Sep 9, 2011

Quotable Friday & So Much More

Hi guys. Another week, huh? Hope it's been a good one for you.

1. Today, I'm over at BRAVE NEW WORDS shining a spotlight on my favorite scene in UNDER THE NEVER SKY. Curious? Check it out.

2. MY FRIENDS ARE AWESOME - (That sounded mean. I didn't mean it to be mean. I'm sure your friends are awesome too.) It never gets old seeing your friend's name in Publisher's Marketplace. Donna Cooner and I met in a critique group almost two years ago. She had just signed with an agent and I was in awe of her. I still am. Her writing is funny and heartbreaking and so gooood. It's a thrill to see other people recognize her incredible talent. Here's the announcement for her recent UK sale:


Donna Cooner's SKINNY, about a girl whose obesity and negative thoughts stand in the way of her dreams of becoming a singer and finding love, until she begins a long, hard journey of self-discovery and reinvention culminating in gastric-bypass surgery, only to find that love was never dependent on her size, to Stella Paskins at Egmont UK, in a two-book deal, for publication in Fall 2012, by Julia Churchill at the Greenhouse Literary Agency


I have had the privilege of reading SKINNY and it is ten kinds of fabulous. Congratulations, Donna!

Fellow Apocalypsie Miranda Kenneally's next two books were announced in the same bulletin. Here's a brief snippet:


Miranda Kenneally's PLAYING PARKER, about a 17-year-old girl and the inappropriate relationship she develops with the school baseball coach, and BAD, BAD THING, about a teen girl with strong Christian beliefs who can't get over the role she played in helping her best friend get an abortion.


I can't wait to read Miranda's debut CATCHING JORDAN. Really, really can't wait. YA + Football + Romance = Awesome. I know it. How can it not? Also. Have you seen the cover? LOVE it.


CATCHING JORDAN drops December 1st. Congratulations, Miranda!

Finally, two Apocalypsies' film deals were announced as well. I talked about Tamara Ireland Stone's deal last week. Congrats to Dan Krokos for selling rights to his YA Thriller FALSE MEMORY to RKO Pictures. This is another book I can't wait to get my hands on.

What a week, Apoxies! I'm so proud to be part of such a talented group.

3. BLOG TOUR - A shout out to Kari Olson for coordinating a blog tour for UNDER THE NEVER SKY through The Teen Book Scene.  I'll post more details when I have them. Thanks, Kari. I can't wait!

4. QUOTABLE FRIDAY - Last week, I went for inspirational. This week, we're going craft. We're going nuts and bolts, people. A reminder to me, and to you if you need it, about writing emotion. This is from CHARACTERS, EMOTION & VIEWPOINT by Nancy Kress.

In fact, naming emotions is usually a poor way to portray them. Even when authors say something like "Fear gripped him," the abstract naming is supplemented by other, more visceral techniques. This is because the aim is not to label the emotion; it is to make the reader experience the same emotion the character does.

Now go forth and don't name emotion, convey it.

ps. I'm feeling happy. Are you?

2 comments:

  1. I'd heard about Miranda's news. The books sounds great, as well as Donna's SKINNY. I've never heard of FALSE MEMORY, but I'l jump over to Dan's blog and check it out now.

    Have a great weekend :-)

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  2. Thanks for coming by, SP! SKINNY is fantastic & I just know FALSE MEMORY will be too. We need more YA thrillers - and we need more guys writing YA, too. Double win. So many great books, so little time.

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