Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

One thing I give thanks for every year is good books. And in the last few years, I’ve been feeling particularly blessed on that count. Part of this is due to my own increased awareness: I read more book blogs, pay attention to award lists and my friends’ recommendations, and add books willy-nilly to my goodreads to-read queue so I don’t forget them. And part of this is due to the fact that there are a lot of really excellent books out there right now.

So, here are some of my recent favorite reads:

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone
This one is non-fiction, something I don’t read enough of. I had been curious initially because I am a fan of space exploration (and I just wrote a book about an earth-girl who runs away to join an intergalactic circus). And indeed one of the very interesting things about this book is the window it provides into the sort of intense screening and training astronauts have to go through. But more than that, this book really opened my eyes and made me think about privilege and prejudice.

It was fascinating, inspiring, and infuriating. I am so glad I read it, because never before have I truly internalized the fact that the freedoms and opportunities I have as a woman are founded on the efforts of the women (and men!) who came before me. Whether by luck, or because things really have changed, I myself have never once encountered a coworker or a teacher who has made me feel that “girls can’t do science”: not in my high-school advanced math classes, not college as a math major or grad school while getting my MA in math, or at any of the companies where I have worked as a software designer. I recognize that this is something to be grateful for, but it has always been a sort of distant intellectual feeling.

Reading this book made it all much more real to me: that less than 50 years ago women who proved themselves space-worthy were denied their dreams simply because they were female (and apparently because the powers that be were also afraid that if they let qualified women into space they would also have to let non-white men have the opportunity). I am so thankful that those women did not give up, and that there were open-minded men who encouraged change from within the system.

Give up the Ghost by Megan Crewe
I will start this off by admitting that I have known Megan online for many years — we’ve exchanged critiques, commiserated over rejections, and cheered each other onward to publication. I am always a little nervous about writing something about a book by a friend — my policy is to be honest, but I also tend toward the “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” camp.

But with this book, I feel free to gush, because I really, truly loved it! I actually had critiqued a much earlier version of the same story several years ago, and thought it was good. But Megan has taken that good story and made it great. The lovely prose and sharp characterization is still there, but this time around I found what I value most in fiction: strong emotional connections to the characters. These characters worked their way into my heart and stuck there.

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern
I really enjoyed this as it was kind of like a book special-ordered for me: A girl with straight brown hair that goes mushroomy with a bad cut (like me) who loves math (like me) and values good grades (like I did) who falls in with a crowd of gamers (like I did) including a cute boy she falls for (I married mine!) and ends up proud to be a nerd (like me).

There’s a bit of language and “content” (and in some cases, maybe a little TMI for my tastes– I will never look at a glazed donut the same way again) but nothing that made me want to stop reading, and mostly necessary for the story.

Though as a LARPer I must object to the classification of LARPing as being nerdier than table top gaming!

I've completely blown my chances at finishing NaNoWriMo, but aside from feeling a tad guilty and lame I don't mind, because we finally did something we have been wanting to do since we bought our home three and a half years ago: we set up the living room -- the real living room rather than the little room up stairs that was supposed to be the temporary living room.

Over the past week we finally finished the last of the paint touch-ups, moved the couch and tv downstairs (ugh) and hung our decorations. And since we were on a roll, we decorated the dining room too, and I unpacked our china and set up the "china nook".

It feels like a real home downstairs now:

( Pictures and more decorating blather )

Charlie was a bit confused by the rearrangements, since the sofa was one of his favorite spots to nap during the day:

( Charlie looking cute... )

The other exciting aspect of this move is that I can now work on setting up the library/writing room! The biggest task is going to be priming and painting the walls, which are some sort of weird wallboard with wallpaper glued directly to them (ie it does not want to come off without taking part of the wall with it). So we're going to just paint over the wallpaper this time. I've already picked a lovely deep purple called "Byzantine Purple". Isn't that a great name? To motivate myself to do this in a timely fashion we ordered some additional bookshelves and an adorable small roll-top desk, such as I have always dreamed of. I'll be much more productive with a new desk and purple walls, right?

So that's what has been occupying much of the past few weeks, along with leaf-taming, cleaning, reading, writing, and getting ready for Thanksgiving. My folks are up for the week, and we are looking forward to a peaceful holiday and lots of good food. Mmm, stuffing...

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

I am happy to report that if you are interested in ordering signed/personalized copies of Fortune’s Folly you can now do so very easily thanks to a fabulous website called Books with Flair, set up by author and blogger Mitali Perkins. Books with Flair is a listing of books for kids, tweens and teens that you can order and have signed, personalized, wrapped and shipped! Thank you Mitali for setting this up! There are some great books available so please do check it out!

Here is the page for Fortune’s Folly! Special thanks to Ellen at the Children’s Book Cellar in Waterville ME, who is handling the sales for my book. Just give her a call to place an order!

I’ve been thinking a bit about the upcoming holiday season. I’ve been trying to be more thoughtful in my own gift-giving, both in terms of matching the gift to the person, and in choosing a gift that promotes industries I want to see thrive. I haven’t always been as good about this as I could, though, so this year I am going to try to do three things:

• Buy Books – I love books. I think there’s one out there for everyone. And I think they make fabulous gifts: hard to break, conveniently sized, and easy to wrap! And of course I like buying books as gifts because I am a writer and a reader and I’d like the publishing industry to stay around to keep me and my author/agent/editor/etc friends in business! But seriously. Books are one of my own favorite gifts to receive! Here is a great list of book gift suggestions from the blog Editorial Ass (one of my regular reads).
• Buy (or make) Handmade Gifts – I love getting and giving gifts that aren’t one a million mass-produced similar items. There are so many cool, quirky, wonderful options out there. Rather than go out shopping at the big stores after Thanksgiving, I am planning to spend some time browsing on Etsy and Foodzie.
• Buy from Independents – I firmly believe that putting money into local businesses is the best thing for my community, in the long run. Yes, it would be cheaper to buy some items from a big-box store, and sometimes there are things you just can’t get from an independent. But I would much rather my money stay in local communities, rather than going to some distant corporate headquarters. Check out Facebook Unchained and Indiebound for more information on the benefits of shopping independent and where to find stores.

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

Today I’m happy to welcome L.K. Madigan to my blog, to answer a few questions about her debut YA novel Flash Burnout.

Q: Tell us about a scene or character from your novel that was especially easy (or especially difficult) to write.

A: The scene in which Blake’s dad talks to him about birth control was really fun to write.

Q: What is your favorite (or one of your favorite) myths or fairy-tales, and why? Or alternately, what fairy-tale or myth do you dislike, and why?

A: Classic fairy tales are pretty grim. (Get it? Grimm?) The female character is always being poisoned or slaving away for villains or getting locked in a tower/dungeon/cellar. The fairy tale I most dislike is the original Little Mermaid story – not only does she give up her voice to be with her beloved prince, but having legs instead of a tail feels like walking on knives to her. THEN he chooses someone else, anyway, and she can’t go back home unless she kills him. She bravely refuses, and becomes foam on the sea. Sob!

Maybe that’s why I wrote my own mermaid book. (Coming out next year.)

Q: So, what has been the most exciting part of selling your book(s) and getting published so far?

A: I’m starting to receive fan mail (really! I got an email yesterday titled “fan mail”), but I think the most exciting part of this journey has been the friendships with other writers I’ve developed. I expect that pleasure to continue, so I’m totally thrilled by that perk of being published.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

I have a strong suspicion that I will not actually have 50K written for NaNoWriMo at the end of the month. But that’s okay with me. NaNoWriMo is fabulous for some books (it really helped me get the first draft of Fortune’s Folly written) but sometimes pushing to writewritewrite for wordcount isn’t the best thing for a book. I am finding that for the current project, my pattern is to work on one particular scene for a day or two, then take a day to mull it over, revise, and dream about the next scene until I am excited to write it. I am having a lot of fun and feel good about the book. But my wordcount isn’t NaNoWriMo-level by any means. I will be lucky if I get 30K. So maybe I won’t “win” the marathon, but I will (hopefully) have the start of a novel I can keep working on and feel good about.

I fully admit that I am also feeling a tiny bit lazy — and also a tiny bit nervous about getting the house cleaned and prepped (I need to paint the living room trim, eek!) for my parents’ Thanksgiving visit. Not to mention a number of other mundane-life things that were stressing me out to be putting off. And the soulful, neglected looks the dog keeps giving me.

So I may not be going full-tilt for 50K, but I am still trying my best to write 1K per day. And I’m definitely cheering the rest of you on toward meeting whatever November goals you have set!

In other non-guilty-admission news, I wanted to spread the word to any librarians out there about a big contest we are holding over at the Debs of 2009 community. We’re giving away 46 (!) of our novels to one winning library (public OR school). Details on how to enter are in this entry. Please pass it on to any librarians you know who might be interested!

And a few miscellaneous fun links:

I am coveting these Star Wars Trash Compactor bookends! (Thanks to Pinot and Prose for the link)

Did you know a baby echidna is called a puggle?

I've been thinking about my desire to try to experiment a bit more with my writing and try some new things. In particular, I've been thinking about how two writers I particularly admire for their prose (Laini Taylor and Maggie Stiefvater) both have outlets where they practice/play with writing outside of their work on novels (The Sunday Scribblings and The Merry Sisters of Fate, respectively).

Then I was chatting with my friend and critique partner callenghast and we got onto the topic of writing and I said how it might be fun (and good for my writing) to do something similar (though perhaps a bit more casual): to write from a common prompt once a month, and post the results in our blogs. The intention is to practice our craft, to have fun, and to branch out stylistically. So we're going to do that, probably starting in December. Whee!

The reason I'm posting here is that we figured there might be others who would be interested, either in playing along (there's no minimum participation requirement), or in reading the results.

Edited to add:
I decided it seemed like there were enough of us interested it made sense to form a community to keep everything in one place. So I've created an lj community called Chasing Inspiration over here. Please feel free to join (I made it moderated for now) and comment on the starter post I put up with thoughts you might have on logistics.

I spent about 12 hours over the course of Sunday and Monday wrestling with my NaNoWriMo project. Word count: ~2000. Clearly not working. I suppose I could have pressed on hoping for a breakthrough but honestly I was already getting kind of bitter about that project. I do still want to write it, but it needs more simmering time. And probably it needs to start in a different place. And maybe I need to give up my fantasy of trying to write beautiful lush third-person prose like Laini Taylor and Patricia McKillip. I know the point of NaNoWriMo is to not bother yourself with fears of clunky purple prose and overwraught metaphor, but apparently my internal editor is a workaholic and will not take the time off when it comes to this particular issue.

So, I switched gears. Yesterday morning I opened a new doc, and wrote about 2000 words of a sequel to CIRCUS GALACTICUS. My internal editor still winced and moaned over the occasional rough-draft wretchedness, but I didn't mind, because it was FUN! I actually enjoyed writing it. I love the world and the characters and it's a blast to get back to them.

(rj_anderson may be the only person who might read this and appreciate it, but I introduced a new character who decided to model himself on Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory. Not sure if he will make the cut during revision, but he's so much fun to write!)

What this all means is that I am dreadfully behind, but still hoping to make up wordcount this weekend!

Cheers to all of the rest of you doing NaNoWriMo officially or unofficially, or who are marathon revising this month!

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

Today I’m happy to welcome Kristina Springer to my blog, to answer a few questions about her debut novel The Espressologist. I haven’t had the opportunity to read this one myself yet, but I love the cute premise: a barista who matchmakes her customers based on their drink choices. (For the record, my husband and I both like chai lattes. Hopefully that means we are meant to be together!).

Q: Tell us about a scene or character from your novel that was especially easy (or especially difficult) to write.

A: The opening of the book was really easy to write. I remember sitting at Starbucks, trying to figure out how to start the book when this obnoxious guy came in was going bonkers oogling this girl. I started writing about him.

Q: What is your favorite (or one of your favorite) myths or fairy-tales, and why? Or alternately, what fairy-tale or myth do you dislike, and why?

A: I’ve always been a Cinderella fan. When my husband and I got married we had the horse and carriage, the castle wedding cake, glass slippers, and a groom’s cake in the shape of a storybook. I’m not sure why I’ve always been drawn to that story. Maybe it’s all that housework my mom made me do as a kid.

Q: So, what has been the most exciting part of selling your book(s) and getting published so far?

A: Signing advanced review copies of the book at ALA in Chicago was pretty freaking cool. That made it all seem very real. The day I got the ARCs was also pretty exciting. I recall dancing in the driveway with my books.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

I’ll admit it: sometimes writing isn’t entirely fun. Sometimes it is hard work. Sometimes it is painful, when the words I am wrestling with on the page are unmalleable, ugly, colorless clay compared to the perfect story in my mind. [Of course this isn't always the case. There is plenty of fun during the actual writing too, though I am always looking for ways to improve my level of fun. The brilliant Laini Taylor wrote an inspiring post about this recently in her blog. Her book Lips Touch: Three Times was also just nominated for the National Book Award! Congratulations, Laini!]

There is, however, one part of the process that is almost always composed of untarnished fun and excitement: the pre-writing, the brainstorming, when ideas and images are flickering around my brain and I am free to cast my net of dreams out into the sea of ideas and see what I catch. I haven’t committed to anything, so anything is possible.

That’s where I am right now. I had been waffling between two ideas for my next project, which I will be writing for NaNoWriMo. I very much want to do a sequel for my space circus, because that world and those characters are enormously fun to write about and I care about them quite a lot and want to find out the rest of their story. But there’s another idea that’s been drifting around the edges of my mind, looking all shiny and bewitching. It’s a very different sort of book: darker and more romantic. And I think it wants to be written in third person, with a somewhat more lush storytelling voice. My last three books have all been first-person, so the thought of third is a bit scary. I’ve written plenty of third-person novels, but they are all unpublished. I am not entirely sure I can pull off third-person successfully. But one of the things I want to do as a writer is to try new things, and to challenge myself. NaNoWriMo seems like a perfect time for that. I’ll be writing so fast hopefully I won’t have time to be scared!

So here’s what I’ve got:

• A new inspirational desktop image (of the historical site of Bam, Iran).
• A new inspirational playlist (lots of Dead Can Dance, and a bunch of new discoveries courtesy of Last.fm: Irfan, Azam Ali, Vas, L’Ham de Foc, Stellamara).
• My two main characters and their emotional baggage.
• A bunch of world-building/cosmology/secondary characters stolen from a trunked novel (Obsidian Shield, for those of you who have known me long enough).
• The opening scene.
• A very rough outline, and a couple of pivotal scenes from the rest of the story that I am really looking forward to writing — I am going to try to firm these up and identify a few more to serve as “carrots” to tempt me forward through the drafting process.
• Lots of excitement (and a tiny bit of fear)!

What is your favorite part of starting a new project? Any other suggestions for keeping the fun alive during the drafting process?

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

Have you every gone on a literary pilgrimage? Or do you have one you would like to undertake?

Before this year I’d gone on two: I visited Prince Edward Island, in the hopes of capturing a fragment of the magic of L. M. Montgomery’s Anne books. And I visited Mankato, MN, to see the real life inspiration for the Deep Valley of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy books.

During my recent vacation in Italy, I undertook a third: to visit the various places referenced in one of my favorite Betsy books: Betsy and the Great World. I’ve documented the results photographically, and if you are interested you can check out the set on Flickr.

There are many other places I would like to visit, to see for myself the landscapes that inspired my favorite stories. I would love to visit Wales, and find the peaks described in Susan Coopers The Grey King. I’d love to see a real-life “Pemberley”. I even have dreams of hiking through the English countryside pretending I am a hobbit on a tramp in the Shire. I’d love to visit Egypt, where Amelia Peabody and Theodosia Throckmorton have taken me in the pages of their respective series. Having read some of Mma Ramotswe’s adventures, I wish I could see her beloved Botswana.

What about you? What literary pilgrimage would you undertake if you could go anywhere in the world?

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

You know what helps deal with post vacation let-down (say, after a lovely trip to Florence and Venice)? Coming home and finding a box containing these on your doorstep:

It also helps if you have one of these waiting for you:

and maybe a sky like this:

And it’s not like you don’t have a souvenir to remember it all by…

And here is the second half of my trip report. I won't be offended if you don't read it and just go look at the pictures.

( Read more... )

Pictures, once again, are over on Flickr.

This is very very very long. You have been warned! This is a version of a trip report I submitted on the Slow Travel website (it isn't up yet there).

( Read more... )

Venice will get a separate post. Pictures are over on Flickr

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

Today I’m happy to welcome Pam Bachorz to my blog, to answer a few questions about her debut novel Candor.

Q: Tell us about a scene or character from your novel that was especially easy (or especially difficult) to write.

A: I love the scenes that flow out of my fingertips. They are always my readers’ favorites too. But there was one scene that tied me in knots–it happens about a third of the way in, and it’s a really important one. The secrets that my MC have been keeping from his girlfriend all come spilling out, and the plot spins off in a new direction. I probably rewrote that, changing setting, characters, dialog, at least ten times–not counting just editing rewrites. Man it made me insane. I hope it’s good, now. But honestly I never want to see that chapter again!

Q: What is your favorite (or one of your favorite) myths or fairy-tales, and why? Or alternately, what fairy-tale or myth do you dislike, and why?

A: I love myths and fairy tales. My fave is actually Snow White / Rose Red. I love that it’s a story about sisters who loved each other (instead of, say, destroying each other’s ball gowns) and I also love the image of that bear visiting them every night, sleeping in front of the fire, so grateful for human companionship.

Q: So, what has been the most exciting part of selling your book(s) and getting published so far?

A: I got to go to a very large publishing convention called the BookExpo America (BEA) this year, to help support the launch of CANDOR. It was wild to see my title, my name, my BOOK!, displayed in my publishers’ booth–and they really treated me like something special, which was head-spinning. It was equally exciting to meet the authors whose work inspires and feeds me, and to grab some copies of upcoming books I’m pumped about (like CATCHING FIRE, months before its release!). I just felt so…. legit that weekend.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Whew! I am back home after a fantastic and beautiful Italian escapade! Aside from the wretched 24 hours of travel (and airport layovers) on the way back, it was a wonderful vacation. But Bob and I are both glad to be home (even if it is chilly and damp and there is no lovely blue-green canal outside our door). Charlie is also doing fine, appearing none the worse for his extra-long stay at the daycare and boarding facility. I think it helped that he still got his daily Greenie while we were away! And that the staff takes such good care of him.

I'll be posting more soon as I have pages and pages of travel notes, not to mention some writing news piling up (I got ARCs of PRUNELLA the day we returned, woohoo!).

In the meantime, here are links to my pictures on Flickr: Florence (sadly abbreviated due to the death of my memory card three days into the trip-- fortunately my dad and Bob took more, but they aren't up online yet) and Venice. (Though at the moment it seems like Flickr is flaking out so those links may not work).

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

Today I’m happy to welcome Lauren Bjorkman to my blog, to answer a few questions about her debut novel My Invented Life.

Q: Tell us about a scene or character from your novel that was especially easy (or especially difficult) to write.

A: For me, the first scene was the hardest because I gotl tangled up trying to achieve just the right balance of atmosphere, action, conflict, and backstory. Also, I wanted to start with a slightly unlikable/oblivious protag, who becomes more sensitive as the story progresses. But if I made her too unlikable, no one would read past the first scene. I think I rewrote the first five pages fifty times!

Q: What is your favorite (or one of your favorite) myths or fairy-tales, and why? Or alternately, what fairy-tale or myth do you dislike, and why?

A: I love Greek myths for how they explain the world in unusual ways. And for their often heart-breaking endings. But, even as a child, I was angry that Orpheus looked over his shoulder at just the wrong moment (after he’d been warned not to!) and doomed his love for Eurydice. How could he be so stupid.

Q: So, what has been the most exciting part of selling your book(s) and getting published so far?

A: On the day my agent called to say my novel sold, a fog descended (a fog of joy, no doubt), but I can hardly remember how I felt. Except I couldn’t sit still. And the day the proof pages came in the mail, and I saw how my book would look in print–that was truly blissful.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

There is an excellent post by Colleen Mondor over on her blog Chasing Ray about Super Heroines. It’s a part of the ongoing “What a Girl Wants” series, which has provided a bunch of other thought-provoking discussions over the last few months that are worth checking out too.

Reading all the great responses in the WAGW post inspires me to gush about my own love of super heroines, especially because comics and superheros were one of the inspirations for my most recent writing project, CIRCUS GALACTICUS, and because Trix, the main character of CG, owes a whole lot to the glorious tradition of butt-kicking super-heroines

Like Colleen, I grew up reading comic books. I started with Archie but the Betty/Veronica/Archie triangle wore me out pretty quickly and I moved happily on to superheroes. My absolute favorites were always the Marvel mutant books, starting with the X-Men and the New Mutants. I loved the idea of a band of young people with strange and scary powers, feared by the rest of the world but pledged to defend it. I also found characters I could identify with (Kitty/Shadowcat, Rahne/Wolfsbane) and others I admired for the qualities they had that I felt I lacked, like toughness and self-confidence (Ororo/Storm, Rogue, Dani/Mirage). I started reading X-Men when Storm was the leader of the group and Mirage was the leader of the New Mutants, which I suspect had a lot to do with my instant and intense attraction to the books.

Eventually the ever-multiplying hydra-like heads of the X-books became too much for my budget and I stopped my monthly comic splurge, but I’ve continued to be a big fan of superheroes in general, and occasionally daydream of trying to catch back up on the lives of my childhood heroes. But I’ve found other venues, and other cool girl “superheroes” like Buffy and Xena and Sydney (Alias) and Max (Dark Angel). [I also recommend the animated X-Men: Evolution TV series. It takes some liberties with the comic book canon, but I found it to be marvelous and rich and entertaining in its own way. The goth Rogue from Evolution does a lot to balance out my disappointment with the wimpy Rogue from the otherwise enjoyable X-Men feature films].

I think we definitely need these type of strong, active “super heroines” out there in our media — and we particularly need characters that reflect the diversity of our real world, in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, class, etc. I do think that there are more of these heroines out there right now than we might think. But there are also plenty of frustratingly unempowered characters, and it can be a challenge to avoid them when so often they are dressed up in the same tights and cape, so to speak.

One issue that some of the panelists bring up on the WAGW post is that of what it takes to be a “super heroine” — how much of it is based on the sort of butt-kicking power and action that typifies the superhero genre?

I find it an interesting question because part of my motivation in my first two books was to create strong girl characters who accomplished significant and challenging deeds using their wits and guts rather than kung-fu prowess and KAPOW! knockout action. And that wasn’t a reaction to the many male superheroes out there– it was more directly a reaction the fact that most of the tough female role-models I was familiar with were warriors, confronting their challenges physically. Don’t get me wrong– I LOVED those tough girl fighters. I loved watching Buffy staking vampires and Xena trouncing warlords; I ate up books about sword-swinging gals like Robin McKinley’s Harry and Aerin and Tamora Pierce’s Alanna. But I wanted to experiment with characters who didn’t have as much raw physical power, and see how I could get them to kick butt too (even if it was metaphorical butt). Much as I enjoyed fantasizing about being a shield-maiden, I really didn’t feel like one. So I do think we need girl heroes who are strong in many different ways, in order for all of us to find a hero we can identify with.

On the other hand, while I’m glad to have had the chance to write about my not-quite-Warrior-Princesses, after I had finished their stories I decided that it was time to write about a girl who really was an action hero: someone whose first instinct was to fight back physically. Someone who maybe even was a little reckless letting her words (and fists) fly. Someone confident in her body and in her physicality. Someone who was not really like me at all, but who I could still find inspiring and fun because she had qualities I wished I had. That was, in part, where Trix came from, with her pink hair, her brashness, her acrobatics, her daring, and her courage.

So bring on the super heroines of all kinds: butt-kickers, scientists, and peace-makers. Buffy and Willow. Kitty and Ororo. Because I think we all need a super hero who can inspire us, both by reflecting the best of what we are, and by illuminating what we wish we could be.

And now I have to go try to get my hands on the Justice Society of America and find out more about Power Girl!

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

Woohoo! I just got a peek at the cover art for my second book THE MAGICAL MISADVENTURES OF PRUNELLA BOGTHISTLE, due out in the spring of 2010. The cover is not finalized and may still change a bit, but I have the okay to share it here:

I love it! The artwork is by Brandon Dorman, which I find particularly thrilling as he is also responsible for the covers of several books by one of my all time favorite authors, Diana Wynne Jones. Check out his beautiful website for dozens of other gorgeous and magical art. You can also read Betsy Bird’s interview with him over on her Fuse #8 blog (he’s doing the art for her own forthcoming picture book).

Things that particularly delight me about the PRUNELLA cover: the jewel-like colors, the fireflies glittering among the trees, that Barnaby and Prunella are wearing the sort of clothing I envisioned (I particularly like Prunella’s shoes and socks), that the scene depicted is full of action and adventure (because I like to think there’s a good helping of that in the book), and most of all that there’s a GIANT ALLIGATOR on it (there is a giant alligator in the book too, by the way).

In other less bogwitchly news, I am happy to report I had a lovely visit at the Prince Memorial Library in Cumberland Maine earlier this week. It was a very small crowd, but all the adults were librarians, and since librarians are my heroes, I was perfectly happy chatting with them. Many thanks to the fabulous Jan Hamilton for inviting me!

And in addition to some other upcoming library visits, I am also now very excited to have joined in on the Debs of 2009 Holiday Tour Stop in New York City! If you are in the area, please come to Books of Wonder between 1 and 3PM on Sunday, December 6th to say hello! I will be posting more details when I have them, but we’ve already got quite a crowd of debs who will be in attendance. Thank you Michelle Zink for setting it up!

And last of all — I have officially signed up to do NaNoWriMo this year. If you are doing it too, feel free to add me to your buddy list. My handle there is “devafagan”. I am excited and a little scared, but eager for the chance to dive into drafting the second CIRCUS book and live and breath writing for a month. Whee!

In just two days Bob and I will be heading off on a long-awaited vacation to Italy! This is my second time traveling to Europe (the first being 7 days in Paris in 2006) and my first time to Italy. We'll be traveling with my parents, staying five nights in Florence and five nights in Venice. I am both tremendously excited and a tad nervous. Both Tuscany and Venice figured strongly in my inspirations for the world in which my first novel, FORTUNE'S FOLLY, is set. So getting to see the real thing is very thrilling, and feels fitting given the book came out earlier this year. But I also fear flying, and I am nervous about leaving our dog Charlie for so long -- he will be at the boarding place he normally goes to for weekends and day care, where the staff know (and like) him and he knows (and likes) the staff. I know he'll be well cared for but I am still can't quite take the thought of being away and worry that he'll think Bob and I abandoned him. This is one of those times I really wish I could somehow telepathically communicate with animals!

But aside from flying and dog-worries, I am really excited about our trip! So I will babble a bit about it, both to expend some of my energy and in case it's helpful to anyone else planning a similar trip.

So far we've made the following preparations:

• Reserved an apartment in Florence (right near the Duomo) and one in Venice (in the academic Dorsoduro region).
  
• Arranged for our flights from Boston to Florence (transferring at Charles de Gaulle in Paris)
  
• Arranged (via the apartment rental service) for a water taxi to take us to the Venice airport verrrrry early in the morning on our last day, for our 6:55AM flight home.
  
• Purchased (online) train tickets from Florence to Venice (Santa Lucia Station, NOT Mestre).
  
• Reserved a private van and tour guide to take us out into the Tuscan countryside for one day to visit small hill towns, have lunch at a small authentic restaurant, see castles, stop at an abbey that does Gregorian Chanting, and do a cheese tasting. [This is one of the things I am most looking forward to]. We set this up with Hills and Roads.
  
• Printed out numerous articles (mostly from SlowTravel) on things like visiting the Roman ruins outside Florence in Fiesole, how to find your train, picnic spots in Florence, how to order gelato, and how to take the vaporetto to Burano and Torcello.
  
• Done a bunch of general reading and research into the sites and history of both cities, identifying our must-see sites and establishing a general travel philosophy. We did NOT reserve any museum tickets in advance, for two reasons. One: we are not particularly big art history types, so we figure that seeing the art in the churches, palaces, smaller museums, etc will be just as fulfilling as seeing the really famous pieces in the most popular museums. Two: we want to play things by ear, take our time, and enjoy ourselves in a leisurely fashion, without being slave to a tight schedule of reservations.
  
• Preliminary Packing: We are all trying to travel very light, using back-pack-sized soft suitcases (that actually convert to backpacks for easy carrying. We plan to try to do laundry mid-vacation. My biggest concern right now is how many (and which) books to bring. We'll have two long travel days (including a total of 8 hours waiting between flights on the way home and the busride from Portland to Boston and back) and since we intend to make this a relaxed trip, I will probably be reading a bit in the apartments, in cafes, in parks, etc. But I want to bring some travel guides as well as novels. Hmm....
  

Our Rules of Travel:

• If you have access to a bathroom, use it.
  
• Don't just eat at the first place we see when we get hungry -- be on the lookout for likely places before hunger attacks and drives us to a substandard or overpriced option. As a corollary -- look off the beaten path and outside the main touristy areas, and consider getting picnic food/street food or things we can prepare in the apartment for some meals.
  
• Spend plenty of time just wandering around, soaking in the atmosphere and paying attention to little details.
  
• Don't be too embarrassed to try using the language.
  

And to end on a shiny note, here are five experiences I am particularly looking forward to:

• Visiting the colorful "mini-Venice" of Burano.
  
• Seeing the gold mosaics in the basilica in Venice.
  
• Eating my first real Italian gelato.
  
• Visiting San Ansimo Abbey (and the rest of our day trip in Tuscany)
  
• Visiting the Boboli Gardens in Florence.
  

Ciao!

Originally published at devafagan.com. You can comment here or there.

Today I’m happy to welcome Megan Crewe to my blog, to answer a few questions about her debut novel Give Up the Ghost. I first met Megan years ago when we were both members of the Online Writing Workshop for SF, Fantasy and Horror (which I highly recommend for anyone looking for an online critique site). Even back then I knew Megan would be published one day — her prose was just so lovely and her ideas so bewitching! We’ve been critiquing one another’s books ever since, and so this debut is particularly noteworthy and exciting for me, because I have been following this book from fairly early on, and have seen how much love and work Megan has put into it, taking what was already a brilliant concept (a girl who talks to ghosts and uses them to get gossip to keep the mean kids in line at school) into a truly haunting and beautiful book. I am reading the final published version now, and it is wonderful. I love the main character Cass particularly, with her prickly ways and emotional damage and wry humor. If you like ghost stories, beautiful writing, and fully realized characters check this one out!

Now, here’s Megan to answer a few questions about her book!

Q: Tell us about a scene or character from your novel that was especially easy (or especially difficult) to write.

A: Most of the scenes with Paige were easy–I felt that I knew her character really well right from the start.

Q: What is your favorite (or one of your favorite) myths or fairy-tales, and why? Or alternately, what fairy-tale or myth do you dislike, and why?

A: One of my favorite myths is the one about Thor’s wedding day. It has that balance of humor and violence that makes Norse mythology fascinating.

Q: So, what has been the most exciting part of selling your book(s) and getting published so far?

A: I think the most exciting part has been holding the actual (advance) copies in my hands–that made everything seem so much more real. I can’t wait until I have the finished books!

( Read the rest of this entry » )