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 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 » )

I can now cross off "Have a Tea Party" off my goals for the year list, woohoo! I have spent much of the last 24 hours shopping, cooking, dreaming, hat-decorating, not-sleeping, and finally enjoying (yay!) a lovely tea party with some of my neighbors here in town. The party was planned and hosted by myself, my friend Maureen, and our friends Lauren and Laura (at the house of the latter two). It was a lot of work, but it was really fun and I had a fabulous time.

( more details and a picture here )

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

Today I’m happy to welcome Sydney Salter back to my blog, to answer a few questions about her second novel Jungle Crossing. Sydney is also the author of My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters which debuted earlier this year.

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

A: Writing the sacrifice scene was tricky because I had to show it through
my ancient Mayan character’s eyes, and not let my modern American ideas
get in the way. I also didn’t want to make it too gruesome–just the
right amount. I revised that chapter a lot!

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 read a lot of Mayan myths while researching Jungle Crossing. I especially love the Hero Twins story–those boys are clever. I tried to retell that myth in the novel, but it bogged down the action and I ended up cutting most of it. That was hard to do.

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

A: I still feel like shaking my head or pinching myself when I wander into a bookstore and see my book sitting on the shelf. I know it’s mine. But it feels surreal.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

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

My most recent project, Circus Galacticus, is about a girl who runs away to join an intergalactic circus. One of my biggest inspirations for the circus elements was the Cirque du Soleil. So I was delighted when I saw a link in the wonderful blog Educating Alice to this article about how Cirque founder Guy Laliberté has blasted off to the International Space Station. Woohoo! Clowns in Space!

In other news, I was interviewed by Alyssa at The Shady Glade as part of the Three Year Anniversary for the site (thank you Alyssa!). There are a TON of other wonderful interviews with some amazing writers over there, so check it out!

And last but not least, today is the day the new Betsy-Tacy reissues are being released! And I just got a call from my bookstore that my reserved copies are in, so I get to pick them up this weekend. I can’t wait to see the new covers, with the original art. Speaking of Betsy-Tacy, I will be continuing my spotlights of the high-school and older books in the series over the next few weeks. Rather like Betsy in Betsy was a Junior, I have been distracted by all sorts of jollity lately (well, I was also sick) and have failed to implement my original plans.

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

Today’s installment of the Debut 2009 Blog Tour is a special Double Feature: two fabulous debut novels and two talented debut authors!

First up is Jennifer Brown, author of Hate List. Even if that striking cover didn’t make me want to pick it up, the premise certainly would: it’s the story of the girlfriend of a school shooter, coming to terms with her own role in the tragedy. I am really looking forward to reading this one.

Here’s Jennifer, to answer a few questions:

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

A: My main character, Valerie, was very difficult to write, because it was tough to accurately show her grief and pain and confusion and anger, but still make her someone my readers would like and care about. Someone in that kind of emotional trouble is tough to like. I had to dig deep, get really down into her emotions to find the soft spots that would make readers go, “Oh. Now I understand her.”

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: Who doesn’t love Cinderella? And what I love most about it is there are so many ways to re-tell it, and it never, ever gets old.

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

A: I’ve met a lot of really cool people in the YA world. From bloggers to dedicated YA fans to… Debs. Everyone’s so awesome!

Part two of this Debut Double Feature is the infamous and multi-talented Jackson Pearce, author of As You Wish.

I want to read Jackson’s book for a lot of reasons (and yes, one reason is that the title of her debut is a line from one of my favorite movies!). Jackson is the founder of the 2009 Debutantes, a community of debut YA and MG authors that saved my sanity dozens of times over the past year. She’s full of energy, creativity, and wit, and everything I’ve heard about As You Wish leads me to believe it’s exactly the sort of book I would enjoy: charming, magical, clever, and fun. Plus, it features an (in my opinion) considerably underutilized supernatural entity: a genie!

In addition to being an author and the fearless leader of the Debs, Jackson creates some brilliant vlogs about all sorts of book and publishing related topics. My favorite is probably her Imaginary Writing Process:

( Read the rest of this entry » )

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

A smattering of notes for a sunny Thursday morning:

Fortune’s Folly has gotten a few more nice reviews. First, here’s an excerpt from the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books:

Fagan writes in a smooth style and a spanking pace, keeping the faux-historical fun rolling right along. Fortunata’s refusal to believe in magic or fortune-telling (“It’s all just a bunch of tricks”), and the revelation of the fortune-teller’s “tricks of the trade” are also refreshing, but romantics will still be pleased by the almost magical quality of the prophecy, quest, and happy (if convenient) final outcome. Fortunata’s narration is sassy yet sensible, believable in both her desperate and powerful moments, and laced with humor about her father’s hideous shoes. Fans of fairy-tale fiction will find this a perfect fit.

And here’s a snippet from VOYA:

Tidbits of classic fairy tales, such as Cinderella, Rapunzel, and The Elves and the Shoemaker, are woven into this deftly written debut novel, which ends happily ever after, as all good fairy tales must. Offer this one to the girls who are reading Gail Carson Levine.

In other book-related news, I did a short talk for the local Rotary Club last week, which was a lot of fun, and I have a bunch of library and bookstore events coming up. I’ll be talking about fairy-tale fiction, my own books, testing fairy-tale trivia and giving out prizes! Any of you locals out there who might attend, let me know so I can be on the lookout for you!

Barnes & Noble (Augusta ME)
Thursday October 1st, 7 PM

Prince Memorial Library (Cumberland ME)
Tuesday October 6th, 6:30 PM

Bridgton Public Library (Bridgton ME)
Saturday October 24th, 11 AM

Rockland Public Library (Rockland ME)
Tuesday November 10th, 6PM

Thomas Memorial Library (Cape Elizabeth ME)
Saturday December 5th, 3PM