Humming Room Blog Tour: Interview with Ellen Potter

In celebration of the release of The Humming Room written by the amazing, Ellen Potter, MacMillian is running a blog tour and giveaway.  Ellen was kind enough to stop by the blog to answer some questions.  Also, one lucky winner will receive a copy of The Humming Room - see details below.

The Secret Garden was one of my absolute favorite books as a child. When I found out that The Humming Room was similar, I was so excited to read it. Did you worry that people will overlook Roo's story because they would be looking for comparisons with The Secret Garden? 

Oh, I was full of worries when I wrote this book, but then I’m a natural-born worrier. The idea of reinventing a classic was as exciting as it was nerve-jangling. The fact that The Secret Garden was one of my favorite books of all time really amped up the pressure. Still, out of this miasma of anxiety, the character of Roo emerged so powerfully that I knew her story could stand on its own.

 When I finished reading The Humming Room, I immediately had to go look up the islands. What was your favorite part of doing the research for the book? 

All of it! Researching The Humming Room was bliss. The Thousand Islands region of New York is paradise—in the summer, at least. I wandered around islands, spied on osprey nests, and found out from a wildlife rehabilitator how to feed a baby bird (with a paintbrush). I guess my favorite piece of research was when I accompanied the island mail carrier on his rounds. We zipped through the St. Lawrence River on his little green boat, stopping to deliver the mail to the islanders. That boat went so fast I thought I might throw up. In a good way, I mean.

Your books are all set in present day. Do you ever see yourself writing a book in a different time period? If so, what one? 

I have this lingering fantasy that I’ll write a book set in England in the mid 1800’s. The thing is, though, I can’t even remember the combination to my gym locker, much less retain the tiniest details of everyday life in the Victorian Era. I suspect my brain would erupt in flames if I even tried.

With all of your books, I have come to love your characters. What is the secret to writing characters that readers will connect with? 

If I were at a party, my characters are the sort of people I would gravitate toward—for better or for worse. I write about people who fascinate me, so it’s possible that my obsession with them transfers to my readers.

I know I have mentioned this before to you, but your writing is truly lovely. What is your editing and revision process like? And have you worked with the same editor on a number of books or do you have a different editor each time? 

Like most writers, I revise A LOT. The first draft often resembles a puzzle that has been put together by someone who hasn’t had their morning coffee yet. I have to go back in many times to make sure all the pieces are snug and in the right place. I’ve been very fortunate with my editors. Jean Feiwel at Feiwel & Friends edited both The Kneebone Boy and The Humming Room, with a light, but magical, touch. She always seems to understand what I am shooting for in each scene, and with gentle nudges she aligns me with my intention.

When I interviewed you last, I commented about the wonderful cover for The Kneebone Boy. You seem to have some great cover karma. Now looking at the cover for The Humming Room - did you work with the same designer? A different one? And did you get any input on the cover? 

Cover karma! I like that. Yes, I must have done something really nice for an artist in a past life, because I am one lucky gal when it comes to my book covers. The Humming Room cover was done by the mind-blowingly gifted Jason Chan. He also did the stunning cover for The Kneebone Boy. Before Jason Chan came along, I used to worry about my covers (I told you I’m a worrier). Writers generally have very little control over what their covers will look like. But Jason is such a visionary that I would literally write a book based on one of his covers.

When I think about my favorite books as a child, I think of the ones that I took out from the school library or classroom library over and over again. It seems that everyone has at least one book that may have never made it back to the library because it was so well loved. Do you have one? 

Mine would have been A Wrinkle in Time. For the longest time, I would squeeze my eyes shut and try to “tesseract” to another plant. It never worked, incidentally.

If you could spend the day with a book character (doesn't have to be one of your characters), who would it be and what would you do?

Hands down, I’d spent the day with Roald Dahl’s The BFG, drinking frobscottle and making whizzpoppers.

Thanks Ellen for doing this interview....and I can't wait to get the book into the hands of students.

You can find out more about Ellen Potter at her website: www.ellenpotter.com

You can follow her on twitter: @ellenpotter

To find out where all the stop are on The Humming Room Blog Tour, click here.



Giveaway Rules:

1. Though comments are very much appreciated, please do not enter any personal information in the comments section (including your email, website, etc.).  If you do enter personal information, you comment will not be posted.

2.  You must complete the Entry Form to officially enter the contest.

3.  The Contest runs from 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time on March 2, 2012 to 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on March 9, 2012.

4.  You must be 13 or older to participate in this contest.

5.  If you are selected as a winner, I will notify you by e-mail.  If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.

6.  US and Canadian residents are welcome to enter the contest.

BREADCRUMBS Blog Tour: Author Interview & Giveaway

Kellie from Walden Pond Press has organized a wonderful blog tour to celebrate the release of Anne Ursu's new book BREADCRUMBS.   To check out all of the different guest posts, interviews, giveaways and more, click here.   Today Anne answers some questions for the readers here at Kid Lit Frenzy. 

In looking at your website, I noticed that you wrote first for adults, and have now written 4 books (including Breadcrumbs) for Middle Graders. What do you like about writing for a younger audience or what is different about writing for a younger audience in your experience? 

I think there’s a lot more freedom in kids books. Kids just don’t have the same expectations about how a book is supposed to work. They happily accept magic, and are unfazed by storytelling methods that break with tradition. It just feels like in middle grade books you have so many more stories to tell, and so many more ways you can tell them.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit several authors' writing spaces. It was fun to see how they set up their space, and what they used as visuals or inspiration on the walls. If we were to come visit your writing space, what would we find? 

I have a small desk in my bedroom that looks out on a gate covered with ivy that is Sleeping Beauty-level thick. I have a lovely antique hurricane lamp that I really need to clean. Next to the desk is a radiator on which can usually be found a manuscript I need to read, mail I need to attend to, and a cat that might be sleeping on top of, knocking over, or chewing on the manuscript/mail. Right now my desk also has a sculpture of Poseidon’s head made out of floral foam that my artist friend made for me this summer. It eyes me disdainfully. I am told it will rot slowly from the inside.

When did you have that "aha" moment that you were going to be a writer or that you really were a writer? Did you come upon it on your own or were you mentored along the way?

I wanted to be a writer from the time I was a kid. I completely lost myself in books and stories. I remember I always wanted to be a writer and something else—a teacher, a lawyer, a professor, a flight attendant (that’s when I was six). And then all the other things fell away, and I just wanted to be a writer. After college I worked at a bookstore, thinking it would give me time to write, not realizing all I would be good for at the end of a day of retail was collapsing on the couch and watching ER reruns. And then one day my parents announced they were going to support me for a year so I could write. Follow your dreams, they said. And I wrote my first book. I am a writer because of them.

Recently, my niece (age 10) shared with me a story she had written. What I noticed most about her writing was her lack of inhibitions with "writing". I realized at that moment that teachers (myself included) can stifle this often by focusing so much on the mechanics of writing. Sometimes we need to just "let them write". What advice would you give to teachers in regards to supporting or developing children as writers?

That’s a great question. I wonder if the answer is to give kids space to work where it’s all about the creativity. Maybe that’s a specific notebook they write in where mechanics just don’t count. Maybe you assign first drafts where nothing else matters but the story, and the polishing comes later—whatever you can do to free them from the idea that it needs to come out perfectly the first time. And maybe it just helps them to hear that most authors revise extensively, and the mechanics are the very last thing they worry about—the whole point is to get the story figured out first.

In writing Breadcrumbs, did you have a story in mind and then looked for a way of integrating it into a fairytale? Or did it start the other way around? 

I was actually directly inspired by the fairy tale of “The Snow Queen.” I was really stuck in my writing, and a woman I teach with gave a lecture on setting in fairy tales and folktales. She said, “If you’re stuck, go read these stories.” I got about a fourth of the way through “The Snow Queen” and the friendship story grabbed me, and I saw a book lay itself out before me.

One of the things that impressed me with Breadcrumbs is how many real life themes you were able to successful weave into this fantastical story. Hazel and Jack are "real" children in that other children will be able to relate to their experiences. What was the most challenging aspect in blending the two (the contemporary story so to speak with the magical)? 

It might sound odd, but it wasn’t something I thought too much about until I was done with the first draft. I realized then that the contemporary section was much longer than they traditionally are in fantasies like this. And in revision it became even longer still. But it had to be; the story required it. And so I had to remind myself that there really aren’t any rules, that what matters is that the story works, and if that meant the book was half contemporary Minneapolis and half weird-fairy-tale-woods world, then that’s what it would be. I teach writing, and sometimes in that environment we all get hung up on rules. I tell my students, “You can do anything you want, as long as it works.” I just had to remind myself that my job was not to follow some self-imposed structure, but to do what the story needed and, in Project Runway terms, to make it work. My real problem was that in the first draft Jack mattered only as he related to Hazel—as the best friend who changes overnight and then disappears and needs to be rescued. But he needed his own story too—there had to be a reason that he needed Hazel, and that he went off with the Snow Queen in the first place. Otherwise the rest of the story simply wouldn’t make sense. Once I figured this out, both worlds of the book had much more depth and the book worked out much better as a whole.

Last question...do you have any favorite snacks or writing routines you must follow when working on a book? 

I consume an enormous amount of popcorn when I’m working—last year I moved on from the microwave cancer bags to the hot air popper. I also eat a lot of red grapes, and my veins run with coffee and Diet Dr. Pepper.

Thanks so much Anne for stopping by and answering some questions.  

You can learn more about Anne Ursu and her books on her website: http://www.anneursu.com/
and here http://www.anneursu.com/handbill/

You can follow her on twitter: @anneursu
And she is on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anneursuauthor

Don't forget to join Anne Ursu and Laurel Snyder for a Twitter Chat on Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 8 p.m. EST.  Use the hashtag #Magicisreal to join in.  For more information on the chat, click here.

Now for the Giveaway:
Anne has agreed to Skype with a class, book club, group of homeschoolers, etc. for 30-40 minutes about Breadcrumbs.  The Skype visit will include a short reading, and Question & Answer.

Giveaway Rules:

1. Please do not enter any personal information in the comments section (including your email, website, etc.), you must complete the Entry Form to officially enter the contest.
2.  The Contest runs from 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 1, 2011 to 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on October 7, 2011.
3.  You do not need to be a follower of this blog to enter, but if you like what you see, feel free to subscribe.
4.  You must be 13 or older to participate in this contest.
5.  Comments are not required but always welcome.
6.  If you are selected as a winner, I will notify you by e-mail.  If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.

Skyping with Author Laurel Snyder

To celebrate the release of her new book Bigger Than a Bread Box, author Laurel Snyder is skyping with classes all across the United States.  Today, she skyped with Ms. Debbie's 4th graders at my school.  The students in the class are currently reading the book and were very excited to get to virtually meet Laurel.  She shared with students about how she started writing and what brought her to write for middle grade students.  And she also read a little from her new book.  Students reported later that they loved hearing her read from the book.
 

While we were visiting with Laurel, we even got to meet her cat and dog who both had cameo appearances as themselves.

Students had an opportunity to ask lots of questions which Laurel so graciously and patiently answered.  If I had let them, I am certain that they would have asked her questions for hours.  They were very impressed that it took 50 submissions before her first book was finally published.  I reminded them that the next time their teacher asked them to revise a report they should think about all the revision Laurel had to make.

Bigger Than a Bread Box, Vroman's Bookstore

So from the students in Ms. Debbie's 4th grade class in Pasadena, CA - we would like to thank Laurel Snyder for visiting with us and we wish her a very happy book birthday!!!!  If you live in Pasadena, stop by Vroman's and pick up your own copy of Bigger Than a Bread Box.  If you are not in the area, look for Laurel Snyder's new book at your school or public library.  And remember, when possible - shop at your local independent bookstore.

LIESL & PO Booktrailer

I just recently received a press release for LIESL & PO by Lauren Oliver.  I don't know about you but this is one of the fall titles that I have been excitedly anticipating.  It will be released on October 4, 2011.  If you like what you see, please consider checking it out at your school or public library.  And remember, whenever possible, please support your local independent bookstores.

Harper Collins is excited to announce that LIESL & PO, the middle-grade debut by New York Times and international bestselling author Lauren Oliver will be available everywhere on Tuesday October 4th. Lauren Oliver captivated readers with her groundbreaking first novel, BEFORE I FALL and her followup DELIRIUM was made an instant bestseller by teens the world over. Filled with intricate and beautiful illustrations from rising star Kei Acedera, LIESL & PO is an unforgettable Dickensian tale of ghosts and magic, friendship and homecoming.

Synopsis: Liesl’s cruel stepmother, Augusta, keeps her locked in her attic bedroom. Lonely and grieving for her recently deceased father, Liesl is surprised one evening by Po, a ghost who suddenly materializes in her room. The two become fast friends, and it is because of Po that Liesl is able to escape from her attic room and embark on a journey to bury her father’s ashes beside those of her mother. However, because of a mix-up at the undertaker’s, the box that Liesl carries does not contain her father’s ashes. Instead, it contains the most powerful magic in the world. And the alchemist who created that magic desperately wants it back.

What people are saying about LIESL & PO:

"With nods to Dahl, Dickens, the Grimms, and even Burnett, the author has made something truly original." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Classic fairy tale elements weave throughout this spirited, old-fashioned adventure. [Liesl & Po] testifies to the power of friendship and generosity to conquer greed and depression." Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"With her third book, Lauren Oliver (Before I Fall; Delirium) creates another highly original world, this one for middle-grade readers." Shelf Awareness

Check out the official LIESL & PO animated trailer, featuring the original song "A Train with Wings"at YouTube: 

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://lieslandpo.com/ 

AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com/

Interview with Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson, authors of The Familiars

In celebration of the release of The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown, authors Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson answer a few of questions by big fan, Zoe - age 9. 

What gave you the idea for writing The Familiars 1 & 2? 

Back in 2008, when we hatched the idea for The Familiars, it all started with Adam asking Andrew, “Do you know what a familiar is?” Andrew said he didn’t. Adam explained, “A familiar is the animal companion to a witch or wizard, like Hedwig in ‘Harry Potter.’” Andrew immediately took to the idea. We loved that familiars were always in the background, doing very little. What if we told a story where the familiars were front and center? And they were the ones going on the adventure. And Adam’s simple question quickly led to the creation of Vastia and all the magical animals inhabiting it. Our three main characters are an orphan alley cat named Aldwyn who is mistaken for being a young boy wizard’s familiar; Skylar, a know-it-all blue jay with the ability to cast magical illusions; and Gilbert, a bumbling tree frog who can see visions of the past, present, and future in puddles of water… sometimes. We didn’t have to look very far for our inspiration for Aldwyn. In fact, he was right in Adam’s backyard. There was a stray black-and-white alley cat named Ben, missing a chunk of his left ear, who visited there every day. The rest seemed to just flow effortlessly. The Familiars and The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown are targeted at middle readers, ages 8-12, but we really believe it will appeal to anyone who loves animals, magic, or fantasy. They take inspiration from “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings” and hopefully put their own unique spin on the classic hero’s journey.

How do you guys communicate (when writing together)?

One of the unique things about The Familiars and its sequel is that we co-authored them. The two of us literally sat in the same room for months and months (we pretty much put in banker’s hours, 9-5 Monday through Friday) writing every word, sentence, and paragraph together. Andrew is the typist (because he’s frankly a much faster typer), while Adam sits beside him, or across from him in a nice, comfy chair, or sometimes paces around. After our initial conversation about the idea, we loosely outlined the first few chapters and just dove in. Then after writing about 45 pages, we meticulously plotted out the rest of the story. Of course we discovered many details along the way, but we had a basic sense of the major plot points and where the books would end. Neither one of us were English majors in college or had any book writing experience previously, but we’ve both read a lot, watched a lot, and lived inside our imaginations since we were little kids.

Where do you come up with all the names and mythical creatures?

Honestly we just make them up! We chose Aldwyn because it had an English flavor and we always imagined him as a little bit of an Artful Dodger/Oliver Twist type character. Skylar took inspiration from the prefix Sky which is of course what birds do. And Gilbert has the word Gil in his name, which frogs have! This is one of the most fun parts of our job. Especially all the fantastical creatures and places.

Did you always want to be authors?

Adam actually thought he might become a video game developer. He absolutely loves video games. Andrew's dad was a lawyer so he thought he'd be good at that. But he was also writing stories as early as in the second grade.

Which are your favorite characters?

Adam would say Gilbert because he has such a fun voice to write. Something unexpected always seems to come out of his mouth, even for us while writing it. Andrew loves Grimslade and his villainous ways!

How did you meet each other?

Adam grew up in Great Neck, New York, while Andrew spent his childhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but we actually met in a parking garage out in Los Angeles.  True story.

For more information about The Familiars Books 1 & 2, check out their website:
http://thefamiliars.com/

You can follow them on twitter: @the_familiars

Or on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefamiliars

Here is a video that the authors made to prepare you for book 2: