BG - Before Goth

Jody Sparks is running a really fun Sunday feature on the blog called Self-Deprecating Sunday. Nobody but nobody can beat Josh Berk's post a few weeks ago, but I gave her a photo of me back in 1984 for today's post. Black hair, striped shirt, no boobs. Ah, teenagehood.

On this date: In 1983 the final episode of M*A*S*H aired.

Cool Stuff!

Many authors are multi talented. I am sadly not one of them, but I digress. With that idea in mind, I present to you the one and only Dirty Little Secrets Lucy Doll that was made for me by the multitalented Chelsea Campbell, author of the acclaimed upcoming YA book Rise of Renegade X.




Her little jacket comes off and in her pocket is a teeny tiny Teddy B! The teddy makes sense if you've read DLS, but trust me this is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. Thanks Chelsea!!!!

Another cool thing is that my publisher made a Facebook Fan Page for DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS. This is where we'll be posting reviews and information about the book - head over and become a fan if you so desire.

Over on Georgia McBride's blog, she's running a contest to win a signed book and a bit of swag. As a writer and host of the YA Lit Chat on Twitter, she's a great person to check out on a regular basis. It runs through March 4th so you have a few days to get over there and enter.

On this date: In 1980, "I Will Survive" wins the first and last Grammy for Best Disco Recording.

Sequels and New Books

The past couple of days, I've gotten a few emails and tweets from people seeing DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS on the shelves in their local bookstores. They've sent them with a touch of embarrassment, wondering if it was old hat already. Um NO. I LOVE hearing about books in the wild. Photos sent to me give you extra super-duper karma points. Sometimes I don't believe that Lucy is really out there, so it is lovely to have proof that this is all not just a figment of my imagination.

Some readers have called for a sequel to DLS. Sorry to say, but no. As far as I'm concerned, this particular part of Lucy's life is over and it's time for her to move on without me looking over her shoulder. If you read between the lines toward the end, you will see a glimpse into what happens after the back cover closes. Not every book needs a part two, although I adore the fact that readers connect with her so strongly that they want to know more.

With all of the excitement surrounding DLS the past few weeks, some of you who have been hanging around here for awhile may be thinking that I've totally forgotten about my still-untitled WIP. But you would be wrong. Current word count is 60,012 (honestly, I finished yesterday at 59,949 so I tossed a couple of words in there to make it an even sixty) and I'm really loving the new book. The romance is SO much fun, although I go around just a little bit angsty all the time. Unfortunately, I'm about to shatter my main character's world (at least for a while) which has me feeling a little badly. I figure another few weeks and I should have a pretty solid first draft that I'll send to my reading partners and then on to my agent who will send me a ginormous revision letter because that's the way she rolls.

BTW - for those of you on the other side of the ocean, I don't think that DLS is on your local bookshelves (unless someone is selling a used copy) but it IS available on Amazon.com/uk. For just 8 pounds and some change, you can have your very own hardcover. Someday, I might even get over there to sign it for you! Or, send me an email and I'll send you out a signed bookplate.

WIP (still sadly untitled):
Current Word Count: 60,012
Line of the Day: I could feel Griffon's eyes on me as I pulled my hair over my shoulder, which made an innocent gesture feel suddenly intimate.

On this date: In 1928, Fats Domino was born.

Why Twitter is Like High School

I've come to the conclusion that you can equate pretty much anything with high school. My first cool job out of college was at a local weekly newspaper. I forget who started it, but someone divided up the different departments into high school cliques and it was disturbingly accurate. Editorial was the yearbook committee, classifieds was the drama club, accounting were the band geeks, advertising were the cheerleaders/football players and the production department was the smoking section. The bike messengers were the guys who dropped out junior year to start their own indie band.

After being on Twitter for a few weeks, there is a similar argument to be made. Being new on Twitter is a lot like being the new kid at a big, giant high school. You don't know anyone and you have an inkling about where you fit in, although you hope you're wrong. A few people friend you, but you wonder if they are the "right" friends. Do they know enough people? Are they going to label you forever if you end up following them? Are they going to friend you, but then end up ignoring you in favor of their more popular, cooler friends? After a while, you get on a few lists and start obsessing over your numbers. You only have 100 followers but someone you know has 1,000. Obviously, they are more popular than you are.

And then, there are the RTs. Nothing makes you feel like a band geek quite like never getting RT'd. You sit around, thinking up pithy, 140 character quotes and they disappear into a black hole. Nobody else on your list thinks that you are interesting enough to eat lunch with. You see the cheerleaders/football players, having endless @ conversations with each other as you look on, wondering if they are going to notice that you exist. When you do get @ed by the quarterback or the head cheerleader, you might as well call it a day because it just ain't going to get any better than that.

#FF is a lot like valentines day. Not getting #FFd ever is like Charlie Brown's empty mailbox. No love from the little red-haired girl. Hashtags and chats are a bad keg party. You have no idea what's going on, so you just drink your warm beer and nod your head hoping that nobody figures out you're clueless.

Don't get me wrong - I love Twitter. It's been great getting to "know" people that I would never have the chance to meet in person. But as someone who started in accounting and ended up in production, I'm always a little cautious.

On this date: In 1993, Eric Clapton wins the Grammy for Unplugged.

Common Sense Media and Your Local Indie

There has been a bit of an uproar on the blogs the past few days about the fact that Common Sense Media is partnering with Barnes and Noble to give book age ratings and information. I see what they're trying to do - they're trying to be your local, indie bookseller.

Back in the olden days (and in a few lucky places still today), you could walk into your corner bookstore, tell the person behind the counter about your child - their likes and dislikes as well as their maturity level and ask them what they have that might be good. I guarantee you that your bookseller would come up with a fabulous book you'd never heard of every time. All Internet booksellers are trying to come up with better ways to replace your local bookseller - the "people who looked at this book also bought" recommendations from Amazon. The age ratings on CSM. Trouble is, it doesn't work one-way.

I have two boys and while I like to know what they're reading and watching, I try not to censor them. When we finally succumbed to the evil that is XBox, I put my foot down against any games rated M for Mature. They are not mature. They are pre-teens. I'll admit to going to game sites and reading up on the content of games that I don't want to play, and maybe don't want them to play either.

At the same time, I've sat with them to watch episodes of "Sixteen and Pregnant" on MTV and "My Life as Liz" and these have been the most productive times in terms of discussion and opinion-sharing. I'm conflicted. I checked on a few of the ratings - they say that Looking for Alaska doesn't have any graphic sex but have huge red flags about the drugs and drinking - hello? Twilight was recommended for age 13 and up, which seems about right to me on the whole. I go crazy when I hear about second graders reading that book because they're "good readers". It was not written as a picture book for a reason. Yeah, I know, but we're not going to get into that here. The problem with age ratings is that kids aren't "on the whole". What might be right for one 13 year old, is all wrong for another. I guess if you're using it as another tool to talk with your kids, I get it.

Common Sense Media haven't reviewed DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, so I don't have a dog in this fight. I can only imagine what they would say. I would hate to have my book witheld from a kid who really needed to read it because they were "too young" by their standards.

I don't censor my kid's reading. If he's interested enough to read it, fine by me. I hope that he'll talk to me about anything he found troubling or that he didn't understand. He's 12, so that's a crapshoot.

For a great in-depth blogpost on this subject, check out SassyMonkey. She did a much better job than I did here. All I'm saying is that if you are lucky enough to have an independent bookseller near you, ignore all media recommendations, head on over and ask them. Out of everybody in the biz, passionate indie booksellers know more than everyone else put together. You'll get great recommendations for your particular kid and walk out with books they'll probably love.

On this date: In 1978, Fleetwood Mac won the Grammy for Rumors.

What I Learned at my Writer's Conference

This weekend was my third time at the fabulous Asilomar Writer's Conference. I love spending several intense days among all of the people who are passionate about creating amazing books for kids and teens. Here (in no particular order) are the things that come to the top when I think about what I learned:

* That Greg Pincus is the hardest-working social media guru around and that Gary Schmidt doesn't have an agent or website and types everything out on a typewriter.

* That conference organizers wouldn't set up a cage fight between the two.

* When a speaker is onstage, they will have you believing completely in their point of view. And that if you see Gary Schmidt speak, have a pocket full of Kleenex.

* If you get to see Yuyi Morales in person, buy a book and get her to sign it because she will draw you a beautiful original picture in the front flap with silver ink.

* That not only is Sarah Davies an awesome agent, but her British accent makes even bad news sound classy.

* Ellen Klages is cool.

* If you see a writer reaching for the bourbon at the "room party", that's the person you should go and talk to.

* People make fun of you if you bring a wine "cube" to the room party. Drink it anyway.

* No amount of coffee can make up for two consecutive nights of four hours sleep.

* That there is always someone in the audience who thinks that agents are evil and unnecessary. The agents on the panel are always gracious, even though that person is wrong. Unless they are Gary Schmidt.

* Unlike writers of the past, many conference attendees (and a few presenters) will get up early and go running on the beach in the rain. You must try not to resent their athletic efforts.

* The seminar that you think will be the most boring with the least to offer will usually end up being your favorite.

* There are very few degrees of separation in the world. You might find out over lunch that editor Tracy Gates went to college with your conference roomate. Always watch what you say.

* You will be sad as you drive away, but stopping at the outlet mall on the way home will make you feel better.

* There are only 362 more days until next year's conference. Yay!

On this date: In 1980, the US Hockey Team's miracle on ice.

I Am Here =>

At the fabulously wonderful Asilomar Writer's Conference. Saw Yuyi Morales speak last night (totally amazingly charming) and today we get Sarah Davies, Greg Pincus and Gary Schmidt. What a way to spend a blustery Saturday.

I know I've been tooting my own horn lately, but then again, I figure if I don't, who will? When I got this email from my editor yesterday, the subject line read simply: DLS in Kirkus. For those of you unfamiliar with Kirkus, they are known for brashly honest reviews and having Kirkus review your book can be a pulse-quickening experience. I think I lost a few pounds when I saw the subject line. But happily, Kirkus liked Dirty Little Secrets and I couldn't be more thrilled. I think I'm allowed to publish the whole thing here (and if I'm not, they'll tell me):

“An emotionally charged novel dealing with the issue of compulsive hoarding tells the story of a girl forced to make an agonizing decision in this nicely realized page-turner. Sixteen-year-old Lucy has been painfully isolated from her peers for years, refusing to let anyone near her house lest they discover the towers of garbage and heaps of mold-encrusted dishes. Outwardly highly functional, her mother maintains the dysfunction in their home with an obsessive grip. When Lucy returns from a friend’s house one morning and discovers her mother dead of an asthma attack, she is poised to call 911 but quickly realizes this will expose the secret that her mother (and Lucy herself) worked so hard to protect. A growing public awareness of this disorder will produce many curious readers, and they will not be disappointed—Lucy is sympathetic and real, her brother and sister equally believable. Her mother is a multidimensional, complicated character. Quick chapters throttle toward an unexpected and morally ambiguous ending that some may feel leaves too many questions unanswered. Nonetheless, readers will be rapt.”—Kirkus Reviews

I even love the "morally ambiguous" part, because honestly, it's true. But that's what makes for good discussion, right?

I'm still seeing lots of great reviews and I thank everyone who takes the time to tell others how they feel. As controversial as the ending is, I'd love to ask everyone not to reveal any "spoilers" if they can help it. For me, the crux of the story is the question of what Lucy is going to do about her situation, and I'd hate for a reader to know that going in. If you feel that you absolutely must talk about the ending in public, I'd really appreciate it if you would put a big "spoiler alert" tag in the review. Thanks!

On this date: In 1985, Ireland legalizes contraceptive sales.