"Second Fiddle": A First-Rate Middle Grade Novel

Calling all fans of Heart of a Shepherd: Rosanne Parry made me cry...again! The first time was when she depicted the loving relationship between a ten-year old boy and his rancher grandfather near Oregon's Strawberry Mountains. This time, she did it when a trio of girls bond with themselves and others while playing ensemble in Berlin and Paris. (For the record, she also made me laugh and gasp and sigh.)

Second Fiddle (Random House, March 22, 2011) follows the adventures of eighth grader Jody and her two best friends who live on an army base in Berlin in 1990, just after the Wall has fallen. Jody and her family will soon be returning to civilian life in the U.S. and she dreads the thought of being uprooted and never seeing Giselle and Vivian again.  Before Jody moves, the three enter an ensemble contest in Paris as a string trio. Before their trip, they witness the attempted murder of a Soviet soldier,  rescue him and decide to help him escape to Paris.

Rosanne has artfully conjured a unique and engaging coming-of-age tale of an expat kid searching to find her way in the world. Lucky for us, Rosanne has stopped by to answer questions pertaining to political intrigue, resourcefulness, and the connecting power of music. 

AB: If you look in a school library for books discussing the cold war, you’ll be lucky to come up with anything. Why did you take on this mantle? Why did you set this story right after the fall of the Berlin Wall?

RP: Practical reasons first. When I was a kid I loved those stories where kids went off on their own and had adventures. Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan, From the Mixed Up Files of Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg,  and Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson all had kids doing dangerous and thrilling things all on their own. Here’s the problem. You can’t have an adventure if you have a cell phone. This is why my own children have a cell phone. If something goes wrong, they can call me or google the answer. Wonderfully comforting to me as a mother—DEATH to the tension in a story. Cell phones did not exist in 1990. So convenient!

Up until recently there has been a hole in the canon of historical fiction around the cold war era. However in the past 18 months or so, several notable titles have been published and there is a list of them here on my website.   

I am particularly excited to see these titles because they have much to say about the fear a repressive system engenders, what makes a government fall, and how a new system emerges. Given recent developments in North Africa, this topic is particularly timely.

From an artistic standpoint, the chaos and uncertainty of the months right around the fall of the Berlin Wall nicely mirror the upheaval my main character, Jody, faces as she leaves her friends behind forever when her family leaves the military for civilian life in the states.

AB: Were there any challenges to writing historical fiction about the end of the Cold War in the '90's?

Historical fiction is always a challenge because even though I lived in Germany in 1990 and learned lots of the information I used in the story from German newspaper articles, or from conversations with my neighbors, my publisher insists on documentation for everything. Fortunately it did not all have to be in English, but having lived an experience is not enough. You really have to have back up for everything—the price of a train ticket, the train schedule, the time it takes to walk from Checkpoint Charlie to the Brandenburg Gate. I mentioned the names many people who helped me with my research and some of the process on my website. 

If you are a writer working in historical or even realistic fiction, you should keep detailed records of your sources because if you are going to be traditionally published, you’ll need to provide that information. My own source list for Second Fiddle had more than 60 references on it. They included books, maps, websites, recorded music, sheet music, magazine and newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, and documentary films.

 AB: The theme that music can unite people regardless of language or background is beautifully interwoven into your tale. What led you to write a story about a girl in an orchestral ensemble?

RP: I played the violin when I was a kid and I never much cared for private lessons, but I loved playing in my school orchestra. I think joining the band or choir or orchestra or school play is one of the marvelously empowering experiences of middle school—an era not generally marked by either marvel or personal power. In these tough budget years I hope communities remember that music gives kids a voice and a community they would not find on their own.

One of the joys of working on this piece is that my editor, Jim Thomas, and my agent, Stephen Fraser, are both musicians and have been since they were boys, so they have an abiding appreciation for the power of making music with your friends. Jim was in the drum line in high school and when he moved to NY he started a band with some of his friends at Random House. Here’s a link to Jim’s band, Mr McGregor.

AB: Jody, your main character, struggles with her perceptions of being 'second fiddle' in her family, as well as with her best friends Giselle and Vivian.  In 'Second Fiddle' you also explore the theme of feeling in the background, like you are considered after others. Personally, it struck a chord with me, as I imagine it will with many readers. Can you tell me what led you to write about this particular feeling in pre-adolescence?

RP: When I was a girl I was in a children’s choir and stood next to a girl named Janet Chvatal, who lived down the street. Next to her I sounded like a squawkin’ chicken! She never said an unkind thing about my voice, but for ages I thought I couldn’t sing.

I found Janet again while I was living in Germany—this was pre-facebook; our meeting was due to the machinations of our mothers. I learned that Janet had come to Europe to study with a famous coloratura soprano, could sing brilliantly in 5 languages and was now singing the lead in The Phantom of the Opera in one of the finest opera houses in Vienna. She has since recorded many albums and you can hear an example of her amazing voice here.

We went to visit her in Vienna, and she got us seats in the loge (a spot normally reserved for reviewers and dignitaries). It was a magical night, and I realized that my childhood view of both of us had been completely wrong. Janet is so much more talented than I had guessed, and I have a perfectly adequate and occasionally lovely singing voice—but I’m not a professional singer and I’d never want to be one.

One aspect of “coming-of-age” is learning to see your talents for what they are and choosing which talents you want to spend a lifetime developing. In some ways that coming-of-age lasts forever. I could despair of ever writing as well as Patricia Reilly Giff or Katherine Patterson, or I could realize that I have my own themes to develop and that if I work very hard I can write something perfectly adequate and occasionally lovely.

 

AB: You write about a Ukranian soldier who hates what Soviet communism has done to his family, his country, and himself. But then the girls meet an American who runs a bookshop in Paris as a decidedly socialist commune. Did you intentionally decide to contrast these two characters and their perceptions of communism?

The one character I didn't invent is George Whitman, the proprietor of Shakespeare and Company Bookstore in Paris. George Whitman was too good a character to pass up. There is a fabulous video of George Whitman in his 80s giving himself a haircut by setting his hair on fire. Seriously! Could. Not. Make that up. He’s a man with a vision of how the art of reading and writing could be nurtured in the world and, like many visionaries, is a tad eccentric. 

I’m actually not very interested in making a commentary on Communism or Socialism. There’s plenty of information out there on both systems. I’m sure my readers are capable of making up their own minds. In fact I didn’t realize George Whitman was a socialist when I first decided to use the Shakespeare and Company Bookshop as a location in the story. I read a really interesting book about his life and the bookstore called Time Was Soft There by Jeremy Mercer. Once I understood his motivations for running the shop the way he did, it seemed natural for him to speak to the girls from his own point of view. I didn’t want him to be the “crazy American” living in Paris. There is more to him than quirkiness, and he deserves a fuller characterization, particularly since Mr. Whitman is still living in the rooms above Shakespeare and Company and his daughter is now running the store

 AB: When does Second Fiddle hit the shelves?/ an e-book near you?

RP: Second Fiddle will be out March 22^nd. It is also available in e-book and audio book and downloadable audio. I recorded the author note for the audio edition, and boy, was that a lot harder than you’d think! It took me an hour and a half to read 5 pages. I have heaps of respect now for my audio artist Bri Knickerbocker who read the other 224 pages!

Rosanne Parry

AB: Thanks for your time, Rosanne. Before we say goodbye, tell me: what's up next for you?

RP: I have a very busy spring and I am hugely grateful to the bookstores that have generously agreed to host Second Fiddle events. Lots of these events involve kid musicians as well as the traditional reading. Here’s a list of where I’ll be this spring and into summer. I’ve still got a few plans in the works, so please stop by my website if you don’t see a book event in your area.

If you are a writer, follow the links to the conferences. They all have open registration. I’ll be teaching Character and the 7 Deadly Sins, Collaborative Marketing, and What Makes it a Children’s Book this spring and summer. 

April 8 , 4:30 pm: Young Writers Workshop Powell’s, Beaverton, OR

April 9 , 2:00 pm: A Children’s Place Bookstore, Portland, OR - with Liz Rusch (FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC, Random House, 2011) and musicians from Metro Youth Symphony.

April 12, 4:30 pm: Third Street Books, McMinnville, OR

April 15-17: Western WA SCBWI Conference, Redmond, WA

May 6: Northwest Fiddle Festival, Waucoma Books, Hood River, OR

May 14, 1:30-4:30pm: For the Love of Music & Books, Ethos Music ,Portland, OR, with Liz Rusch, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Trio con Brio, and the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir.

May 13, 4:30pm: Young Writers Workshop, Powell’s, Portland, OR

May 20-21: Paulina Springs Bookstore, Redmond & Bend, OR

July 9-17: Summer Fishtrap Writers Workshop, Joseph, OR

Aug 7-9:  Willamette Writers Conference, Portland, OR

Sep 8: Eugene Willamette Writers, Eugene, OR

Holly Cupala's 'Secret' is Out!

Wow. Wow. And again, wow! I snuck in the last 100 pages of Holly Cupala's YA debut Tell Me a Secret before the kids woke up and haven't stopped mulling it over.  It's a transcendent story that explores the fear of speaking the truth and the damage that secrets can cause.

As school begins in Seattle, Miranda (a.k.a Rand) has a secret. She knows she is pregnant, but her list of people to confide is has grown desperately short. After a summer away, she feels distant from her boyfriend and jealous of how close he and her new best friend have become.  Rand's parents are remote and damaged; her mother is sanctimonious and resolutely caught up in appearances. If only her sister Xanda were still alive, Rand might have a confidant. But no one has ever told Rand how Xanda died, and pain from from this secret grows inside Rand just as steadily as her baby.

AB: Holly, congratulations on the publication of Tell Me a Secret! (HarperTeen, 2010) I admire the way you depicted Rand unwittingly using people as crutches to avoid the pain of growth with such emotional honesty.

HC: Thank you for letting me know the book was meaningful to you. One of my favorite things is how each person sees something a little different - readers bring so much to the story.

AB: Amazingly, you made me feel compassion for Rand's mother. She reminded me of Beth Jarrett in Ordinary People - initially cold, pretentious and crippled by fear of revealing emotion and family shame to others. 

HC: Thanks. I loved the mother, too, in the end (though I didn't for much of the time I was writing her!). I was glad to figure out that her causticity was as much internal as external. I think of it as her journey, too.

AB: Could you tell us a bit about how you came to write this particular story?

HC:  I honestly didn’t expect to write suspenseful teen novels about social issues…it took a momentous event in my own life which temporarily derailed my writing hopes. I might not have returned if the entire novel hadn’t come to me in a split second, and I realized it was a story I was meant to write. I wouldn’t want to go through the events that led me here again, but I’m grateful to have found stories meaningful to me and to readers.

 

AB: In Tell Me a Secret, your protagonist Rand comes to terms with her secret as well as her sister's in ways that lead to a shift in some of her preconceived notions about life, family, and even race.  Did you write with the intention of exploring these themes, or did it just evolve that way?

HC: As I was writing, I kept hitting on some deeper layer and think, “Aha! This is the theme!” But then it would happen again…so I do think the ideas evolved as I got to know the characters, their secrets, even things they kept from themselves. Some of the details were there from the very beginning, and others developed over time.

Holly Cupala, lovely in pink.

AB: How long have you been writing? How long did you work on Tell Me a Secret, in particular? 

HC: Tell Me a Secret came very slowly, like drawing a web—just a few thousand words at first, before our daughter was born. Then I picked it up again when she was almost a year old…for one day a week! Precious and precarious time—I worried I was wasting it, and worried for the story, and worried for pretty much everything. So when I received the SCBWI Work-In-Progress Grant from Judy Blume, it was a signpost. I nearly finished the story in time for the SCBWI winter conference, where it created some buzz. Then I had to finish it! Luckily a very kind neighbor watched my toddler for a couple of days a week so I could finish. From idea to sale, it was four years.

  

AB: You won a work-in-progress grant from SCBWI for Tell Me a Secret (working title "Brimstone Soup"). When you submitted the WIP, how far along were you in your work?

HC: I think I had around 17K words at that point (but I can’t remember exactly!). I cleaned up and submitted the first 10 pages, about 2500 words, and ended on a gasp! kind of note. I wrote up some tips on applying for the grant here on my blog. 

AB: Could you tell us the story of how you joined forces with your agent extraordinaire Edward Necarsulmer IV?

I met him at the SCBWI Writer’s Intensive. Several other agents had the full manuscript (and one made an offer), but Edward was just so passionate about the story, and we hit it off right away. He’s been amazing to work with, and I couldn’t have asked for a better fit.

AB: You often mention how delighted you are with your editor at HarperTeen, Catherine Onder. What, in your opinion, makes for a great writer/editor working relationship?

HC:  For me as a writer, having an editor who brings brilliant ideas to the table and is always willing to hear my thoughts makes for a great working relationship. Plus she really loved the story and has championed it. I feel like I’ve been so incredibly lucky in this department— Catherine has been a dream editor, truly. 

AB: You've compiled a gorgeous trip hop playlist for Tell Me a Secret on your website. Were those songs you listened to while writing it? What are you intending by sharing those songs with your readers?

HC: Yes! And thank you! Many of those songs are from our friends’ bands. Splashdown and Symbion Project have been kind enough to let us use some of their music in the TMAS trailer . It’s been amazing to work with them, and I’m really excited to bring their music to a whole different audience. I have even woven secret music references into the novel itself!

 

AB: I understand that you developed your craft by joining SCBWI and forming a critique group. Could you tell us how your critique group has helped you develop your craft?

HC: I could sing the praises of the writers who helped me shape Tell Me a Secret: Janet Lee Carey, Justina Chen, Molly Blaisdell, Peggy King Anderson, Judy Bodmer, Dawn Knight and others who offered thoughtful feedback. They didn’t just see the novel as it was, but as it could be.

 

AB: Are you able to read much current middle grade/ YA  fiction? If so,

what are some books published in the last 5-10 years that you've enjoyed?

What makes you like it/them so much?

HC: I confess, it hasn’t been as much of a year for reading as I would like! But I’ve been privileged to meet and read the work of so many contemporaries: Ellen Hopkins, Deb Caletti (both of whom very kindly endorsed Tell Me a Secret), Laurie Halse Anderson, Sara Zarr, Rachel Cohn, Mitali Perkins…and authors I discovered this year—Beth Kephart, Stephanie Kuehnert, Holly Schindler, L.K. Madigan and others. I’m really looking forward to books by Denise Jaden, Daisy Whitney...so many, really! I wish I could mention them all!

AB: What about writing comes easiest for you? What is most difficult about the craft?

HC: I’m not 100% sure about this (only having completed two novels, unless you count the two I wrote in eighth grade!), but so far the internal dialogue and emotions are vastly easier for me to write than external details and dialogue. But when I’m in the moment, those seem to flow out of the internal.

AB: What "secret" advice would you offer a writer who is just starting out?

HC: Don’t be too hard on yourself! As my friends Kirby Larson and Randy Powell say, “Write through the bad stuff.”

 AB: Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming novel, slated for the fall of 2011, about a runaway who hits the streets of Seattle? What inspired you to tell this story?

HC: I think it was Sid Fleischman who said it takes two ideas to spark a story. I had this idea about a runaway for quite some time (actually, I thought she was going to fake homelessness), and one day I was sitting in church and read in the bulletin that the youth department was collecting toiletries and backpacks for the street teens who hung out one block over. All of a sudden, the entire story hit me—sort of like Tell Me a Secret did, like a movie trailer in my mind. I started writing as fast as I could (with apologies to Pastor James for not listening to the sermon!). When I got home, I wrote out a fifteen page outline. I started researching and writing notes, and the story grew. What was really incredible to me were some of the ways the research corroborated the random ideas I’d had…in some very chilling ways. I can’t wait to show it to you!

AB: Do show it to me, please! What’s next for you? What are you working on currently?

HC: Street Creed is slated for Fall 2011, and we’re working on edits right now. Then I have a couple of other irons in the fire…maybe to be revealed soon!

Radiant Emily Whitman

There's something luminous about Emily Whitman. At least that's what I remember thinking when I met her at the book signing of a mutual friend last spring. Maybe it was her sparkling eyes, or the warmth and kindness in her smile that day.  But after reading her debut YA novel Radiant Darkness, I suspect Emily glows from the embers of a once rebellious teen still burning within her.  How else to explain how deftly she slips into the skin of her heroine, the young Persephone? And yes, you read that correctly- this Persephone is a heroine. She is no innocent victim, abducted and raped by lewd and lascivious Hades. Emily Whitman's Persephone chooses to assume her role as Queen of the Underworld. Why? Well, she loves Hades, for starters, and the realm of the dead is not as bad as you might think. Plus, she's sick of being coddled by an overprotective goddess - her mother.

I discovered that Emily comes from a rich family pantheon- of writers. But she's not interested in retreating to Mount Olympus and hoarding her creativity from mere mortals- she's ready to share her savvy with us.

AB: Congratulations on the publication of your book, Radiant Darkness (Greenwillow, 2009). Clearly, you have a passion for Greek myth and an aversion to smothering matriarchs.  I was captivated by your re-imagining of the ‘rape of Persephone’. What led you to write this story? 

EW: It came at me sideways. First, I realized I wanted to explore the time when you’re on the cusp of adulthood, straining at your chains, ready to break out into the world; and then I thought of Persephone, the archetype of a girl leaving home. In the myth, she’s kidnapped, raped, and then rescued by her mother. I wondered, what if Persephone wasn’t the ultimate victim, but a strong young woman with a choice? In Radiant Darkness, she finally tells what really happened, and why mortals got her story wrong.

 

AB: What was the timeline between the kernel of the idea to publication of Radiant Darkness? 

EW: In 2005, I was starting to write creatively again when a friend took me to an SCBWI conference in Portland. It helped me realize I wanted to tell Persephone’s story, and that meant a novel. I had no idea how to write a novel! I began throwing my characters into scenes, discovering how they talked, acted, felt. A month later I went to the Pacific Northwest Children’s Book Conference. I have a confession to make: I went because it was close to home, so I could dedicate a week to writing without paying for airfare or a hotel! Well, it gave me just what I needed: how-to, approaches, excitement, energy. Faculty members were supportive and positive. I was so inspired, I decided to come back in a year with a complete draft of a novel. In 2006, Steve Geck of Greenwillow was the visiting editor at the conference. He read my first ten pages and said he’d like to see the rest. After multiple revisions and much back and forth, it finally went to an acquisitions meeting in April 2008. The result was a two book contract. Radiant Darkness came out last April, and Wildwing  (Greenwillow, 2010) is coming out this September!  

AB: What led you to write for young readers in particular? What about children's fiction appeals to you?

EW: It had become the bulk of what I read! My son and daughter have always been ravenous readers, and between us we were inhaling a lot of great books. And at the library I was helping kids and teens find books to read, hearing what they liked. This is an amazing time for YA lit. I love its immediacy, power, and emotional curve. The pacing. That it’s about a time of transformation, of finding your strength.

AB: When at Harvard and Berkeley, did you study children’s lit while pursuing degrees in history and literature?

EW: I don’t think it would have occurred to me to study or write for kids at that point! But I loved anything to do with language and stories. I remember a great poetry writing workshop, and a tutorial on light verse. I studied French cabarets and song lyrics as a way to look at shifting notions of class. I loved reading fat 19^th century European novels. In grad school I became interested in finding the stories in history—but that’s a long time ago. This is a lot more fun!

AB: How helpful has being a part of SCBWI been for you? How about Linda Zuckerman’s Children’s Book Conference?

EW: Huge! I continue to be grateful and amazed by how supportive, talented, and friendly the kids/teens writing community is in Oregon. I strongly recommend that anyone interested in writing or illustrating kids’ books join the Oregon branch of SCBWI, go to their conferences, and get on their listserve.

The Pacific Northwest Children’s Book Conference was really what jump started things for me. It left me feeling, “I can do this!” It’s a very intimate conference, and something magical happens over the course of a week, getting loads of new ideas through talks, workshops, and conversations; and connecting at meals and through the day with faculty who are committed to teaching, and with participants who range from beginners to published authors.

AB: This summer, you’ll be on the faculty of the very conference you feel jump started your writing career- Pacific Northwest Children’s Book Conference. What will you be teaching?

EW: I’ll be giving a talk on character, and one on writing for young adults, as well as leading a workshop. The conference is sponsored by PSU and held on the Reed campus, July 19-23. Liz Bicknell, editorial director of Candlewick Press, will be there this year. You can check out the faculty, schedule, and registration info here. 

AB: Do you work with a critique group? What and/or who has been most helpful to you in developing your craft?

EW: I trade pieces regularly with two other writers. I also share work with a friend who’s a screenwriter. My daughter is a fantastic reader with spot-on insights into character. She calls it like she sees it. I’ve learned, though, not to share things during the early stages of writing. That doesn’t work as well for my creative process.

As for craft, I’m always hungry for new techniques, exercises, and ways of seeing. I gobble up inspiration anywhere I can find it: conferences, workshops, books about craft, and reading, reading, reading.

AB: Are you able to read much current middle grade/ YA  fiction? If so, what are some books published in the last 5-10 years that you've enjoyed? What makes you like it/them so much?

EW: Um, how much room do I have? I just read The Mysterious Howling—that was fun. Hunger GamesCatching Fire for their nonstop pace. Jellicoe Road. Black Juice—that tar story! Harry Potter. The Knife of Never Letting Go. The Porcupine Year and Diamond Willow were MGs I enjoyed. The Goose Girl for turning a victim tale into a heroine tale. Oregon authors are doing fantastic stuff. Laini Taylor’s Lips Touch was haunting, amazing. I loved Susan Fletcher’s Alphabet of Dreams. Check out books by Christine Fletcher, Sara Ryan, L.K. Madigan, Suzanne Young, Lisa Schroeder, Rosanne Parry, Linda Zuckerman, Suzanne Blackaby (poetry), and April Henry. 

AB: What about writing comes easiest for you? What is most difficult about the craft?

EW: I love the earliest part that’s like falling into a dreamworld, where I see and hear and touch everything and my pen is dashing across the page, and I’m not worrying at all if things are right or good because I know I can always fix it later. I also like the first slash-and-burn edit, where my pages turn into giant x’s and arrows and blue pools of scribbled inserts. More challenging for me is figuring out what makes a story slow down in places, rearranging things. And I do endless nitpicky edits, over and over, trying to get the little things just right. Those drive me insane. And the copy editing stage is a necessary evil.

AB:  Unless I’m gravely mistaken, you have a sister Lissa Rovetch, aka L. Bob Rovetch, who wrote the HOT DOG AND BOB series. Did you both always know you’d be writing for children, or did you come to it independently?

EW: Yes! Lissa is my wonderful, talented sister—and the author of Hot Dog and Bob, and “Ask Arizona,” a monthly feature for Highlights, Ook the Book, Trigwater Did It, Cora and the Elephants, and much more. She illustrated There Was a Man Who Loved a Rat and Other Vile Little Poems—said poems being written by my mother in her 80s! Lissa also teaches classes in writing and illustrating kids’ books, and in creativity, which makes sense, because she’s probably the most creative person I know. She was writing and illustrating kid’s books back when I still thought my future was in academics, and that’s a while ago. She helped me start on my own journey by convincing me to write some passages for a project she was working on. Thank you, Lissa! 

AB: What advice would you offer a writer who is just starting out?

EW: Write! Read! Write! Don’t expect it all to be good, just keep going and when something interesting appears, follow up. Let yourself be inspired by books, conferences, other people you meet on the writing path. Share your work with people who are both kind and insightful. Connect with the local writing community. Get used to saying “I am a writer.” 

AB: Emily, thank you so much for your time and thoughtful responses. One last question: can you tell us a bit about your upcoming novel WILDWING that will be on shelves in the fall? 

EW: WILDWING is a sweeping tale of love, time travel, and the wisdom of following your heart. The front flap says it really well: When Addy is swept back in time, she couldn’t be happier to leave her miserable life behind. Now she’s mistaken for Lady Matilda, the pampered ward of the king. If Addy can play her part, she’ll have glorious gowns, jewels, and something she’s always longed for—the respect and admiration of others. But then she meets Will, the falconer’s son with sky blue eyes, who unsettles all her plans. From shipwrecks to castle dungeons, from betrothals to hidden conspiracies, Addy finds herself in a world where she’s not the only one with a dangerous secret. When she discovers the truth, Addy must take matters into her own hands. The stakes? Her chance at true love . . . and the life she’s meant to live.

April Henry : Face of a Writer

April Henry doesn't have much time for time sucks like social networking. She's too busy writing dozens of witty mysteries and fast-paced thrillers for young adult and, well- old, fully-mature adult audiences.

The first in her Triple Threat Club series, Face of Betrayal, co-written with Lis Wiehl, was on the New York Times bestseller list for four weeks. April's first young adult novel, Shock Point (Putnam, 2006) was an ALA Quick Pick, a Top 10 Books for Teens nominee, and a New York Library's Books for the Teen Age book.  Her books have been short-listed for the Agatha Award, the Anthony Award, and the Oregon Book Award. They have been translated into Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, German, and French.

April's next YA Girl, Stolen (Henry Holt, 2010), about a blind teen who is kidnapped, will be out on shelves in the fall. I read an advance release copy that grabbed hold of me so tightly that I imagined being blind for the next two days until I nailed my knee on a door jamb while pretending, thus jolting myself back into reality. Embarrassing, but sadly true.

 April took time to answer some questions about what it's like to write different genres, how she conducted research for Girl, Stolen, and surprisingly, confides that she herself once engaged in an act of thievery as well!

AB: You and Fox News legal analyst Lis Wiehl have formed a successful partnership co-authoring the New York Times bestselling Triple Threat Series. Lis brings her experiences as a federal prosecutor, reporter, and daughter of an FBI agent. You bring your skills at crafting a compelling narrative. How did this opportunity arise for the two of you?

AH: Lis's agent originally contacted my agent, and then after that it was kind of like an arranged marriage, where we had to figure out if we liked each other or not.  Thankfully, we did.  Lis is very down to earth and so stunningly beautiful that when you first meet her you have trouble talking. Our first book in the series, Face of Betrayal (Thomas Nelson, 2010), is about three women (an FBI agent, a reporter and a federal prosecutor) who set out to solve the mystery of a missing Senate page. Our second book Hand of Fate (Thomas Nelson, 2010) was released in April. The three colleagues must uncover who killed a polarizing radio talk show host.

AB: You did a lot of research for Girl, Stolen, including working with guide dogs and blind consultants, one of whom is a high schooler. What was your favorite part of the process of constructing this page-turner?

AH: Setting up cliff hangers for most of the endings.  Oh, and after I talked to an opthalmologist and learned that most people blinded by this type of injury have a blurry sliver of sight left, I spent a lot of time walking around my house with my hands over my eyes letting in just one faint crack of light on the outside edge of my left eye.  Oh, and being blindfolded and walking a guide dog.  Actually, I enjoyed the whole process.

AB: How does writing YA differ from adult material for you?

AH: YAs are shorter (I normally aim for 50,000 words vs. 80,000 or 90,000 for the adult market), and as a result may have fewer suplots.  Right now, all my books are fairly clean.  After being asked by a teenager in Texas why I used "the b word" in Shock Point, I asked that it be taken out in the paperback.  Writing about sex or having a lot of swear words in your YA means your book might be challenged - and that a librarian could risk his or her job fighting for it.  I'm not saying writers shouldn't do it - we should just do it for a reason.  

Also, in YA, all your point-of-view characters should be teenagers.  And there's a strong preference for the book to be told from a first-person POV, to help teenagers relate even more strongly to the character.

Teen fans are incredibly enthusiastic, whereas adults have been around the block a few times and are more jaded.  

AB: In a mystery, the reader and the sleuth discover clues to the who-done-it together. In thrillers, we read to the end to see if the main character makes it out in one piece. How does writing mysteries differ from thrillers? What, if anything, are the challenges for you to write both of these different genres?

AH: Right now, my YAs are all thrillers, which are so fun to write.  You don't have to plot that much, you can just throw problems at the character and watch what they do to get out of them.  The challenge is that sometimes you don't have any idea how they will get out, or what your kick-ass cliffhanger chapter ending will lead to, i.e, you write, "She opened the door and gasped."  Then you have to figure out what comes next.  

 

AB: Do you currently write novels full-time? Is there anything you miss about your medical writing position at Kaiser?

AH: I do write full time.  I miss paid vacations, great health insurance, automatic contributions to a retirement plan, sick days, and some of my co-workers.  The work, not so much.  Although I'm still proud of a pamphlet I wrote on necrotizing jaw fascitis (an infection in your jaw bone that some women who take osteoporosis drugs get) that passed the government standard of meeting a sixth grade reading level.

AB: What for you is challenging about being a full-time writer? What marketing and self-promotion do you find helpful?

AH: You have to live on faith, or at least I have to, because you can't count on regular paychecks or even regular royalty checks.  Most of my publishing houses (I currently have three!) want you to Twitter, Facebook, blog, have a great website, etc.  I love blogging, and I do Twitter and Facebook because I feel I should.  They would probably be more enjoyable if I spent more time on them, but I'm on deadline right now and can't afford the time suck.

AB: Describe a book tour. Are you on one now? Do you have one coming up?

AH: Book tours are scarcer than hen's teeth these days.  With the decline and consolidation of newspapers and TV, there's fewer places to talk about your books, in addition to speaking at bookstores.  The last book I got toured for was in 2001 or 2002.  That being said, the publisher for my next YA, Girl, Stolen, will have a Northwest tour.

AB: As a child, you sent one of your stories to Roald Dahl, who liked it so much he passed  it on to a magazine editor who had it published. I’m assuming you enjoyed reading Roald Dahl books as a child. What other books did you enjoy reading as a kid? As a young adult?

AH: I loved The Silver Crown by Robert C. O'Brien so much that I stole it.  (As an adult, I paid the school's library back many times over.)  I also was thrilled by Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl.  There wasn't a lot of YA when I was a kid, so what happened was that I read a lot of sci-fi meant for kids, and then went upstairs and read the same authors in the adult section.  Let me just say that Robert Heinlein and and Robert Silverberg addressed very different issues in their two types of books.  In the books for kids, it was boys in space with slide rules.  In books for adults, it was often group sex on distant planets.  

AB: What do you enjoy reading now?

AH: I read mysteries, literary novels, and YA.  The sad thing is that the longer I've been writing, the fewer books I can enjoy whole-heartedly.  I was really looking forward to Scott Turow's follow up to Presumed Innocent, called Innocent, but I'm 100 pages in and it's not grabbing me yet.  Next up is Anna Quindlen's Every Last One, and then Michael Grant's third in the Gone trilogy.  

AB: I’ve read that you’re experimenting with e-book sales of your out-of-print books. How does this work? How’s it going? Any observations you’d like to share about the e-book industry?

AH: I had old files for almost all my books, so I followed the steps listed on Amazon (for Kindles) and on Smashwords.com (for all other readers) and put them up, linking them to their original Amazon pages.  Some people, most notably Lee Goldberg and JA Konrath, make tons of money.  I think the most I've made is $200 in one month, but I also haven't put any energy into promoting them.  

AB: How about your next YA thriller, The Girl in the Mini Cooper?

AH: It's about a girl who doesn't return from delivering pizzas.  It was inspired by a thirty-year old case that happened in Salem.  In my book, two of the girl's co-workers team up to figure out what really happened to her.  I should get my editorial letter for it really soon.  

AB: Anything else in the wings that we can look forward to?

AH: The next book with Lis is about a really scary sociopath - and it was inspired by a real-life case Lis prosecuted here in Portland.  It's called Heart of Ice.  And this summer I hope to wrap up another YA thriller called Finish Her Off.

AB: Thanks for your time, April! One last question: what do you hope to write about in the future?

AH: I'd like to do something with a paranormal element, but not vampires, werewolves, or fallen angels.  More like special powers.  

Suzanne Young: So Many Books

 

Suzanne Young doesn't mess around. She writes. And writes. And writes! She should win an award for most prolific YA author, like, ever. Her debut and first in her comedic series, THE NAUGHTY LIST (Razor Bill, 2010) hit the shelves in February. The second in the series, SO MANY BOYS comes out on June 10th, to be followed by A GOOD BOY IS HARD TO FIND this fall. 

THE NAUGHTY LIST series begins with a racy, frothy and witty tale of Tessa Crimson. Tessa's a perky cheerleading captain by day, but heads a secret spy-for-hire society (SOS- The Society of Smitten Kittens) by night. Their mission? To catch cheating boyfriends in the act and bring justice to the girls of Washington High. But before we continue, you should know that Suzanne's got (at least) two more books coming out next year in which she explores two completely different genres: deep, paranormal fantasy and raw, realistic fiction.

Read on to find out how IMing can lead to a novel, why middle schoolers in Arizona were incredibly lucky, and how to win a copy of SO MANY BOYS!

AB: Congratulations on the publication of your first book in your SOS Series:  THE NAUGHTY LIST, which I read in the span of one two-hour bath and found hysterically funny.  How long did it take from kernel of an idea to the shelves of bookstores near us?

SY:  I started THE NAUGHTY LIST late one night while IMing with a friend. I thought the idea of ninja cheerleaders would be hilarious. At the time, I had no idea I was writing a book. I wrote a draft in 2008 and set it aside for several months. Then out of the blue I picked it back up and revised it. It sold soon after, but didn’t hit the shelves until a year and half later. All and all, about two years from idea to shelf.

AB:  I’ve been told I talk like a sailor, and that’s part of my charm. So I was surprised to find that I really liked your main character, Tessa Crimson, a perky cheerleader-spy who abhors vulgarity, preferring to utter her own euphemisms such as “Fiddlesticks!” and, my personal favorite, “Sticker Shock!” Why did you choose to write Tessa’s character this way? (Was it fun to come up with her sayings?)

SY: Um, yeah, it was fun. And if you think you talk like a sailor, let's just say that I am your captain! This is probably why coming up with Tessa’s ridiculous sayings was so much fun for me. It was purely accidental; a few "dang it’s" and one "strawberry smoothie!" and the language took on a life of its own.

AB: The second in the series, SO MANY BOYS is coming out on June 10^th and I’m ready for more. Tell us about it.

SY: I think readers will be surprised at the turn this series will take. SO MANY BOYS starts off three months after THE NAUGHTY LIST ends. Turns out, someone has hacked into the database and now a "copy kitten" is on the loose, enacting vengeance in the name of SOS. It’s up to Tessa to figure out how to save her squad’s rep. Oh… and there are some boys….  Click here to find out how to win a copy!

AB: A GOOD BOY IS HARD TO FIND, the third in the series, hits bookstores next Thanksgiving, just in time for Christmas shopping. What’s it about? Boys?!? And, as an aside, you write very convincingly about straight teen characters. May I ask: are you yourself straight? 

SY: I am what my mom used to call "Boy Crazy". A GOOD BOY IS HARD TO FIND picks up right after SO MANY BOYS, and man… has the smoothie hit the fan. There will be in-fighting, kissing, and poorly-timed broken bones. Not to mention ESPN. 

AB: While THE NAUGHTY LIST is your first novel published, I bet you’ve been writing for some time. How many “graveyard novels” did you write before polishing this gem?

SY: I’ve been writing short stories since I was in 7^th grade—but honestly, they were awful. I started writing seriously in 2007 and I completed four novels before I wrote THE NAUGHTY LIST. Before I sold it, I completed three other books. My novel graveyard is overflowing with started stories. I’m addicted to drafting.

AB: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

SY: No, I wanted to be a FBI agent, but I fell into writing. Actually I was a language arts teacher for years. I’d never realized that writing could be a career. I consider myself unbelievably lucky.

AB: Before becoming a full-time writer, you taught writing at a Title I school in Arizona. Do you think that teaching writing to teens helped you in your journey as a writer as well? Do you miss teaching?

SY: I absolutely miss teaching. The kids I taught at that school are among my favorite in the world. Teaching teens to write helped me learn to write. I had to strip the process down and always keep it interesting for them. I still try to do that in my own writing.

AB: You are an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). You even volunteer to do live blogging at their conferences. When did you first become involved in SCBWI/ the greater kidlit community?

SY: I had not been lucky enough to know about SCBWI before getting published—I was still really new to the community. It was actually an author friend who told me I should attend a conference. I hit up the 2008 LA conference and WOW! What a blast!! After that I went to the Western Washington Conference, the NY one, and soon the LA summer conference again. I’m so excited to be part of Team Blog which is a fantastic way to follow the events if you can’t be there yourself. 

Honestly, anyone who’s an aspiring writer for kids and/or teens should really be a member of SCBWI. Even though I already had a book deal when I joined, it was at a conference that I met agents and editors who helped me with my next book deal. The connections you make are amazing.

AB: You’ll have had 5 books published in the next year and a half. This strikes me as notable- likely some sort of record in YA authorship. I think the Young Adult Library Services Association will need to invent an award for you. What about the craft of writing appeals to you? What do you find most challenging as a writer?

SY: Like I said, I am addicted to drafting. I do it constantly, even if the story isn’t going to go anywhere. I love being lost in my head, in this new world I create. But the challenge is my patience. I have none. So sometimes when nothing it going on, it feels like backward progress. It’s taken me a long time to get used to the pacing of the industry.

 

AB: I’m getting super pumped about your upcoming paranormal fantasy A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL (Balzer & Bray, 2011). Could you give us the teaser for this one?

SY: I’d love to! A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL is about seventeen-year-old Charlotte Cassidy. Against her will she’s compelled to help people—perform good deeds. But soon she realizes that each time she does, her own existence begins to fade. But there are worse things than being Forgotten. And if Charlotte turns away from the light, she’ll see what lurks in the shadows.

Favorite line: “There is no such thing as me.”

AB: How about for your darker realistic fiction novel DELINQUENTS? 

I wrote DELINQUENTS immediately after THE NAUGHTY LIST, but it couldn’t be more different .Here's a bit about it:

After jamming her pencil through her boyfriend’s hand in math class, Savannah Sutton is sent to a school for juvenile delinquents. She was just trying to protect Evan, her mentally handicapped little brother. Somebody had to. A year in another school won’t solve her problems at home, or the real possibility of losing custody of Evan altogether. And even with her troubled new friends, friends more loyal than any she ever had before, Savannah can’t escape the wrath of her ex. He wants an apology, and he’ll break her arm to get it. 

Favorite line: “Don’t you think your boyfriend would be jealous that I’m charming the hell out of you right here in our local McDonald’s?”

AB: Thanks for taking the time to talk about your huge body of work! What are you currently working on?

SY: I’m working on revisions for A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL and DELINQUENTS. As well as writing a new novel titled SICK AND TWISTED. I like to stay busy.