Category: community

A reminder, and random tidbits

- Stacy

One last thing [that I just edited to be the first thing, because it’s more important than my ramblings]: If you’re local to Utah and are a writer of the LDS faith and/or writing in the LDS market, remember that LDStorymakers happens next weekend. I believe the deadline is fast approaching (in fact, I just checked, and it’s today!) and there are no walk-in registrations due to the conference’s agreement with the hotel. So if you want to go, register now.

Now, the meandering:

Though little seems to be happening on the blog front, that’s because much is happening behind the scenes. I’m currently working under deadline on several projects, including XDM by Tracy Hickman, Curtis Hickman, and Howard Tayler, and several novels by individual authors (who I never mention by name on here because they’re not “my” projects to mention, and the work I do with authors pre-publication-process is very much behind-the-scenes work). I’m still looking for submissions for Tor, as well, though this week that’s not as high priority as the deadline work. So if you’ve been wondering where I went, well, there you have it.

In other news, though winter was officially banished a month ago, the heavens still seem to be singing Christmas carols. It snowed all morning, but when I ventured out at five to meet a friend, it had stopped and I thought that was the end of it. But noooo. My drive home tonight from a friend’s reminded me greatly of a time in high school, driving to a basketball game in my friend Tim’s ancient green Impala (he was driving—I was a freshman), when he hit the brakes and we just kept sliiiiiiding on past the high school driveway. There had to have been six to nine inches of snow on the road tonight at midnight. I did a few donuts reminiscent of that old Impala, as well, which reminds me that I have needed new tires since, oh, about October. I thought I’d gotten through the winter well enough by avoiding driving in bad weather as often as possible, but it had to snow just one more time, didn’t it?

Sigh.

But no collisions. At least, my car didn’t collide with anyone else’s (though there were a few close calls). I saw one accident, though, and no wonder, with the roads in that condition. I’m sure the snowplows have been put up for the season, given that it’s April.

Seminar report

- Stacy

I had a really great time meeting somewhere in the neighborhood of 23 local writers on Saturday at the Provo Library. We talked about writing science fiction and fantasy for children and young adults, and in that context we talked about hooking agents and editors and young readers themselves with killer first chapters and beyond. I think my favorite part of the afternoon was getting volunteers to read their first hook and then the collegial atmosphere when we applied what we’d been talking about as we discussed how to improve those samples.

Thanks to everyone who came! I think a writing group grew from it, as well. Good luck with your writing.

I think I’ll try to do a seminar like this every quarter or so, and perhaps a few other classes, perhaps getting more in-depth on other aspects of writing science fiction and fantasy for young readers. Suggestions for class topics welcome, and if anyone from the class has further questions I’m happy to answer them.

Laurie Halse Anderson at the King’s English, Mar. 26

- Stacy

I’m getting ready to head out the door to the Provo Library for the seminar I’m teaching on writing science fiction and fantasy for children and young adults, but wanted to post this first: One of my favorite writers, who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at the last couple of Kindling Words retreats, will be in Salt Lake City next Thursday as part of her Wintergirls tour. That’s right, Laurie Halse Anderson, also known on LJ as [ljuser]halseanderson[/ljuser].

She’ll be at one of our excellent local independents, The King’s English. If you loved Speak or Fever 1793 or Chains or any of her other excellent books, make sure to check out Wintergirls. And if you head to The King’s English to get it signed, maybe I’ll see you there:

Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m.
King’s English Bookstore
1511 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, Utah 84105
801-484-9100

CPSIA and the value of writing to your senator/congressman/woman

- Stacy

Thanks to a Blue Rose Girls post by Alvina a couple weeks ago, I was inspired to write to my senator expressing my frustration and disappointment with the implementation of the CPSIA as it gets applied to books and small manufacturers specifically.

My senator happens to be Orrin Hatch of Utah, who I don’t necessarily always agree with on copyright issues but who I am happy to say listens to his constituents when they express an opinion on policy. I framed my letter in terms of how the CPSIA will affect local libraries (we have, I think, the largest percentage by population of children in this state compared to other states, or pretty far up there, and a large percentage of those families depend upon public libraries), local small businesses (bookstores, handmade toys), and publishing in general (which trickles down to anyone in the state involved with books).

I just received a letter back, and Senator Hatch has taken actual action:

[…]The CPSIA was not intended to harm the kinds of small businesses for which you are concerned. [I wonder if this is a form letter, because he doesn’t acknowledge my concern for libraries and publishers, too.] It is apparent, however, that the regulations may need to be altered to make exemptions for certain categories of products and businesses.

Some Utah companies may be inadvertently affected by the new regulations promulgated by the [CPSIA]. I will work with my colleagues in the Senate and with the new Administration to try to rectify the problems with this new law. I have written to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and to the Chairmen of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee calling for hearings on this important matter. Copies of the letters are available on my website at: www.hatch.senate.gov.

Thank you again for writing and sharing your concerns. I am hopeful the Federal government will successfully rectify this problem so that Utahns will not be harmed. [etc.]

Moral of the story: if you feel strongly about CPSIA, write to your senator or member of Congress and express your specific concerns about how it will affect their constituency–perhaps especially noting that in economically hard times, libraries especially have been and will bear the brunt of this policy. It’s a bill with good intentions, but bad policy right now, and I think if enough people expressed their concerns about small businesses going under because their distributors won’t place their items due to lack of testing, libraries that might have to throw out perfectly safe books, and small presses (and even large ones) that can’t afford the kind of testing currently required by CPSIA even though most children over two don’t actually eat books… anyway, with enough people going directly to those who have the power to change that policy, we’ll be able to fix it, I think.

AML conference tomorrow

- Stacy

It’s rather last-minute notice, but if you’re going to be in Utah Valley tomorrow, consider stopping by the Utah Valley University campus and coming to my panel for the the Association of Mormon Letters conference. Here’s the details:

YA Literature and Mormon Literature
UVU Library
2:30 p.m., Feb. 28th

I’ll be the moderator, and several LDS authors who write for young adults will be there (I was told who some of them were verbally, but I don’t have a list), as will the teen librarian from the Orem Public Library. Should be a really good panel!

The undead cold

- Stacy

I had a cold last weekend, but Monday and Tuesday it seemed to be clearing up. I was feeling mostly better, running around doing errands and seeing friends and getting work done.

Then I woke up today, and it was back with a vengeance. I think it died but now I have a zombie cold.

So I’ll be carting around a case of cough drops with me this weekend at LTUE, and you might not want to get too close. Be grateful I’m only on one panel tomorrow.

I’m going to go take my Nyquil now and hope that it clears up again by morning.

A couple good causes

- Stacy

I grew up in relative poverty. Relative, because it’s only poverty here in the US, not compared to the places in the world where every day is a struggle to subsist, to have shelter, to have all the basic necessities of life.  I grew up on a farm, so we had plenty of food from our huge garden, and we gleaned neighbors’ fields for animal feed and helped my dad cut neighbors’ dead trees down for firewood to heat the house. Poverty for us just meant free lunches at school and not ever having the latest album or style or being able to afford anything we didn’t go out and earn the money for ourselves. It never meant that we didn’t have a place to sleep, or food to eat, or running water.

But I feel a personal connection to the programs below, programs that are doing good in this world even when so much seems to be going wrong. Here are a few places that you can be a part of that, in as small or large a way as you wish.

My friend Brandon Sanderson, who is writing the last book of the Wheel of Time series, is offering the chance to get your name in the book. He is auctioning off the privilege as a benefit for Heifer International, a wonderful organization that assists people in developing countries with sustainable help–a cow, for example (hence the "heifer" in Heifer Intl.). Links and more information on the charity auction and other fun stuff, like getting to be a part of the Last Battle, can be found at

[info]mistborn 

or at TarValon.net.

Also, like I said, I’ve found a lot of great things on Twitter, and one of them is that actor and educator LeVar Burton twitters! I love him as much for Reading Rainbow and his advocacy for literacy as I ever did for Geordie LaForge (which is muchly). He’s the source where I heard of this next charity–or rather, challenge: the Small Things Challenge, which is sponsored by Intel and benefits Kiva Loans, a microfinance organization that loans small amounts to people in similar areas that Heifer serves. Those microloans can buy a sheep, materials for a textile business, or any number of things that will help jumpstart the micro-economy, thereby hopefully having a ripple effect on the greater economy. These loans are paid back–but even if they weren’t, as little as a few dollars can make such a difference. Save the Children is another option to donate through.

Note that on the Small Things site, every time you visit you can click on "donate 5 cents" and Intel will donate another five cents. It’s not much, but the idea is that through small things, great things come to pass.

They’ve got a great video, too–check it out:

Things are tight for everyone–don’t I know it! Sometimes I wonder just how I’m going to pay the rent and the electricity in the same month, because when you’re just starting out as a freelancer, things can be tight. But even if I can’t afford to give now, I can save $5 from my next check and not have hot chocolate for a few days (yikes! but I can do it :D).

This just in: rubber chicken JUGGLING!

- Stacy

I’m just now going through my photos from Memorial Day weekend, including my Monday morning stroll through Folk Life, a festival they have here in Seattle every Mem. Day weekend.

And what do I find? I knew I got shots of juggling, but little did I know that the chickens had invaded the juggling world, too!

E

They’re taking over the world, I tell ya.

Mormons in fantasy

- Stacy

As you may be aware, because I’m certainly not hiding the fact, I am a Mormon (a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). It’s kind of interesting to note how many Mormon professionals there are in fantasy and children’s/YA lit. I get past counting on both hands (especially when including editors), and while that might not seem as much compared to the various other religious and/or nonreligious groups a professional in this industry may claim, it’s always an interesting subject for Mormons to talk about. 😀

I’ve been asked to write an essay for a Mormon publication, Dialogue, on Mormon writers of mainstream YA and children’s literature. While I’m working on that, I thought I’d throw the topic out there, both to my readers who I know for a fact are LDS, and to anyone else who might be interested in the subject. What YA and children’s fantasy writers out there are LDS? Does knowing they’re LDS affect how you perceive the book? Did you learn they were LDS before or after reading, and did that change your percep tion of the book?

Let’s contrast this to a notorious example, and a timely one at that. You’ve all probably heard of the emails going round some parts about boycotting the movies based on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.* Would you go to see the movie? Do you believe that it should be avoided? If so, why? If not, what do you like about Pullman’s work? What influence, if any, does his background have on your reading?

Some LDS authors off the top of my head:

Orson Scott Card (included for the recognizability factor, but not really included in my essay because the book of his most considered YA material, Ender’s Game, was published so long ago–though funny enough, made some great predictions–my favority being the notoriety of internet fame)
Stephenie Meyer (Twilight, etc.)
Shannon Hale (Princess Academy, Book of a Thousand Days, Goose Girl)
Brandon Mull (Fablehaven)
Brandon Sanderson (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians is his only children’s title right now, mostly adult books)
Rebecca Shelley (Red Dragon Codex, which I edited and is coming out in Jan.)
Dan Willis (several Dragonlance: The New Adventures titles)
Dave Wolverton/David Farland
James Dashner (new series coming out from Shadow Mountain, 13th Reality, and the Jimmy Fincher Saga)
Mette Ivie Harrison (The Princess and the Hound; Mira, Mirror and several other excellent titles)
Jessica Day George (Dragon Slippers)

And a few, though less current, realism authors, all YA:

McNeal/McNeal (forget their first names, but they wrote one book, white, with a little Kewpie devil on the front for which the name is escaping me, too)
Louise Plummer
Kristin Randle

(Of course I won’t be covering *all* those because this will be a short essay!)

Who am I missing?

*Full disclosure: I think Pullman’s writing is beautiful. While I didn’t necessarily agree with the conclusion of the series (as a member of a slightly unorthodox religious group that in a way rebelled/withdrew/rejected the teachings of the organized church of its day, I’m in a strange position of agreeing with him and disagreeing at the same time), I did think that HDM was beautifully written and a well-crafted fantasy story. And so what if I don’t agree with him? I think that there’s room for all of us to read each others’ perspectives and learn from them, and that freedom to do so brings to our world beauty and understanding of both our differences and similarities.


In all the correspondence I’ve seen from Pullman himself on children’s lit listservs, he’s always been respectful, articulate, and a knowledgeable advocate for children in education. And he’s got one of the best first lines of all time, too. I’ve got the Sally Lockhart mysteries lying on my bedside table begging for me to finally getting around to reading them.
So I certainly don’t advocate boycotting the movies. On the contrary, I think they look gorgeous from what I’ve seen so far and I’m interested in seeing how the books are adapted to film.