Friday Reads: Playing Catch-Up

It looks like my last Friday Reads post was in early April, so it's definitely time to play catch-up! I'll keep the intro short and sweet and get right to sharing a few of my recent favorites:

Panic — Lauren Oliver

I tend to like just about everything Lauren Oliver writes (and I can't wait for her first adult book, Rooms, which comes out this fall!), and this book was no exception. The story follows two small-town teens as they play Panic, a dangerous thrill-ride of a game that consumes the town's graduating seniors each year. The game: face your fears in a series of ever-crazier stunts and challenges. The last person standing takes home a pot of cash collected from students over the course of the previous year. Heather is playing Panic for the money, to try to make a better life for herself and her sister. Dodge is in the game for darker reasons—including revenge. They both find their strength and their resolve put to the test, as it seems like the game is getting out of control fast. This book is a page-turner—I had a hard time putting it down!

Midwinterblood — Marcus Sedgwick

I only read Midwinterblood a little over a month ago, and I'm already tempted to give it a reread. This book surprised me in so many ways. It's made up of a series of interconnected stories, all set on the same mysterious Scandinavian island, with each story going back further in time. The stories are told in wildly different voices and styles, and yet they still feel like part of the whole. The second story (the only one set in the present) is about an archaeologist, and the book truly feels like an excavation, with each story revealing more clues until you finally discover the whole truth. And that truth…well, without spoiling too much, it involves Vikings, and ghosts, and magical orchids, and blood sacrifices, and a love story that transcends time. I highly recommend this one.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe — Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Two Mexican-American boys—loner Aristotle (Ari) Mendoza and sensitive know-it-all Dante Quintana—meet one summer and forge an intense friendship…and then something more. That's the book in a nutshell, but it's so much more than that. Ari's voice is so authentic and unique. He's sad, angry, confused, frustrated, sullen—and funny. His brother is in prison, and his parents won't talk about it. His dad is still haunted by the Vietnam War (the book is set in 1987)—another thing no one will talk about. Ari has few friends and no outlet for everything he's feeling—until he meets Dante. Where Ari is closed off, Dante is open. Where Ari has no idea who he is or who he wants to be, Dante is self-assured and comfortable in his skin. This is a beautifully written, heartfelt coming-of-age story about two boys who save each other.

We Were Liars — E. Lockhart

This book has been heavily hyped on Twitter over the last few months, so I was excited to pick up a copy when it came out. And it didn't disappoint! I bought it in the Nashville airport, after my visit to my family in May, and I'd finished it by the time I landed at BWI for the next round of family visits. I definitely don't want to give too much away about this one, because true to the title, not much is as it seems. The story centers around a wealthy, privileged New England family, the Sinclairs, who summer on a private island. The (unreliable) narrator is Cadence, who is suffering from amnesia and severe headaches after something happened two summers ago. Now, she's back on the island, and starting to remember the truth. If you like plots that twist and turn, pick this one up.

I'll Give You the Sun — Jandy Nelson

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy of this book, which goes on sale in September. Jandy Nelson's debut, The Sky is Everywhere, was captivating and heartbreaking—and gorgeously written. So obviously I couldn't wait for her follow-up to come out! I'll Give You the Sun is narrated by twins in alternating chapters: Noah tells the story from when they're thirteen, while Jude's half is set three years later. The difference in the twins in those three years is striking, and Nelson takes her time explaining what happened in between. The twins have distinctive voices, and both characters jump off the page. Whether she's writing about grief, art, or physical/emotional attraction (and there's plenty of all three in this book), Nelson's prose is vivid and explosive and exuberant. She really is a spectacular writer.

Whew! That's all you get for now—five great books. But stay tuned, because I have more great reads to share coming up!

Happy Friday,

~Kathryn

End of May, End of Bootcamp, Start of…?

I can't believe it's almost June! I also can't believe that the three-month-long YA Buccaneers Spring Writing Bootcamp is coming to a close. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were dividing into teams and setting goals? I wrote last week that I'd pretty much accomplished my Bootcamp goals, and so there's nothing new to report on that front; I just wanted to acknowledge one more time how awesome it was, and how much the format pushed me to accomplish. I'm proud to display my survival badge:

Since I'm taking a brief writing break before diving back into revising my various projects, you might not hear about writing for a bit—but that's probably fine, since I've written about almost nothing but writing during the Bootcamp months! Instead, I want to try to do some Friday Reads posts in the coming weeks, to catch you up on some of the amazing books I've read. And of course I'll share any other exciting news that happens in my life...

Such as how this week has been chock-full of writer-friend get-togethers. It's BEA week here in NYC (that's Book Expo America for you non-publishing folks), which means a lot of writers are converging on Manhattan to visit the Expo and sign books and do promotional appearances and such. On Wednesday evening, I went to the Teen Author Carnival, where my friend Lauren Morrill was on a panel with a bunch of other YA Contemporary authors. I may have mentioned before on the blog that I've known Lauren since high school, and that we reconnected when we both ventured into the YA author world. It's always great to see her and catch up! (And it doesn't hurt that I got to attend two fab panels at the TAC, and connect with a few published authors, and buy some books, and get those books signed…)

And then, last night, the Fearless Fifteeners had a group dinner. There were about 16 of us, some New Yorkers and others who are in town for BEA. I definitely met six or eight new faces! We talked and talked and had a blast. As I inch closer to my pub date (and I promise I'll be able to tell you when that is very soon!), I'm so thankful for all of the networking I'm able to do and the friendships I'm developing—with published, soon-to-be-published, and aspiring authors. I can't say it enough: It's so good to be reminded that we're all in the same boat. Or have been in the same boat. Or will be in the same boat.

More soon!

~Kathryn

YAB Bootcamp Update — Awesome Things Edition

I'm home in Brooklyn after my week with family, and it feels great to be back in my routine today. I slept in my own bed, sat at my own desk with coffee brewed in my own coffeepot and drunk out of my own mug, took a lunchtime dance class, and now am at my new favorite post-dance-class cafe. Life is good! And being back to my normal life isn't the only reason life is good. Things have been pretty awesome since I checked in last week.

Awesome thing #1:

I finished my first draft of EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL! I think that means I officially WON Bootcamp. :D I wrote the last chapter on Wednesday morning, at which point I did a happy dance in my sister's apartment. (Her cat was not amused at my antics…) I haven't looked at the manuscript since, and that's on purpose. I'm taking a break from this book for a few weeks so that when I am ready to revise, I'll be approaching it with fresh eyes. But it's perfect timing for me to be on a writing break because of...

Awesome thing #2:

I received my galley pages for THE DISTANCE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND! I can't express how amazing it is to see my book laid out like a *real book,* with a font and chapter headings and section divisions and, you know, all the things actual books have. It looks so different than the Times New Roman MS Word doc I've been staring at for so long! Anyway, I have the next week and a half to scan the pages for errors, and knowing me I'll need to do more than one thorough read to feel at ease about sending the book to the printer, so… as I said, good thing I finished the new book's first draft last week.

Awesome thing #3:

Or, if I'm being honest, awesome things #3, 4, 5, and 6: my fabulous nephews. As happy as I am to be home now, it was wonderful spending the week with all of my boys. (Plus the rest of my family: my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, my sister, my husband's parents, his sister and brother-in-law, and even brother-in-law's parents! Whew.) Here's just a little taste of what I was up to over the past week: snuggles, block towers, baby pools, baths, runny noses, dirty diapers, pajamas, picture books, storytime at the library, train sets, Legos, Spongebob Squarepants, Nintendo, laser tag, chicken fingers, sticky fruit bits (and sticky fingers!), cheese pizza, birthday cake, and the list goes on and on. I'll take my award for Super Aunt now, thanks. :)

So as Bootcamp winds down, I'm pretty much done with my writing goals. These three months have been a kick in the pants and a great morale booster. I've gotten so much done! Thanks to all of the YA Buccaneers—and everyone who participated in the Bootcamp—for giving me the encouragement I needed to push through. And here's one more shout-out to my splendiferous teammates: Winter Bayne, Riley Darkes, Emma L. Adams, Kate Scott, Angel Leigh, and Tonette de la Luna! I look forward to seeing what all of you accomplish in the future! Go Team Mazama!

~Kathryn

YAB Bootcamp Check-In, Tennessee Edition

Hello, fellow Bootcampers! Just a quick note from Nashville, where I am going to spend the week doing a little writing and a little freelance work, and much more of this:

Last week I hammered out some serious words on my WIP, and as of today I am approximately 2 1/2 chapters from the end! So… depending on the nephews' naptimes, I might even make it there this week. We shall see. Regardless, I am racing toward the finish line of this first draft. I passed 60K last week, and I know what the last two chapters need to be, so it's just a matter of writing them. Then I can officially say I have written THREE books, which is pretty darn cool!

That's all for now. More updates (and baby/toddler pictures?) to follow...

~Kathryn

New England SCBWI Conference Recap

Last weekend, I went to the New England SCBWI conference in Springfield, MA, with my writer-buddy Ghenet Myrthil, and on Monday I promised you a quick recap…so here it is! I had a blast.

…okay, I'll tell you a little more than that. The weekend was a great mix of networking, listening to industry experts share their wisdom, and honing my craft. On the networking side, I made a bunch of new writer friends. They crossed the spectrum from aspiring authors to those with relatively new book deals to veterans with one or more books on shelves already. We talked about our processes, our current projects, and our paths to publication. We compared notes from the different sessions we attended and talked about our lives outside of writing. And of course, I added quite a few books to my TBR (to be read) pile. The best part? Since we pretty much all followed each other on Twitter right away, I can easily keep in touch with all of them going forward.

As far as the sessions themselves, I truly lucked out in my choices. I attended some great workshops. I learned how to craft my brand as an author—without putting myself in a box. I got tips on refining my characters and on adding suspense to my narratives. I took a close look at the first page of my new work in progress, to make it the best it can be. I learned ways to draw on my personal history in my fiction without getting bogged down in "what really happened." Nova Ren Suma gave a fabulous talk on crafting a memorable first-person voice—and then signed my copy of her novel 17 & GONE. Julie Berry (who blurbed my book, something I still can't stop smiling about) and her editor Kendra Levin gave advice—and a ton of writing exercises—for getting outside of the writing comfort zone. All of that…on top of the various publishing panels that everyone attended! Is it any wonder I came home with my head spinning?

I also got the chance to spend a little time with my editor, Alexandra Cooper, who was on faculty at the conference. She was part of a general publishing panel, as well as doing critiques for conference participants. For me, it was great to catch up with her in kind of an informal setting, since for the time being, all of my work on THE DISTANCE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND is done. (Though of course, I begged her for details about what's next in the process for my book…which you'll have to wait just a little longer for me to be able to share online!)

So would I go to this conference again? Definitely! It's smaller-scale and more intimate than the Los Angeles one I attended last August, while still having an array of amazing resources and workshops available for attendees. I met some awesome people and learned a lot. And it was only a short trip away from NYC!

Now… I have to start packing to go out of town again tomorrow. I'm headed home to see my family, including my brand-new nephew who was born yesterday. And I promise I'll try to get some writing done while there!

~Kathryn

YAB Bootcamp Check-In: OMG, it's May!

How are we in month three of Bootcamp already? I truly don't know where the spring has gone. That said, the weather keeps getting nicer and nicer, so I definitely don't want to go back in time (or temperature). Plus, I'm still making great forward progress on my first draft of EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL, and I don't want to lose momentum in the slightest!

So what's the current status?

Last week I moved forward another three chapters. The manuscript total is now 58,500 words! I have another four to six chapters to go (one of which is written but needs revision), so I think I will end up with a 65-70K final word count. Right on target! Beyond that, I'm excited to be on track to finish my draft this month, as I'd hoped. Woohoo!

This past weekend, I was at the New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference in Springfield, MA. I'll cover the amazing conference in a separate post later this week, but I did want to say that it was fun to go to a conference while in the throes of a first draft. I was able to apply a lot of the in-session writing exercises we did to EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL. I figured out some key character details I want to add during revisions. Plus, remember last week, when I mentioned my ongoing struggle to find a balance between my personal experiences as a teen in the ballet world and my character's separate journey? I attended a great workshop yesterday on how to draw from your real life experiences and personal history in your fiction, and I can't wait to put the tips Karen Day shared with us into practice in my manuscript.

This week I am going to write, write, write—before I head out of town on Friday for all of my family travels. Wish me luck!

Oh, and don't forget to send good vibes to the rest of Team Mazama as we head into the Bootcamp home stretch. The YA Bucklers are: Kate Scott, Emma L. Adams, Winter Bayne, Angel Leigh, Riley Darkes, and Tonette de la Luna.

~Kathryn

My Writing Process Blog Hop

Today, for something a little different, I'm participating in a blog hop that's been making the rounds lately: My Writing Process. I was tagged by the lovely and talented Ghenet Myrthil (follow her on Twitter), who I've known since grad school. We got our MFAs in Creative Writing from The New School together, and I'm lucky to still have Ghenet as one of my manuscript readers to this day! So here we go. Blog hop ahoy.

What Am I Working On?

Right now, I am first-drafting a new manuscript with the working title EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL. It's a YA Contemporary about a 16-year-old ballet dancer with body image issues who gets sent to an anxiety camp for elite teen artists and athletes. This book is pretty personal to me because, well, I was a teen ballet dancer with body image issues—so I've been struggling to get the story right and figure out who my character really is, separate from me and my own experiences. I think I'm finally on the right track, but I don't want to give any more details away until I'm sure!

How Does My Work Differ From Others of Its Genre?

There is a lot of *amazing* YA Contemporary out there. Rather than think about how I stand apart from those wonderful authors, I guess I want to try to join their ranks! I want to create honest, lyrical stories where the prose is finely crafted and the characters and their journeys strike a true chord. That said, my book that's coming out from HarperCollins in early 2015, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND, does tackle a subject that I don't think appears often enough in YA literature: faith. The characters in TDBL&F start off in a religious setting (before getting lost in the mountains), and faith is a thread that runs through the book. Religion is a fact of so many teens' lives, to varying degrees, and those teens deserve to see their world and their struggles reflected in their literature.

Why Do I Write What I Do?

The book I'm working on now is only my third novel, but based on my experience so far, I'd say I write stories that captivate me. Whether that starts with the main character, as both TDBL&F and my new WIP did, or with an image/idea I can't get out of my head, as was the case with the book I was working on during and just after grad school (a YA fantasy that's currently on hold, but might be reborn as MG), when something fills my brain, I know I need to write that book. That's why although I've recently been writing YA Contemporary, I can't say for certain that's all I'll ever write!

How Does My Writing Process Work?

I'm a full-time freelance writer, so fiction-writing is just one of each day's many writing obligations. But that's my process: I do as much freelance work as I need to, money-wise, without taking on so much that I don't have time to devote to writing books. The nature of freelance writing means I have heavy periods and light periods, so how much time gets allocated to book-writing can vary. So does the time of day I write. When I'm really in a writing groove, I'll start with fiction in the morning, because I just can't wait. Then, when I absolutely have to, I'll switch to other work. When I'm not chomping at the bit to work on my book, I'll sometimes get the freelance work out of the way first and save the book-writing for later. I usually take a dance or yoga class in the middle of the day, to get away from my computer and clear my head. Basically, every day is different!

As far as the actual writing process, I'm still finding what works best. My first book was workshopped in grad school, which meant I was writing and getting feedback in short chunks. When I started TDBL&F, I wanted to go to the opposite extreme and write a complete first draft before showing anyone any of it. For that book, I did two separate rounds of feedback from beta-readers on complete drafts—and the third draft was the one that attracted my agent. My new WIP has been in the works for almost a year, and I've started it over and over, trying to figure out what it needs to be. I've shown various versions of the beginning to several readers, including my agent, and have taken their feedback before moving forward. Now I finally feel like I'm at a point where I can confidently finish the first draft. Who knows what my process will be for my next book...

Regardless, I am a loose outliner—I like to have key scenes and a rough arc in mind, but I also like to see where the story and characters take me. I like to get to know my characters organically, rather than drawing them out in detail beforehand. Some of my favorite scenes and conversations in TDBL&F were as much a surprise to me as they were to the characters!

Okay—now it's my turn to tag some other writer/bloggers. I've drafted two of my fellow YA Buccaneers: Heidi Sinnett and Erin L. Schneider. Heidi is a children's librarian who writes YA Contemporary, and is represented by Marlene Stringer of the Stringer Literary Agency. She describes her writing as "too ambitious (sometimes), honest, and twisty." Erin describes her writing as "real, humorous, and relatable." She's been writing seriously for six years and is represented by Lisa Grubka of Fletcher & Company. They'll both be sharing their My Writing Process posts next week!

A brief update on the YAB Bootcamp front: I added another few thousand words to EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL last week, bringing the current total up to 55,409 words. I'm on chapter 14 out of I think 20. Two of those chapters are already written and just need to be revised (and one will be cut down by half), while the rest are loosely outlined and need to be written from scratch. I think I am still on track to have a finished first draft by the end of May! Fingers crossed… (and hard work ahead!)

~Kathryn

YAB Bootcamp, Week Seven—With Bonus NYC Photos

Another week of Bootcamp—and it's finally feeling like spring in NYC! I can't express how much the sunshine and warmer temperatures have boosted my mood and my energy. I'm not a sad, low-energy person by nature, but this year's never-ending winter was rough. Feeling the sun's rays on my face, breathing spring's fresh, slightly pollen-y air, not having to bundle up in a bazillion layers to walk to the subway—it's amazing.

This past weekend, my husband and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather to go to Roosevelt Island. Despite living in NYC for almost 10 years, I'd never actually been to this island in the middle of the East River—even though it's easily accessible both by subway and by a picturesque tram line. We took the tram, obviously. We spent a few hours walking around the island and seeing the sights, from the small lighthouse on the northern end to the new Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial and park on the southernmost tip. Most of the island is residential, but in addition to those two landmarks you can see the ruins of the Smallpox Hospital that opened in 1856 and closed in the 1950s, as well as the Octogon, which is what remains of the New York City Lunatic Asylum from the 1840s (and is now part of a luxury apartment complex). As a bonus, while we were there a lot of the cherry blossom trees on the island were in bloom, which meant the whole place looked especially lovely.

On the writing front, I had a great week with my manuscript! I added about 4,000 words to the total, and moved six chapters forward. (One chapter was totally new, while the rest involved cutting and revising and adding new scenes and conversations.) If I can do the same this week, I'll be almost three-quarters through this first draft! Not too shabby.

Also on the Bootcamp front, I had two posts on the YA Buccaneers blog last week. In case you missed them:

Interview with Deborah Kreiser, author of THREE WISHES

Learn the Ropes: Don't Let Laziness Win!

That's all for now. Happy spring!

 ~Kathryn

YA Buccaneers Spring Writing Bootcamp: Week Six Check-In

It's the YAB Bootcamp halfway point! If I'd had one big goal for the three months, I'd be excited to see if I was halfway there. Since I didn't start with one overarching goal, all I have to report is that I met last week's goal: to finish my WIP synopsis and send it to my agent. I have also started changing the rest of the existing draft from 3rd to 1st person. So what's next? I checked my stats in Scrivener this morning and discovered that I have approximately 49,000 words of this rough first draft. That's actually about three-quarters of a manuscript! However, since most of it was written in 3rd person, and before I changed the role of a major character, I have to do some serious revising before I have a draft that's even remotely ready to show to beta readers. What I would LOVE to be able to do is finish the rough draft by the end of the Bootcamp—i.e. by the end of May. Given that that's six weeks away, and I have a mix of revising and new-drafting on my plate, I think it's doable...

Except for the tiny issue of how crazy the month of May will be for me. The first weekend in May, I'm going to the New England SCBWI conference with my friend Ghenet. Then I'll be back in NYC for a few days, only to fly to Nashville the following weekend. I'll be in Nashville for a week, and while I want to work (actually, I'll need to work at least a little) while there, I'll also be getting in some much-needed family time. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their second child, and I'm hoping to be there when he arrives! And of course, I want to spend as much time as possible with my adorable nephew Turner, who is about to become a big brother. But back to travels: from Nashville, I'm flying to the DC area for a weekend with my husband's family. We'll be attending birthday parties for both of our nephews on his side—the seven-year-old's on Saturday and the four-year-old's on Sunday. Then it's good old Amtrak back up to NYC for a week at home in Brooklyn, followed by a road trip to Massachusetts over Memorial Day weekend for a dear friend's wedding.

Basically, by the time June 1 rolls around, I'm going to be ready to collapse. So much revelry! So many trips, and different modes of transportation! Will I have time to crank out the rest of a first draft? That remains to be seen.

I'm not going to be too hard on myself if I don't make it. All of these trips are for good reasons, and they all involve activities and people and events that are just as important as word count—especially since Justin and I don't get to see our families as often as we'd like. That said, I'm going to work toward a May 31 goal! Each week, I'll share my progress toward the finish line, whether that's word count or chapters revised.

How's everyone else doing with writing goals and such? Go Team Mazama!

The fabulous YA Bucklers are: Kate Scott, Emma L. Adams, Winter Bayne, Riley Darkes, Angel Leigh, and Tonette de la Luna! Visit their blogs or follow them on Twitter to see other writers in action. And if you're new to this bootcamp business, learn more at the YA Buccaneers' website!

~Kathryn

YA Buccaneers Spring Writing Bootcamp: Week Five Check-In

Last week was busy and exciting—and yet also somewhat restful. Since my writing goals were minimal while I was waiting for feedback from my agent, I took the opportunity to cross some other things off my to-do list. Of course, I did my usual share of freelance work. But I also read a lot. I wrote up a few blog posts in advance. I booked some travel for May. I got a much-needed haircut. I had a rehearsal for a dance performance that's coming up this Saturday. I prepared the apartment for the Game of Thrones premiere party my husband and I hosted last night. (And who else is super excited for what GoT Season 4 has in store for us?!) Oh, and I had lunch with my editor in midtown, which is one of the great perks of living in NYC. We talked about what's next in the publishing process for THE DISTANCE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND, and we compared notes on what we've been reading recently, and it was lovely. But the biggest thing that happened last week? I got my first glimpse of my book's cover! I'd been anxiously waiting for that moment, and it did not disappoint. The cover is beautiful, and I can't stop looking at it. I also can't wait to be able to share the final version with everyone! Stay tuned for cover reveal information in the weeks ahead… :)

Now back to my writing goals, since that's what this bootcamp is about. This week, I'll be working on a synopsis of my YA WIP. I'm not quite sure how long it will take—synopses can be tricky beasts. Luckily, I do have most of the book mapped out already, either in actual draft form or in bullet points. When the synopsis is done, after I've made a few small tweaks to the first three chapters, I think I'll dive into Chapter 4 and beyond. While I've first-drafted many more chapters than that, I recently changed from 3rd person to 1st and tweaked a major character's role, so I want to kind of simultaneously revise/re-draft the parts that are already written to reflect the new beginning.

So that's it for now!

Follow the rest of Team Mazama:

Kate Scott

Angel Leigh

Tonette de la Luna

Winter Bayne

Emma L. Adams

Riley Darkes

Friday Reads: FAKING NORMAL by Courtney C. Stevens

I'm so excited to have another awesome book to recommend this week! I'd been hearing amazing things about Courtney C. Stevens' debut Faking Normal, and it definitely did not disappoint. In fact, I read it in a day, even going a bit late to an evening appointment so I could finish the last few pages. I didn't want to put it down, and I couldn't get the characters out of my head after the last page. A perfect candidate for Friday Reads on my blog! Faking Normal is about Alexi, who is fighting to recover from something that happened to her over the summer. She's barely sleeping, has to hide in her closet occasionally to get through the day, and can't stop scratching her neck as a way to cope with everything that's eating her up inside. Enter Bodee, a schoolmate whose mom was just killed by his abusive father and who comes to live with Alexi and her family. Bodee is the only person Alexi knows who seems to be hurting the way she's hurting, and they're able to find solace in each other. Thanks to Bodee and Captain Lyric—a mystery boy with whom she's been exchanging snippets of songs on her desk in fourth period—Alexi is muddling through. But her secret can't stay secret forever. At some point she's going to have to confront what happened to her in order to move on…

Alexi's story captivated me. Her voice was real and heartbreaking—and surprisingly funny at times. Her fledgling trust in Bodee, and his in her, was absolutely beautiful. I loved seeing these two broken people find sanctuary and courage together. And how everything resolves itself—without spoiling anything, I'll just say that it ended exactly as I hoped it would, on all counts.

I was lucky to meet Courtney in person at one of the NYC Teen Author Festival events a few weeks ago. I happened to be browsing the Teen Fiction aisle at Barnes & Noble when I overheard Courtney and her friend, Victoria Schwab, chatting about book covers a few feet away. I asked if they were authors, and we introduced ourselves, and then Victoria and Courtney proceeded to each hand-sell me the other's book. (Yay for author friends!) (Second parenthetical: Victoria's book The Archived is coming up soon on my TBR list! I can't wait.) Long story short, Courtney and Victoria were lovely, and I'm so glad I read Faking Normal a lot sooner than I might have if I hadn't encountered these two in a bit of bookstore serendipity!

As always, now's the time where I ask what you've been reading recently. Any recommendations?

Happy reading,

~Kathryn

YA Buccaneers Spring Writing Bootcamp: Week Four Check-In

It's the end of March! It's April tomorrow! And I was going to write earlier today to complain about how March was going out with a nasty wintry mix, but I was just outside to discover that the skies are clear, the sun is shining, and the temperature has risen about 15 degrees—so I have nothing to complain about! I love having nothing to complain about. Let's get to the update. Last week, my goal was to finish reworking my first three chapters of my YA WIP and send the sample to readers. And I did! I got feedback over the weekend and am about to open up the document to start implementing it. My new goal is to send the pages to my agent in the next day or two. (Alyssa, if you happen to read this, feel free to email and hold me to it!)

I have to say that Month One of bootcamp has been great for me. I've accomplished exactly what I set out to do, and it's been wonderful to know that so many other people are writing and revising as well. Team Mazama is chugging along on our individual goals, and I'm thrilled to have such a genuinely nice group of gals holding me accountable. I know I can accomplish so much more in the months to come! That said, going forward, things will get a little fuzzy… because I have no idea what my goals are for April. A lot depends on what my agent has to say about the two WIP samples I sent her. Will she want me to revise the two excerpts further? Push forward on finishing a draft of one project or the other? Work on drafting both simultaneously? I have no idea!

So, this week, once I send in my YA pages, I am going to go easy on myself. I'm going to try to make a dent in my ever-growing books-to-read pile. I'll do some brainstorming, thinking about how I would like to move forward with both projects, so I'm ready whatever happens. Hopefully, I'll get to hash everything out with my agent and come up with a proper plan for what's next.

Plus, I'll be cheering on my YA Bucklers as several of them start Camp NaNoWriMo tomorrow! Go team!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the wedding weekend was a blast. Everything went fairly smoothly, the bride looked beautiful, the cake was delicious, and my husband and I tore up the dance floor at the reception. (There might even be photographic evidence of our dance-floor prowess, once the professional photos come in…)

~Kathryn

Friday Reads: Books I Have to Recommend!

It's been another few weeks since my last Friday Reads post, and I have read some doozies since then! So in honor of these wonderful books that I can't help but tell everyone to pick up, here are some recommendations.

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

In this book, sixth-grader Felicity Pickle and her mom and little sister move to the town of Midnight Gulch, Tennessee—a place that used to be full of magic, but now only has hints of it left. Felicity is used to life on the road, always moving with her mom's whims, but in Midnight Gulch, she starts to plant roots and imagine what it would feel like to have a real home.

How did I love A Snicker of Magic? Let me count the ways. I loved the character of Felicity—her dreams and her insecurities, her quirks and her courage. I loved Felicity's relationship with her family. I loved the magical town of Midnight Gulch, and its amazing cast of oddball characters. I loved Jonah, Felicity's new friend who plays a small part in keeping the town's magic alive. And I loved Natalie's way with words—not just how Felicity sees them and collects them, but also how they danced across the pages of the book. A Snicker of Magic is positively spindiddly, and I want everyone to read it.

The Edge of Falling by Rebecca Serle

I enjoyed Rebecca Serle's first book, When You Were Mine (a modern-day retelling of Romeo & Juliet from Rosaline's point of view), so I was excited for her second novel to come out. I bought The Edge of Falling on the day it released, after I heard Rebecca read an excerpt as part of the NYC Teen Author Festival—and I finished it within 24 hours. That should tell you a little about this book's page-turner status!

When the story starts, Upper East Side high school student Caggie is reeling from two big events that happened in the past year: her younger sister's death, and an incident where she saved a fellow student on a Manhattan rooftop a few months later. She's spent the summer before her senior year barely seeing anyone, has recently broken up with her boyfriend, Trevor, and is dealing with a brittle mother and a father who's away on business more than he's home. Then she meets Astor, a new kid who seems to understand the darkness she's feeling inside. But not everything is as it seems… If you want a fast-paced but still thoughtful and compelling story about grief, guilt, and the way life can spiral away from you faster than you notice it happening, pick up this book.

The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles

This is a bit of a cheat because I'm still finishing The Lost Planet—but I am loving it enough that I can't imagine not wanting to recommend it when I'm done! I've mentioned this book before, because Rachel is a fellow YA Buccaneer, and it definitely hasn't disappointed me. For starters, it's zipping along at an amazing pace—from planet to planet, from plot twist to plot twist. Plus, it has aliens, spaceships, androids, possibly evil military personnel, and, oh yeah, a main character who woke up with no memory of who he is and is trying desperately to find out. I don't want to give anything more away, because half of the fun is following the twists and turns. That said, if you're into science fiction, or if you know a kid who is, buy this book.

That's all for now on the book front! Have you read anything awesome lately? Tell me about it in the comments!

~Kathryn

YA Buccaneers Spring Writing Bootcamp: Week Three Check-In

Just a quick check-in today, because I'm off and running on what is going to be a very busy week! I'm in a wedding this weekend, so Justin and I will be heading out of NYC on Friday morning—which makes this a four-day week. Normally, that's a big "YAY!" Unfortunately, this week it means cramming five days' work into four. That said, I couldn't be happier to be part of this wedding. The bride is a close friend of mine from college who was in my wedding in 2011, and I can't wait to return the favor and be there for her on her big day. We're going to have a wonderful time! Oh, you wanted to know about writing and such? Right. Okay.

Last week, I had two main goals: finish my chapter outline of my YA-turned-MG, and figure out what the heck was going wrong with my YA WIP. And I made progress on both counts!

• I sent my YA-turned-MG sample pages and completed outline to my agent! I am now anxiously awaiting her feedback. I don't know what the next step is, but I know that I am excited about this manuscript and eager to see where it can go from here.
• I started reworking my YA with a few new ideas in mind. I tried changing from 3rd person to 1st and playing with some new narrative/voice quirks. I changed the role of a main character to add more tension to the plot. I'm about two chapters in, as of this morning, but I think I may be on the right track.

My goal for this week is simple: Keep working on the YA with this new direction in mind. I'd love to send the revised/re-envisioned first three chapters to some readers by the end of the week, before I put them in my agent's hands. That said, I've shared the changes I'm considering with a few people, and have gotten a positive/intrigued response—so that's probably a good sign!

Onward and upward, right Team Mazama? Go Bucklers!

~Kathryn

YA Buccaneers Spring Writing Bootcamp: Week Two Check-In

Is it St. Patrick's Day already? I can't believe we're more than halfway through March—especially given the latest cold snap that's hit NYC. Sigh. Well, chill in the air notwithstanding, the YA Buccaneers' Spring Writing Bootcamp is going forward full-force! Here's my Week Two check-in.

Last week, I wanted to start reworking the first 50 pages of an old YA manuscript into middle-grade. And on Friday afternoon, I got to the end of the set of chapters I want to send to my agent! Of course, I'll read over everything a few (dozen) more times before I send it, but the bulk of that revision work is done. Yay!

So what does that mean for this week? I've just spent about an hour and a half starting my chapter-by-chapter outline of the rest of the book, which I'll send to my agent along with my sample pages. I'm starting by going through the manuscript and typing up an outline based on what was there in 2012, the last time I worked on this project. However, I can already tell that I have some revising and rethinking to do. By cutting out a secondary plotline (that honestly does need to go), I'm losing a lot of interaction with an important character, so I need to find a way to keep that character in the story in other ways. I'm also noticing some pacing issues in the middle of the book, which means I'll need to do some condensing and tightening. On the plus side, once I have this outline figured out, revising the whole book (if my agent wants to move forward with that) should be a breeze!

(Ha, ha. Like any of this is ever a breeze…) :)

I also heard back from my three beta-readers on the first 30 pages of EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL. I got some mixed feedback, so I need to sit with it and think about how I want to move forward. This book has been frustrating me a little bit because I love the idea and want so desperately to get it right…and I can't quite seem to crack it. But maybe this will be the week that something clicks and it starts to fall into place. it can't hurt to hope, right?

Oh, and one other piece of Spring Writing Bootcamp business. It's time to introduce my fellow bootcampers! We've named ourselves Team Mazama, aka the YA Bucklers:

We're a really diverse group of writers. Our WIPs and finished projects span MG, YA, and adult in a wide array of genres—contemporary, fantasy, thriller, romance, historical, and beyond. But we're all committed to cheering each other on as we try to accomplish our spring writing goals! Here's my team:

Kate Scott

Emma L. Adams

Tonette de la Luna

Winterbayne

Riley Darkes

Angel Leigh

That's all for now!

~Kathryn

YA Buccaneers Spring Writing Bootcamp: Week One Check-In

Well, we're officially one week into the YA Buccaneers' Spring Writing Bootcamp, and it's off to a rip-roaring start! We have our goals. We have our teams. And now there's nothing left to do but…write! I'll be posting a brief update each week on how well I'm staying on track. So here's Week One's check-in. I spent last week revising the first three chapters of my YA work-in-progress, EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL. And—*drumroll*—on Friday afternoon, I sent those pages off to a few beta-readers! I'm currently awaiting their feedback, and so this week will be devoted to the other project: starting to convert my first novel, which was written as YA, into a middle-grade. In fact, as soon as I click "post" here, I'll be opening up that document and diving in.

The next few months are crazy busy, so it felt good to start Bootcamp off with a bang. (Among the things on my plate between now and May 30: THREE weddings, one of which I'm a bridesmaid in; trips out of town to visit my family and my husband's family; possibly starting rehearsals for a dance performance this summer; the SCBWI New England conference; and, oh yeah, my regular freelance workload.) Now that I look at all of that written out, the question of the hour is: Can she pull it off?

So I'm going to really try to keep a "one week at a time" philosophy. I'm grateful to have my fellow Buccaneers and my YAB Bootcamp team (we're hashing out a team name now—stay tuned!) to keep me invested and excited, even when I'm feeling overwhelmed by everything on the to-do list.

And although it's completely unrelated to writing, it helps so much that it's finally feeling like Spring here. Here's hoping the weather keeps improving!

That's all for now...

~Kathryn

Spring Writing Bootcamp

In March, April, and May, the YA Buccaneers are doing a Spring Writing Bootcamp—and I am so excited to dive in and try to meet some major writing goals. Do you have writing goals you want to meet? Do you want accountabilibuddies (thanks to Dahlia Adler for that awesome word!) to help you stay on track? Join in our bootcamp! Learn more HERE.

Step one in the process is to write out my goals. Luckily, I love making lists. Here's what I'm hoping to accomplish in the months ahead:

March 

I'm currently working on polishing/prepping the beginnings of two different projects for my agent. One's the YA that I hope will be my follow-up to THE DISTANCE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND (book 2 is the ballet book I've talked about a little on the blog, for those of you keeping track). The other is formerly YA, soon-to-be MG (and I'm keeping details about this one close to the vest at the moment). The plan:

• Polish up first 30ish pages of YA-in-progress, currently titled EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL.
• Turn first 50ish pages of formerly YA book into MG, and create a chapter-by-chapter outline of the rest.
• Send both beginnings (and the MG outline) to my agent by the end of the month!

April/May

If all of that goes as planned, and my agent gives me the go-ahead, then I have two big goals for the rest of the spring:

• Finish the first draft of EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL and send to beta-readers. I have about 45K at this point, but it's *messy* — so even after I get to the end, there's still work to be done before it's ready for people to see.
• Finish reworking the formerly-YA into MG. This manuscript is finished, and has been revised a few times, but dropping the age is going to change some key elements, so I'll have work to do.

It's hard to say now which of those two goals will take priority, so you'll have to stay tuned! In the meantime, I'm stoked to have so many people tackling their goals at the same time and keeping me focused. And don't forget, you can sign up too, by going HERE!

Happy Writing,

~Kathryn

Friday Reads: What I've Been Reading in 2014

Can you believe it's been two months since I did a Friday Reads post? I know, me neither. But trust me—I have been reading. A lot. And I've read some really great stuff! Here's the nutshell version:

To kick off this year, I enjoyed reading two highly acclaimed "adult" novels—Meg Wolitzer's THE INTERESTINGS and Donna Tartt's THE GOLDFINCH—alongside my usual mix of Young Adult and Middle Grade reads. One of the things I want to do this year is read more "adult" literature. As much as I adore children's lit, my English major self misses the grown-up literary world at times, and luckily there's an easy way to rectify the problem. (Ahem—read the things I've been missing!)

I also enjoyed some rereads (David Levithan's THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY and Morgan Matsen's AMY & ROGER'S EPIC DETOUR); a new book from an author I already loved (Lauren Morrill's BEING SLOANE JACOBS); finally reading authors and books I've been meaning to pick up for years (Lauren Myracle's SHINE and THE INFINITE MOMENT OF US, Trish Doller's WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE, and Kat Rosenfeld's AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE); and, of course some stellar debuts (Julie Berry's ALL THE TRUTH THAT'S IN ME, Alison Cherry's RED, Michelle Schusterman's I HEART BAND series, Rebecca Behrens' WHEN AUDREY MET ALICE, and Brandy Colber's upcoming release POINTE). I'm sorry I can't give you detailed reviews of all of them, but suffice it to say, it's been a great year for reading for me so far!

What's next in my queue? I'm currently reading (and loving!) GRACELING by Kristin Cashore, and I am eager to pick up Rachel Searles' THE LOST PLANET and Natalie Lloyd's A SNICKER OF MAGIC. And thanks to the YA Buccaneers' March Madness roundup, the list keeps growing and growing.

What are you reading right now? Any recommendations? I'm currently shopping for new bookshelves, and I'm going to need some books to fill them up! (Like that's going to be at all difficult…)

~Kathryn

It's Fearless Friday!

So guess what? Tonight I get to meet a group of my fellow 2015 debut authors face-to-face for the first time! This weekend is the NY Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference, and while I'm not attending the conference itself, many writers I've gotten to know online over the past few months will be there. And, because I'm lucky enough to live in NYC, it's the perfect excuse to meet authors who live elsewhere but who are sharing this crazy debut publishing experience with me! There seem to be about 15 of us meeting up tonight, so it should be a good time. Lots of talking about books, books, books, I'm sure—the perfect evening for a writer. I'll try to grab some group photos, so that when everyone's books come out in a year, I can point at the pictures and say, see, I know him/her!

But this meetup isn't the only fun writing-related event that I've gotten to attend recently. Last night, my Write Night friend Rebecca Behrens held a launch party for her debut, WHEN AUDREY MET ALICE, at Books of Wonder in Manhattan. (I wrote about Rebecca's book HERE.) It was so fun to hear Rebecca read from the book, to get her to sign my shiny new beautiful hardback copy, and to envision doing something similar for my own book in a year or so. It was also awesome to see my Write Night crew out of our usual Panera/Cosi context, and to catch up with a few other authors I know, and to meet ones I hadn't met yet. An all-around great evening!

So what's next for me and my book and such? I've just about finished my copyedits on THE DISTANCE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND, which means the text will go into design pretty soon! Meanwhile, my agent has the opening chapters of my potential next project, and I'm waiting with bated breath for her response.

What the past few weeks of wonderful writer community (I'm including last week's reading under this umbrella) have reminded me is that while writing can feel pretty solitary sometimes, when you do get out into the world, there is a great group of people out there who are in the boat with you. Waiting for feedback, pushing through a first draft, battling tough revisions, anxiously waiting for the publisher's side of the process (cover designs, release dates, etc.)—we've all been there, or will be there, or are currently living in it, and the fact that we aren't alone makes the good parts better and the frustrating parts not quite as bad. That's a remarkable thing.

~Kathryn

Reading Recap

Last night, I did my first public reading from THE DISTANCE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND! And despite a few butterflies in my stomach, it went really well. I got a good audience response to the excerpt I read, I didn't talk too fast or sound weird (always a worry when it comes to public speaking), and I met some really cool authors. A successful night! So what, exactly, went down? The reading was hosted by At The Inkwell at NYC's KGB Bar, a Lower East Side space that's been hosting literary gatherings and readings since the mid-'90s. I shared the stage (or rather, alternated the podium…) with authors Danielle Paige (DOROTHY MUST DIE, coming April 2014), Matthew Cody (WILL IN SCARLET and others), and Lee Bacon (the JOSHUA DREAD series). I went last, so I had the pleasure of listening to everyone else's work—all books I need to go out and pick up, ASAP—before it was my turn. And when it was my turn, as I said above, I was really pleased with how it went! Here's me, very focused on reading:

It's been a few years since I did a reading, and while this wasn't the biggest crowd I've ever read in front of—that honor goes to my MFA thesis reading at The New School—it was a little nerve-wracking to be putting something from this book, the one that is actually on its way to being published, out into the world. But my fellow authors were so friendly and generous, and the atmosphere at KGB Bar was very chill. Plus, I had my support system in the audience—shout-out to Ben, Suzanna, Michael, Julia, Chris, Melissa, and of course, Justin, for showing up to cheer me on. :)

So what's next for THE DISTANCE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND? I'm waiting on my copyedits, and I'm hoping—fingers crossed—to see rough cover designs in the next few months. In the meantime, I'm still hard at work on my new project; I emailed several chapters to my agent to read on Tuesday, and I'm waiting (with bated breath) to hear what she thinks.

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, re: my post on hibernation from Friday…it's snowing again. Sigh. At least I don't have to leave the apartment today. Pajamas and slippers and blankets, ahoy!

~Kathryn