In more exciting news of me that is possibly less exciting, the FAQ has gone live at my website. Excluding the section that spoils large chunks of Guardian*, but including a story of something dorky I did this one time.

Some of these questions have actually been asked (and maybe not the ones you are thinking) but the others are more anticipatory. Should you have a question you think might be frequent, go ahead and ask it.

In fact, ask me a question and I'll answer it here!**


*Can I just say? I am so glad Justine has now read Guardian, because now I can talk about it with her without her eyes turning into pools of lava as a low, bubbling growl issues from her mouth and echoes in my ears like the screams of the uncounted damned: "DON'T SPOIL."

What I am saying is, the woman likes to approach texts clean.

** Unless I get bored or don't want to.

When we last left off, we were in Philadelphia. Home of the Liberty Bell and this creeeeepy/cool place that my friend Carla told me about.

However, Peepy and stayed away from creepy stuff and instead hung out with the cool kids. That's cause the place was packed full o' authors! Here are just a few that we ran into/stalked on the floor of the NCTE Convention.

Caldecottian David Wiesner, Baby Mouse's (Mice?) Jenny and Matt Holm(s), plus gadfly David Lubar . . .

(If it looks like David's trying to strangle Peepy, he is. They had a disagreement over apples and oranges.)

While Peeps recovered from her David Lubar encounter, and BTW David, she says you should watch your back and other body parts, we ran into the talented Mr. Greg Neri and also Literature Affectionado/Soon-to-Be-Author Monica Edinger, New York Times Bestselling gal Maggie Stiefvater, multiple award winner Kathryn Lasky and that always awesome Lunch Lady-esque couple, Gina and Jarrett Krosoczka . . .

,

Then Peeps and Moi attended the NCTE Books for Children Luncheon. Everyone at our table got a copy of BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY) . . .


After, it was time for our booksigning. We were thrilled to run into our editor Cheryl Klein, and later we went out to eat (yes, again) . . .


Soon it was time for our rousing Blogging Panel with the gals, Maureen Johnson, Barbara O'Connor, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Justine Larbalestier . . .


(That's Justine on the left in the last photo)

Next, food again! (Oink.) The M.R. Robinson Reception and Dinner, was hosted by Scholastic head honcho Dick Robinson. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving feast for almost 800 guests. Peeps was convinced the dinner was in her honor. However, that's not totally true. This NCTE/Scholastic Thanksgiving tradition has been going on for several decades and is named in honor of Dick's father . . .


Then, to cap off an incredible day, I got to finally meet the amazing Sara Zarr in person!!! We've been corresponding for YEARS, but have never been face-to-face before. I even named a character after Sara . . .


NEXT BLOG: More NCTE Convention. Plus . . . what famous authors are attached to these boots/shoes????

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Whew! 3 days in St. Louis and 4 in Philly for NCTE/ALAN...and now the holidays! When will I catch up?

The highlights? Great school visits for me and Jesse, courtesy of Carrie Dietz and the St. Louis Public Library! (more pics coming) Though she tried to give us a heart attack by plying us with some of the city's finest food (fried butter anyone?)

Ok, passed on that but went instead with a giant chocolate banana malt and enough meat to break Dick Cheney's heart. But we had us some fun, the best being that I FINALLY got to go up to the top of the Gateway Arch!

Ok, I'm pretty smart but I have no idea how this is humanly possible! Can I go on the record and say this is one of the most stunning architectural feats ever??

You had to ride up in the closterfobic little pods. Here's Carrie!

And here's the crazy view!


This should not be possible!


I also really wanted to push this button, just to see what would happen!


In Philly, I went to the Museum of Fine Art and realized that's where Rocky ends his famous run. How did I know this? because about 50 people recreated it as I stood there.



Do you think they like Ben Franklin here?


Keep an eye out for this artist...

You can see what I'm talking about...

I guess they don't make em like they used to.


Here's an amazing artist (no, not me). Check out his video! This was by where I was staying on South Street.



NCTE and ALAN are like the Lolapolooza of YA authors and editors. I don't think I've ever seen so many in so in one place! So who did I run into? How about: Lauren Myracle (who kept lterally bumping into me), Pat McCormick, Rebecca Stead, Jo Knowles, Matt de la Pena, Wendy Lamb, Michelle Nagler, Laurie Halse Anderson, Maureen Johnson, E. Lockhart and Chris Carlton Brown (who both presented with me), Sara Zarr, Alan Sitomer, Jackie Woodson, Sharon Draper, Sharon G. Flake,Adrian Foglin, Lisa Yee, Justine Larbalestier, Kate Messner, Jenny Moss, Kay Winters, Bill Konigsberg, Emily Wing Smith, Gareth Hinds, and that's just who I talked with (add Chris Crutcher, Gregory McGuire Stephan Chobosky, Ned Vizzini, the Wimpy Guy...).


Me trying to keep fellow 2K7er Rebecca Stead in the shot.


After wandering the exhibit hall with Lisa Yee, we came upon fellow 2K7er Jo Knowles and with Kate Messner, helped promote her new book!


The power trio of Jackie Woodson (and son), Sharon Draper, and Sharon G. Flake!

More pics coming! Must sleep!

I remember when I was a swimmer in high school and frustrated by my lack of improvement that someone told me I just didn't "want it enough." This made me very angry. I wanted "it" badly. But looking back now, I can see that I didn't. At the time, I thought that wanting to succeed was somehow shown in my attitude and how my much I poured into the race. One of the things So You Think You Can Dance is teaching me is what it means to "want it enough."

"Wanting it enough" means that you are sacrificing all the other parts of your life for the one thing that you love. Nights off are transformed into practice. You give up sleep. You give up time with your friends and family. You give up other good things in your life.

For example, in high school I spent lots of time doing homework for AP classes. But that was time I could have spent swimming or studying swimming and learning about better nutrition, better technique, and better recovery. I am not saying I was wrong to choose the academic priorities I did. I probably wasn't. But by my actions, I showed how much I wanted a scholarship to a good university versus to be a great swimmer.

One of the things that has surprised me this year on SYTYCD is how certain dancers have simply put more time into dancing. Ryan, for example, the perfectionist--doesn't ever seem to do a bad routine. And he convinces his partner to work as hard as he does. I think Ashley, his wife, must have the same ethic, because she is the other dancer I think will end up in the top 4 (along with Jakob and Legacy).

I think other dancers suffer because they are not putting in every second of their lives for this show. Nothing wrong with that. SYTYCD is just a show. Dancing is an art, but it's not life. I wouldn't put my family above my writing. But I must say that there is a part of me that can still admire those who put everything to the side for their art. I love writing, and I think I wanted it more than I ever wanted to swim. But perhaps I will never want "it" quite as much as the very best.

• 09:59 We love @myfriendamy ! #
• 12:38 Oh, Chuck Bass. I never forget who you are. #
• 12:39 @LizaPalmer @michellerowen @myfriendamy Fine, Michelle "Dead to Me" Rowen. I see how it is. #
• 12:49 I watched 5 or 6 Gossip Girl episodes yesterday. Am now in 3rd season, but still behind. But why is there so much Vanessa? She irks me. #
• 13:34 @kparra You are more than welcome! #
• 15:55 In preparation for Thanksgiving, have eaten everything in the entire house. #

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I'm thrilled to have the lovely authors of Beautiful Creatures: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl on Author Chat today. Beautiful Creatures is not only beautiful, but the #1 Bestselling Teen Novel on Amazon. Want to find out more about them? Me too!


Are either of you from the South? How did you do the research for the setting?

Kami: My family lived with my grandmother and great-grandma, both of who were raised in North Carolina, so there was a lot of Southern influence in my house. My mom has also lived in the Outer Banks for almost twenty years, which gives me the opportunity to spend even more time there.
Margie: My mom grew up in a Gatlin-sized town where we spent our summers, so we all had that in common. Visits to Charleston and Savannah and the Outer Banks helped fill in the details, but also both Kami and I have been hugely influenced by so many amazing Southern writers.

You had me at Savannah...but still. I must know more.

Tell us a bit about the story.
Kami: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is a paranormal romance, and an epic Southern gothic. It’s the story of Ethan Wate, a boy who lives in a small Southern town, where nothing ever happens. He has been dreaming of a girl he’s never met, and one day she steps out of dreams and shows up in his town. But Lena isn’t like the other girls in Gatlin.
Margie: He’s forced to choose between the comfortable life he’s always had as one of the insiders, and this girl who captures his heart. On top of that, there’s the small matter of a curse…

You wrote this novel together. This intrigues me! I've always wanted to write a book with someone else--how did you make this work? Was it written every other chapter? Or....?
Kami: Let’s just say it involves many colors of highlighter and more than a few cases of Diet Coke.
Margie: We write over each other just like we talk over each other. It’s more of a process of erosion than creation; we draft and chip away and redraft and chip away until neither one of us can remember who has written what.

Is Beautiful Creatures a stand alone or a series?
Kami: It’s the first book in a series. Book 2 comes out in December 2010.
Margie: But we love how many people have asked us that, because we wanted the book to feel like it could stand on its’ own as a novel.

Who were some of your author influences?
Kami: Flannery O’Connor, Harper Lee, Ray Bradbury, Anne Rice.
Margie: Harper Lee, Eudora Welty, Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones.

Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird
If you two could live on a desert island with ANY character from YA fiction who would it be and why?
Kami: I’d love to hang out with Mr. Hyde. I think we could talk a few things out. Maybe he’s not really YA. A close second would be Astrid from RAMPANT. I’m a huge fan of strong female characters in YA novels, and you don’t get much stronger than a girl who slays evil unicorns the size of SUVs.
Margie: I have a few questions for Fire (FIRE) and Katsa (GRACELING) so Kristin Cashore would have to loan them to me.

What book are you most looking forward to in 2010?
Kami: I can’t wait for Melissa Marr’s RADIANT SHADOWS, Holly Black’s WHITE CAT, Cassandra Clare’s THE CLOCKWORK ANGEL, Sarah Rees Brennan’s THE DEMON'S COVENANT, Carrie Ryan’s THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES, and Kristin Cashore’s BITTERBLUE.
Margie: You mean aside from Heidi R. Kling’s SEA? All of the above. And I can’t wait to read Malinda Lo’s follow up to ASH.
(Aww, shucks. Thanks, Margie!)

Dead-Tossed Waves, coming this spring, by Carrie Ryan

When does BEAUTIFUL CREATURES debut?
December 1, 2009

Any movie plans yet? Who would you two ideally star in the roles?
Kami: We stick to writing and let our agents handle the rest. As far as casting, I think it’s fun for readers to imagine that for themselves. But I will say, I can promise that I won’t be in it.
Margie: LOL. Me neither ☺
(Don't forget about me- I was in high school plays--*acting chops*)

Happy Thanksgiving! I know what I'll be reading!


You can keep up with Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl at www.BeautifulCreaturestheBook.com.

Visit Little, Brown’s Beautiful Creatures website at www.SomeLovesAreCursed.com.
A commenter picked at RANDOM will win a Signed-Something from the authors! So comment away!

I met triciasullivan in London today. She travelled well over 4 hours to meet me, and we only ended up with 2 hours together thanks to major train delays. But still, those 2 hours were absolutely wonderful and so helpful for me. Partly because I just love Trish to bits - even though we've only met in person once before this - and partly because she has "been around the block" when it comes to dealing with editorial letters (her own words). She was able to offer me so much experience and wisdom.

[Quick aside: I have two Trish's in my life. Editor Trisha Telep, and friend & author Tricia Sullivan. I am blessed, although it gets a bit confusing for others when I blog about them. Heh.]

I feel as though I have a writing mentor for the first time in my life. This is such a gift. I didn't realise quite how much I was missing that - someone who is way ahead of me on the writer's Learning Curve who can share her experience with me. It's not like she can tell me what to do, but she can say: "Yeah, I know what it's like to have massive revisions to do. This is how I learned to approach things after years of pulling out my hair and driving myself crazy." ;)

As Trish said, I am on a steep learning curve. THE IRON WITCH was my first ever completed novel, and now that I've written two other novel manuscripts, various partials and published a couple of short stories, my craft has improved a great deal since then. I am actually grateful for the chance to make TIW better. I know it's good right now, but when I'm done with it it's going to be awesome. Um... I hope. *g* And everything I learn through working with my editor on this, I can then apply to the other projects I've got floating around.

So, I think now is a good time to say that blogging will be light for a while. I'll still be here but just not posting quite as regularly. I really do have a lot of work to do; the reality of that finally hit me! LOL. In fact, I've put aside all other projects (apart from the short story due for the next YA anthology) until my rewrite on THE IRON WITCH is done. I have even... *shudders* dug out some index cards so I can figure out the new order of events.

I'm going in...

http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/11/24/nano-tip-no-24-writing-white/

http://justinelarbalestier.com/?p=6941

Lately many white writers have been asking me about writing characters who aren’t white. Quite a few are doing NaNoWriMo, so I decided I’d put my responses into the NaNo tips.

I’ve been asked the following questions: Why should I have non-white characters in my books? How do I write about non-white people if I’ve never known any? Should I write about non-white people at all?

I’ve already addressed some of these questions a number of times. I’m not sure if any of my responses are adequate. These are complicated questions that I wrestle with myself.

And, of course, I feel very weird being put in the position of giving people permission to write. No one can do that for you. Least of all me.

In a few cases, I’ve been tempted to tell these well-meaning askers, “No, don’t put non-white characters in your fiction.” Reviews like this one by the fabulous Doret Canton definitely make me feel that there are white writers for whom writing outside their social circle is a bad idea.

As a general rule you should never write about anything you are ignorant about. If you want to write about an African-American character living in NYC, say, and you don’t know any, and you’ve never been to NYC, odds are you’re going to do a bad job. Which is why Chris Crutcher’s Whale Talk is so good. He’s drawing on his lived experiences.

Now, you may point out (if you know me at all well) that I have repeatedly written about things about which I know practically nothing. Mathematics in the Magic or Madness trilogy, as well as luge in How To Ditch Your Fairy and biology in Liar. I did a lot of research to be able to write about them but I was shockingly ignorant starting out.¹

So what’s the difference?

Mathematics, luge, and biology are not people. They can’t be hurt.

What we all have to remember when we write about people—any people—is that the risks of reinforcing stereotypes and thus hurting people is very high. So the onus is on us to do the very best job we can. We also have to remember that even when we do a wonderful job, even if we are a member of the group we’re representing, there are still people who will be offended.

There will also be people who read your characters in stereotyped ways no matter what you do. For example, there’s been much discussion on this blog about representations of women and the way women characters are held to different standards. I recently saw a discussion of Sarah Rees Brennan’s wonderful debut novel Demon’s Lexicon where Mae was referred to by a commenter as a “whore,” which is, aside from everything else, factually incorrect. The much more sexually active character (also not a whore), Nick, was discussed in approving terms.

None of us want to perpetuate those attitudes about female sexuality but even when we’re writing strong² 3D female characters, like Mae, readers are still calling them whores. Which is to say it’s really hard bucking centuries of negative representations of women and particularly of their sexuality.

None of the white writers asking me these questions wants to hurt anyone or reproduce racist stereotypes. They’re asking because they’re concerned and they want to do the right thing and because they recognise that most of the novels being published in the USA are about white characters. Outside of bookstores like Hue-Man the shelves of most bookstores in the USA are groaning with books about white people.

However, when I ask them what they mean about not knowing any non-white people it usually turns out not to be true. Often white people start seeing their non-white friends as “white”³ and forget that they’re Hispanic or of Japanese or Korean or Indian ancestry. I strongly recommend writing about the people you know. But perhaps you need to open your eyes to notice that not everyone around you is the same race as you. Maybe you need to think about why you’ve started seeing them as white, and what that means.

Writing should challenge the way you perceive the world. You should look harder and longer than you ever have before. Notice that the sky at night is not black, that eyes are not one uniform colour and that car engines don’t “growl”. I would argue that thinking about how race and class and gender and sexuality and all the other aspects that make up who we are and how we treat each other is absolutely crucial to becoming, not just a better writer, but a better person.

1. Sadly once the books are written all that I gleaned in order to write them drops out of my head.
2. By “strong” I do not mean “arsekicking”. See Diana Peterfreund’s comment for further explanation.
3. Which is a whole other problem.

So, if you follow my twitter, you might have seen me mention that I am reading slush. Yes, my dear readers, I am interning for a literary agency. It's been a very interesting learning experience for me-- one I hope to build upon and eventually become a literary agent. (If anyone knows of an agency looking to add a new YA-centric agent, CALL ME!).

Anywho, here are a few things that I've seen in queries that y'all should just go ahead and leave out. None of these are auto-rejections, but they do get noticed, and not for the reasons you want to be noticed.


1) Your age. I don't care if your a teen or you're 89. The writing is what matters, and putting in your age could skew a person's opinion one way or another.

2) How long it took you to write this book. Too short, and I am biased toward thinking it's utter drivel. Too long, and I wonder if you'll take another 10 years to write the next one.

3) That you "just" finished your novel. This sounds like you typed THE END yesterday and are querying today, when we all know EVERY NOVEL Requires some revisions.

4) Comparisons to Twilight, for any reason. Don't tell me it will do for Fairies/Werewolves/Witches what Twilight did for Vampires. Also, don't tell me your book is going to have a crossover audience just like Twilight. Don't tell me yours is better written, will be more popular, etc. Let's agree to leave Twilight alone, shall we?

5) Cliched phrases. Try to be original and not use things like, "Everything she'd ever known was a lie."

6) Guarenteeing it will be a bestseller. You're biased. You wrote the thing. You cannot guarentee that you'll get a movie option, it'll hit the bestselling list, etc.

7) Saying your book is like NOTHING else out there. Risks are scary. If your book is that bizarre and out of the box, its not neccessarily a good thing.

8)Trying to be too clever. I mentioned "gimmicky" queries once and people asked for more info. The queries that grate on my nerves a little are the ones that try to be cute and clever and in doing so, make assumptions. I've seen ones that are like, "Good news! This isn't a vampire query! I know you're happy to hear that." Um.... right.

Now, I still read the full query and sample pages regardless of if you put these things in, but why stack the odds?

I remember speaking somewhere and someone asking why it was that my books felt so different. The only answer I could think of was that I trained in German literature instead of either British or American. Also, when I tell fairy tales, I tell the real Grimm ones. Anyway, here is a list of the authors I consider classic and who have influenced my writing and my sense of what "great literature" is. You may be surprised to see who is not on this list (Goethe, Thomas Mann, J.D. Salinger, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Herman Melville, T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Dostoyevsky). There are other writers I think of in a more popular tradition and they are on my website, but these are my personal list of "great literature," with nose sneering.

Thomas Hardy--I am still trying to figure out how to get my husband to let me name a son "Jude." I love, love, the dark richness of his books and the real humanity in his characters.

Shakespeare--I used to read these plays out on the playground in sixth grade. That was probably mostly vanity. But I read them again in 10th grade (also on the playgorund, in Germany) and I loved them then.

Peter Handke--of all the German authors I read, he may be my favorite. Not technically German, I suppose.

Walter Benjamin--A philosopher more than a writer, but I love his ideas on art and language. Also Adorno.

Jane Austen--of course.

Charlotte and Emily Bronte--though I like them a little less now than as a teen.

Mark Twain--this guy knows what it means to tell the truth.

Nathaniel Hawthorne--still a favorite despite his complaint about "that damned mob of scribbling women."

Louisa May Alcott--she wrote more than LITTLE WOMEN and some of her tales are very interesting. Her whole life was interesting.

Rainer Maria Rilke--I don't like any of the translations of him, but he is a wonderful poet in the original.

Edith Wharton--I devoured her books in college. Still find them interesting, and she didn't feel the need to stop telling a good story to get in her political views.

John Steinbeck--A man who could tell a good story and write a political tract at the same time. It's not that you didn't notice. It's just that he made you completely agree with him.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley--really it's only the one book, Frankenstein, but what a book!

Kate Chopin--a writer who knows how to do "gems."

George Eliot--scope in a generational sense.

I actually like almost everything in the Romantic period, German or English (haven't read other traditions). I also love Dada. And German Expressionism.

Heinrich von Kleist--Somewhere I have an essay on how he influenced the whole PRINCESS AND THE HOUND series with his Marionette essay.

ETA Hoffmann--Master of the short story form.

Heinrich Heine--great German poetry. Very political.

August Stramm--Expressionist poetry. I love this whole movement and it makes me feel a simultaneous longing for more beautiful language and a keen sense of loss that I don't have a poet's sensibilities.

George Sand--the inner life.

and here is the list from Bonnie Kunzel from the ALAN session.

GENREBLENDING FOR NCTE/ALAN 2009

MYSTERIOUS FANTASY

Funke, Cornelia. The Thief Lord.

Fforde, Jasper. Thursday Next: The Eyre Affair. Lost in a Good Book. The Well of
Lost Plots. Something Rotten. First Among Sequels.
Nursery Crime: The Big Over Easy. The Fourth Bear.

Pierce, Tamora. Beka Cooper: Terrier: A Tortall Legend. Bloodhound.

Vande Velde, Vivian. Never Trust a Dead Man.

ROMANTIC FANTASY

Bunce, Elizabeth C. A Curse Dark As Gold.

Cashore, Kristin. Graceling. Prequel: Fire.

Marillier, Juliet. Wildwood Dancing.

Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight Saga: Twilight. New Moon. Eclipse. Breaking Dawn.
Klause, Annette Curtis. The Silver Kiss. Blood and Chocolate.

TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE

Cooney, Caroline B. The Time Travelers Quartet: Both Sides of Time. Out of Time. Prisoner of Time. For All Time.

Harrison, Mette Ivie. The Princess and the Hound. The Princess and the Bear.

Hubbard, Mandy. Prada & Prejudice.

Mangum, Lisa. The Hourglass Door.

DARK FANTASY

Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. The Graveyard Book.

Jinks, Catherine. The Reformed Vampire Support Group.

Marr, Melissa. Wicked Lovely. Ink Exchange. Fragile Eternity.

Werlin, Nancy. Impossible: A Novel.

Here is Mary Arnold's bibliography to go along with the Power Point posted earlier.

ALAN 2009

Many Formats Make Great Reading

Verse Novels

All the Broken Pieces. Ann E. Burg. Scholastic Press. 2009
Becoming Billie Holiday. Carole Boston Weatherford. Art by Floyd Cooper.
Wordsong. 2008
Amiri and Odette: a Love Story. Walter Dean Myers. Scholastic Press. 2009

Screenplay

Riot. Walter Dean Myers. Egmont USA. 2009

Epistolary

My Most Excellent Year. Steve Kluger. Dial Books. 2008
The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie. Jaclyn Moriarty. Arthur A. Levine Books. 2006

Short Stories/Novella

Pretty Monsters. Kelly Link. Decorations Shaun Tan. Viking. 2008
No Such Thing as the Real World. HarperTeen. 2009
Angry Management. Chris Crutcher. Greenwillow Books. 2009

Recordings

Thirteen Reasons Why. Jay Asher. Razorbill. 2007

Diaries/Journals/Blogs

Pieces of Georgia. Jen Bryant. Knopf. 2006
How My Private Personal Journal Became a Bestseller. Julia DeVillers.
Dutton Childrens Books. 2004
Click Here to Find Out How I Survived Seventh Grade. Denise Vega.
Little, Brown. 2005

Picture Books

Timbuktu. Paul Auster. Illustrations Julia Goschke. Penguin Young Readers
Group. 2002
Beowulf a Tale of Blood, Heat and Ashes. Retold by Nicky Raven. Illustrations
John Howe. Candlewick Press. 2007

http://www.megcabot.com/diary/?p=1224

So I didn’t see any movies at all this weekend—except Rachel Getting Married, but that was on Starz or HBO or something, and it’s been out forever, so that doesn’t count.

I have to say, if Kim (Anne Hathaway’s character) was my sister, not only would I NOT have invited ...

I have an audition for a television show in a few hours. Wish me luck! Cross those fingers, please!

Update: I feel as though it went well. Now it's a matter of whether or not I look the part, as they're casting lookalikes to match real people, a real family.

My first Teaser Tuesday! I was writing this entry and then I realized I don't know the rules.. Am I allowed to post something from a book that's already done? Or do I have to post something from what I'm working on now? Hmmm...

This is from my YA novel ACES UP, which will be out in August...

------------------------

“This is you, right?” he asks. He pulls a crumpled-up piece of paper out of his pocket. He’s still a few feet away, but I can tell what it is. An internet printout of an article from our local newspaper, The Whitinsville Eagle. ‘HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR WINS BIG AT MATH DECATHLON,’ it says. It’s accompanied by a picture of me, smiling into the camera and looking a little cross-eyed. Also, I’m wearing a white shirt, which has the unfortunate effect of making it look like my head is floating in midair.

Uh-oh. Is this some kind of trick? Is Cole actually casino security, trying to fool me into admitting I’m only seventeen? I square my shoulders and pretend I have no idea what he’s talking about.

“No,” I say, squinting at the picture and hoping I look super-confused. “I’ve never seen that girl in my life.”

“It says your name underneath it,” Cole points out. Damn.

“What do you want?” I ask again, letting the door go. It closes behind me. “If you’re trying to blackmail me, good luck. I have seventeen dollars to my name, so if you want to go through all this trouble for that, then be my guest!” I pull open my purse and shake my money onto the ground in a pathetic storm of fives and ones. I was trying to sound haughty, but it didn’t come out that well. “And where did you get that printout, anyway?”

“Googled you,” he says.

“Why were you googling me?” I ask suspiciously.

“We do a standard background on all the new employees.”

“We?”

“Aces Up.”

“What’s ay says up?” I ask again. Definitely sounds shady.

“It’s a poker society,” he says. “And we want you to join.”

I frown. “A poker society? I don’t know anything about poker.”

“We want to teach you.” He looks at me intently, his dark eyes serious. “We think with your math skills, you might be able to win a lot of money.”

“How much?” I ask in spite of myself. I mean, I would never gamble for money. A) I can’t risk losing everything B) Gambling is shady and C) I’m totally underage. Lying to get a job is one thing. Lying to gamble is another thing completely. But still. Now that Cole doesn’t seem as dangerous, and my path to the door is clear, I’m slightly intrigued.

“Lots.” In this light, he looks a little bit like Casey Affleck. But I will not be swayed by mopsy hair and dimples. Especially when I’m smart enough to know that nothing comes for free, especially money.

“Yeah, well assaulting me outside the elevator? Not the way to get me to join your stupid society,” I say.

“I told you, it’s secret,” he says, waving his hand like it’s nothing. “We have to be careful who sees us together.”

“I don’t want to be a poker player,” I say. I open the door again, and my feet sink into the soft carpet of the hallway. “I don’t want to be a gambler of any kind. And so I’m leaving.” I take one step outside, waiting for him to call after me. “Aren’t you going to try to stop me?” I ask, turning back around.

“Nope,” he says. And then looks me up and down, like he’s sizing me up. But not the way guys usually do, like they’re trying to figure out if they want to hook up with you. It’s more like he’s giving me a tryout of some sort. In fact it’s kind of ….sexy. Way sexier than the other kind of sizing up. But then I remember there’s nothing sexy about accosting me in an elevator and trapping me in a hotel room.

And then I figure it out. He’s pretending he doesn’t need me, so that I’ll be all, “I want to be a famous poker player, oh, please please please!” Ha! He obviously doesn’t know who he’s messing with. “I’m leaving,” I say again, forcefully this time.

“Okay.” He shrugs again. Annoying.

“Well,” I say. “Bye.” I step all the way into the hallway then.

“Bye, Shannon,” he calls as the door shuts behind me. But something about the way he says it implies he thinks I’m going to be back.....

Tonight, Tuesday, November 24th at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST, author Marlene Carvell will be chatting live at the readergirlz blog - http://readergirlz.blogspot.com Join us as we discuss her novel Sweetgrass Basket, this month's featured title at readergirlz.

Learn more about the author and her books at http://www.readergirlz.com within the November 2009 issue. Also read our roundtable discussion of Sweetgrass Basket and check out my review of the book.

Don't forget to join us next Monday, November 30th at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST for our first rgz RAVE Homecoming. Over two dozen authors whose works have been featured at readergirlz will be chatting live with readers.

Each chat will last for an hour.

It is a much smaller group today, but ALAN goes on with deep appreciation for all the goodies. More books today. Dozens more authors, too. First up is a new author panel with Francisco Stork, Eve Tal, Alan Zadoff, Sarah Ockler, and Maggie Stiefvater. Chair is Sarah Herz. Next will be breakout sessions. Hate to nbe leaving Philly but I will be so happy to get home to hubby, resident of the back bedroom, and Scout.

More will be in tweets (ProfessorNana).

So, my laptop died late yesterday afternoon, so I did not have the chance to talk about two things.

The Walden Award ceremony, chaired by Daria Plumb, was lovely. Jacqueline Woodson read from AFTER TUPAC AND D FOSTER. Then winner of the first ever Walden Award, Steve Kulger, spoke about his book: MY MOST EXCELLENT YEAR. If you have not read these books and the other three from the short list, please do so (GRACELING, GRAVEYARD BOOK, ME THE MISSING AND THE DEAD).


Then, it was off to dinner with the lovely and award winning Wendy Lamb (who won the Hipple Award; see earlier post). Joining us: Jim Blasingmae (incoming PreZ of ALAN), David Gill (outgoing past prez of ALAN, Jean Brown, and Marshall George). Dinner at Maggiano's was family style and we are indeed a family. Wonderful meal.

Electricity went out in the middle of the night but my phone alarm woke us in time to grab coffee and head down to Day Two. I will be tweeting from here (ProfessorNana).

Oh, and I got to see the handsome new college student, Baker Beers, a freshman at U Penn and son of Kylene, our now Past Prez of NCTE.

• 19:21 @joshhaber I'm hardcore. Surely you knew this already. #
• 00:37 @bluesreader @meganmccafferty We do know each other! But thanks for the introduction anyway. :) #
• 15:35 .@lizapalmer re: James Spader's "O.G. Chuck Bass" role in Pretty in Pink: "Why isn't his love real?" #
• 16:18 @LizaPalmer I could not be more with you. #

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In exciting news of me, my next Strange Horizons article on YA SFF* is up.

Becoming New: Young Adult SFF and the Adolescent Body talks about the transformed adolescent body in SFF as a metaphor for the actual transformed adolescent body, and how reading about the threat of zombification can be a lot more fun than worrying about becoming a mindless drone adult.

It probably comes as no surprise that some of my favourite young adult reading, then and now, is that which deals metaphorically with the tumultuous changes of puberty and adolescence. It's not hard to divine the fears and hopes bound into a story about a girl changing herself into a new, magical being at the same time she becomes aware of her sexuality, or a boy trying to cope with superstrength, or a group of teenagers who discover that their parents are all supervillains. But such metaphors make those hopes and fears one step removed, allowing them to be sympathetically explored in all their complexity, without beating the reader over the head with ideas they may shy from if presented up front.

(Of course I talk about The Changeover. Shall I ever stop talking about The Changeover? I shan't!)


* Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy. Pronounced yuh-skiftasy!