Interview with Renée Watson about What Momma Left Me

Before I interview Renée, here’s my quick synopsis of her new novel, What Momma Left Me, from Bloomsbury Press (for 8 to 11 year-olds)

Following the death of their mother, and disappearance of their father, thirteen year-old Serenity and her brother Danny move in with their grandparents. At first, Serenity is put off by their rules and insistence on her attending long hours at church. There's the added challenge of attending a new school, and trying to make all new friends, all while missing her mother. Things start to brighten when Serenity meets Maria, also in the youth ministry group at the church. But as her brother falls in with a sketchy crowd, and Serenity finds herself drawn to a boy in that same clique, Serenity is faced with tough choices, which will test her faith, and sense of right and wrong. It’s a page-turner with real heart!

CS: In What Momma Left Me, the church is central to the plot. Can you talk about that?

RW: I write very close to reality and I grew up in the church. It was a normal part of life that was not separate from my school or friends. I wanted to show that fluidity and connection, and how so much good can emerge from that sort of tight-knit community.

CS: People often say that even though a novel is fiction, parts of characters come from the author and her experience. How much of the Serenity character came from you?

RW: *Laughs* I was always questioning everything, just like Serenity! My journal was my best friend too. And as Serenity looks out for Maria, I really looked out for my friends in school, particularly a new girl, who seemed overwhelmed. Also, when I was little, my mom was a lot like Serenity’s grandma. She prayed with me through troubled times and always had time to listen to me.

C: I thought one of the big questions in Momma was what is real peace? Do you agree?

R: Yes. There was so much chaos in Serenity's world that she was worried she might not find peace until she went to heaven, or that it didn’t exist at all. Her grandma helped her see that it was about making peace with the ups and downs of life: “You know how many times I’ve cried?... So many I can’t count.” Grandma smiles. “But guess what? I can’t count the laughs either!”

C: I love how each chapter begins with a poem. I especially love your Ode to Cake! Have you considered writing a poetry book for kids?

R: Sure. Poetry was my first love. I read at open mic poetry readings around the city, and do poetry workshops with my students.

C: What are you working on next?

R: I have a picture book forthcoming with Random House called Harlem’s Little Blackbird, about Florence Mills, a Harlem Renaissance performer. And I’ll be doing a reading and book signing in New York City at Bank Street on November 4^th, from 5:30 to 7:30, so come on down! I invite you to visit my website for upcoming events and info. www.reneewatson.net

C: Thanks so much for stopping by.

RW: Anytime.

Husky Mascots, Brooklyn Book Festival and Extreme Cuteness Alert

Let’s talk Husky puppies, shall we? One of the main characters of A Girl’s Best Friend, the book I penned for American Girl, is a frisky Husky pup named Pepper. Coincidentally, the college mascot at my son’s new college, Northeastern, in Boston, is… guess what? A Siberian Husky! You know, the soft white fur ridged with smoky black, the topaz eyes, the pointy ears that perk at everything?

So, to adorn my booth at the Brooklyn Book Festival, booth #77 to be exact, I bought two mascots to cheer the book on, and to thrill the kids who stop by. Who knows, maybe the adults too.

Major cuteness in the house!!!

And, if you want to see feisty Pepper in all his glory, check him out in the American Girl shop by clicking into the link here:

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/item/id/158131/uid/267

You can also see his pals: Sugar and Coconut, who kick up some serious dust at Pet Palooza in A Girl’s Best Friend.

The book festival's this Sunday, September 12^th from 10 am to 6 pm, so if you’re anywhere near Brooklyn, come on down and say hi! My friend, and colleague, Vicki Wittenstein, will be sharing the booth. Her new nonfiction picture book, Planet Hunter reveals the method that Geoff Marcy, an astronomer, uses to detect planets that may support life. Great photos too.

I’ll have my YA, Refugees; Be Careful What You Wish For, a middle grade anthology of super-fun stories, and this latest romp, A Girl’s Best Friend. I may even have a few copies of my earlier AG book about the dark side of Greyhound racing.

Look for us near the Youth Pavilion, and in front of the sculpture garden. We’ll be the ones with the Husky pup mascots! At booth 77. WOOOF!

A Girl’s Best Friend; New Book, New fall Season!

Today is more the first day of September, it’s the debut of A Girl’s Best Friend the book I wrote for the fabulous, new Innerstar University series from American Girl. You’ve heard of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” tales, where you interact with the story, and have a say in where you venture off to. Traditionally, most were adventure stories aimed at boys, where it was a matter of creeping into the snake-infested cave, or choosing to stay on the path, only to be confronted with a growling Grizzly bear.

A Girl’s Best Friend is more about friends and school and figuring out what it is to be really loyal. All of this, with a major scoop of pure fun… and a ton of puppies—cuddly, spunky and just plain dashing off faster than you could ever catch them!

Innerstar University has an online gaming aspect too. There are more than twenty endings, which was a challenge to write—like figuring out a jigsaw puzzle--and refreshing that readers to get to choose. Some of the endings go online, where the party continues!

Don’t take my word for it, read and explore for yourself.

http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Best-Friend-American-Girl/dp/1593697597/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283358698&sr=1-1

I’ll be at the Brooklyn Book Festival, in the vendor section, Sunday, September 12^th, so come on down and say hi, and check out A Girl’s Best Friend, while you’re there!

http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/BrooklynBookFestival/festival.html

Agents: Finding, Switching, and the Fine Art of Communications

You’ve finally finished that awesome YA or Middle-grade novel and your writing group has helped you polish it to a fine sheen. You are ready to shop for an agent! You pretty much know how to write a great query letter, but you’re not exactly sure what questions you'd ask, if and when you “got the call.”

Having been through the hugely exciting process of getting that call, and signing on, as well as the nervy experience of switching to an agent who is much better-suited to my work and communications style, along the way I’ve asked a few right… and wrong questions. I’ve also intuited the right questions, but was afraid to ask them. Which, dear writers, is a no-no. Ask away when you get that call! It’s your special time to figure out whether this person is someone you can really work with… or not. True, it’s business but don’t discount your gut feeling. Intuition counts for a lot. As a result of my experience, I’ve put together a list of crucial questions to ask your prospective agent:

*Do you edit and revise manuscripts? If so, how many passes? Will you be the person editing my material?

*What do you like best about my work? Do you have a few publishers in mind that you would send this manuscript to? How do you see my platform going forward?

*Do you work as an agent part time or fulltime? How soon after you create a submission list will you send out my manuscript? (In other words, do you send stuff out in a timely fashion? All agents are super-busy, but waiting months and months for something to be read or shopped is not cool).

*How do you prefer to communicate, and how often? By email? Phone? IM? Will I get periodic updates? Every month or so, or only when my work is sold? Is it okay to call with a question? (Or will you bite my face off?)

*Do you welcome suggestions of editors to send to? Will you show me your submission list? How many editors might you send to at one time?

*Are you open to talking strategy? What about discussing a manuscript that we have different ideas about? (A good agent is one who listens to your ideas regarding a project, and shares his or hers and then negotiates. But don't forget, you are choosing a person based on their expertise, so you should trust them. If your gut is telling you that this person is too inexperienced or busy or has tastes that do not match yours, do not sign a contract out of sheer excitement).

What about switching agents? The question list is basically the same. Plus, questions that inevitably came up with your agent, who, for whatever reason, didn’t work out. Best to part on amicable terms if possible, and move on. There are many great agents out there, and there is one well suited to your writing, your personality and your communications style. Be bold, and level-headed. Take the steps you need to insure a happy, smooth work relationship. You won’t regret it.

Happy hunting!

Thrllers in Print & Film--Inception and Salt

I’ve now seen both SALT and INCEPTION, and for the most part, they rocked. However, in both cases, I wanted more story and less shoot ‘em up action. Don’t get me wrong; I thrill to a good chase. Fast pacing is crucial in both literary and on-screen thrillers, thus the measure of chase to back-story (or real-time story moments) is always a fine balancing act.

Without a good understanding of the character, we don’t care why he or she is being chased, or what someone’s searching for. But without enough action, the story becomes a snoozefest. In a novel, one can often sandwich more story between the action that one can in films. However, I sense that moviegoers are eager for much more story than Hollywood assumes.

Case in point: In SALT, Anjelina Jolie excels in gritty stunt work, and in breaking the traditional mold of the female femme fatal spy. She even dresses as a man in one scene, and does a stand-up job of the walk, the talk. Even so, I found myself fidgeting in my seat, wanting more of the backstory about her childhood training on a remote Russian island to be part of a sleeper cell, than her masterful trouncing of every poor sod who got in her way.

Inception was better at lingering on the story between the action, and in blending the two. The concept of stealing dreams or implanting ideas is certainly nothing new. But it’s still such a potent concept, that I’ve stumbled on at least three writers’ blogs, lamenting that they might have to junk their novels or stories in-progress because their ideas are so similar to Inception. For that matter, Inception’s concepts are strangely similar to the 90s anime series Ghost in a Shell. Indeed, is there nothing completely new under the sun? Well, that’s the subject of another possible post. Despite the longer and richer sections of story in Inception, the shoot ‘em up scenes grew tiresome. Particularly the scenes in the arctic headquarters, where all the enemy combatants wore white military snowsuits. Too similar to a video game? I dunno. It seemed almost clownish.

Bottom line? Don’t underestimate an audience’s ability to digest story; the rich, connective tissue—sweet, bitter, or bittersweet—that supports the pursuit, the pursuer and the search.

The Pros and Cons of Book Trailers

Here's an interesting New York Times article by Pamela Paul on the pros and cons of book trailers. These days, it seems to be a necessary element of book publicity, but how effective is it, really? What do you all think?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/fashion/11AuthorVideos.html?_r=2&ref=books

Nowhere Else to Go--more thoughts on Retreats

I'm in the Internet coffee place by the beach where so many vacationers are checking their email that it's shuddering in and out. The luckier folks have iPhones, iPads, Blackberries, Droids and plain old PDFs so that they can check their email without slogging to the coffee joint. Or are they luckier?

The genius of this writing retreat is that there's nowhere to go when you want to dither, consternate, digress or just plain avoid your manuscript. And traveling to the avatar world of twitter, facebook, Huffpo, even this wonderful blogspot, is definitely going "somewhere else."

(Look, I've gotta post once week or so. Uh, yah!)

Come to think of it, I feel less obsessive, not being able to tweet every day. Even though the big black flies are biting my ankles and the seat of the rocking chair is hard, and the pacing and sighing and chuckling of my fellow writers is slightly distracting, the fact is, I've gotten a lot done. A 286 page revise finished and four pages of a new project.

I'm reminded of the artist whose wife used to lock up in a room, so he had nothing else to do but paint masterpieces (or rip his hair out in chunks).

We're not always producing masterpieces, but this retreat offers us the time to try!