Movie, Book and Industry News

Greetings Scribblers and Book Bandits,

Today we've got some industry news about self-publishing, and book news about popular teen lit and movies.

Self-publishing has dominated industry discussions over the last few years. I recently read a very professional article about the reality of self-publishing, the pros and cons. Some experienced traditional and self-publishers also offered their opinions in the comment section. I learned a lot from it.

Teens' Top Ten Nominees are in! WOOT! In case you've never heard of the Teens' Top Ten competition, let me explain briefly. Teens' focus groups across the country nominate a list of titles (usually 25, although there are 28 this year) for the teen reading public to devour between April and August 15th. Over the next month, they can vote on their two favorites. YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) tallies the votes into a list of the ten ultimate favorites. This is a great way for interested persons to gauge YA interest in reading for the year. Although I typically have to weed out a few low-grade passing fad books, the teens usually do that for me. The very best of the year's crop often make the top ten (such as *ahem* The Scorpio Races *ahem*, my favorite book of the last two years or so). Check out the sweet vid below to see this year's 28 nominees, and click here for book descriptions.



The teens nominated some interesting choices this year! I was thrilled to see Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, a beautiful book I discussed here. Also, an author who began as a self-publishing superstar, Amanda Hocking, made the list with her book Wake. Someone to keep an eye on. Also on the list is Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, one of the Morris Award Winners (see our Lakeport Library's list of available award-winning teen fiction here and here or find full yearly YA Award lists here). This sounds like a quality read--and plus, there are dragons. I enjoyed The Raven Boys  by Maggie Stiefvater, another nominee. I haven't reviewed it yet because it deserves an in-depth post on craft. Serious, Stiefvater's got chops. (Which, of course, we already know from her Printz-honor winning The Scorpio Races....) Finally, the book I look forward most to reading this year, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, is on the list. This highly-praised book won a 2013 Printz Honor and was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal in the UK. I hope it wins! Should be great year for the TTT.

Kristin Cashore's book Graceling, has been optioned for a film! This is a great female-lead Fantasy, one I studied for a paper of the genre. In 2009, it was awarded the Morris honor. Thanks to GreenBeanTeenQueen for the news.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is one of the hallmarks of YA and Children's Sci-Fi fiction. I haven't read it but from what I understand, that's kind of like not seeing Star Wars. The movie date is approaching! Check out the trailer below, if interested. Thanks, again to GreenBeanTeenQueen for this news.

Get More: Abigail Breslin, Harrison Ford, Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

Have a good week, friends!

Library News and Upcoming Literary Events

The biggest news (officially announced here) is the Middletown Library's grand opening, which took place yesterday, so hurry over there today to check out the goods! 21256 Washington St. (in Middletown, obv.).

Recently I got off my figurative lazy butt (I am still on my physical lazy butt, healing from a stress fracture. Thank you to my dear friends who've been praying!) and checked out the Lake County Arts Council page for upcoming literary events. Holy cow, there are tons of things going on. Here, I listed mostly writing events, but there are also other poetry, art, cinema and theater events going on. If you want to know more, check it out here.

A 2 Day Writing Retreat with Clive Matson will take place  at the Lake County Arts Council Gallery, 235 Main St in Lakeport on April 20 4-6pm-April 21 10am-5pm. It will be put on by Poets and Writer's, Inc through a grant from the James Irvine Foundation. Clive Matson writes poetry, short stories, essays and plays. He has led writing workshops for twenty-five years, holds an MFA in poetry from Columbia University, and teaches at UC Berkeley. This is the big time, Scribblers!

Apparently there is also an ongoing writing group at the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum for writers of all levels and genres. The best thing: it's free. I attended a similar group once at the Arts Council in Lakeport, and some great writers took part in the group critiques. If you're looking for a crit group, these meetings in Lower Lake might be just the thing for you. They run from 1-3 or 4 pm on the 2nd Wednesday of each month.

And, finally, the 6th Annual Mendocino Lit Fest at Mendocino College (1000 Hensley Creek Road, Ukiah CA.) is coming up on April 20th from 10am-4pm. This festival hosts writing contests, author readings and other celebrations of the written word. Last time I went, I got to attend a writing workshop by Jodi Gehrman, a Young Adult fiction author and my first writing instructor.  This is always a good time.

On May 2nd, there will be a free Writing Workshop at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport from 6:30-8:30. Lake County's form Poet Laureate, Mary McMillan will be there.

The Fifth Annual Lake Renaissance Festival is coming up! How cool, right? It's on Memorial Day weekend, May 25th-26th at The Tuscan Village, a winery: 16175 Main. St. Lower Lake.

I hope you get to attend some of these exciting events, friends!

Works Cited:

Cook, Jan. "Lake County Library's Calendar of Events for April 2013." 12 April 2013. Web.

"Grand Opening Announced." County of Lake California: Library. 12 April 2013. Web.
<http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Lake_County_CA__Library.htm>

"Shortcuts to the Near Future." Lake County Arts Council. 12 April 2013. Web.

Photo Attribution:
By Stefan Doering (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Writing Contest, Industry News & Book News

C'mon, join the contest!

Scribblers and Book Bandits!
     I know it's not Friday, yet, but for the sake of the writing contest, I decided to post early.
     The free Lascaux flash fiction contest is opening up once again, starting tomorrow. Enter a 250 word flash fiction piece for a chance to win a dollar a word and publication in the Lascaux Review. They award "medallions" for finalists, too. You can put a medallion on your website or blog if you win! I entered this contest last year and had a lot of fun. The community is great. They will post on your work (anyone can read it) even if you don't win. The entry period ends on March 20th, so we'll have to write quickly!
     The extremely popular author of Before I Fall and the Delirium series, Lauren Oliver, cofounded a company called Paper Lantern Lit which constructs plots and story structures for writers. The writers that work with this company "inhabit" the story structures which the company creates. Interesting idea, eh? This might benefit a character-driven writer.
     In other news (book news, to be specific), the amazing young adult historical novel The Book Thief is being made into a movie!!! This book won the 2007 Printz honor (very prestigious), and no surprise there: it is narrated by "death" and set in Nazi Germany. It is literary and popular, and I highly recommend it. Also, Geoffrey Rush will be in the movie. Yippee! It will have to be awesome. So excited! Thanks to Nathan Bransford for this news.

Enjoy, everyone!

Photo Attribution
By Seattle Municipal Archives from Seattle, WA (Pie-eating contest, 2003  Uploaded by Jmabel) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Goodies: Contest, Addendum, and Library Schedule!

Hey Scribblers and Book Bandits, We've got another "goodies" post, today.

     First of all, a contest! If you're sending out submissions to agents or magazines, it's always nice to have a list of places to send your stories. If you're checking out the market for children's books, you're in luck! Mary Kole of Kidlit.com is giving away a free copy of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market in a contest. Check it out here, second post down.
     Next, the addendum. Last week, I shared my opinion about whether college is necessary for writers. College is not the only venue to become a writer. After mulling over the post for another week, I thought I'd better add something. While a degree of any level in Creative Writing is not necessary, it's not a bad idea to get a taste of college--like an Associate's Degree. It's so much more work than high school. Even a few classes can teach you basic skills like research, study skills, critical thinking, and coherent writing. It's not even that expensive, if you go through a community college. I did! ;) Anyway, that's my two cents.
     I thought I'd throw in a little update about the Lascoux Flash Fiction contest I entered a few weeks back, since I  posted about it on the blog. I didn't win, but it was a great experience, and I learned something through it. First of all, if you didn't get to join this one, I encourage you to join the next! I post about every contest I hear of. Lascaux will be holding another contest in a few months. What I learned: I recommend entering all the free contests you can, until you start winning, or until you've gotten something published. Don't worry so much about the ones with entry fees. It's not worth your money, when you could just submit a piece to the magazine for free!
     Here is the promised schedule of events related to the library.

• The Vineyard Run for Literacy (5K, 10K, & 5K Walk) is a great fundraiser. I may be running in it this year. Too bad it's during church, though! Hate that. Sun. October 14: 8:00 am registration, 9:00 am run. Steele Wines. Hwy. 29 & Thomas Drive., Finley. Register online at rdysetgo.com. Call 263-7633 for more info. All ages allowed.
• Literacy tutor training. Learn to teach adults to read. This actually isn't a "library" event, technically. I just know about it through the library. It's a great way to improve our community. Wed.10/17, 10,24,10/31.12:30—4:30 pm. The 3classes will be at Mendo. College in Lakeport. 1005 Parallel Dr., Lakeport. Wednesdays Oct. 17, 24, & 31. 263-7633. Adults Only.
• Beginning Your Family History Search. Jan Cook presents a program on starting genealogy. This is a family event. Sat. 10/27 9:00 am at the Lakeport library (Ooooh, look, you get in early! The library won't technically be open, but they'll let us special...genealogists? in early!) Call 263-8817 for more info. Jan Cook asks that you call or sign up at the library ahead of time, if possible, so they'll know how many handouts to make.
• “Proper Victorian Dress” Archaeologist Barbara White demonstrates Victorian clothing. If you're into Victorian era reading--Austen, Bronte sisters, etc.--you'll enjoy learning about the clothing of the period. I sure will! Family fun. This one is at the Lakeport library, Sat. 10/27 2:00 pm. Same day as Geneology class. Call 263-8817 for more info.

And one last thing: I'm asking you a favor. Could you tell me what information you like/appreciate the most from my blog?
     -library news
     -contest news
     -writing tips
     -book reviews.
     -workshops and classes
     -anything else!
I would appreciate hearing from you in the comments section below. Thanks a lot, friends!

FYI: Next week, there won'd be a blog post because I'll be swamped in finals. See you in two!

Photo Credit:
Tcc8. "Inside Pike Place Market." Wikimediacommons. 4 Feb. 2012. 4 Oct. <2012.http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seattle_marketplace.jpg>

Your Writer's Notebook

You may choose abstract or specific pictures for an Inspiration Section
in your Writer's Notebook. It's all up to you!

Hey Scribblers and Book Bandits!
     Just FYI, the free writer's contest I mentioned a few weeks ago is still going on. If you'd like to enter your 250 word-or-under flash fiction for a chance to win, you can check it out here. It's easy-peasy, and the prize is $250!
     On to our topic: If you are a writer, chances are that you have some notebook or legal pad filled with lists, wit, wisdom, observations, or story ideas. Recently, I created a sort of "writer's notebook," and it has worked out super well for me!
     A writer's notebook has several purposes. I read this in a blog post on Writer Unboxed: "Writing on paper feels less like work and, in my experience, the result is often much more imaginative, playful, and interesting than whatever I most recently typed into a Word doc" (Lewis). It's true! Writing on paper helps us get unstuck, sometimes. Aside from getting us unstuck, notebooks help us organize our thoughts, so we can more easily find things written in the past.
Here's some tips directly from my experience, if you'd like to make one for yourself.

• Buy a plain notebook, not super fancy-dancy expensive one. Fancy-dancy notebooks don't last long, if you actually use them. If you want to use a fancy-dancy, make it for something that will last a long time, like a record of favorite quotes. Writer's Notebooks, Journals, and grocery lists get used up quickly! You can decorate your own notebook. I use to doodle and write word collages on the covers of mine.
• Get one with several partitioned sections. I got a red, five-subject notebook for like $2 at Kmart.
• Decide what each "subject" will be. For example, here are my subjects: 1.) Plot work and Brainstorming. This is a busy section. I restrict it to my novel ideas. 2.) Research. This is where I record all the interesting ideas I read in books, watch on dvds, find out from peeps, etc. For some tips on research, check out this blog post. 3.) Character Development. When I'm stuck in my writing, a lot of time, character-development exercises help me. Writing freeform in their voices, brainstorm about their personalities, writing scenes from their past, etc. This makes them more real. 4.) Other Brainstorming. This is a space for brainstorming other projects, like blog posts, short stories, poetry, etc. It also serves as an overflow space for the first section. 5.) My last section is Random Stuff--prayers, scenes that pop into my head, dreams, lists, free writes, school assignments, whatever. It's a free space. I don't have to think too hard, there. Sometimes, I use what I write there in other sections of my notebook, later.
• You can write your own subjects. If you are a visual writer, you may want an "Inspiration" section filled with photos.

     A Writer's Notebook is useful in the 5 Stages of Writing, as well! For example, work from the first stage of writing, Observation, often goes into my number 5 category of "Random Stuff." During Stage 3, First-Drafting, you may use the Plot Work and Brainstorming section ALL the time, you'll need to get all your ideas out in the open.
     To find out about the 5 Stages, you can check out this post.
Good luck, Scribblers!

Works Cited

 

Lewis, Kristyn Kusek. "The Writer's Block Myth." Writer Unboxed: about the craft and business of fiction. Sept. 9th, 2012. Sept 12, 2012.http://writerunboxed.com/2012/09/09/the-writers-block-myth-by-kristyn-kusek-lewis/#more-16472>.

Photo Credit:
Oktavio. "Acople visual generado con una camara de PC y la pantalla." Wikimedia Commons. 24 October 2009. 14 September 2012. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acople_visual.png>



A Conglomerate of Goodies

      Since I'm doing my "difficult quarter" in school, today I'm just posting a conglomerate of goodies.
     I had to share this hilarious post on what writing/publishing feels like, for the writer. Pleasepleaseplease take a look! It's a real treat by an accomplished blogger, published author, and previous Literary Agent.
     Also, free flash fiction contest, oh yeah! 250 dollars for 250 words.
     Lastly, here are a couple reviews from my Goodreads booklist, in case you haven't seen any of those. The first review is more about the reading experience. The second review includes writing tips.
     Thanks for stopping by, Scribblers!

Book Review of "Montmorency On the Rocks: Doctor, Aristocrat, Murderer?" by Eleanor Updale, the second installment in the Monmorency series:
     "If you're into high-stakes mysteries, torturous backstory, and fabulous European historical fiction, this book is right up your alley. This second installment in the adventures of Montmorency was even better than the first, in my opinion. The cool thing about it? If you read it first, it might be more interesting! You can read the first book afterwards to get to know Montmorency even better.
     Montmorency has been living as his better upper-half personality, rather than his low-life identity, "Scarper." Traveling the world with his best friend, Lord George Fox-Selwyn, as a spy for England, he's pulled off some amazing feats...but also gotten into some trouble. His friend will try to help him back to grace while they solve two equally distubing mysteries ravaging their homes.
     The mysteries, the suspense, the immediate connection we feel with old and new characters, pulls this read above the first. I loved every minute of this book.
     I've listened to both the Montmorency reads on my ipod; the library loans them out for free. The voice actors are great in this rendition.
     Enjoy!"

Book Review of "Beka Cooper, Book 3: Mastiff, A Tortall Legend" by Tamora Pierce.
     "Pierce is one of my all-time faves! Aside from LOTR, her books were the REASON I read.
Beka Cooper, and her partner Matthias Tunstall, set off on their most important hunt yet, in this third and final installment of the Beka's series. No loyalties can be trusted on this high-stakes hunt. 
     I love inhabiting Pierce's fantasy worlds, reallyreally. Beka Cooper is one cool chick. Or should I say "mot" (slang for “women”)? Yes, Pierce invents flavorful worlds: language, including slang and noble speech, caste system in several kingdoms, and a wide inventory of magics. If you want to learn how to create great settings, I highly recommend Pierce.
     As usual, there was one particular character that I got attached to, and that was "Farmer." He reminded me a lot of Numair, from the Wildmage series. I LOVE his humor. Beka, like I said, is a great female protagonist. Pierce's always are. I've only complaint about her characters, at least in this book: they have very little moral shading. All the "good" ones agree on highly controversial topics. I disagreed with certain collective opinions, namely the ones on sex and language. It rarely happens, in life, that several people have the same exact opinion on morality. It’s unrealistic. For this, I withheld part of a star.
     The storyline moved along well, right from the beginning, and there were several twists. My only qualm was with one of the twists, in which I think a character acted "out of character." It certainly made for a twist I didn't see coming, but I really don't think the character would have done this... I took off half a star, here. When characters do things that aren't consistent with their character, the plot twists seem contrived by the author.
     I listened to the audiobook. I wasn’t a huge fan of the voice actor because she gave certain parts a slightly corny feel…like all the words of a certain (adorable!) four-year old prince. I couldn’t tell if it was what he said, or the way the voice-actor said it, but it had me groaning. :) I took part of a star here, too.
     The very end of the book (Was it an epilogue? can't remember) was a delightful addition: it jumps forward into the future, where we connect briefly with George Cooper--yes, THAT George Cooper--Beka's ancestor. It was a lovely tie to the series. It solidified my opinion, once again, how much I love Pierce’s work.
     I seesawed on whether to give three or four stars on this book, but for the sake of Pierce-love, I chose four."

Library Summer Reading Program

     Ahoy, Library Lovers! Have you ever heard of Super Sign-Up Saturday? It's the first day of sign-ups for both the Young Adult Summer Reading Program and the Children's Summer Reading Program, and it's tomorrow! Sunday, June 9th. Teens going into 6th-12th grade can sign up for the teens program at the Lakeport Library. Children of pres-school-6th grade can sign up for the children's program. 6th graders get to choose which they'd be more comfortable attending. Super Sign-Up Saturday events will be going on for both the teens and children from 10AM-1PM (yes, there are prizes).
     This post is mostly about the teen program because that's what I'm involved in, but the Children's program has been running for years--it's a definite favorite! This year's teen theme is "Own the Night."
      What events will we be having this summer? A photography class (this Tues June 13th @ 6:30PM ), a night-photography contest to win a digital camera, a night field trip to the observatory (Wed. Aug. 1st from 8-10PM), a steam-punk craft (Sat. June 23rd from 2-4PM), and a fancy wrap-up party celebrating the teens (Wed. Aug 8th from 6-7:30PM). At this party, we'll also have a cupcake decorating class! (Can you guess who pushed for that idea?). There are other events going on for teens, also, and they will be happening all summer, so get your teens to the library on, or even after Super Sign-Up Saturday to sign-up of or just for more info. There are prizes for everyone who signs up, as well as prizes for teens who read 3 or more books at the Young Adult level of reading. A drawing will be held for another digital camera, as well; any teen can enter the drawing by signing up for the program and turning in short book reviews. The best way to try to win is to put in a review a week.
     The Library also hosts monthly events and displays for people of any age.
     If you want more information about either program, call the Lakeport Library at (707)263-8817, check out their website here, or visit at 1425 N. High St. Lakeport, CA 95453.
     Next week on the blog, we'll have a special guest blogger: Teresa Loesch, a Creative Writing Major at San Francisco State University, will be writing on a very important part of writing craft. Several of her plays have been chosen out of large pools of contenders, and performed at Mendocino College. You can also check out her blog, http://freekindle-ing.tumblr.com/. She reviews free kindle ebooks and short stories.  And, you know, she's just a rad person to know. Come back and Enjoy!

Teens' Top Ten Competition

     A certain competition is gearing up for the annual excitement: Teens' Top Ten!     Do you want to know what teens are reading these days? No, no don't cringe! We got Twilight out of our system way back in 2009 (at least, according to Teens' Top Ten standards). Yeah--we're all new-fangled. If you are a teen, or a parent who wants to find books for your teen, this may be of interest to you.
     So, what is Teens' Top Ten? It's a popularity contest for Young Adult novels (once in a while, adult fiction wins as well). The winners are compiled onto a yearly "best of" list. Now, this is very different from your typical high school popularity contests, or "best hair" contests. It's about the favorite books of America's teenagers. The point is to find what teens like to read, and show them how to find more of it. It's to show teens that reading is fun. Here's how it works:
     In APRIL (Is it really April already? Goodness). YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) releases a list of 25 books most popular books of the year, as nominated by teen readers. Then the real reading happens. Teens across the country look at this list. Many times, they will have read at least one book on the list; the other listed books interest them simply by proximate association. Through word of mouth, these books spread across the teen (and, *ahem* adult) populations. In August and September, teens between the ages of 12 &18 vote on their two favorites. YALSA announces the Top Ten winners during Teen Read Week, which is Oct. 14-20th this year. To check out the list of present nominees, past winners, and other information, click here. Short synopses of each nominee are provided as well. I recommend reading these --they're very helpful! YALSA is a very liberal organization. Some of the books reflect interesting opinions, at times. Living and learning in this world necessitate extra care! I'll post about these books as I read them, if you care for my opinion.That's my naggy warning for the week!
     As many of you probably know, I volunteer at the library. I work on teen programs with Amy Patton, one of those lovely librarians. For the last two years, our library has hosted announcement parties for the TTT winners. It's one of my favorite events! Cookies, soda and best books. Can a party get any better than that? Here's last year's announcement video for TTT! (P.S. The sound does not immediately turn on. Click the megaphone symbol).


     Usually, not all of them are my taste, but I always love others. And you know what rocks this year? The Scorpio Races, the book I raved about on last week's post, is one of the nominated titles! I SO wish I could vote! But any teens reading this right now can get in on the action. See if your favorite reads are favorites across America. Some past TTT winners that I loved: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, Fire by Kirsten Cashore, Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (c'mon, you knew The Hunger Games would make the cut! :)
     Next Week I'll be posting about a free library event on Interior Design! Be excited. It's going to be rad. I know it's been awhile since I've posted a writing tip. There's been so much going on, I haven't had space! Soon though. Promise.
     Have a great week, Scribblers and Book Bandits!

An Awesome Organization & a Photography Contest

     The Office of Letters and Light is the creator of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, which I've raved about before) and several other creative writing events. I owe them my original inspiration! They made a video explaining what they do, and it's so cute! Find out what all the buzz is about:

     I'm thinking about giving "Script Frenzy" a try this year, myself ;)

     Now, about that photography contest. I read another blog (called "GreenBeanTeenQueen") by a teen & tween librarian. She gets news of all kinds of contests and such. This one was cool and easy, but fast. I already entered. Check it out here. The winner will win...well, I'll let you read it :)

     Have a terrific week, and Happy Writing!

     Sources:

     Credit to "lettersandlight.org" for banner. I originally found the video on their site too, but I had to get it from "youtube.com" in order to post it here.