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Screen Free Week With Alvin Ho Author Lenore Look!

By on April 27, 2013   /   Author Interviews, Book Lists, Giveaways  

Lenore Look is here today to discuss screen free week (April 29th – May 5th)  a time when many chose to turn off their televisions in exchange for other activities.  I know I enjoyed reading Alvin Ho during my time away from the T.V. this week, even if it was a bit early!  Lenore has some great input for what she does during her unplugged days.  Read ahead to learn all about it!

2 Days - Alvin Ho_2

Me:  During your screen free week you decide to take advantage of a beautiful sunny day, what do you do?

Lenore:  Believe it or not, it’s not only screen-free week for me, it’s a screen-free life! I had decided at age 18, when I moved out to college that I would never own a TV. In my parents home when I was growing up, the TV was on ALL the time, and I got so sick of it and saw how much time was wasted in front of it, that I knew I didn’t want it inmy house. And do you know what? I never even miss it. My days are so full that I don’t have time for  everything, let alone find time for TV. I really don’t know how people fit it in. On sunny days in my screen-free life, I’ll go for a run, meet a friend for lunch, work on my books, read a book, read the newspaper, go for a swim, travel, and so much more! The more screen-free you are, the richer and fuller your life becomes!

Me: That’s awesome!  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve threatened to turn off the cable. I don’t know what’s stopping me.  Thank you for being such a great example.   What are your rainy day options? Do you grab your sword and shield and fight off fire breathing dragons or do you put on an aluminum foil cap so the aliens can’t read your mind?

Lenore:  Everything I do on sunny days is even better to do on rainy days, except maybe for the run. I love curling up with a book on a rainy day. And nothing makes me write better than a good storm. When I was a kid, a rainy day (and there were many in Seattle!) meant rolling out the flying carpet (a bath towel) and going on the most splendid journeys to exotic lands. I dropped in and out of different cultures and even time traveled. It was fantastic! When I was old enough to not burn down the house, I enjoyed baking cookies and brownies on rainy days.

Lenore Look_Photo Credit Charity Chen-cropped

LENORE LOOK is the author of the popular Alvin Ho series; in a starred review Kirkus Reviews called Alvin “refreshingly original [and] endearing.” Lenore is also the author of several acclaimed picture books, including Henry’s First-Moon Birthday and Uncle Peter’s Amazing Chinese Wedding, both of which received three starred reviews and were named ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Books. Her latest picture book is Polka Dot Penguin Pottery.

 Me:  Darn! No Fire breathing dragons, huh?  The flying carpet is pretty cool though!  We enjoy making crafts in my home.  Are you a crafter?

Lenore:  Sadly, I’m a crafter wannabe who will never amount to much. I always get inspired to do a craft whenever I see something spectacular that someone has made, and say, “Hey, I can do that!” Then the competitive part of me adds, “I can do it better!” Then I head straight to the craft store, where I’ll spend a princely sum because not only will I do it better, I’ll make the BEST ONE YET!!! Guess how many world-famous, museum-worthy craft projects I have in the back of my closet waiting for me to do???

Me: Ha! Don’t I know that feeling!  One last question.  A unicorn visits your picnic, do you:

a. share your chocolate

b. chase him away with a stick while wearing a turbin and dancing the hula

c. feed him your veggies (the ones that you tucked under your napkin at dinner last night)

Lenore:  Sorry, unicorn, I’m going to say “none of the above” – this is on account of a.) I love chocolate so much I have a really hard time sharing chocolate, b.) I would never chase you away because I love animals, and c) I love veggies so much I have a hard time sharing those, too, though not as much as chocolate. So if you’re a unicorn at my picnic, I would share my homemade granola with you because it’s the best granola in the world and it’s good for you. Then I’ll comb your coat. Then we’ll be friends, just like that!

Me:  Smart girl. I wouldn’t share my chocolate either!  Thanks for joining us here on The Mixed-Up Files, Lenore.

 

Alvin Ho

ALVIN HO: Allergic to Babies, Burglars, and Other Bumps in the Night by Lenore Look; illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Alvin’s fans will laugh out loud at his latest fear–a baby!Readers will herald the return of their favorite phobic boy in this, the fifth book in the beloved series. Alvin’s mother has been getting bigger . . . and bigger. Alvin’s sure it’s all the mochi cakes she’s been eating, but it turns out she’s pregnant! There are lots of scary things about babies, as everybody knows–there’s learning CPR for the newborn and changing diapers (no way)–but the scariest thing of all is the fact that the baby could be a GIRL. As a result of the stress, Alvin develops a sympathetic pregnancy and hilarity definitely ensues. Once again, Lenore Look and LeUyen Pham deliver a story that’s funny and touching in equal measures.

Want a copy of this book??  One lucky winner will receive a copy of Alvin Ho: Allergic to Babies, Burglars and Other Bumps in the Night by Lenore Look! If you’d like to win  this delightful story just fill out the form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can learn more about screen free week here http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screenfreeweek/.  Here’s a youtube video from Random House about unplugging https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsbhj6_ha94.  Now, join the cruisade and UNPLUG!

Amie Borst and her middle-grade daughter write fairy tales with a twist.  Their first book, Cinderskella, releases October 2013!

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An interview with independent editor Harold Underdown – and a giveaway!

By on April 12, 2013   /   Author Interviews, Book Lists, Giveaways, News  

  So just what is happening with the publishing industry these days?

Amazon seems to be growing in influence. The major trade publishers are discussing a merger. Some small presses are closing while others are opening. Editors who’ve worked for years developing wonderful children’s books are leaving or being downsized.

What does this mean for the average writer? Is this good or bad?

A little bit of both. While the smaller pool of editors may mean that it lowers the odds of being published, some of these editors are actually making themselves more accessible to the aspiring author.  Talented editors, with many years of experience are bravely setting out on their own by re-making themselves as independent editors. Interestingly enough, they offer their services to the very publishing houses they left.  But the best part is that they offer help to the individual writer looking to polish a manuscript before submission. Lucky us!

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One such independent editor is Harold Underdown. Harold has over 20 years experience as a children’s editor and has worked with companies like Macmillan, Orchard Books, Charlesbridge and ipicturebooks. He has an amazing website filled with TONS of great information found here:  http://www.underdown.org/.

He attends conferences, holds workshops both with editor Eileen Robinson, on his own, and at the Highlights Foundation. But the best thing is that Harold also works with individual writers to craft fantastic submission-ready manuscripts.

I am lucky enough to have worked with Harold in the past and I asked him if he’d be willing to share some information about what he does with the MUF readers.

Harold, thanks for joining us.

        Why did you decide to become an independent editor?

I decided to become an independent editor because the alternative–moving into another profession–was unacceptable to me. I had to make this choice because in 2001 a company that I was working for closed down, having run out of its initial funding. I looked around, did not see any good prospects in-house, and embarked on this path. I love being a children’s book editor and am glad that I have been able to stay in the field in this way.

           What does an independent editor do?

An independent editor does just about everything an in-house editor does, with the arguable exception of acquisitions, and with the happy exception of not attending a lot of meetings. We edit manuscripts, we coach clients through multiple rounds of revision, we consult on the phone about where a manuscript “fits” in the market, we help pull together the people needed for a writer to self-publish successfully, and we read a lot of books and manuscripts and talk about them. We generally have both publishers and writers as clients.
Many independent editors also give workshops and presentations at conferences. I do this at SCBWI conferences and at the Highlights Foundation in Honesdale, PA, or through Kids Book Revisions, a working partnership with fellow independent editor Eileen Robinson. I keep up a schedule of these at http://www.underdown.org/conferences.htm

         How do you choose clients to work with?

I usually am contacted by potential clients by email, and I spend some time finding out what they are looking for from me, and reading some of their manuscript (or the whole thing, if it’s a picture book). I then offer to work with the people who I feel I can help, and who I feel I can provide with the kind of help that they won’t easily find elsewhere for less. So I do turn clients away. If someone has a manuscript that’s outside my experience, such as something for the Christian market, I turn them down.

If someone has a manuscript that only needs the kind of feedback that they could get from an inexpensive critique at a local SCBWI conference, I turn them down. My services aren’t cheap, and I like to provide good value for money. I also turn people away if they seem like they would be difficult to work with, though that doesn’t happen often. More typically, it’s for one of my two main reasons, and I’d say I turn away at least as many projects as I take on.

What are the advantages of working with an independent editor?

I don’t know if I’m the right person to ask–you should ask some of my clients! But from what people tell me, there is  one reason why many of them work with an independent editor. They have gone as far as they can with the avenues that they have for getting feedback on a manuscript, whether that’s their critique group, a writer friend, conference critiques, or all of those, and they know that they haven’t yet reached the place where they want to be. And so they reach out for help from a professional editor. Their manuscripts are in many different stages–ranging from early drafts with significant flaws to oft-revised drafts that need a final polish. What they have in common, though, is that they need or want to get help to move it up another level.

What do you think of mid-grade novels?

 I love middle-grade novels, and read them for pleasure as well as for work. They are one of the oldest of the many forms in which we write for children, with their roots in the 19th century–books such as Treasure Island, Little Women, Alice in Wonderland, and Tom Sawyer that are still read today, and many others that are not. Today there is a tremendous variety of genre and point of view and style to be found in middle-grade novels.

What do you think defines a great mid-grade novel? Can you give some examples?

A great middle-grade novel is one that both tells a wonderful story, drawing upon all  of the tools a writer has to craft plot, character, and setting, and that contains a theme that directly and gracefully speaks to the concerns and needs of its audience. Some examples: Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer, E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, Virginia Hamilton’s M.C. Higgins the Great, Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Tamora Pierce’s Wild Magic, Adam Rex’s The True Meaning of Smekday, Linda Sue Park’s A Single Shard, David Almond’s Skellig — I could go on and on. There are so many!

How are mid-grade novels different from YA novels?

That is a frequently discussed question, and due to the differences often being less than clear-cut, I often feel like falling back on the age of the protagonist! But there are some other differences, all of which have exceptions. YA novels tend to be told in first person, or an under-the-skin third person, while middle-grade novels are more likely to have objective narrators. Both focus on themes relevant to their audiences, which is why middle-grade novels have so many missing or dead parents, as children around that age are starting to become more independent and wonder if they could cope on their own. Teens, on the other hand, generally ARE more independent and are focused on their peers. Not that middle-grade children aren’t, of course, but in a different way–and this is where the differences get murkier, as they are often differences of degree.

To get at the differences, I am going to suggest an exercise for your readers. Take a novel that everyone would agree is YA–let’s say Paper Towns, by John Green–and take one that everyone would agree is middle-grade–let’s say Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan. Read them both  (they are both well worth reading anyway). And then post your observations in the Comments below….

What trends do you see in publishing?

I see the same trends that everyone does. I see digital publishing changing the way books are sold–and the way books are discovered. I see self-publishing becoming a viable option, though I don’t see it bringing about the end of publishing companies. Those are probably the two areas where the most change has happened recently, and will continue to happen. Where’s this all going? I don’t know, but I’m open to seeing what happens.

I don’t pay much attention to trends in types of books, by the way, such as whether or not dystopias are still hot. It’s fun to speculate and trade that kind of gossip–and I do too when I’m chatting with friends–but I think writers will do best by writing the stories they are driven to write, not the ones they think will sell. Trends come and go, but when you write what you must write, you do your best work, and that is what sells.

One way that I keep up is to use Twitter as a news conduit, though I do use it for other things. I follow a very limited number of people–mostly news sources, along with a few others I know. And those news sources, from Publishers Weekly to individuals such as Jane Friedman and Mike Shatzkin, help me follow what’s going on in publishing generally and in our world in particular without spending a lot of time.

Anything you’d like to add?

Yes: read every day. Read books that interest you, current books, books like the manuscript you are working on or not like the manuscript you are working on. Books nourish the soul. That’s true for everyone, but particularly for those of us creating them.
Thanks!

And a huge thanks to you Harold for giving us all this excellent information. Again, you can learn more about Harold and his services and see all of his fantastic writing information at his website:  http://www.underdown.org/

As an additional help for the aspiring writers out there, we are offering a giveaway of Harold’s much-acclaimed book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books, 3rd Edition

 

To enter to win an e-book version of this book, please comment below. And yes, doing the exercise that Harold suggested above and commenting below does gain you an entry into the giveaway!
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Jennifer Swanson’s greatest wish is for someone to invent a transporter (like in Star Trek) so that she can send her kids to their events with the flip of a switch so she will have more time to write!
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A Girl Called Problem

By on April 9, 2013   /   Giveaways  

Katie Quirk is a woman prone to wanderlust. She’s lived in India for four years,  Tanzania for two, and France for one.  Her debut middle grade novel, “A Girl Called Problem”, is set in Africa and has been getting lovely reviews.

girl problem

From Amazon: Thirteen-year-old Shida, whose name means “problem” in Swahili, certainly has a lot of problems in her life — her father is dead, her depressed mother is rumored to be a witch, her family bears the weight of a curse, and everyone in her rural Tanzanian village expects her to marry rather than pursue her dream of becoming a healer. So when the elders of Litongo make a controversial decision to move Shida’s people to a nearby village, Shida welcomes the change. Surely the opportunity to go to school and learn from a nurse can only mean good things. Nonetheless, mysterious calamities plague Shida’s people after their move. Desperate to stay, Shida must prove to her people that life can be better in their new home.

Katie is giving away two copies of “Problem” to MUF readers. To be eligible to win, please leave a comment below. And thanks, Katie!
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