Fran Cannon Slayton and WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS

It's no coincidence that Jimmy Cannon, the main character in When The Whistle Blows, shares a name with Fran Cannon Slayton, author of the new novel for middle-graders. Slayton dug deep into her family history to pen her debut about train-loving Jimmy, his evolving relationship with his father, and his coming of age in a small railroading town.

Written in a series of vignettes, Slayton's book is a warm, sentimental tale of a bygone era – when the steam train was king – yet it touches on larger themes that transcend generations – family, friendship, finding one's own way.

In my July children's market column at Authorlink.com, Slayton shares how she conceived, researched, wrote, and, ultimately, sold the book to Philomel/Penguin, plus she gives loads of advice about using your family tree in your writing. Drop by her website to learn more about Fran and her books.

Graham Kerr, APPLE PIE, And The Real Granny Smith

I just love Graham Kerr. Always have.

I've fond memories of watching The Galloping Gourmet TV show as a toddler. Every day around lunch time, just before Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, Mom would be at the ironing board set up behind the sofa (underwear, bedsheets, all of my dad's shirts – she ironed everything) and the two of us would marvel as Kerr-the-culinary-dervish whipped up decadent, wine-soaked – always the wine! – dishes and an hilarious running repartee.

Decades later, as newlyweds, hubby and I would be sure to catch Kerr's more healthful cooking show, where he demonstrated his "minimax" philosophy of low fat/high flavor cooking – minus the wine, but with that same loveable wit.

Always, I adored Kerr for his humor and charm – you could just tell he was a genuinely warm and wonderful person. And it's true, I learned recently.

When I decided to solicit blurbs from celebrity chefs for An Apple Pie For Dinner, my picture book retelling of a English folktale that includes an apple pie recipe, of course, Graham Kerr was the first culinary personality I thought of.

So I was thrilled when he agreed to take a look at the book. He also happened to mention that there's an Australian folktale regarding a Granny Smith, the name of my main character in An Apple Pie For Dinner.

Intrigued, I did a little research. It turns out that the Australian Granny Smith is actually THE Granny Smith – the one who developed that yummy green apple!

Her name was Maria Ann Sherwood, born in England in 1799. She relocated to Ryde, Australia with her family in 1838. She and her husband were "orchardists," tree fruit farmers with a specialty in apples. Seems around 1868, "Granny" Smith crossed a crabapple with a domestic orchard apple and came up with her delicious namesake fruit.

The folks of Ryde, Australia are rightly proud of their Granny, so much so that they honor her with the Granny Smith Festival, an event that draws more than 60,000 people every year. Last year's celebration even included a visit from Edna Spurway, the oldest living descendant of Granny Smith.

When I wrote An Apple Pie For Dinner, I never realized that there was actually a Granny Smith. I named my protaganist Granny Smith because I'm crazy for those apples and, especially, the scrumptious pies you can make with them. So how perfect is it that the real Granny Smith came from England, just like my Granny Smith's story?

I was able to track down all of the living relatives of the real Granny Smith in Australia and will be sending each a copy of the book. I'm hoping they like it. Though I didn't pen it as a tribute to their infamous forebear, I now think of the real Granny Smith as my book's Granny Smith – perseverant, kind, and totally passionate about her apples.

So big thanks to Graham Kerr for tuning me into the true Granny Smith tale... and for his lovely comments (scroll to bottom of page) about the book.

You're the best, Galloping Gourmet!

Ellen Jensen Abbott and WATERSMEET

I've been trying for a few months to catch up with Ellen Jensen Abbott, author of Watersmeet, her debut fantasy novel for young adults. I wanted to know more about how she wrote and sold her story of Abisina, an outcast on a quest to find her father and the home she's never known. It's a rich tale that explores the dangers of discrimination and the power of family. Plus, we also share the same publisher – Marshall Cavendish pubbed Watersmeet back in April, and will pub my and Carol Baicker-McKee's picture book An Apple Pie For Dinner in August.

Ellen's had a ton on her plate since Watersmeet's release, in addition to her real-life job as an English teacher. She's finally been able to come up for air!

"The amount of marketing I needed to do when Watersmeet launched completely caught me off guard," Abbott e-mailed this morning. "It did pay off: it's in reprints and it was just nominated for the YALSA Best YA list, but whew! What a spring!"

YALSA – Young Adult Library Services Association, part of ALA, the American Library Association, a very important honor. What a spring, indeed!

So congrats, Ellen! And many thanks for getting back to me for this interview... now enjoy your summer!


ME: Talk about your writing process for Watersmeet. How did the idea come about? How did you act on your initial inspiration, specifically? How long did it take to complete the manuscript? How much revising did you do before submitting?

ABBOTT: I don't recommend the process I used for Watersmeet to other writers! It is the first book in a planned series of four. I began, unwittingly, by writing the fourth book first! I shopped that around, got great feedback, but no contract. Margery Cuyler at Marshall Cavendish talked to me at length about it and mentioned that it felt like a sequel. By then I had already started the book that became Watersmeet and I decided to put my energies there. I began that first book about ten years ago, and though that is not the book I sold, lots of the energy of creating this world paid off in Watersmeet.

In terms of revision, I have no idea how much revision I did! At times I get hung up on revising as I go. Then I'll go for a space and just write feverishly without the internal editor getting a word in edge-wise. Then it's back to the beginning again for revision and revision and revision. I do know that the sale of a book is only the beginning of the revision process! I submitted Watersmeet after three years of writing, but I was also teaching during that time and raising two small kids.

ME: How did you make the sale to Marshall Cavendish?

ABBOTT: I met Margery Cuyler at the One-on-One conference hosted by the Rutgers University Council on Children's Literature. I was really impressed with what Margery said in a small group I was in with her so at the end of the group, I introduced myself and we exchanged cards. I stayed in touch as I worked on my first manuscript and submitted it to her when it was finished. As I said above, she didn't buy it, but she gave me lots of encouragement. When I had my next one, it went straight to her and I made the sale!

ME: For some writers (like me!), the thought of penning fantasy – creating a whole new world plus inhabitants – is totally intimidating. How do you do it? Is there a step by step?

ABBOTT: When I first thought about this question, I wanted to say, "I wish there were a step by step!" It is challenging, but in fact, that's the fun of it. What I enjoy the most about creating worlds is the process of digging down into the nitty-gritty of a place. For example, in my novel centaurs can talk to hoofed animals. Once I made this choice, I decided they couldn't eat hoofed animals—too barbaric! But when I needed a group of depraved centaurs, this became a way I could describe their depravity. Another example comes from the dwarves. I started thinking about agriculture for creatures that live so completely underground. How would they farm? I created underground root fields where the dwarves harvest off the ceiling! I had them raise burrowing animals for food, pelts and even milk. My dwarf Hoysta makes badger cheese! Readers have asked me if you can actually milk a badger, and I confess, I've never tried. But my theory is that you can milk any animal that nurses young, and badgers do. When you create a world, each choice brings more choices, more consequences. I love the process of discovery

ME: Why did you choose to load your story with familiar mythical creatures – dwarves, centaurs, fairies, fauns, etc.? Did you worry at all about Watersmeet being compared to other tales that use such creatures?

ABBOTT: I really enjoy reading folklore, mythology, and legends. I am always struck by how these stories juggle the same elements into such a variety of tales. The Cinderella story, for example, shows up in cultures around the world in all kinds of manifestations. Some even have male protagonists! So when I started writing about my world, the creatures that I felt most interested in and also most comfortable with appeared. They were comfortable, I suppose, because of the kinds of stories I read as a kid. I didn't really worry about comparison to other tales. In fact, I was consciously tapping into the richness of those ancient tales.

ME: How did you go about crafting your main character, Abisina? Is she based on anyone you know? Did aspects of her character grow from your own interests, like perhaps her archery skill or her knowledge of medicinal herbs?

ABBOTT: I found the research on herbs so interesting! I am quite a skeptic about non-traditional medicine, but I loved learning about cures that cultures have been practicing for generations. I've always been drawn to the image of the village witch as a woman who is knowledgeable in healing, birth, and life's cycles. As to archery—I signed up for it in gym during high school, but only because I didn't have to put on my gym uniform during that unit!

Abisina is not based on any specific person. In the first drafts, I'm sure she was based on some elements of my personality at that age, but she changed so many times—went through some many incarnations—in the course of writing, that most of that is gone and she has grown into her own person. I, of course, tried to make her psychologically consistent, but did this by imagining how a person with her history would react to a given set of circumstances.

ME: There are many important themes woven throughout your story – issues of prejudice and tolerance, faith and loyalty, home and community. Did these grow organically as you wrote Watersmeet, or did you intend to include them from the start? How did you keep things from getting "preachy"?

ABBOTT: Mostly these themes grew organically. When Abisina came to me, it was clear to me that she was an outsider, so I created a society she would be outside of. I didn't want a blonde, blue-eyed heroine either. I teach high school at a school with lots of diversity and I wanted to write a story that would reflect some of the kids I spend my days with. One girl in particular became the physical model of Abisina and she is a Latina. Once I was committed to that picture, the society that rejects her grew from there.

I worried a lot about "preachiness." Nothing kills a story sooner! I held onto that old saw, "Show, don't tell." If I showed the prejudice and tolerance, I didn't have to talk about it! Abisina is a victim of prejudice and it's dramatic enough that it would only take away from the story if I pointed out what was already so clear.

ME: I imagine you read a lot of fantasy. Who are some of your favorite fantasy authors and why?

ABBOTT: I am sure that I am a fantasy writer today because of the Chronicles of Narnia. I discovered that series when I was in fifth and sixth grade and read it time after time after time. I was completely clueless that it was Christian allegory! To me it was just a great story! But I think the Christian themes, like the mythological themes in other stories, give it a depth and a power that kids respond to. These stories we tell again and again, stories of sacrifice, regeneration, battles of good and evil, a sense of a mysterious universe—they are basic to human experience. Fantasy addresses these themes and I find this very compelling.

ME: What are you working on now? Will there be a sequel to Watersmeet?

ABBOTT: I am working on a sequel! As Watersmeet concludes, Abisina's personal quest is at an end, but her new home, and the land as a whole, is really in a more difficult situation than ever. She may have found what she was looking for, but there is still plenty of work to be done!

You can learn more about Ellen and her books at her website and blog.

Ann Haywood Leal and ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER

Though Ann Haywood Leal's career as an elementary school teacher helped her craft the detail-rich characters in Also Known As Harper, her touching debut novel for middle-graders, it was what she observed at her local soup kitchen that actually inspired them.

"When I first started volunteering there, I didn’t expect to see all of the families with children," she says. "The character of Harper" – an aspiring poetess faced with homelessness – "developed out of the feeling I got from those children at the community meal center. So many of the adults look dejected and resigned to their situation, but the children still have innocence and hope in their faces."

Leal shares how she crafted her warmly realistic characters, completed a submission-ready manuscript, landed a book deal, and now balances her dual roles as teacher and author in my June children's market column at Authorlink.com.

To learn more about Leal, read the first chapter of Also Known As Harper, and check out a handy discussion guide, be sure to stop by her website.

Proud To Be Now!

Happy to say I'm officially a new member of AuthorsNow!, the largest group of debut children's and teen book authors on the Internet.

As staff-slashing continues and promo budgets dwindle at publishing houses large and small, it's now more important than ever for an author to get the word out about a new title. Collaborative groups such as AuthorsNow! – and many others, like Class of 2K9, The Tenners, 2009 Debutantes, etc. – make huge sense. A critical mass of writers hawking their works makes a much louder marketing impact than one lone author crying into the book-buying wilderness. And the groups' websites make for easy, one-stop shopping for parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and book fans seeking the freshest voices in kidlit.

I love that AuthorsNow! offers more than just a listing of authors, books, and pub dates. AN! founder Cynthea Liu (also a children's author) has created a totally comprehensive website complete with up-to-date descriptions of forthcoming books, the latest on AN! authors and their events, downloadable supplemental resources such as teaching guides, quizzes, and other materials, author bookings for schools and libraries, author panels for conferences, plus contests, giveaways, and a very active e-newsletter.

So, thanks, Cynthea, for all of your hard work, and for allowing me to be a part of the excitement. I'm looking forward to getting to know my fellow debut children's writers... and getting to work spreading the word about all of our incredible books!

Yup, I'm proud to be Now!

Look Ma, It's A Book! Part II

Boy, do I love my mail carrier. An Apple Pie For Dinner yesterday, Raising Hell On The Rock 'n' Roll Highway today...

Yes, Raising Hell is the UK version of Roadwork: Rock & Roll Turned Inside Out, the memoir I helped rock photographer Tom Wright put together. The book's been out since March in the British Isles, I'd read the terrific reviews, but I'd yet to see an actual copy of it.

Whew!

Raising Hell's text and photos may be exactly the same as Roadwork's, but the books couldn't be any more different, design-wise. Tom and I are incredibly privileged to have our project presented in two polar-opposite formats.

With Roadwork, designer Lesley Kunikis took a clean, minimalist approach – lots of white space, sparse ornamentation, simple, classic.

For Raising Hell, UK design house Fresh Lemon went ornate and over-the-top – fancy, filigree-ish fonts in the chapter heads, worn and deckled page-edge effects, and the flaming cover image... well, yeah...

But it's fascinating to see how each design actually serves the story.

Against Roadwork's subdued matte pages, Tom's stunning photos truly pop. Think of paintings hung on a gallery wall. It becomes all about the art – Tom's art.

In Raising Hell, the design excess reflects Tom's tales of rock 'n' roll excess, the photos offering visual proof. The book almost feels like a scribbled-in scrapbook or journal, personal, intimate.


Here's a compare-'n-contrast look at the same spread in both books.

Can't say I prefer one over the other, really. Each makes a different statement, creates a different mood.

Just goes to show you design's undeniable impact on the reading experience.

As they say in the restaurant world, it's all about the presentation...

Look Ma, It's A Book!

What a wonderful surprise stuffed in my mailbox this afternoon – a copy of the actual hardbound An Apple Pie For Dinner!

Totally unexpected, as I'd only just received a few days ago one of the last set of F&Gs (folded and gathereds, the book's unbound printed pages) that the Marshall Cavendish sales staff could spare. The F&Gs were lovely and exciting, but it's just not the same as holding a beautiful book in your hands, all dust jacketed and page-y and stitched together... and with that new book smell!

Apple Pie pubs in August, so I've been hard at work creating a website for it, the very beginnings of which you'll find here. Trying to load it up with plenty o' kid/parent/teacher-friendly goodies and am honored that Mark Lawrence, an incredibly gifted singer/songwriter, agreed to do a readalong narration and "Apple Pie For Dinner" song (written by my wonderfully talented choral director of a mom, bless her heart!) for me. I'll be trying my hand at producing a book trailer and "make your own pie" video for the site, as well. Wish me luck! And, please, any suggestions, do send them my way!

I've also been querying celeb chefs for blurbs. Anyone have a contact for Martha Stewart? With its crafty illos and yummy pie recipe, I'm thinking Martha might find Apple Pie a "good thing." Alas, her website's auto-mailer bounces my messages back; apparently Martha's in-box is full.

Oh, and I did my first ever Pie-related interview this week. Eep!

An Apple Pie For Dinner's my debut children's book, so it's all feeling very new and kinda noive-wrackin'... So fun, though!

Tasty Cover: AN APPLE PIE FOR DINNER

Silly me, posted An Apple Pie For Dinner's cover over on Facebook and forget to load it here on the blog. Duh!

Pretty cool, right? Carol Baicker-McKee did an amazing job with her 3-D mixed media illos. Wait 'til you see the inside... you'll marvel at her incredible details...

Fun Twist On Fairies – THE TIPTOE GUIDE TO TRACKING FAIRIES

Does the world really need another book about fairies? Yes, if it's Ammi-Joan Paquette's charming The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies. Combining a backyard adventure with a fairy hunt, kids are encouraged to find the wonder in nature as they search for those ever-elusive fairies.

Especially delightful are Christa Unzner's winsome illustrations, seamlessly blending art and photography. Impish little sprites frolic in, amongst, and with flowers, spiderwebs, acorns, even chipmunks, teasing readers to imagine new fairy hideaways every time they step outdoors.

The book was inspired by a real-life fairy safari that the author took with her children one spring day. "Although they didn't meet any fairies face to face," recounts the jacket flap, "they saw signs of them everywhere."

The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies got a double thumbs-up from my six-year old daughter, good stuff considering she's not particularly fairy-inclined...

Every Writer's Albatross, The Editorial Letter – Now On YouTube!

Too freakin' funny! Writers, how well do we know Lara's pain...?

Preservation Nation

Quick reminder that May is National Preservation Month. I encourage you to support the incredible efforts of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in helping people protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them.

Learn more at PreservationNation.org. It's important.

Danielle Joseph and SHRINKING VIOLET

Write what you know. We've all heard it before. And it works. Just ask Danielle Joseph.

For Shrinking Violet, Joseph’s debut novel for young adults, she borrowed from her college radio days to create the on-air world that shy high school senior Teresa Adams only dreams of. But when Tere unexpectedly lands behind the mike at Miami's hottest radio station, she finds her real-life voice, defying the expectations of cruel classmates and her glamorous mother and connecting with her cute-'n'-sensitive crush.

Packed with iPods, earbuds, and pop stars, Tere’s story is as MTV-ready as it gets. No surprise, then, that MTV/Pocket Books snapped it up; Shrinking Violet hits bookstores this month.

Joseph shares how she crafted Shrinking Violet, what it means to be an MTV author, and more in my May children's market column at Authorlink.com. You can learn more about Joseph and her books at her website. Check it out!

Advice For Writers From National Book Award Winner, Pulitzer Finalist Tim O'Brien

So I had the pleasure of hearing Tim O'Brien speak last night as part of a local literary festival.

A Vietnam vet turned author, stories of the war and its devastating impact on those who fought it comprise much of O'Brien's astoundingly powerful oeuvre. Going After Cacciato took the National Book Award for fiction in 1979, while The Things They Carried was named by the NY Times in 2005 as one of the 20 best books of the last quarter century. Not surprisingly, it was also a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

A master of what he calls "magical realism" – capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary – O'Brien's work – especially The Things They Carried – should be required reading for any aspiring author. There's a reason the SF Chronicle dubbed him "the best American writer of his generation."

O'Brien was lecturing as the keynote speaker of the festival, whose theme was "writers as evidence of change." Self-deprecating and likeable, though admittedly ill-at-ease in front of a crowd, O'Brien launched his remarks by saying that he was the virtual embodiment of change, five years ago trading in his nearly 24/7 writing schedule for fatherly duties with the birth of his son. And the focus of what writing he does do now – in two hour spurts, if he's lucky, he chuckled – does not involve Vietnam.

Using examples that often included his trademark deadpan humor, O'Brien offered plenty of advice to the many writerly-types that filled the theater. Foremost was to trust the story. Have faith in your story. Don't edit your imagination – let the story be what it needs to be, don't cave to what you think others expect the story should be. He advised to resist the temptation to overwrite and overdescribe, to clutter your tale with backstory and extraneous detail. Details, he said, should only be used in service of the story, should unfold organically as the action progresses. Dream up fresh and exciting characters and plotlines, he urged, don't lift them from the Wal-Mart shelves. Finally, he encouraged writers to do what he does so very well (my words, not his), to let the extraordinary illuminate the ordinary in their work, to find the magical truth in the mundane.

O'Brien's books – particularly If I Die In A Combat Zone, Box Me Up And Ship Me Home and The Things They Carried (still a weeper for me, even after nearly a dozen reads) – were hugely inspirational as I was co-writing Dean Ellis Kohler's Vietnam War memoir, Rock 'N' Roll Soldier. Okay, so I told O'Brien as much in a gushy love note I tucked inside the R'N'RS ARC I gave him at the signing table later. I had to – he's my ultimate dream jacket blurb-er.

I'm sooooo hoping he'll read our book and maybe give us a sentence or two. What a mind-blowing honor that would be...

Affordable Copies Of Gene Vincent Bio RACE WITH THE DEVIL Now At Amazon

I've had several folks contact me in the last six months or so about where they might find a copy of my Gene "Be-Bop-A-Lula" Vincent bio, Race With The Devil (St. Martin's Press, 2000). The book's been out of print for years and has become increasingly hard to find. I almost choked on my coffee a few weeks back when I saw Amazon Marketplace sellers offering it for 100-plus smacks. Huh?!!!!

Fortunately, I see today that there are now several copies in fairly decent condition at Amazon, starting at $20-some. Whew, that's more like it!

Would love to put out a revised, updated version of the book one day. Have loads of new info as old friends and family members have gotten in touch over the years. Given the contractions in the publishing world, though, now's definitely not the time to peddle a reprint...

Still love that Gene, though. Voice of an angel.

Cheryl Renee Herbsman And BREATHING

When Savannah first lays eyes on Jackson, she knows he's much more than a summer romance. He's the one. And Jackson proves it, even supporting Savannah through a scary hospitalization for severe asthma. She's convinced it's because of Jackson that her asthma is improving. But when he's called away with no firm plans to return, Savannah must learn to breathe – and live – for herself.

To craft Breathing (Viking, April, 2009), her debut novel for teens, children's author Cheryl Renee Herbsman mined portions of her own teenhood, including summers at the Carolina shore and a long-distance romance not unlike that of Savannah and Jackson.

Cheryl shares how she wrote and sold Breathing, her thoughts on penning dialect, how her psychology degree makes her a better writer, and more in my April children's market column at Authorlink.com. You can also learn more about Cheryl and her books at her website, www.cherylreneeherbsman.com.

Oh, and that long-distance romance of Cheryl's? This year, she and her teen sweetheart celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary!