take notes. Take pictures. Remember the smells and the sounds and the pain. Get through the dark days of your life and then use them to make your own light.

It's the only way you can look back and smile.