Sunday, February 22, 2009
Today was a good day. I slept late after going to the Nevada Reading Week Conference for two days. I was a presenter and signed a LOT of pre-release copies of Bull Rider. One High School librarian ordered six, count 'em six, copies for her school. YeeHaa!! I'm getting over the need to feel profound here on the blog - that may account for more entries. I do want to say that each day I am overwhelmed by the support from my friends as the release of Bull Rider approaches. I got a lovely e-mail today from a friend who'd received her copy and read it. "Couldn't put it down," she said. Lovely words. And she ordered a second copy for a friend who works at the VA hospital in Palo Alto - what a terrific tribute. Thank you. Another friend called to help me arrange school visits for the week Rosanne Parry (2k9 member www.classof2k9 ) and author of Heart of a Shepherd) and Terri Farley (Phantom Stallion Series) and I do a signing at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington - April 5. A third friend posted photos of her kids reading their pre-ordered copy. My daughter, along with a number of friends said they would be asking for it at their local bookstores. THANK YOU. I couldn't do this without you. I'm hoping those of you who find this blog through my website will post comments as you read the book. I'd love to hear from you.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Day Three and Still Here
OK - the dog should get walked so often. The sun is out and I need to go outside too. For now, I'm going to be self-indulgent and say - after a long wait, although not so long in publishing time - I'm getting e-mails from friends who are now holding copies of Bull Rider in their hands. I was thinking last night that a lot of fabulous people from critique group to editors to designers to publicity and marketing people to SCBWI buddies spent a lot of time on this book. In the end, it will take a few hours for each person to read. That's like Christmas dinner! And, like that celebration at the end of a season, I hope they relax and savor it and then remember it for a long time. If you love Bull Rider, tell a friend, or loan your book, or ask your local bookstore to carry it. People can't read it if they don't know that it exists. Off to walk the dog. Ralph!!! PS Tomorrow I'm working ALL day. Next post - Sunday (how about a book review??)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Stacks of Bull Rider Books
OK, I didn't get to it in the morning - but I'm here again. I'm getting very excited about Bull Rider coming out next week. I am speaking at the Nevada Reading Week Conference this weekend with my friend Terri Farley and am busy printing handouts for my breakout sessions. I can't wait to see my first stack of Bull Rider books on their sales tables. I also bought a bunch of cutesy book plates with golden retriever puppies on them so that I can sign bookplates for any friends who come to Asilomar and haven't yet received books that they pre-ordered. If that's you and you have your book, bring it along and I'll sign it. If you haven't bought one yet, I hear there will be some there for sale. Editor Emma must have asked for them. Dinner is ready. Here's to blogging every day and to husbands who will make hamburgers while I blog and answer e-mail and buy airline tickets and print handouts for the weekend. Love to you all.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Hi there, well this time it's been TWO months and my friend, Terri Farley, tells me I have to blog everyday - like eating breakfast, I suppose. So my new routine should be to walk my dog, blog, and then eat. That would probably do it. I'd have to change my blog name to Walking the Dog and I think I'd like that too. It's been entirely too serious around here and wintry and cold - although precious little rain and we'll all be regretting that come summer.
In two months I HAVE had time to read some books and I'll talk about one right now: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Tor, 2008. My daughter gave it to me for Christmas and I read half of it while I was home alone and it got too scary for little me and I put it aside until my husband came home, then finished it. This is a chilling book about technology and how it can be used to track our every move - but even more creepy - it's about what our government might be like if it decided to use the "rules" that have been made for the "war on terror" on our own citizens. Or what it might be like to be disappeared by the US, no matter what your citizenship. Little Brother is set in San Francisco which made it all the more real to me since I grew up there. I'm not much of a techno geek but I was able to follow a lot of the technology bits. It was kind of like watching the TV show, Numbers, with an occasional aside - let me tell you how this works. I got lost with the encryption techniques, but by that time I didn't care. I would recommend the book for it's topic. For it's ability to make you think. A good read for anyone over thirteen with a brain.
In two months I HAVE had time to read some books and I'll talk about one right now: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Tor, 2008. My daughter gave it to me for Christmas and I read half of it while I was home alone and it got too scary for little me and I put it aside until my husband came home, then finished it. This is a chilling book about technology and how it can be used to track our every move - but even more creepy - it's about what our government might be like if it decided to use the "rules" that have been made for the "war on terror" on our own citizens. Or what it might be like to be disappeared by the US, no matter what your citizenship. Little Brother is set in San Francisco which made it all the more real to me since I grew up there. I'm not much of a techno geek but I was able to follow a lot of the technology bits. It was kind of like watching the TV show, Numbers, with an occasional aside - let me tell you how this works. I got lost with the encryption techniques, but by that time I didn't care. I would recommend the book for it's topic. For it's ability to make you think. A good read for anyone over thirteen with a brain.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Hangin' Out - Peace and Love
OK, so I'm waiting for our son to get re-routed on his way home for Christmas and the computer isn't letting me do everything I want to - so our gain - here I am blogging. I was just reading Vacquero Girl's California Cowgirl blog and she was talking about Karma. Good karma - and peopling your world with positive folks. I agree, and she is such a warm, good presence herself that she'll find all sorts of good people. That's what I wish for you - good friends, a healthy family, meaningful (and continuing) work, a little fun and some time to treat yourself too.
I would usually review a book here - and promise I have two (at least) that I'm dying to talk about a little closer to their release dates and a pile of Advance Reader Copies waiting for me. My bookshelves are lined with well known and not so well known kids books. But tonight I am thinking of favorite stories of faith. Faith that God has even the most impossible situations well in hand. Faith in traditions and love. I am thinking of the Book of Ruth and the story of Noah. I often consider God's servant Job. There was Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his own son and Jesus whose whole life and death was an act of faith. So my recommendation today is the Bible - whether the Old Testament or the New. Whether you are Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, other, or none of the above. The outline is there for faith in hard times. For ordinary people doing extraordinary things. For looking outside yourself to a greater power - no matter what you call it. Peace this Christmas.
I would usually review a book here - and promise I have two (at least) that I'm dying to talk about a little closer to their release dates and a pile of Advance Reader Copies waiting for me. My bookshelves are lined with well known and not so well known kids books. But tonight I am thinking of favorite stories of faith. Faith that God has even the most impossible situations well in hand. Faith in traditions and love. I am thinking of the Book of Ruth and the story of Noah. I often consider God's servant Job. There was Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his own son and Jesus whose whole life and death was an act of faith. So my recommendation today is the Bible - whether the Old Testament or the New. Whether you are Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, other, or none of the above. The outline is there for faith in hard times. For ordinary people doing extraordinary things. For looking outside yourself to a greater power - no matter what you call it. Peace this Christmas.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Two Good YA Reads
Well, it's been a while - two months. And this from a blogger who was going to blog twice a week. Promise. But blogging must be like diets. Easy to start, harder to keep up with. I've been wanting to post about two books I read in October since - well, October.
The first is The Lucky Place by Zu Vincent. Zu's book is gently written in the trusting voice of a child - beginning when Cassie is three years old and trying to make sense of her alchoholic father's behavior, the story spans ten years to her innocent acceptance of her step father, to her protectiveness and loyalty to her older brother, and to her accepting responsibilities beyond her years. Drunkeness, divorce, anger, and childish wishes seem all the more chillling seen through Cassie's young eyes. Zu grows her character in both age and emotion until Cassie is able, at twelve or thirteen to become the nurturer, the backbone of her shattered family. The prose is lovely and the story held my attention from page one to the end. It's not a happy book, but a satisfying one. There are some interesting takes on gender roles too - in both the adults and the children.
Second is Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe. Set in Carson City, Nevada, the main character, Kyle, shoots and kills his best friend in what seems like an accident, but Kyle can't remember any of it. As he goes through "the system" of juvenile justice, probation, counseling, and school oversight, he is haunted by the possibility that he killed his friend on purpose. Ayarbe writes a sharp, witty character who is enamoured with old movies and directors. The book is edgy, intellegent, and disturbing. It's an emotional ride through territory we all hope to avoid.
In both books I was taken by quirky secondary characters - by Vincent's Jaimie, Cassie's older brother, whose love of dancing and costumes stretches their manly step-father's idea of how a boy should be, and by Ayarbe's Kohana - a loner, a misfit photographer, a kid that no one pays any attention to because he's big and quiet and scary. These boys on the outside touched me, and are probably part of the reason the books did too. I remcommend them both.
INFORMATION: From the Children's Defense Fund website about gun deaths and injuries published in 2005: http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/DocServer/gunreport2005.pdf?docID=590
data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 2,867 children and teens died from gunfire in the United States in 2002—one child about every three hours, nearly eight children every day, 55 children every week. In addition to this horrific child gun death toll, four to five times as many children and teens suffered non-fatal bullet wounds.
1,830 were homicide victims
828 committed suicide
209 died in accidental or undetermined circumstances
1,639 were White
1,112 were Black
581 were Latino
64 were Asian or Pacific Islander
52 were American Indian or Alaska Native
416 were under age 15
142 were under 10
71 were under 5
These statistics come from the CDC and are for the total population of the U.S. - also for 2005. in 2005 [there were] 32,691 poisoning deaths compared with 30,694 firearm deaths. Motor vehicle traffic (MVT) deaths were the leading cause of injury death from 1999-2005, accounting for 43,667 deaths in 2005. From 2004 to 2005, MVT deaths increased 1%, firearm deaths, 4% and poisoning deaths, 8%. (1,2) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/injury99-05/injury99-05.htm
The first is The Lucky Place by Zu Vincent. Zu's book is gently written in the trusting voice of a child - beginning when Cassie is three years old and trying to make sense of her alchoholic father's behavior, the story spans ten years to her innocent acceptance of her step father, to her protectiveness and loyalty to her older brother, and to her accepting responsibilities beyond her years. Drunkeness, divorce, anger, and childish wishes seem all the more chillling seen through Cassie's young eyes. Zu grows her character in both age and emotion until Cassie is able, at twelve or thirteen to become the nurturer, the backbone of her shattered family. The prose is lovely and the story held my attention from page one to the end. It's not a happy book, but a satisfying one. There are some interesting takes on gender roles too - in both the adults and the children.
Second is Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe. Set in Carson City, Nevada, the main character, Kyle, shoots and kills his best friend in what seems like an accident, but Kyle can't remember any of it. As he goes through "the system" of juvenile justice, probation, counseling, and school oversight, he is haunted by the possibility that he killed his friend on purpose. Ayarbe writes a sharp, witty character who is enamoured with old movies and directors. The book is edgy, intellegent, and disturbing. It's an emotional ride through territory we all hope to avoid.
In both books I was taken by quirky secondary characters - by Vincent's Jaimie, Cassie's older brother, whose love of dancing and costumes stretches their manly step-father's idea of how a boy should be, and by Ayarbe's Kohana - a loner, a misfit photographer, a kid that no one pays any attention to because he's big and quiet and scary. These boys on the outside touched me, and are probably part of the reason the books did too. I remcommend them both.
INFORMATION: From the Children's Defense Fund website about gun deaths and injuries published in 2005: http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/DocServer/gunreport2005.pdf?docID=590
data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 2,867 children and teens died from gunfire in the United States in 2002—one child about every three hours, nearly eight children every day, 55 children every week. In addition to this horrific child gun death toll, four to five times as many children and teens suffered non-fatal bullet wounds.
1,830 were homicide victims
828 committed suicide
209 died in accidental or undetermined circumstances
1,639 were White
1,112 were Black
581 were Latino
64 were Asian or Pacific Islander
52 were American Indian or Alaska Native
416 were under age 15
142 were under 10
71 were under 5
These statistics come from the CDC and are for the total population of the U.S. - also for 2005. in 2005 [there were] 32,691 poisoning deaths compared with 30,694 firearm deaths. Motor vehicle traffic (MVT) deaths were the leading cause of injury death from 1999-2005, accounting for 43,667 deaths in 2005. From 2004 to 2005, MVT deaths increased 1%, firearm deaths, 4% and poisoning deaths, 8%. (1,2) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/injury99-05/injury99-05.htm
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Back Again - Home Again
Well, I thought I'd blog twice a week and I did that for awhile and then, like all of you, I got busy. A whole month's worth of busy. My excuse? I was working on a new manuscript and we hosted the Nevada SCBWI Novel Immersion Retreat at Lake Tahoe. And I need to mow the lawn in the summer. And we updated my website. Check it out at www.suzannemorganwilliams.com It has a new look and some cool photos. But here's what's on my mind:
I picked up a book at the SCBWI Conference in LA in August that I really liked. It was this year's Golden Kite Winning novel, but honestly, it was the topic that intrigued me - an African refugee boy who resettled in Minnesota. Having hosted a Bolivian exchange student for a year, I do know what kind of cold that character would have experienced. I wanted to read the book - Home of the Brave, by Katherine Applegate - and I loved it. It is a gentle story, told in verse, that moves along carrying the reader with Kek as he discovers snow, takes comfort from a cow, must adjust to a foreign culture, and hopes to reconnect with his lost mother. If you've ever worked with foreign students or immigrant children, ever known a kid who was sunny dispite the most difficult circumstances, if you just want a good, hopeful book, I'd read this one.
Information:There were more than 2,000 Sudanese refugees in Maine in 2006. San Diego claims 3,500. Omaha Nebraska has 9,000 Sudanese refugees. Check out this link
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-berkshire-pg,0,6666314.photogallery?index=9
I picked up a book at the SCBWI Conference in LA in August that I really liked. It was this year's Golden Kite Winning novel, but honestly, it was the topic that intrigued me - an African refugee boy who resettled in Minnesota. Having hosted a Bolivian exchange student for a year, I do know what kind of cold that character would have experienced. I wanted to read the book - Home of the Brave, by Katherine Applegate - and I loved it. It is a gentle story, told in verse, that moves along carrying the reader with Kek as he discovers snow, takes comfort from a cow, must adjust to a foreign culture, and hopes to reconnect with his lost mother. If you've ever worked with foreign students or immigrant children, ever known a kid who was sunny dispite the most difficult circumstances, if you just want a good, hopeful book, I'd read this one.
Information:There were more than 2,000 Sudanese refugees in Maine in 2006. San Diego claims 3,500. Omaha Nebraska has 9,000 Sudanese refugees. Check out this link
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-berkshire-pg,0,6666314.photogallery?index=9
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