Giveaway!

I am hosting a giveaway to celebrate the upcoming release of my debut YA novel, The Best Week That Never Happened. I hope you will take two seconds to enter this contest because it could not be easier, and I have lots of fun prizes to send your way!

TO ENTER: Simply mark The Best Week That Never Happened as “Want to Read” in Goodreads. That’s it! 

Bonus entry: ⇓ share this giveaway on social media and tag me ⇓

• IG: @dallaswoodburnauthor 
• FB: @writerdallas 
• Twitter: @dallaswoodburn 

On December 31st, I’ll be randomly choosing 30+ winners for the following prizes:

Hand-carved wooden snowflake ornaments 

Why wooden snowflake ornaments? Here is a sneak-peek passage from The Best Week That Never Happened to explain how these beauties tie into the novel:

Crowded against the front window is a fake Christmas tree decorated top to bottom with wooden ornaments—“HAND-CRAFTED,” a sign proclaims. Trying to distract myself, I walk over and study the display. Some ornaments are smooth wooden globes, surprisingly light in my hand. Most of the globes are painted with images of Hawaii: surfers, dolphins, ocean waves.

My favorite ornaments are the wooden snowflakes, paper-thin, so delicately carved it is impossible to imagine an actual person crafting them. Maybe, despite the sign’s promise, these are machine produced. I take one in each hand and compare them. It’s clear they are different: one has six narrow points while the other is broader, like a starfish. Could it be possible each ornament is unique, like real snowflakes? That would definitely mean they are hand carved.

The bell jingles.  

I glance over.  

There he is. Kai. 

A few of my favorite YA books 

I wrote about some of these fantastic reads in my post for the “31 days of #quietYA” blog; others are perennial faves that I find myself returning to again and again. I will be giving away new copies of all of these books!

• Emerge by Tobie Easton 
• We Speak in Storms by Natalie Lund 
• All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven 
• When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore 
• Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll 
• Merged by Jim & Stephanie Kroepfl 

So what are you waiting for?? Enter and share with your friends!

TO ENTER: Simply mark The Best Week That Never Happened as “Want to Read” in Goodreads. That’s it! 

Bonus entry: ⇓ share this giveaway on social media and tag me ⇓

• IG: @dallaswoodburnauthor 
• FB: @writerdallas 
• Twitter: @dallaswoodburn

TeenPit: mentoring, editing, support, and being taken seriously as a writer

Guest Post by Lyric Shard 

You know that feeling of having butterflies in your stomach? The first one flapped its wings when I saw my manuscript title by a mentor’s name, the second when I met my fellow mentees, the third when I received an email from my mentor where she said she loved my pages. Then it was continuous flapping, hundreds of butterflies all at once. I still can’t count how many are left flapping their wings in my stomach, because my TeenPit experience did not only last for the one month promised--it’s stretched until today and hopefully will remain forever.

TeenPit is a writing contest designed for high school writers, where the participants submit their first 250 words and a short pitch for a chance to be paired with a mentor. You can go here to read about all the details for TeenPit 2018. And hurry up, the very brief submission window opens on March 17th.

I first noticed a tweet from K. Hopkins, a PitchWars mentor, in early April about a contest for teens. It’s always hard to be taken seriously when you’re sixteen trying to find your way into the publishing industry. TeenPit sounded like the perfect chance where I could hear something more than "your writing is good for your age." I could get feedback about my writing as a writer, not as a kid, and go from there to improve.

I immediately checked it out, drafted my submission email (almost a month before the submission window opened since only first 200 entries were accepted). Then one month passed fast, and the submission day came.

Thanks to living on the west coast, the window opened at five in the morning, and more thanks to the flat tire in the middle of the road the night before, I’d just come home, meaning my brain was perfectly functioning. I was able to send the email… well, with one very embarrassing mistake which ate me up the entire time I waited for the results. I wasn’t going to be picked. I couldn’t be. I sent an email in Comic Sans. They would delete it before they read it. 

The mentor teasers started a few hours before the results were posted. My impostor syndrome, for those few hours, seemed weaker than my high hopes. However, my hopes were right. My manuscript title was there, in the list of those that made it to the mentor round.

A few rounds of screaming contest (to relieve the excitement) with my chickens later, I sat down to relax and take time to believe my eyes. Only then was I able to open the email from my mentor, Kristen Lepionka, author of the Roxane Weary mystery series. It was greetings, introductions, "I love your voice" and gifs. That was all that was needed, to know that the first two chapters of my manuscript and I were in good hands. The next thing I needed was to listen, understand, and be open to making changes in my manuscript.

That’s what I did. In between school, senior activities and tons of essays, I knew to give my manuscript some time to edit it. I read her notes and edited. And edited. Scenes, characters, lines—everything. It was sending those twenty pages back and forth, more polished each time until we both looked at it and thought, "That looks about perfect."

The final edits were sent in, and now it was time to wait again. The top picks were announced, they were going to go straight to PitchWars, where they’d work with mentors for two months before their entries went up for agent showcase.

I wasn’t one of them.

That was okay.

In that one month, and all the months afterwards, I’ve become friends with the mentees from TeenPit Class of '17, a group of talented teen writers who are still there for each other. In between edits and gifs, I realized Kristen was more than a mentor. Can I call her my fairy godmother? She’s there to help get me through--from her amazing feedback and edits, to fighting impostor syndrome, or whatever is in the way.

TeenPit is so much more than the contest itself. It is a community, filled with love and support that doesn’t go away when the contest is over.

Note from Dallas: I hope you enter TeenPit 2018! Here are all the details.

Interview with YA author Kevin Sharp

Last month, I was fortunate enough to meet Kevin Sharp when we both participated in a reading in San Jose called the Flash Fiction Forum. Kevin read a beautiful and funny short story, "In Blackest Night," that you can read here published on 100-Word Story. We talked for a bit after the reading, and I got a copy of his debut YA novel After Dakota. I loved it!

Kevin's characters are so real and their problems so compelling that I found myself thinking about them as I went about my day, as if they were my friends. He treats every character with dignity and gives them room to move and grow on the page, making mistakes and being human. And I loved his wealth of descriptions and details, plus all the 80s references seamlessly woven through. I am so glad I read this book -- and very grateful that Kevin took time out of his day to answer some questions about writing for the blog today!

Thanks for stopping by the blog, Kevin! Tell us about your novel After Dakota. What was your inspiration/motivation behind this book?

The novel is about a year in the life of three teenagers in the 1980s, following the death of one of their friends in a plane crash. Although the subject matter might sound heavy, it was written as a tribute to the classic teen movies of the 1980s, like Fast Times At Ridgemont High, The Breakfast Club, and Say Anything (and so many more). Simply put, I missed seeing those kinds of stories. The characters in the book are older than I was at the time (1983-84), but I definitely have distinct memories of living through those years. I wanted to try and capture that world for a reader who wasn’t alive then, but also bring it all back for a reader who was. My target audience for the book is anyone who is now, or has ever been, a teenager.

Have you always wanted to be a writer? How did you get into writing?

I used to write and draw my own daily comic strips (like the kind you’d find in a newspaper) as a kid. In fourth grade I adapted Star Wars into a stage play, which was performed for our class. It was about as not-good as it sounds. I went on to write a science fiction trilogy my freshman year of high school (the essay “Walking on Sunshine” delves into this painful memory). I recently discovered all three of those manuscripts but am afraid to read them. After college I got involved in screenwriting, which was fun for a while, but I got too burned out on the business side of the movie business.

What is your writing schedule? When/how do you find time to write? 

Because I teach high school, I get home from work in the afternoon. I often go to a favorite café to write because I can find 10,000 distractions at home. Writing someplace away makes me feel like I’m going to a job, which in turn makes me more productive. I wrote After Dakota in a house with no internet & can report I got a lot more done in a lot less time. Funny how that works.

What is your biggest advice for other writers, particularly young writers just starting out? 

This isn’t some deep wisdom thought up exclusively by me, but… Finish everything you start. Even if the ending is terrible, put one on and make it better later.

Who are some of your favorite writers? 

The younger version of me devoured anything I could get my hands on by Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Piers Anthony, and Stephen King. Some of those writers I still enjoy, others not so much. I’d now add J.D. Salinger, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Grant Morrison, Jo Ann Beard, and Mary Karr to that list (all for different reasons).

What's next for you? 

A short story of mine will be appearing in an upcoming anthology, scheduled to be published in spring 2015. I’ve been working on YA sci-fi novel for what feels like a decade. After that I have another book lined up, loosely based on an experience I had in Hollywood.

How can readers get in touch with you?     

My website has links to buy After Dakota in all ebook formats, or as a “real” book. You can also find links to some of my short stories, articles, and essays at www.kevin-sharp.com. Find me on Twitter @thatkevinsharp.

One Teen Story contest

The wonderful literary magazine One Teen Story is having a contest for young writers! Here's the info! You should enter -- what do you have to lose??

Here's the announcement:

If you know a great teen writer between the ages of 14 and 19, tell them to submit a story before June 30, 2013. The contest will be judged by best-selling young-adult author Matt de la Peña, and the winner will be published in our May 2014 issue.

Good luck!!

Interviewer with Author & Publisher Alfred Martino

I am thrilled to welcome Alfred Martino to the blog today! Alfred's debut novel, Pinned, was published in 2005 and was chosen as a Jr. Library Guild Selection, Capitol Choices nominee, and nominee for YALSA's Best Book For Young Adults. His second novel, Over The End Line, was published in 2009 and centers around high school soccer. He'll be telling us more about his latest novel, Perfected by Girls, which just came out last month. 

Alfred is a graduate of Duke University and The Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, and is the co-founder and president of Listen & Live Audio, Inc., the premier independent audiobook publishing company in the US. With over 600 titles, Listen & Live Audio has worked with some of the finest narrators in the audiobook industry, including film legend Burt Reynolds, Penn Jillette of "Penn & Teller," Frank Muller, Grover Gardner, George Guidall, Simon Prebble and the incomparable Katy kellgren. The company has won 3 consecutive Odyssey Honor Awards, 10 Audie Awards, and dozens of AudioFile 'Earphones' and Publishers Weekly 'Listen Up' Awards. The company has also had the privilege of recording many high-profile books, including the New York Times bestseller The Jane Austen Book Club, The Darwin Awards series, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series, as well as authors Donna Hanover, Carol O'Connell, David Rosenfelt, Leil Lowndes, LA Meyer, Barbara Corcoran, Karen White, and Cassandra King. 

A native of Short Hills, NJ, Alfred has been a resident of Jersey City, NJ, since 1998. He is the proud companion to two wonderful rescue dogs, Daisy and Sara. Visit his website at http://www.alfredmartino.com.

Tell us about you new book Perfected by Girls.

Perfected By Girls is about sophomore Melinda Radford, who is the lone girl on the Ashton High wrestling team (in Michigan), grappling with opponents who refuse to compete against her, a few who want to crush her, and a coach who's less-than-pleased having a female in his practice room. At home, Mel’s parents forbid her from seeing her new boyfriend, her grandmother insists she start preparing for her future by taking a dreary office internship, and her infuriating older brother, who’s the varsity team captain, flirts with her best friend, Jade. Just when it seems things can't get any more complicated, an off-handed comment puts Mel at odds with her teammates, her brother, and, worst of all, her coach. But through a twist of tragedy and fate, Mel is given an unexpected opportunity to accomplish something no girl in her school's history has ever done—something that just may redeem her in the eyes of her detractors.

How did you get the idea for this book? 

My debut novel, Pinned, was about boys high school wrestling. I thought girls amateur wrestling was worthy of a similar book, particularly since it is one of the fastest growing sports among girls in middle and high school.

How did you first get started writing? 

When I was in high school I wrote a lot of teen angst poetry and short stories (some of which weren't too bad). But then I got away from writing fiction in college and grad school, though I'm not sure why. The writing bug bit me again at the end of grad school, mostly because I was out in Los Angeles (at the University of Southern California getting my MBA) and everyone in Los Angeles is writing a screenplay for film or TV.

What is your writing process like? Do you write on a computer? In a spiral notebook? 

I prefer to write at night, the later the better. Most of the time, I sit at my computer in my condo with my dogs sleeping at my feet, though sometimes I'll go to a local coffee shop and write in a small notebook.

What is your favorite thing about writing? 

A good writing session leaves me as satisfied as a good physical workout, though obviously not as tired or sweaty. Of course, sometimes I try to write and it is frustrating and tedious. The idea is to write as often as possible so that you're able to create those few gems amid a lot of junk.

How do you deal with disappointment or discouragement? 

Oh, boy, if someone wants to be a writer but she has difficulties with rejection, she is going to have a very short career. Writing is all about disappointment, on a number of levels. First, you have to expect that only a portion of what you put down on paper or type on a computer is going to be any good (the rest you will eventually discard). Then, of course, the process of getting critiqued and, eventually, trying to be published, is chock full of disappointment and discouragement. But if someone wants to be a writer, he simply must accept that there will be many obstacles to overcome and, instead, focus on the craft of writing. That may sound cliche, but nothing is more important than writing the best story, character, plot, etc., that you possibly can.

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams? 

I tell middle school and high school students this all the time, though I'm not sure it sinks in. If you want to be a writer, find one or two other people who do, as well. They can be friends, classmates or whatever. Then start a writing group, whereby, on a weekly basis, each of you gets to have a portion (say, five pages) of your material read and critiqued. This is so important for a number of reasons. First, you can't write in a vacuum. You have to develop a thick enough skin to be critiqued without it setting you back mentally (plus, you'll get wonderful ideas from the others in your writing group). In addition, you will become a better writer by critiquing others and understanding what does, and doesn't, work in a story. Finally, it's nice to be around other writers who are in the same boat as you are.

Is there anything else you would like to add? 

Those who are interested can contact me at acm7673@msn.com.

Interview with YA author Melissa Conway

Today I am honored to feature Melissa Conway on the blog! She is the author of four young adult ebooks, the latest of which, Xenofreak Nation, she'll be discussing here today. Melissa is the founder of the book review site Booksquawk. Her website is here, her YouTube channel here, she blogs at Whimsilly and can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks so much for taking the time to be here today! What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

 

I’d like my readers to know how much I appreciate that they chose my book. Beginning any book is not only a time commitment; it’s an investment that the reader hopes will pay off emotionally. I strive to produce work that will take them on a satisfying journey, and it’s especially gratifying when they take the extra time to give me feedback.

Tell us about Xenofreak Nation. What was your inspiration/motivation behind this book?

 

The story alternates between the two central characters, Bryn Vega, the daughter of the head of the Pure Human Society, and Scott Harding, an Xbestia gang member who is really an undercover agent for the XIA. At its heart, Xenofreak Nation is both a love story and an exploration of ethics set in the near future in a world mired in a deep economic depression where government decision-making has ground to a halt. Authorities have failed to regulate the medical practice of bioengineering animals to be compatible with humans for organ transplantation. Rogue xenosurgeons are responsible for the development of an underground sub-culture derogatorily referred to as Xenofreaks, who have replaced tattoos with grafts of bioengineered animal skin, teeth, horns and even tails and wings. When Bryn is kidnapped as retaliation for her father’s anti-xeno activities, she’s thrust into this frightening world. Scott is torn between his duty and his developing feelings for innocent Bryn.

What have you learned through writing this book?

 

I don’t know that I learned anything exactly...but certainly the story opened up a way for me to communicate a concept we are all familiar with: that there are two sides to every story. Given the state of the world, it can’t hurt to emphasize cultural tolerance!

 

How did you get started writing?

 

My family was poor, so the library was a big source of entertainment. And since I was shy, writing was one way for me to express myself. I wrote a silly poem in the fourth grade that my teacher submitted to a contest in the local paper. When I won, it was the first time I felt as if my writing had merit. I admire teachers in general, but good teachers, the ones who take that extra step to encourage children to flourish, they are my heroes.

What is your writing process like?

 

I’m kind of embarrassed to admit I find it hard to write unless the house is clean and all chores attended to. But I have this great set-up in the living room -- I sit in a La-Z-Boy with my PC discreetly hidden in a cabinet next to it. My monitor is mounted on a swing arm so I don’t have to turn my head, I set my wireless keyboard in my lap, and my wireless mouse rests on the arm of the chair. Very comfy!

 

I do like to see my characters not just in my mind's eye, so I use DAZ Studio to create them. Then I can put them in my book trailers, too, like the one I made for XN, here.

 

How do you get ideas for what you write?

 

My young son, with his limitless imagination, is constantly beginning his sentences with, “What if..?” The other day, I realized that’s how my ideas start, too. A little spark of curiosity about something -- almost anything -- will set my mind on that “What if..?” path, and the next thing I know, I’m actively plotting.

What are some of your favorite books?

 

I’ve made an effort to give new authors a chance this year and have discovered some great new voices: Rebecca Lochlann’s Child of the Erinyes series and J.S. Colley’s debut novel, The Halo Revelations, to name just a few. 

 

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

 

First of all, I wouldn’t restrict my advice to young people! Whatever your age, it’s good to have dreams. Learn your craft, set goals, and follow through. Try not to let criticism slow you down too much. Filter the useful from the not-so-much. My personal mantra is: “You can’t please everyone.”

Publication Opportunity: YA Anthology Looking for Historical Romances!

I received this Call for Submissions and wanted to pass it along in case any of you are interested in submitting... looks like a neat project!

FROM PUGALICIOUS PRESS:

We are looking for YA short stories to include in our first ebook anthology, titled Timeless!

If your short story is between 3000 and 7500 words and fits into the genre of YA historical romance with some twists, we want to read it. The story can include steampunk, fantasy, or adventure, as long as it includes some historical elements then we are interested in reading it.

• Submit the whole manuscript as a Word .doc file (no .docx) by March 30, 2012, with the subject heading: submission–YA anthology.

• Please include a bio, publishing credits if any, and a synopsis.

• Email: pugaliciouspress(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ in sending email)

• Website is http://pugaliciouspress.com/submissions/
  

Review of "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was impressed by how authentic the voice of the main character, Caitlin, seemed as a portrayal of a young girl with Asperger’s Syndrome. On Kathryn Erskine's website she shares a long list of books she read to research Autism and Asperger’s; it also mentions that she interviewed experts and teachers and had them read her manuscript and give her feedback. I think this level of detailed research shines through this book. I took a literature class last semester that focused on portrayals of disability in fiction, and one of the commonalities we discussed was the tendency of authors to give disability some sort of heightened symbolic meaning, or for the characters with disabilities to be defined wholly by their disabilities/differences rather than being portrayed as whole and nuanced human beings. I thought Kathryn Erskine avoided both of these tired tropes in Mockingbird. Caitlin’s voice is unique, but not in a way that impeded me from seeing her as a vivid, real character. As I read further along into the book, it was like her disability faded into the background and I knew Caitlin more for her other traits: her artistic talent, her bravery and curiosity, her quick thinking, her stubbornness, and her compassion and thoughtfulness.

This book tackles difficult subjects—grief, violence, bullying, difference—with a gentle and generous spirit. It is a great reminder to students (and teachers and parents!) that we all have our differences, but we also all have much the same about us. Mockingbird seems to argue that the only way to combat exclusion and meanness is to strive towards understanding each other and being patient with each other, and though some adult readers might find the treatment of this theme/motif a bit heavy-handed, I think it is a valuable lesson for all readers and one that is worth sharing.

Caveats: A school shooting plays a major plot point in the book, which may be upsetting for some students to read about. Teachers should be extra sensitive to this topic and perhaps use the book as a jumping-off point for discussion on school safety, violence, bullying, etc.

Teaching idea: This book would be excellent to pair with To Kill a Mockingbird (and possibly the film version of the novel as well.) Teachers might also work in creative art time by giving students an assignment to draw a mockingbird as a charcoal or pencil sketch (black and white) and then to do another version with pastels or watercolors (color). What different beauty can be found in each version? A reader-response question might be: Think of a time you had an argument or disagreement with someone. Write down your point of view of what happened. Now, turn over the piece of paper and write about the same event as if you are the other person telling the story. Get inside this person’s head/perspective, much as Caitlin tries to do in the book when she is learning to empathize with others.

Other books by Kathryn Erskine: Quaking (2007) and The Absolute Value of Mike (2011)

Themes/motifs: grief and healing, art, family, community, friendship, loss, disability and difference, black & white vs. color & nuance

View all of my Goodreads reviews

Review of "Will Grayson, Will Grayson"

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

I greatly enjoyed this book. I have read and loved a number of other YA books by John Green (Looking for Alaska is one of my all-time favorites) and I just read David Levithan’s first novel for adults, The Lover’s Dictionary, which I also found clever and fun and surprisingly wise, much like Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

I think teenagers will be drawn into this book immediately by the by turns sarcastic, witty, and almost painfully honest voices of the two Will Grayson narrators. The structure of alternating chapters is addictive and really pulls the story forward, and it is a satisfying moment when the storylines first intersect. I was happy that they remained interconnected throughout the remainder of the novel. Technology and the Internet are of high importance to the plot of the book, which I think teenagers will relate to, and I was impressed by how these two authors manage to thoroughly inhabit the world of teenagers—everything from text messaging to IM conversations/ lingo to the logistics of getting a fake ID so you can go see a band you love at an over-21 club. The voices of the two narrators feel distinct, which is heightened by one will grayson only writing in lower-case.

I think this book is also an important and worthy read for the way it portrays gay characters with nuance, compassion and honesty. Tiny I think represents one possible portrayal of a gay man, that perhaps is closer to a stereotype we often see in media and pop culture of the “gay best friend.” But I think this resists empty stereotype in the book because Tiny is juxtaposed with will grayson, who is still in the process of understanding his identity as a gay man, and Gideon, who seems somewhere in the middle —accepting of his gay identity, yet not as flamboyant or outspoken about it as Tiny is. Moreover, this book is not just about queer identity, but about identity in general and about all the many different ways to love and be loved by others.

Caveats: The book includes underage drinking, cursing, and going to over-21 clubs with fake IDs. It might be most appropriate for a high school audience.

Themes/motifs: friendship, family, class issues, gay/queer identity, technology and Internet communication, happiness, anger, music, self-identity, memory, love, guilt, redemption, insiders/outsiders

Teaching ideas: In the book Tiny writes Tiny Dancer, a musical about his own life and experiences as a gay teenager, and it is through this act of writing his story for the stage that he reevaluates his friendships, comes to acceptance of the pain he has gone through, and traces broader "themes" of his life. Along a similar vein, teachers might use this book to challenge students to revisit a scene from their own lives, perhaps a painful or intense memory or turning point that shaped their identity, and write this as a scene that might appear in a play. In writing about it in this format (rather than a journal entry or a poem, for example) students are forced to pull back from the memory and consider it from an outside perspective, and also perhaps delve a little inside the hearts and minds of the other people who took part in the memory, the other "actors" in the "scene."

Other books by John Green: Looking for Alaska; An Abundance of Katherines; Paper Towns; The Fault in Our Stars; contributor to the short story anthology Let it Snow.

Other books by David Levithan: Boy Meets Boy; The Realm of Possibility; Are We There Yet?; Marly’s Ghost; Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist; Wide Awake; Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List; How They Met, and Other Stories; Likely Story; Love is the Higher Law; Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares; The Lover’s Dictionary. He is editorial director at Scholastic, and the founding editor of the PUSH imprint, which is devoted to finding new voices and new authors in teen literature.

View all my Goodreads reviews

Review of Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was completely riveted by this book from beginning to end. The book starts off “in medias res” with Nailer in the pitch-dark bowels of an oil tanker and the tension and action only builds from there. I never found myself glancing ahead, waiting for the action to pick up—the tension was always palpable. Bacigalupi does an incredible job building a world that seems vivid, dangerous, and wholly real. Set in the future, there were enough details recognizable from life today (hurricanes, oil tankers, the Gulf Coast region, tension between rich and poor) that this dystopian future felt eerily possible. This would be a great book to teach in conjunction with a science unit on hurricanes or a history unit on New Orleans and the recent oil crisis.

Nailer is a character that I think many young people, particularly boys, will relate to. He is brave, daring, intelligent, and also has a lot of heart. He is easy to root for, and I was very quickly swept up into his life and perspective. The prose is fast-paced, filled with vivid imagery and details, yet also easy to follow.

Caveats: There is a great deal of violence, and also mentions of drugs, underage drinking, and innuendos of sexual violence. It might be most appropriate for a high school audience.

Other books by Paolo Bacigalupi: The Windup Girl and Pump Six & Other Stories. (He is known as a “biopunk”/sci-fi writer for both adult and YA audiences.)

Themes/motifs: human destruction of nature; climate change/global warming; wealth versus poverty; corruption of power; compassion and being generous and kind towards others; “family” defined as people who make you feel safe; gumption and courage

View all my Goodreads reviews

Interview with Young Author Corinne Fombelle

At just thirteen years old, Corinne Fombelle published her 245-page novel Below the Surface, which she describes as "a novel about a girl and her best friend who wind up in a wild ocean adventure full of sharks, dolphins, fun, and surprises." The book is available as a Kindle download. Read on for Corinne's inspirational interview!

How did you get the idea for Below the Surface?

I decided I wanted to write a book, and I was trying to come up with something. I remember looking around the room trying to come up with a random idea. I saw a picture of a boat on the water and imagined something big going on underwater. That's when I first got the basic idea, and it just snowballed from there.

What made you first interested in writing?

In the fifth grade, when I was ten years old, my teacher Mrs. O'Brien gave us a creative writing assignment. It wasn't anything crazy, just a few short pages would do. So I wrote my little story for class and ended up really enjoying it. After I had turned it in, I decided to write a longer story, more like a book.

What is your writing routine? 

When I was writing Below the Surface, I would go on our desktop computer in the basement about every day and type. My family didn't even really realize the extent of my project until I told them it was finished. I asked my mom if she would print it for me. I would always just call it "my story" so they assumed that it wasn't much longer than the one I had written for class. She told me that when she went to print it, the printer ran out of paper, and she was so surprised. That was when she realized that I had really written a book at the age of ten. I just liked writing so much that I would go and work on it nearly every day.


What do you like about writing?

My favorite thing about writing is probably that there aren't really any restrictions. You can take it wherever you want and think of anything that pops into your head and weave it into an entire plot.

How do you deal with disappointment and rejection?

As a writer, there are many times you get turned down. The biggest problem I faced was my age. To get a book published with a real company, you need to get an agent or they won't listen to you regardless. But I also think it's hard to make agents pay attention if you're under eighteen. When I finally realized that there wasn't a way to get agents to read my manuscript, I tried to find another way to get my book published, which was my ultimate goal from the time I finished it. I did many revisions and tweaked lots of things, just to get it that much better while I was trying to find another way to get the public to read my work. Finally, my uncle sent me an email about Kindle publishing, and how it was a great opportunity. I looked into it, and found out that there was no down side, and went through with it. Basically, I just always try to find a way to make things work out.

What is your biggest advice for a young person going after their dreams?

I would tell anyone who wants to get into writing or anything else that they should do the best they can to perfect their skills at whatever it is they're doing, and then things will just work out. If you're put a lot of work into something, people will notice and try to help you reach your goal.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I finished Below the Surface when I was ten and didn't get it published until I was thirteen. I never gave up on it. I didn't quit. I still was working on it even further and fixing little things in the story. I was still trying to find a way to make it happen, and finally my uncle gave me the last boost I needed, the information about Kindle publishing. If I hadn't still been editing the book and trying to make it better yet, I wouldn't have been told about Kindle publishing because I would have probably stopped writing. So, even if you face disappointments that seem to stop you, keep trying and always keep the things in your life that make you happy, and they will someday benefit you because of your passion for it.

Part II: Interview with Alan Sitomer, award-winning author of NERD GIRLS

Today I am delighted to continue our Write On! interview with award-winning author and California 2007 Teacher of the Year Alan Sitomer. His latest book, Nerd Girls, is available on Amazon here. 

Besides being an author, you are an award-winning teacher. How does teaching influence your writing and the creation of your material?

I show all of my books to real kids first. My students, former students, fans I have gotten to know from around the country, they all get to check out my books hot off the press before anyone else gets a chance to see them. That means before my literary agent. That means before my editor. That means before anyone in the adult world who works in “the publishing industry.” Real kids are my readers and if they don’t like something – if they don’t laugh, if they don’t cry, if they don’t approve – then it doesn’t really matter what the adults think.

Kids are my best, and toughest audience. If my books flies with them, then I know I am good and I’ll go ahead and take it to the next level and begin to show it to the people in the publishing industry. But if I do not get their seal of approval, I stop, listen to their feedback and go back into the piece to go make it work. It’s probably why my fans are so loyal; they know that I respect them and I listen to them and I like them.

Kids who read my books can know that other kids have read them first and given the “Thumbs Up!” sign. I really think that is an important element to my work.

You often talk about “puttin’ the fun” in reading, writing and school. Why?

Let’s be honest: sometimes school can get SO BORING! And there’s no reason for it. But still, grumpy adults sometimes send the message to kids that life is to be serious, serious, serious and humorless, humorless, humorless.

To them I say BLAAAAHHH!

Students are at their best when they are enjoying what they are doing. Students will read more books when they like what they are reading. Students will learn more about a subject when they like what they are learning. Students will try harder to do a good job on the work they are being asked to do if they like the work that they are doing.

That’s my belief and I am sticking with it. (Besides, I was named California Teacher of the Year so ya might think I know just a wee little bit about this stuff, huh?)

Of course, there is a time to be serious. But being serious does not mean that you can’t enjoy yourself. Of course kids have to realize that there are some things in life you just have to do - and do well - even if they are not “fun.” I get that. It’s called reality and the bigger point of school is not to be entertaining. But for the most part I’ve found it’s actually quite satisfying to work really, really hard on something that challenges you deeply. Finding the joy in the challenge is what brings out the best in us.

However, sad to say, it seems as if some schools have forgotten this. Not all – and if you have a teacher that tries hard to make learning fun and meaningful and exciting and interesting – consider yourself lucky. Why? Because I’d venture to say that teachers like this eventually end up teaching you a great deal. School is not a comedy club, but it’s not a funeral home, either, and I believe that a classroom without laughter is a classroom that is not operating at its highest possible potential. Before kids are students, they are people and people need to laugh much like they need to eat and breathe and love.

Just to be clear, I believe that working hard is important. In my classroom, I have little patience for goof-offs but I have a lotta love for kids who put good ol’ fashioned positive energy into their efforts. My belief is that you are not enjoying the work, you probably aren’t going to learn as much as you would if you were enjoying the work. Plus, you are much more likely to try harder when you care about and enjoy what you are doing. Making reading enjoyable and making writing enjoyable makes better readers and writers.

Fun is my secret sauce. It works!

What else can we expect from Nerds Girls beyond this first book?

There is all kinds of crazy, fun stuff right now. I’ve built a game. I’ve created some author videos. There’s a Nerd Girls comic.

All free for anyone who wants them.

Of course, there’s already Hollywood talk of a movie and a TV show and clothes and merchandise and blah, blah, blah. (www.TheNerdGirlsWorld.com is the home base for information about all of this stuff.)

But for me, it’s all about the core material right now. Nerd Girls Book II is on its way and beyond that there are a few more surprises in the works.

All in all, I guess it’s just about making sure to have fun, work hard and continue enjoying all the great kids I get to meet who have become fans of my writing. Of course, the teachers and the librarians are great, too, but it’s all about the kids. Their approval means the most to me.

And really, how ridiculously lucky am I to have it? As I tell folks all the time, it’s quite healthy to channel your inner nerd. That’s all I am doing right now. It’s good for the soul.

If you missed Part I of my interview with Alan, check it out here.

Links:

• Alan's official website: www.AlanSitomer.com
• Nerd Girls books: www.TheNerdGirlsWorld.com

Part I: Interview with Alan Sitomer, award-winning author of NERD GIRLS

Alan Sitomer is California’s 2007 Teacher of the Year. In addition to being an inner-city high school English teacher and former professor in the Graduate School of Education at Loyola Marymount University, Mr. Sitomer is a nationally renowned speaker specializing in engaging reluctant readers who received the 2004 award for Classroom Excellence from the Southern California Teachers of English and the 2003 Teacher of the Year honor from California Literacy. In 2007, Alan was named Educator of the Year by Loyola Marymount University and in 2008 The Insight Education Group named him Innovative Educator of the Year.

Mr. Sitomer has also authored 11 books to date for esteemed publishers such as Disney, Scholastic, Penguin/Putnam, and RB Education. These include six young adult novels, three children’s picture books, two teacher methodology books, and a classroom curriculum series for secondary English Language Arts instruction called The Alan Sitomer BookJam. In the past he’s been honored by the American Library Association (the A.L.A. named Homeboyz a Top Ten Book of the Year 2008, receiving the prestigious ALA Quick Pick Recognition for young adult novel which best engages reluctant readers) and within the next 18 months Alan will have four new titles hitting the shelves.

Mr. Sitomer is currently on sabbatical from the classroom as he works to re-shape literacy education through policy dialogue, professional development workshops, and authoring new materials for classroom use. He was kind enough to fit an interview with Write On! into his very busy schedule to talk about his newest release, NERD GIRLS, released last month from Disney books.

Alan, it is truly an honor to have you here today! What inspired you to write Nerd Girls?

There are a variety of reasons why I wrote Nerd Girls. Number one, I’m sorta a dork. I mean, I like reading, I like writing, I like learning about things that interest me and I love teachers and librarians.

Plus, I’ve been known to embarrass myself now and then. For example, I once gave an oral report in front of an entire class with my fly unzipped. I thought people were laughing at my ingenious use of comedy. Instead they could see my tightie-whities.

Oy vey!

Of course, when I was a kid in school this made my life kinda tough but once I realized that I am what I am the world got a lot easier for me. I wasn’t cool, sexy, the class president, or voted most likely to conquer the planet. I was awkward with members of the opposite sex, laughed like a goofball, and there were times when I felt like the loneliest person on the planet.

Add it all up and I was a nerd.

Then I realized, once I got older, that there are more of “us” than there are of “them” anyway so I decided to channel my inner nerd and put some smiles on paper. The result was this book and it’s been received really, really well. (Hey, people like to laugh.) I’m very proud of the work and plan to do more.

Nerd Girls is your first comedy. How is writing comedy different than writing in other genres?

Writing comedy is very different in some regards and yet, writing comedy is very much the same as all other genres of writing. For example, when you write action adventure, you have chase scenes where the bad guy hotly pursues the hero in fast paced, breathless action. In comedy, somebody farts. Or bonks their head. Or farts while bonking their head while being hotly pursued by a bad guy in fast paced-breathless action.

As you can see, it’s an art.

However, the rules of good writing still apply. You must have a protagonist with a goal who wants something. And that protagonist must have stuff that gets in their way which prevents them from obtaining that which they want.

Stories are all about protagonists taking meaningful journeys. And we love stories so because all of us are taking our own journeys right now. We identify with people who get into trouble, people who have a crush, people who screw up BIG TIME and people who pull a rabbit out of their butt at the very last minute and save the day in a way that proves, “Ya know what, I actually have something good to offer this world after all. So NAH!”

And then they fart and then we smile and then we realize that the characters in the books we read and love are actually our true friends. They are people who understand us, people who inspire us and people who make us realize that doing good things and living in a good way makes us feel good on the inside.

Really, what beats that?

Where did the kooky characters in this book come from?

The first kooky character is probably me. I just love to laugh. Basically, my rule is, if the book doesn’t make me laugh, then why in the world should I expect that it’s going to make anyone else laugh, either? This means that while I was writing Nerd Girls, I was laughing a lot.

Out loud.

All by myself.

In a room with no other human beings. Just me sitting behind a desk laughing out loud with no one else around.

They lock people up for that kind of stuff.

Also, some parts of the book were written when I was sitting on airplanes on my way to go visit a school and talk with the kids. (I do that a lot.) This means I’m the loony guy chuckling out loud to himself on a crowded airplane where no one else ever gets to see the joke or learns what’s so funny.

I’m used to people staring. But hey, whatever works, right?

Of course I draw my inspiration from other people, too. Lots of real people. Real kids especially. Here’s a practice test.

1) Think of a dork you know.

2) Now think of that person doing something dorky.

3) Now think of that person doing something dorky while thinking to themselves that what they are doing is not dorky at all but rather totally normal behavior.

That right there is how my characters are born. Some people are just downright funny. I put those people in my books. See… simple.

I gotta admit though, I think I was born with a weirdo magnet in my body because kooky, nutty, dorky, oddballs just seem to find me. When I was a kid in middle school, I knew people who smelled their belly button lint. When I went to college, I knew a person that ate their cereal with Coca-Cola instead of milk. Now, as an adult, people who own hairless dogs sit next to me and just start conversations for no reason at all.

Like I said, it must be a magnet. But when you are a writer, it comes in handy.

Indeed, all of my characters are fiction. But really, they’re not. They’re just people I know or see or meet with a few name changes. After all, why invent dorks and nerds and doofuses when there are dorks and nerds and doofuses all around us?

In Nerd Girls the good guys win but also, they don’t. Why write a book for kids that is layered with complexity like this?

Look, kids today are smart. Wicked smart. And writing neat little sweet stories that wrap up like perfect little fairy tales is hardly the way the real world works.

Now, I don’t want to give anything away about the book for those that have not yet read it but are planning to, but twists are important to good books. It’s part of the magic that makes them memorable and while I wanted to write an LOL comedy – which I kinda believe I have – I also wanted to make sure today’s young readers didn’t feel as if I was writing down to them or not respecting their cerebral abilities. Like I said, kids today are smart and sure, they want to laugh, but they also want to be challenged and appreciated for being more intelligent than so many adults often believe they are.

Nerd Girls is layered and complex because today’s young people are layered and complex. But today’s young people also have a wonderful sense of humor. They love to laugh.

And so do I.

In a way, this laughter is where we all get to meet.

# # #

Check back tomorrow for PART II of my interview with Alan Sitomer!

And in the meantime, for more information about Alan, please visit his official website at www.AlanSitomer.com.

Interview with debut YA author Emily Hendricks Jensen

Emily, thank you so much for being a guest on the blog today! What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

I have a pretty uninteresting bio. I was born in Missouri and was an only child until I was 12 and now I have 8 siblings (halves and steps.) I majored in Journalism and I loved it, though I don’t use the degree in the conventional sense of working for a newspaper. I do, however, use all the courses I took on researching and investigating to find information for my writing. I moved to Wyoming in mid-July and will be getting married in mid-August. I’m already writing under my future married name. I love that.

Tell us about Fault. What was your inspiration/motivation behind this book?

The plot came from a writing prompt I saw on a website when I was in high school. It was started it as a short story, but before I knew it I had written one young adult novel that I eventually split up into five different novellas. The story is about Cecelia, a 15 year old drug addict who will do anything for acceptance, love and drugs. Her parents send her to a facility to help her with her drug problems, but they won’t acknowledge the abuse she had in her past that started all of her drug problems in the first place. It is written in verse.

What have you learned through writing this book?

How cathartic writing can really be and the what all the things you write can tell you about yourself as a person. I didn’t realize how much of myself I poured into the story until my fiance told me he saw certain people in the characters. I’m not a drug addict and I’ve never been to a rehabilitation facility, but I’m the only child of a bitter divorce and I understand what it feels like to be shuttled from house to house. I know what trying too hard to be perfect feels like.

How did you get started writing?

I’ve always been some sort of writer. Short stories when I was younger, then poems (that were awful) in high school. I never had the confidence to write a book, but one day I sat down and started one. Finished that one, tried to get an agent. Didn’t happen. Tried again with my second book. Nothing. At first I felt like a terrible writer, then I realized that those two books were absolutely not my best pieces of work. After that I wrote Fault. I sent it around to agents and small presses, and everyone who read it “loved the concept” but said it would be a hard book to market. That is why I went through the self-publishing process.

What is your writing process like? Do you write on a computer? In a spiral notebook? Do you draw illustrations?

I write everything on either my computer or my iPhone. I do a lot of traveling (both in the US and internationally) and I think I do my best work on planes and trains. My books don’t have illustrations, probably because I can barely draw a stick figure.

How do you get ideas for what you write?

Mostly the news. I’m a huge news junkie, especially entertainment news.

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

Never ever give up. I know that’s what everyone says, but it’s so true. If you give up, all you will have is regrets and regrets get you nowhere.

What are some of your favorite books?

My two favorite books ever are The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney and Wish You Well by David Baldacci. I also love anything by Ellen Hopkins, Melissa Senate, and Maureen Johnson.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I am so excited about my novella series! A new novella will come out every two months. Next summer I intend to publish a full length young adult novel. I have other things in the works as well, so stay tuned!

Contact Emily:

• Website: http://www.emilyhendricksjensen.com/

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EmilyHendricksJensen

Interview with YA Author Evelyn Krieger

Evelyn Krieger, the oldest of six children, grew up in Detroit, Michigan. As a child, she entertained her friends with imaginative stories and dance performances. In fact, she says, the inspiration for her first poem came in the middle of the night when she was just eight years old. Evelyn has been writing ever since, and her essays and stories have won numerous awards. After studying ballet seriously, and earning her master's degree from Harvard, Evelyn worked as a reading teacher and private tutor. Today, she is a writer, learning specialist, and a homeschooling mom. Evelyn lives in the Boston area with her husband and three children. She was kind enough to drop by the blog today to answer some questions about her new novel from YM Publishing, One is Not a Lonely Number, which recently won a Sydney Taylor Honor Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries. Congrats, Evelyn!

What was your inspiration for One Is Not A Lonely Number?

I've worked as a teacher for many years, both in the classroom and privately. I watched so many kids struggle with math that it got me wondering about the best way to help kids not only get it but like it. I wanted my main character to have a friendly and interesting relationship to numbers. I am also the eldest of six kids, so I sometimes wondered what it would be like to be an only child, like Talia, the book's narrator. The story really unfolded from my imagination, though I did draw things from my life such as dance, Jewish culture, and an adopted Chinese girl (my beautiful niece.)

How did you first get started writing?

As a young child, I had a lot of trouble falling asleep. So I'd lay there making up stories and poems. Eventually I started writing them down and sharing them with my parents and friends. My mother is a natural storyteller and I think I inherited that gene. I told the best ghost stories at sleepover parties. My mother wrote poetry and articles for newspapers. That was my introduction to writing as a business. Today, I still have trouble sleeping and often get my best ideas in the middle of the night.

How do you balance everything in your life?

I am a juggler. I always have about five balls in the air and this makes life both interesting and a bit chaotic. For example, I homeschool my seventh-grade daughter, work part-time as a reading specialist, teach a weekly adult ballet class, help my teen daughter manage her magazine business, in addition to writing. Whew! I always have been a person who does too much, but I never know what I can cut out. Writing is my passion, though, and I hope to bring that in the forefront of my life.

What is your writing process like? Do you write on a computer? In a spiral notebook? Do you draw illustrations?

I can no longer write in a notebook, although I love to buy pretty ones for brainstorming and list making. My hands can't keep up with my thoughts, so a computer is a must. (I type very fast.) I love my laptop. Once I have an idea, I let it roam around in my mind. I begin to hear snippets of dialogue. I can actually write parts of the story in my head. Sometimes, it even feels like I'm in a trance! (This probably explains why I often miss exits while driving on highways.) Once I start writing, I have to force myself to let the story unfold. Since I get frustrated when something doesn't sound right and I start rewriting. I think it's really essential to allow yourself to create a messy, imperfect first draft, even though I don't always practice that. I like to let my first draft sit for a few days and then I come back to it with fresh eyes. I do several rewrites, even many months later on stories or essays I thought were finished.

I used to need a lot of quiet to write, but more recently I find I work better sitting in Barnes & Nobles or a coffee shop. I write Sunday afternoons, some evenings, and during my daughter Audrey's ballet lessons.

I read that you have had years of serious ballet study. How have other art forms, such as dance, influenced your writing?

I used to be a very shy child. That's why my mother first enrolled me in ballet. Turns out, I had a natural talent and I grew to love it. Ballet study develops discipline which is essential to being a writer. It isn't enough to just want to be a writer, you have to put the time in. You have to show up at your writing space and get to work. My mother was a singer and gifted pianist. I grew up with all types of music playing in the house -- gypsy songs, Broadway, classical. I also studied piano, which like dance and writing, takes regular practice for you to get good at it. I am very affected by music. I sometimes use it to evoke a certain mood in my writing. When I was working on One Is Not A Lonely Number, I had a particular song that I listened to during a pivotal scene. Dance and music are woven into the book's plot.

What did you learn from writing One Is Not A Lonely Number?

I learned that I had the ability to actually finish a novel! When you have three unfinished novels on your computer, you get discouraged. For some reason, I found writing for young people more freeing. I took it chapter by chapter, without letting myself get overwhelmed by the idea of writing a WHOLE book.

What are you working on now?

I'm a big contest fan. I like entering writing competitions because they give me a specific goal to work towards... and a deadline! I also love a challenge. When I am not busy promoting One Is Not A Lonely Number, I am working on essays and short story contests, and pitching article ideas to magazines. However, I will reveal, and your blog will be the first to know, that I have a new novel growing in my head -- a contemporary story for adults. I'm very excited by the idea, but also frustrated because I really don't have the time to pursue it right now. I'm sure looking forward to the summer when I can let the characters out to play.

Thank you so much for sharing the news about your next novel -- how exciting! What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

Write them down. Something powerful happens when you commit your dreams to paper. Then, list steps that you need to take to make them come true. Review your dreams on your birthday each year.

Is there anything else you'd like us to know?

I'd love to hear from readers! Are you an Only? A dancer? A "mathlete"? Write to me. Please check out the publisher's website for an excerpt, reviews, and more. My very talented teen daughter created it. www.oneisnotalonelynumber.com


Below is the book trailer for One is Not a Lonely Number:

Ten Rules to Keep in Mind When Writing for Teens

1. Spend time with teens.

• Volunteer at a high school.
• People-watch at the mall.
• Ask questions.
• Build relationships.

2. Read YA lit.

• Some of my favorite authors: Ellen Hopkins, Sarah Dessen, Laurie Stolarz, Joan Bauer, Mike Lupica, Ann Brashares, Libba Bray, Randy Powell, John Green, Carl Hiaasen, Ann Rinaldi, Sonya Sones, Markus Zusak

3. Recruit a “teen advisory board” of readers.

• Many teens will be happy to help you.
• Ask them to be honest above all else!

4. Avoid being “preachy.”

• Nothing turns off a teen reader more quickly than a condescending tone.

5. Be authentic.

• Inhabit your characters. Learn their details and quirks.
• What do your characters love? Hate? Fear? Yearn for? Dream about?

6. If you use slang, use it correctly. 

• Same goes for technology references.
• Be sure to consider: what is new and popular today is tomorrow’s “old news.” Do you want to date your material?

7. Grab ’em from the first sentence.

• Have teens read the first page of your manuscript, and then ask them if they would keep reading.

8. Don’t be afraid to be dark!

• You don’t have to hold back. Teens can take what you want to throw at them.
• Many of our adult “classics” such as Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird would be considered YA if published today.

9. Create active, vibrant characters who have something at stake.

• Teens want to read about characters who are doing things, rather than just having things done to them.

10. Read your old diaries – they’re treasure troves!

• Reconnect with your teen self.
• Some of my most well-received YA lit has been based off my own persona experiences!

Interview with Mary Ann Hutchison, Author of "Moochi's Mariachis"

Mary Ann Hutchison is the author of the YA novel Moochi's Mariachis, a wonderful coming-of-age tale that will make you want to get up and dance! She was born in Wisconsin but now calls Tucson, Arizona home. She loves the mountains and the sea and says, "I would be happiest living in a log cabin in the mountains if I could open the front door and have ocean waves lapping at the front porch." A voracious reader, as a pre-teen one of her favorite books was Lorna Doone; now she can't get enough of Harry Potter. She also loves to travel and has been to nine foreign countries and 38 U.S. states by train, plane, automobile and ship. 

Moochi's Mariachis is Hutchison's first YA novel. She has also completed a suspense western that is looking for a publisher and has another suspense novel half-written. In addition, she writes short stories – mystery and suspense – and children's picture books. 

This busy and multi-talented authoress was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions. She says, "So much to do, so few hours in a day, especially if you have to sleep now and then!"

Tell us about Moochi's Mariachis. What was the impetus to write this book?

Although I like ALL kinds of music, mariachi just may be my favorite. The word mariachi can refer to the music, the musician and a culture. I can't think of another word that does all of that. I wanted teens of all cultures to love and understand it as much as I do. The music tells stories about the birth of a culture, is played for all things happy (love, weddings, births) and sad (funerals, the breaking up of love affairs, war.) When the trumpet soars to its highest notes it can make me cry with joy; the violins and vihuelas can sound so sad, I also cry. Does music do that to you, too?

What was the journey to publication like for you?

It took seven years to write Moochi. It began as a children's picture book about insects in the southwest desert who wanted to form a mariachi band, and then morphed into what it is today, when an "almost" teen I'd given the story to asked me, "Does it have to be about bugs? Can't it be about kids my age?" As soon as I answered the question with "Yes," my research began.

It's one thing to want to write about something you think you know or love; it's quite another to be credible about it. I'm lucky: I love to research. A big thing with me, and other writers, is the importance of being credible. If your readers catch you making something up (unless it's fantasy, then all bets are off) and your writing becomes unreliable, you lose your readers, and that's something you never want to do.

I wanted to interview a real mariachi, so I went to a local high school and was lucky enough to choose a day when they were having their mariachi weekend. The principal asked me and my husband to be guests and listen to their mariachi band play. The next day I got onto the school's "Bulletin Board," mentioned I was a writer, and asked to speak with anyone in the band who would like to be interviewed. A Senior by the name of Roxy answered and helped me make Moochi real. Roxy and Moochi are a lot alike (go figure) and to this day, she and I are great friends. We email a lot, and go to lunch a lot. I couldn't have done it without her.

When the book was finally written, I had to decide whether or not I wanted an agent. (I don't have one yet.) It took me four years to find a publisher and I'm lucky to have found a good one. I have a great editor who fixes my grammar and punctuation. (I've always been a good speller -- that's important -- but I'm lousy at punctuation.)

How did you first discover your love for writing?

When I was in first grade, I wrote a poem and it was printed in the school newspaper and I was hooked. I liked seeing my thoughts in print. I still do. How else can we reach one another?

What is your writing routine? Do you write every day? Do you have a certain time or place you write?

I write best in the morning and try to write at least something every day; even answering email is a form of "writing". It's a great way to build strong, believable dialogue for your stories, incidentally. You want your characters to sound believable.

My spoiled Norwegian Forest cat, five-year-old Matilda, keeps me company on her perch that sits over the copier/fax machine. She stays there until I finish for the day. Fourteen-year-old Bud, an orange tabby, comes by now and again to say "hi" but mostly just sleeps in "his" room -- my old craft room.

I usually begin to write seriously at 8am, in my office on my PC, and will keep at it until about 2pm. By that time, my mind is fried, especially when I'm working on a book. I have a set of wind chimes that play softly in the background, and I don't answer the phone until I'm finished for the day. My friends and family know they can't call me during that time because I won't answer. If there's an emergency, they can reach me on my cell.

But I also write -- mentally -- when I'm watching TV or reading, or riding in a car. If I'm having an especially tough time with a paragraph or advancing the plot, I think about it all the time. I write all kinds of notes on little scraps of paper and always carry a small notebook in my purse, for those times when brilliant ideas come to me. I write down plots for future stories, words that strike me funny, or lines of dialogue I come up with.

What is your biggest advice for kids and teens just starting out?

Read, read, read (and read some more). Be observant, and listen. (The best characters in your stories are all around you. You can use mannerisms, style of speech, personalities, etc.)

Enter your writing in contests -- there are lots of them out there. You are not going to become famous overnight; you are going to have to have several birthdays before you gain the experience you'll need. If you think you're going to become rich by being a writer, then you might want to do something else for a living.

Writing is not only something you want to do, it is something you have to do. Stories will nag at you to be finished; characters will call out to you and will become real to you. Listen to those voices; answer the call to write.

What do you hope readers take away from Moochi's Mariachis?

No matter what culture you are a part of, no matter where you live, teens are all the same. You share the same problems, the same joys, the same sadnesses. The only difference may be in the language you speak.

But most of all, follow your dream. Do what is necessary to make it come true. If you can share your dream with a friend or friends, all the better. Good friends are very important. "Best" friends may come and go; the really real "best" friends will be with you for years and years. Yes, it's true: to have a friend, be a friend.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Moochi has changed my life. She and her friends have introduced me to a whole new world, filled not only with the music I love, but with people I would never would have met without them.

Yes, I created them, but they are as real to me as any flesh and blood friends are. I would like to find the little town I created for them, Desert Wells, Arizona -- I'll know it when I see it. Moochi will answer you if you write her -- or any of her friends -- at moochis4mariachis@comcast.net

I'm trying to decide whether to begin the sequel (they have lots of adventures to have, and some growing up to do) or to finish the suspense novel I began. I'll do whichever one calls out the loudest.

Visit Mary Ann's website at www.bloomincane.com. She is also a member of "Gecko Gals Ink," a group of five authors who write in different genres and support one another: http://geckogalsink.blogspot.com.