All the Truth That's in Me, Part 2

The other day I shared my review of All the Truth That's in Me, by Julie Berry, Viking (Penguin Books), September 2013. You can return to that post to enter to win the ARC.

I had a nice email exchange with the author, Julie Berry.  I was curious about her writing and revision process because of the unusual narrative style with very short chapters/scenes, a four-part structure, and the use of 2nd person POV ("You").  Technically it's not 2nd person as Julie explains below, but I'm not sure how else to describe it.  It's as if the main character is writing a letter to her best friend/love, and addressing him as "you," but it's not written in the format of a letter. You'll just have to read it and see for yourself!

Here's Julie's response, and she offered to send some of her newly printed, fun swaggy stuff to accompany the ARC giveaway.  Thanks, Julie!

From Julie:  The unusual format of All the Truth That’s In Me came about organically. The story simply wanted to be written that way, if that makes any sense. Judith, the main character, has a compressed kind of intensity in the way she sees her world. Her observations are fractured, as her existence has been. As an outcast in her community, and as a person who cannot speak, she endures long periods of silence, of boredom, drudgery, and loneliness – times of “no story.” But she survives this with the company of her own poignant, sometimes poetic thoughts. And so the narrative seemed to want to unfold in this granular manner, stitching observation to observation and event to event. 

The choice to employ second person (which, technically, this is not, since the “you” of the story is a character within the story, but that’s a bit of hair-splitting) was a deliberate decision, an experiment at the very start, that begot the germ of the idea. But the form, ie, the short chapters, came about naturally, not deliberately. I loved how Judith seemed in charge of her story from the very beginning. She’s the most powerful heroine I’ve ever come to know through my own writing.

Enter to win the ARC giveaway of All the Truth That's in Me by Friday, June 5th here:  http://yafusion.blogspot.com/2013/06/agent-news-and-arc-giveaway.html

Coming September, 2013: All the Truth That’s In Me, a YA novel from Viking (Penguin Books). “Haunting and unforgettable.” – Ruta Sepetys, bestselling author of Between Shades of Gray and Out of the Easy. “Riveting.” – Judy Blundell, National Book Award-winning author of What I Saw and How I Lied. “Powerful.” – Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor author of One Crazy Summer. Read about it in Publisher’s Weekly.

 

Agent news and an ARC giveaway

You know what friends say when they're trying to encourage you, whether it's about love, or job hunting, or the often long and frustrating path to publication.

When one door closes, another opens.  
When you least expect it, good news will surprise you.

Cliches yes, but they persist because they're so often true, and it recently happened to me.  For lack of a better transition, I'll just blurt out my news:

I have an agent!

Carrie Pestritto from The Prospect Agency is bursting with energy, shares my vision, and I'm excited and honored to be working with her.

For those of you in the midst of the challenging process of querying, I hope my story encourages you to keep plugging away.  I had a very good agent many years ago, but she was unable to sell my first novel.  After much debating and agonizing, I made the decision to look for a new agent who would be a better fit for me. But first, I needed to dive back into my craft and simply focus on writing without worrying about publication.  I attended the Whole Novel workshop through the Highlights Foundation. I won and finaled in some contests which validated my hard work.  And finally, I began querying a new novel. 

I revised with an agent, but she was concerned that my novel was too similar to others on her list.  The good news: she sent my manuscript to one of her colleagues.  That agent also asked me to revise, but she too ultimately passed on my manuscript. She left with me with more feedback, and I revised again.  I knew the story was as strong as ever, but I'd lost confidence in it. Instead of querying more agents, I set the manuscript aside and focused on another new novel.  I started an online writing class.  Then just by chance, I stumbled upon an agent pitch contest at the Love YA blog. (Monica B. often hosts contests like this - you should definitely follow her blog!)

Carrie Pestritto selected my pitch, requested 50 pages, then the whole manuscript.  We had a wonderful phone call, and she asked me to revise.  Here we go again, that negative voice piped up inside me.  But I agreed with her suggestions, her enthusiasm encouraged me, and I knew I had to take this chance. She loved my revisions, loved my story on the second  read, and offered me representation. 

I've still got more revising to do, but having an agent's support has re-energized me, and of course I want this manuscript to be as strong as possible before it sees editors' eyes.

To celebrate accomplishing this step toward my goals, I have a great book to share. In May, I attended a regional SCBWI conference.  Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and both Ohio chapters joined together to host the Wild, Wild, Midwest conference.  I attended several workshops with editor Kendra Levin from Viking, and won an ARC of a YA novel she edited, All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry.

 Coming September, 2013: All the Truth That’s In Me, a YA novel from Viking (Penguin Books). “Haunting and unforgettable.” – Ruta Sepetys, bestselling author of Between Shades of Gray and Out of the Easy. “Riveting.” – Judy Blundell, National Book Award-winning author of What I Saw and How I Lied. “Powerful.” – Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor author of One Crazy Summer. Read about it in Publisher’s Weekly.

Despite the wonderful reviews, I was hesitant to read this story due to its description as an empowering tale of recovery from trauma. I had recently finished If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch which was gorgeous, but intense and heartbreaking. I'm a social worker, and I can only handle so many stories of trauma every year.  But, after attending Kendra Levin's workshops, I respected her judgment, and I saw that the author had an MFA from Vermont College in writing for children and adults - I've been impressed by every book I've read from their graduates.

I tentatively began to read and discovered that the story was much different than I expected and not at all what I feared.  The cover looks modern to me, but the story is historical, set in an unknown year, in a Puritan-like settlement. The narrative style is unusual with very short chapters/scenes and a four part structure.  Other reviews have compared it to Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, but it reminded me of Chime by Frannie Billingsly.

All the Truth That's in Me won't be released until late September, but I'd love to give my ARC to one of our YA Fusion followers.  The giveaway ends on Friday, July 5th.  To enter, please leave a comment and include your email address.

Happy summer reading!
Kristin Lenz

a YA debut, revision help, and GIVEAWAYS!

I have a lot to share today: a wonderful new book, revision advice, and giveaways!

I’ll start with the wonderful book. The ARC of Emily Murdoch’s debut YA/Crossover novel, If You Find Me, sat in my reading pile for too many months. I wish I had read it earlier to join the chorus of admirers, but I’m squeaking in just in time – the novel releases this week. (With starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal!)  

At the end of this post, you’ll have a chance to comment to win my ARC. You’ll also find a link to read an interview with Emily and the blog tour stops for more chances to win her novel.  Trust me, she is such a warm and lovely person, you will immediately want to read her book. 

From the back cover:

There are some things you can’t leave behind…
A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

My thoughts:

Lyrical, evocative, heart-wrenching. I was immediately swept up in the emotion and the mystery, and I feared the unfolding that came at the end. Because I am a writer and a social worker, I thought about the worst that could have happened, and truly hoped author-Emily wouldn't go there. I didn't want her to go there. But I know she had to. That might sound bleak, but ultimately this is a story of love, hope, and resilience.

This is also a great story to analyze from a writing perspective, especially the use of flashbacks.  Writers are taught to avoid the dreaded info-dump, to reveal in bits and pieces – never enough to slow the story down. 

I’ve struggled with this in my own writing, and I recently received some guidance from author Tim Wynne-Jones who is my mentor/instructor in an online writing class. Tim commented that I was holding back too much information from the reader.  I was attempting to build suspense, but instead it came across as coy.  I had briefly described a certain past incident, but Tim’s advice was to make that a longer, fully developed scene – even its own chapter.  Here’s one way to think of it: use small flashbacks that reveal character through action and dialogue, but use larger flashback scenes when important truths need to be revealed.

The best way to learn is to read books that do this well. If You Find Me is a great example, as well as Tim’s YA thriller, Blink and Caution.

* On Tuesday, I’ll be at Literary Rambles for Tip Tuesday sharing more of what I’ve learned from Tim Wynne-Jones. In the meantime, here are the programs where he teaches: 

-Vermont College of Fine Arts

- Humber School for Writers

Visit the unofficial blog by faculty members of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults

**And finally, the GIVEAWAYS!

1. To win my ARC of If You Find Me, simply leave a comment below by Friday, April 5^th.  U.S. and Canadian addresses only, and please include your email if it’s not listed on your Blogger profile.

2. To find the launch of the If You Find Me blog tour with more chances to win the book, go here: http://www.themidnightgarden.net/2013/03/emurdochpost.html

3. It’s revision week at Deborah Halverson’s DearEditor blog. Stop by for a week’s worth of revision tips and opportunities to win a partial or full edit of your manuscript.

Good luck!

Kristin Lenz

Creative Kids and a Happy New Year ARC Giveaway of Level 2

Never “write down” for children or teen readers.  One of the major rules for authors, right?  Recently I was reminded of just how sophisticated those young readers are.

I coordinate the Reflections creative arts competition at my daughter’s elementary school.  Yes, I’ll admit it – I volunteered to coordinate a PTA program. (I hear you snickering, Kurt and Collette! And Heather Smith Meloche graciously accepted my request for her to serve as one of the judges.) This year’s theme was The Magic of a Moment, and the 5th grade teachers required all of their students to enter.  Their assignment was to write a poem, essay, or short story, and one teacher even brought in a local poet, Alise Alousi, from InsideOut Literary Arts Project in Detroit to lead a workshop for the kids. (A huge thanks to Kristine Uyeda, writer-in-residence for InsideOut, and local author/teacher Barbara Rebbeck for also serving as judges!)

Alise began by sharing a poem with the class.  The students readily identified various elements - similes, personification, alliteration.  Later, when the students wrote their own poems, their teacher wouldn’t allow them to turn in their first draft, or their second, or third; she challenged them to dig deeper, to find fresh, unique images, to revise again and again.  The kids set their poems aside, returned to them days later, rewrote, and after 3 weeks of this process, they turned in their final work. 

As the coordinator, I had the privilege of reading their writing before it got sent to the judges.
“The breeze as cautious as a fawn”
“Fireworks decorated the sky like Christmas ornaments”
“It was like hitting dust”

The students wrote about common, special moments – a new puppy, a new sibling, a soccer goal, a dance recital – but they also wrote about art, fear, nature, life, death, our universe, and the feeling of being merely “a freckle” on the vast landscape of our world.  The wisdom of ten-year-olds.

If you’re a teacher or a parent, you have plenty of opportunities to spend time with children and teens, but if not, I encourage you to make that one of your New Year’s goals. I guarantee you’ll be impressed by their deep thinking, and they’ll inspire you to write fuller and truer.  In case you missed it, here’s a humorous essay from the NY Times Book Review from an author comparing her two writing groups – the one for adults and the one for 7-year-olds.

I wish you a 2013 filled with love, peace, and opportunities.  And since this is a blog celebrating books and writing, let’s kick off the new year with a giveaway.

 Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans.  In this gripping exploration of a futuristic afterlife, a teen discovers that death is just the beginning.

I’ve followed the Presenting Lenore blog for the past year and was delighted to receive an ARC of her debut YA novel, Level 2, from publisher Simon and Schuster.  Even more encouraging was this review by one of my favorite authors, Mary E. Pearson:  “Absolutely gripping. My heart pounded on nearly every page. You won't be able to put it down.”

Indeed, Lenore’s novel is getting great reviews praising her world-building and multi-layered plot.  The first few chapters present question after question that will keep you guessing and turning the pages.

Level 2 will be released in mid-January, but you can read it now by entering this giveaway.  Leave a comment with your name and email.  We'd also love to know about other 2013 debuts you’re looking forward to reading.  Please comment by Friday, January 11th. This giveaway is for US and Canadian mailing addresses.


* YA Fusion has 294 followers!  I'm not sure why round numbers have so much appeal, but we'd love to get to 300.  If you're a new follower, please let us know in your comment and I'll give you an extra entry for the giveaway.

* We’ve been so busy that we neglected our What’s News section for many months. It’s updated now, so please take a look and celebrate our good news.

* On Tuesday, I’m sharing a super simple, quick writing tip over at Literary Rambles. Please stop by to help me wish Casey and Natalie a Happy New Year.
Cheers!
Kristin Lenz